The Nightmare Vortex Read Online Free

this side of the twentieth century knows that.’
    Stiff-faced waiters came by with what Max and Linden thought was food.
    Linden went to take some.
    â€˜I wouldn’t if I were you,’ Max cautioned. ‘Could be anything.’
    â€˜But I’m starving.’ He picked up a small piece and took a bite. ‘What is it?’ he asked the waiter.
    â€˜Sautéed Venezuelan slugs on a bed of tripe.’
    Linden stopped chewing. ‘Slugs on cow’s stomach?’
    â€˜We prefer to call it tripe,’ snipped the waiter and turned away.
    â€˜Maybe not eating for one night won’t hurt me,’ Linden said, feeling queasy.
    â€˜Oh no,’ Max moaned. ‘There’s a movie star wannabe coming our way.’
    She tried to make a getaway but was too late.
    â€˜Max! Hi. How lovely to see you. Is this your boyfriend?’
    Max felt her face fire up like she’d been dropped into a furnace. ‘He’s a friend.’
    â€˜Oh. Did you see me in Snow Ponies ? What did you think? It won’t be long until I get snapped up for the movies or become a pop star. That’s where the big dollars are.’
    If Max had to listen to any more of this drivelher insides were going to explode over everyone. ‘I think I heard my mum calling.’
    â€˜Say hello to her for me!’ the actress said as Max and Linden wriggled away.
    â€˜Remind me never to be like these people,’ Max said decisively.
    â€˜That’d only happen if your brain was removed and replaced with a slightly damp sponge.’
    Max smiled.
    â€˜Hey,’ Linden said excitedly. ‘I think that looks like bread.’
    He grabbed some bread from a passing waiter as Max spotted Aidan in full schmooz mode with the head of the network.
    â€˜Look.’
    She nudged Linden and pointed to a bowl of dip directly beneath Aidan’s arm and just as he gave one of those loud fake laughs, he leaned right into it. When he pulled his hand up, the bowl of dip came with it and landed all over the shirt of the network boss. Max and Linden laughed as Aidan apologised and tried to wipe off the big, fishy globs which made the mess even worse.
    â€˜Good to see you two enjoying yourselves.’ It was Max’s mother who hadn’t yet noticed Aidan’s dilemma.
    Max’s laugh was cut short when she noticed a man unlike all the other guests, staring at her intently.
    â€˜Mum? Who’s that guy there?’ But as she asked this, the man disappeared behind a large plant.
    â€˜I’m not sure, sweetie. Probably a hanger on. Television is so full of them. Have you had enough to eat?’ Before they could answer, she was called away. ‘I have to go darling, work is calling.’
    â€˜Did you see him?’ Max asked Linden, trying to see where the man went. ‘He was real weird looking.’
    â€˜He’d fit right in then, wouldn’t he?’
    Maybe he was just a hanger on like her mother said, but there was something about the way he was staring at her that made Max feel uneasy, like he was up to something and it included her.
    â€˜How about we make a quick getaway?’
    â€˜Fine by me,’ said Linden, still trying to find a tray of recognisable food.
    Max snuck along the hall, grabbing the phone on the way. ‘Takeaway?’
    Linden’s fears of dying from hunger faded. ‘You bet.’
    They quickly ran upstairs to the safety of Max’sroom, as the man who had been staring at her followed them into the hall, his eyes fixed on their every step as he pulled a radio transceiver from his pocket.
    â€˜Not long now, boss, and you’ll have exactly what you want.’

Alex Crane crouched among the bulging lines of cargo spilling across the wharves of the Grand Harbour in the Mediterranean country of Malta. The sun seared its way through a thirty-five degree day as muscled men in sweat-soaked clothes sang and unloaded crates from hulks of ships that