Scorpia Rising

means he knows who I am.”
    “Not necessarily.”
    “Why else would he have it? You think he takes photos of all the new boys?”
    They fell silent. Jack had been out in the sun and she was looking tanned. They both were. It reminded Alex how long they’d been away.
    “What are you going to do about Gunter?”
    “I suppose I’d better follow him.” Alex went on before she could argue. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t see me, Jack. But I know that the House of Gold has got something to do with whatever’s going on. Five o’clock. I can go there after school.”
    “You mean, we can go there after school. That’s why I’m here, Alex. I’m keeping an eye on you.”
    “Thanks, Jack.” Alex gulped down his lemonade. It was deliciously cold. “I’m really glad you came.”
    “Are you?”
    “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re always there for me. And you make the best sandwiches.”
    Jack smiled. “You’d better get on with your homework,” she said. “You don’t want your teachers breathing down your neck.”
    An hour and a half of European history. Alex wondered if there were any other secret agents in Cairo being sent upstairs to do their homework. But he didn’t complain. And an hour later, immersed in the invasion of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk, he was almost grateful that he could put everything else out of his mind.

    The next day was a Wednesday. It was also the day when Alex realized that his time at Cairo College was drawing to a close.
    He was having lunch with Andrew and some of the Scottish boys when one of the seniors came over to their table. It was unusual for the older boys to mix with the tenth-graders, but he realized that this one was examining him. He looked up into a face that he vaguely recognized: dark, spiky hair, blue eyes, pockmarked cheeks.
    “Alex?” the boy said. “You don’t remember me?”
    Alex did remember him. But he pretended not to.
    “I’m Graham Barnes. I was at Brookland until last year when my dad got sent out here. You’re Alex Rider, aren’t you?”
    It was the worst coincidence in the world. In their first term at Brookland, new boys were paired up with older students, more or less the same system that they had here. Alex had been looked after—quite well—by Graham. There was no point denying who he was.
    “Yes,” he said. “That’s me.”
    “Rider?” Andrew made a face. “I thought your name was Tanner.”
    “My mother remarried.” It was the first thing Alex could think of to say. “Before she died,” he added weakly.
    “Yeah. Well, it’s good to see you.” Graham nodded at the other kids. “I’ll see you around.”
    The rest of them went on talking as they had before, but Alex noticed Andrew glancing at him once or twice and knew that he had been found out. He might not know the reason, but he knew that Alex had lied. It was like the seed of a poisonous plant . . . and very quickly it would start to grow.

    The day seemed to last forever as far as Alex was concerned, but finally three thirty came and the end of school. The usual fleet of buses arrived, clumsily maneuvering around each other in the space outside the main gates. Most of the school left on foot and Alex was among them. He noticed that Andrew avoided him. And maybe he had spoken to Craig and Simon, because even they left him alone.
    He was glad to see Jack, who was waiting for him with a black-and-white cab. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.
    Alex nodded. He was more sure of it than ever. “Let’s go,” he said.
    The two of them got in and Jack leaned forward and gave the driver his instructions. She had printed up the home page for the House of Gold and the address was there in Arabic as well as English. She also made sure that the meter was actually running. It was a common trick for the Cairo drivers to leave it off and then to charge double the right price when they arrived.
    The traffic in Cairo was as bad as ever, the air full of exhaust fumes and bad-tempered beeping. By the time the driver dropped them outside a smart hotel and next to the river, Alex and Jack were grateful to get out. Jack had brought Alex a change of clothes and he had wriggled into them on the backseat. When he got out, he was wearing a T-shirt, khaki knee-length shorts, and sandals. Jack took care of his uniform. Dressed in two shades of blue, he would have stood out at twenty paces.
    It was only now that they saw that the House of Gold wasn’t a