‘Same thing! It starts as a med and implants itself. Oh, and it’s working! Sometimes my mind comes back to me so sharply! I’m blurry and then suddenly I snap into focus and I remember how I used to be. And then it goes again. Right now I’m not too bad. Later I’ll probably have a lapse. Very frustrating. But I never fail to discharge my responsibilities, even if what I have to do is unpleasant. Loss of life is always regrettable but in this line of work one must act on behalf of the greater good.’

‘Well, here’s the thing, Daphne.’ I’m trying to choose my words carefully.

‘Go on, I’m listening. What are you afraid to say to me?’

‘The thing is, you can’t just go around killing people.’

‘Of course I don’t. My, you are a greenhorn. I only act on specific instructions. I work for the Agency and I am a professional. Whereas you . . . well, there’s nothing professional about you, is there? You need to learn to protect yourself. What if the Agency decides you need to be removed from play? Or perhaps an enemy operative will come after you – they’ve taken out a number of people who were in your study, you know.’

‘They? Who are the enemy, then?’

She winks. ‘I think you know. Their initials are BS.’

It takes me a moment. Not Bernard, he’d be BZ. Does she mean BigSky?

‘Oh, Charlie, but there are all manner of dangers out there in the city of dreams. I’m glad you finally came to me. I just hope I can hold it together long enough to be of use to you. I forget so easily, you see.’

‘OK, so, you said you act on instructions. How do you get these instructions? Are they recorded somewhere?’

‘Yes, but they are in code and I always destroy the evidence.’

‘Ah, well, but it’s hard to destroy something permanently in cyberspace.’

She leans towards me, whispering, ‘Who said anything about cyberspace? Whenever I do a job, I do it because a little bird told me to.’

And she winks.

‘A little bir— Oh crikey, Daphs, do you mean the pigeons?’

‘Shhhhh! Of course that’s what I mean. My sister and I have been exchanging birds for years.’

‘But these Agency messages . . . they aren’t from O?’

‘I’ve never told her. I’ve never told anyone. You’re the first. Because you’re special.’

Bloody hell. She has too told O. She’s pulling my leg.

‘I’ve been trying to help you,’ Daphne insists. ‘You know, the first time I hacked you, it was by accident, but the second time was on purpose.’

‘The first time you hacked me? When did you hack me, Daphne?’