Evil Star

but the boy was smaller and thinner than he, wearing clothes that were little more than rags. Matt opened his mouth to answer. He knew who the boy was and why he was there. He had come to collect him, to take him to the three others who were still waiting on the mainland, just half a mile away.
    But the words never came. There was a scream. Matt looked up just in time to see the swan plunging out of the sky, its neck straining forward. It came at him with all the power of a plane crash. Even as he looked, the swan drew closer, its gaping beak filling his vision as if it were about to swallow him whole.
    The other boy cried out. Matt felt himself falling.
    There was a bump, and he opened his eyes.
    Richard was sitting next to him.
    They had arrived in Lima.

    ************************************
    It seemed to Matt that Aeropuerto Jorge Chavez was only half built.
    After the bright lights and bustle of Heathrow, with crowds milling among the duty-free shops as if every day were Christmas, he had arrived at a blank, empty space where the passengers were invited to queue up at a row of cubicles manned by border guards in black-and-white uniforms. The ceiling of the arrivals lounge was missing tiles and none of the fans were working. A few pot-ted plants sat wilting in the sticky heat. It wasn't so much Welcome to Peru as Welcome to Nowhere in Particular.
    Matt was feeling tired and grimy as he waited in line with Richard
    — looking just the same — next to him. But there was something else. As he watched the passengers moving ahead of him and heard Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star the clunk of the passport stamps as they were admitted into the country, he real-ized he was getting nervous. It was only now that he remembered that he and Richard were committing a crim-inal offense. They were traveling with false passports. He supposed the Nexus knew what it was doing, but even so, it suddenly seemed less of a good idea.
    The two of them reached the front of the queue and found themselves facing a tired-looking official with suspi-cion etched into his face. Presumably that was his job, to be suspicious of everyone.
    But Matt felt his heartbeat quicken as Richard handed over their documents. He glanced away. Part of the hall was held up by scaffolding and there was a large sign hanging below: no cruzar.
    area de peligro. Richard had followed his eyes.
    "Don't cross. Danger area," he translated.
    Matt nodded, wondering if the words might be pro-phetic.
    The border guard had run both the passports through a machine and was studying a television screen. Now he looked up. "What is the purpose of your visit?" He must have asked the same question ten thousand times.
    "We're here on holiday," Richard lied.
    The stamp came down twice more. That was it. They were through and Matt was annoyed with himself for even being slightly worried in the first place.
    It had been agreed that Fabian wouldn't come to the airport himself to collect them. Again, there was always the chance that he might be recognized and followed. Instead, he would send a driver — and sure enough, there was a stocky Peruvian in a white short-sleeve shirt, waiting for them after they had picked up their luggage. He Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star was hold-ing up a sign with their false names: paul and Robert carter . Two brothers on holiday. Nothing at all to do with Matt Freeman and Richard Cole, who had come here to save the world.
    "Buenos dias, " the driver said, reaching out to take the cases for them. "I am Alberto. Mr. Fabian sends you his good wishes. I hope you had a good flight."
    "It was long," Richard said.
    The driver laughed. "Long flight. Yes. You have come very far. But Mr. Fabian is near. I take you to him."
    He led them out. of the airport, pushing through a crowd of anxious-looking people who immediately sur-rounded them shouting, "Taxi!
    Taxi!" and trying to snatch at their hand luggage. Matt was feeling really tired now. It was early evening and a heavy darkness hung in the sky. The air was warm and smelled of diesel. He hoped it wouldn't take them too long to reach the hotel.
    Their car was a brand-new shuttle bus. As the door slid shut and the driver turned on the engine, Matt felt the wel-come chill of the air-conditioning. He sunk back in the leather seat with Richard beside him.
    "Peru..." Richard muttered.
    "Yeah." Matt didn't know what to say.
    "It's not as Peruvian as I'd imagined. Shouldn't there be