Ashcroft watched Regan's lips pull back into a sick, nasty smile and shuddered. She saw Trevellian was watching her warily from his seat behind the table. 

'I guess Unity doesn't like playing with broken toys.' 

'When it became apparent that my injuries couldn't be fixed, I took an extended leave of absence; I thought it prudent.' 

'You crawled out the back door so they wouldn't throw you on the garbage with your throat cut to stop you spilling your guts.' 

'That was unkind.' 

'There are severe limitations to my sympathy for someone who had me tortured and tried to kill me.' 

'I feel that your moral high ground is somewhat eroded by the fact that you stabbed me in the spine.' 

'You hung me from the ceiling for days and broke two of my fingers.' 

'Which have now healed, and once again, you stabbed me in the spine.' 

'Could we pass over the recriminations?' said Latimer. He was crouched next to Walsh, who was propped up near the door. The other investigator's breath was coming in difficult wheezes that sounded like he was trying to breathe with a heavy weight on his chest. He was throwing regular unfriendly glances in Regan's direction. 

'Am I boring you?' said Trevellian. 

'If this is your source, then you're in worse shape than I thought,' said Regan. 'Trevellian's only redeeming feature is that someday he's going to be dead.' 

'I've been driven to him in the same way I've been driven to you. If I had a choice, I wouldn't work with either of you, but that's the way things are, so there's no use complaining about it.' 

Trevellian smiled. 'It's nice to feel appreciated.' 

Latimer stood up. 'Between the two of you, we've got the last chance to do something about Unity. After this, there's nothing.' 

'What does he stand to gain from it?' said Forester, motioning to Trevellian with his chin. 

Forester and Sarafina stood a little way apart, as if they weren't sure if they were still supposed to be part of the conversation. Sarafina was examining a shallow graze on Forester's arm, where it had been cut from the falling glass when he shattered the one way mirror. 

'Protection,' said Ashcroft. 'Organisations like Unity don't usually let you leave with all of their secrets in your head.' 

'Not unless you're also willing to leave the realm of the upright and mobile,' said Trevellian. 'I suddenly find myself with a very personal reason to be invested in my former employer's destruction.' 

'Do you see why we need to move now?' said Latimer. 'Trevellian's information will only be current for a short time. We can't afford to second guess ourselves here.' 

Regan made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a bark. 'Wishful thinking isn't a substitute for certainty.' 

'But you agree that he's genuine?' 

Regan shrugged. 'That's true at least.' 

Latimer looked satisfied at that. He nodded his head like he'd found a new piece of a complex puzzle. 

Trevellian sat back in his chair and placed a hand behind his head. 'You're more of a sly old fox than I thought, Latimer. You used her to validate me.' 

'Like she said, certainty is important. All she's done is convince me that this is the right course of action.' 

'What information does Trevellian have that makes you think now is the time to make a move?' said Sarafina. Her cheeks reddened as Latimer looked at her. 'Sorry.' 

'No,' Latimer said. 'Go on.' 

'You said his information would only be current for a while. That must mean he has something you can act on.' 

'Correct,' Latimer smiled. 'That's very perceptive of you.' 

Ashcroft sighed. 'Stop trying to poach my staff, Latimer.' 

'I was just making an observation.' 

'I know what you were doing.' 

Latimer shrugged and looked at Trevellian. 

Trevellian sat forward and rested his elbows on the table. 'Unity is an essentially clandestine organisation. That lets them keep their activities secret from the investigators, but it also makes them vulnerable. Regan would know what I'm talking about.' 

Regan folded her arms. 'Choke points.' 

Trevellian nodded. 

Ashcroft looked at Sarafina and Forester. Their expressions were confused. 

'Secret organisations are compartmentalised by nature,' she said. 'That means a lot of essential information can end up resting with a single person, usually someone at the top. If you cut that person off, everything that relied on their knowledge is destroyed too.' 

'What do you mean by cut them off?' said Forester. 

