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think you weren’t coming.’
    Monkey stepped back and looked her up and down, approvingly. Although The Assembly had never outlawed trousers for nurturers and pre-nurturers, wearing them was generally frowned upon. Except for the female security officers, of course. Nurturers were not allowed in the security forces; only those females who had either chosen not to breed, or had been unable to. Trousers were deemed to be the garb of providers: harsh, straight and to the point - not at all feminine. Monkey grinned. Seeing Angel standing there in batties and trainers rather than the normal skirts and court shoes of pre-nurturers looked weird. But, to an outsider or, more importantly, to the security cameras, she looked every inch one of the pre-breeders of the brotherhood.
    â€˜You look kinda fridge in that.’
    â€˜My brother will kill me if he finds out I’ve borrowed his stuff,’ she said.
    â€˜Where is he?’
    â€˜At home. Sally wanted him to stay in tonight.’ Angel’s brother, Alex, was three years younger than her and a fledgling Mooner but, at twelve, he was still under the influence of his nurturer.
    â€˜What about you? What did you tell her?’ Monkey asked.
    â€˜That I’d got extra gym club tonight.’ They both knew that such a clandestine meeting between a pre-breeder and a pre-nurturer would guarantee them both a spell of re-education; Monkey on The Farm and Angel in The Sanctuary.
    â€˜What about curfew? How d’ya get round that?’
    â€˜Told her I’ll be going round to Shanay’s afterwards. It’s only two doors along, so I’d easily get back without being seen.’
    â€˜Any chance she’ll check up?’
    Angel shook her head. ‘She’s not that friendly with Shanay’s nurturer. But why would she, anyway?’ She cocked her head on one side, coquettishly. ‘I’m a good girl - remember?’
    Monkey felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his abdomen and looked away. ‘Come on, then. We’d better make sure your rep stays intact.’ He indicated for her to cover her face again. ‘Now, if anyone speaks to us, you keep quiet and let me do the talking - OK?’ Angel nodded. ‘Keep your hood as low as possible and your hands in your pockets.’ He pulled at the hips of her loose trousers. ‘These need to be lower.’
    â€˜Hey!’ Angel reprimanded him as the top of her lacy knickers was revealed.
    Monkey blushed and swallowed hard. ‘Next time, borrow your brother’s boxers too, all right? Those are a bit of a giveaway,’ he blustered.
    â€˜Next time?’ she queried, hitching up her brother’s trousers. ‘I thought this was a one-off to go and see Tragic.’
    â€˜Yeah, yeah - course!’ Monkey said quickly and began strutting up and down under the loco bridge. ‘You’ll have to walk differently too if you want to get away with this. So, cop the bowl.’
    With each step, he pushed his opposite shoulder forward, giving a rolling motion to his gait that was designed to instil intimidation into anyone in his path. Angel tried to imitate him, bouncing along the footpath with more of a skip than a swagger.
    â€˜That’ll do,’ Monkey said unconvincingly. ‘Let’s go.’
    It was already past curfew when they arrived at Tragic’s house and it was just the same as when Monkey had been there earlier in the day, not a sign of life anywhere. Monkey led Angel round to the sustenance patch at the back.
    â€˜I thought you said we were coming to see Tragic?’ Angel queried. ‘What’s going on?’
    â€˜That’s what I want to know,’ he said, studying the rear of the lodge for a possible means of entry. ‘OK.’ He pointed to where the shutters were damaged on the window of Tragic’s bedroom. It was just above the lean-to bike house and several of the metal slats were jutting outwards