Jack Higgins - Day of Reckoning

But in the valley area up from the cliffs the signal was poor, and there was no reply.

Sean Regan hit the shore, colder than he'd ever been in his life, and immediately started to run, making his way up the cliff path and turning for Kilbeg. He burst into the Patriot fifteen minutes later. There were three drinkers at the bar, Conolly and Tomelty two of them.

He fell across the bar in front of Sullivan, and Tomelty raised his head by his hair. Regan said, 'Thank God you're here. We've got trouble.'

'Well, tell the man here.'

Regan turned and saw Murphy get up from the bench before the fire.

'Why, Sean, I thought the Brits had you in Wandsworth. How in the hell did you get here?'

Suddenly, Regan realized he was in deep trouble here, too, and tried to recover. 'Never mind that, Brendan. Dillon's here, Sean Dillon. He's here to destroy the bunker.'

'Really?' Murphy said. 'But how would he know? Have you been shooting your gob off?'

'Please, Brendan. They took me out of Wandsworth. Beat the shire out of me.'

'Well, I must say you don't look too bad,' Tomelty said.

'We came over on a boat. Anchored off the old pier. I managed to get away. There are a couple of women on board, one Special Branch, that Bernstein bitch, the other is military police.'

And Dillon?'

'He's gone to take out the bunker with another guy. He's going in by way of the exit at the farmhouse.'

Murphy shook his head. 'And how would he know about all that?'

'Jesus, Brendan.'

'No, you, Sean.'

At that moment, there was a rumble in the distance. Kelly ran out of the pub entrance, then came back in. 'It's the abbey. Some sort of explosion. Shall we get up there?'

Murphy cursed. 'No. It's a waste of bloody time now.' Murphy pushed Regan to the door. 'Let's get out of here, down to the pier.'

A few moments earlier, as Dillon and Billy had reached the exit door in the old farmhouse, Helen Black managed to get through.

'Dillon, for God's sake.'

'What?'

'We've got a crisis. Regan escaped. Jumped in the bay and swam for it.'

'Well, that's damn unfortunate.'

'Will you abort?'

'Like hell. We're at the exit now. We'll go in hard and get out quick.' He switched off

Helen said to Hannah, 'He's still going in. I'll take the inflatable to the pier. Time could be crucial here.'

'Maybe I should go,' Hannah said.

'Not this time. Now I've got to get moving.'

At the exit door, Dillon stopped, took a magnetized block from his bag, and slammed it over the lock. 'Stay here and wait for me, Billy.'

He stepped back, the lock blew, and the doors folded inwards. Dillon ran in, took a smoke grenade from the bag, and rolled it down the corridor. The water considerably reduced its efficiency, but he ran on, pulling out a stun grenade, but again, swallowed by the floor, it wasn't very effective.

Behind him, Billy muttered, 'What the hell,' raised his Uzi, and went after Dillon.

Brosnan and O'Neill were having a late supper in the office when they heard the noise, grabbed their Uzis, and ran out. A certain amount of smoke remained from the grenade and they crouched from the half-shock of the stun grenade. A moment later, Dillon ran out of the fog headlong, and Brosnan rose to meet him, but Dillon was faster, his Uzi battering Brosnan back against the wall.

Dillon stumbled to one knee and O'Neill stood up in the murk. 'I've got you now, you bastard.'

He raised his AK and Billy came in on the run, firing his Uzi, and shot him to pieces. Billy dropped on his knees, breathing deeply, and Dillon stood up.

'Don't fall down on me now, Billy. This is the good bit.'

He kicked open the office door, produced five blocks of Semtex from the jump bag, took timers from the bag, and inserted them. He left one on the office floor and pushed Billy.

'Out you go. Three minutes.' He dropped the blocks one by one, as they ran through the bunker, splashed through the water, and made it out of the exit. As they went down the slope to the cliffs, the explosion rumbled underground.

Murphy was into the car, with Regan, Kelly, Conolly and Tomelty, and roaring out of the village within seconds of the explosion. When they reached the top of the road, he said to Tomelty, who was driving, 'Switch off the engine.'

They coasted down the hill silently and braked to a halt. Helen Black, sitting in the inflatable, heard nothing.

Murphy said, 'Not a sound. You go along the strip of beach, Tomelty. You and I will take the pier, Conolly, and be very, very quiet.' He turned to Regan. And you be especially quiet.'

They moved out. Helen Black sat there in the inflatable. There was a footfall on the beach. She turned and took out her Walther, and a flashlight was switched on from the pier.

'Well, I know you're not Bernstein, I'd recognize her, so I suppose you must be the Sergeant Major.' Murphy frowned. 'You wouldn't be Black, would you? The one from Derry?'

'My God, you've got a brain.'

'Down you go, Tomelty,' Murphy said. 'Get her gun.' He turned to Kelly. 'You and Conolly take her out to the boat. If the Bernstein bitch argues, tell her you'll shoot this one.' He turned to Tomelty. 'You and I stay here for Dillon.'

The inflatable moved away. Tomelty said, 'What about Regan?'

Murphy said, 'Silly me. I was forgetting.' He turned to Regan and took a Browning from his pocket. 'You sold us out, you shire. You're lucky I don't have time to make it longer.'

The silenced Browning coughed and Regan went off the pier into the water.

On the Highlander, Hannah looked through the Nightstalker as the inflatable coasted in. 'Are you all right?' she called.

Kelly said, 'We've got your Sergeant Major here and I've got a gun to her head. If you're not sensible, I'll kill her stone dead.'

Helen Black called, 'Don't listen, Hannah, do what you have to do. You heard the explosion. We've achieved our object. To hell with these people.'

Conolly hit her across the side of her head with his pistol. She cried out. Kelly said, 'I mean it.'

'All right.' Hannah stood back, her Walther in her left hand.

A moment later, Kelly boarded, followed by Helen Black and Conolly, who took the Walther from Hannah's grasp. 'There's a good girl.'

Black was wearing paratroop boots with her jumpsuit.

Stuffed into the right one was the Colt.25 hollow point. At that moment, she could have pulled it out in the darkness of the deck and shot both men. But what would that mean for Dillon and Billy? She decided to wait.

Dillon tried to get her on the transceiver and got no reply. On the Highlander, Kelly started the engines and moved in to the pier, and Conolly tied up. Dillon and Billy came down the hill on the run, and in the slight light of a quarter moon, the rain having stopped, saw the boat move in.

'They've come for us,' Billy said, gasping for breath. 'So it would appear.'

They hit the end of the pier, looked down at the deck with the light on, and saw Kelly push Hannah and Helen out, he and Conolly both holding guns to the women's backs.

Murphy came out of the shadows with Tomelty. 'They mean it, you bastard. You want them dead?'

'Certainly not,' Dillon said. 'Do as he says, Billy, guns on the floor.'

Billy complied, and Murphy lit a cigarette. 'Damn you, Dillon, I always admired you, but this time you've cost me money.'

'Not you, Brendan, Jack Fox.'

Murphy laughed incredulously. 'My God, is that what this is about, a personal feud?'

'You shouldn't have joined, Brendan.'

'Neither should you, Dillon. Now you and your friend get on board so we can move to where the water's deeper, because that's where you're going.'

Dillon and Billy went down the steps to the deck and joined Helen Black and Hannah; Murphy followed with Tomelty. Kelly was at the wheel, Conolly joined the others.