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But earlier in the sequence we see the man looking round, we think for a container. He finds nothing useful, so uses whatever he brought with him. See, here…” He wound the footage back at high speed before letting it play again. “He seems to take something from his pocket.”
    â€œSomething that he had in his pocket,” Vishinsky said.
    â€œHe may have come prepared, and then looked to see if there was a more suitable or larger container to be found in the lab.”
    â€œBut there was not.”
    Pavlov nodded. “All sterile glassware. Fragile, if you have to make a hurried escape.”
    The video was running forward again as they spoke, at normal speed.
    â€œThere!” Vishinsky said suddenly. He leaned forward. “Go back – slowly.”
    Pavlov let the images play backwards at a tenth of their normal speed. He froze the playback as soon as Vishinsky said: “Stop it there.”
    Vishinsky got up from his chair and walked slowly along the length of the table. His eyes never left the screen. The image showed the dark figure ashis hand emerged from his pocket. The fingers were wrapped round whatever he was holding – the receptacle he was about to fill with liquid from the canister. In that single frozen frame, it was angled so that it caught what little light there was – perhaps a faint glow from the display of nearby equipment.
    Vishinsky stood close to the screen. “Close in on his hand, on the thing he is holding.”
    Pavlov moved his fingers carefully across the laptop’s track pad and the image zoomed in on the container in the man’s hand.
    Just barely visible was a shadow or a mark. Something on the container that was catching the light. “What is that?”
    â€œI’m not sure.” Pavlov tried to trace the mark with his pointer, but it was not distinct enough. “A maker’s mark perhaps? Maybe it’s just a shadow, a reflection – an artefact of the enhancement process.”
    Vishinsky nodded. “Find out,” he said.
    â€œBut, sir,” Pavlov said, “we have already enhanced the image as much as we can. Any more and we risk introducing things that are not actually there.” He hesitated and licked his dry lips.
    â€œDon’t trouble me with details,” Vishinsky said.“Just find out what that mark is. You can do that, can’t you? For me?”
    He raised a grey-white eyebrow as if asking a simple favour of a friend.
    Pavlov swallowed. “Of course, sir. We’ll do what we can. But—”
    â€œFind out!” Vishinsky roared. He waved his hand in sudden, abrupt dismissal and Pavlov quickly disconnected his laptop and hurried after his colleagues from the room. “And tell someone to bring me my food,” Vishinsky said. “Before it gets cold.”

3
    The sound of a telephone woke Rich in the middle of the night. Instinctively, he fumbled for his mobile, but it wasn’t the same ring. He and Jade both had mobiles, though Mum had made them pay for their own top-ups. Probably he was out of credit anyway.
    The phone stopped and, now that he was awake, Rich could hear the low sound of Chance speaking. Rich’s mobile showed the time when it wasn’t being used – it said 04:32. Who was ringing up at half past four in the morning?
    He needed the toilet now he was awake, so he tiptoed to the door and opened it. Rich paused. Chance’s voice was muffled and indistinct through his closed study door, but Rich couldn’t help catchinga few words when he pressed his ear to the door.
    â€œâ€¦No, not here… better not meet yet… dangerous… leave it for me… usual place… I’ll collect… soon.”
    The sound of Chance’s voice stopped. If he had to be somewhere soon, he’d be in a hurry, Rich realised. He darted back into his bedroom and pushed the door almost closed. The study door opened and through the crack