Evil Star

their tracks. Rodriguez had taken out his gun and was shouting orders.
    The car slid to a halt. The passenger door swung open.
    "Get in!" a voice called out, first in English, then in Spanish.
    "Consiga en el coche!"

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star There was a burst of gunfire and suddenly Matt was back in Lima on his way from the airport. He had never been shot at in his life. Now it had happened twice in the space of a week. Two shots had been fired from the watch-tower that he had seen earlier. One bullet hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The other hit the trunk of the car. That told him everything he needed to know. Whoever was in the car was on his side.
    Matt ran forward. There were more shots. The guards seemed to be shooting at the car rather than at Pedro and him. Were they obeying instructions from Salamanda? It seemed the boys were wanted alive.
    Then Matt saw that the dogs had been released. They were bounding forward, their eyes aflame, mouths wide open to reveal white, vicious teeth. He and Pedro might not get shot, but if they didn't reach the car soon, they would be torn apart.
    "Faster!" the driver shouted.
    Pedro got there first. He opened the back door and threw himself onto the seat. Matt lunged for the front door. And despite the guns still firing all around him, despite the dogs bounding ever closer through the brilliant, electric light, he froze.
    He knew the driver of the car.
    The slightly feminine face. Long eyelashes. A thin face with sculpted cheekbones, covered by the beginnings of a beard. A half-moon scar next to one eye.
    It was one of the men who had kidnapped Richard.
    "Get into the car or you will die!" the man shouted.
    Two more bullets slammed into the metalwork. A third smashed one of the mirrors. Matt didn't need any more persuading. He dived Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star forward at the same time the man slammed the car into reverse, skidding backward and tak-ing Matt with him. Matt was half in and half out, the door still open. Pedro was sitting, surprisingly calm, in the back-seat. The car continued backward. Matt saw a guard raising his gun. There was a terrible thump and the guard disap-peared.
    "The door —" the driver warned.
    There was a hideous snarling, and Matt turned just in time to see one of the Alsatians leap at him. It landed on his leg and he felt its teeth snapping, inches away from his thigh. With a cry, he drew back his other leg and kicked out. His foot slammed into the dog's head. The dog screamed and fell back. Matt drew himself into the car and pulled the door shut. The driver had already changed gears. The car shot forward.
    But it wasn't over yet. As if afraid of losing them, the remaining guards all fired at once and Matt yelled out as glass and bullets exploded over his head. Next to him, the driver jerked in his seat and Matt felt something wet splat-ter across his face. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and looked down. His fingers were covered in blood.
    He hadn't been shot. It was the driver. It was Lima all over again, except that this time the roles had been reversed. The man with the scar wasn't firing at them, he was helping him. And he was wounded. He had been hit twice: in the shoulder and the side of the neck. There was blood on the seat and on the dashboard. More blood was spreading rap-idly down his shirt. But he was still gripping the wheel, his foot pressed on the accelerator. The car swerved round the courtyard and into the darkness. The driver reached out and turned on the headlamps. The car bounced and rat-tled back down the lane.

    Horowitz, Anthony - [Gatekeepers 02] - Evil Star
    "They'll follow us!" Matt said. He expected to see Salamanda's men already following in cars or trucks.
    "I don't think so." The man was trying to keep the pain out of his voice, but Matt could tell he had been badly hurt. The blood had spread all the way down to his chest. Soon the whole shirt would be red. He muttered a few words in Spanish. Pedro leaned down. When he sat up again, he was holding a handful of wires and fuses. Matt smiled. Somehow the man had reached the hacienda ahead of them.
    And he had disabled all the vehicles he could find.
    "Who are you?" Matt demanded.
    "My name is Micos."
    "How did you find us? Where's Richard?" There were a dozen more questions Matt wanted to ask.
    "Not now. Later..."
    Matt fell silent. He understood. Micos didn't have the strength to drive and to talk