Go on, get below and find something to eat. Ill be fine.
It was dark, very dark, and yet there was a slight phosphorescence from the sea now and then. At one stage there was the gleam from a lighthouse in the distance, but as they plowed on, except for the occasional red and green lights of a ship, they might as well have been alone in a dark world.
At Holland Park, Roper was seated at the computers eating a sandwich, when there was a knock at the door and Sergeant Doyle looked in.
Ive got Major Novikova, sir. She asked to speak to you.
Fine, show her in, Sergeant.
She brushed past Doyle, dressed in a padded dressing gown. What is it? Roper asked.
Im bored, tired of being locked up with two bloodhounds taking shifts seated outside my door. How long will this go on for? She sat down, and Doyle leaned against the wall.
As long as Ferguson wants. He could hold you indefinitely under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
What if I want to be sent home?
They dont know youre here. He smiled.
She said, At last that frozen face of yours has cracked. He stopped smiling. She threw up her hands. I cant believe I said that. It was a car bomb, wasnt it?
IRA, one of many.
And you can work with Dillon?
Sean was never a bomb man. He lit a cigarette and offered her one. Youd be better off going back to bed.
Her mobile was on the desk close to his hand, and now, for the first time, it sounded. Roper switched it on, held it to his ear. There was a hint of breathing. He offered it to her, she shook her head.
He smiled, put it to his ear again and said, Major Novikovas residence.
The caller disconnected. Roper moved into the emergence pattern on his computer, knowing it would be a waste of time, and it was.
A coded instrument and a good one. Impossible to trace.
Of course.
Id go back to bed and consider your options, Major. Hes a very reasonable man, the General, with people who are reasonable with him.
As you English would say, what a load of cobblers, and she got up and walked out, followed by Doyle.
Roper thought about calling Ferguson and telling him about it, but decided against it. He couldnt even tell the general area the call had come from, so there wasnt much to tell. He wondered how they were getting on and went back to work.
At Station Gorky, Max Zubin sat in his room and talked to his mother. He did that a lot and was allowed unlimited time. After all, security were listening to the conversations. Her cheerful, tough humor kept him relatively sane, but all her conversations ended in the same way.
When am I going to see you?
I cant say.
Well, Josef Belov has ultimate power, people listen to his orders.
But Im just a poor Jewish actor, Mama, and I dont even get Actors Guild minimum. Sure, there are hints I might be making a move, thats all I can say. God bless.
Three miles off Drumore, the Highlander drifted under automatic pilot while they gathered in the saloon and sorted out the weaponry. Dillon and Billy wore black Special Forces overalls and flak jackets, balaclava helmets rolled up at the moment but ready for the right sinister effect later. A Walther each in a shoulder holster, an AK47 in the silenced mode.
Ferguson and Harry wore flak jackets and each had an AK to hand. There was a chart open on the table showing the general approach to Drumore.
With the nets up, well look like any other fishing boat, Dillon said. Lay offshore beyond the point. Well go in the dinghy, its got silencers on the outboard. Tie up on the west side of the jetty and proceed to the house.
Could work like a Swiss watch, Billy said.
Or the kind you buy off a stall at Camden Market, Harry grumbled.
Well, well see. Ferguson smiled. Its good to smell powder again. Lets get on with it. Ill tell Roper its all systems go.
At Holland Park, Roper listened. So, approximately thirty minutes?
Id say so.
Excellent. Ill stand by.
He lit a cigarette and sat in the shadowed room, watching his screens, his inputs to the Russian Embassy in London, his scanning of what was happening with Belov International, Ashimov, Levin, the names of all involved parties, waiting for what might come up anything. A dirty night for it, and he waited.
Dillon and Billy went over the rail to the dinghy. Billy pushed the starter button on the engine, and it rumbled into life, a gentle, pulsating sound, not much noise to it at all. They coasted in on the west side of the jetty, beached and moved away fast, sinister figures in the darkness.
There was a light at the bar windows of the Royal George. Dillon put a finger to his lips and he and Billy approached cautiously and peered in. Connor, Derry, Gibson and Ryan were sitting round a table by the log fire, playing cards.
The curtain was half-drawn, the window two or three inches open, and Dillon eased it back and heard Ryan say, Ill make some bacon sandwiches and tea. Derry and Gibson, take a walk round for a quick check.
Ah, Jesus, Mr. Ryan, do we have to?
Thats Liam Bells orders and thats what youll do. Now, be off with you.
Dillon and Billy hurried away, following the winding path they remembered so well all the way up to Drumore Place. There was the luxuriant garden, summerhouses, the huge terrace, French windows, light glowing dimly here and there.
