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Dennis Perkins continued snapping his fingers in front of his eyes. ‘Hey! Mister! Can you hear me?’
    ‘Stop that,’ Perry said, pushing the receptionist’s hand away.  ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ He pointed to the metal security door. ‘What’s going on in that room?’
    Dennis Perkins furrowed his brow, puzzled. ‘I’m not sure what you’re talking about,’ he said. ‘You came in, asked where Amanda Mundo was, I told you she had just left, and you passed out. Right here.’
    For a moment, Perry considered this possibility. The night before, he had taken a Klonopin to get to sleep. Was it possible he was experiencing a delayed side-effect? But what had happened had been so real – the huge room, the giant slug, the annoyed security guards. He looked down at his shirt and saw a faint sweat stain, the result of his sprint after Amanda. He shook his head.
    ‘No,’ Perry said. ‘I followed Amanda into that room. And there were people flying in chairs and a big... I don’t know... slug monster, like something from a bad science-fiction movie. Then two security guards grabbed me, stuck a metal headband on my head and knocked me out.’
    The receptionist laughed in disbelief. ‘That is crazy. That is so crazy. Is that really what you think happened?’
    Perry nodded.
    ‘You have to do it again,’ the receptionist said.
    ‘Do what?’ Perry asked. But the receptionist wasn’t talking to him. The metal door opened and the same two security guards, one short and squat, one tall and thin, entered the lobby. The tall guard grabbed Perry like an eagle snatching a rabbit. The short guard, smiling apologetically, placed the copper ring over Perry’s head.
    ‘Stop it. Why are you doing this?’ Perry yelped. ‘Leave me alone! Where’s Amanda?’ He flailed and the room went black.
    * * *
    This time, when Perry regained consciousness in the empty lobby, Amanda was standing over him. He rubbed his head. His brain felt like a frozen waffle that had been re-toasted too many times. This was because the eraser the security guards had now used twice on Perry’s head was supposed to be used only once. Once was all it took to erase the last hour or so from the average human’s brain. The problem was, Perry wasn’t average. As a result of his childhood tightrope accident, he had two steel plates in his head. So the pulse of energy intended to erase part of Perry’s short-term memory had done nothing more than warm the metal in his head a few hundredths of a degree, a definitely unnerving sensation.
    ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Perry asked Amanda. ‘Why do they keep doing that?’
    Amanda bent over, placing her mouth next to his ear so that Perry could smell a fragrance like orange blossoms. ‘Agree with everything I say,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll explain later.’
    While Perry was taking this in, the receptionist walked in with a cup of water. Amanda smiled at him. ‘Our patient is awake,’ she chirruped.
    The receptionist smiled and gave the water to Perry. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.
    ‘He’s fine,’ Amanda said.
    Perry nodded warily and took a sip of water.
    ‘Mr Bunt just came in here and passed out, right?’ Amanda said loudly, nodding at Perry and smiling as if he were a foreign toddler with a hearing problem.
    Perry nodded. The receptionist helped him to his feet and Amanda walked with him out of the building.
    ‘What’s happening?’ Perry said. Amanda put one finger to her lips. He noticed the tattoo on her wrist again and this time was able to get a better view. It was a tattoo of a blue housefly.
    ‘I’d better drive you home,’ she said. ‘You might still be a little bleary.’ Despite the strangeness of the last hour, Perry’s heart raced at the thought of Amanda driving home with him. Then he remembered his car.
    They arrived at the Ford Festiva. ‘It’s just a loaner,’ Perry mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Amanda held one finger to her lips and the other hand out. He