King Rat slowed down, his frantic flailings subsided. He backedaway from Saul, his shoulders slumped, broken.

‘See? He can’t touch me…’ Saul hissed. He jabbed a finger atKing Rat’s chest. ‘You dragged me into this world, murderer, rapist,Dad, you killed my father, unleashed the Piper on me… I can’t killyou, but you can sing for your fucking Kingdom. It’s mine, and youneed me in case he ever comes back. You can’t kill me, just in case.’Saul laughed unpleasantly. ‘I know how you work, you fucking animal.Self fiber alles. Kill me and you might be killing yourself. So whatdo you want to do? Eh?’

Saul stepped back and spread his arms wide. He closed hiseyes.

‘Kill me. Take your best shot.’

He waited, listening to King Rat breathe.

Eventually he opened his eyes and saw King Rat skulking, movingback and forth, towards him and away again, clenching and unclenchinghis fists.

‘You little bastard,’ he hissed despairingly.

Saul laughed again, bitter and tired. He turned his back on KingRat and walked to the edge of the roof. As he began his descent, KingRat whispered to him again.

‘Watch your back, you shit,’ he hissed. ‘Watch your back.’

Saul climbed down a curving line of old bricks and disappearedinto the labyrinth behind a skip, wound his way along a tiny alleyand emerged into South London.

He scoured the streets until he found a darkened arcade of kebabvendors and newsagents and shoe shops, and there at the end amercifully unvandalized phone box. He dialled 999 and sent the policeand ambulances to the warehouse. God knew, he thought, what theywould make of the scene awaiting them.

When he had made that call, Saul held the receiver to his chin fora long time, trying to decide whether to act on his instinct. Hewanted to make one more call.

He called directory enquiries and got the number for the Willesdenpolice station. He called the operator and told her that his poundcoin had stuck in the phone box and he had to make an urgent call.The operator acquiesced with a bored voice designed to let Saul knowthat she knew he was lying.

The phone was answered by a crotchety sergeant on the graveyardshift.

Saul didn’t suppose that DI Crowley was available. At this time?Was Saul mad? Anything urgent the sergeant could help with?

Saul asked to be put through to Crowley’s answering machine. Hestiffened with déjà vu at the sound of Crowley’s measured tones. Hehad not heard them since his rebirth, the night after his father’smurder.

He cleared his throat.

‘Crowley, this is Saul Garamond. By now you’ll know about thefucking carnage in the Elephant and Castle. This is just to let youknow that I was there, and to tell you not to bother asking anyonethere what happened, because none of them know. I don’t know howyou’ll end up writing it up… Fuck it, say it was a performance artpiece that went horribly wrong. I don’t know. Anyway, I was callingto tell you that I did not kill my father. I didn’t kill yourpolicemen. I didn’t kill the bus guard, I didn’t kill Deborah, and Ididn’t kill my friend Kay.’

‘I wanted to tell you that the main culprit is gone.’

‘I don’t think we’ll see him again.’

‘There’s one more culprit for part of this, Crowley, and I can’tget rid of him, not yet. But I’ll be keeping my eye on him. I promiseyou that.’

‘I want to come back, Crowley, but I know I can’t. Leave Fabianand Natasha alone. They don’t know anything, and they haven’t seenme. I did everyone a favour tonight, Crowley. You’ll never know thehalf of it.’

‘If we’re both lucky that’s the last we’ll hear of each other.’

‘Good luck, Crowley.’

He hung up.

Tell me about your father, Crowley had suggested, all those weeksago. Ah, Crowley, thought Saul, that’s just what I can’t do.

You wouldn’t understand.

He walked into the dark streets, heading for home.

Deep under London, in a rough chamber off a tube line abandonedfor fifty years, accessible from the sewers and the pipes of ahundred buildings, Saul told the rats the story of the GreatBattle.

They were spellbound. They ringed him in concentric circles, ratsfrom all over London, here a survivor of that night, licking herscars ostentatiously, another boasting of his exploits, otherschattering in agreement. It was dry and not too cold. There werepiles of food for everyone. Saul lay in the centre and told hisstory, showing off his healing wounds.

Saul told the assembled company about King Rat’s Betrayal, when hehad abased himself in the dirt and offered the life of every rat inLondon if only the Piper would spare him. Saul told the story of howhe himself had heard the cries of the dying and had broken thePiper’s spell, shoved him into a void with his infernal pipe embeddedin him, and he told them how he had stamped on King Rat in contemptas he did so.

The rats listened and bobbed their little heads.

Saul warned the rats to be vigilant, to keep a watch for thePiper, and to avoid the lies and seductions of the Great Betrayer,King Rat.

‘He’s still in the sewers,’ warned Saul. ‘He’s on the roofs, he’sall around us, and he’ll try to win you over, he’ll tell you lies andbeg you to follow him.’

The rats listened intently. They would not fail.

When Saul had finished the story, he sat up on his haunches andlooked into the ring of faces. Row upon row of anxious eyes, gazingat him, demanding that he command them. They oppressed him.

There was so much that Saul wanted to do. He had a letter toFabian in his pocket. Fabian would be leaving hospital soon and hewould find it waiting for him, some tentative overtures, hints atexplanation g and a promise to contact him when things had calmeddown.

Saul wanted to find a permanent base. There was an empty tower inHaringey he wanted to investigate.

There was shopping that needed doing. He had his eye on a veryflash Apple Mac portable computer. Leaving the human world behindcertainly made things easier as far as money was concerned.

But he could not operate like that as long as the rats hung on hisevery word, followed him everywhere, desperate to do his bidding. Hisrevenge on King Rat had trapped him with endless ranks of adoringfollowers from whom he was eager to escape. And there was always thechance that the rats might start listening to King Rat. He was outthere, skulking, plotting, destroying. Saul had to ensure that hisrevenge would last.

He had to change the rules.

‘You should all be proud of yourselves,’ he said. ‘The nationscored a great triumph.’

The gathering basked.

‘It’s a new dawn for the rats,’ he said. ‘It’s time the ratsrealized their strength.’

Excitement swept the assembly. What announcement was this ?

‘And it’s for that reason that I abdicate.’

Panic! The rats ran from side to side, beseeched him. Lead us,they said to him with eyes and screeches and claws, take us.

‘Listen to me! Why don’t I quibble with King Rat’s right to thatname? Listen to me! I abdicate because the rats deserve better than aKing. The dogs have their Queen, the cats their King, the spiderswill throw up another sovereign, all the nations fawn before leaders,but let me tell you all… I couldn’t have defeated the Piper withoutyou. You don’t need champions. It’s time for a revolution.’

Saul thought of his father, his fervent arguments, his books, hiscommitment. This one’s for you, Dad, he thought wryly.

‘It’s time for a revolution. You were led by a monarch for years,and he brought you to disaster. Then years of anarchy, fear,searching for a new ruler, the fear isolating you all so you didn’thave faith in your nation.’ A frisson passed momentarily up and downSaul’s back. He was suddenly alarmed. Jesus, he thought, I wonderwhat I’m unleashing. But it was too late to stop and he plunged on.He felt like an agent of history.