The Power of Five Oblivion

believe you’ve made it,” he said. “Scarlett told me you were in Brazil.”
    “I was.”
    “Nice place?”
    Matt shook his head. “I’m not going back.”
    They were still standing close to each other. Richard lowered his voice and spoke quickly. “Man in charge. Cain. American. Means well but watch out for him. Planning an attack with the World Army. I think he’s crazy but he won’t listen.” He moved away and continued in a normal voice. “I’m so glad you’re here, Matt. I’ve missed you. It’s so good to see you again.”
    A second person was moving towards them and Matt recognized Scarlett. Her hair was shorter too and he could see the scar where she had been wounded. Both she and Richard had red streaks on their cheeks and noses from their time in the Middle East sun. She grabbed hold of Lohan first and kissed him on the cheek. Then she did the same for Matt.
    “It’s great you’ve arrived at last,” she exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting every day for you to show up.”
    “How long have you been here?” Lohan asked.
    “Almost a week. We were in Egypt and Dubai and so many things have happened. We were helped by the Nexus and there was this sheikh …” She broke off. “I don’t want to talk about it with everyone here. All I can say is, I’m glad Richard was with me. I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d been on my own.”
    “You know these people, Mr Cole?”
    Another man had left the table and was walking towards them, and even before he introduced himself Matt knew that he must be the commander that Greyson had mentioned and Richard had just warned him about. He was a big man, physically fit, with broad shoulders, a solid neck and silver hair, cut very precisely. He had the sort of face that demanded to be taken seriously, with a square jaw and ice-blue eyes. Matt guessed he must be about fifty. He was dressed in the uniform of the United States Navy: a khaki jacket and trousers, button-up shirt, black tie, epaulettes and gold belt buckle. There were two rows of coloured ribbons across his chest and although he was in the middle of Antarctica, his shoes were polished and every crease was in place.
    “Yes, Commander,” Richard said, in reply to his question. “It’s the best thing that could have happened to us. This is Lohan. I told you about him. He helped us in Hong Kong…”
    “And the young man?”
    Richard hesitated a moment, wondering if Matt would want to tell these people who he was, but Matt caught his eye and nodded slightly. “He’s Matthew Freeman,” Richard said. “He’s one of the Gatekeepers.”
    This caused a stir among the other people who had left the table and were grouped around them. Matt saw that they were all naval people, lieutenants and commanders – but from different navies. One looked South American. Another pair were obviously British, with their navy blue jackets trimmed with gold on the cuffs and crowns displayed prominently on their caps. There were two serious-looking women and an older man in a suit who might have been a university professor.
    The commander had heard what Richard said and shook his head slowly, weighing up his words. He showed no emotion at all. Matt could see that he was being careful not to be impressed. “Did they bring in any supplies?” he asked. It was an odd question, almost irrelevant. And he hadn’t even addressed it to Matt, as if he would be unable to answer for himself.
    “No, sir,” Greyson replied. He had removed his hood to reveal a short, naval haircut, blue eyes and freckles. He didn’t look much older than Matt himself. “They have a little fuel and alcohol, nothing more. We haven’t had a chance to look over the aircraft, though.”
    Matt was growing increasingly uncomfortable. What right did these men have to walk onto their plane – and who had put them in charge? But perhaps he was being unfair. The so-called World Army might have two or three thousand people in it, but someone had to give the orders. A military or naval commander would be the obvious choice. And this wasn’t the time for an argument. Matt wanted to be alone with Richard and Scarlett. He needed to know what was going on.
    “It was a Legacy Shuttle, wasn’t it?” the commander asked.
    “A Legacy 600, sir.”
    “Well, that’s good. We can move some more folk out of tents and put them on board. This weather is too cold to be sleeping outside and we’ve still got women and children with no proper place to