He grumbled at me, reaching out for the jar with a trembling hand. I knew better than to comment. His terror would subside by the time Brochan, the last of our motley crew, joined us. To point out that Speck was shaking like a leaf served no purpose. He could be rather sensitive, even at the best of times.

While he crumpled up the sweet wrapper into a ball and tossed it carelessly onto the floor, I opened up a drawer and peered inside. Lying on top of several heavily perfumed envelopes was an ornate letter opener. I lifted it out. It was an expensive tool, especially in today’s digital age. Made entirely from silver and with a perfectly balanced blade, it seemed a travesty to leave it where it was. I regarded it seriously for a moment then slid into one of my many zippered pockets. It would make a nice souvenir.

When Lexie appeared, grinning broadly at Speck’s pale face, I got to my feet and scooped up the jar of sweets. It wouldn’t be long now. I went back out to the main room, depositing one sweet next to each keyboard.

‘One for you,’ I sang out, ‘and one for you, and one for you.’ I paused at one cubicle laden with Star Wars memorabilia and pursed my lips. ‘You deserve two.’

‘You’re such a geek,’ Brochan told me, appearing silently from behind with the coil of climbing rope.

I winked at him and rattled the now almost empty jar. ‘Want one?’

He patted his flat stomach. ‘Watching my weight.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Are we clear?’

‘As a mountain stream.’

I shot him a look, wondering whether that was a gibe at my upcoming change of career. His expression was innocent but I caught the faintest hint of merriment in the back of his eyes and stuck out my tongue.

‘If the wind changes…’

I waved a hand in the air. ‘Yeah, yeah. We’re not in Sidhe territory, remember.’

‘Well you’re the one who’d know.’

I tossed back my hair and ignored the rejoinder. ‘Come on. Let’s get going.’

Leaving behind the depressing office space, the four of us moved quietly out towards the bank of lifts. We required little in the way of communication by this point; we’d worked together long enough to have an almost telepathic understanding of what was required. Still, out of respect for this being our last mission together, Speck glanced at me and I gave him a nod of acknowledgment. He unscrewed the button panel in the wall, short-circuiting the system and disabling all the elevators in one fell swoop. He jerked his thumb at Brochan who immediately stepped forward and wrenched open the doors to reveal the cavernous drop.

‘First one to the bottom is a rotten egg,’ he smirked.

Speck sighed. ‘Can’t we just take the stairs?’