The Savage Day - Jack Higgins [65]
As I stood up, Binnie whispered urgently. 'We can't stand around here doing nothing while Norah's life's ticking away by the minute.'
'Exactly,' I said. 'And the only way out of here is by knocking out the lad up there in the tower.'
'But he's one of our own.'
'It's either him or Norah Murphy. Make up your mind.'
His face was very pale now, sweat on his brow. He glanced about him wildly as if looking for some other way out, then nodded. 'All right, damn you, what do we have to do?'
'It's simple,' I said. 'I want you to draw his fire by driving the Land-Rover out into the square. I'll handle the rest.'
He turned from me at once, went to the Land-Rover and got behind the wheel. As he started the engine, I took the rifle from a young private who was kneeling beside me.
I said to Ford, 'Perhaps we won't have to wait for B company after all, Lieutenant.' Then I flattened myself against the corner and gave Binnie the nod.
He roared out into the square and the sniper in the tower went to work instantly. I allowed him two shots, then ran out into the open, raised the rifle to my shoulder and fired six or seven times up into the belfry very rapidly.
It was enough. The bells started to ring, a hideous clamour as bullets ricocheted from them, a rifle jumped into the air, a man in a trenchcoat seemed to poise there for a moment, then dived head first to the cobbles.
I handed the rifle back to its owner and started across the square. Binnie had braked to a halt in the centre. As I reached him, the Highlanders moved past me towards the body. The smoke seemed suddenly to grow thicker, from the rain, I suppose, choking the square so that visibility was reduced to a few yards.
I climbed in beside Binnie. 'I think this would be as good a time as any to get out of here.'
The skin was drawn tightly over his cheek-bones so that his face was skull-like and it was as if Death himself stared out at me when he turned.
'I didn't look,' he said. 'I couldn't. Is he dead?'
'Drive on, Binnie,' I told him gently. There's a good lad.'
'Oh my God,' he said, and as he drove away his eyes were wet and I do not think it was from the smoke alone.
13
May You Die in Ireland
We turned in through the gate leading to the private road to Spanish Head at about ten minutes to six. The final part of the run had proved completely uneventful, for although we had run across two more road blocks near Coleraine, we had been waved through without the slightest hesitation.
It had stopped raining for the moment although there was a dampness to the air that seemed to indicate there was more to come and heavy grey clouds out to sea crowded in towards a horizon that was touched with a weird orange glow.
The house seemed dark and sombre, waiting for us at the edge of the cliff in the pale evening light, and there was no sign of life at all as we rolled into the courtyard and braked to a halt.
So here we were again at the final dangerous edge of things. I lit a cigarette and turned to Binnie. 'We made it.'
'So it would appear, Major.' He rested his forehead on the steering-wheel as if suddenly very weary.
There was a slight eerie creaking as the garage door eased open. I said softly, 'Don't let's do anything drastic. It's Vaughan and Binnie Gallagher.'
I turned slowly and found Dooley and three of his chums standing line abreast, each man covering us with a sub-machine-gun.
When we went into the drawing-room on the first floor, Frank Barry was standing with his back to the fire, a glass of brandy in one hand. He looked us over with obvious amusement. 'My, my, but this is one for the book. I've never seen you so well dressed, Binnie. You should wear it all the time.'
Binnie said quietly, 'Where's Norah?'
'You can see her when I'm good and ready. Now, what did Cork have to say?'
'You heard him,' I said. 'First Norah, then we talk.'
I think that for a moment there he was going to argue about it, but instead he shrugged and nodded to Dooley, who went into the next room. He returned leading Norah by the arm. She