Dillon and Billy hurried away, following the winding path they remembered so well all the way up to Drumore Place. There was the luxuriant garden, summerhouses, the huge terrace, French windows, light glowing dimly here and there.
Somebodys up early, Billy murmured.
Well, lets take a look, and Dillon raised his night glasses. At that moment, a French window opened and Walsh and Kelly stepped out, Liam Bell behind.
Just check the garden, he said, and turned back.
Come on, Dillon said to Billy, and moved forward.
At Holland Park, Roper was still at his computers. To a man so badly damaged, sleep does not come easily and he frequently worked all night, a diet of whiskey and sandwiches keeping him going. There was a sudden stirring on his screens as a tracer element analyzed not photos, but staff day records at Russian embassies around the world, and there was Major Yuri Ashimov, overnighting at the Dublin Embassy. It was just as interesting to find out that Captain Igor Levin was back on staff at the London Embassy and resident there. He called Ferguson at once on his Codex Four, and Ferguson, in the wheelhouse with Harry, was horrified.
Things are in motion, theyre on the job now and too late to abort. If I ring Dillon on his Codex, it could be exactly at the wrong moment.
Its your call, General. No Ashimov, no Levin there, just the good old IRA.
God, I dont have much choice, do I? and Ferguson called Dillon, who unfortunately was otherwise engaged.
As Dillon and Billy had started up to the terrace, Bell turned the terrace lights on from inside the library, revealing Dillon and Billy moving forward.
Walsh called out, Intruders, Mr. Bell, and fired his AK47. Billy ducked behind the balustrade and knocked Walsh down. Kelly turned, stumbled and had Dillon all over him. Dillon pulled up his hood.
Kelly said, Christ, its you, Dillon.
So it is, and Ill kill you stone dead if you dont answer my question. Ashimov and Levin, where are they?
Ashimovs in Dublin, due back later today. Levin flew in to Ballykelly from Ibiza and out again to London. He was terrified. I swear to God, Sean.
And where would Liam Bell be?
Getting the hell out of here, if hes got any sense.
As he said that, there was the sound of a car starting up and driving away. There the bastard goes, Billy said.
Dillon called up Ferguson. The whole things gone sour, Charles. Were on our way back. Come and get us. He said to Kelly, I keep my word. Run for it.
Which Kelly did, pausing to watch them go, then calling through to Patrick Ryan at the Royal George.
Youve got bad trouble coming your way, he said, but Ryan already knew, for earlier Derry and Gibson, patrolling the harbor, had discovered the dinghy and the outboard still warm, on the west side of the jetty.
Well, I dont know whose this is, but its soon taken care of. Derry pulled out a pistol, putting three holes in it.
Offshore, Ferguson heard and said to Harry, Were going in.
Im with you, Harry said, and went out on deck, his AK ready.
They went in quickly to the harbor, and Dillon and Billy coming down the hill path came under fire from Ryan and Connor. Dillon hit Connor with two shots, Ryan ducked down and caught Billy in the middle of his flak jacket with a lucky shot that knocked him over. Dillon hauled him up and they continued, running headlong down the path toward the jetty and the beach. Derry and Gibson started to fire up at them caught on the exposed path, and the Highlander roared in out of the darkness. Harry fired in sustained bursts at the two men on the beach by the dinghy, as Dillon and Billy burst onto the jetty. As the Highlander bounced off the jetty, they scrambled over the rail.
Derry was down, and Ferguson, at the wheel, dropped the flap and pulled out the Browning with the twenty-round clip and sprayed the beach as they swerved away, knocking down Gibson as well before they were swallowed up by darkness.
Later, on automatic pilot, they sat in the saloon and drank whiskey. Well, that was brisk, Harry said.
And a bleeding waste of time. Billy shook his head. We couldnt even get Liam Bell.
At the time, there was no way of knowing Ashimov was overnighting in Dublin, Levin in London. It was just bad luck, and Major Novikova wouldnt cooperate.
The thing that really interests me is Levin being sent to London, Dillon said. Id like to know why. He got up. Well have to give him some special attention when we get back. Anyway, Ill take the wheel. The rest of you can get some sleep.
The sky was streaked with light, and way over on his left the Isle of Man was apparent in spite of the rain. It could have been worse, Dillon told himself. At least he and Billy had walked away from it, thanks to Harry and Ferguson. It was the enemy whod suffered. The thing was, what happened now? He lit a cigarette, his Codex Four went. It was Roper.
You and Billy are in one piece obviously.
Just about. Liam Bell did a runner at the house, his boys gave us a hard time. Ferguson and Harry were wonderful. Bells short three, maybe four men, so we did some good.