Anthony Horowitz - Nightrise

Alicia nodded. She couldn’t take her own car. The police would surely be guarding it, waiting for her to return. And anyway, they would have circulated its number.

They hurried round behind the bleachers and down towards the statue. Nathalie first. Then Jamie and Alicia, guiding Scott between them. Finally Daniel. As they went past, Jamie glanced one last time at the statue. He felt a strange mixture of emotions, looking at the craggy face, doomed to kneel for ever with the dusty highway in front of him. The prospector had travelled a long way to deliver his warning. At least Jamie hadn’t let him down.

Nathalie’s car – a blue Mercedes – was parked near by in a spot reserved for VIPs. Normally she would have had a chauffeur, but today she had decided to drive herself.

“You can take my car,” she said. She handed Alicia the keys. “The best way I can help you is to make some calls.”

“Where am I meant to go?” Alicia asked.

“Give me a minute. You need to get to an airport. I’m just trying to think which one.”

“An airport?”

Nathalie sighed. “I know this is difficult for you but you have to understand. I know what’s been happening… or some of it anyway. You see, I belong to a group of people, an organization, that exists solely to help Jamie and Scott and the other Gatekeepers.”

Gatekeepers.

Jamie stared. Had this woman really said that?

“What do you mean?” Alicia demanded.

“It’s all right, Alicia,” Jamie cut in. He looked at Nathalie.

“You know about the Gatekeepers,” he said.

“Yes, Jamie. The Gatekeepers. The Five.” She paused. “I know Matt Freeman.”

“Where did you meet him?”

“In England. I met him there twice. But he’s not there now. He’s in Peru. A place called Nazca, just south of Lima. And that’s where you have to go.”

“Peru…?” Alicia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“It’s OK.” Jamie hadn’t told Alicia anything about the time after he was shot. He had decided it was too much to explain.

He hadn’t even wanted to try. “Why is Matt in Peru?” he asked.

“There was a second gate. It opened. Matt tried to stop it but he was hurt. Pedro is with him now. Pedro may be able to help your brother. That’s another reason why you have to be there.”

“What about Scar?”

Nathalie shook her head. “I don’t know any Scar.”

Jamie had made his decision. Everything that Nathalie had said had made him think that she was telling the truth, and the mention of Pedro clinched it. That was Inti’s other name. Matt had told him. And Inti had the power to heal. The sooner Scott was with him, the better.

“How do we get there?” he demanded.

Nathalie let out a deep breath. She had been afraid that she would be unable to persuade them – but somehow Jamie had found out who and what he was. One day she would ask him how that had happened. But for now, she had to think straight. They were in Auburn. The police were still looking for them. Nightrise might be looking for them too. How to get them away.

“Lake Tahoe Airport,” she said. She glanced at Alicia. “It’s just off the 89. Right down at the south end of the lake.”

“I’ve passed it,” Alicia said. “But Sacramento is nearer.”

“If the police are looking for you, they’ll close off all the airports. Lake Tahoe is tiny. And there are no main roads. It’s the last place anyone will think of looking.”

“What happens when we get there? I just buy the boys a single ticket to Lima?”

“I can arrange a private jet. I can have it in the air within fifteen minutes. It’ll fly out from San Francisco and it should be there waiting for you when you arrive.”

“And you’re just going to give us your car?”

“The car doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Just get them there.” She rested a hand on Jamie’s arm. “I’ll call Matt and tell him you’re coming,” she said. “And one day you and I will meet properly and you can tell me everything that’s happened.” They heard the squawk of a radio on the other side of the bleachers. The police were sealing off the entire area. It was time to go.

Alicia didn’t even try to argue. She unlocked the doors. Daniel got into the front. Jamie helped Scott into the back and was about to follow him. But then he remembered something. He straightened up, facing Nathalie.

“The security man,” he said. “Warren Cornfield…”

“You made him do that.” So she had guessed what had happened.

“I couldn’t do anything else. Will you be able to help him?”

“I’ll do what I can, Jamie. I promise.”

Then another policeman appeared, walking towards them. Jamie got into the car. Alicia didn’t even wait for him to close the door.

She started the engine. They sped off.

Nobody said anything for the first few miles. They were heading south towards Placerville, another gold-mining town. From here they would pick up the 50 heading east back to Nevada. Scott seemed to be neither awake nor asleep but somewhere between the two. He was sitting slumped against the window. Jamie was next to him, watching the scenery go past without taking any of it in. He was thinking about Matt. Of course, it wouldn’t be the same Matt that he had spoken to after the battle, at the river’s edge. For a start, this Matt would never have met him or Scott. But they were still the Five. The same… but in a different time. That was how Matt had explained it. Perhaps when they were all together in Peru it would make sense.

Peru. Jamie didn’t even know where it was. Somewhere in South America? Even now, a private jet should have been taking off to collect them. The very thought of it made his head spin. He had never flown in his life.

Alicia glanced round. “How’s Scott?”

“I don’t know.” Jamie had examined his brother. He could see no sign of any external injury, but in a way that made his condition even more disturbing.

“We’ll be there in a couple of hours. Maybe you should try to get some sleep.”

But they never made it to Lake Tahoe Airport.

They had just passed through the Eldorado National Forest and some of the most beautiful countryside in California and were heading north towards the lake itself. They came to a sign pointing to the airport and Alicia turned off, following a narrow leafy road. Nathalie had certainly been right. Nobody would think of coming here.

But the police must have decided to cover every airport in the surrounding area. It was always possible that they weren’t working alone. Perhaps Nightrise had been influencing and advising them. Either way, the road was blocked. There was a single police car parked across with two young officers checking every car that came their way. They were looking bored. There couldn’t have been more than half a dozen cars in the last few hours.

Alicia pulled in and waited with the engine ticking over.

What now?

“Is there another way?” Daniel asked.

Alicia bit her lip. “I don’t think so, Danny. I didn’t see any other signs.”

Jamie was sitting up in the back seat. He was feeling sick.

They were so near. It didn’t seem fair that they should be stopped at the very end. “Can you drive round?” he muttered.

“There’s no point,” Alicia said. “I could get past them – but suppose the plane hasn’t arrived? They’d just follow us into the airport and that would be the end of it. And even if the plane’s there, we’d never reach it in time.”

“We could try on foot…”

“Scott won’t make it. And anyway, it’s too late.”

She was right. The two police officers had noticed them. They were already muttering to each other, staring at them suspiciously. It was always possible that the details of Nathalie’s number plate had been sent out. It didn’t really matter. A car had been driving towards them. Now it had stopped. Something was obviously wrong.