Necropolis

it was. Matt Freeman!" Scarlett's father got up and went over to the kitchen, weaving his way across the carpet. Matt didn't know whether to be saddened or disgusted. He had never seen anyone so utterly lost. Paul Adams leaned heavily against the side of the counter, and suddenly there were tears in his eyes. "They lied to me," he said. "They told me she'd be all right if I helped them.
    I was the one who caught her! She'd have gotten away if it hadn't been for me. But I only did it to protect her. They said they'd kill her if I didn't help them."
    "Did they take her to The Nail?" Matt asked.
    Paul Adams shook his head, "She's not there."
    "Is she still in Hong Kong?"
    "Somewhere. They won't tell me." He paused and looked out the window. The first streaks of morning were beginning to bleed through the night sky. "I thought they'd be grateful for what I did, but they said I'd never see her again. They were mocking me. I'd helped them, and it was all for nothing. They wanted me to know that." He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I don't understand what they want, Matt. I don't understand anything anymore. This whole city…" His voice trailed away.
    "Mr. Adams, I can help you," Matt said. "I can find her and get her out of here."
    "How? You're just a kid."

    "I need to have a shower and get changed." Matt was still dripping water onto the expensive carpet. "Do you have spare clothes?"
    "I don't know…" He waved vaguely in the direction of the bedroom.
    Matt drew on the last of his strength, forcing his mind into gear. He had to find Scarlett. That was the reason he was here. But that wasn't going to be possible, not if she had been taken to some secret location. Was she even still in Hong Kong? He guessed that she would have to be. The Old Ones were using her to get at him. Surely they would keep her there until he arrived.
    How to find her? Matt's eyes were desperately heavy. All he wanted to do was go to bed. But somehow he knew that this was his last chance. He had to bring all the pieces together, here in this room. First there was Paul Adams, destroying himself, wracked with guilt and misery. Then there was the man called Lohan, somewhere in Hong Kong with his thousand foot soldiers. Richard and Jamie. Maybe they had found their way over to them. And the fireworks. What was the name he had seen, stenciled on the crates?
    And suddenly he had it.
    "Listen to me," he said. "I may be able to find Scarlett, but you're going to have to help me. Will you do that?"
    "I'll do anything."
    "Does your telephone work here? And do you have a phone book?"
    Paul Adams had been expecting something more. How would a simple phone call save his daughter?
    "It's over there." He gestured with the hand that was still holding the whiskey glass.
    Matt went over to the telephone. It was a desperate plan. But he could think of no other way.
    He picked it up and began to dial.

    ***
    They came for him just after seven o'clock.
    Matt was asleep on the sofa, dressed in jeans and a sweater that didn't really fit but were a lot better than the ones he had dumped in the bathroom. He had taken a hot shower, washing the smell of the harbor off his skin and out of his hair. And then he had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

    He hadn't heard the police arrive. They had driven down Harcourt Road and turned into Wisdom Court without sirens. He was woken by the sound of the door being smashed open and the shouts of a dozen men as they poured into the flat. Some of them were carrying guns. It was hard to say who was in charge. Suddenly, they were everywhere and Matt was surrounded.
    He started to get up, but something hit him in the chest. It was a dart, fired from what looked like a toy gun, trailing wires behind it. But the next thing he knew, there was an explosion of pain and he was literally thrown off his feet as a bolt of electricity seared through him. He had been hit with a Taser, a weapon used by police forces all over the world. Despite its appearance, it had fired an electrical charge that had resulted in the total loss of his neuromuscular control. Matt had never felt pain like it. It seemed to shatter every bone in his body. He heard an animal whimper and realized it was him.
    Matt collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The policemen weren't taking any chances. They had deliberately neutralized him before he could use his power against them.
    A moment later, two of them fell on him. They twisted his