A Devil Is Waiting - Jack Higgins [102]
As they turned alongside and disembarked, there was a low, deep rumble as the Semtex exploded in the depths of the dhow. They hurried to the Scorpion, embarked quickly and were taking off in minutes, Slay making a close pass over the Monsoon as flames started to eat through the wooden decks. There were men down there, leaping into the sea in life jackets.
“Not that they deserve it, but they’ll be fine,” Slay said. “The sea is nice and warm and not renowned for sharks. The sheikh who owns Monsoon is a billionaire. All that oil, you see. He probably didn’t even bother to insure it.”
He took the Scorpion round on a curve, climbing to a thousand feet and heading fast across the desert to Hazar.
EPILOGUE
They landed outside Slay’s hangar thirty minutes later and found Feisal waiting. He was excited and greeted Slay, smiling. “A big success, I think, when I see the lady.” He nodded to Sara. “But my friend in the tower speaks of a big disturbance in Rubat, a dhow sinking in the harbor. As there is no traffic at the moment, he suggests you get out of here in the Falcon while you still can. After all, Hazar and Rubat have no air force to go after you.”
“I’d say that’s sound advice,” Holley said.
“There is one more suggestion he has to make,” Feisal said. “The presence of a Scorpion helicopter has been noted. Some individuals who have met violent ends are policemen. Better for you, Captain Slay, to be on the Falcon when it leaves.”
“Wonderful,” Slay said. “When you think how much I’ve plowed into this business. But I must admit it would be sensible to vacate the premises while I still can.”
Sara slipped a hand in his arm. “When you think that Ali Selim was expecting to get at least a hundred million sterling for me, Greg, I would imagine the board of the Gideon Bank would consider financial compensation to you for your loss to be cheap at the price.”
“Well, that’s a comfort,” Greg said.
So it was that the Falcon jet took off twenty minutes later, climbing very quickly. Feisal Rashid, a Bedu from deep in the Empty Quarter and, for a time, an aircraft mechanic, watched it go with some sadness, then packed anything he thought was worth taking, including some interesting weaponry, in the remaining jeep and left to join his beloved wife at Shaba Oasis.
With Greg Slay on the flight deck, Holley sat with Sara, having coffee and considering what had happened. The pieces all fitted for her like a jigsaw. Owen Rashid’s Al Qaeda connection, the Henri Legrande and Jack Kelly affair so important. Without it, Sara Gideon would have been a prisoner of Al Qaeda now. And then there was Jean Talbot who had done the right, if dangerous, thing and taken a bullet doing it.
It was all rather moving, and she turned to Holley. “Can I borrow your Codex? I think I’ll make my usual false report to Sadie and Granddad.”
“Of course.” He gave it to her. “How are you feeling?”
“It still hasn’t sunk in properly that I wakened from a deep sleep and found myself living a nightmare. Then you lot just appearing from nowhere like you did.”
“Thank God we were able to.”
She smiled. “I’ll make the call from the restroom. I’ll see you soon.”
Holley sat there in the dim light, half dozing. It was half an hour before she returned. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Sadie was in bed, having an early night. The baby is good; the mother still under the weather, and Granddad was marking papers. He seems to be really enjoying the academic life. I have not been honest with them, Daniel, but on the other hand, the life I’ve been living would be totally incomprehensible to them, and I wouldn’t want them to know anyway. The continual stress would be too much of a problem.”
“But not for you, I think,” Holley said. “Just look at you. Fully in control, in spite of what you’ve been through. Heavy-duty stuff, Sara.”
“Do you find that hard to take?”
“I’d have killed Ibrahim myself without a moment’s hesitation. It’s interesting that you can do the same, that’s all, and leave it behind.