Desmond McCain. It had to be him. Alex would have known it even if he hadn't been the only black man in the room. McCain was lolling back in his chair in front of a great window that had the effect of framing him, putting him at the center of the picture. Almost despite himself, Alex moved forward to get a closer look. He had been thinking about McCain only a few minutes ago. It couldn't hurt to see what the laird of Kilmore Castle was really like.

McCain was gathering up his cards, which almost disappeared in his oversized hands. He was a huge man with an extraordinary presence that somehow drew Alex to him. He was completely bald, with a round, polished head that had surely never seen a single hair. His eyes were a strange shade of gray-they were dark yet alight with electricity-and his smile was quite simply dazzling. Like everyone else, he was dressed in black tie, but unlike so many of the others, he looked completely comfortable, as if he always dressed this way.

He picked up a gla.s.s of whisky, which he drank as if it were a c.o.c.ktail, using a straw at the side of his mouth, and Alex remembered what Edward Pleasure had told him about the boxing injury. It was true. The man he was looking at had received a blow that had permanently dislocated his jaw. Worse than that, it had been put back together in such a way that it no longer fit properly. It was as if someone had taken a photograph of his head, cut it horizontally in half, and then reattached the two pieces a few millimeters apart. His eyes and nose were no longer exactly over his mouth.

And there was something else. McCain said something, turned his head, and laughed a second time. That was when Alex saw it. He was wearing a silver crucifix, not around his neck but on his ear. It was less than a centimeter high, pinned into the lobe. The jewelry was quite striking set against the intense, dark skin. This was a man who wore his faith openly, who dared you to argue against it.

Alex drew closer. The six of them had been playing a version of poker-Texas Hold 'Em-in which five cards turned faceup are used by everyone at the table. And the stakes couldn't have been higher. Alex saw this at once from the number of different-colored chips spilling over the table-each one marked $50, $100, even $500. Each chip had been bought at its face value. The casino was using real money. Alex could feel the tension in the air. A scattering of cards, a few minutes' playing time, and thousands of dollars could be changing hands. At the moment, McCain was clearly in the lead.

There was a whole mountain of chips stacked up in front of him, and only one of the players-a man with a shock of silver hair and a thick, fleshy face-came anywhere close.

McCain looked up and noticed Alex. At once the smile was there, drawing him in, making him feel that the two of them had known each other for years.

"Good evening," he boomed. "Welcome to the Kilmore Casino. You're frankly a little young to be gambling, I'd have said. What's your name?"

"Alex. Alex Rider."

"And I'm Desmond McCain. We're just about to play the last hand. Why don't you join us? It's all for a good cause, so I think we can turn a blind eye to the age limit." He gestured at the seat that had just been vacated. Alex could already hear that his broken jaw made it difficult for him to speak. Words beginning with f f or or r r came out slightly blurred. "The cards have been quite interesting this evening. Let's see if they have anything more to say before midnight." came out slightly blurred. "The cards have been quite interesting this evening. Let's see if they have anything more to say before midnight."

Alex knew he was making a mistake. He was meant to be looking for Edward Pleasure. He had agreed with Sabina. They were going to leave. But it was almost as if McCain had challenged him. If he walked away now, he would look like some little kid who was out of his depth. McCain had won the last hand and was neatly stacking up all the chips, including those of the man who had just left. Alex took his chair and sat down.

"Good!" McCain beamed at him. "Do you know the rules of Texas Hold 'Em?"

Alex nodded.

"We're taking this very seriously. It costs five hundred dollars to join the table-that money goes straight to First Aid-and minimum bets are fifty dollars. Have you brought your pocket money with you?"

A couple of the other players laughed. Alex ignored them. "I didn't bring any money at all," he said.

"Then we'll waive the entrance fee and I'll stake you. This is the last hand of the evening, so one thousand dollars ought to be enough." He slid the chips over. "It makes it more fun with more people. And you never know. You could win enough to buy yourself a new PlayStation!"

With Alex making up the numbers, there would be six players at the table: three men, two women, and him. McCain was at one end with a dark-haired woman-Alex vaguely recognized her as a television reporter-at his side. Then came an elderly man who could have been a retired soldier, sitting rigidly with a straight back and a face fixed in concentration. The silver-haired man came next. He reminded Alex of an accountant or a banker. The circle was completed by a Scottish woman with ginger hair, sipping champagne even though it was clear she'd already had more than enough.

The croupier shuffled the deck and each player was dealt two cards, facedown. These were known as the "hole cards." Alex had learned the basics of the game, playing with Ian Rider and Jack Starbright at an age when other children were probably reading d.i.c.k and Jane. Texas Hold 'Em is largely a game of bluff. You try to make pairs, three of a kind, a full house, and so on. But everything depends on your hidden cards. They may be great. They may be terrible. The secret is to make sure no one guesses either way.

