The rat was dead, and it had been for some time, judging by the smell. Sam hesitated, but then carried on. Her personal discomfort didn’t mean much here and now. She had to get a blood sample of the dead animal. One of millions who were lying dead in the streets and sewers of New Cartagena. What had killed them? There were people who didn’t quite share the governments idea of the reasons.

Sam managed to extract a blood sample from the animal and put it into a small glass. She also removed some hairs, then hesitated again. She probably should cut the rat open, see if it had eaten something special. She had done this before, but it had been years since university.