Midnight Runner - Jack Higgins [83]
"And I'm not?"
"No, in spite of your war record. None of this is anything to be ashamed of, Senator."
"I haven't seen Dillon. Will he be coming in?"
"No, he's in Hazar."
"Damn. I should be there," Quinn said. "Tell me what he's doing there."
A t Fuad, Keenan and his men spent the day meticulously checking the material that Colum McGee had provided. Keenan even made them unscrew the casing several times and check the insides.
"Jesus, is this necessary, Barry?" Casey asked.
"Only if we want to look busy. I'd like the Countess to think she's getting her money's worth. I've checked the specifications of that bridge again. I figure that with forty tons of high explosive on board, all I need do is use one big block of Semtex as an igniter linked to the other stuff with det cord."
"The old-fashioned way?" Kelly said.
"The old-fashioned, simple way." Keenan smiled. "And I'm always in favor of that."
A t the Scouts' camp, it was early evening. Villiers appeared with Lacey and Parry and everyone sat around the fire.
Lacey said, "I've worked out that we can make the Tank Five area in thirty minutes. I'd say we should leave at six. You'll want to get yourselves established at the Tank, maybe do a recce."
"That sounds fine by me," Dillon said.
"The only thing is," Villiers put in, "I'll have to leave with my men around three-thirty. We'll drop you off at the RAF compound and you'll have to sit it out until your six o'clock takeoff."
Dillon turned to Lacey. "We'll see you then."
Ferguson said, "So will I. Besides Dillon and Billy, you'll have two passengers, Squadron Leader."
Lacey smiled. "Of course, General," and he and Parry got in a Land Rover and Villiers drove them away.
A fter midnight at Fuad, Carver gave the Scorpion a thorough check and topped up the tanks from jerry cans, helped by a couple of Bedu. Keenan and his men carefully packed holdalls with Semtex, timers, and the det cord, and stowed them carefully away, then they went back to the block house that was the communication, weapon, and explosive store.
"What's your pleasure?" Colum McGee asked.
Keenan had a look at the rifle racks. "An AK47 will be fine for each of us, and a bag of magazines."
"What about pistols?"
"Okay, three Brownings."
McGee laid them out on the trestle table. The three men armed themselves and returned to the Scorpion. Kate Rashid had appeared with Rupert and was talking to Carver. He checked his watch.
"Ten past one. We might as well go. The weather report's good. No wind to speak of. Should be a smooth run."
Kate Rashid said, "On your way, then. Make history."
"No, thanks, I spent years in Ireland doing that. This time I prefer to make a buck. I'll see you at the Bacu."
Carver was already at the controls. Keenan climbed in after Casey and Kelly and slid the door closed. A moment later, they started to lift off.
T he flight was as smooth as Carver had predicted, and the sky was luminous with stars scattered like diamond chips around a half-moon. Al Mukalli wasn't much of a place, only the odd light was showing. It seemed more like an old-fashioned whistle-stop than anything else. There were flat-roofed buildings, a small web of railway lines, wagons parked to one side, and two railway engines, one of them linked to a long line of freight cars, some open to the sky.
As the Scorpion started to descend, two men dropped out of the train and looked up and another man got out of the guard's van at the rear. The Scorpion landed, and Keenan opened the door and got out with Casey, and Kelly passed out the holdalls and rifles.
Carver called. "Right, I'm out of it. I'll see you at the Bacu," and he took the Scorpion up and away.
The three Arabs stood waiting as Keenan and his men approached. They all wore the usual head cloths, but only one wore a robe. The others were in white oil-stained overalls.
"You were expecting us." Keenan made it a statement.
The one in the robe said, "Yes, Sahb, I am Yusuf, the guard." He pointed to the older, bearded man. "This is Ali, the train driver."