Evil Star

different times. Matt dropped into the nearest chair, trying to avoid eye contact. But not Richard. He was still standing by the door, looking around him in amazement.
    "I know you!" he said. He pointed to a grim-faced man sitting with a straight back and an immaculately cut suit. "You're a policeman.
    Tarrant. Isn't that your name? You're very senior. New Scotland Yard. I've seen you on televi-sion." He turned to the woman who was next to him, expensively dressed, with reddish hair that was surely dyed. "And you're Natalie Johnson."
    Even Matt knew that name. He had seen it often enough in the newspapers. She was often called the female Bill Gates. She had made her fortune in computers and was one of the richest women in the world.
    "Let's not bother with names, Mr. Cole," she said. She had an American accent. "Please take a seat and we can get started."
    Richard sat down next to Matt. It was difficult to be sure who was in charge. Miss Ashwood was at the head of the table, but there was no obvious leader. It also occurred to Matt that someone in the room must be new. Fabian had told him that there were twelve members of the Nexus and sure enough there were twelve men and women here. But Professor Dravid had once been a member of the organization, too, and he had died. Presumably, he had been replaced.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "We are very grateful to you for coming to London, Matt," another man began. His accent was Australian. He was more casually dressed than the others, with an open-neck shirt and rolled-up sleeves. He was about forty and had the pale skin and bloodshot eyes of a man who had spent too many hours on long-distance planes. "We know you don't want to be here and we wouldn't have asked you if there was any other way."
    "You must let us protect you," Susan Ashwood said. Her hands were resting on the table but her fists were clenched. “You were nearly killed at Forrest Hill. That can't happen. We are here only to help you."
    "I thought it was Matt who was meant to be helping you," Richard said.
    "We've got to help each other," the Australian went on. "There's a whole lot of things we don't know, but this much is certain. Things are going to get bad. Worse than you can imagine. The reason that the twelve of us are here tonight is because we want to do something about it."
    "About what? What are you talking about?" Richard asked.
    "A third world war," Ashwood said. "Worse than the two wars that preceded it. Governments out of control. Destruction and death all across the planet. We don't know exactly what form the future will take, Mr. Cole. But we think even now that we can prevent it from happening."
    "With your help." The priest, a bishop, nodded at Matt.
    "Look, let's get one thing straight," Richard said. "Matt and I don't want to know about death and destruction. We're not interested in Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star world wars. The only help we need is to find somewhere else to live because, right now, Yorkshire doesn't seem to be an option and we don't have anyone else we can turn to."
    "The petrol tanker that drove into your school. .. ?" The policeman had spoken. He left the question hanging in the air.
    "It was driven by my aunt," Matt said. "Gwenda Davis. I saw her behind the wheel." He shivered. He had known it was her even as his every sense told him it was impossible. He had never liked her, not in all the years he had known her. But she had never been a monster. Not until the end.
    “Your aunt?" the Australian muttered.
    “Yes."
    The information caused a stir in the room. The twelve members of the Nexus muttered briefly to each other, and Matt saw Fabian write something down.
    "She didn't know what she was doing," Susan Ashwood said. "To steal a petrol tanker and somehow find her way to your school. . .
    she couldn't have done it on her own."
    "The Old Ones," Fabian muttered in a low voice.
    Ashwood nodded. "Of course. They helped her. They influenced her. Maybe they forced her. But undoubtedly they were behind it."
    "All right," Richard cut in. “You want us to go and meet this man . . . William Morton. Matt's agreed to that. But I'm telling you now, if it means putting him in any more danger..."
    "That's the last thing we'd want," Natalie Johnson said. She leaned forward, her long hair falling over her eyes. She must have been about fifty years old, but she had spent a lot of money making Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star