Jayce's chair crashed back on to four legs. 'What? Blake! What are you doing here? You're weren't invited.'

'So? You know the rules, Jason.'

Ellie tugged on Jayce's sleeve. 'What's he talking about?'

'Come on, you know this is private. You're not going to have any fun here.'

'Neither are you, Jason. But you don't need to worry about it. I'm doing you a favour. We both know that you don't have enough friends for a party. I can see you had to make up the numbers by shipping in ringers from off-world. Anyway, I invited some of my own friends so we can make this more interesting.'

Christine and Mehmet glared at Blake, looking furious. Coral shrank into her seat.

'What's interesting about that?' said Malachi.

'Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about it Chambers, I'll get to you.'

'Jayce?' Ellie begged again.

'Why don't you explain everything to the princess while we get a drink.'

'Yeah, Jayce, why don't you?' said Malachi, as Blake and his retinue began attacking the food. 'What's going on? Why is he here?'

'Trust me, I didn't invite him, but I sort of can't un-invite him, you know?'

'No, I sort of don't know.'

'It's kinda his house. Well, technically his father's company owns it.'

'You said your family business owned it.'

Jayce scratched his neck in an awkward gesture. 'They do, but Blake's family owns a stake in our business, and this house belongs to them.'

'So? You must have some rights. Kick him out.'

'It's not that simple.'

'Why not?'

Blake sauntered over carrying a tray of bread with a selection of dips. He took some bread, dipped it, tasted it, and decided he didn't like it. Instead of putting it back on the plate he balanced it on finger and thumb and flicked it into the shadows.

'Yeah, why not Jayce?' said Blake. He tried another dip.

Jayce glowered in the dark but didn't answer.

'Oh, I know why,' said Kian, and pulled a small, black and silver card from his pocket and tossed it onto the table, where it landed in the oily stain next to Malachi's glass. 'Because since I got an internship with Conway, Jayce's family has to stay on Blake's good side. And if Blake goes home with some bad news, Conway might start pulling out of some deals.'

Malachi scraped his chair back and stood up. 'You mean he runs home to his daddy if his feelings get hurt?'

Blake grinned evilly, and this time flicked a piece of bread at Malachi where it hit him square in the chest.

'That's right, Chambers. And you don't want anyone to get hurt, believe me. He flicked more bread at Jayce's head. 'I love big business,' he said to Kian.

'You can't throw him out?' Ellie asked Jayce.

'I wish I could,' said Jayce.

One of Blake's gang opened the door in the garden wall and looked toward the main driveway. He hollered back, 'They're here!'

'Who's here?' said Malachi.

'Everyone else I invited to enjoy this lovely evening at my house,' said Blake. 'If you don't want them to stay you can try to throw them out.'

As Blake finished speaking they saw the first uninvited cruiser pass by the archway, then a second, then a third. After that it was too many to count, but Malachi guessed at least a dozen more had arrived.

Some of the cruisers peeled off from the main driveway to the guest garage in the grounds, others just stopped where they felt like stopping, and soon cruisers were everywhere on and around the driveway and on the lawn in front of the house. The evening suddenly became far less peaceful as the sound of engines, music and laughter filled the night air.

'But you can't throw them out,' Blake continued. 'Only I can do that because that's just how things work around here. That's how the game is played.'

'This is just a game to you?' said Malachi, squaring off.

'You keep your cheating mouth shut, Chambers. You need to learn how to follow the rules too.'

'Cheating? You tried to run Ellie out of the race. She didn't cheat. You could have killed her.'

'Mal sit down, please,' pleaded Ellie.

'Those were fair tactics. I don't see anyone else complaining about them.' His companions jeered their support.

'Yeah, I'm sure you don't. Tell me how exactly did Ellie cheat?'

'Maybe you're right, Chambers. She doesn't have the brains which means you must have done something to that skimmer.'

'I tuned it, the same as everyone else. Same as you.'

'Not the same as me, Chambers. It beat me.'

'Ellie beat you, but you'll get over it. Everyone else does.'

'No one beats me. You cheated.'

Malachi felt the hot fury of injustice building inside him. Other people cheated. He followed the rules. He spoke slowly and carefully. 'Listen to me, we didn't cheat. Now back off! I'm done with this.' He turned his back on Blake and started back to his seat.

'Aww, I think we're upsetting him!' someone said, to the laughter of everyone.

'Don't walk away from me, Chambers.'

Malachi stopped when he heard the bread platter crash to the floor.

'Why, are you afraid you won't be able to keep up?' Malachi said over his shoulder.

'You think you're better than me, Chambers?' Blake spat, and he charged.

