Judy didn’t know if it was she or Maurice who had called the words. She didn’t know why she had set her suit open, but the touch of his flesh was comforting for the moment.
“I think it’s slowing down now.”
A slow rhythm had set up in the continually churning movement, and Maurice and Judy were able to disengage themselves. Just before they did, Maurice felt Judy’s active suit shut him out again. He rubbed the tips of his fingers together, remembering the soft feel of her flesh. A descending scale of brittle cracking and chiming sounded, ringing through the cold air. Pale winter sunlight ran fingers across their faces, and the metallic waves that had surrounded them gradually subsided.
The square had gone. The white sea of cobbles had drained away completely and something grey had emerged from the depths. A low building of glass and metal had surfaced from the past, yellow waves of sunlight spilling across its windows, a light mist of evaporating ice hanging over the metal sills and frames that decorated its facades.
The DIANA building.
Judy was trying not to cry. Maurice didn’t know what to do.
“No,” she said, flinching from the arm that he hesitantly offered. “Don’t touch me.” She sniffed and took a deep breath. “Where are Saskia and Edward? Where is Constantine?”
“I don’t know,” Maurice replied. “Look, Judy, you don’t have to go in there.”
“I do. That’s why I’ve been brought here. Hah! I even made a deal with Chris. I’m doing his bidding after all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, I have to go in. I can’t not do that now.”
Maurice took a deep breath. “Then I’m coming in with you.”
They followed a neat yellow path that wound its way through empty garden beds towards the main entrance of the building. The soil in the beds was newly turned but empty of seeds or life. Back in the heyday of DIANA, they would have sprouted dwarf poplars and box; now they looked bleak and depressing under the winter sky.
“Constantine!” exclaimed Judy. “He’s up on the roof. What’s he doing up there?”
“What roof?”
“He looks like he’s climbing in that way. Why not use the door, like us?”
They came to the main entrance.
Judy took a breath. “Shall we go in?”
“I don’t think I can,” Maurice said. “I couldn’t actually see the roof. I can’t really see the building. I can’t make out where I am properly.”
“What are you talking about?”
Maurice rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. “Stealth technology, I think. The building doesn’t want me in there. It’s hiding itself away from me.”
“It’s right here in front of you.”
“It should be. I know it should be. But I can’t get the idea in my head. Judy, I think that you’re on your own, now.”
Judy took hold of his hand. “I guessed as much,” she said. She squeezed Maurice’s hand, then shook it firmly. “I want to thank you for bringing me this far.”
“I can’t accept your thanks,” Maurice said, eyes downcast. “It wasn’t my choice. I don’t deserve gratitude.”
“It wasn’t your choice at first,” Judy said. “But you’re here now, right at the end. Thank you, Maurice.”
Maurice hugged her, squeezed her tight, and then let her go.
“I’ll go and find the others,” he said. “We’ll wait for you.”
