by James Phelan
Lora rushed at him, but with her dart gun drawn. Sam, interlocking his elbows through those of the instructor’s, dropped with all his weight and turned forward into a roll, flipping the instructor over his head—
THUMP!
The instructor knocked Lora over and the two of them tangled on the floor in a heap. Sam was already standing, triumphant, with Lora’s dart gun now in hand.
‘OK,’ the instructor said, catching his breath and laughing. ‘He’s ready.’
Outside, Sam walked with Eva, following Lora through the maze of school buildings and then across the sports ovals. He thought they were headed for the boathouse but then they took a path towards the woods. The path led to a clearing which Sam could see was an archery range.
‘Something for you,’ Lora said, handing Sam her dart gun. ‘You might need one of these.’
‘Really?’ Sam said, holding the weapon.
‘It’s like any other air pistol,’ Lora said, ‘only it fires small darts, about two centimetres long.’
Sam felt the weight of the weapon in his hand.
‘The darts are tipped with a neurotoxin,’ Lora said, ‘that will shut down a target for anywhere from half an hour up to about six.’
Sam nodded, remembering Sebastian shooting him in the neck, close-up and hitting him mid-vein … he’d dropped like a sack and was out for a few hours.
‘The length of time they’re out will depend on their size and physiology, as well as where you shoot them, but even the biggest guy, shot in the back, will be incapacitated for thirty minutes.’ Lora pointed to the top of the pistol grip near Sam’s thumb. ‘There’s a setting there to adjust the levels.’
Sam asked, ‘How many darts does it hold?’
‘Eighteen,’ Lora replied, and handed him two more loaded clips. ‘And there’s enough compressed gas in there to go through nine clips, then you have to change the cylinder.’
Lora demonstrated by pulling the gun apart in a couple of seconds, then piecing it back together in a series of clicks.
‘I don’t think I’ll get that trigger happy,’ Sam replied, testing out the loading sequence.
‘Go ahead,’ Lora said. ‘Send some darts down the range.’
Sam aimed the weapon and fired—it hit low.
He tried again, on the level but to the right.
‘Try and be steady with the way you pull the trigger,’ Lora suggested. ‘Squeeze it gently.’
Sam did as instructed—still far wide of the bullseye. He fired another three times, getting closer to the centre target each time. Then he tried a few combinations of quick-drawing in different stances, and got the hang of it when he finally hit a round next to the bullseye.
‘Good work,’ Lora said. ‘I sometimes forget what a quick learner you are.’
‘Thanks,’ Sam said. ‘Eva, want a shot?’
Eva’s eyes narrowed.
‘I’m not really a fan of weapons,’ she replied.
‘Come on …’ Sam said. ‘One shot.’
‘It might come in handy one day,’ Lora encouraged.
‘Fine,’ Eva replied, taking the dart gun. She took aim and squeezed the trigger.
WHACK!
‘That’s—incredible!’ Sam said, marvelling at the small dart stuck perfectly in the middle of the tiny target. Eva raised one eyebrow and handed the dart gun back to Sam.
Lora’s phone beeped. She was still smiling as she read the incoming message.
‘I’ve got to run back, but you should stay and practise. Finish those clips then replace the gas canister,’ Lora said, walking away.
Sam fired off the remainder of the darts and then loaded in a new set.
‘Come on, you know you want to see if you can do that again,’ Sam said, handing the dart gun to Eva again. She smiled and took it from him. It looked big in her hands. ‘I mean, anyone can get lucky once, right? But can you do it again?’
Her dart hit the bullseye—right next to her first, and far better than any Sam had fired. She laughed and fired a couple more times, both projectiles hitting close to the previous ones.
‘I think you’ll find the answer to your question is yes,’ Eva said, handing the gun over. ‘Last year I was first in Washington State under 16’s in archery.’
Sam smiled and shook his head as he unloaded the gun. ‘You are a girl of many talents, Eva.’
‘Yes, Sam, I am,’ she grinned.
They walked slowly towards the helicopter pad.
‘Are you scared?’ Eva asked. ‘I mean, about going out there again?’
