by Chris Ryan
‘Do something!’ begged Li.
Alex and Hex leaned over the side of the truck and began beating at the pack with the branches they had picked up. The maddened dogs ignored them.
General Manteca urged his horse out of the trees onto the road. He took in the situation with one glance, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the little metal box. He flicked the switch and the red flashing lights on their bracelets blinked out. The dogs stopped snarling and pulled away from the body of the Quechua Indian. Some of them wandered about on the road as though they weren’t quite sure how they got there, while others nudged at the tattered remains of their master and whined softly.
The general looked down at the body of his dog-trainer, then turned his cold eyes on the five of them where they huddled together in the back of the off-roader. He got down from his horse and tied the reins to a tree, then he pulled a high-powered rifle from the saddle bag and took aim at the back of the off-roader, trying to decide who to shoot first.
Alex bowed his head and waited for the bullets to hit. They never came. Suddenly, half a dozen men in camouflage gear materialized out of the trees, with their weapons trained on the general. One of the men was his father. Alex grinned as a huge wave of astonished relief swept over him.
‘Lower your rifle, Luis,’ instructed Alex’s father in a cold voice.
The general stared in shock at the six men surrounding him, then glanced towards the trees, judging his chances.
‘You won’t make it,’ Alex’s father went on, in the same cold voice.
The general slowly lowered his rifle, then laid it on the ground. Two of the men hurried forward and collected the rifle, then frisked the general. Alex recognized one of the men as Mike. They removed the little metal box and a cellphone from his pockets, then stepped back.
Alex’s father hurried over to the off-roader and Alex opened his mouth to speak, but his father only glanced without recognition at the group of mud-, slime- and blood-covered kids in the back before reaching in and turning off the ignition. ‘No se mueva,’ he ordered, before turning all his attention back to the general. He thinks we’re street kids, thought Alex, watching his father in open fascination. He was seeing a completely different side of him. A side that had always been off-limits to Alex.
‘When did you get back?’ asked the general, as though he had merely bumped into Alex’s father in the street.
‘Last night. Guayaquil was a dead-end, but of course you knew that.’
‘How did you find out . . .?’
‘About you? A street kid came and found me. Leo, he was called.’
In the back of the off-roader, Amber raised her eyes to the sky. Leo! She had forgotten all about him. She sent a silent thank-you to Leo for doing as she had asked.
‘Leo?’ The general shook his head. ‘Don’t know him.’
‘No, of course you don’t,’ said Alex’s dad. ‘The only street kids you know are dead ones. Leo knew you, though. He told me all about you.’
‘And how did you find this place?’ asked the general.
‘That was easy,’ said Alex’s dad, holding up the cellphone that Mike had passed to him. ‘I sent a text message from Paris this morning.’
‘Ah,’ smiled the general. ‘Very clever. Then you pinpointed the location of the signal.’
‘We were in the woods, moving in to reconnoitre the house, when all hell broke loose.’
‘A man has to have some hobbies,’ said the general. ‘I always love to hunt on a beautiful day like this.’
‘You won’t be doing any more hunting today. I’m taking you back to Quito to face charges of murder and the manufacture and smuggling of cocaine.’
‘You can try, my friend, but it won’t work. You can’t do anything to me in my own country. I am too powerful here. Too many people owe me a favour.’
‘I thought you might say that,’ said Alex’s dad. He turned to the off-roader and looked at Amber, who was still clutching the key to the bracelets. ‘Take off the rest of the bracelets,’ he instructed her in Spanish. ‘Then throw them over here, with the key.’
Amber hurried to carry out the instructions as Alex’s dad turned back to the general. She started with Alex. Once the bracelet was off, Alex’s eyes widened as he spotted the tell-tale ring of white skin that had been revealed beneath. No street kid had skin that pale. Quickly Alex hid his hand behind his back, but his father had not noticed. He was busy with the general.
‘You have two choices, Luis,’ said Alex’s father. He held up his cellphone. ‘One: you can call the Justice Department and all the national newspapers right now, stating who you are and making a full confession.’
