Luca E

19. The room was very white, smooth, glossy walls without windows. Zachary sat in the middle on a soft cushioned bench seat with no back. The material of the seat contrasted dramatically with the whiteness of the room, the olive green adding colour. Opposite him, across the low glass table sat Touma Shimizu. To his right sat Lowerstoff and to his left, Emile. "There's a certain symmetry between order and chaos," Emile said. No one replied, the room was filled with the soft

18. Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, 1962. It felt like a journey without end, Sarah had been travelling halfway across northern Europe, London presented itself as the final destination. She walked briskly across the still damp pavement. Half an hour earlier the skies were dark with rain clouds, she'd watched the downpour through the window of the taxi. Chance was on her side, as she stepped from the black cab the rain evaporated. For the moment she was safe. Safe from getti

17. Sarah Turin was no different from the majority of Cambridge graduates, a pretty enough girl with a homely southern counties image, an educated but in many ways naive young woman, brought up in a conservative and somewhat cloistered environment. The second daughter of a professional couple for whom there was never any real doubt she would follow in her older sibling's shoes. Cambridge was the first step to a career as a professional in her chosen speciality. The fact her specialit

16. Touma walked through, exactly as he had been instructed, his hand resting on the piece of paper pinned to his chest. He didn't want to lose that, it was important, he would need to do exactly what the note told him, even if he remembered nothing. Lowerstoff followed Touma. He too had a note pinned to him, a message to remind him just like Touma and the others. In the large room was an equally large electronic display. Touma looked at it and then at his companions. Every

15. They were somewhere in the desert, the small group of white single storey buildings a kind of oasis that had power and computers housed within as if a massive data centre had been plucked from a city somewhere and crash landed in the middle of nowhere. Baragsen led them all into what must have been the main control room, the centre of everything Zachary mused. "I need to get you all linked up," Baragsen said, and at the same time mad scientists, in white robes resemblin

14. They had moved into the old villa, a dilapidated old mansion hidden in the midst of a large completely overgrown garden. What once had been a splendid ornate frame for an architectural masterpiece, was now a wilderness of tangled bushes and brambles. If you didn't pay attention the jungle of sharp thorns would tear clothing and cut skin. Still it meant they were in a safe place away from prying eyes with little danger of being disturbed. Lowerstoff was occupied with the radi

13. "Of course you wouldn't believe it." He scrutinised Zachary. "You probably won't understand anything I explain." "I'm not stupid, Emile," Zachary glared at him. "I'm not sure I trust you, but that's another question." "Funny, because you seem to have confidence in Touma. Maybe that's because you are closer with the boys that you are attracted to?" Emile twisted his head in an odd expression of questioning and disdain. "You might be right. How would I know, I'm too

12. Zachary could not believe how sumptuous the villa was and how relatively easy it had been to get an invite. Adil had worked his magic with a boy he knew. Perhaps a kid who owed him, or was a relative, it didn't matter and Zachary hadn't asked. The only downside, there was one gold embossed invitation with the space for one name on it, so he was alone. They still discussed who should go although Zachary was the obvious choice. As he crossed the broad steps that led down to an

11. Appearing out of the darkness from behind the little boat was Adil. Zachary recognised him in an instant and so did Lowerstoff. Adil was always together with Hassan, Lowerstoff remembered Hassan like it was yesterday. He probably wouldn't admit it, but he had a soft spot for the kid. "Where's Hassan?" Lowerstoff asked. "Hassan?" Adil replied, puzzled. "Yeah, the other kid who was with you." "It nice to see you," Adil said to Zachary, ignoring Lowerstoff.

10. Things did not pan out in this reality following the order vaguely or otherwise that Zachary expected. So they had to consider what to do next, because a meeting with Violetta Cantagalli seemed key to Zachary and Lowerstoff agreed. Touma was still for going to Tokyo with the usb key. The telephone rang when they were still in bed. It had been a kind of wild night which was evident when the ringing woke up Zachary. Blinking and looking around he grabbed the phone from the wa

9. "Hamilton didn't look pleased when he saw Touma," Lowerstoff said. Zachary looked at him but made no reply. They were in the same hotel, the one with the bar and terrace overlooking the Promenade des Anglais and the blue, blue, Mediterranean. The sky matched the colour of the sea. It was difficult to draw the line where sea and sky met. Boats were out along the coast, traffic passing slowly on the promenade and people, lots of people. All manner of people, different ages, dif

8. "Zack! Zack!" Lowerstoff was leaning over a sleeping Zachary, "wake up!" The young man on the bed stirred and mumbled incoherently. Lowerstoff shook him gently. "Eh! What? What is it?" Zachary opened his eyes and looked up at Lowerstoff. "Your father is on the phone." "What does he want?" "How should I know? To make trouble?" "Yeah, right. Okay, I'm coming." Lowerstoff stood back allowing Zachary room to roll out of bed. There was not much space

7. It seemed pretty amazing how the pilot managed to land, but thank God, he did, and they were still alive. Unbuckling his seatbelt Zachary turned around and looked over at Lowerstoff. In that split second he realised he loved him. He had said that before, but that instant it hit him full on, like a shockwave. An after shock, perhaps. Coming that close to death Zachary knew he couldn't live without Lowerstoff and that left him with a dilemma. They had travelled halfway across t

6. "Do you think any of this will make more sense when we get to Ibaraki?" Zachary asked Emile. "I don't know, but if you believe Baragsen. He said you'd get your answers. So, why not?" "Who are you?" Lowerstoff asked, suddenly. "The son of the woman you tried to kill," Emile frowned. "We didn't try to kill anyone." "You know this is all about you. You and Zack. I'm not sure who is the key here, but if I were to opt for one or the other, I'd say Lowerstoff."

5. They couldn't stay like that for very long, it was urgent to get out of there. Zachary could see more explosions a long way off, lighting up a nearby town or some strategic target. The sky was a blaze on the horizon. He shouted out the window of the tanker. "We should go!" They must have been filling the plane for ten or so minutes, it should have been enough fuel to get them airborne and hopefully out of the country. "Shut off the engine!" Malcolm shouted back.