Alex watched as McCain raised the corners of his cards with a thumb and smiled, not even attempting to conceal his pleasure. Of course, it was possible that he was bluffing, but Alex got the sense that this wasn't a man who was too clever when it came to hiding his emotions. He must have something good under there . . . high cards or a pair. Alex examined his own cards. There was nothing to get excited about, but he kept his own face blank.

"Come on, then," McCain said.

The croupier was a pale, serious-looking man in his late twenties. He looked uncomfortable having a teenager in the game, but dealt three more cards-"the flop"-faceup on the table. All six players would use these cards to try to create the best hand possible. The first one out was the jack of diamonds, a face card. Then came the seven of hearts. The third card drew a slight murmur from the people gathered around. It was the ace of spades. This was going to be an expensive game.

The betting began.

Alex looked at all the money he had been given, thinking there must be better ways to spend a thousand dollars. McCain started the bidding with two hundred dollars, and the reporter folded at once.

"There's no point playing against you, Desmond," she said. She had a thick Scottish accent. "You always win."

"'We are all running in the race,'" McCain said. "'But only one receives the prize.'" He laughed briefly. "That's Corinthians, chapter nine, verse twenty-four." He turned to the soldier. "Are you in, Hamilton?"

Hamilton also folded. The accountant, Alex, and the ginger-haired woman all slid their $100 chips in front of them.

Two more cards. Two more bets. By the time the last card had been dealt, this was what Alex was looking at, spread out on the green baize surface:

There were just three players remaining. The other woman had folded, leaving Alex, the accountant, and McCain to fight it out. The fact that the ace of spades had now been joined by a pair of jacks sitting faceup on the table made this an even more extraordinary game. McCain had asked if the cards had anything to say, and it seemed that they were screaming. If this had been a real casino, the betting might have climbed to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even so, it was going to get expensive. Alex had just $700 left, yet the accountant had almost as much as McCain. And, even with such high sums, it was obvious that there was more to this than money. McCain was still relaxed, still smiling-yet he really wanted to win the game. It was his party, his castle, his evening. It was a matter of personal pride.

And the other people in the room had sensed it too. Alex realized that the roulette wheel had stopped spinning. Everyone had gathered around the table to watch this strange contest-two men, a boy, and five white rectangles that, combined with the turned-down cards, could mean so much or so little.

"Interesting cards," McCain muttered. "If either of you have another ace, you'll have two pairs. You could win the entire pot . . ."

Why had he said that, Alex wondered. The odds of two pairs at poker are not huge. Why even mention it? Was he perhaps challenging them? Or could it be that he was trying to divert their attention? Suppose he had three of a kind . . .

"I'll tell you what," McCain went on with a fast check of his watch. "It's the last game of the evening, so why don't we have a bit of fun?"

McCain lifted his hands theatrically, touched the two thumb tips together, then laid his palms flat on the table. There was a stir from the audience as he used the wedge to slide all his chips forward, the piles collapsing on top of one another as at least fifteen thousand dollars' worth of chips were spread across the table. One or two people clapped. Everyone knew what was happening here. It was all or nothing. This was one of those games that any serious gambler would remember for the rest of his life.

"I'm going to make it easy for you," McCain said. He ran a hand across his jaw as if he were trying to smooth it back into place. "I know the two of you don't have enough money to match my bet, but I'm feeling charitable." He smiled at his own joke. "Put all your money in and we'll call it even."

The accountant drummed his fingers on the table. "Are you trying to pretend you've got the third jack, Desmond?" he asked. He had a clipped, nasal way of speaking. His eyes were small and almost colorless; Alex watched them dart from McCain to the cards on the table and somehow knew that he was about to make a mistake. "I think you're bluffing," he went on. "You're just trying to scare us away. Well, it's not going to work." He slid his own pile into the center, the plastic chips mingling with McCain's. He'd added about ten thousand dollars of his own.

Twenty-five thousand dollars! Any thought of charity had suddenly disappeared. It was a fantastic sum of money to be determined by the turn of two cards.

Alex glanced at his own pile of chips. It looked pathetic in comparison with the others, but he a.s.sumed McCain's invitation extended to him. "I'm in," he said.

"All right, Leo!" McCain nodded at the accountant. "Let's see what you've got."

The accountant flicked over his two cards. There was a mutter of approval from the spectators. He did indeed have another ace-the ace of diamonds-plus a two of spades. Adding them to the faceup cards gave him two pairs-aces and jacks-a very good hand. McCain really would need three of a kind to do better.

