Алистер Маклин - Time of the Assassins

‘Why didn’t Bernard just kill me when he had the chance?’ Graham asked.

‘And have UNACO crawling all over Beirut?’ Al-Makesh smiled when Graham looked at him in surprise. ‘I have my sources, just like you. But if you were arrested for murder they would have to be very careful not to blow their cover. Any sort of publicity could have splashed UNACO across the front page of every newspaper in the world.’

‘I would have recognized you the moment I saw you,’ Graham said.

‘Who would have believed you? The Israeli Mossad would have confirmed that I’d been killed in Damascus. I have a watertight cover for all those years I was with the Black June. The authorities would think you’d finally cracked under the pressure of what had happened to your family. You’d probably have ended up in an asylum.’

‘I could have backed him up,’ Laidlaw said.

‘My superiors would have dismissed Graham’s allegations about my past as the ramblings of a broken man. But if you’d also been able to identify me then they would certainly have initiated an investigation. For that reason you would have had to be silenced once Graham was in custody. An accident. But when Bernard’s plan backfired I needed you alive in case you could lead me to Graham. Which, as it turned out, you did.’

‘Were the CIA in on this?’ Sabrina asked.

‘No,’ Al-Makesh replied bluntly. ‘And neither were the Mossad.’

‘The CIA?’ Graham asked, staring at Sabrina. ‘What the hell have they got to do with this?’

‘Bernard works for them,’ she told him.

‘What?’ Graham snarled.

‘She’s right,’ Al-Makesh said then gestured around him. ‘This all belongs to Bernard. It’s a meat-processing plant, paid for with money from a CIA slush fund. He’s now a legitimate businessman.’

‘And how did the Israelis get you into the police?’ Sabrina asked.

‘I was a policeman for twelve years in Jordan before I joined the Black June. It wasn’t difficult for me to fit in here. So not only am I in a job I know, I’m also in a position to pass vital information back to the Israelis. It’s the perfect cover.’

‘And now you’re going to kill us to protect your cover,’ Laidlaw concluded.

‘You know too much.’

‘Kill us and UNACO will be crawling all over Beirut,’ Sabrina warned him.

‘I’ll have to take that risk. But even if they do come they still won’t find any bodies. There’s a beef shipment due out tomorrow destined for Syria. You’ll be going with it.’ Al-Makesh pointed to a wooden container in the corner of the room. ‘Your bodies will be put in there. The container will then be sealed and loaded onto one of the trucks in the morning. Then, once over the border, it will conveniently disappear. Who knows how long it will take before it’s discovered?’

‘All neatly worked out,’ Graham said facetiously. ‘You two must be very proud of yourselves.’

‘This is all my idea. Bernard doesn’t even know you’re here. We have an arrangement. I use this place if I need to get rid of someone. The blood gets washed away in the morning so there’s no evidence to suggest a crime ever took place. And his foreman makes sure the containers are loaded onto the trucks and dumped over the border. No questions asked. All very amicable.’ Al-Makesh looked at the English-speaking Arab standing beside Graham. ‘Samir, you know what to do.’

Graham had managed to untie his hands soon after entering the room and lashed out at Samir, catching him on the side of the face with his fist, rocking him back against the wall. The Makarov fell to the floor.

Laidlaw, who had also managed to untie his hands, tackled the second Arab. Graham picked up the Makarov and shot the second Arab as he turned his pistol on Laidlaw. Laidlaw’s hand was on his P220 automatic but he knew he couldn’t fire it, no matter how hard he tried. Samir grabbed Graham from behind as Al-Makesh unholstered his Beretta. Graham broke the hold and swivelled Samir round as Al-Makesh fired. The bullet took Samir in the chest. Sabrina leaped from her chair and shoulder-charged Al-Makesh before he could fire again. His gun clattered noisily to the floor. Graham swung the Makarov on Al-Makesh who was still reaching for the Beretta. All the hate welled up inside him as he thought of Carrie and Mikey. He squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. The pistol had jammed.

‘Shoot him!’ Graham screamed at Laidlaw who was staring at the pistol in his hand. ‘Russ, shoot him!’

Al-Makesh’s fingers curled around the Beretta. Sabrina lunged at him. He swung the gun on her. She kicked out, catching him on the wrist. The bullet was deflected harmlessly into the ceiling. Graham tore Laidlaw’s P220 automatic from his hand and shot Al-Makesh through the head. He was dead before his body hit the floor.

Graham swung round to Laidlaw and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. ‘What the hell were you playing at? Christ, Russ, he was about to kill us and you’re standing there admiring the damn gun. What’s your problem?’

Sabrina was quick to intervene and nudged Graham with her elbow. ‘Mike, untie me.’

Graham shoved Laidlaw away from him then turned to Sabrina and untied her hands.

‘Who’s the other guy?’ she asked, massaging her wrists.

‘Dave Jenkins, he runs the Windorah, it’s a bar in the city. He’s been hiding me for the last couple of days.’

Jenkins waited until Laidlaw had untied his hands then approached Graham who introduced him to Sabrina. ‘Mike, you deliberately loosened my ropes more than you needed to. Why?’

‘You’re not a soldier, Dave. I didn’t want to get you involved in the fighting. Also, it was a psychological move. I knew the goon would automatically check to see if our ropes were as loose as yours. That’s how we were able to deceive him.’ Graham looked angrily at Laidlaw. ‘I should have left your ropes loose as well.’

‘You’ve got every right to be mad at me, Mike. I know I should have told you but…’ he trailed off with a shrug and stared dejectedly at his feet.

‘Told me what?’ Graham demanded. ‘That you’ve become some kind of born-again pacifist?’

‘Can we discuss this later?’ Sabrina said, stepping between them. ‘We’ve got to get out of here. What if someone heard the shots?’

‘Al-Makesh would have taken care of that,’ Graham said. ‘He would hardly have wanted anyone alerting the authorities, would he?’

‘I guess not,’ Sabrina replied then gestured towards the bodies. ‘What about them?’

‘They take our places when the meat shipment leaves for Syria tomorrow,’ Graham answered.

‘What if they check the container?’ Jenkins asked.

‘They won’t if it’s sealed. They’ll just assume it’s us. Come on, let’s get them in the container.’

They carried the bodies in silence across the room and dumped them into the wooden container. Graham then nailed on the lid.

‘Can we get out of here now?’

‘Sure, Dave,’ Graham answered with a reassuring smile.

‘We’ve got to talk,’ Sabrina said to Graham. ‘Alone.’

‘Come back to the Windorah,’ Jenkins offered. ‘You can talk there in private.’

‘Yeah, we’ll take you up on that, Dave,’ Graham said then suddenly looked despairingly at the sealed container. ‘Oh God, the keys for the van…’

‘Are here,’ Sabrina said, jangling them behind Graham. ‘Well, someone had to be alert.’

‘What would I do without you?’ Graham replied facetiously.

‘What indeed?’ she answered with a questioning glance in his direction before walking to the door.

Jenkins unlocked one of the bedrooms when they got back to the Windorah and switched on the light after he had crossed to the window to draw the curtains. ‘Anyone thirsty?’