AT THE WATERFRONT

The waterfront was brand new - a silver and glass tower rising above the Thames at St Katharine's Dock. Her head pushed out the window, she looked up the river with Alex following her head movement, he could see Tower Bridge with HMS Belfast moored by. He didn't look the other way. He was only a few miles from where he'd been held prisoner. He didn't need a reminder of that.

Behind him, Jack Starbright stepped out of the ordinary London taxi that had brought them here. At first she was disgruntled. "So what happened to the Rolls-Royce?" she wondered out loud. But in the end she agreed that Drevin had made the right decision. The last thing either of them wanted was to make a grand entrance.

They walked into a foyer where everything seemed to be white or made of glass. Atlas scanned the area with her eyes, properly watching the two human footsteps and the others walking around them. She kept her eyes in front as soon as she saw a young woman waiting there to greet them.

"Hi," she said. "You must be Alex Rider and Jack Starbright. Mr Drevin asked me to look out for you." she spoke with an American accent. "My name is Tamara Knight. I'm Mr Drevin's personal assistant. "

Alex cast an eye over her as they shook hands. Tamara Knight was twenty-five, although she looked much younger. She was not much taller than he was, with light brown hair tied back, and attractive blue eyes. Alex felt that the formal business suit and brightly polished leather shoes didn't suit her. He also wished she'd smile more. She didn't look at all pleased to see him.

"Mr Drevin is still tied up with his press conference," she explained as she led them across the central atrium of the hotel. Silver and glass lifts rose and fell around them, travelling silently on hidden cables. A group of Japanese businessmen walked across the marble floor. "He said you were welcomed to look if you wanted to. Or you can wait for him in his private suite. The dog however isn't allowed in the suite with you. Is it trained?"

"Yes, she is trained." Alex respond patting the wolf's head lightly. "She won't cause any damage."

"Well I'd like to know what a suite costs here," Jack muttered. "Aku, no jumping on the chairs alright."

Atlas looked at her and whined softly, she wanted to rest her body on those comfortable chairs the humans always sat on, squishy and warm, just like she wanted. "I know love, I know your clean and everything but I have no idea what your claws will do to those chairs." Jack sighed with a smile.

Tamara Knight smiled coldly. "It doesn't cost Mr Drevin anything. He owns the hotel, but your dog doesn't have permission to sit on the chairs."

"Let's take a look at the press conference," Alex said. "Don't worry Aku I'll sort you out later."

"Of course. He's talking about Ark Angel. I'm sure you'll find it interesting."

She led them up a wide flight of stairs and along a corridor until they came to a pair of smoked glass doors. Two large men in suits were garding this entrance. "We'll slip in at the back," Tamara whispered. "Just take a seat. Nobody will notice you." She nodded and one of the men opened the doors.

Alex when through and found himself in a wide, imposing room with large windows giving a panoramic view of the river. There were about a hundred journalists sitting in rows facing a long table on a platform. The words ARK ANGEL had been spelled out in solid steel letters, each one two metres high, and there were photographs of the earth, taken from space, suspended on thin wires. Three people were seated behind behind the table. One was the minister for science and innovation. The other looked like some sort of civil servant. Alex didn't recognize him. The man in the middle was Nikolei Drevin.

Drevin was unimpressive. That was Alex's first thought. If he'd bumped into him in the street he might have mistaken him for a bank manager or an accountant. Drevin was a serious-looking man in his forties with watery, grey eyes and hair that once been fair but now fading to grey. He had bad skin; there was a rash around his chin and neck as if he'd had trouble shaving. All his clothes - his suit, his shirt with his buttoned-down collar, the plain silk tie - looked brand new and expensive. But they did nothing for him. He wore them with as much style as a mannequin in a shop window. Alex notice a gold watch on one hand. There was a ring made of platinum or white gold on the other.

Drevin seemed dwarfed by his surrounding. He was physically smaller than the two men who were sharing the platform with him. The minister had been answering a question when Alex came in, Drevin was fidgeting nervously, twisting the ring on his finger. Tamra gestured to a seat and Alex sat down. Atlas not far behind found a seat right next to him her tail curling around his foot making him glance down a bit. She gave him a small "woof!" her tail leaving his foot to wag happily behind her, her brown eyes focused on him and him alone.