It should have been Alex's turn to show his cards next, yet McCain ignored him. "Too bad, Leo!" he crowed. "'G.o.d hath delivered you into my hand'-as it says in the first book of Samuel, chapter twenty-three." The silver crucifix glimmered briefly as he leaned forward and picked up his cards. He paused for a moment, then turned them over, one at a time. The first card was the jack of clubs. Three of a kind. It beat Leo easily. But then came the real triumph. He turned over the second card to reveal the other black jack-the jack of spades. The audience exploded. The odds of getting four of a kind in Texas Hold 'Em are 4,165 to 1. It was incredible luck. It was almost miraculous.

Now Alex understood why McCain had talked about two pairs. He had actually been underselling himself to draw the other players in. And the tactic, at least in part, had worked.

"I have the knaves and that makes it my evening," McCain roared. His eyes were bright with pleasure. He leaned forward and began to sweep all the chips toward him.

"What about my cards?" Alex said quietly.

"Your cards?" McCain blinked. He had forgotten Alex was even there. He glanced down at the table as if to rea.s.sure himself. Nothing could beat four jacks, not with only one ace showing on the table . . . could it? He relaxed. "Do forgive me, Alex," he said. "I should have let you show your cards first. But everyone here would love to see them. What have you got?"

Alex waited a moment. He was aware that everyone was watching him. But for some reason he wanted McCain to remember this. Maybe it was just that he didn't like being taken for granted.

He turned over the eight of hearts. And then the ten of hearts.

There was a long silence as the truth sank in. Then the audience gasped. The seven of hearts, the nine of hearts, and the jack of hearts were already on the table, faceup. Put them together with Alex's cards and he had a straight flush . . . seven, eight, nine, ten, and jack of hearts. And in the rules of poker, a straight flush beats four of a kind.

Alex had won.

McCain froze with his hands still cradling the chips, and in that moment Alex stared at all the chips spread out in front of him. They were all his! He had just won more money than he had owned in his whole life. But even so, he regretted what he had done. McCain was his host. This was meant to be his big night. Yet he had just been shown up in front of a large crowd of his friends by an unknown fourteen-year-old. How would he take it? Alex glanced up. McCain was staring across the table with raw anger in his eyes.

"I'm sorry . . . ," Alex began.

McCain slammed his hands together as if to break the mood. At the same time, he leaned back and roared with laughter. "Well, there's a lesson in pride," he exclaimed loudly, for everyone to hear. "I jumped in too quickly. I was too sure of myself, and it seems I've been undone by a child I don't even remember inviting. Never mind! Alex, you've beaten me fair and square." He used his huge hands to push the chips away as if trying to distance himself from them. "You can cash in your chips with the croupier. I bet you must be the richest thirteen-year-old in Scotland right now."

"Actually, I'm fourteen," Alex said. "And I don't want the money. You can give it all to First Aid."

That drew a round of applause from the audience. McCain stood up. "That's very generous of you," he said. "Donating my own money to my own charity!" He was joking, but there was an edge to his voice. "I can promise you it will be well spent." He moved away from the table, a few people patting him on the back as he left.

Alex glanced down one last time at McCain's cards: the knaves, as he had called them. They were strangely ugly-almost like freaks, joined at the chest, with flowing hair and strange multicolored tunics.

Scowling knaves versus his own brave hearts. But of course, it didn't mean anything. They were only cards, and even as he watched, they were swept away and shuffled back into the deck.

4.

OFF-ROAD VEHICLE.

TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Even as he made his way back into the main body of the castle, Alex thought about what he had just done. It had been an awful lot of money to give away without thinking. He could have held back a little of it, bought something for Jack or Sabina.

He shook his head, annoyed with himself. Charity was what the evening was all about. The money wasn't his and never had been. He remembered the look of anger in Desmond McCain's eyes as Alex had revealed his straight flush. McCain might be a born-again Christian, but he hadn't liked being beaten and somehow Alex doubted that he was going to be invited back.

Sabina had disappeared, but Alex stumbled across Edward Pleasure in yet another of the castle's many pa.s.sageways, leaning on his walking stick while he talked on his BlackBerry. There was a spiral staircase just behind him, leading up to the next floor.

He closed up the phone as Alex approached. "That was Liz," he said. "She's not feeling any better and I'm beginning to think we ought to head back after all . . ."

"That's fine with me," Alex said. "In fact, Sabina was looking for you. She wants to leave too."

It was half past eleven. In just thirty minutes there would be the countdown to midnight, balloons, more champagne, and a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" before what had been described as the biggest fireworks display in Scotland. Guests were already streaming past, making their way into the main room. But Alex didn't mind missing it. There was something about Kilmore Castle that he found unsettling. Maybe it was the fact that it was so ancient and remote, perched high above the loch as if it didn't want to belong to the twenty-first century. He would be glad to see in the New Year somewhere else.