Trevellian laughed and looked at Regan. 'That's a question that could invite all manner of answers.' 

'If they've committed a crime, then the investigators will put them in prison,' said Ashcroft firmly. 

'How dreary,' said Trevellian. 'I find you unswervingly upright people so depressing.' 

'Are you saying you know about a choke point?' said Sarafina. 

'I was intending to build up to it a little more, but yes. There is someone in Unity who fits that description.' 

'No wonder Latimer is getting all hot and bothered,' said Regan. 

'Her name is Seline,' said Trevellian. 'You would probably call her the leader of Unity, for want of a better term. She's intelligent, but she's also extremely secretive and highly egotistical.' 

'Like all infiltrators,' said Regan. 

Trevellian let the insult slide past him. 'Seline is the pillar that Unity rests on. She coordinates all of their activities, and she's the only one who knows where all of their operatives are placed.'  

'Unity's strength comes from their organisation,' said Latimer. 'Removing Seline would smash that to pieces.' 

'You want me to kill Seline?' said Regan. 

Ashcroft shook her head and looked at the floor. She was surprised at the small twinge of disappointment in her chest. 

'That's not how I do things,' said Latimer. 'We need to demonstrate the supremacy of the law over groups like Unity; an arrest will send that message far better than a targeted killing.' 

'I fail to see why I'm here then.' 

'Seline may not want to let herself be taken, but she knows you. She knows what you're capable of,' said Trevellian. 

'I'm a decoration?' 

'I prefer to think of you as a muzzled attack dog.' 

Regan shook her head. 'Pass.' 

Ashcroft saw Latimer's expression melt. He looked like a child being told that all birthdays were now cancelled.

'This is our only chance!' 

'This is your only chance. I don't care if Seline slaughters every investigator in this building tomorrow. My only goal is Kessler.' 

Trevellian shook his head. 'At times I find your directness charming, my frosty angel. Other times, like now for instance, you're painfully short sighted. Unity is sheltering Kessler. Without Seline, Kessler will be exposed for you to extract whatever hideous and painful revenge you've been harbouring for her.' 

Regan glared at him, but said nothing. 

'Seline is usually careful, but her weakness is her desire for control,' said Trevellian. 'When I took my leave from Unity, I left behind the network of informants I'd recruited on their behalf. Seline won't be able to let that go. That means she's going to need to make contact with them before they go to ground.' 

'Couldn't she send another infiltrator?' said Ashcroft. 'Why does it have to be her?' 

Trevellian shook his head. 'You don't think like an infiltrator. Informants mean information, and information is power. Seline won't share that unless she absolutely has to, and she has a limited amount of time to get it. If someone doesn't turn up at the next meeting, the informant will assume something has happened and disappear. She's going to try to meet with my informant, and she's going to go alone.' 

'You're talking about an ambush at the next meeting?' said Ashcroft. 

Latimer nodded. 'Seline will turn up at the meeting point expecting to find an informant, but instead we'll be in position to arrest her.' 

'It seems like a straightforward plan,' said Ashcroft. 'I can give you a transporter team to assist with her extraction.' 

Latimer nodded. 'Thank you.' 

'It's straightforward as long as your information is true,' said Regan. 

Trevellian shook his head. 'You wound me with every mistrustful slight you cast in my direction. I'm in the basement of the investigator headquarters, and I'm somewhat less mobile than I used to be. If anything I've told you turns out to be untrue, I'm not exactly in a position to run away.' 

'I'm not stupid,' said Latimer. 'I know that Unity is cunning, and I know that straightforward plans have a tendency to turn into so much sand and dust. That's why I need you. Trevellian says you're the only one with a hope in hell of standing up to Unity if the knives come out. Are you going to be there to help, or are you just going to sit in the corner sulking about how Kessler hurt your feelings?' 

Ashcroft watched as Regan looked from side to side and realised that everyone was watching her. She took a few paces like an animal in a cage and let out an irritated sigh. 

'Fine. I'll join your little circus troupe for now.'