prepared to react in an extremely violent form to any threat to the lives
of your fellow citizens or, rather, to the citizens of your adopted
country. Romero is of the opinion that you and your two friends are highly
dangerous men. I concur. You are, I believe, heavily armed.’
Van Effen opened his jacket to demonstrate that he wasn’t carrying his
shoulder-holstered Smith and Wesson, then turned to Agnelli, who was
sitting next to him, crossed his knees and pulled up his right trouser
leg to show that he wasn’t carrying his Lilliput either. ‘I do not
consider guns as being an essential part of dressing for dinner. Do you
think I would be so mad as to start a gun-fight in the company of four
beautiful young ladies? Any ladies, come to that?’
‘No. My mistake. The nuclear device is in the Markerwaard but is located
precisely in its centre. Do you believe me?’
‘If I had your unpleasantly suspicious mind I would say that I’d wait
until five past two tomorrow afternoon to find out. As it happens, I
believe you. Now, Mr Samuelson, you know that I do not normally probe
into anyone’s -affairs but I must confess to being just a little
concerned about those nuclear devices. My two friends and I are
acknowledged explosives experts but we know nothing about nuclear
devices. We wouldn’t recognize one if we saw it, far less know how to arm
it, activate it or deactivate it. But we do know they are nasty, jiggly
and unpredictable things. I do know you have some on the premises,
although I don’t know how many. What I do know is that I have a healthy
regard for my own skin. I assume you’re transporting them elsewhere –
they can be of no use to you here. I have no wish to be aboard whatever
form of transportation is taking those devices from here to wherever
elsewhere may be.’
Samuelson smiled. ‘Mr Daniken here shares your sentiments exactly.’
‘What has Mr Daniken got to do with it?’
‘Air Daniken is our helicopter pilot. He doesn’t want to carry those
things.’
‘I didn’t refuse to, Mr Samuelson,’Daniken said. ‘I said I was
F.-I 257
highly reluctant because of the great risk involved. I agree with Mr
Danilov. I don’t know how unstable or temperamental those damn things are.
Flying conditions are atrocious, just on the limit. With an updraught or
wind shear we can go up or down a hundred feet in two seconds. We could
make a heavy landing, a crash landing or, heaven help us, just crash.’
‘You and Mr Danilov can relax. Should have mentioned it before, but we
made our minds up just before dinner. No helicopter. We have decided to
use the army truck with which Mr Danilov and his friends have so
thoughtfully provided us. Those devices are quite small and can easily
be concealed in what looks like a couple of extra long-range petrol
tanks. We’ll have three men dressed in uniforms, Ylvisaker as a
full-scale fieutenant-colonel, and the rest -‘
‘Where did vou get the uniforms?’ van Effen said.
‘I told you,’ Samuelson said patiently. ‘We’re making a war film. The
rest of us go by helicopter.’
‘Must be some helicopter.’
‘A war film, I said. A gunship. The end of the Vietnam war caught the US
Air Force on the hop and they had overproduced. Going for a song. Elderly
but fully serviceable. Stripped of armament, of course, but we ordered
dummies. I suggest we move to more comfortable chairs for our brandies,
liqueurs or whatever.’
Van Effen said: ‘If I may be excused, I’d like to have a look at the
Lieutenant.’
‘Give him my sympathies,’ Samuelson said. ‘I suggest he might appreciate
another toddy.’
‘Thank you. I’m sure he would. If he’s not -asleep, that is.’
Vasco was not asleep. He was comfortably seated in a small armchair that
he had brought into the bathroom. Using the pencil beam of the variably
hooded torch which was an indispensable item of his travelling equipment,
van Effen handed Vasco the glass.
‘Compliments of Mr Samuelson.’
‘Very civil of him. Well, it’s eight-twenty now and the same
258
character is still on watch. Judging from his performance with that bottle
he must be half sloshed by this time. Like me, as you can see, he’s found
an armchair. I’m surprised he hasn’t dropped off by this time. Anyway,
I’ll keep watch until they change guard. The toddy will help sustain me
through the long watches of the night.’
