Christmas dropped Laura off a block from the campus. The roads were quieter as she walked back towards the retreat. Some office lights were still on; the sun never set on the Guild. A global organisation worth more than the GDP of many countries. Would they really hide the sort of secret Christmas accused them of, just to preserve their profit margin? Well, of course they would. Which corporation wouldn't? But to murder? To flout the Listening ethics so casually?

Well, they'd know soon enough. A couple of hours more and it would all be over, bar the shouting. Once Christmas had his evidence, she could lie low somewhere until he had given his evidence to the Nielson committee. Then, according to him, any motive for silencing her would disappear.

Except for revenge, maybe.

Laura quickened her pace, striding out forcefully. No, she had to know. Now that Christmas had introduced doubt. Now the Guild had, come to that. One way or another, she'd find out.

One way or another.

What if it turned out Christmas was all the Guild said he was? He was right about one thing; she couldn't rely on her talent. She had no way of knowing if he was just very good at lying, or was totally honest with her. How did the world cope, before Listeners? How could one business trust another? How could one person trust another?

They just did. The firmness of a handshake, the set of the eyes. Body signals too subtle to consciously read, but a language people were innately born with. And which, if you were a Listener, atrophied. All the people she'd met were either Listeners, and bodily language was irrelevant, or Normals, and they were only ever suspicious of her.

Except Christmas, but then he had nothing to fear from her.

The gate to the retreat loomed. She waved the pass and nodded to the guard. The shift had changed. This one was older, maybe a retired cop coasting towards retirement.

"Excuse me," she said. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Is this the only entrance? To the retreat, I mean."

"No. You got a map on you?"

"Oh, no, sorry. It's in my room."

"No problem."

He tapped his fingers methodically over the keys, squinting regularly at the screen to check his typing. Then he swivelled his screen round so she could see.

"Okay-dokey. This here line is the retreat perimeter, check? Now we're at the south gate, just hereabouts. There's a gate here, on the east, and one here, to the north. This one here's to the school, but of course you can't get to it lessen you go though the school first. But I expect you had enough of that place."

"What about that one? There to the bottom right?"

"Oh, you don't want that one. It don't lead anywhere into the retreat, just some buildings fenced off from here. No, these three, them's the ones you want. Specially the north gate, if you're looking for a party."

"Excuse me?"

"Old Bill's, towards the lake." He winked. "No bar in here, see?"

"Thank you." She flashed a smile and walked on.

Her room was as she had left it. The obnoxious Allen hadn't stood a chance, even if it had been a genuine date, but something had prompted her to ensure her room was immaculate before she'd left. Not that she'd stood a chance with him either, once he found out she was a Listener. Besides, he wouldn't have been able to get inside the perimeter. She smiled at herself. Were all women as neurotic on a blind date? She perched on the edge of her bed and tapped her knees absently. She had a couple of hours yet before Andrew's plan swung into effect.

She stood and walked towards the bathroom. Her encounter with Allen had left her feeling grimy. As she passed the dresser she scooped up her phone, just in case.

It was half past ten when her phone rang. It startled her, despite having been the focus of her attention for the previous fifteen minutes. She answered it.

"Is that you, Mum?"

"No, it's not. Is Shirley there?"

"No, she's at the cinema."

"Go." The line went dead. No 'Everything will be all right'. No 'Good Luck'. Laura squared her shoulders. Well, that obviously meant he had every confidence in her. She was now a peer.

Sure.

That's what that meant.

She felt the reassuring outline of the tiny cylinder in her pocket. The end was minutes away. Minutes, and the nightmare would be over. She stepped out into the night.

She walked through the deserted grounds towards the east gate. She didn't want to arouse the suspicions of the guard who had let her in. The night was mild, and the carefully tended flower beds gave the air a freshness. She was a city girl, but on evenings like this she could appreciate the attraction of the countryside. She passed only one other figure, a Listener outside her rooms practicing yoga. They smiled a greeting at each other, but Laura hurried on.

The guard ignored her as she passed through the gate. She turned right and made her way towards the corner. Ahead, inside the fence, loomed a building. Unlike the surrounding ones, this was - she counted the windows - eight storeys tall. Where would they put the servers? In the basement, out of sight? On the top floor, so the air-con units could vent easily? In the films the heroes would have found a floor plan on the Net, but this was real life.

She rounded the corner. Some one hundred metres ahead stood the gate. It too was manned. Confidence, that's what Christmas had told her. It's amazing what you can get away with if you just had the confidence. She set her shoulders and strode forward purposefully.

She held both ID cards in her hand, hers and Allen's. She approached the gate and swiped his card, trying to make it look natural as she palmed her own. The gate opened without the flashing lights and sirens she half-expected.

"Excuse me," called the security guard as she walked through. Laura turned. The guard rose to his feet and leant on the windowsill. "You're new. Not seen you before."

"What?" He wasn't meant to stop her. He wasn't even meant to look at her. What if he looked up the ID she'd just swiped to enter. Did she really look like an Allen?

"I've not seen you before. First shift?"

What had Allen said about Listeners? Arrogant? Was his view commonplace amongst Guild employees? Was in commonplace everywhere? Laura held up her card, her real one.

"I'm Listener Robinson. Is there a problem," - She made a show of looking at his badge - "Mendez?"

"No. I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were a Listener. We don't get many here. Is there a problem?"

"Do you want there to be? Do you want me to be able to do my job, or would you rather we chat? What's on your mind?"

"Nothing," he stuttered. "Sorry, I was just, you know, passing the time of day."

Laura looked at his badge again, nodded, then spun on her heel. Oh, that was cruel. She'd long ago learnt to avoid innocent phrases that reminded people unconsciously of her talent. What are your thoughts on this? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? What's on your mind? Laura almost felt a guilty joy. It felt like swearing in church.

The door into the building also had a lock, but no guard. Laura swiped Allen's card and entered into the lobby. There were no signs. It would have been nice to have a board stating Super Secret Servers - 3rd Floor. She couldn't stand here, just gawping, wondering what to do. Her back itched. What if the guard was watching?

She hit the elevator button, just for something to do. The doors immediately slid open. Laura was a little disappointed. Waiting for the elevator would have given her an excuse to think about her next action.

She stepped into the cabin. The floor buttons gave no clue; they just told her the floor numbers. If she were a computer, where would she like to live? Not on the ground floor. Too vulnerable, to easy for a break-in. The top floor, out of the way? Or would that be reserved for management who enjoyed a panoramic view? The basement? After all, what did servers need windows for anyway?

She'd start in the basement and work her way upwards. It seemed a lot easier when Christmas explained it in the cafe. She hit the basement button. It beeped at her but the cab remained unmoved. Next to the bank of buttons a card reader and black plastic facia flashed. She took out Allen's pass and held it to the reader. The facia flashed. She held the strip Christmas had imprinted with Allen's finger against it. She suddenly felt vulnerable. If this didn't work, all they had to do was lock the elevator down and collect her at their leisure. For the first time in her life she experienced a wave of claustrophobia.

The basement button illuminated. With a wave of relief that felt close to nausea she hit the button. The elevator jerked into life and the sinking feeling in her stomach finally had an excuse.