‘Sam … can you talk? How’s it going?’ Lora whispered into his earpiece.
‘Good. I think.’
Eva said, ‘Have you met her?’
‘Gabriella, yeah.’
‘And?’
‘And? She’s pretty.’
Eva snorted a laugh. ‘Great, here we are trying to save the world from the forces of evil, and you’re checking out pretty girls.’
‘Girl. Singular—there’s just one of her.’
‘You’re unbelievable!’ Eva said.
‘Sam, what’s happening in there?’ Lora asked, her voice full of calm reason.
‘Sorry. Right, well, I’ve met her, and she wants me to interview her at the party,’ Sam said into his mic. He could feel his panic starting to rise. ‘That seemed too easy, don’t you think?’
‘Try not to worry too much. You dreamed about her, which means she’s probably already had true dreams by now. She may have been expecting you.’
‘How do I know? I can’t just open with “Hey, did you dream about me last night?” Her security guards look tough, I could end up in serious trouble if I misjudge her. And she might freak out if she’s already dreamed some of tonight. I thought I was going crazy when I met you in person after dreaming about you.’
‘Take a deep breath, slow down. It’s alright to be apprehensive. But you have dreamed this, trust your intuition,’ Lora said.
‘Thanks,’ Sam replied, then saw movement headed his way and panicked. ‘Going offline—here she comes.’
‘Hey, you,’ Gabriella said to him.
‘Hey back,’ was all that Sam could manage. Get a grip!
‘Coming with us?’
‘Sure.’ He fell into step with her entourage as they walked down into the car park.
I’m just getting in a car with Gabriella to go to her birthday party in Rome. Totally normal day.
Who am I kidding? This is so surreal.
‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ Gabriella said to Sam as he clung on tight to the armrest. The driver of her limousine, trailing a car in front parting the light traffic, was weaving through the streets and speeding like a maniac. ‘My driver does this to lose the paparazzi.’
‘You sure we won’t lose our lives in the process?’ Sam asked, managing a nervous laugh as the driver flashed through an intersection at warp speed.
Gabriella looked at him and smiled. She leaned forward and asked her driver to slow down a little. ‘Better, yes?’
‘Thanks.’ Sam glanced over his shoulder, and in the distance could just make out the car with Lora and Eva following them, along with the Guardians on their motorbikes. In this car, it was just the two of them in the back, her bodyguard riding in the passenger seat up front. ‘So, today’s your birthday?’
‘Si,’ she replied, ‘nice to know that the magazines get some things right.’
‘Well, happy birthday,’ Sam said, watching Rome strobe by outside the windows. ‘So, what’s it like being a pop princess?’
She smiled but didn’t laugh, and said, ‘It’s bizarre. That’s the right word, yes?’
‘If you mean strange, then yes. Is your life strange?’
‘Sometimes. Sometimes it’s the best thing in the world. Other times it’s the loneliest thing.’
Really? The party in my dream was off the hook! Her house is a palace, she’s basically living the dream life.
Sam continued, ‘What about your friends, your family?’ He instantly regretted it when it almost looked like her eyes welled up with tears. But she smiled through it, well-practised at putting on her best face. ‘Off the record?’ she said.
Sam belatedly remembered his cover as a music reporter. ‘Sure, of course.’
‘All this? It adds up to exactly nothing,’ she said. ‘Becoming famous, I lost all my friends and I’ve been taught alone since I was ten. Everyone around me works for me—they’re paid to like me.’
‘But you know that it appears to so many on the outside, to your fans, that you’re living the dream.’
‘Maybe, but it’s not the truth,’ Gabriella looked at him, and her mood shifted a little. ‘Ha, look at me, talking “off the record” to a stranger.’
‘I won’t betray your trust,’ Sam said.
Gabriella smiled. ‘I know, I don’t know why, but I know I can trust you, Sam.’
‘Ha, thanks,’ Sam laughed a weird, self-conscious laugh. Get it together! ‘OK, so what’s your dream? If you could change how things are …’
‘Sam, I have such crazy dreams, you don’t believe it.’ There was a genuine smile that touched her eyes.
‘Me too,’ Sam said. ‘Like you wouldn’t believe …’
‘Perhaps you should tell me about them.’
‘Maybe later,’ Sam said, a little unsure of how to ease into the saving-the-world subject now that the opportunity had finally presented itself.
Sam was just plucking up the courage to launch into his prepared speech when they pulled up outside Gabriella’s palatial house in inner-city Rome. Man, I should have told her already. I may not get another chance. Idiot!
‘Ah, about those dreams—’ As they got out of the limousine, Sam could see that the party was well underway, and that Gabriella’s concept of lonely might be far different to his. At least three hundred guests, mainly their own age, were milling about by the huge pool and immaculate gardens to welcome Gabriella as she exited the car. Dozens of cameras flashed and Sam did his best to remain out of shot.
‘Come on!’ Gabriella yelled, leading him up the stairs onto the paved area surrounding the pool.
‘Who are all these people?’ Sam yelled over pulsating music, as Gabriella shook hands and kissed cheeks as they pushed through the crowd, heading towards the house.
‘Fans, people from my record labels, hangers-on who want their photos in magazines,’ Gabriella said loudly, not caring who might hear her. They reached the back patio and found a huge banquet table set up with at least a dozen waiters standing to attention. ‘Drink?’
‘Water’s fine.’
She passed him a bottle of fancy Italian mineral water and ushered him inside, pointing up a long marble staircase. ‘Up there, third door on the right.’
Sam looked baffled. ‘What?’
‘My bedroom.’
He swallowed hard. ‘Say again?’
‘Your interview,’ Gabriella said, with her beautiful Italian accent. ‘We’ll get it over with first, then we can come downstairs, relax, and enjoy the party. Yes?’
‘Ah, OK, third door on the right? Your bedroom.’
‘Yes. Relax, Sam. It’s the only room that’s off-limits to all these people, so it’ll be quiet. I’ll see you there once I’ve said a few words.’
‘OK.’ Sam started up the imposing staircase, watching Gabriella ease effortlessly back into the throng of admirers.
Oh, boy …
‘Um, so, I’m in her bedroom,’ Sam said into his phone.
‘And what are you doing in there, Sam?’ Eva said, surprised.
‘I’m—anyway, what’s happening out there? Any Agents?’
‘Still nothing,’ Lora said. ‘But you have to act fast.’
‘No mucking around,’ Eva added.
‘No mucking around intended,’ Sam said, his smile obvious, even over the phone.
‘Right,’ Lora said. ‘Sam, just remember your dream and what hap—’
There was a noise at the door.
‘Gotta go,’ Sam said, hanging up abruptly.
‘Were you talking to someone?’ Gabriella said as she entered the room.
‘Just had to make a call.’
‘Right,’ Gabriella said. She gave him a measured stare, crossed her arms and stood near the door. ‘So, Sam. You’ll never guess who I bumped into downstairs.’
‘The Pope?’
‘Don’t be cute.’
Sam felt a lead weight in his stomach, knowing what she was going to say.
‘The writer from Vertigo magazine,’ she said, eyeballing Sam carefully.
‘Oh.’
‘Want me to bring her up here to clear things up?’ she said, her hands on her hips.
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Sam said.
‘I see.’
‘Gabriella, please—’
‘You’ve got two minutes,’ she said. ‘Who are you and what do you want?’