‘A little bit,’ Sam admitted. ‘My dream … it was so weird. And, well, you’d think I’d be used to seeing myself like that. But this whole new dream-steering thing that messes with what’s real? That’s scary stuff.’
‘You know what,’ Eva said, staring absently at the ground as they walked, ‘you should do one thing every day that scares you.’
‘Sounds like good advice.’
‘It is,’ Eva said.
‘Where’d you get that from?’ Sam asked.
‘My mum used to say it.’
The sun poked through the low dark clouds and the dew on the grass shone like crystals.
‘There’s something else, isn’t there?’ Eva said and Sam was conscious that she was interrogating him. ‘Was it your dream? Something that you aren’t telling me?’
‘No, I promise, it’s not that.’
‘What then?’ she persisted.
‘I just hate saying goodbye to you guys,’ Sam said. ‘Especially after what happened at the Swiss campus. I should be here, with you.’
Eva pointed at a squad of armed Guardians walking the perimeter of the forest.
‘We’ll be fine here, don’t worry about anything other than yourself,’ Eva said. ‘Those aren’t dart guns they’re carrying. Not anymore. Besides, someone has to keep things running behind the scenes.’ She nudged him gently.
Sam nodded. They rounded the corner of a building and saw that the helicopter was readying for take-off. Tobias and Xavier walked over to it with their packs slung across their shoulders.
‘But will you be OK?’ Sam asked.
Eva looked across at Sam and for a few seconds there was silence between them.
‘You’re the one who sees so much more of the future than me,’ she said. ‘So, you tell me—will I be OK here?’
‘Yeah,’ Sam said, smiling. ‘I think you’ll be fine.’
‘We’re leaving!’ Tobias called at the helicopter as the rotors started up. ‘Your bag is on board already, Sam.’
Lora joined them, and Sam could tell that she had some news to share.
‘We’ve found Mac,’ she said, ‘or rather, he’s found us. He wants to meet.’
‘He does?’ Sam scoffed.
Lora nodded, then said, ‘I’ll go straightaway. Eva, you up for a field trip?’
‘For sure.’
‘Good, we’ll leave now, too.’
‘Don’t forget what Mac tried to pull on us in France,’ Sam said. His face creased with concern. ‘You guys will be careful, won’t you?’
‘Don’t worry—we’ll find out what he’s up to and what he wants,’ Lora said. ‘He said the situation is not how it appears. And it would be better to form some kind of truce with him, to work together if we can, than have him as another enemy. At least for now.’
Sam nodded doubtfully, looking back to the chopper. They were ready for take-off, now just waiting for him.
Eva hugged Sam, who strapped his pack on tight.
‘Be careful out there,’ Sam said to her.
‘We’ll be OK. You’ve seen me shoot,’ she said with another grin. ‘You just focus on what you need to do. Just remember to breathe. Come on, Lora, we’ll be fronting Mac long before these guys get to Brazil. Let’s roll!’
Sam waved goodbye and smiled a bittersweet smile as he ran to the chopper. ‘That’s my catchphrase.’
19
EVA
‘Is it your first tim
e in Chicago?’ Lora asked.
‘Yes,’ Eva replied, walking behind four hulking Guardians, ‘and I can see why they call it the Windy City.’
‘I know, this is pretty extreme, even from what I’ve seen over the years,’ Lora said, as they made their way across the forecourt of the Willis Tower. ‘It’s just up here.’
Inside the lobby, shadowed by Guardians, they took the elevator to the eighty-second floor, where they met a group of police officers and several FBI agents. Eva watched as Lora spoke to the senior officers and agents.
A few moments later, she came back over.
‘They’re keen to talk to Mac,’ Lora said. ‘They want to ask him some questions about what happened in Paris. According to his message, sent by an intermediary, he’s due to be here today. His office is a few levels above us.’
‘And then what?’ Eva asked. ‘They’ll move in and arrest him for what he did to the Dreamer Councillors?’
‘Possibly … we don’t have any hard evidence about what happened in Paris,’ Lora replied, ‘so it’s more of a line of inquiry at this point.’
‘But what about the way he confronted Sam?’ Eva persisted.
