t wasn't that there was nothing to say; more that there was too much, and neither knew where to start. Or even whether starting at all was a good idea.

The ground they finally met on was as neutral as it could get. They sat opposite each other in a cafe* hi the international departures lounge of Schipol Airport. Not only was this a physical no-man's-land, it was also a meeting that had finite limits, since both had planes to catch.

For a while, they sat in a silence that felt easier than speech. Carol's nose would never be quite the same, but the Berlin hospital had done a good job of resetting it. The bruising had mostly subsided, though her eyes still looked puffy, as if she'd cried herself to sleep. Tony's injuries would take longer to heal. His broken fingers were still troublesome and his ribs a perpetual torment. But that would pass.

Both had done everything in their power to start mending themselves. But each feared that what had been broken inside the other might never be fixed.

It was Carol who eventually broke the silence. 'You remember what Radecki said at the end?'

Tony nodded. 'That he'd won because you'd never be free of him?'

'Yes.' She stirred her coffee. 'He was wrong, you know. You see, he never got inside me. Only my body. And that doesn't count. Not really. He's the one who's never going to be free. Because I did get inside him. So he didn't win, Tony.'

Tony's smile was barely perceptible, but it reached his eyes. 'I'm glad. You're going to stay in the police?'

'It's the only thing I'm good at. I won't work with Morgan and his people, though. I don't care what he thinks. I'm not like him and I won't let him convince me otherwise. They're giving me some time to decide where I want to go, what I want to do. What about you? Are you going to keep hiding?'

'No. I can't. If the last few weeks have proved anything, it's that profiling is what I do best. I'm going to put out some feelers when I get back, maybe see if there's something for me with Europol. I can do good work alongside cops like Marijke and Petra.'

'That's a relief. I was scared you'd been put off again.'

Again, they grew quiet. This time, it was Tony who spoke first. 'So, where do we go from here?'

Carol shrugged. 'I have no idea. Onwards and upwards somehow.'

'I'd like to be there for that,' he said.

She smiled. 'I don't think you've got any choice.'