Jack Higgins: On dangerous ground

She put a cigarette in her mouth and the Arab hurriedly took out a lighter and lit it for her. He turned to Ahern. "The lady is part of your organization?"

"Well I'm not with the bloody IRA," she said. "We're Prods, mister, if you know what that means."

"Norah and I were in the Ulster Volunteer Force together and then the Red Hand of Ulster," Ahern said. "Until we had to move on."

Norah laughed harshly. "Until they threw us out. A bunch of old women, that lot. We were killing too many Catholics for their liking."

"I see," Ali Halabi said. "Is it Catholics who are your target or the IRA?"

"The same difference," she said. "I'm from Belfast, Mr. Halabi. My father was an Army sergeant, killed in the Falklands War. My mother, my kid sister, my old granddad, all the family I had in the world, were killed in a street bomb planted by the IRA back in eighty-six. You might say I've been taking my revenge ever since."

"But we are open to offers," Ahern said amiably. "Any revolutionary organization needs money."

The door banged below. Ali took the gun from his pocket and Ahern moved to the door. "Is that you, Billy?"

"As ever was."

"Would that be Billy Quigley?" Norah asked.

"Who else?" Ahern turned to Ali. "Another one the Red Hand threw out. Billy and I did some time together in the Maze prison."

Quigley was a small, wiry man in an old raincoat. He had faded blond hair and a careworn face that was old beyond his years.

"Jesus, is that you, Norah?"

"Hello, Billy."

"You got my message?" Ahern said.

"Yes, I drop in to the William of Orange in Kilburn most nights."

Ahern said to Ali, "Kilburn is what you might call the Irish quarter of London. Plenty of good Irish pubs there, Catholic and Protestant. This, by the way, is Ali Halabi from Iran."

"So what's it all about?" Quigley demanded.

"This." Ahern held up the Evening Standard with the headline about the American President. "Ali, here, represents a group of fundamentalists in Iran called the Army of God. They, shall we say, deeply deplore Arafat's deal with Israel over the new status of Palestine. They are even more unhappy with the American President presiding over that meeting at the White House and giving it his blessing."

"So?" Quigley said.

"They'd like me to blow him up for them while he's in London, me having a certain reputation in that field."

"For five million pounds," Ali Halabi said, "don't let us forget that."

"Half of which is already on deposit in Geneva." Ahern smiled. "By God, Billy, couldn't we give the IRA a run for their money with a million pounds to spend on arms?"

Quigley's face was pale. "The American President? You wouldn't dare, not even you."

Norah laughed that distinctive harsh laugh, "Oh, yes he would."

Ahern turned to her. "Are you with me, girl?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"And you, Billy?" Quigley licked dry lips and hesitated. Ahern put a hand on his shoulder. "In or out, Billy?"

Quigley smiled suddenly. "Why not. A man can only die once. How do we do it?"

"Come down below and I'll show you."

Ahern led the way down the steps and switched on a light at the bottom. There was a vehicle parked in a corner covered by a dust sheet which he pulled away revealing a British Telecom truck.

"Where in the hell did you get that?" Quigley demanded.

"Someone knocked it off for me months ago. I was going to leave it outside one of those Catholic pubs in Kilburn with five hundred pounds of Semtex inside and blow the hell out of some Sinn Fein bastards, but I decided to hang on to it until something really important turned up." Ahern smiled cheerfully. "And now it has."

"But how do you intend to pull it off?" Ali demanded.

"Hundreds of these things all over London. They can park anywhere without being interfered with because they usually have a manhole cover up while the engineers do what they have to do."

"So?" Quigley said.

"Don't ask me how, but I have access through sources to the President's schedule. Tomorrow he leaves the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square at ten o'clock in the morning to go to Number Ten Downing Street. They take the Park Lane route turning into Constitution Hill beside Green Park."

"Can you be sure of that?" Norah asked.

"They always do, love, believe me." He turned to Quigley and Ali. "You two, dressed in Telecom overalls which are inside the van, will park halfway along Constitution Hill. There's a huge beech tree. You can't miss it. As I say, you park, lift the manhole cover, put up your signs and so on. You'll be there at nine-thirty. At nine-forty-five you walk away through Green Park to Piccadilly. There are some men's toilets. You can get rid of your overalls there."

"And then what?" Ali demanded.

"I'll be in a car waiting with Norah for the golden moment. As the President's cavalcade reaches the Telecom truck, I'll detonate by remote control." He smiled. "It'll work, I promise you. We'll probably kill everyone in the cavalcade."

There was silence, a kind of awe on Quigley's face, and Norah was excited, face pale. "You bastard," she said.

"You think it will work?"

"Oh, yes."

He turned to Ali. "And you? You're willing to take part?"

"An honor, Mr. Ahern."

"And you, Billy?" Ahern turned to him.

"They'll be singing about us for years," Quigley said.

"Good man yourself, Billy." Ahern looked at his watch. "Seven o'clock. I could do with a bite to eat. How about you, Norah?"

"Fine," she said.

"Good. I'm taking the Telecom van away now. I shan't be returning to this place. I'll pick you two up in the Mall at nine o'clock in the morning. You'll arrive separately and wait at the park gates across from Marlborough Road. Norah will be behind me in a car. You two will take over and we'll follow. Any questions?"

Ali Halabi was incredibly excited. "I can't wait."

"Good, off you go now. We'll leave separately." The Arab went out and Ahern turned to Quigley and held out his hand. "A big one this, eh, Billy?"

"The biggest, Michael."

"Right, Norah and I will go now. Come and open the main gate for us. I'll leave you to put out the lights and follow on."

They went downstairs. Norah climbed into the passenger seat, but Ahern shook his head. "Move into the rear out of sight and pass me one of those orange jackets. We've got to look right. If a copper sees you he might get curious."

It said "British Telecom" across the back of the jacket. "It'll never catch on," she told him.

He laughed and drove out into the street, waving at Quigley, who closed the gate behind them. He traveled only a few yards, then swung into a yard and switched off the engine.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"You'll see. Follow me and keep your mouth shut."

He opened the Judas gate gently and stepped in. Quigley was in the office, they could hear his voice and when they reached the bottom of the stairs, they could even hear what he was saying.

"Yes, Brigadier Ferguson. Most urgent." There was a pause. "Then patch me through, you silly bugger, this is life or death."

Ahern took a Walther from his pocket and screwed on a silencer as he went up, Norah behind him. The door was open and Quigley sat on the edge of the desk.

"Brigadier Ferguson?" he said suddenly. "It's Billy Quigley. You said only to call you when it was big. Well this couldn't be bigger. Michael Ahern and that bitch Norah Bell and some Iranian named Ali Halabi are going to try to blow up the American President tomorrow." There was a pause. "Yes, I'm supposed to be in on it. Well this is the way of it."

"Billy boy," Ahern said, "that's really naughty of you." As Quigley turned he shot him between the eyes.

Quigley went back over the desk and Ahern picked up the phone. "Are you there, Brigadier? Michael Ahern here. You'll need a new man." He replaced the receiver, turned off the office light, and turned to Norah. "Let's go, my love."