Midnight Runner - Jack Higgins [94]
"Does he know what happened at the Bacu?" Dillon asked.
"Not yet. The General didn't tell me about it until he phoned to say what time you'd be arriving. I knew you'd be seeing the Senator, so I thought I'd leave it to you."
"All right," Ferguson said. "Let's go in."
Quinn was sitting up, still wearing the sling and reading a book. "You're back." He laid the book down. "What happened? Good news, I hope?"
"Good news and bad," Dillon said, and told him.
Afterwards, Quinn said, "I'm really sorry about Billy. But you guys sure got the job done: Kate Rashid must be livid."
"I imagine so. We put a major spoke in her grand scheme. What about you? How are you feeling?" Dillon asked.
"You mean my health or my head?"
"Both," Ferguson put in.
"Bellamy's a fine surgeon. I'll heal eventually, so I'm not worried about that. But I've been thinking a lot while I've been lying here and I've come to a decision. I'm not up to the hard stuff anymore."
"What about 'vengeance is mine, saith the Lord'?" Dillon said.
Quinn shook his head. "I spent a lot of time working it through. I decided that Helen was worth more than that. And so is her memory."
It was Hannah who said gently, "And Kate Rashid and Rupert Dauncey?"
"Oh, they'll get theirs. From the sound of it, they've already started to. It's a downward slope for them now--they'll destroy themselves. Just as I almost destroyed myself. It's a powerful drug, revenge--and just as deadly."
"I'm glad to hear it, for your sake," Ferguson told him. "Try and get some rest now."
"Just one more thing. I wouldn't like to think any of my friends thought they were doing me a favor by taking things further."
He looked directly at Dillon, who said, "Now do I look like that kind of fella? On the other hand, Kate Rashid did shoot Billy in the back seven times. If his bulletproof waistcoat hadn't stopped four rounds, he'd be a corpse now."
"So you're the one talking vengeance?"
"No, I'm the one under suspended sentence of death, together with the General and Harry Salter. You could say I'm concerned to know whether I should wear my titanium waistcoat at all times. Goodnight, Senator."
Ferguson and Hannah followed him out. She said, "Sean, you're not going to do anything silly?"
"Did you ever know me to? Go on, be off with you, the two of you."
"I'll see you at my office at nine in the morning. Meanwhile, no funny business, and that's an order," Ferguson said, and he and Hannah left.
They went down the steps to the Daimler. Ferguson said, "Why does Dillon do it? It's as if he's looking for death."
"No, sir, that's not it. In fact, he doesn't care whether he lives or dies anymore."
"God help him, then."
Dillon stood on the top step and watched them go. The Telecom van was across the street. He went down the steps to his Mini Cooper, got behind the wheel, and drove away quickly.
Newton was in the passenger seat, as Cook drove. He took a sawed-off shotgun from under the seat, opened it to check the cartridges, and snapped it shut.
"When do we hit him?" Cook asked.
"He's got to go home sooner or later. We'll try him getting out of the car." He patted the shotgun. "He may be hot stuff, but not with one of these pointing between his eyes. That's what separates the men from the boys."
Not far from Stable Mews and on the other side of the square was Dillon's local pub, the Black Horse. There were many vehicles parked there at that time of night. Dillon turned in, parked at the end of a line of cars, and went into the saloon bar. He didn't order a drink, simply stood at the window and looked out to see the Telecom van reversing into a parking space.
He left the saloon bar, went into the lounge, which was crowded with people, and let himself out of a side door. He moved down the line of parked cars, bending low, and reached the rear of the van. Newton was smoking and had the window down. Cook said, "Maybe one of us should go in and see what he's up to?"
"Don't be stupid. He'd recognize us, and what he's up to is having a drink."
"Alas,