Page 126 of The Dark Mirror

‘Ducos,’ I said, ‘what will happen to Spinner?’

‘If he’s been leaking information to Grapevine, he may be charged with treason in Australia, where he’s from,’ Ducos said, ‘but Australia is closely allied with America, so if it’s Tinman he’s been serving, he may not be punished.’ She took out her box of cigarettes. ‘Turn your phone off. Spinner shouldn’t notice your absence, but you ought to stay off the radar.’

‘What if the others call?’

‘You can’t help anyone from here.’ She reached under her seat and passed me a blanket. ‘Take your mind off it and sleep. I’ll wake you when we’re getting close.’

I switched off my phone. Before I settled in to sleep, I glanced over my shoulder at Arcturus. Even if I was afraid for him, I was relieved he was still with me.

I woke to a gentle trill. Ducos hooked an earpiece on and gave it a tap, making her phone glow on the dashboard.

‘Widow,’ she said.

I blinked a few times. From the clock on the dashboard, we had been driving for over two hours.

‘I have no idea,’ Ducos said. ‘Why, are you concerned?’

She listened for a while.

‘That has to be a misunderstanding. I’m taking her on Tuesday,’ she said. ‘She might be with Noemi. She hasn’t been outside Scion since she was a child. We don’t want to keep her cooped up in the Palazzo.’

I could just hear a voice on the other end of the line.

‘She was a career criminal. I’m sure she can handle herself in a city as safe as Venice at night.’ She waited again. ‘He was there when I left. I wouldn’t disturb him. We’ll have plenty of time to question him on Sunday.’ Her eyes reflected the headlamps in theother lane. ‘No, I’m heading for Matera to see Valentina Chen. I’ll be back for the meeting.’

My heart thudded.

‘Very good. See you then.’ Ducos ended the call. ‘That was Spinner. Pivot will cover your absence.’

Arcturus was asleep. I rested my head on the window, watching the other vehicles on the motorway.

‘That black car,’ I said, tensing. ‘There’s no dreamscape.’

‘Remind me what that means.’

‘It means the driver is concealing themselves.’

Ducos glanced at the rear-view mirror. ‘Italy is the leading manufacturer of autonomous cars. That’s one of them. There is no driver,’ she said. ‘It’s probably just a test run.’

Another strange fact about the free world. I reclined my seat and tried to get back to sleep.

A bright nest of lights soon appeared in the dark, rousing me again. Ducos parked the car and hooked it up to a charging point.

‘This will take a while,’ she told me. ‘I’m going inside for a coffee. Do you want to come?’

‘I’m grand.’

She looked at me, then at Arcturus. ‘I’ll bring you something to eat.’

‘Thanks.’ I noticed the clock. ‘It’s past the time of the extraction.’

‘Yes. Pivot hasn’t called, but I suspect she has her hands full.’ Ducos checked her phone. ‘I’ll touch base once we get to Rome.’

She strode into the service station. I resisted turning my phone on. Maria and Nick would have been able to defend themselves, if necessary.

Arcturus stirred in the back seat. He looked around the car before his gaze came to rest on me.

‘Guess it wasn’t goodbye after all,’ I said.

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