The Danger. Part 22

Inoddedandhepaddledagoodwaynorthwardsbeforestoppingagaintodeploy thelines.Againwedriftedonthetide,apparentlyintentoncatchingour breakfast,andTonybenttohisk.n.o.bs.

Thevoicewhenitcamenearlytippedmeoutoftheboat.

"Givethelittlebleederhisbreakfastandtapeoffhisnoiseifhestarts whining."

Thevoice-unmistakablythevoice-whichwehadheardonthetapeinJohn Nerrity'shouse.Notoverloud,butcrystalclear.

"MyG.o.d,"Isaidnumbly,notbelievingit.

"Bingo,"Tonysaidwithawe."Holyeffingh.e.l.l."

Adifferentvoiceonthetapesaid,"Hewon'teat.i.t.What'sthepointoftaking itupthere?"

"Son,"saidthefirstvoicewithexaggeratedpatience,"dowewantourlittle goldminetostarvetodeath?Nowedon't.Takehimhisbreadandjam,andshut up."

"Idon'tlikethisjob,"thesecondvoicecomplained."Straightup,Idon't."

"YouwerekeenenoughwhenIputyouupforit.Goodwork,yousaid;thosewere yourwords."

"Ididn'treckononthekidbeingso..."

"Sowhat?"

"Sostubborn."

"He'snotthatbad.Pining,mostlike.Youconcentrateonthepayolaandgetup thebleedingstairs."

Tonynippedacoupleofswitchesandforawhilewesatinsilencelisteningto thefaintslapofthewateragainstourowndriftingboat;andthenthesecond voice,soundingmuchmoredistant,said,"Hereyouarekid,eatthis."

Therewasnoaudiblereply.

"Eat.i.t,"thevoicesaidwithirritation,andthen,afterapause,"I'dstuffit downyourthroatifyouweremine,yousnottylittlesod."

Tonysaid"Charming"underhisbreathandbegantopullinthelines."Heard enough,haven'twe?Thatsecondbugisonthetopfloor,facingthestreet."

Inodded.Tonyreversedhisswitchesandthesecondvoice,downstairsagain, said,"He'sjustlyingtherestaring,sameasusual.Givesmethew.i.l.l.i.e.s.

Soonerwe'reshotofhim,thebetter."

"Patience,"thefirstvoicesaid,asifhumoringanidiot."Yougottoletthe mansellhishorse.Standstoreason.Oneweekwegavehim.Oneweekiswhat he'llget."

"We'renotcollectingthefivemillion,though,arewe?"Hesoundedaggrieved.

"Notachance."

"Wewerenevergoingtogetfivemillion,stupid.LikePetersaid,youdemand fivetofrightenthedadsandtakehalfamillionniceandeasy,n.o.bones broken."

"WhatifNerritycallsintheForce,andtheyjumpus?"

"Nosignofthem,isthere?Beyourage.TerryandKevin,they'dspotthelaw theminuteitput.i.tssizetwelvesoverthedoorstep.Thosetwo,theygot antennaewhereyou'vegoteyes.Nooneatthehotel.Nooneatthehousein Sutton.Right?"

Thesecondvoicegaveanindistinguishablegrumble,andthefirstvoice answered,"Peterknowswhathe'sdoing.He'sdoneitbefore.He'sanexpert.You justdowhatyou'rebleedingtoldandwe'llallgetrich,andI'vehada bellyfulofyourgrousing,Ihave,straightup."

Tonyputthesingleoaroverthesternoftheboatandwithoutfussorhurry paddledusofftowardswherewe'dsetout,againsttheswirlingincomingtide.I rolledupthefis.h.i.+nglinesandunbaitedthehooks,myfingersabsentminded whilemythoughtspositivelygalloped.

"Don'tlet'stellEagleruntil..."Isaid.

"No,"Tonyanswered.

Helookedacrossatme,halfsmiling."Andlet'snottellthechairmaneither,"

Isaid."OrGerryClayton."

Tony'ssmilecameoutlikethesun."Iwasafraidyou'dinsist."

"No."Ipaused."YouwatchfromthewaterandI'llwatchfromtheland.O.K.?

Andthiseveningwe'lltellEagler.Onourterms."

"Andthelowprofilecanrestineffingpeace."

"Youjustgetthatvacuumpumppurringlikeacatanddon'tfalloffanyhigh walls."

"Inourreport,"Tonysaid,"wewillwritethatthepolicefoundthehideout."

"Whichtheydid,"Isaidreasonably.