‘That might have been unpleasant, but you can’t arrest someone for that. He didn’t actually do anything to Sam or Zara. Tempting as it is to paint him as the bad guy, what we really need is to find out what he’s been up to and who he’s working for—or with.’
How come she looks so uneasy, then?
‘Well, I’m glad you let me come,’ Eva said decidedly. ‘It’s time I got more involved.’
‘I’m still not completely convinced you should be out in the field with me,’ Lora cautioned, then she gave in and smiled, ‘but I figure you’ve earned your place in all this and besides, I like us working as a team.’
‘Subject entering the building,’ crackled the police radio in the set-up room of the Chicago skyscraper.
‘Finally,’ Eva said to Lora, and the two of them stood and watched the surveillance footage of Mac entering the lobby of the building and waiting for the lift. He had four bodyguards with him.
‘I say we go in as soon as he gets into his office,’ a captain from the Chicago police said. He had two squads of heavily-armed SWAT members waiting on the fire-stairs, out of sight and ready to roll.
‘No,’ Lora said. ‘I’ll go in, try talking to him first. I want to hear what he has to say, and then I’ll tell him he’s surrounded. I don’t want this to end up getting ugly if we can avoid it.’
The cop nodded, and all in the room turned to watch the flickering image of Mac in the elevator, rising up to his office.
We’ve got all the backup we could need. So why do I feel so nervous?
20
SAM
Sam had never been to South America, and after London he wasn’t prepared for the heat and humidity as he stepped out of the air-conditioned plane. The lush palm trees behind the chain-link fences of the airport runway on the outskirts of Brasilia gave it an instant tropical feel. They walked to the terminal where—thanks to Tobias and his Academy paperwork—they breezed through customs and out into the street. The sights and sounds and smells of another world hit Sam’s senses all at once.
‘I’m getting us some of those char-grilled corn cobs,’ Sam said, sniffing the barbequed goodness in the air, ‘and cold drinks.’
‘Right behind you,’ Tobias said. ‘Make mine a double—that airplane food was terrible.’
‘Wait up a sec, guys,’ Xavier said, as they zigzagged across the busy road of honking cars, trucks and motorbikes all shuffling along in some kind of well-organised chaos. ‘Do we have to worry about snakes around here? In the jungle or whatever, I mean?’
‘Snakes?’ Sam said, waiting in line for the food vendor. He blinked in the brightness of the sky, so very different to that which he’d last seen in England.
‘Yeah, snakes,’ Xavier said, looking at him wide-eyed. ‘You know, slithery, slippery, sneaky, poisonous things.’
‘Nah,’ Sam replied, smiling to Tobias. ‘The snakes here, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t worry about the poisonous ones.’
‘Oh?’ Xavier said, visibly a little relieved.
‘Oh, no,’ Sam said. ‘It’s just the ones that will swallow you whole that I’d worry about.’
‘Yeah,’ Tobias said, cottoning on to the joke. ‘That’s right. The big snakes here will eat you in one big ugly gulp.’
‘Right …’ Xavier said, turning pale.
‘Don’t worry,’ Sam said. ‘The spiders ate most of the snakes. Didn’t you do any reading up on Brazil on the flight?’
‘Nope … just how big are these spiders?’ Xavier said.
Tobias nodded and spread his hands wide to show how big they grew in these parts.
‘Serious?’ Xavier said.
‘Yep,’ Sam said, paying for the corn. ‘That big, and hairy too, huge fangs.’
‘Oh boy …’ Xavier had turned white and looked like he’d lost any appetite he may have had.
‘It’s fine, don’t worry about it,’ Tobias said to Xavier. ‘Like the snakes, it’s not that these giant spiders are really poisonous, it’s just that they might take your arm or leg off with a single bite.’
Xavier shuddered as Sam and Tobias burst out laughing.
Just then Sam heard their names being called, and spotted Pablo waving at them across the road. They crossed over to the shade of a huge tree, where Pablo stood by a white four-wheel drive. Two other vehicles full of Guardians were parked close by. Here, the huge guys who looked after Dreamers were in military-style uniforms with their weapons out in the open.
