If you meet me, have some sympathy 2

On previous visits I used to miss my anonymity, but this time was different. My arrival (with the inevitable ripple in reality) had stirred up the enemy like kicking an anthill – I could sense their anxiety, their restlessness, their searching gaze. But I found myself relishing rather than resenting it. I suppose it was just good to be back in the field. It was what I was made for, after all.

But there was still the target to be found. Leaving the river, I plunged into the maze of narrow streets at the heart of the city. The pavements were no longer deserted but I remembered a time when the river basin was a forest of tall masts, when the shipyards and docks never slept, and when it was easier to disappear into darkness and fog.

There were two of them on lookout duty, but they weren’t experienced operatives. When I made eye contact and greeted them, I don’t think they knew what to make of it. They were clearly so wrapped up in their celestial radiance that they expected their quarry to cower before it and I passed without difficulty. I hadn’t been trained for nothing.

Radiance my arse.