“Who was Billy?”
“He was my friend. I’m sorry we had to leave him behind. I hope he’s OK.”
“Tell me about Scott.”
“Scott was the last to arrive. That must have been a couple of weeks ago. He had the cell next to mine and I saw him before they began on him.” Daniel saw Jamie flinch. “I’m sorry…” he muttered.
“How badly did they hurt him?”
“Well, they took him away and I know they must have done a lot of bad things because after a few days he wouldn’t talk to me any more. He wouldn’t talk to anyone. The bald man was working on him… Mr Banes.” Daniel paused. “We knew Scott was important to them because this woman arrived. She was thin and scrawny with grey hair and a face like a sort of rotten fruit. We’d only ever seen her once before. Everyone was scared of her.”
“Do you know her name?”
Daniel shook his head. “She never said who she was.”
There was one more thing Jamie wanted to know, although he almost dreaded putting it into words. “What happened to Scott?” he asked. “What did they do with him?”
“I don’t know, Jamie. I’m sorry. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. Nobody knew where they took him.”
So that was it.
It was the same as Joe had told him. Jamie felt a wave of black despair but he forced it away. He wasn’t going to give in. He remembered everything that Matt had said. He had led an army and fought in a war… even if it had been in another world at another time. The strange thing was, there wasn’t a single part of him that believed it hadn’t happened, or that the whole experience had been some sort of fantasy, imagined while he lay unconscious. He knew it was real. And Joe recognized him for what he was. One of the Five. Whatever happened, he would find Scott – no matter how long it took.
“When can we leave?” Daniel asked.
The boy was eleven years old. He had been kidnapped in broad daylight, separated from his mother, kept prisoner for seven months. Jamie understood how he must be feeling.
Then Joe appeared, carrying a saucepan.
“When can we leave?” Jamie repeated the question.
“Where do you want to go?” Joe asked.
“We have to get back to Reno. Danny’s mother is waiting for him there.”
Joe considered. “Another twenty-four hours,” he said. “The nearest road is seven miles away and we’ll have to move at night. I have friends waiting for us. They’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”
“Can we really leave tomorrow?” Daniel said.
“If Jamie is ready.”
“Don’t worry, Danny,” Jamie said. He took a sip of the tea.
“I’ll be ready.”
They left the following evening, Jamie supporting himself on a staff that Joe had brought for him. He knew he wasn’t really ready for the journey. His shoulder and left arm were on fire and he was still weak from loss of blood. But he couldn’t keep Daniel waiting any longer. It was a perfect night with a full moon and perhaps a million stars guiding them on their way. They came slowly down the mountains, but once the ground had levelled out they made better progress. Joe knew exactly where they were going and never hesitated once. Jamie imagined that he had been born with these skills, something handed down instinctively from generations ago.
Soon he was exhausted and wishing he had waited longer before setting out. Every step seemed to take the pain and amplify it, sending it shuddering through his body. He found himself leaning on Daniel for support. But he refused to complain and although they stopped a couple of times for water, he never asked for a rest.
He didn’t actually see the road until they reached it. One moment his foot was on sand, the next it had come down on tarmac. He looked to the right and there it was, a straight line cutting into the far distance. There were no buildings anywhere around but a line of telegraph poles followed the road, the wires looping between them. Daniel let out an exclamation of delight. Telephone wires meant contact with his mother. It was all he wanted.
They had walked down the road for about a hundred yards when Jamie saw headlights moving towards them. He was immediately nervous but then he glanced at Joe, who nodded slowly. This was what he had been expecting. A few moments later, a beaten-up minibus pulled out with an Indian driver behind the wheel. Jamie wasn’t sure how he had found them. Had he been patrolling the road every night, waiting for them to show up? But that didn’t matter now. He was just grateful to get off his feet, glad to be finally on his way.
Joe spoke a few words with the driver and they all climbed in. At once they set off. Daniel must have been more tired than he thought because he fell asleep almost immediately. Jamie sat, slumped against the window, watching the landscape – dark and empty – flash by.
An hour later they stopped on the edge of a small town. Jamie saw electric lights in the distance and the bulky shadows of houses. He had no idea where they were.
“I leave you here,” Joe announced.
“Thank you.” Jamie wasn’t sure what to say. “What will happen to you now, Joe?” he asked. “The police will be looking for you. And you haven’t got a job.”
“My people will look after me. You don’t need to worry. And if you need us again, we will come.”
Jamie knew that was true. He had no way of contacting them but somehow they would look out for him. If the need arose, they would be there. Joe leant over and the two of them shook hands. Then the Indian climbed out of the minibus and the three of them set off, leaving him standing alone.
After that, Jamie slept.
The next time he opened his eyes, he knew at once where he was: right back where it had all started, in the city of Reno. The familiar landmarks were all around him. The Hilton Hotel in the distance. The great black glass block of the City Hall, towering over the city centre. The casinos and the pawn shops. The rushing water of the Truckee River. In a way it was the last place he had wanted to be, but he and Alicia had agreed that it made sense. She wanted to be close to him while he was in Nevada – but not too close. Alicia could rent a place in Reno and be just a few hours away from the prison. She had decided she would wait for him here.
“Where do I take you?” the driver asked. Jamie knew nothing about him – not even his name.
“There’s a place called Paso Tiempo,” Jamie said. “It’s near the airport.”
Paso Tiempo was a mobile home park just round the corner from the motel where Alicia had stayed the last time she was in Reno. It was a long strip of road with houses that were little more than boxes on wheels parked alongside each other in a neat row. They slowed down and stopped outside one of the homes: number twenty- three. It was the prettiest one in the park, surrounded by flowers. Alicia had rented it for a month.
The minibus stopped. Jamie nudged Daniel. “Wake up,” he muttered. And at that moment the door of the trailer opened and there was Alicia, standing on the top step. She must have heard them arrive. Perhaps she opened the door whenever any car pulled up. Daniel saw her and was wide awake instantly, his entire face filled with an expression of joy. He scrambled past Jamie, almost falling out of the minibus, and ran to her. Then the two of them were in each other’s arms, not wanting to separate ever again.
Jamie got out more slowly. He was in a lot of pain. He could barely move his neck or his right arm and he was limping. At that moment he felt many things. He was glad he had brought Daniel back. Of course he was happy for the two of them. But, looking at them, he was also aware of something else: a deep sadness that cut into him even more than the wound in his back. He had no mother. Nobody had ever held him like that and nobody ever would. He was ashamed of himself. It was wrong of him. But he knew that he had come to the end of a road. Alicia and Daniel had each other. There was nothing more they could do for him.
Alicia looked up and saw him.
“Jamie,” she said. “You brought him back.”
Jamie nodded.
“How can I thank you? How can I ever thank you enough?” Then she realized. “What about Scott?”
“Scott wasn’t there.”
She heard the heavy words and went over to him, taking Daniel with her. For a moment the two of them faced each other and she reached out, wanting to draw him into her embrace. But he stepped back. “You’re hurt,” she said.
“I’ll be all right.” Jamie looked past her. “Do you mind if I go in? I need to lie down.”
