• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

'I told you it was a waste of time.'

'Nonsense,' Ferguson said. 'She'll go.' As the lift descended he said, 'She'll need a man, Harry, to back her up. Someone totally dependable and quite ruthless. Do you know where Tony is at this moment?'

'Operating behind Argentinian lines somewhere in the Falklands with the SAS.'

'Exactly. I thought I might need him so I sent a signal last night, utmost priority. I want him pulled out. Picked up by submarine and off-loaded into Uruguay. It's only fourteen hours by plane from Montevideo to Paris. Our people at the Embassy in Montevideo can have the necessary papers waiting for him.'

They went out and down the steps towards the car. He said, 'I know, Harry, don't bother to say it. I'm the great original bastard of all time.'

* * *

Belov and Garcia sat with Donner in the study of his apartment and waited while Wanda poured coffee.

'That's fine,' Donner said to her. 'Any business calls from the corporation in London, you handle and tell Yanni to stand by. I may need him.'

She went out and he said to Garcia, 'So, Colonel Montera arrives tomorrow? You've brought me that file on him I asked for, I trust? I like to know who I'm dealing with.'

'Of course.' Garcia opened his briefcase and produced a small folder which he pushed across.

Donner opened it, studied the photo it contained of Montera, and quickly scanned the details on the sheets.

'Excellent,' he said at last. 'What arrangements have you made as regards accommodation?'

'A hotel didn't seem like a good idea,' Garcia said, 'and certainly not the Embassy. I've leased a small service flat for him in an apartment block on the Avenue de Neuilly by the Bois de Boulogne.' He passed a card across. 'There's the address and telephone number.'

'Good.' Donner nodded. 'I'll make the necessary contact with him once he arrives.'

Garcia said, 'I was wondering when we might have some further details as to exactly what you intend.' There was a kind of exasperation in his voice. 'I mean, you've still given us not the slightest hint where you expect to get the Exocets from.'

'And I don't intend to,' Donner said. 'Not until the very last moment. This is a matter of the utmost delicacy. The fewer people who know my source, the better. I'm sorry but that's the way I work.' He shrugged. 'Of course if you're not satisfied, it would still be possible to pull out.'

'Good God, no,' Garcia said hastily. 'I didn't mean that, not for a moment.'

'I'm glad to hear it. Now, if you wouldn't mind leaving us alone for a moment. You can wait in the next room. I'm sure Wanda can find you some more coffee.'

Garcia went out. Belov said, 'Amateurs. What on earth is one supposed to do with them?'

'Keep them out of harm's way, that's what,' Donner said. 'I've already made it plain to Paul Bernard that under no circumstances does he discuss with Garcia his dealings with me.'

'Who therefore knows nothing about your interest in Ile de Roc?'

'Exactly.'

'And can you trust Bernard?'

'Oh, yes, the good professor has really got the bit between his teeth. Looks upon the whole thing as a kind of crusade. I haven't been explicit, but he obviously thinks I intend to hijack one of the Aerospatiale trucks which transport Exocets by road to the island every so often. Mind you, if he knew my exact intentions, he might not be so pleased. But he has served my purpose very well.'

'And what happens to him afterwards?'

'Something suitably dramatic, I think, like being found dead with a gun in one hand and a suicide note, regretting his involvement in a conspiracy against his own country to obtain Exocets for the Argentine Government. French Intelligence will have little difficulty in establishing that he gave all that technical assistance early in the campaign. According to Garcia, he was on the telephone to Buenos Aires answering queries for lengthy periods on a number of occasions. It should all come out very satisfactorily. France is, after all, a democracy. Three cheers for a free press.'

'You really do think of