He did so and at the end George said: ‘Satisfactory. You fixed the bug,
of course. So why did you go to all this devious trouble of getting hold
of the operating instructions for the devices?’
‘Have you ever known of a cop – or soldier – for that matter -who never
made a mistake?’
George pondered briefly then said: ‘Present company excepted, no. True,
we may yet need that information – Ylvisaker and his friends might just
miss the road-blocks. But you didn’t tell them that we were going by
helicopter?’
J did not. For the same reason that I didn’t take up Samuelson’s unspoken
offer to tell us where we are going. If I had done, his immediate
reaction – our Defence Minister’s that is – would be to have called his
counterpart in Whitehall to send over a Nimrod, the British bomber that
is a virtual airborne radar station and which could have tracked us from
here to wherever we’re going without our knowing a thing about it.’ He
smiled. ‘You wear, what shall we say, George, a rather peculiar express-
ion. The same thought had occurred to yourself?’
‘It had.’ George looked thoroughly chagrined. ‘I thought it rather a good
idea, myself’
‘I don’t. I have no doubt that the Royal Air Force would have been
delighted to comply and I have equally no doubt that within a very short
time of our arriving at our destination we would have a visit from our
paratroopers and commandos who don’t tend to beat about the bush very
much. I don’t much care for that idea. Three reasons. I don’t want a
fire-fight, a blood bath. Killing or capturing – killing, more likely –
Samuelson and his friends would not be the final solution. There may be
-in fact I feel certain there will be, don’t ask my why, I don’t, know
– -enough of his men left to carry out the ultimate threat.
271
Thirdly, I don’t much care for the idea of the young ladies being hurt or
worse. I wouldn’t much like to gun down – wound, I mean, not kill – a
countryman who was threatening the fife of one of the girls.’
Vasco said: ‘Julie and AnnernarieF
‘All four.’
George said mildly. ‘The other two are criminals.’
‘They associate with criminals. Different matter entirely. Anyway, if the
government were to commit this crass folly, we would be in a position to
expose them and dictate our own terms. Wieringa and the Colonel would
back us up and they’re the only two people who matter. However, this is
all academic. It’s not going to happen. Moment, gentlemen. These denims
are rather damp.’
When he’d changed, he said: ‘Our absent friend O’Brien is missing in more
than one way – he’s also the missing key. I’d give a great deal to know
where he is at this moment. He won’t have gone to their other hang-out
for his expertise in debugging and de-fusing alarm systems wouldn’t be
called for there. One could speculate endlessly as to where he has gone
to exercise his skills but that would be a waste of time.’
‘I’m neglecting my duties,’ Vasco said. ‘If I may be excused. George,
would you come and switch the light on again?’
He turned off the light, went into the bathroom and closed the door. No
sooner had George turned the light on than Vasco tapped on the door.
George switched the light off again and the bathroom door opened.
‘This may interest you,’ Vasco said.
The sentry’s head was nodding, intermittentl,, and at irregular
intervals. After a few seconds of this he held it in an upright position
then shook it from side to side. After a few more seconds of this – it
was too dark to see what his expression was registering but it was, very
probably, one of confusion and apprehension – brought up his right hand
from under his rug, looked at the bottle still clutched in it, upended
it and apparently established the fact that it was empty, placed it on
the floor and pushed himself back in his seat.
‘He’s going to drop off again,’ Vasco said.
272
‘Not him,’ van Effen said – ‘He’s making a major decision.’
The sentry made his major decision. He lifted his rug to one side, pushed
himself groggily to his feet and took a few staggering steps that brought
him perilously close to the loft doorway.
Vasco said: ‘He’s drunk.’
‘Again, not him. He’s seen his bottle is empty and assumes because of that
and the fact that he reeks of schnapps that he ought to be drunk and acts
accordingly. Auto-suggestion, I believe they call it. It could have been a
bit awkward if his relief found that he couldn’t wake him. Enough.’
