Exocet - Jack Higgins [23]
He walked towards the officers' mess wearily, his flying boots drumming on the tarmac. He felt depressed, stale, at the end of things. He was too old to be doing this sort of thing, and that was a fact; then he remembered what Gabrielle had said to him about age being a state of mind and smiled.
He thought a lot about her these days. In fact, all the time. She filled his heart and head, flew with him, slept with him. He spoke aloud to her last thing each night.
He walked into the ante-room. The first person he saw was Lami Dozo, standing by the fire, a circle of young officers about him.
The General excused himself and came to meet Montera, genuine pleasure on his face. He gave him the abrazo, the formal hug.
'I saw your mother yesterday at a charity affair. Fundraising for the army. She looked splendid.'
'Was Linda with her?'
'No, she was at school. As I say, your mother looked splendid. You, on the other hand, look dreadful. It must stop, this foolishness, Raul. Eleven missions in a week.'
'Twelve,' Montera said. 'You forget today. And could you kindly get them to do something about the bombs? They will persist in not going off a lot of the time. Very annoying, when one has gone to such a great deal of trouble to deliver them.'
'Have a drink,' Lami Dozo said.
'An excellent idea.' Montera called a mess waiter over. 'Tea. My usual.' He turned to the General. 'Will you join me?'
'Tea?' Lami Dozo said. 'Good God, what's got into you?'
Montera nodded to the waiter who departed. 'Nothing. It's just that a friend of mine when I was in London persuaded me that coffee wasn't good for me.'
'Who is this Gabrielle whose name they tell me is painted on the nose of your Skyhawk?'
'The woman I love,' Raul Montera said simply.
'Have I had the pleasure of meeting her?'
'No. When she isn't living in London, she lives in Paris. Next question.'
'Paris? How interesting. If you had time, you could look her up.'
'I don't understand?'
'You're flying to Paris tomorrow. I'm taking you back to Buenos Aires with me now. Oh, and Galtieri would like a word before you leave.'
'I think perhaps you'd better explain,' Montera said.
Which Lami Dozo did as briefly as possible. When he was finished he said, 'Well, what do you think?'
'I think the world has gone mad,' Raul Montera told him. 'But who am I to argue.'
'It could win us the war, Raul.'
'Win us the war?' Montera laughed harshly. 'We're back with old movies on television, General. We've lost this war already. It should never have started. But by all means send me off to Paris to play games while these boys here continue to die.'
The waiter returned with the tray at that moment and Montera poured himself a cup of tea with hands that shook slightly.
He raised the cup to his lips and drank. 'Much better for you than coffee,' he said and smiled, remembering that morning in Kensington, a thousand years ago, in the bath with Gabrielle.
Lami Dozo looked concerned. 'You've done too much, old friend. You need a rest. Come on, let's go.'
'You think I'm going over the edge.' Montera swallowed the rest of his tea. 'You're quite wrong. I'm already there.'
As they stood up, Major Munro came in. He glanced about the mess, saw Montera and smiled. 'Good news, Raul. Young Ortega - they've picked him up. Badly shot up, but he'll survive. They say it was the coldness of the sea that saved him. Stopped him bleeding to death.'
He recognised the General in the same moment and saluted.
'His luck is good,' Lami Dozo commented.
'Let's hope mine is,' said Raul Montera.
* * *
A little under four hours later, he was following Lami Dozo into Galtieri's private study at the Residencia del Presidente.
Galtieri came round the desk to greet him warmly, hand outstretched. 'My dear Montera, a great pleasure. Your efforts on behalf of the cause have been heroic.'
'I've done no more than any other pilot in my command, General.'
'Very commendable, but not quite true. However, General Dozo has briefed you, I'm sure, on the importance of this new mission. We're all counting on