The Power of Five Oblivion

were once filled with outdoor cafés and flower stalls but now contained only a few clusters of people, slumped on the concrete, sleeping out the heat of the day. A huge gateway rose up on one side and above it there was a clock, which had stopped permanently at eleven o’clock. The eleventh hour. It was somehow appropriate.
    And there was Scott, moving towards him across the paving stones, on his own, without a bodyguard. Even before he got close, Pedro could see that he had changed. He was healthier, stronger, more sure of himself – walking as if the square and the entire city belonged to him. His hair had been cut shorter and he was wearing new clothes – an expensive shirt, jeans and trainers. He saw Pedro and raised a hand in greeting, but there was little emotion on his face and he clearly wasn’t in any hurry. Almost at once, Pedro got the impression that something had gone badly wrong. The boy approaching him was nothing like the Scott he had known. He wondered if he should turn and run.
    It was too late. Scott was here. There was nobody with him, no armed soldiers or police closing in on the square. Pedro relaxed a little. At least it seemed that he had come on his own.
    “Hello, Pedro,” Scott said.
    “Hello, Scott.”
    “I was really surprised to get your note. I didn’t even know you could write. There’s a kid called Giovanni … I think that’s his name. He cleans my room and works in the kitchen. Was he the one who helped you escape?”
    “No. I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Pedro hadn’t intended to lie but even as the words left his mouth, he realized that he didn’t trust Scott and wasn’t going to give anything away. He was already wishing that he had never come to this meeting. It wasn’t just that he had put himself in danger. If Scott really had guessed how Pedro had been helped to escape from the Castel Nuovo, the whole Amati family would be killed.
    “I have to say, I was impressed. The whole place went completely crazy after they found you were gone. In the end they worked out you must have gone through the sewers. That must have been pretty gross … having that crap all over you. But I’ve got to hand it to you – I didn’t think you had it in you.”
    Pedro wasn’t sure what to say. He knew that Scott wasn’t really complimenting him. He was mocking him.
    “Are you OK, Scott?” he asked.
    Scott raised his hands, showing off his new clothes. “You can see for yourself. When they dragged me out of the cell, I was expecting the worst. But in fact they’ve been pretty good to me. I can’t complain.” He shrugged. “They’re looking after me.”
    “And what have you offered them in return?”
    “What makes you think I’ve offered them anything?” Pedro didn’t answer so he went on. “That’s the trouble with you. That’s the trouble with all of you. From the very start, none of you have ever rated me. I was always the weak link, wasn’t I. You think I’d turn you in right now for a steak sandwich and a can of Coke. Is that what you think, Pedro? Do you think I’ve become one of them?”
    Pedro gestured. “You have everything. I have nothing.”
    “That’s because of the choice you’ve made.”
    “And what choice have you made, Scott?”
    “I’ve chosen to stop running around and stop being hurt. I never wanted any of this hero thing in the first place. You have no idea what sort of life I’ve had, Pedro, from the very start when I was found dumped in a seed box beside Lake Tahoe. Nobody ever wanted me. I was beaten up in the orphanage. My foster parents treated me like dirt. I spent two years in a crummy theatre in Reno doing tricks without even getting paid, and if I refused I got beaten up again. And why did this all happen to me? Because I was ‘one of the Five’. I’d been chosen. Lucky me!
    “Except I was never really one of you, was I. You were all over my little brother … best buddies … but I got left out of the loop. I know why Matt wanted you to be my nursemaid when he went off to London. He didn’t trust me – just like you don’t trust me now.”
    “I’m here,” Pedro said.
    “But you’re looking over my shoulder. I can see you twitching, Stick Insect. You think the big bad policemen are on their way any minute. You can’t believe that I’d simply come out here on my own and meet you face-to-face.”
    “Why did you?” Pedro asked.
    “Because I wanted you to know how I felt. I wanted you to tell the