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Feuchter.’
    Carter pulled away for a moment. Reflected flames danced in Natasha’s deep brown eyes. He searched her face for - he shook his head, unsure of the unspoken signs he sought.
    ‘Feuchter? Where the hell am I going?’
    ‘You shouldn’t let me manipulate you,’ said Natasha, turning and walking away from him.
    Carter watched the hypnotic sway of her hips. He swallowed - hard. How long have I been a hermit? he thought. How long without lips to kiss, soft skin to nibble, a flat stomach to taste ...
    ‘I can’t help myself, Nats.’ His voice was hoarse. ‘Where am I going?’
    ‘Schwalenberg, Germany, in the Weser River Valley. My homeland, Carter, near the place I was born.’
    ‘Weser? Isn’t that where the Pied Piper enticed the rats to their deaths?’
    ‘Could be,’ said Natasha, ‘although I’m no student of history.’
    ‘Nor literature, I see.’
    ‘Feuchter is based at Spiral_Q, in Saudi Arabia - he’s come over to Germany to give a series of lectures to Spiral operatives, and for a celebration of his achievements working on several breakthroughs in processor development. Many of those working on the project have been based in Germany for - shall we say, security reasons ...’
    Carter sighed and shrugged. He rubbed at his suddenly weary eyes, then met Natasha’s gaze. ‘Will you stay?’
    There was a pause. Natasha put her hands in her pockets and looked at Carter steadily. She tilted her head, her lips pursed, her beautiful brown eyes unreadable. Carter realised that she had aged - matured - wonderfully in the year since he had last seen her. And he realised too that he wanted her more than anything in the world... more than anything.
    ‘And you turned her down,’ mocked Kade, a distant whisper in his head. ‘You dick. You sent her away.’
    Carter gritted his teeth and battled to ignore the acid sly observations of the ever-unwelcome voice within his mind. Fuck off and die, Kade, he thought.
    Then he forced a smile to his face and looked up to see the kindness in Nats’s expression.
    ‘Not tonight,’ she whispered. She smiled. ‘But we’ll make a date. When you get back, maybe.’
    ‘You mean in another year when Spiral has another job for me and decides that a cheap kiss is enough to purchase my skilled services?’
    Natasha moved forward and placed a finger against his lips. ‘When you get back from Germany. We’ll meet then.’
    ‘Promise?’
    ‘I promise. Here.’
    She tossed Carter a small cube. It was soft under his fingers, and he turned it slowly; similar in size to a matchbox, the dull matt black alloy shone as the cube fitted neatly into the palm of his hand. ‘New model?’
    ‘Version 4.2. ECubes have moved on since you last worked for us.’
    ‘Really? Same basic functions?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    An ECube was an electronic communications device, standard Spiral issue. Running the V4.2 ICARUS operating system, it sported a 12GHz RISC processor and 256 gigabytes of static RAM. It was solid-state - no moving parts - and quite robust; it had voice - and fingerprint-recognition facilities; it could act as an advanced GPS - could navigate across the whole of the world, relaying data straight back to Spiral mainframes and thus allowing Spiral to keep a tab on its finest operatives. It also had a few hidden and very ingenious little tricks within its alloy casing.
    Natasha turned to leave, gathering her fleece coat and gloves and moving to the door and the steep steps beyond. ‘When are you coming back to the real world, Carter? It misses you, y’know?’
    ‘I enjoy the seclusion.’
    ‘That wasn’t the question.’
    ‘Then, “when I have a reason to” would be the answer.’
    She held his gaze for a long time, then turned and left. He listened to her departure, then moved to the window and watched the plumes from the 740’s exhaust. Wheels spinning dangerously, the BMW cut a swathe through the fresh snowfall and was soon gone, tail lights flickering into