Malachi saw the movement on the edge of his vision, heard the quickening footsteps behind him and he decided that he had had enough taunting, and had done enough walking away. He spun round, ready to meet his accuser head on. He braced himself, readied a fist, and then Tila appeared in front of him. She stepped into the charge, shoulder low, twisted at the point of impact and Blake was sprawled face down on the floor.

He leapt to his feet, spitting gravel. Kian moved forward to help but Tila stared him down, fists clenched.

Blake glared at her, spat one more time, and retreated.

'I'll see you soon, Chambers. You, your princess and your white knight. This isn't over.'

He melted into the shadows with his friends, and split the night with a last, boisterous cackle.

'Are you okay?' Tila asked Malachi when they had gone. She saw how angrily he had looked at Blake before she saved him and was shocked to see he was now looking at her with even more anger.

'No Tila, I'm not okay!'

'Did they hurt you?'

'They never touched me.'

'So what's your problem?'

'The problem is you! Always trying to be the hero! I didn't need your help.'

'Mal, there were four of them.'

'And? Big deal! There could have been ten of them. It doesn't mean I need you saving me all the time.'

'I'm just trying to help, Mal!'

'Well next time don't bother, okay? I can handle things my own way.'

'Excuse me, Mal, I didn't realise you had everything under control!'

'It would be nice to find out for once, without you butting in.'

'Am I supposed to stand by and watch?'

'Actually yeah, sometimes.'

'Hey, Malachi, I get that you might not want it, but you know what? If I think you need my help you're going to get my help. I thought that's what friends were for.'

'Ellie thought the same thing.'

'Don't— That's different.'

'What's different?' said Ellie.

Tila shook her head at Malachi. 'Not now.' For a split second, she thought he was going to relent, and then the words tumbled out of him, hot and angry.

'Tila expected to spend this trip babysitting you. Now she wants to look after me too.'

'Mal, what's got into you?' said Tila.

Ellie stood up quickly, flustered and defensive. 'I don't need looking after,' she said. 'I won the race for you, remember. Without me you wouldn't have met Conway and you wouldn't be here now.'

'Yeah, we wouldn't be surrounded by liars and cheats and a hundred people I don't trust,' Tila snapped back.

'So what's new? You don't trust anyone,' said Malachi.

'I trust you,' said Tila. 'I've always trusted you, Mal.'

'You didn't trust me against Blake just now.'

'I was trying to help!'

'And so was I!' yelled Ellie. 'That's why I came.'

'I don't need your help, not with people like him,' said Malachi, pointing into the darkness.

'Yes, you do, Mal! And Ellie? You came because I let you,' said Tila. 'You shouldn't be here, and you shouldn't be sitting so close to him.' She stabbed an accusing finger at Jayce, who, along with his friends, had been turning his head back and forth trying to keep up and understand the drama playing out before them.

'Hey, what did I do?' said Jayce.

'Nothing,' said Ellie.

'Keep doing nothing,' warned Tila.

'If you think I shouldn't be here you can do this without me, so go ahead.' said Malachi. With that he snatched something off the table and vanished into the gardens.

'Mal? Mal!' Tila shouted into the darkness, but no answer came. She sank into his seat and shot another look at Jayce. 'This is your fault.'

'Me?! How is this my fault. Because I don't have your winning personality.'

'Because you're friends with people like Blake,' she hissed.

'He's no friend of mine, trust me.'

'That's the point Jayce, I don't trust you. I heard what Blake said about Conway. Am I supposed to believe it's just a coincidence that Kian works for him? That it's a coincidence he and Blake showed up here?'

'Yes, Tila. Some things just happen.'

'And what about Conway? He stole our data.'

'I know—' Jayce began.

'No Jayce, you don't know. I don't like any of this. We've been fighting obstacles all day and now Blake shows up and happens to own the very place you invited us to stay. Does that seem like a coincidence to you? Do you think I'm the idiot?'

'Tila, there's no conspiracy here. Kian's just an asshole who works for Conway.'

'Is he the only one? Don't answer that. I won't believe you anyway. Come on, Ellie.'

'What? Why? Where?' said Ellie.

'Somewhere else. We're leaving.'

Ellie set her face and folded her arms and didn't move.

'I said now, Ellie.'

Ellie shook her head. 'I'm not going. You can go and find Malachi if you want to, but I'm staying here.'

'Ellie—'

'You don't need my help, remember?'

Tila stood up and kicked away her chair and pointed at Jayce. 'This is your fault,' she said, and walked into the night.

Coral, Christine and Mehmet stared open-mouthed at Tila's back. Ellie didn't look up.

'Tell me again why you're friends,' Jayce asked her.

'I don't remember,' she replied, quietly.