Десмонд Бэгли - The Spoilers

Metcalfe looked up. ‘Everything there is to know. You seem to have upset him somehow, but he didn’t go into that with me. He thought that since I know Andy here, I might get your confidence.’ He shook his head. ‘You’ve come down in the world if you’re working for a film company, Andy. So I think it’s a cover — and so does Fahrwaz.’

‘And what does Barzani think?’ asked Tozier.

‘Barzani!’ said Metcalfe in surprise. ‘How in hell do I know what Barzani thinks?’ Suddenly he slapped his knee. ‘Did you really think that Fahrwaz was one of Barzani’s men? That’s really funny.’

‘I’m laughing my goddam head off,’ said Follet sourly.

‘It’s time for a lesson in Kurdish politics,’ said Metcalfe didactically. ‘Fahrwaz used to be with Barzani — they were together when the Russkies tried to set up the Mehabad Kurdish Republic in Iran back in 1946. They even went into exile together when it collapsed. They were great chums. Then Barzani came here to Iraq, built up a following, and has been knocking hell out of the Iraqis ever since.’

‘And Fahrwaz?’

‘Ah, he’s one of the Pej Merga,’ said Metcalfe as though that was a full explanation.

‘The self-sacrificing,’ translated Tozier thoughtfully. ‘So?’

‘The Pej Merga was the hard core that Barzani could always rely on, but not any more — not since he started to dicker with President Bakr on the basis of an autonomous Kurdish province in Iran. Fahrwaz is a hawk and he thinks the Iraqis will renege on the deal, and he may be right. More importantly, he and most of the Pej Merga want none of a Kurdish Republic in Iran. They don’t want Kurdistan to be split between Iraq, Iran and Turkey — they want a unified Kurdish nation and no half measures.’

‘Something like the Irish problem,’ observed Tozier. ‘With Fahrwaz and the Pej Merga doing the IRA bit.’

‘You’ve got the picture. Fahrwaz regards Barzani as a traitor to the Kurdish nation for even listening to Bakr, but Barzani commands respect — he was fighting the Iraqis for years when Fahrwaz was sitting on his rump in Iran. If Barzani makes a deal with the Iraqis then Fahrwaz is out on a limb. That’s why he’s stock-piling arms as fast as he can.’

‘And you’re supplying them,’ said Warren. ‘What do you believe in?’

Metcalfe shrugged. ‘The Kurds have been given a rough deal for centuries,’ he said. ‘If Barzani does a deal with the Iraqis and it goes sour, then the Kurds will need some insurance. I’m supplying it. Bakr came to power by a coup d’état and his regime isn’t all sweetness and light. I can see Fahrwaz’s point of view.’ He rubbed his jaw. ‘Not that I like him — he’s a bit too fanatical for my taste.’

‘Where is he getting his support — his money?’

‘I don’t know.’ Metcalfe grinned. ‘As long as I’m paid I don’t care where the money comes from.’

‘I think you might,’ said Tozier softly. ‘How did you bring in the arms?’

‘You know better than to ask a question like that. A trade secret, old boy.’

‘What are you taking out of here?’

‘Nothing,’ said Metcalfe in surprise. ‘I get paid through a Beirut bank. You don’t think I wander through the Middle East with my pockets full of gold. I’m not that stupid.’

‘I think you’d better tell him all about it, Nick,’ said Tozier. ‘It’s all falling into place, isn’t it?’

‘I’d like to know something first,’ said Warren. ‘Who contacted you originally on this arms deal? Who suggested it would be a good idea to take a load of guns to Fahrwaz? Who supplied them?’

Metcalfe smiled and glanced at Tozier. ‘Your friend is too nosy for his own good. That also comes under the heading of trade secrets.’

‘It wouldn’t be Jeanette Delorme?’ suggested Warren.

Metcalfe’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead. ‘You seem to know quite a lot. No wonder Fahrwaz is getting worried.’

‘ You ought to be getting worried,’ said Tozier. ‘When I asked you if you were taking anything out I had dope in mind.’

Metcalfe went very still. ‘And what gave you that idea?’ he said in a tight voice.

‘Because there’s a ton of pure morphine around here somewhere,’ said Warren. ‘Because Fahrwaz is running drugs to pay for his revolution. Because the Delorme woman is supplying the arms to pay for the drugs, and she’s sitting in Beirut right now waiting to ship a consignment of heroin to the States.’

There were harsh lines on Metcalfe’s face. ‘I don’t know that I believe this.’

‘Oh, grow up, Tom,’ said Tozier. ‘We cleaned up Fahrwaz’s place in Iran. I personally destroyed ten tons of opium — blew it to hell. He’s in it up to his scrawny old neck.’

Metcalfe stood up slowly. ‘I have your word on this, Andy?’

‘For what it’s worth,’ said Tozier. ‘You know me, Tom.’

‘I don’t like being used,’ said Metcalfe in a choked voice. ‘Jeanette knows I don’t like drugs. If she’s implicated me in this I’ll kill the bitch — I swear it.’ He swung on Warren. ‘How much morphine did you say?’

‘About a ton. My guess is that they’ll convert it to heroin before shipment. If that amount of heroin gets on the illegal market in one lump I don’t like to think of the consequences.’

‘A ton,’ whispered Metcalfe incredulously.

‘It could have been double that,’ said Tozier. ‘But we wrecked the laboratory. Your lady-friend has been busy getting everything sewn up. This is one of the biggest smuggling operations of all time.’

Metcalfe thought about it. ‘I don’t think the stuff’s here,’ he said slowly. ‘Just after I arrived a string of camels came in. There was a hell of a lot of palaver about them — all very mysterious. Everyone was kept away while the load was transferred into a truck. It left this morning.’

‘So what are you going to do, Tom?’ asked Tozier casually.

‘A good question.’ Metcalfe took a deep breath. ‘The first thing is to get you out of here — and that’s going to take a miracle.’ He smiled wryly. ‘No wonder Fahrwaz is all steamed up.’

‘Can you get any weapons in to us? I’d feel better with a gun in my hand.’

Metcalfe shook his head. ‘They don’t trust me that much. I was searched when I came in here. There are a couple of guards outside all the time.’

Tozier stuck out his finger. ‘We’ve got to get through that door — guards or no guards.’ He stood up with a quick movement and the sack of fertilizer fell over against his leg. Impatiently he booted it away, and then stopped and gazed at it. Abstractedly he said, ‘Could you find us a few bits of coal, Tom?’

‘Coal in Kurdistan!’ said Metcalfe derisively. He followed the line of Tozier’s gaze, then bent down to read the inscription on the sack. ‘Oh, I see — the Mwanza trick.’ He straightened up. ‘Would charcoal do?’

‘I don’t see why not — we don’t need much. How much oil is there in that can you found, Johnny?’

‘About a quart. Why?’

‘We’re going to blow that door off its hinges. We’ll need a detonator, Tom. If you nip down to the Land-Rovers you’ll find that one has a clock and the others hasn’t. Unscrew the clock and bring it with you with the charcoal.’

‘How do you expect me to smuggle a clock in here?’

‘You’ll find a way. Get going, Tom.’

Metcalfe knocked on the door and was let out. As it closed behind him Warren said, ‘Do you think he’s... safe?’

‘For us — yes,’ said Tozier. ‘For Fahrwaz, no. I know Tom Metcalfe very well. He goes off pop if he even hears people talk about drugs. If we get out of this I’ll feel bloody sorry for the Delorme woman — he’ll crucify her.’ He bent down and started to open the sack of fertilizer.