“My mission, which I chose to accept, is to infiltrate the enemy. Jack andAlex are the enemy. I pause, wondering how Demos defines infiltration.'Not that way', Alicia answers.”

“Something’s up,’ I say, handing the phone back.‘Not necessarily,’ Jack says. ‘You think this is the first time Lila’s been hot-headed? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister, right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule who won’t take no for an answer?’Does Jack ever listen to himself?Does he appreciate the irony of this statement? I shake my head at him in wonder.‘Hey, I’m not short or blond,’ Jack protests as he catches the look on my face.”

“There they are. Lieutenant Jack Loveday and Lieutenant Alex Wakeman. I’ve only seen their photos so far and the pictures that are in Demos’s head, but the truth is Demos did not do them justice. In fact, Demos’s head needs a tune up or a reboot or an entirely new operating system altogether.”

“I wandered over to the motorbike and read the work Triumph on the side. 'How long has he had it?' I asked Jack. 'No. Over my dead body.' Jack's expression was hard. […] '[…] I told Dad I'd keep you safe and the Alex you know is not the Alex who drives that bike. He's not known to respect the speed limit.' Now I definitely wanted to go on it.”

“It's Lila--come on, Jack. She might be a little impulsive but that doesn't make her a sociopath.'I swivelled my gaze to Jack, trying my best not to look like a sociopath.”

“Jack stares at me blankly. ‘A what?’ he asks. I choke back the laugh. ‘A boy. You know? A Y-chromosome holder? You don’t seem to notice them as much as you do the X-carriers.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ Jack asks, ‘A boy? She’s just a kid.’ I hesitate, wondering how Jack is only just doing the maths on this one now. ‘She’s seventeen. She’s not a kid anymore.’ Jack looks like he’s about to go all Incredible Hulk and burst out of his clothes before rampaging through the bar. He jumps off the stool. ‘If any boy ever lays a finger on my sister, I’m going to kill him,’ he says. Again I stare at him in silence, thinking of all the girls Jack has laid fingers and much more of his anatomy on besides. Poor Lila. If she ever wants to have a shot at a normal life, as in one that doesn’t require a vow of celibacy, she needs to stay in London.”

“I tried to make my mind go blank. La la la la la la la la. 'You can't keep that up forever,' Suki said, with a touch of menace.La la la la la la la. 'Oh, Demos, make her stop.”