Jack Higgins – Wrath of the Lion 1964 The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. WILLIAM BLAKE

She was obviously only controlling her anger by a supreme effort of will, and when she replied her voice vibrated slightly. “Where a moral principle is involved I refuse to be hampered by a spurious nationalism.”

“Is that a fact?” Mallory said. “Well, I’ve got news for you, Mrs. Hume. I’d rather have that lot out there in the jungle than you and your kind any day. At least they fight for what they believe in. I can respect them for that.”

“Even when they butcher nuns and young girls?” she taunted.

“We managed things like that on a much more impressive scale during the war. After all, for a purist like yourself there can’t be much difference between the terrorist’s gren-ade and the bombs released at the touch of a button from forty thousand feet.” She was suddenly very still and he said softly: “But then I was forgetting. Wasn’t your husband a bomber pilot during the war? I’m sure his opinion would be most interesting.”

“My husband is dead, Colonel Mallory. He was killed in the war.”

“I know, Mrs. Hume,” Mallory said softly.

She turned abruptly and went back inside and Mallory took out a cigarette, striking a match against the verandah rail.

There was a rustle in the bushes below and Sergeant Tevvak said quietly: “Colonel, there is bad news at the com-mand post. It would be well for you to come.”

Mallory glanced over his shoulder quickly. Mr. Li and Mary Hume sat at the table, talking earnestly, heads together, and Suwon busied herself preparing drinks at the sideboard. He vaulted over the rail and followed Tewak through the bushes.

The little Malay hurried along without speaking, leading the way out through the rear gate and down the hill to the village. The streets were quiet, but outside the command post Mallory found what seemed to be the whole detachment standing in twos and threes, each man armed and in march-ing order.

As Tewak led the way round to the store hut at the side of the bungalow Mallory was aware of the emptiness that snatched at the pit of his stomach. The Malay opened the door, switched on the light and led the way in.

The body was covered by a groundsheet and lay on a trestle table in the centre of the room. Mallory knew it was Gregson at once because of the American Paratrooper’s boots which he had bought at a second-hand shop in Singa-pore three months previously. Tewak pulled back the ground-sheet and waited, his face like stone.

The teeth were clenched, lips drawn back in the death-agony. His hands had been tied behind him, the eyes gouged out, quite obviously while he was still alive. The rest of him was like a piece of raw meat.

Mallory took a deep breath and turned away. “When did it happen?”

“About half an hour ago. He was tipped off that a wounded terrorist was hiding at the house of Sabal the ferry-man. I arrived back about an hour after he’d left. He only took two men. When he didn’t return I thought I’d better investigate.”

“Are they all dead?”

“Also Sabal and his wife and their four children.”

Mallory nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face. He looked down at the body on the table, once more covered with the groundsheet.

“Go to Mr. Li’s bungalow. There’s an Englishwoman there, a Mrs. Hume. Tell her I want to see her. If she refuses to come use force.”

The door closed softly and Mallory took out a cigarette and lit it, thinking about Gregson, about the senseless, need-less cruelty of his going. It had been intended as a threat, so much was obvious, and had been directed at him personally. Whoever controlled the sixty or so terrorists in Perak had simply used Gregson as a calling card.

A few minutes later the door opened and Mary Hume was pushed inside. Behind her Mallory was conscious of Li’s troubled face in the doorway.

She was trembling with anger, her face very white as she moved forward. Mallory cut in quickly before she could speak.

“So sorry to trouble you, Mrs. Hume, but one of my young officers was very anxious to meet you.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *