Anthony Horowitz - Evil Star

Two police cars. More policemen on foot. They were entering the square from all sides, moving slowly, seemingly with no particular purpose. What was going on? Pedro was becoming more and more agitated. There was something animal-like about him now. His eyes were wide and alert. Every muscle in his body seemed to be locked. He was sensing danger, even if he hadn’t seen it yet.

“I think we should move,” Matt said.

He didn’t want to go. Fabian would arrive any minute now. If he could wait just a few minutes longer, the whole ordeal might be over. And getting up, walking, might draw attention to himself. Every fibre of his being screamed at him to stay where he was. While he was sitting down, unnoticed, he was safe. But at the same time, there were more than a dozen policemen in the square now, fanning out, all of them armed. Had the police come by coincidence or did they know Matt was here? Was this just another raid, or were they looking for him?

The question was answered in an instant as the passenger door of one of the police cars opened and a man got out. It was Captain Rodriguez. He was standing directly under a streetlamp and it cast a glow across his face with its rough, pitted skin and heavy moustache. He looked like a boxer stepping into the ring and as his eyes swung across the square, Matt knew without any doubt at all that his phone call to Fabian had been intercepted and that he had walked straight into another trap.

He stood up, forcing himself not to panic. Rodriguez hadn’t seen him since the Hotel Europa and didn’t know what he looked like now that he was in disguise. There were still plenty of people around. The two of them could just walk away, mingling with the crowd.

Pedro dug his hand into his trouser pocket. When he brought it out, he was holding his rubber slingshot. Matt shook his head.

“Not now, Pedro,” he said. “There are too many of them.”

Pedro frowned, then seemed to understand. He put the slingshot away again.

The scream of a whistle cut through the air.

Suddenly, all the policemen were running towards the two of them as if they had known where they were all along and had simply been playing a game. Another car cut in from behind. Rodriguez was pointing directly at them and shouting. Tourists and travellers stood gaping, afraid, finding themselves caught up in the middle of something they didn’t want to see. The friendly mask of the country they had come to visit had slipped to reveal the brutality beneath. There were armed police everywhere.

Matt saw at once that all four corners of the square were cut off. The trap had closed in from every side. There were two police cars speeding towards them… they would reach them in seconds. That left just one direction – up. The cars couldn’t follow them up the steps. He looked round and saw that Pedro had worked this out for himself. He was already halfway up, heading for a group of Europeans standing together at the top. They’d been about to have their photograph taken in front of the cathedral when the police raid began but now they were just staring out, slack-jawed. Matt saw Pedro barge through them. Why? He glanced back and understood. Some of the policemen had taken out their guns. Pedro had seen the danger, but at the same time he had guessed that they weren’t going to fire anywhere near tourists. His move had been quite calculated. He was using the Europeans as a human shield.

Matt joined him, clambering up the last five steps and then across the top, next to the cathedral. The tourists scattered. Someone cried out. Pedro was moving like the wind and Matt wondered if he would be able to keep up. Already he had discovered something he had suspected all along. It was almost impossible to run in Cuzco. The air was too thin. He couldn’t have been going for more than half a minute and his head was pounding, his throat was sore and he felt as though he was about to faint. He forced himself on, not wanting to be left behind. Pedro was one of the Five. Matt couldn’t lose him now.

But Pedro was looking out for Matt. As a policeman swung around the corner, he shouted out a warning. Matt ducked low. There was an explosion and one of the stone steps spat dust. They were shooting at him! Matt felt a tremor of disbelief. Rodriguez had given orders to take him dead or alive.

The gunshot had been a mistake. Now everyone in the square was panicking, running in all directions, desperate to get away. For a moment, the police found themselves powerless. The boys were out of sight. Then something strange happened. The policeman who had fired the shot threw himself backwards and lay sprawling. Matt twisted round and saw that the slingshot was in Pedro’s hand. He certainly knew how to use it. The policeman had been standing in front of a road that was otherwise unguarded. Matt forced some air into his lungs and set off.

Out of sight. That was the key. Matt knew they had to get under cover. They had to find somewhere to hide. Give them a bit of time and maybe they could work out what to do next. Pedro ran through an open gateway leading off the street, signalling at Matt to follow. Matt did just that and found himself in a rough courtyard with patches of grass growing through the rubble and the dust. There was another market here. Stalls, lit by oil lamps, stood haphazardly against the walls. They were open even at this time of the evening and a few backpackers were wandering idly between them, examining the hats and ponchos, rugs, beads and bags on sale. The great mass of the cathedral rose up behind.

The two boys didn’t stop. They came to a second archway and burst out to find themselves in another street. But this time they were not alone.

A very old Indian woman sat facing them, squatting on the pavement with a little pile of handmade jewellery. Her hair hung down in two long pigtails and there was a baby, wrapped in a striped blanket, nestling against her chest. She was looking straight at them and as they stood there, panting, wondering which way to go, she suddenly smiled, showing yellow teeth that were little more than stumps. At the same time, she pointed towards an alleyway that led off behind her.

Matt wasn’t sure what to do. The old woman was behaving as if she knew them. It was almost as if she had been sitting there all evening, waiting for them to come so she could point out the best way. Matt fought to get more air into his system and to keep the dizziness at bay.

“Which way?” he shouted at Pedro.

The old woman raised a finger to her lips. This was no time for a discussion. Once again, she pointed the way. Behind them, they heard shouting. The police had entered the marketplace.

“Gracias, senora,” Pedro muttered. He had decided to believe her.

The two of them ran up the alleyway, disappearing into the shadows that pushed in from both sides. Tattered posters hung on the walls and wooden balconies jutted out over their heads. The street was cobbled and Matt’s rubber sandals were almost torn off his feet as he tried to run.

But was it worth going on? Matt could hear sirens and whistles echoing all over the city and with a heavy heart he knew that he and Pedro were never going to get out of this, no matter how fast they ran. They were two rats in a maze. They could scurry round the streets and passageways of Cuzco until they were exhausted or they could find a building to hide in but it would make no difference. It might take the police all night to find them but they would do it in the end. Cuzco was surrounded by mountains. There was no way out.

Somewhere, just out of sight, another car pulled up. Boots stamped down on concrete. A whistle blew. Even Pedro was beginning to slow down. Sweat was dripping off his face. It would all be over very soon.

The alleyway led to another narrow street with a T-junction at one end. Pedro started towards it but almost at once a blue van came skidding to a halt and three policemen piled out. One of them shouted excitedly into a radio while the other two took out their guns and began moving towards them. Matt didn’t have the strength to move. His heart was about to burst. He could only watch as the two men approached.