I had asked him about it once and he had shrugged and said how I’d be surprised how easy it was: ‘I just wear a hoodie. Or look unwashed and bedraggled. People may spot me out the corner of their eye but they won’t dare look at me. It’s easy being invisible when no one wants to see you. All witnesses can ever remember is “big and black”, all the CCTV ever shows is “big and black”.’ He brushed his cheek. ‘This is a blessing.’ Hattie was very dark – dark enough that grainy CCTV could never get a clear impression of his face. ‘I was a Rat for ten years and seen walking away from the scene of a crime at least twenty times, but no one ever managed to put together an e-fit. Everyone gets so blinded by all this,’ he gestured over his large bulk, ‘that they never take the time to notice anything else.’ Hattie always spoke softly. I often wondered about him. This misunderstood big man.

He was back at Platform Eight in his first desk job and he was proving to be an excellent Team Leader. He was a large, comforting presence. His voice had a deep, soothing tone – he never raised it. I trusted him, he was a good man and it was easy to get along with him. Although considering what I went through with Sandy, simply having a boss who didn’t want me dead made for a happier working environment.

Pixie Nisbett was our other new arrival. A born and bred Londoner, she’d started with us last year as our unit’s Tech Support to back up Geraint. As an expert hacker with a background in code-breaking, she was an invaluable addition. She also added a splash of colour to an otherwise grey office environment. Tall with frizzy blonde hair, she was today wearing sequined jeans and a pink jumper, which had ‘Hot hot hot’ emblazoned across it in red letters. Her large earrings, which jangled every time she moved her head, were fluorescent pineapples.

Pixie seemed incapable of talking to anyone without an endearment. I was pretty sure Hattie shuddered every time she called him ‘sweetcheeks’. She seemed to have no internal filter – everything she thought she said aloud. It was both refreshing and worrying – I had to presume outside the office she managed to keep any work-related thoughts to herself or Special Projects would’ve recommended her dismissal long ago.