Jack Higgins - The Judas gate

'Blackguards to a man. The men I'll use are thoroughly corrupt – and they don't take prisoners.'

'Excellent,' the Preacher said. 'Speak to Malik now. Time is of the essence.'

He switched off. Hakim sat there for a moment, then called Malik at his villa. When Malik answered, Hakim said, 'My dear friend, how are you? I was wondering if I could call round for a coffee.'

'Of course. You know I'm always glad to see you.'

'I have something I think you might be interested to hear.' They sat on the terrace drinking Yemeni Mocha coffee, and Hakim told him everything he thought Malik needed to know. 'Things have got out of hand in the Khufra. This Hamza used to be a good man, but now he's a bad man. Who this individual is he calls Shamrock, I have no idea.'

'It was always a haven for scoundrels,' Malik said.

'Yes, well, the days of the honest thief are over, especially the way the drug traffic has increased. Our friend Hamza has operated under several false names over the years and made a living running a trading post on Diva Island, right in the centre of things. We knew it was him, and decided to let it go as long as he behaved himself, but the cocaine and heroin smuggling can't be overlooked. There's a fortune in that white powder!'

'Disgraceful,' Malik said. 'It must be stopped.'

'Oh, I intend to do that. I'll go in with two launches and elite police and lay hands on Hamza, if it's the last thing I do. Mind you, it won't be easy, but I'm old-fashioned, my friend.' He stood up and put on his cap. 'Duty and honour. If you are talking to Daniel, give him my best – and if he needs assistance from me in any way, you can give him my number.' Daniel Holley and Dillon were deep in conversation when Holley's mobile sounded. Malik said, 'Where are you? Can you talk? I've something interesting to tell you.'

'What is it?'

'You were asking where Omar Hamza had got to. I've discovered where. Those damn Khufra marshes.'

'What's he doing there?' Holley asked.

'Well, I've just been talking to Ali Hakim and it goes like this.'

When Malik finished Holley said, 'That's very interesting, Malik, very interesting indeed. I'm glad you called.'

'The good Colonel said I could give you his personal number if it would be useful and you wanted a word.'

'It certainly would,' Holley said, and inserted it into his own mobile as Malik gave it to him. 'Thanks, you've done me a real service.'

When he hung up, Dillon said, 'What was that all about?'

Holley gave him the gist of it in a few terse sentences, and Dillon said, 'Do you know this place, the Khufra marshes?'

'No, I've never been. The occasion just didn't arise.'

'Well, I have. Billy and I had a hell of a time there about three years ago, chasing a guy who was involved with the murder of Hannah Bernstein, Ferguson's personal assistant.'

Holley said, 'What did you make of the place?'

'Well, the town was pretty wide open, but the back country is wild and treacherous, with water reeds twenty feet high. The villagers and fishermen live pretty much as they have done for centuries. A good place if you want to drop out of sight.'

'Do you think Ferguson would be interested in what Malik's told me?'

'I'd say you can count on it,' Dillon said. 'If it's all true, it's the only really positive lead we've got. It can't be ignored.'

'But what would Shamrock be doing there?'

'I can remember when it would have been the most natural thing in the world to come to Algeria in search of revolutionary training camps,' Dillon told him. 'Both of us did it.'

'That was then, this is now,' Holley said.

Dillon nodded, 'But if he is there, even just passing through, there must be some purpose to his visit. And I intend to find out what.' As he stood up he said, 'Before facing Ferguson, I'd like to call in at Rosedene and check on Mickeen Oge. Is that okay with you?'

'Be my guest,' Holley said. We'll go straight there.' The moment they walked in to the lounge at Rosedene, the Matron, Maggie Duncan, appeared and greeted them warmly.

'How is he?' Dillon asked.

'Much as expected, Sean, but Professor Bellamy just looked in to see a few patients. I'm sure he'll be with you soon. There is one thing. You can't go into Mickeen's room without supervision. He's all wired up, as it were. A very delicate balance. You can go and have a look at him through the viewing window. Room Nine down the corridor.'

They stood together, peering in at the dimly lit room. Mickeen was festooned with cables leading to electronic equipment, tubes into his body from several bottles of fluid. His sleeping face was very pale, no colour there at all.

'He's just like a waxwork,' Holley said.

'More like a corpse, poor devil.' Dillon shook his head. 'A living death is pretty terrible, when you think of it.'

'But if he doesn't know what's happened to him,' Holley shrugged. 'They say that some people waking up from this state have no idea of all the time passed.'

'That's right.' Professor Bellamy came up behind them.

'This condition is one of the strangest known to medical science. He could wake up at any moment or he could languish in the comatose state for months, occasionally even longer than that.'

'So we're keeping him alive with the help of modern electronics and drugs?' Dillon said, and he sighed heavily. 'God help me, I don't know what's right and what's wrong any more.'

Bellamy patted his shoulder. 'At least he's here, Sean, getting the very best of attention. It could have been much worse. Anyway, I must finish my rounds. I'll see you again. By the way, are you aware of what happened to Billy Salter last night? You've been away, of course.'

'Yes, and thank God for the vest,' Dillon said.

'It certainly saved his life, but two forty-five-calibre rounds delivered to the heart area at a range of ten or twelve feet has not left him in the best of conditions. I've released him, but he needs to take it easy for a while. He's not fit to play any of your usual games, Sean.' Bellamy took off his spectacles and rubbed an eye. 'You're his friend and I'm appealing to you.'

'You can rely on me, I promise, Professor.'

'Excellent.' Bellamy walked away.

'Shall we?' Holley asked.

'Yes, let's go and see the old sod and get it over with.'

He followed Holley across the hall and out of the front door.

Holley drove and Dillon called in to Roper, who cut in on him instantly and said, 'I thought you'd be coming straight here. The General's been asking for you.'

'Do we get blasted out of the water for being naughty boys?'

'I don't think so. He's dark and sombre. I can't remember seeing him in such a black-dog mood. There's a kind of despair there because we aren't making progress, and the attempt on Billy's life last night greatly worried him.'

'So it should,' Dillon said. 'We've just been talking to Bellamy at Rosedene. He released Billy, but he's not happy about his health. I gave him my word that we wouldn't get Billy involved in anything active for a while, and I mean to keep it. Bellamy's put him together again more than once. He can't keep doing it.'

'How was Mickeen?'

'Comatose is the word they're using, and that sums it up. But listen, Roper. Something seriously important's just turned up from Malik in Algiers. I'm handing you over to Daniel, who'll fill you in.' When Holley was finished, Dillon cut in. 'What do you think? It could give Ferguson a shot in the arm.'

'It's an interesting prospect, to put it mildly,' Roper said. 'But we shouldn't discuss it without the General present. I'd get here as fast as possible if I were you. I imagine he'll bring that council of war forward.' Ferguson, catching up on paperwork at his desk in Cavendish Place, was galvanized by Roper's call.