In the bedroom van Effen said: ‘I think we should go downstairs in a few
moments. Including you, Vasco, if you feel strong enough.’
‘I’m a captain in the Dutch army. I’m brave.’
George said: ‘You told Samuelson you wouldn’t be down.’
‘My mind changes along with the circumstances. It was freezingly cold out
there. I require brandy. More importantly, I want to see their reaction to
the news that the hunt for the FFF is now being concentrated in the
Rotterdam-Scheldt area. Even more important is that I want those missiles,
explosives and other nasties transferred from the truck to the helicopter.’
‘Why?’George said.
‘The roads between here and the Rotterdam-Scheldt area will be alive with
patrols tomorrow morning, police and army, but mainly, I suspect, army. My
person~l conviction is that Ylvisaker will be intercepted. I want those
missiles because the FFF want them mounted for some offensive or defensive
purposes and that should give them, from our point of view, owing to the
fact that the missiles are totally useless, a splendid sense of false
security.’
‘You should have been a lawyer, a politician, a Wall Street broker or a
criminal specializing in fraud,’ George said.
‘Such devious minds don’t belong on the ranks of the police forces.’
‘Hark at who’s talking. I have also the hunch that the explosives, grenades
and other sundries may prove to be more useful to us than to them. Just a
hunch. Vasco, what do you
273
know about the regulations concerning the transport of missiles?’
‘Absolutely nothing.
‘Then let’s invent sorne.’
‘I’ll wager, sir, that I can invent better regulations than you can.)
‘Gentlemen, gentlemen!’ Samuelson’s crocodile smile would have shamed an
archangel. ‘Delighted to see you. I thought you weren’t coming down, Mr
Danilov.’
‘I just couldn’t sleep,’ van Effen said with a transparent honesty that
would have shamed the same archangel. ‘As a Dutchman, even an adopted one,
I just couldn’t – well, you understand – well, you know, Flevoland.’
‘Of course, of course. I understand. And the Captain – sorry, Lieutenant.
Delighted to see you, my boy. I take it you are feeling better?’
‘My voice is not but I ain,’ Vasco said hoarsely. ‘Thanks to your kindness,
Mr Samuelson.’
‘The universal specific. I suggest another.’ He looked at van Effen and
George. ‘Brandies, gentlemen? Large ones?’
‘You are very kind,’van Effen said. He waited while Samuelson gave
instructions to Leonardo. ‘You know that I am a normally incurious person,
but two things take my attention. The ladies have returned. I was given to
understand that they were still in a state of nervous exhaustion.’
‘As far as I can understand, they still are. Your second question?’
Van Effen sn-i-i led. ‘My second question may give the answer to my first
implied question. I see your TV is on again. I have by now come to
understand that this means that you are expecting a further communiqut or
statement or whatever in the near future.’
‘You understand correctly.’It was Samuelson’s turn to smile, the usual
avuncular one. ‘Both questions answered. You will excuse me a moment,
gentlemen. I must tell the Reverend that it is earphones time.’
Leonardo brought them their drinks. Van Effen thanked him
274
and led the other two out on to the terrace. No one raised an eyebrow. Apart
from the fact that they had already established reputations as eccentric
fresh-air fiends, ii they wished to have a private conversation they had
already had a long time to have held it upstairs.
Van Effen closed the door and said: ‘WeR, what do we make of that?’
‘The four young ladies who appear to have recovered from their nervous
exhaustion? They’re talking among each other, not animatedly, not very
cordially, but they’re talking. And I don’t for a moment believe they’ve
come down to watch this next broadcast.’George sipped his brandy
thoughtfully. ‘Somebody wants to talk to us.’
Van Effen nodded. ‘Julie. Could be Annemarie, but my hunch is Julie.’ He
looked across at the loft door where the sentry was now pacing to and fro,
perfectly steady on his feet and looking every inch a man devoted to his
job. ‘When we get back inside – which will be in a very few seconds, it’s