"Let's wait here for Sabina," Mr. Pleasure said. "She's bound to turn up sooner or later."

Neither of them spoke. Alex could hear music coming from the dance floor-now they'd shifted into Michael Jackson. A few more guests hurried past. One of them recognized him from the casino and smiled at him. Once again, the two of them were alone.

"So, are you looking forward to school?" Edward asked, as much to fill the silence as anything else.

"Yes. I am." If the question had taken Alex by surprise, so did the answer. He really was looking forward to the start of the spring term. He felt safe at school. He felt normal.

"What was that essay you were working on?"

Alex had brought homework with him to Scotland. After taking so much time off, he was trying as best he could to catch up. "I'm doing a project about GM crops," he said.

"GM?"

"You know . . . genetically modified. It's something we've been looking at in biology. How scientists can muck around with crops and make them do different things." Alex dredged his mind, trying to remember what he'd been learning the term before. "It's something Prince Charles is always going on about," he said. "He's afraid they'll accidentally destroy the world."

"The real problem with GM crops could be the corporations who end up controlling them," Edward said. "Have you heard of the terminator gene?"

Alex shook his head.

"It's something they've built into plants that effectively turns them off. It stops them from reproducing. So if you want more wheat or barley or whatever, you have to go back to the same company and pay them. You see what I mean? Whoever controls the genes could end up controlling the world's economy. It might be a good subject for me to write about myself. The real danger of genetically modified food . . ."

There was the sound of footsteps coming down the spiral staircase and suddenly Desmond McCain was there, pacing toward them. Sitting at the card table, Alex hadn't realized how big the man was. He was almost seven feet tall, built like an American football player, with oversized shoulders and arms. Given his life story, he must have been at least fifty years old, but he looked much younger. He obviously still kept himself in shape.

Edward Pleasure turned around and recognized him. "Reverend McCain!" he exclaimed.

"Mr. Pleasure . . ." McCain came to a halt. Alex saw a hard-to-read emotion pa.s.s over his face. His eyes, ever so briefly, clouded over as the zigzag that was his mouth stretched tight. Then, just as quickly, the expression of unease was gone. He smiled. "I'm very glad you could make it to my little affair," he said. He gestured at Alex. "Are the two of you together by any chance?"

"Yes. Have you met?"

"Alex and I were playing cards just a few minutes ago." McCain's smile remained, but it seemed a little strained and artificial. "If I'd known he was your guest, perhaps I wouldn't have been so rash with my betting. He actually cleaned me out." They were now all standing on the same level, but McCain still loomed over them. "How is the article?" he asked.

"It's finished."

"I hope it won't contain any unpleasant surprises."

"You won't have long to wait. It should be out next month."

"Have you delivered it?"

"Not yet."

"I'm looking forward to reading it." McCain examined the journalist as if it was his mind that he was trying to read. For a moment neither of them spoke. Then McCain blinked as if he had suddenly lost interest. "But now you must forgive me," he said. "I have a speech to make. Thank you so much for coming to Kilmore Castle. It was very good to see you again. And a pleasure to meet you, Alex."

He swept past them in the direction of the banqueting hall. Edward Pleasure was looking puzzled. "What was all that about?" he asked.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know." He hesitated. "I thought he looked upset about something. . . ."

"I thought so too."

"Maybe he's worried about what you're going to write."

"He shouldn't be. I've already told you. I had nothing bad to say. Actually, I think he's quite a remarkable man. Take tonight for example. All these people have come here because of him. And it's all for charity. He never rests."

He stopped as Sabina appeared, hurrying down the corridor toward them. "Dad!" she said. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Edward Pleasure put an arm around her. "We're leaving," he said. "Mum's still awake. We can toast the New Year when we get in."

They had no choice but to leave through the banqueting hall. By now all the guests had a.s.sembled and were standing together, champagne gla.s.ses in hand, facing the gallery where the bagpipe players had been performing and where McCain was about to make his speech. At least n.o.body would notice the three of them as they left early. Alex and Sabina followed Edward Pleasure and they made their way down the side of the buffet table-which had been partly cleared-on their way out.

There was a sudden fanfare, a single trumpeter standing at the back of the hall, his instrument glowing golden in the candlelight. The notes echoed across the chamber and the guests stopped talking and looked up expectantly. McCain appeared on the gallery. Two of the Highland pipers walked behind him, flanking him, a guard of honor. Alex couldn't help wondering if they were about to burst into tune. But they stood back as McCain reached the front and looked down on the crowd.

"I want to thank you all for coming," he began, his voice booming out. "I'll be brief. It will turn midnight in exactly twenty minutes, and that's when the party really begins. For those of you who stay the course, we'll be serving haggis, neeps, and tatties, then a traditional Scottish breakfast to see you off. And the champagne will be flowing all night."