Scant slapped his pockets. ‘Sorry, Jerry. Not on me.’

‘Don’t call me Jerry!’ howled Jerbal Argon, ripping the lid from the cleaning trolley. ‘There must be cotton buds in here somewhere,’ he said, sweat pasting thin hair across a wide gnome’s forehead. ‘It’s a janitor’s box, for heaven’s sake.’ His blunt finger scrabbled through the trolley’s contents, scraping across the false bottom.

Merv elbowed him out of the way before he could discover the secret compartment or spy screens. ‘Here we are, Doctor,’ he said, grabbing a tub of buds. ‘A month’s supply. Knock yourself out.’

Argon fumbled a single bud from the pack, discarding the rest.

‘DNA never lies,’ he muttered, punching his code into the keypad. ‘DNA never lies.’

He rushed into the room, roughly swabbing the inside of the clone’s mouth. The Brill brothers held their breath. They had expected to be out of the clinic before this happened. Argon rolled the cotton bud’s tip across the sponge pad on his clipboard. A moment later, Opal Koboi’s name flashed on to the board’s mini-plasma screen.

Argon heaved a massive sigh, resting his hands on both knees. He threw the observers a shamefaced grin. ‘Sorry. I panicked. If we lost Koboi, the clinic would never live it down. I’m just a little paranoid, I suppose. Faces can be altered, but…“

‘DNA never lies,’ said Merv and Scant simultaneously.

Grub reset his video goggles. ‘I think Doctor Argon needs a little vacation.’

‘You’re telling me,’ sniggered Merv, rolling the trolley towards the maintenance lift. ‘Anyway, we better get going, brother. We need to isolate the cause of the power failure.’

Scant followed him down the corridor. ‘Any idea where the problem could be?’

‘I have a hunch. Let’s try the parking lot, or maybe the basement.’

‘Whatever you say. After all, you are the older brother.’

‘And wiser,’ added Merv. ‘Don’t forget that.’