Evil Star (17 page)

He knew everything about him. They could have been friends throughout their entire lives. In a way, Matt reflected, they had been exactly that.

Outside, dawn was breaking, the first ribbons of pink light bleeding through the sky, signaling the start of another day.

************************************

Midnight in London.

Susan Ashwood was sitting in the spacious living room of a penthouse flat, high above Park Lane. Floor-to-ceiling windows Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star provided a panoramic view over Hyde Park, an area of dense black, with the lights of Knightsbridge twin-kling far behind. She had her back to it. Sometimes she was able to sense the appearance of a city from the way its sounds traveled, from the feel of the breeze against her face, from the smell of the night air. She knew beauty. But tonight all her attention was focused on the woman who owned the penthouse and who was sitting opposite her now.

"Thank you for seeing me," Ashwood said. "There's no need to thank me," Natalie Johnson replied.

The American woman was sitting on a sofa with her legs tucked up under her, holding a glass of white wine. Her reddish brown hair was tied back and she was wearing a simple black dress. She had been about to go to bed when the blind medium had called. This was her home when she was in London. She had a similar apartment looking out over the Hudson River in New York.

"I didn't know who else to come to."

“You don't need to worry, Susan. My door's always open to you."

Natalie Johnson had been a member of the Nexus for eleven years.

In that time, she had built up a huge business empire selling low-cost computer hardware, mainly to schools and youth clubs. The newspapers called her the female Bill Gates. She found the description sexist and irrelevant.

"Matthew Freeman is still lost," Susan Ashwood contin-ued. "But it's now been confirmed that there was a gunfight near Jorge Chavez airport. Richard Cole was kidnapped but Matt managed to get away.

As far as we know, he hasn't been seen since."

"We sent him to Peru because we wanted something to happen," the American woman said. "It seems that we got more than you Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star bargained for."

"None of us could have expected this."

"What shall we do?"

"That's one of the reasons I'm here. I was hoping you might be able to help. You have business interests in South America. . . ."

"I could talk to Diego Salamanda if you like."

“You said you'd had dealings with him."

"I've never met him but we've spoken often on the tele-phone."

Natalie Johnson paused. "I think we should be careful. Salamanda is our number-one suspect. It seems more than likely that he's the one who's trying to open the gate."

"Fabian is trying to find Matthew," Ashwood continued. "He's worried sick and blames himself for not driving per-sonally to the airport. He's already spoken to the police but he's not sure he can trust them. He's suggested an advertis-ing campaign in the national press."

'"Have you seen this boy?'" The idea seemed to amuse the American.

"Someone must know where he is. An English teenager on his own in Peru ..."

"Assuming, of course, he's still alive." Johnson put down her wineglass. "I'll pay for advertisements if that's what you want," she said. "My New York office can organize it."

"There's something else. . . ."The blind woman paused, trying to collect her thoughts. Her face was grim. "I've been thinking about what happened. First there was the business with William Morton.

We were the only ones who knew where he was going to be, and he only told us twenty-four hours before Matthew met him. But Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star someone still man-aged to follow him to St. Meredith's. They killed him and took the diary.

"And then there's Matthew and Richard Cole. They traveled to Peru under false names, but it seems that some-body knew they were coming. There was an ambush. Fabian's driver was almost killed.

Richard Cole was taken."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That our enemy knows what we're doing. Someone is telling him our every move."

Natalie Johnson stiffened. "That's ridiculous."

"I've come to you because I've known you for a long time, and my instinct tells me I can trust you. I haven't said this to anyone else.

But I think we need to be careful. If there's a traitor inside the Nexus, we could all be in danger."

"We should warn the others."

"Not yet. First of all we have to find Matthew Freeman. He's our main priority. The second gate is going to open very soon and he's the only one who can prevent it. It doesn't matter what happens to us, Natalie. If we don't find the boy, we've lost."

************************************

The bus station was like a crazy outdoor circus, a jum-ble of color and noise with people and packages everywhere, street vendors shouting, old women in shawls sitting behind little piles of papayas and plantain, children and dogs chas-ing each other around the rubble, and the ancient buses themselves. Nobody was going anywhere yet but everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Great sacks and cardboard pack-ages were being passed from hand to hand before Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star being thrown up to be tied in towering piles on the buses' roofs.

There were old tickets strewn all over the ground like con-fetti and fresh ones being sold from cubicles hardly bigger than a small closet. There was an Indian woman cooking
cau cau
— tripe and potato stew — in a large metal can at the edge of the bus yard, and some of the travelers were squatting on their haunches, eating from plastic bowls, the smell of the food fighting with the exhaust fumes.

Matt took this all in as he approached the bus station with Sebastian and Pedro. They had walked here from Poison Town, leaving just after five o'clock. Sebastian already had the tickets and had announced that he would be com-ing with them as far as lea.

Although he had been drunk when he went to bed, he seemed clearheaded enough when he woke up. In his own way, he was even cheerful.

"There is almost no chance that you will find your friend in lea," he had said. "But after you have given your compli-ments to Sehor Salamanda, you can continue down to Ayacucho. -I will be waiting for you there."

They walked past a row of shops. Looking through an open door, Matt noticed a dark-skinned boy his own age, dressed in a bright green T-shirt with jeans that stopped a few inches below his knees.

He had bare feet, black rubber sandals, and black hair cut in a straight line across his fore-head. He was completely disheveled and dirty.

Matt moved. . . and so did the boy. It was only then that Matt realized that he was actually looking at a full-length mirror. The boy was a reflection of himself.

Sebastian had seen what had happened. 'You didn't recognize yourself," he chuckled. "Let's hope you can do the same with them."

Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star He glanced in the other direction, and Matt felt his mouth go dry as two policemen appeared, both carrying semiautomatic machine guns. They could have been here for any number of reasons, but instinctively Matt knew that they were looking for him. Pedro asked something in Spanish, and Sebastian reassured him. From the moment the other boy had woken up, Matt had known that he, too, had remembered the conversation of the night before. He might not be happy to be here but he wasn't going to leave.

"Remember, keep yourself hunched," Sebastian whis-pered. “Your height will give you away. And here, take this. . . ." He had brought with him a large bundle, tied in white sacking. Matt didn't know what was inside. He wasn't even sure if it was luggage or merely a prop to make them look more like real travelers. He understood Sebastian's strategy. Matt looked like a servant, carrying the luggage for his master. He was doubled over, with the bundle bal-anced on his shoulders and the back of his neck making it impossible to see how tall he was. His face was also hidden, his eyes fixed on the floor.

They made their way forward. The policemen moved slowly through the crowd, which parted to let them pass. People were careful to avoid their eyes.

"This way," Sebastian said quietly.

He was steering Matt toward a half-filled bus. The two policemen hadn't noticed them. Matt reached the door
and his heart missed a beat. A third policeman had appeared, stepping out of the bus. Matt had almost knocked right into him. Bent underneath the bundle, he couldn't see the man's face —just his leather boots and the barrel of his gun. But then the policeman said something and with a hollow feeling in his stomach, Matt knew that he had just been asked a Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star question. He said nothing. The policeman repeated what he had just said.

And then a hand grabbed hold of the bundle and tore it off his back.

For a terrible moment, he thought it was the policeman. But it was Sebastian. He was shouting at Matt in Spanish, then slapping him hard on the side of the face. Before he could react, Sebastian hit him a second time, then threw him into the bus. Matt was sent flying onto the floor. Behind him, he heard Sebastian talking to the policeman and laughing. There were about twenty people in the bus, all staring at him. With the skin on his face burning — with pain and embarrassment — he stumbled forward and found himself a free seat.

Pedro got onto the bus and Sebastian followed. The man sat next to Matt but didn't say anything. More people got on, some with tethered goats, others with baskets packed with live chickens. Soon every seat was taken and the aisle was filled with people squatting on the floor. Finally the driver arrived. He swung himself into his seat and turned on the engine. The entire bus began to rattle and shake.

The driver slammed the gear stick forward and the bus lurched and began to cross the yard. Looking out of the window, Matt saw the policeman walking away.

"That was close," Sebastian growled. He went on in a low voice, "I had to hurt you because the policeman was becoming suspicious. I told him you were my nephew and that you were an idiot. I said you had brain damage, which is why you hadn't shown him more respect."

Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star

"Was he looking for me?"

"Yes. He told me just now. They're offering a huge reward — many hundreds of dollars — for your discovery. They're still saying that you're involved with terrorists."

"But why? They're the police! Why are they doing this?"

"Because someone has paid them. Why do you think? Maybe Ayacucho won't be so welcoming for you. You'll never be safe so long as you're in Peru. Without a passport, there's no way you're going to get out."

The bus rattled along a track and joined the main road. As it turned the corner, the passengers swayed in their seats and the various animals cried out. Then the driver hit the accelerator, and the engine roared. They had begun the long journey south.

Chapter 11 Salamanda

Ica was a small, busy town, full of dust and traffic. Matt's first impression as he climbed down from the bus was that every building had been painted a uniform white and yel-low, giving the place an artificial look. It reminded him of a film set, perhaps for an old western. But real life was all around him. It was there in the rubbish piles, the clothes flapping on lines high above the rooftops, the graffiti that seemed to have spread across every wall.

Advertisements for Nike and Coca-Cola. Names of politicians and their par-ties. NO A LAS DROGAS . . . public warnings applied with a spray can. The old men and women, blinking on benches out Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star in the sun, the
chollo
—"people" — taxis buzzing in and out of the main square, the money changers in their bright green jackets, chasing the tourists who were taking pictures of all this with cameras that must have cost more than most of the local people would earn in a year.

Sebastian had walked with them to the main square. He bought them some food — shish kebabs and rice — and sat on the curb with them as they ate.

"I don't like these provincial towns," he said. "Lima may be a stink hole . . . but at least you know where you are. I never know what country people are thinking. Maybe they're not thinking anything.

They're just indios." He used the abusive term for native Indians.

"They've got nothing in their heads."

"What do we do now?" Matt asked.

"What do we do now? I'll tell you what
I
do now, Matteo."

Sebastian had lit another cigar. It occurred to Matt that he had hardly ever seen him without one in his mouth. "I go on to Ayacucho. If you make it there alive, come to the main square. I'll have people looking out for you. They'll bring you to me."

"Aren't you going to help us get into the hacienda?"

Sebastian laughed unpleasantly. "I've helped you enough already.

And besides, I enjoy living too much. I'll show you where it is. After that, you're on your own."

After they had finished, he walked with them over a river and on to the edge of the town. He talked to Pedro as they went. He seemed to be giving him advice. Gradually the houses fell away behind them until they came to a dirt track, leading off from the main road.

"The hacienda is five miles down this way," he said. "I hope you'll Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star find your friend there, Matteo — but I've already told you, I doubt it.

Maybe you and I will meet again in Ayacucho. I also doubt that. But I hope so."

"I thought you didn't like me," Matt said.

"Pedro tells me that maybe I'm wrong about you, that you're not the same as other rich kids in the west who have everything and never think about people like Pedro and me." He shrugged. "Anyway, you are an enemy of the police, and that is enough to make you my friend."

He reached into his pocket and took out a cloth bag.

"I have some money for you. It's a hundred
soles.
That's a lot.. .

almost twenty pounds in your currency. And before you thank me, it's Pedro's. He was the one who stole it — not me. Maybe it'll help keep the two of you alive."