Evil Star

herself look younger. "All right, Richard — you don't mind if I call you that, do you? Let's give it to you straight. We need Matt to meet with this guy William Morton tomorrow afternoon at twelve o'clock because it's the only way we can get him to hand over the diary. But Matt is more important than the diary. Right now, if he really is who we think he is, he's just about the most important kid in the world."
    “You've told Morton that Matt is one of the five," Richard said. He was speaking slowly, working it out as he went. "And Morton wants to meet him to see if it's true. But how's he going to do that? Is Matt going to have to see into the future or blow something up to prove it?"
    "We don't know," the American replied. "Remember: Morton's read the diary; we haven't. He may know more than we do."
    "All we know is that he's afraid," Susan Ashwood cut in. "He's afraid of the man he was dealing with in South America. And he's afraid of what he's read in the diary itself. William Morton has realized he's stumbled into something bigger and darker than anything he's experi-enced in his life, and he's looking for a way out."
    "Where does he want to meet me?" Matt asked.
    "At first he wouldn't tell us." This time it was a Frenchman who had picked up the story. He was slim and gray-haired and looked like an expensive lawyer. "He speaks to us only with his mobile phone and he gives us no idea where he can be found. But now he has mentioned a church in the city, not so far from here."
    "St. Meredith's in Cannon Street," Ashwood said.
    "He will be there at twelve o'clock tomorrow. He will meet with you alone. ..."

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "Matt's not going in there on his own," Richard said.
    "He tells us that he will be watching out for the boy," the Frenchman continued. "We have not described to him what Matt looks like but it is unlikely that there will be any other fourteen-year-old adolescents near the church at that time. The deal is very simple: If Matt is not alone, Monsieur Morton will disappear. We will never see him again. And whoever it is that he has been dealing with in South America will have the diary."
    "Why this church?" Richard asked. "It seems to be a strange place to meet. Why not a restaurant or a cafe or something like that?"
    "Morton insisted," Johnson said. "I guess we'll find out the answer to that when Matt gets there."
    "Maybe the church is mentioned in the diary," the bishop suggested.
    "As it happens, St. Meredith's is one of the oldest churches in the country. In fact, there's been a church on the site since the Middle Ages."
    "And how can we be sure Matt will be safe there? For all we know, this mysterious South American businessman or whoever he is could have already got to Morton. This could all be a trap."
    "Leave that to me," the policeman said. Richard had been right. His name was Tarrant and he was an assis-tant commissioner, one of the highest-ranking officers in London. "I'll have access to the security cameras all around Cannon Street. We can't go into the church, but I'll make sure there are a hundred officers in the immediate area.
    One word from me and they'll move in."
    "But I still don't understand what happens," Matt said. "This man —
    William Morton — meets me. Maybe he asks me some questions.
    But what then? Is he going to give me the diary?"

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "He's said he'll sell it to us if he believes in you," Natalie Johnson replied. "He's not giving it to anyone! He still wants his money."
    There was a pause.
    Richard turned to Matt. "Do you want to go?" he asked.
    Matt shook his head. "No, I don't," he said. He glanced around the table. Everyone was staring at him. He could see his own face reflected in the black glasses that covered Susan Ashwood's eyes.
    "But I will," he went on, "if you'll give me something in return."
    "What do you want?" the Australian asked.
    "You people have a lot of influence. You stopped Richard getting his article published in the newspapers. So maybe you can get him a job, here in London."
    "Matt. . ." Richard began.
    "That's what you always wanted," Matt said. "And I want to go to an ordinary school. I'm not going back to Forrest Hill. I want you to promise me that if you get the diary, you'll leave me alone."
    "I'm not sure we can promise that," Fabian said. “You're part of all this, Matt. Don't you see that?"
    "But if we can leave you out of this, we will," Susan Ashwood