The general laughed. ‘And the second choice?’ he asked.
Alex’s father picked up the bracelets from the ground where Amber had thrown them. Then he bent and retrieved the final bracelet from the hand of the Quechua Indian. He linked all the bracelets together, leaving the one at the end of the chain open. He stepped forward and clipped this final bracelet around the general’s wrist.
‘The second choice,’ he said, holding up the little metal box, ‘is to take your chances with the dogs.’
There was a long silence as the two men stared at one another. Finally Alex’s father spoke again. ‘Do any of you kids drive?’ he called in Spanish, without turning his head away from the general.
‘I do,’ replied Paulo.
‘Then get out of here,’ ordered Alex’s dad. ‘All of you.’
Paulo clambered over the seats, hanging onto the roll bars of the off-roader, and settled himself in the driver’s seat. Eliza scrambled after him, her eyes big with panic in case he was planning to leave her. She pressed herself against his side and Paulo smiled down at her reassuringly. Quickly he checked the controls. They were pretty much the same as the off-roaders he was used to driving on his ranch. Paulo started the engine and put the off-roader into gear. He hesitated, looking over at the SAS men.
‘Go!’ ordered Alex’s dad.
Paulo hit the accelerator and the off-roader took off down the track in a cloud of dust. Alex stared back at the silent group of men standing by the track until they disappeared from view.
A few minutes later they all heard the dreadful baying of the dogs start up again.
The general had made his choice.
Amber shuddered and moved closer to Hex in the back of the off-roader. He put an arm around her shoulders.
‘That was close,’ said Li, in a shaken voice. ‘We were nearly finished.’
‘Remind me to thank Leo next time I see him,’ said Hex.
‘That was my dad, you know,’ said Alex proudly.
‘We guessed that,’ said Amber.
‘He didn’t even recognize me.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ said Amber. ‘Have you looked in a mirror lately?’
Alex leaned forward and stared into the rear-view mirror. His face and hair were completely caked in drying mud and green weed. He grinned at the sight and his teeth shone brightly against the dirt.
‘Where to?’ asked Paulo from the front seat.
‘Are you OK to drive?’ asked Alex.
Paulo nodded. ‘I am fine. Just bruised.’
‘Then let’s head back to Quito,’ said Alex
‘OK,’ said Paulo, ‘but you had better settle down now and put on your seatbelts. I do not have a licence, so we must not draw attention to ourselves.’
Alex, Li, Hex and Amber looked at one another in the back seat. They were all dressed in thermal longjohns and plastered with mud.
‘Oh, yeah, that’ll do it,’ spluttered Amber. ‘Once we put our seatbelts on, we won’t stand out at all!’
They all collapsed in the back seat. All the tension of the last few days poured out in wild, hysterical hoots of laughter. Paulo tried to frown seriously, but soon he was laughing too. The laughter was infectious and even little Eliza joined in, even though she had no idea what the joke was.
The off-roader reac
hed the end of the track, turned onto the busy Pan-American Highway and headed for Quito, trailing hoots of laughter behind it all the way.
EIGHTEEN
Sister Catherine’s House was a large old building in the heart of the Old Town. The paint was peeling and the plaster was crumbling, but the big double doors to the courtyard were open wide and a warm light was shining out onto the cobbled street.
The five members of Alpha Force climbed out of the taxi and stared up at the old house. Paulo reached back in to help Eliza out onto the street while Amber paid the taxi-driver. They all looked a lot better than they had two days earlier. The swelling around Paulo’s eye had nearly gone, although the bruising was now a spectacular combination of green and purple. The doctor Amber’s uncle brought to the hotel had given them all a thorough physical and declared them fit and well. He had given Paulo painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and he had treated Eliza for worms and lice.
For two days they had lain low in the hotel, eating, resting and getting their strength back. Now it was Christmas Eve and they had a plane to catch. Amber’s uncle had flown back to New York earlier that day. Alpha Force were flying out to Argentina later that night to spend Christmas together on Paulo’s ranch, but first they had one final task to complete.
