‘If I go straight up from the summit and then arc around towards the plane of the base I can stay out of range of the systems tuned for accidental egress – and I certainly won’t have the signature to be mistaken for an incoming Hurtler.’ Tarquinia reached across the desk and took the link. ‘I’m going to need this to reprogram the occulter. We should have made it possible to talk to the things with a corset alone, but it’s no use complaining about a lack of foresight.’ She formed a pocket for the link then started dragging herself towards the door, then she saw the expression on Ramiro’s face.

‘We’ve both survived tougher jobs than this,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to die out there.’

‘I know, but—’

‘If I get arrested, just pretend to be shocked. Maybe there’ll still be something you can do – don’t assume that the whole plan’s dead just because they’ve grabbed me.’

‘All right.’

Tarquinia drew herself towards Ramiro and embraced him. ‘This is just a glitch,’ she said. ‘In a few bells I’ll be back here and we’ll be joking about it.’

‘Yeah.’

Ramiro watched her leave, then he sat by the console. Without the link he couldn’t even check what was happening with the other occulters. He didn’t doubt Tarquinia’s skill or resolve, but if they lost one more machine she could hardly repeat the same ruse. The whole plan was on the verge of collapsing, and he had no idea how to salvage it.

Ramiro pounded on Agata’s door until his hand ached, but there was no response. So much for her sitting in her room and thinking. Who would she visit? Lila? Azelio?

He looked up Lila’s address on a public console, but he hadn’t gone far when he ran into Agata coming the other way, carrying a box full of books.

Ramiro greeted her casually and restrained himself from blurting out anything compromising. ‘That’s a lot of reading,’ he said.

‘They’re Medoro’s books,’ Agata explained. ‘His family had no use for them, so I thought I’d take them.’

Ramiro gave a quiet chirp of approval, as if he were acknowledging a respectful gesture of remembrance. ‘It’d be good to catch up with you,’ he said. ‘If you’re not too busy.’

‘I’d like that,’ Agata replied. ‘My apartment’s a mess, though – it’s not fit for company.’ They’d never checked it for listening devices.

‘You could drop off the books and come to my place, if you like.’

‘All right. I’ll see you in a chime.’

They parted at the next intersection.

When Agata arrived, Ramiro invited her in and closed the door. ‘If you have another plan,’ he said, ‘now’s the time to tell us.’