The boot of the car smelled of cigarettes and old sweat, and the woman driving it gave no concern for speed bumps. She was listening to Radio 4, and the muffled reports of the weather were unintelligible. Eventually, the car stopped at a checkpoint. I just about made out what was being said.

“New car, Lyra?”

“Oh no, just the husband’s. Mine got a flat”

“Oh alright, in you go.”

The woman was Lyra Walker, she worked at MI6 as a secretary. She had no power other than a keycard to get in the doors, but that was enough. She was also cheating on her husband with her boss, which Addie had promised not to leak on the condition that instead of driving her own car to work, she find a new one at a designated point and drive it in. To her, it was nothing, no risk and all reward. Lyra parked the car, dropping the handbrake with a clunk I could feel, and waited a while before getting out. I couldn’t tell, but it sounded like she was crying.

I activated the signal, a circuit board with a watch battery and five small LED bulbs, one for each of us. It sent a weak radio signal out to the other three, lighting up the second bulb, mine. A few minutes later, the fourth came on; Jodie was ready. The rest lit up over the next twenty minutes, and once Sid’s was on I pushed on the hidden latch that opened the boot and stretched my legs out into the underground car park. Jodie was on the far end, Sid and Katrine were closer. Other than that, it was empty.

“Addie left the cache in the Subaru.” She reminded us. “Argus, Stray, get us in. Guthrie, on me.”

Argus found the lift and the two of us got to work. It had an override key for repairs. Addie, in his infiltration, had recorded the make and model, and I’d fabricated a copy.

“On three?” We pried to doors apart and dropped into the shaft. The lift was up on the third floor, I shot a cable up and grabbed it. It wouldn’t respond to any electric commands, which made it a good anchor point. The RWHS were underneath the rest of the building, not related to the glass pyramid that represented MI6. We could pry open the false bottom and drop.

Panzer whistled and threw us our weapons and masks. My pistol and knives, Argus’ duffel bag and the sapperbug that would be mine and Argus’ mission. When the lines were in place and I’d activated the first of the batteries in Argus’ armour, we got into position and I pried the doors open.

We descended like ghosts, wreathed in darkness and silence. Guthrie and Panzer went first, upside down as to not give themselves away if something opened, and escorted us two floors down. That was their drop-off. Argus and I continued a further two floors down as Panzer readied her rifle and the two of them disappeared into the headquarters.

“Orpheus online.” came his voice through my earpiece, “catch me up, ladies.”

“Stray, Red stop-sign. We’re at the right floor.”

“You were right, there’s something hidden pretty deep in there. None of the schematics tell me what but it’s taking up a good chunk of the electricity use of the area. Panzer, there’s a good bet that it’s Anvil.”

“Copy. Upload the backdoor to my device” said Argus. She pulled out a tablet and keyed in a few commands, “I have cameras. We’re clear.”

“All set, Orpheus out.”

I wrenched the doors open and we dropped into the corridor. It was nicer than the tunnels i’d been in before, wide enough to fit a car through and carpeted. If not for the distinct lack of natural light and sound of air filters, it could have passed for an above-ground facility. We ducked into a storage room while Katrine examined the cameras.

“Light coverage from RWHS, they don’t know we’re here. I estimate fifty or sixty spread over the facility, mostly in the gym or bunks.”

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“Panzer, ochre sand. Do you have the kill switch?”

“No, there’s no way to access it without lighting us up.” Argus said. The kill switch was the button that cut off everything, the lights, the sensors. It disoriented them, and if we moved fast it could give us the cover we needed to get in and out.

“Stand by on that. Anvil is behind some heavy-duty doors, can you get us past them??”

“I’d need twenty minutes to secure myself in the system”

“You have one minute.”

“I could set off the sprinkler array.”

“Then we move. Argus, Orpheus, figure something out and head for Bravo. Guthrie and I are finding another way around Alpha.”

Argus was working away, laser-focused on her tablet. I could see the fragmented view of a dozen cameras, none of them alerted yet. Beyond our position the space opened up, I could get to a computer and have better access there to find Bravo, the records room.

“Argus. Can you cycle the last 30 seconds of footage on this floor?”

“What are you planning?”

“Finding you a better angle.”

I dashed from the storage room to the office space not far from us. I could imagine data analysts and lackeys positioned here, but the space looked unused, like it had been built for a purpose the RWHS no longer needed. The space was cut into a maze by cubicle walls on the backs of desks, and the computers, none of which had webcams, all looked out of date. I crouched up to one of them and stuck the drive in.

“I see it. Thirty seconds to download.”

The door at the far end closed, and I dropped to the floor. Under the desks, I could see chinos and loafers walk toward me, then sit at one of the chairs. He clicked at some keys and it started playing a youtube video. Another person joined him, as I stayed deathly still.

“See? This is the one I was talking about. It’s been raised by dogs, and it acts like one.”

“Yeah but cats can just act like that sometimes.” the second man protested.

“It’s funny! Look at it! Come on go get Wally, he’ll think it’s funny.” The second man walked to another computer and sat down, I ducked underneath the desk so he wouldn’t see me. I reminded myself to breathe. Two, soon to be three men in the room, unknown weapons and I was practically on the floor. I could take them all out but three suggested more, and I wasn’t confident that they wouldn’t compromise me.

“Download complete.” Argus said. The drive was out of my reach. I had one teleportation charged up on my bracer, the slow trickle idea was dangerous, I’d resolved to only consciously charge my circuits. That meant I could either teleport to the drive, or get to the drive and teleport back. The third man entered. “Wally, look at this!” I inched a ring off my finger. Rings were practically useless to me, I wore one for tradition’s sake but I was far more comfortable in my tools.

“Right so it’s a cat jumping around like a terrier.”

“Funny, innit?”

“What does it think it’s a dog?”

“Yes! Thank you! It’s been raised by dogs, so it thinks it is a dog!” I lowered myself to the ground, for a better line of sight down to the wall.

“Cats just do that then?”

I flicked the ring, threading the needle of the bottom of the desk and a tangle of wires. It hit the floor two feet before the wall with a rattling skid. All three of them turned and in the same moment, I stretched, grabbed the drive, and rematerialised next to Argus. She spun, but saw me before she could have struck out.

“Drive.” I handed it to her.

“I have better control now. Still no kill switch, but I can cause some chaos, or get you past the door on Alpha.”

“Get them on me.” said Orpheus, “I’ve got a plan”

“Care to clue us in?”

“There’s another set of doors like the one Panzer described not far from my position. If I can get some of them chasing me we can lock them in.”

“Orpheus, that’s dangerous.” said Argus

“Copy. Argus, send them his way.” Panzer ordered, ignoring her. Argus was quiet.

“Copy. Give me the signal, Orpheus”

“Ready when you are, love.”

Half the lights turned a blaring red, and a mechanised voice sounded through a tannoy, “ALERT. ALERT. INTRUDER ON LEVEL 1”

Footsteps echoed past us in the direction of the stairwell. When we were sure that we were alone, I slipped out of the room, and into the red. The records room hadn’t been on any map so far, which meant we’d need someone to tell us.