While Stacy locked the door and slammed the bolts home, Kate turned Woollard over as gently as she could. A large wound had been gouged in his flabby stomach.

‘Knife.’ He stared up at her with clouded eyes. ‘Hurts. Get me a drink.’

She looked down at him and shook her head. ‘We know what you’ve been doing. We know you’ve been working for Takapa!’

He nodded, and clutched at Kate’s wrist with sticky red fingers. ‘Takapa,’ he rasped. ‘Got all he can from me. I’ve made his dreams come true.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Stacy said angrily, coming to join them.

‘Mass production.’ Woollard smiled bleakly. ‘Add just a single drop of Stacy Serum to a phial of ordinary blood plasma … In under an hour, the blood is pure serum. Ready to go to work on another poor ’wolf junkie …’

Kate pulled her wrist away in disgust, and Woollard winced.

‘The serum is now as addictive as it can be,’ he croaked. ‘So Takapa thinks it’s high time I was turned ’wolf too.’ Woollard gave a weak mirthless laugh that turned into a cough. Blood appeared on his lips. ‘It was the threat of that hanging over me that made me work for him in the first place.’

Kate looked down at him helplessly. ‘Takapa did this to you?’

Woollard feebly shook his head. ‘Still out there,’ he murmured, wide-eyed. ‘Tried to run, but—’

Suddenly there was a glassy crash from the living room. Before Kate or Stacy could react, the main light snapped on and a large shadow fell over them as a hulking figure appeared in the doorway.

‘Oh, Jesus.’ Kate shut her eyes; felt a terrible cold take her body. ‘Please, no.’

Swagger stood towering over them in his long, black leather coat. He must’ve ignored the bolted door and simply come in through the window as they had. His beady eyes were bloodshot and wild, his wide, crusty mouth hung open in a lascivious grin. A vivid gash ran across his forehead, clumsily stitched; the sutures looked like black flies feeding on the wound.

‘Well, well,’ he said, glancing between her and Stacy. ‘Look who we got here.’

‘Don’t hurt me anymore,’ Woollard begged feebly. ‘Please.’

‘You could’ve been something, Doc,’ Swagger told him. ‘Could’ve stood beside Takapa and me and welcomed in the new world. All you needed was guts, old man.’ He giggled. ‘Guess they fell out through that hole in your belly, right?’

Kate stared across at Stacy in dismay. Swagger was looking spaced out, euphoric, like Tom had looked on the bridge. ‘He’s taken the serum,’ she hissed.

‘’S’right,’ Swagger agreed, ‘and I’m in the mood to party.’