Midnight Runner - Jack Higgins [77]
"Still in there. Not gone through. Don't worry, this is an army kit, there's everything necessary to treat a gunshot wound."
"What he needs is a bleeding hospital," Billy said.
"No, Billy, what he needs is to get the hell out of Northern Ireland."
He found a scalpel in the box and cut the sleeve away. It was surprising how little blood there was. He got an antibiotic ampoule out and stabbed it into Quinn and did the same thing with a morphine ampoule. Only then did he apply a field service dressing pad and tie it firmly in place.
He got what was left of the shirt off him, then leaned over the backseat, thanking God they'd booked out of the hotel, opened Quinn's suitcase, and found a checked flannel sports shirt which he helped him into.
Afterwards, he found a sling in the kit, eased Quinn's right arm into it, then got his jacket back on. The rent in the sleeve hardly showed, and he could always put his raincoat over his shoulder on the way to the plane.
He eased Quinn back in the corner of the back seats. "Okay, Senator?"
"I let you down," Quinn said. "I can't believe it. I just couldn't pull that trigger. I don't understand--a man like me."
"I've said it before, Vietnam was a long time ago. Just take it easy."
He got out his Codex and called Ferguson at the Ministry. "Oh, do I have a tale of woe."
"Tell me." Dillon did, sticking to the bare facts. Afterwards, Ferguson said, "What do you want me to do?"
"Get us a slot out of Aldergrove. We should be there in an hour. They've got the Beechcraft out of Brancaster registered in my name. It'll be two hours to Brancaster, so have an ambulance there in three to pick Quinn up and take him to Rosedene. I'd also contact Henry Bellamy if I were you."
"I'll get back to you."
Quinn said, "Rosedene?"
"A special little hospital we use."
"And Henry Bellamy?"
"Professor of Surgery at Guy's Hospital, the finest surgeon in London, many people think."
Quinn closed his eyes and opened them again. "What about the recording?"
"That's a thought. Let's hear it."
He switched on the tape and it came through, clear as a bell. "A pleasure to meet you," Keenan said. "What do I call you?"
A fterwards, Quinn said weakly, "She's crazy, of course."
"A raving loony. She must be," Billy said.
Dillon nodded. "She always was a bit that way, Billy." His Codex rang. It was Ferguson, who said, "Your slot's arranged and the ambulance will be at Brancaster. And I've fixed up Henry Bellamy. Are you certain the Senator's up to the plane trip?"
"He has to be. If I deliver him to the Royal Victoria Hospital in, they'll call in the RUC. Does he need that kind of publicity? I think not, and the three badly damaged specimens we left beside the road outside Drumcree would agree."
"All right, we'll keep our fingers crossed. So Kate Rashid was having a meeting with Barry Keenan? How did you find out?"
"Some inspired computer trawling by Roper. I won't bore you with the details. The only important thing is, I knew she was going to the Royal George in Drumcree, and Roper discovered that it's Real IRA country and Keenan runs things, and remember what he's famous for? One of the best bombmakers in the business. It seemed logical to assume Kate was up to her old tricks."
"And is she?"
"She certainly is. We planted a recorder in the snug at the George and retrieved it later. You've got the whole meeting on tape. Anyway, I have to go. We're just coming up to Aldergrove."
"Just tell me what her target is."
"The bridge at Bacu in the Empty Quarter. It spans a huge gorge. Carries an old railway line and the main pipelines linking the interior oil fields to the coast. Keenan's agreed to blow it up for her."
Ferguson was horrified. "She can't do that, it would cripple world oil supplies."
"I think that's exactly the point, Charles."
T he flight went smoothly. Quinn, dulled by the morphine, slept most of the way and safely arrived at Brancaster. Dillon and Billy went with him in the ambulance to Rosedene, where they found Henry Bellamy waiting in reception,