Different country, different rules, I guess. Don’t know if seeing them like this makes me feel more or less safe.
‘Welcome, it’s such an honour to be joining you in this race,’ Pablo said, shaking their hands. His jolly stomach and bald head were wet with sweat. ‘Ah, Tobias my old friend. Xavier, how wonderful to meet you, I’m a long-time admirer of your father’s work on the Council. And Sam, you are a wonder, to be certain. Now, are we all ready for an Amazonian adventure?’
In Pablo’s office at the university, Sam sat at a large table along with Xavier and Tobias. The eight Guardians who had shadowed them there from the airport remained outside in the hall, along with a couple of security guards watching the entrances.
‘You’re safe here,’ Pablo said, sensing Sam’s wariness.
‘Thanks to the Professor pulling some strings with the government, this university has a small private army of security guards on hand.’
Sam nodded.
‘Here,’ Pablo said, passing a package to Xavier. ‘It arrived in the mail a few days ago.’
The package was still sealed.
Xavier pulled open the paper wrapping to reveal a small leather-bound journal, with maybe a hundred pages of scrawled, tiny handwriting and diagrams inside.
‘That’s it,’ Xavier said. ‘Wait, there’s a note,’ he added. ‘Oh. It’s for you, Sam.’ He passed it over and Sam read aloud for everyone.
‘I wonder why he addressed the package to me, then?’ Xavier puzzled.
‘Perhaps he thought that was safer than using Sam’s name,’ Tobias said.
‘So we need to get everything we can out of this journal,’ Xavier said, flicking through the pages of scrawled notes and drawings. ‘Luckily I’ve been around his terrible handwriting my entire life, otherwise we’d be in big trouble.’
‘Can we scan the journal?’ Tobias asked, looking at the pages. ‘That way we can enlarge the pages on the computer, and work on them simultaneously here and back at the Academy.’
‘I can get that underway at once,’ Pablo replied, and picked up his phone and called for his assistants.
He turned back to them as he hung up the phone. ‘Is there any further news on Dr Kader’s whereabouts?’ he asked.
‘I’m afraid not,’ Tobias said. ‘We’ve put together a small team through the Council of Dreamers to search for him. But
our resources are so stretched at the moment, there’s not much else we can do.’
‘My father told me that the Egyptian police have alerted international authorities to keep a look out for him,’ Xavier added sadly.
‘He might have gotten spooked and gone into hiding, fearing that he was about to be abducted. Or …’ Tobias trailed off.
‘Or those who were watching him may have taken him,’ Sam said, finishing Tobias’ thought.
‘Like Hans or Mac?’ Xavier asked.
Tobias nodded. ‘They may have him, or, like I said, with any luck he decided to go into hiding and he may just plan to stay hidden until this is all over, helping us out from the shadows.’
‘Kinda like you did out on that mountain,’ Sam said.
Tobias smiled.
‘It’s such a pity,’ Pablo said. ‘Kader would be such a brilliant man to have with us for this kind of mission.’
‘We’ll have to make do with what he left us in this book,’ Sam said. There was a knock at the door and Pablo ushered in two of his academic assistants who immediately went to a computer and began diligently scanning the journal’s pages.
‘Good luck reading some of his handwriting,’ Xavier said. ‘When I was a kid, he used to make treasure maps for me to follow and find chocolates in his workshop. They were so bad neither he nor I could find half the loot he’d stashed. To this day I still find candy from ten years ago on dusty shelves and under his relics.’
Sam and the others laughed at the image of decade-old chocolate bars and sweets squirreled away among Ahmed’s library of priceless artefacts.
‘Yeah,’ Sam said, ‘well, fortunately it’s the next Dreamer who will lead us in the search now, not your godfather.’
‘Perhaps,’ Pablo said, ‘but I take from that note you read out that Dr Kader knew of some details in your quest ahead that will require a little, shall we say … careful reading.’
21
‘So we know where to go, to the ferry,’ Sam said, looking at a computerised map that showed the Roosevelt-Rondon marked at its mooring. It was due to be there in six hours. ‘I wonder what’s so important about Ahmed’s journal?’
