Exocet - Jack Higgins [74]
'The tide's on the turn. Maybe an hour and there won't be enough beach left for a take-off.'
'It doesn't matter,' Villiers told him. 'After all, it isn't our plane.'
He produced the Walther he had taken from Rabier, checked the action, then put it back in his pocket. Leclerc's men had already got the airstair door open and were scrambling out on to the beach one by one, each man taking with him a weapon from the supply of arms they had brought from the Maison Blanche. Villiers picked up an Armalite, slipped a hand grenade into his pocket and joined them.
A cold wind drove rain in across the wet flats as they stood around him in a semi-circle. 'How many of you have had combat experience?' he demanded.
Leclerc indicated a tall, fit-looking young man with close cropped hair, whose steel-rimmed glasses were already misting with rain. 'Sergeant Albray here was on detachment with the Foreign Legion in Chad two years ago. He's been under fire more than once. As for the rest of us ...' He shrugged.
'All right,' Villiers said. 'There's only time for me to say one thing of importance to you. No boy scout ethics like giving those bastards a fair chance. Shoot them in the back if you have to because that's exactly what they'll do to you. Now let's get out of here,' and he turned and started to run across the sand towards the base of the cliffs.
They had seemed impregnable on the flight in from the sea, but on a closer view, were breached by an enormous gully, water running down the centre. It provided an easy if strenuous route up from the beach.
Ten minutes later they were over the top and starting down the slope through a jumble of broken grey boulders, sparse grass, everything shrouded in clinging mist. Villiers sensed voices somewhere below, held up his hand to caution Leclerc and the others to silence.
They went forward through the mist and came to the edge of an escarpment and there below, toiling up the slope, was Jarrot, followed by three other men. Villiers had eyes only for Stavrou bringing up the rear, could see only Harvey Jackson's tortured face as he sat tied to the chair in that wretched little bungalow near Lancy.
He took the grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin with his teeth. For once, he allowed anger to betray his usual icy calm and rigorous training.
'Stavrou, you bastard!' he called. 'Here's a present from Harvey Jackson,' and he tossed the grenade into the ravine.
Stavrou, alerted by that cry, every instinct bred of years of hard living coming to his aid, was already turning, diving headlong down the hillside, rolling out of sight into the mist and rain. Not so his companions. There was a shattering explosion followed by screams, and Villiers moved to the edge, his Armalite ready. The ravine was like a butcher's shop, Jarrot and his three companions all badly hit. There was horror on the faces of the young French soldiers as they moved to join Villiers. He raised the Armalite to his shoulder and fired at one of the men who was trying to crawl away.
Leclerc caught him by the shoulder and swung him round. 'For God's sake, haven't you had enough?'
There was a single shot, a bullet caught him in the side of the head, splintering bone as it emerged above his right ear. He fell back over the edge.
One of the sergeants loosed off a burst from his machine pistol at Jarrot who had fired the shot from the hip, bracing himself on one knee. The bullets spun him around and shredded the back of his camouflage jacket so that it burst into flame.
There was only silence then as they stood beside Villiers, staring at the carnage and at Leclerc's body down there also.
'Is that it, sir?' one of the younger sergeants asked.
Villiers shook his head. 'There are still others down there at the base and the man we really want, Felix Donner. I'm sorry about your captain. He was a good man, but you don't survive in war by being kind, decent and honourable, not these days. I hope you've learned your lesson. Use it well when we get down there.' He slammed another clip into his Armalite. 'All right, follow me,