Alex took a hasty look up and down the street before he stepped into the circle of light coming from the courtyard. He knew his father was still out at the general’s estate and would be there for the next few days, gathering the information to convict as many members of the drug-smuggling ring as he could, but Alex was still a little nervous, half-expecting his father to come striding around the next corner.
Eliza held back, staring up at the big house apprehensively, so Paulo scooped her up on one arm and picked up her overnight bag with the other. Eliza looked completely different. Her hair shone, her cheeks had a healthy glow and the sores and scabs on her skin were healing fast. The only thing that had not changed was the sad look in her eyes. Paulo looked at her little face and felt his heart twist. It was going to be hard to leave Eliza here, but he knew it had to be done.
They walked through the double doors into the courtyard and stopped in astonishment. A huge party was going on under the stars. The bushes were festooned with lanterns and a long row of tables had been set against the end wall. They were piled high with the food that all Quito families ate together on Christmas Eve. There were huge stuffed turkeys, bowls of grapes and raisins, massive platters of rice and cheese and piles of steaming sweetcorn. Tureens of hot chocolate and baskets filled with cookies stood on the end table. Street kids swarmed everywhere, filling their plates or chasing one another in and out of the courtyard arches. Some of them were adding Christmas party hats to the traditional Quito life-sized Nativity scene in the corner, helped by a plump young woman dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
Paulo took Eliza off to the tables of food, while the other four made their way over to the young woman. Amber cleared her throat and tried out her best Spanish. ‘Excuse me,’ she said. ‘We are looking for Sister Catherine.’
The young woman turned to face them. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘You can speak English.’
Amber grinned with relief. ‘Phew! My Spanish isn’t that good. Quite a party you have going on here.’
‘Yeah, well, we have a lot to celebrate,’ said the young woman. ‘The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in Quito! Can you believe an anonymous donor has given us millions — and I mean millions — of dollars?’ She hugged herself with excitement. ‘I still can’t quite take it in. We have such plans! More houses, of course, and schools, and—’ The young woman stopped and smiled at them. ‘But you don’t want to hear all that. How can I help you?’
‘We’re looking for Sister Catherine,’ said Li.
‘You’ve found her,’ said the young woman.
‘You’re Sister Catherine?’ Alex gaped openly before he remembered his manners.
Sister Catherine laughed. ‘Not all nuns wear habits and drift about looking holy, you know! So, how can I help?’
Amber’s face grew serious. ‘We have someone we want you to look after,’ she said, pointing out Eliza, who was still clinging to Paulo. ‘Her name is Eliza. She’s been through a lot. Her parents and her older brother are dead. She left her younger brother Toby here for adoption eight months ago, so she’s all on her own.’
Sister Catherine nodded understandingly. ‘Eliza will be welcome here. And, now we have all this money, we can offer her great things! Health and education. Perhaps even a place at university if she chooses. Great things!’
‘The thing is,’ said Li, ‘I think there might be a scene when we try to leave her. She’s become very attached to Paulo.’
Sister Catherine smiled. ‘I think I know what to do about that. The best thing a person can do when they are feeling small and lonely is to take care of someone else. I will bring one of the younger boys down and ask Eliza to take care of him. Then she will have a reason to stay. Wait here.’
Sister Catherine hurried off and the four of them were left standing in the middle of the courtyard. Amber looked around and spotted a familiar figure lurking in the shadows beyond the arches. He was stuffing turkey into his mouth and glaring around as though someone might try to steal it from him. Amber grinned broadly. ‘Leo!’ she yelled, waving madly.
Leo jumped, then glared out at her for a few seconds before slipping away.
‘Gracias, Leo! Gracias!’ called Amber after his retreating back. Leo flinched as though she had hit him.
‘Here we are!’ said Sister Catherine, behind them. They turned to see her holding the hand of a little boy of three. He was in his pyjamas and was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
‘Hello,’ said Li, smiling down at the little boy and holding out her hand.