"Whichtheydid,"herepeatedwithsatisfaction.

NeitherTonynorIweretotallycommittedtotheadvice-onlypolicyofthefirm, thoughwebothadheredtoitmoreorlessandagreedthatinmostcirc.u.mstances itwasprudent.Tonywithhis.e.xceptionalskillstendedalwaystobemore activelyinvolvedthanI,andhisreportswerepepperedwithphraseslike"it wasdiscovered"and"asithappened"andneverwiththemoretruthful"Iplanted adozenillegalbugsandheard..."or"Iletoffasmokecanisterandunderits cover..."

Tonysteeredtheboatbacktowherewe'dleftthecarandrapidlysetupa duplicatereceivertoworkthroughthecar'saerial.

"Thereyouare,"hesaid,pointing."Leftswitchforthelowerfloorbug,middle switchforthetopfloor.Don'ttouchthedials.Rightswitch,upformetotalk toyou,downforyoutotalktome.O.K.?"

Hedugaroundintheamazingstoreshecalledhisgearandwithanodof pleasuretookoutaplasticlunchbox."Long-termsubsistencesupplies,"he said,showingmethecontents."Nutbars,beefjerky,vitaminpills...keepyou fightingfitforweeks."

"Thisisn'ttheSouthAmericanoutback,"Isaidmildly.

"Savesalotofshopping,though."Hegrinnedandstowedthelunchboxinthe rowingboatalongwithaplasticbottleofwater."Iftheworstshouldhappen andtheydecidetomovethekid,we'reindeadtrouble."

Inodded.Troublewiththelaw,withLibertyMarketandwithourowninescapable guilt.

"Andlet'snotforget,"headdedslowly,"thatsomewherearoundwehaveTerry andKevinandPeter,allwiththeirantennaequiveringlikeeffingmad,andyou neverknowwhetherthatcra.s.sb.a.s.t.a.r.dRightsworthwon'tdriveuptoNerrity's housewithhisbluelightflas.h.i.+ng."

"He'snotthatcrazy."

"He'ssmug.Self-satisfied.Justasdangerous."

Heputhisheadononeside,considering."Anythingelse?"

"I'llgobacktothehotel,paythebill,collectthecases."

"Right.Givemeabuzzwhenyou'reonstation."Hesteppedintotheboatand untieditspainter."And,bytheway,doyouhaveadarksweater?Black,high neck?"

"Yes,Ibroughtone."

"Good.Seeyoutonight."

Iwatchedhimpaddleaway,ashortishfigureofgreatphysicaleconomy,every movementdeftandsure.Hewavedgoodbyebriefly,andIturnedthecarandgot onwiththeday.

Chapterthirteen.

THEHOURSpa.s.sedslowlywiththemixtureoftensionandboredomthatIimagined soldiersfeltwhenwaitingbeforebattle.Halfofthetimemypulseratewasup inthestratosphere,halfthetimeIfeltlikesleep.Atonlyonepointdidthe watchjerkfromstandbytonerve-racking,andthatwasatmidday.

FormostofthemorningIhadbeenlisteningtothebugonthelowerofthetwo floors,notparkingthewholetimeinoneplacebutmovingaboutandstopping forawhileinanyofthestreetswithinrange.Thetwokidnappershadrepeated agooddealofwhatwe'dalreadyheard;grouse,grouse,shutup.

Dominicatonepointhadbeencrying.

"Thekid'swhining,"thefirstvoicesaid.

Iswitchedtothetopfloorbugandheardthelonelyheartbreakinggrizzle,the keeningofachildwho'dlosthopeofbeinggivenwhathewanted.Noonecameto talktohim,butpresentlyhisvoicewasobliteratedbypopmusic.

Iswitchedtothelowerbugagainandfeltmymusclesgointoknots.

Anewvoicewa.s.speaking."...ablokesittinginacaracoupleofstreetsaway, justsittingthere.Idon'tlikeit.Andhe'sabitlikeoneofthepeople stayinginthehotel."

Thefirst-voicekidnappersaiddecisively,"Yougoandcheckhimout,Kev.If he'sstillthere,comerightback.We'retakingn.o.bleedingrisks.Thekidgoes downthechute."

Thesecond-voicekidnappersaid,"I'vebeensittingatthisruddywindowall morning.There'sbeennooneinsighthere,sussingusout.Justpeoplewalking, notlooking."

"Wheredidyouleavethecar?"Kevindemanded."You'vemovedit."

"It'sinTurtleStreet."

