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Waldstein’s mission. Maybe we now have to work against him. I think we need to know that. And I think that giant tachyon transmitter is the bigger question, to be sure. Not the old man.’ He puffed air and shook his head incredulously. ‘I can’t believe that you’re not as curious about them as I am.’
    ‘Oh, I am … but …’ What she didn’t want to admit to himwas that that giant transmitter in the jungle terrified her. It radiated more than energy. It radiated menace. ‘Waldstein’s the one person we know who’s going to have answers, Liam. You want my opinion?’
    ‘You’re going to give it to me anyway.’
    ‘You’re going on a wild-goose chase.’
    ‘Aye, well … we’ll see.’
    They stared at each other, sharing an awkward silence. Maddy cracked first. ‘So, have you decided your call-back window?’
    ‘Aye. I’ll give me and Bob a week back in Jerusalem to see what’s what.’
    ‘A week?’
    ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing what it’s like in Bible times. Anyway … we’ll be back here long before you, I’m sure.’
    Liam was probably right. They were going to have to find out where the reclusive billionaire, Waldstein, was hiding away. The only return window she’d scheduled was an hour after the outward one. In the same spot. Just in case they needed to beat a hasty retreat. But, in truth, she had no idea how long or difficult or dangerous their jaunt into the future was going to be. Maybe
her
mission was going to be the wild-goose chase.
    They were probably pushing their luck. Two missions at the same time? No one back in the dungeon keeping an eye on things, waiting for a sign, a time wave, on the lookout for a
get-me-back-home-now
message?
    She glanced at the monitors on the computer bench. A row of twelve quietly humming personal computers wired together, working in parallel to host an artificial intelligence that she’d come to view as a trustworthy colleague, if not a friend.
    Computer-Bob. If Liam ran into trouble, there might be some way he could leave a message through time for the AI to pick up. Maddy on the other hand … she was relying on findingWaldstein, who obviously had a displacement machine of his own. There was, however, the distinct possibility that both teams could end up being marooned. Which was why she’d given computer-Bob some instructions to carry out in the event that he found himself all alone here in London.
    One of the screens displayed a dialogue box with text written in a font large enough so that she could see it from the square plinth of sawdust she was standing beside.
    > Charge complete. Are you ready to go, Maddy?
    She stepped up on to the plinth. ‘And don’t forget – if you do bump into
you-know-who
, get him to say something really useful.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘Like … 
Blessed are women, for they make far smarter decisions than dudes
.’
    He laughed. ‘Right.’
    ‘And it’s totally OK to be gay, straight, black, brown … and listen to banjo music.’
    ‘I’ll try to remember.’
    ‘And … I want an autograph.’ She grinned. ‘Can you imagine what I’d get for that on Craigslist?’
    ‘I’ll do my best, Mads.’ He reached out and grabbed her arm. ‘Stay safe … and come home, all right?’
    She nodded. ‘I better go … Rashim will be wondering what’s happened to me.’ She nodded towards the webcam on the bench. The nearest equivalent to direct eye contact. ‘Computer-Bob?’
    > Yes, Maddy?
    ‘In the event of … of the worst-case scenario – the one we talked about earlier – you know what you have to do?’ That was something she’d discussed with Liam and Rashim – the possibility that some self-destruct process needed to be agreed. If they all went missing, this place couldn’t be left intact.
    > Yes, Maddy. I will ensure the displacement machine is rendered inoperable, then complete a hard-drive wipe across the computer network.
    They’d agreed that if Liam’s return window didn’t