With a flicker and buzz of electricity, overhead lights sprung to life, rippling out from the doorway. They illuminated a large room, clad with dirty green tiles. At the back was a small flight of steps and a corridor atop them, heading off in the distance. With the gun still pressed against his back, Henry climbed the steps and walked slowly down the corridor.

“Stop here,” Gabriel said.

Henry did as he was told. He felt the gun lose contact with his back as Gabriel stepped to the side of him and, taking hold of Henry’s arm, rotated him ninety degrees so he was looking at the wall.

At least a wall was what Henry was expecting to see. Instead, he found a pair of double wooden doors, slightly inlayed from the wall, green paint peeling across their surface. He had somehow missed it as they had walked along the corridor, although it was a pretty obvious thing to have ignored, especially as Henry prided himself on being observant, if nothing else. Gabriel pressed a small brass button and with a click, the doors slid open to reveal a lift carriage. Pulling back the metal gates, the pair entered, Gabriel closing the doors and the gate behind them, which locked with a deep clunk. As soon as he finished, Gabriel spun around and took two steps towards Henry, leaning slowly forward until their noses almost touched. Gabriel’s face was expressionless, apparently free from any need to blink, and close enough that Henry could feel his breath on his face.

“Who are you supposedly keeping me safe from?” Henry said, as much as to break the tension as for anything.

Gabriel smiled and leant back, standing upright, the small flecks of green in his eyes flickering in the harsh light of the exposed bulb above their heads. The elevator sprung into life, moving with unsuspected speed that made Henry reach for the wall to steady himself.

“I'm only guessing, but you saw something tonight you can't explain. Am I right? Something that made you think you are going mad,” Gabriel said.

How much did this guy know? Could he explain what happened? No, what had happened before was impossible and the nature of impossible things is they can't be explained. This guy was trying to get something from him and Henry’s job right now was to work out what that was. Information was valuable and in situations like a kidnap, he imagined, potentially life saving.

“Go on,” Henry said.

“You saw something that didn't look right. Caught it in the reflection of a window, or a mirror or something.”

“How could you know that? Have you been watching me?”

“Watching you? No, I haven't been watching you, who the hell do you think you are?”

“Obviously important enough for you to drug up and kidnap.”

Gabriel laughed, something sinister in the way he did so, no real joy in his tone.

“I thought you are supposed to be the quiet sort, that's what your file said. Maybe not a complete sociopath then, got a little backbone.” He paused. “Either I got you out of there, or the other guys would get you.”

“Get me? Why would anyone want to get me? What did I see in the mirror?”

The image of the creature reflected in the bathroom mirror flooded back to Henry, a monster from Doctor Who who had decided to pay him an unexpected visit.

“Now isn't the time to explain it all properly, is it? Needless to say, the world is a little more complicated than you think. You're not going mad, what happened tonight is all real. As I said, it’s complicated.”

“Complicated? Fantastic explanation Gabriel. How can it all be real? I saw something from Lord of the Rings enter the bathroom and pretend to be someone I've worked with for the past 3 years. Then, I'm chased out by deranged madmen with glowing red eyes who scare the hell out of me, and then I end up getting drugged and thrown in the back of your car. Now, you point a gun at me, lead me into this elevator which leads to God knows where and the best explanation you can give me is ‘it’s complicated?’”

Gabriel laughed hard, this time with genuine emotion, but Henry wasn't laughing.