fairly sure that her heart was in the right place. And he had got to know Nathalie Johnson in the past few months. She was the American computer billionaire who had helped Scott and Jamie and she had travelled down to Nazca a couple of times to make sure they were all right.
But that still left eight strangers. There was an Australian, broad and bullish with a round face and close- cropped hair. His name was Harry Foster and he owned a newspaper empire. Next to him, there was a bishop who dressed like a bishop and talked like a bishop but who hadn’t actually told Matt his name. He was about sixty years old. Tarrant, the senior policeman who had helped put taps on Scarlett’s phone, was at the head of the table, dressed in a smart blue and silver uniform.
Among the others, Matt had noted a Frenchman in an expensive suit, a small Chinese man who was continually rubbing his hands, a German who was something big in politics and two others who had made no impression on him at all. They might all be world leaders. But tonight they just looked tired and scared.
Richard, Jamie and Matt had taken their places at the table, bunched together at one end. The three of them were in a gloomy mood. Scarlett Adams, the fifth Gatekeeper, had turned up in London and they had flown thousands of miles to see her. But she had slipped through their fingers and even as they sat there, she would be thirty thousand feet up in the air. Every word that they spoke, every second that passed, only carried her further away.
“We made a mistake.” Nathalie Johnson came straight to the point. “We knew who she was. We knew where she lived. We should have approached her ourselves.”
“It was my fault,” Susan Ashwood said. “I didn’t want to frighten her. I thought it would be easier for her if she heard it all from you.” She turned to Matt. “I hoped you’d be here sooner. I didn’t realize we’d have to wait for the new passports.”
“I thought you had people watching her,” Matt cut in. “Weren’t there two private detectives or something?”
“They were ex-policemen,” Tarrant said. “Duncan and McKnight. Good men, both of them. I’d worked with them before.” He paused. “Scarlett may have caught sight of them. They were parked in a car outside a park in Dulwich and they had to be more careful after that. They kept their distance. But they were still on top of the case. Until last night…”
“What happened” Richard asked.
“They’ve both disappeared. Vanished without a trace. I’ve tried to contact them but with no luck. I have a feeling they may have been killed.”
There was a brief silence while the rest of the room took this in. It was obvious to all of them that they had underestimated the Old Ones. From the moment Scarlett had been identified, they had been running rings around the Nexus.
“So why has she gone to Hong Kong?” Matt asked.
“Her father is there,” Tarrant replied. “He’s a lawyer. He works for the Nightrise Corporation.”
“Nightrise?” Jamie spoke for the first time. Jet lag had hit him badly and he was exhausted. He’d only managed to keep himself awake with a black coffee and a can of Red Bull. “They’re the people who came after Scott and me. Are you saying her dad is one of them?”
“Nightrise is a legitimate business,” Nathalie Johnson reminded him. “They have offices all over the world. They employ hundreds of people. The vast majority of them probably have no idea who – or what they’re working for.”
“Even so…”
“We don’t know, Jamie. His name is Paul Adams. He’s divorced. He and his wife adopted Scarlett fifteen years ago and as far as we can tell, he doesn’t know anything about the Old Ones.”
“So what do we do now?” Richard asked. “Scott and Pedro are still in Peru. Matt and Jamie are here. And Scarlett will soon be in Hong Kong. The one thing we know is that we have to get the five Gatekeepers together. How are we going to do that?”
“You may have to follow her there.”
It was the bishop who had spoken and the other members of the Nexus nodded. But for his part, Matt wasn’t so sure. He knew nothing about the city except that some of the toys he’d played with when he was younger had been manufactured there. MADE IN HONG KONG: it had always been a sign that they would probably break five minutes after they came out of the packaging. Certainly, he had no desire to go there. He had flown enough for one week.
“If I may…” The Chinese man had a soft, very cultivated voice. He hadn’t spoken until now. He was small, with heavy, plastic glasses and an off-the-peg suit. Perhaps he adopted this sort of appearance on purpose. It was as if he didn’t want to be noticed. “My name is Mr Lee,” he said, bowing his head towards Matt. “If you are thinking of making the journey to Hong Kong, I may be able to help you. I have connections throughout Asia and especially in that area. However, I would like to make one observation if I may.”
He waited for someone to speak against him, as if he was nervous that there might be someone at the table who didn’t want to hear what he had to say. When nobody protested, he went on.
“There is something very strange happening in Hong Kong,” he began. “I know the place well. In fact, I was there – passing through – just a week ago. On the face of it, there is nothing I can put my finger on. Life continues as normal. Business is done. Tourists arrive and leave. But there is something in the city that makes no sense. How can I put it? There is an atmosphere there that is not pleasant. Friends of mine who live there, people I have known for many years, seem to be in a hurry to leave and when I ask them why, they are afraid to say. And those who remain are nervous.”
“The Old Ones are there,” Susan Ashwood said, as if she had known all along. She worked as a medium, talking to ghosts. Matt wondered if they had told her.
“That is what I believe, Miss Ashwood,” Mr Lee agreed. “It is hardly a coincidence. Nightrise is based in Hong Kong. It is quite possible that much of the city is now in the control of the Old Ones. And if that is the case, then the moment this girl, Scarlett Adams, arrives there, it will be as if she is in prison and none of us will be able to reach her.”
“We have to reach her,” Richard said. “If we don’t, we might as well all pack up. There have to be five Gatekeepers.”
“Then we have to get her out of there – and that means following her. We have failed here in London. Maybe Matthew and Jamie will have more success over there.”
“You want to send the two of them to Hong Kong?”
“They have certain powers, Mr Cole, which may be of use to them.” Mr Lee nodded. “Yes. In my opinion they must find a way to enter the city, but without the Old Ones knowing they are on their way.”
“The two of them travelled here with false names and false ID,” Tarrant said. He sounded disapproving. “They can use them again.”
“Absolutely.” The Australian, Harry Foster banged a fist on the table. “They could be on the next flight out of here. There must be fifty thousand people a day flying in and out of Hong Kong. Who’s going to notice a couple of kids in a crowd like that?”
“I don’t agree.” Susan Ashwood shook her head. “If Mr Lee is correct and the Old Ones are there, it would be complete madness to attempt to go in by air. Matt and Jamie would be seized the moment they stepped off the plane… and I don’t care how many people there are at the airport.”
“I have an office in Hong Kong,” Harry Foster said. “I could look in there on my way back to Australia. Why don’t you let me try and find her? I can explain what’s going on and she – and her father, for that matter – can leave with me. I’ll take them down to Sydney and you can pick them up there.”
“I think it’s too dangerous,” Mr Lee said.
“Well, at least I can get a message to her. Let her know the score.” The Australian took out a pad and scribbled a note to himself. “A letter to warn her that she’s in danger. I can get someone in my Hong Kong office to deliver it by hand.”
“I think we have to be very careful,” Susan Ashwood said. “We all know what happened today. The Old Ones were waiting outside her house in Dulwich. They knew Matt was on his way and they were determined to stop him.” She glanced at Tarrant. “You had two men watching Scarlett and now you say they may have been killed. How many more mistakes do we have to make before we realize what we’re up against?”
“Then maybe it’s time to use one of the doors,” Richard said.
