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‘That seems extreme,’ Draper said. ‘The kind of staggering overreaction I’d expect from Koenig, rather than a presumably level-headed naval intelligence officer. If you were the only person who knew what was inside Pandora’s box, why not keep it to yourself? Lodge a nil report that year?’

‘The Future Threat think tanks were routine,’ Carlyle said. ‘And because everyone knew about them, lodging a nil report would have raised eyebrows. People would have wondered what we’d really uncovered. I might have ended up in a shipping container with electrodes attached to my nipples.’

‘A false report then? Rustle up some bullshit about next-generation killer robots.’

‘I didn’t submit a false report. A false report would have shone a bigger spotlight than a nil report. The report has a wide circulation list. Eventually it would have been read by people who had attended the think tank. They’d have known the report was bogus and they’d have asked why. Not out of malice, just a natural curiosity. They would have asked questions, and those questions could have found unfriendly ears. And we’re back to the nipple electrodes again.’

‘OK,’ Koenig said. ‘We aren’t here to second-guess a decision made almost a decade ago. It was done. Your death was faked. Pandora’s box was protected. Yet a few days ago you very publicly murdered two men. I may not be the tactician you are, but for someone who has to stay hidden, you’re going about it all wrong. If you’re the only person who knows what this future threat is, why not live out your life in peace?’

‘That’s just the point,’ Carlyle said. ‘I’m not the only person who knows. Not any more. As impossible as it sounds, there’s someone out there who knows what I know. They know about the Acacia Avenue Protocol.’

‘Ah,’ Koenig said. ‘That’s bad.’

‘It’s worse than bad, Mr Koenig,’ she said. ‘They’ve initiated it.’