Bloody Passage - Jack Higgins [68]
The effect was spectacular. Ibrahim and his men all turned and froze, trapped by this new menace. As I ran across the sand to the pier, Langley spoke to them in Arabic. The sailors turned uncertainly to look at Ibrahim and Langley loosed off another burst that shattered every window in the wheelhouse. This time everyone, including Ibrahim, did as they had obviously been told and threw their weapons over the side into the sea.
"Now we'll have them all on the pier," I said to Langley as I stepped over the rail.
He again gave them the necessary order and the sailors complied without hesitation. Ibrahim was slightly more reluctant and said to me, eyes smoldering, "You cannot hope to get away with this. The Libyan navy ..."
"What navy, for Christ's sake?" Barzini put a boot to his rear that sent him staggering over the rail.
"Right, let's get out of here," I said.
Nino and Barzini lifted Wyatt across the rail to the Palmyra and took him below and Simone went with them. I told Angelo to cast off, went into the wheel-house and started the engines. Barzini and Nino came back on deck holding assault rifles and stood at the rail covering the sailors.
"All right," I called to Langley. "Let's go."
He lifted the RPD off its tripod and threw it into the sea, then boarded Palmyra grinning hugely. "Anything else I can do for you, old stick?"
"Come to think of it, there is." I took one of the Sturma stick grenades from my belt and passed it out of the window to him. "You did a neat job on those tracks back at the prison. Let's see what you can accomplish this time."
"My pleasure."
As I increased power and turned Palmyra away he yanked the pin and stood at the rail holding the grenade for what seemed an inordinate length of time, only throwing it at the last possible moment. It sailed through one of the broken windows of the wheelhouse and exploded, with unfortunate consequences for Lieutenant Ibrahim and two of his men who were in the act of boarding.
The launch started to burn furiously and there was a further explosion when the fuel tank went up, but by that time I was taking Palmyra through the passage between the Sisters and out to sea fast.
13
Rebel Without A Cause
I switched on every light we had and told Nino and Barzini to rig the fishing nets from mast to stern again.
"Page eighty-three of my copy of Mao Tse Tung on Guerrilla Warfare," I told Barzini when he joined me in the wheelhouse. "When a fish wishes to hide, it finds a shoal of fish. He suggests the revolutionary does the same."
"Do we qualify?"
"Well, let's put it this way. There are a hell of a lot of tunny boats scattered around between here and an outer limit that varies between ten to fifteen miles. This way we look just like all the others, so if anyone is searching for us, good luck to them."
God knows why I felt so cheerful, but in any event, we were soon passing through the tunny fleet. It required some careful navigating and I had to keep a constant eye out for nets, but within an hour or so we were leaving their lights behind. I pushed the engines up to full power and pressed on into the darkness.
For most of the time I was alone, but finally Simone appeared with coffee and sandwiches. She put the tray on the chart table and I locked on to automatic steering.
"What happened back there on the train after we left?" she asked.
I told her. When I'd finished she said, "I'm glad you didn't shoot Masmoudi. He was rather nice. Not at all as that revolting little Zingari man described him."
"I see." I pulled her into my arms. "You fancied him, did you?"
"Very definitely," she said. "Only duty called."
"How's Wyatt?"
"Not so good. Barzini and Nino had to drag him every step of the way from the railway line to the beach. He should be in hospital, Oliver. He's a sick man."
"What's he doing now?"
"Sleeping. He was completely