Van Effen gave him a brief resum6 of the Ministry of Defence’s statement
and the FFF’s reply, promised that he and George would be back by nine
o’clock and left.
He returned to the living-room to find that the group seated in armchairs
had been considerably depleted.
‘The Lieutenant seems to have benefited from that first toddy. He doesn’t
sound quite so hoarse. Very drowsy but not too drowsy to attack the
second toddy. His thanks. And dear me, dear me, the lovely young ladies
have departed. Shame. But I’m not surprised. They were hardly what you
might call gay and vivacious at the table tonight.’
‘They said they were tired,’ Samuelson said. Julie, van Effen knew, had
not been tired. She was a notoriously poor air traveller and the thought
of travelling in a helicopter – she’d never been in one in her life –
must have been a nightmare. ‘Whatever have they done to make them tired?’
‘Nothing. They’re just nervous and apprehensive.’
‘Just like George and myself.’
Samuelson surveyed him dispassionately. ‘I doubt whether you and your big
friend have ever been nervous and apprehensive in your lives.’
‘There’s always a first time. And where’s the holy father?’
‘You know the Reverend doesn’t drink. But it’s not that. Every night
before he goes to sleep he spends an hour in meditation and prayer.’
Van Effen said sombrely: ‘Let’s hope he includes in his prayers the souls
of the victims of his nuclear toys.’
The silence that followed, of which van Effen seemed to be quite unaware,
was, to say the least, embarrassing. It was Romero, in a clear attempt
to break the silence, who said hastily: ‘Speaking of those nuclear toys,
as you call them, I told
259
you earlier I could show them to you. As an explosives expert, I thought you
might be interested -‘
‘Not L’ Van Effen waved an indifferent hand. ‘Same old principles –
need-to-know and would it help any if I saw them?’ He was aware of George’s
momentary slight frown but knew that no one else had seen it. Van Effen
paused, as if something had just occurred to him, then said: ‘Someone has
to be able to trigger off those nuclear devices. Don’t tell me it’s Joop
and his psychopathic pals.’
‘It is indeed, as you say in your disparaging fashion, Joop and his
psychopathic friends.’The words held a rebuke but the tone didn’t: it
required no telepathy to realize that Samuelson shared van Effen’s opinion
of the Red Army Faction. ‘When they got hold of those devices in Metnitz,
they also obtained copies of the operating instructions. One would have
been useless without the other.’
‘Remind me not to be within five Mometres of Joop and company when they arm
either of those devices. A palm-reader once told me I had a long life-11ine
but she could have been wrong. How is this device in the Markerwaard to be
detonated?’
‘Pre-set timing device.’
‘And the two other devices?’
‘By radio control.’
‘God help us all. Make that ten kilometres.’
‘You don’t trust them?’
‘I wouldn’t trust Joop and his friends with a firework. They are fanatics
and fanatics have unstable minds. Unstable hands also, probably. No, I
don’t trust them. Neither, I suspect, do you.’
‘You still wouldn’t like to see those devices?’
‘I presume you’re not lunatic enough to keep those in the mill.’
‘They’re a Mometre away in a secure underground cellar.’
‘I’ve no intention of going out in that monsoon. And though you might not
be lunatic I think you’re guilty of a grave error of judgement. To detonate
any device by radio doesn’t call for the mind of an Einstein but it can be
tricky and a job for experts.
26o
Joop, and his band of trusty experts have never detonated a charge in their
fives.’
‘And how would you know that?’
‘That’s being simple-minded. Why did you have to call me in for the palace
job?’
‘True, true. Would your scruples, or your objections to monsoons, prevent
you from having a look at the operating instructions? We have them in this
room.’
Van Effen looked at him then looked away. The TV was on, showing a weirdly
dressed quartet who. were presumably singing, but, perhaps fortunately, in
silence: the volume control had been turned off. Samuelson and his friends
were presumably expecting another newscast. Van Effen looked back at
Samuelson.
‘Scruples? What you have in mind, of course, is that we should do your work