“Team-2 copies go-mission. Team-2 is moving.”
“That’s affirmative. Good luck, Domingo.”
“Thank you, Mr. C.”
Chavez turned to his people and pumped his arm up and down in the speed-it-up gesture known to armies all over the world. They got into their designated van for the drive across the Gatwick ramp. It stopped at the cargo gate for their flight, where Chavez waved a cop close, and let Eddie Price pass the word to load the special cargo onto the Boeing 757. That done, the van advanced another fifty yards to the stairs outside the end of the jetway, and Team-2 jumped out and headed up the stairs. At the top, the control-booth door was held open by another police constable, and from there they walked normally aboard the aircraft and handed over their tickets to the stewardess, who pointed them to their first-class seats.
The last man aboard was Tim Noonan, the team’s technical wizard. Not a wizened techno-nerd, Noonan had played defensive back at Stanford before joining the FBI, and took weapons training with the team just to fit in. Six feet two hundred pounds, he was larger than most of Ding’s shooters but, he’d be the first to admit, was not as tough. Still, he was a better-than-fair shot with pistol and YIP-10, and was learning to speak the language. Dr. Bellow settled into his window seat with a book extracted from his carry-on bag. It was a volume on sociopathy by u professor at Harvard under whom he’d trained some years before. The rest of the team members just leaned hack, skimming through the onboard magazines. Chavez looked around and saw that his team didn’t seem tense at all, and was both amazed at the fact, and slightly ashamed that he was so pumped up. The airline captain made his announcements, and the Boeing backed away from the gate, then taxied out to the runway. Five minutes later, the aircraft rotated off the ground, and Team-2 was on its way to its first mission
“In the air,” Tawney reported. “The airline expects a smooth flight and an on time arrival in . . . an hour fifteen minutes.”
“Great,” Clark observed. The TV coverage had settled down. Both Swiss stations were broadcasting continuous L overage now, complete with thoughts from the reporters ,it the scene. That was about as useful as an NFL pre-game show, though police spokesmen were speaking to the press now. No, they didn’t know who was inside. Yes, they’d spoken to them. Yes, negotiations were ongoing. No, they couldn’t really say any more than that. Yes, they’d keep the press apprised of developments.
Like hell, John thought. The same coverage was reported on Sky News, and soon CNN and Fox networks were carrying brief stories about it, including, of course, the dumping of the first victim and the escape of the one who’d dragged the body out.
“Nasty business, John,” Tawney said over his tea.
Clark nodded. “I suppose they always are, Bill.”
“Quite.” Peter Covington came in then, stole a swivel chair and n -paved it next to the two senior men. His face was locked in neutral though he had to be pissed, Clark thought, that his team wasn’t going. But the team-availability rotation was set in stone here, as it had to be.
“Thoughts, Peter?” Clark asked.
“They’re not awfully bright. They killed that poor sod very early in the affair, didn’t they?”
“Keep going,” John said, reminding all of them that he was new in this business.
“When you kill a hostage, you cross a large, thick line, sir. Once across it, one cannot easily go backward, can one?”
“So, you try to avoid it?”
“I would. It makes it too difficult for the other side to make concessions, and you bloody need the concessions if you want to get away-unless you know something the opposition does not. Unlikely in a situation like this.”
“They’ll ask for a way out . . . helicopter?”
“Probably.” Covington nodded. “To an airport, commercial aircraft waiting, international crew-but to where? Libya, perhaps, but will Libya allow them in? Where else might they go? Russia? I think not. The Bekaa Valley in Lebanon is still possible, but commercial aircraft don’t land there. About the only sensible thing they’ve done is to protect their identities from the police. Would you care to wager that the hostage who got out has not seen their faces?” Covington shook his head.
“They’re not amateurs,” Clark objected. “Their weapons point to some measure of training and professionalism.”
That earned John a nod. “True, sir, but not awfully bright. I would not be overly surprised to learn that they’d actually stolen some currency, like common robbers. Trained terrorists, perhaps, but not good ones.”
And what’s a “good” terrorist? John wondered. Doubtless a term of art he’d have to learn.
The BA flight touched down two minutes early, then taxied to the gate. Ding had spent the flight talking to Dr. Bellow. The psychology of this business was the biggest blank spot in his copybook, and one he’d have to learn to fill in and soon. This wasn’t like being a soldier-the psychology of that job was handled at the general officer level most of the time, the figuring out of what the other guy was going to do with his maneuver battalions. This was ,quad-level combat, but with all sorts of interesting new dements, Ding thought, flipping his seat belt off before t he aircraft stopped moving. But it still came down to the last common denominator-steel on target.
Chavez stood and stretched, then headed aft to the doorway, his game-face now on all the way. Out the jetway, between two ordinary civilians who probably thought him a businessman, with his suit and tie. Maybe he’d buy a nicer suit in London, he thought idly, exiting the jetway, the better to fit the disguise he and his men had t o adopt when traveling. There was a chauffeur sort of man standing out there holding a sign with the proper name on it. Chavez walked up to him.
“Waiting for us?”
“Yes, sir. Come with me?”
Team-2 followed him down the anonymous concourse, then turned into what seemed a conference room that had another door. In it was a uniformed police officer, a se-one, judging by the braid on his blue blouse.
You are. . .” he said. “Chavez.” Ding stuck his hand out. “Domingo Chavez.”
“Spanish?” the cop asked in considerable surprise.
“American. And you, sir?”
“Roebling, Marius,” the man replied, when all the team was in the room and the door closed. “Come with me, please.” Roebling opened the far door, which led outside to some stairs. A minute later, they were in a minibus heading past the park aircraft, then out onto a highway. Ding looked back to see another truck, doubtless carrying their gear.
“Okay, what can you tell me?”
“Nothing new since the first murder. We are speaking with them over the telephone. No names, no identities. They’ve demanded transport to this airport and a flight out of the country, no destination revealed to us as of yet.,,
“Okay, what did the guy who got away tell you?”
“There are four of them, they speak German, he says they sound as though it is their primary language, idiomatic, pronunciation, and so forth. They are armed with Czech weapons, and it would seem they are not reluctant to make use of them.”
“Yes, sir. How long to get there, and will my men be able to change into their gear?”
Roebling nodded. “It is arranged, Major Chavez.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Can I speak with the man who got out?” Dr. Bellow asked.
“My orders are to give you full cooperation-within reason, of course.”
Chavez wondered what that qualification meant, but decided he’d find out in due course. He couldn’t blame the man for being unhappy to have a team of foreigners come to his country to enforce the law. But these were the proverbial pros from Dover, and that was that-his own government had said so. It also occurred to Ding that the credibility of Rainbow now rested on his shoulders. It would be a hell of a thing to embarrass his father-in-law and his team and his country. He turned to look at his people. Eddie Price, perhaps reading his mind, gave a discreet thumbs-up. Well, Chavez thought, at least one of us thinks we’re ready. It was different in the field, something he’d learned in the jungles and mountains of Colombia years before, and the closer you got to the firing line, the more different it got. Out here there were no laser systems to tell you who’d been killed. Real red blood would announce that. But his people were trained and experienced, especially Sergeant Major Edward Price.
All Ding had to do was lead them into battle.
There was a secondary school a block from the bank. The minibus and truck pulled up to it, and Team-2 walked into the gymnasium area, which was secured by ten or so uniformed cops. The men changed into their gear in a locker room, and walked back into the gym, to find Roebling with an additional garment for them to wear. These were pullovers, black like their assault gear. POLIZEI was printed on them, front and back, in gold lettering rather than the usual bright yellow. A Swiss affectation? Chavez thought, without the smile that should have gone with the observation.