"That's the way it goes." Greg shrugged. "I can't afford to be seen with the likes of you nowadays. I'm a respectable professional now, legitimate."

"Legitimate, shit. Soft, that's what."

"Yeah. Teddy, meet Eleanor. Mate of mine."

Teddy's smile got wider as he swept her with an appraising gaze, then he pulled his beret off in a gesture of hopeless gallantry. "Christ, officers always did steal the best of everything." He offered his hand, and drew her knuckles to his lips. The ultimate stamp of approval. It cleared the air marvellously.

"Bit jumpy, aren't they?" Greg said as the three of walked towards the nearest tower.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Teddy growled. "We had us chunk of extra-parliamentary action against some Party hacks two days back. Couple of my troops got hit. They're keeping alert. Can't blame 'em for that."

"You expecting some retaliation?" Greg asked.

Teddy shrugged. "Dunno. The war isn't nearly over, Greg. There are tens of thousands of card carriers out there. Smart, well-organised, and tough with it. They'll do it to us all again if we let 'em."

"Are the Blackshirts making any serious moves?"

"No bullshitting, Greg, they are screwing this city. Almost as bad as we did. Trouble most nights, police are stretched to the limit. Inquisitors can't seem to get on top of 'em, Blackshirts have got Walton sewn up tight and hard, nobody in, nobody out unless they say so. We sit and eyeball each other over the A15; and I keep pissing myself over what they're cooking up in there. Son watches what he can, of course, but even he's got limits. What I'd like is some Spiral-armed Mi-24s, go in and beach-head the place, flush the bastards out. Just like the good old days."

"This isn't the good old days, Teddy. We got rid of them, and they aren't coming back. The Blackshirts are just a bunch of zombies, don't know they're dead yet."

"I know how to tell 'em."

"How many of them are in there now?"

"Maybe two hundred regular Blackshirts, five if they called in the hardliners they've got scattered about the county. But it's the rest who give me sleepless nights. Half of 'em still work in city chambers. If they get their act together they could cause a lotta pain. This inflation is stirring people up, man, lotsa grumbling about the New Conservatives. And you bet they've got it all planned out, fucking Party always loved plans. I can't fight that, Greg. That ain't physical, man. Physical I can handle. I gotta leave 'em to the New Conservative Inquisitors. More fucking bureaucrats. I tell you, it plain drives me nuts."

"People won't fall for the PSP twice," Eleanor said. "They're not that daft."