Mike’s mobile phone made a distinctive ‘Ping’ as they sat and, after a few moments, Tom heard a soft chuckle come from the American.

‘Check this out,’ he said and slid his mobile phone across the bench to Tom, who picked it up and looked at the screen. Two pretty blonde girls, aged about eight, grinned out from the screen: both had bunny ears, sparkly eyes, and stars seemed to be circling their heads, all obviously computer generated onto the twins’ picture. Tom recognised Mike’s kids, having met them once during a trip to California a few years before.

Tom smiled and slid the phone back across the bench. ‘They’ve grown so much, mate. Cute kids,’ he said, suddenly envious of Mike.

‘It’s a Snapchat. Do you have it? I’ll get them to send you some, they still talk about you,’ Mike said.

‘I don’t have it. I’m not much one for social media apart from as an investigative tool.’

‘Don’t be a grouch. Download it, my kids want to send you messages.’

‘Maybe,’ Tom said. Then added, ‘How’s Pet?’

‘She’s good, she’s in Berlin for a while. She said to say hi and that you should call her.’

‘Maybe I will,’ Tom said, not knowing if he meant it or not. He’d not seen Pet, other than at a very brief meeting after the arrests of Taylor and the others. He’d figured it was safer to keep a distance between them until things were resolved, but he couldn’t say he didn’t think of her a lot. Relationships were not something that Tom could quite get his head around, though, and he couldn’t see how anything could work with both of their itinerant lifestyles.

‘I’ve been asked to offer you a job by my superiors; they reckon that someone who can do what you pulled off would be an asset to the Agency as a UK resource. You interested?’

‘It’s flattering and interesting, but I work for the UK. Britain gave me a life and I would never reveal anything that may harm this country. I owe them everything.’

‘I told them that’s what you’d say. Honour is a rare commodity these days, old friend and you have it. You’d be a valuable resource and we’d pay very well, but I doubt that would make a difference.’

Tom didn’t reply, just turned and looked at Mike for the first time during the meeting and flashed him a warm smile.

‘I gotta go, Tom. I have a flight back to the States later today. I’m reassigned: I start in Washington next week.’

‘Well, best of luck, mate. I think I can now say that we’re even in the favour stakes.’