I hurried to the window and looked down to where Harly was pointing. There, skulking in the shadows between two other buildings, were seven or eight figures busy locking canister into guns and passing hand signals to one another when finished. They had their hoods over their heads, but on the back of them it was clear to see the red stitching that formed the familiar emblem. The Red Rose guys were definitely in the mood for a good old-fashioned shoot-em up.

'That's them,' I whispered. I tried to identify a leader, seeing nobody that looked to be in command. It was a mob alright, but an organised one. I hadn't thought that they had that many guys to begin with, but it seemed that numbers weren't an issue.

One of them looked up towards the window.

'Get back,' I hissed, pulling Harly away from the glass. 'Siala, get ready to leave.'

From the other room Siala rose to her feet, Rena holding on to her shoulder.

'Is there a back way out of here?' I asked Harly.

He shot me a look of pure venom. 'Find it yourself. I'm here on my own and you guys bring this shit on me out of the blue. I'm done with this crap; it isn't my job anymore.'

'No,' I said, 'your job is a hacker. Right now we need a gunman, and I would hazard a guess that you haven't forgotten how to shoot.'

'Look here,' he started, pushing me up against the wall.

'Harly!' Siala shouted.

'Put him down, grizzly,' Rena yelled.

Harly glanced at both of them, a look of such pure command that both girls quietened like someone slamming the city gates shut. He returned to me. 'I've harboured you for this long, and now it hasn't paid off. So you can get the hell away from here this instant, and they can follow you and not bother me. If you live, tell the boss I say to fuck off.'

The two of us stared each other down, neither wanting to blink first. It was like some kind of silent tug-o-war, both of us holding on to some silent rope of power, neither giving an inch, digging in our heels in our stares.

We heard the doors to the building opening up far beneath us. Considering the distance I don't know how, but I think he must have rigged up some sensors and speakers in case the police came calling. We couldn't hear the trample of feet yet but I could sense them getting ever closer. We would have to move in seconds. Seconds that were ticking away from us ever more rapidly, falling from the top of the hourglass into the crashing pile in the bottom glass.

And then I saw in his eyes the reason for his unwillingness to help. I saw it flickering away at the back, a hologram spark in the dim light. It was related to Dirty Work, but not directly. It was a cousin to the club's most potent emotion, and deadliest sin.

I leaned in close to him, close enough to whisper in his ear, 'If you ever loved her, get us out of here.'

I heard his breath catch in his throat, and knew I had struck home. I pulled back, walking into the living room without looking at him. I took Siala's shoulder. 'Let's run.'

As we went for the door, time seemed to slow. I counted the milliseconds, hoping with the passing of each one, each grain of sand falling to the glass below, that he would answer. I waited on each one, as my fingers slowly moved out before me to grasp the door-handle, the other moving up to unchain the door. I felt Siala slowly dig into my coat and retrieve the 58, new canister already fitted. The liquid sloshed inside, ready to bolt from the muzzle upon command. I saw Rena tuck herself inside Siala's jacket, the feathers of her wings black in the dim light.

As my fingers touched the handle, he called out.

'End of the hallway to the right. Follow me.'