"That'swherethisblokeissitting."

Therewasasilenceamongthekidnappers.TheblokesittinginthecarinTurtle Street,hisheartlurching,startedhisengineandremovedhimselffast.

AredlightonTony'sradioequipmentbeganflas.h.i.+ng,andIpressedtheswitch totalktohim."Iheard,"Isaid."Don'tworry,I'monmyway.Talktoyouwhen Ican."

Idroveamileandpulledupinthecarparkofabusypub,andbeatmyearsto catchthemuchfaintertransmissions.

"Thebloke'sgone,"avoiceeventuallysaid.

"Whatdoyoureckon,Kev?"

Thereplywasindistinguishable.

"Therehasn'tbeenasmelloftheForce.Notaflicker."Thefirst-voice kidnappersoundedasifheweretryingtorea.s.surehimselfasmuchasanyone else."LikePetersaid,theycan'tsurroundthisplacewithoutusseeing,andit takeseightseconds,that'sall,toputthekiddownthechute.Youknowit,I knowit,wepracticed.There'snowaythepolicewouldfindanythingherebut threeblokeshavingableedingholidayandalittlegambleonthecards."

Thereweresomemoreindecipherablewords,thenthesamevoice."We'llboth watch,then.I'llgoupstairs,ready.You,Kev,youwalkroundthebleedingtown andseeifyoucanspotthatblokehangingabout.Ifyouseehim,giveusa bell,thenwe'lldecide.Peterwon'tthankusifwepanic.Wegottogivethe goodsbackbreathing,that'swhathesaid.Otherwisewegetnothing,savvy,and Idon'twanttohavegonethroughallthisaggravationforaholeinthe bleedingpocket."

Icouldn'thearthereplies,butfirst-voiceseemedtohaveprevailed."Right then.Offyougo,Kev.Seeyoulater."

IwentinsidethepubwhereIwasparkedandateasandwichwithfingersnotfar fromtrembling.Thelowprofile,Ijudged,hadneverbeenmorejustifiedormore essential,andI'driskedDominic'slifebynotstickingtotherules.

TheproblemwithdodgingKevinwasthatIdidn'tknowwhathelookedlikewhile hecouldspotmeeasily,andprobablyheknewthecolor,make,andnumberofmy car.Itchenorwastoosmallforhandyhidingplaceslikemulti-storyparks.I concludedthatasIcouldn'triskbeingseenIwouldhavetogivetheplacea missaltogether,anddrovebyaroundaboutroutetoreachItchenorCreekata muchhigherpoint,nearerChichester.Icouldnolongerhearthebugs,buthoped toreachTonydownthewater;andherespondedtomyfirstinquirywithafaint voicefullofrelief.

"Whereareyou?"hedemanded.

"Upthecreek."

"You'vesaidit."

"What'shappenedinthehouse?"

"Nothing.Whateverthatchuteis,thegoodshavenotyetgonedownit.But they'restillquiveringlikeeffingjellyfish."Hepaused."Effingbadluck, themhavingtheircarinthatstreet."

Hewas.e.xcusingme.Iwasgrateful.Isaid,"I'dbeenthereonlytenminutes."

"Wayitgoes.Kevisbackwiththem,incidentally."

"I'llbehere,ifyouneedme."

"O.K.,"hesaid."Andbytheway,itwastheonecalledPeterwhopickedthe goodsup.Sweetasadaisy,theysaid.Peterphonesthemeverydayand apparentlymightgotherehimselftomorroworthedayafter.Pitywecan't wait."

"Toorisky."

"Yeah."

Weagreedonatimeandplaceformetomeethim,andswitchedofftoconserve thepowerpackshehadwithhimintheboat.Listeningtothebugswasfarmore important,and,besides,drainedthebatteriesless.

Therewasalwaystheslightchancewithradiothatsomeonesomewherewouldbe casuallylisteningonthesamechannel,butIreviewedwhatwe'dsaidand thought.i.twouldn'thaveenlightenedoralarmedanyoneexceptthekidnappers themselves,evenifwehad,onthewhole,soundedlikeacoupleofthieves.

Istayedbythewaterallafternoon,inornearthecar,butheardnomorefrom Tony,whichwasinitselfasignthatthestatuswa.s.stillquo.Atafewminutes tofiveIdroveinlandtothenearesttelephoneboxandputacallthroughto Eagler.

Hewasoffduty,thestationsaid.Whatwasmyname?

AndrewDouglas.

Inthatcase,wouldIringthefollowingnumber?