The Power of Five Oblivion

“I know why you’re asking me to do this. I understand. But I don’t think I could do it, even if I wanted to. I was only able to control the storm in Hong Kong because Matt and Jamie were there. That’s how it works. We have to be together. We’ll only be strong enough to take on the Old Ones when all five of us meet … which is why they’ve always wanted to keep us apart. And right now I’m on my own. I’ve never been more on my own and I don’t think I could do it. I really don’t.
    “But I’ll be honest with you. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I don’t want to make you angry and I am grateful for what you’ve done for me. But no matter how bad this man is, I don’t think it’s my job to kill him. I’m not sure I’d be able to live with myself if I did. That’s just how it is.”
    Scarlett faltered and came to a halt. Richard looked at her with genuine admiration. She was standing there, inside the compound, surrounded by heavily armed and grimly determined men. And she had defied them. But he wondered what was going to happen next. If Tarik couldn’t use her as he had hoped, would he continue to protect her?
    But the rebel leader had already come to his own conclusion. He lowered his head briefly, admitting defeat. “I understand how you feel,” he said. “And there is no need for us to discuss it any further. Perhaps I was wrong to ask you but we cannot ignore any avenue in this great struggle. We must consider now what is to be done with you, Scarlett. One thing is for sure. You must leave Cairo as soon as possible. El-Akkad does not share your scruples and will do anything to find you. We are all in danger while you are here.”
    He snapped out a few words in Arabic to one of his officers, who nodded and left. Richard and Scarlett were standing together. Albert Rémy was looking at them gloomily from the side.
    “I have a lot of work to do and we may not meet each other again,” Tarik said. “We will see what can be done and I will inform you as soon as I have a plan.”
    And that was it. Tarik took one last look at her, then walked away. As he went, one of the soldiers raised a fist in a sign of defiance and suddenly, all around the compound, everyone was doing the same. At the same time, they called out his name, chanting it over and over again as he sprang into a waiting jeep and was driven towards the exit. At the last moment, he raised his own hand in acknowledgement. Then the metal gate was slid aside, the jeep disappeared into a cloud of sand and he was gone.
    Rémy said nothing and Scarlett had no doubt that, whatever Tarik might have said, he was disappointed by the stand she had taken. Richard put an arm around her shoulders.
    “You were right,” he said, quietly.
    “I wonder…”
    Scarlett had seen the way Tarik had looked at her before he went. He was a hero to these people. He was fighting for their freedom. And he was on her side. But even so it had been clear that he was angry with her and she wondered what might be the result.

FIFTEEN
    Two days later, with the sand clouds glowing orange as the sun tried to break through, the rebel second-in-command came to see them. They knew that his name was Samir but he had told them nothing else about himself. Maybe there was nothing else. He was utterly loyal to Tarik. For him, the war was everything.
    Richard and Scarlett had hardly spoken to anyone since their encounter with Tarik and they had both come to the conclusion that even if all the details of their discussion hadn’t been made public, everyone knew that there had been some sort of disagreement and that Scarlett had refused to co-operate. They were still given food and water. A doctor had come up to take one last look at Scarlett’s wound. But generally the men avoided them, drifting away whenever they approached.
    Only Albert Rémy stayed close and he didn’t seem too concerned about what had happened.
    “Of course he was disappointed but Tarik is a remarkable man,” he told them. “He’s devoted his whole life to his people and he would do anything – demand anything – to further their cause. It’s hard for him to accept that the war we are fighting, the war against the Old Ones, is even bigger than the battle here in Egypt. I’m sure he’ll see sense. We have to find the others … that’s what matters. Matt and Pedro, Scott and Jamie. When the Five are together, everything will change.”
    But there was no sign of the other four. Whenever she