He glared up at her, then, quick as a snake, tried to bite her hand. Li snatched it away just in time.
‘He does that a lot,’ said Sister Catherine calmly. ‘Mainly to people he thinks are going to try to adopt him.’
‘I’m not sure this is going to work,’ said Alex, looking from the ferocious little boy to Eliza, who was still clinging to Paulo’s neck.
‘Oh, it will work,’ said Sister Catherine. ‘This is a very special little boy. Watch.’
She turned and called across the courtyard. ‘Eliza!’
Eliza turned in Paulo’s arms and looked at Sister Catherine, who pointed down at the little boy. Eliza followed the pointing finger, then her eyes widened in delighted astonishment. She jumped out of Paulo’s arms and ran across the courtyard. The little boy spotted her and gave a wordless cry, full of yearning and relief. Eliza grabbed the little boy up in her arms and held him tight as he burst into noisy tears. Eliza pushed the blond curls away from his face and wiped his eyes with her sleeve, talking to him softly in Quechua. The tears were flowing down her own face, but she did not seem to notice.
‘Toby,’ said Amber wonderingly. ‘This is Toby?’
‘Yes,’ smiled Sister Catherine.
‘But Eliza was sure he would be adopted quickly,’ said Paulo, coming up behind them. ‘Because of his blond hair.’
‘Oh, he could have been adopted twenty times over,’ said Sister Catherine, ‘but he kept biting them. Said he wasn’t leaving because his sister Eliza would be back for him. Seems he was right.’
Eliza led Toby over to the tables of food and started picking out the tastiest morsels for him. He followed, clinging to her skirt and looking up at her as though she might vanish again at any minute.
‘Happy endings,’ said Amber, her voice full of tears. ‘Don’t cha just love ’em?’
She looked over to Sister Catherine and saw Leo lurking just behind her. Sister Catherine continued to smile over at Eliza and Toby, but her hand whipped behind her and caught Leo’s hand in a grip of iron, just as he was sliding her wallet out of the back pocket of her jeans. She twisted her hand, still smiling at Eliza and Toby, and Le
o bent over behind her, his face a silent picture of pain.
Leo had just met his match.
‘Sometimes,’ said Sister Catherine pleasantly, ‘I put a mousetrap in there. So watch out.’
She let go of Leo’s hand, still not looking round at him. Leo slunk away into the shadows, rubbing his crushed fingers.
‘You sorted him out!’ grinned Hex, but Sister Catherine’s face was sad as she looked at him.
‘That one, he’s been on the streets too long. We can hope, but it may be too late for him.’ She looked back at Eliza and Toby and her face brightened again. ‘But those two, now that’s a completely different story.’
‘I think,’ said Paulo, ‘it would be better to just slip away.’
Sister Catherine nodded. ‘Merry Christmas,’ she called softly, as Alpha Force headed for the door.
They stepped out onto the cobbled street and walked away from Sister Catherine’s House, each wrapped in their own thoughts. It had been quite a week. There had been a lot of deaths and a lot of danger. They were all feeling sad to be leaving Eliza but happy to have successfully completed their first mission. The night sky was clear and full of stars. Alex looked up, just as the first of a series of huge fireworks exploded over the Old Town of Quito.
‘Merry Christmas, Alpha Force,’ said Alex, beginning to smile.
‘Merry Christmas!’ replied Li, Paulo, Hex and Amber, smiling too.
The five members of Alpha Force moved closer together in the quiet street, content just to watch for a while as giant streamers of colour fizzed across the night sky above them.
CHRIS RYAN’S TOP TEN TIPS FOR SURVIVAL IN MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS
If you’re stuck on a mountain, whether it has forested slopes or is covered in snow and ice, it will almost certainly be high, inhospitable, difficult to travel across - and it will be hard to find someone lost there. The sheer scale of the surrounding terrain may make you feel that survival is impossible. It’s NOT- not if you keep your head and make use of any survival skills you have.