Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

‘Let you down!’ I exclaimed furiously. ‘What are you talking about? You were the one who let us down!’

‘No… no… no!’ he countered sharply. ‘Let’s get the story straight, Jason. I waited for you at Stansted Airport. You didn’t turn up!’

‘Come on, Primar!’ I snarled. ‘We were there early in the morning. Chedda picked us up.’

‘Chedda! Who the hell is Chedda?’

‘‘The pilot you sent to meet us!’

‘You’ve got it all wrong. I sent no pilot.’

‘Yes you did. He rushed us into a Kfir Junior aircraft and we took off right away.’

He shook his head sadly. ‘Are you mad? A Kfir Junior! Why would I use an Israeli aircraft?’

‘To take us to Israel as you planned.’

He sat up sharply. ‘Look… the last thing I want to do is to wave the Israeli flag all over the place to alert everyone. We need to keep a low profile… use discretion. Our plane is an ordinary Cessna.’

I calmed down a little at his explanation. ‘Chedda led us to believe he was working for you. He said you’d given him direct orders.’

‘Well he was lying. I may have been a little late but I was there waiting for you. As far as I was concerned, you never turned up.’

Penny moved forward to add to the conversation. ‘I think what Primar’s not telling you is that he planted the bomb on the Kfir Junior. I don’t know who he intended to kill but he thought it would be someone important. We took their place on the wrong plane and nearly paid the price.’

‘I don’t believe a word of it!’ I rattled curtly. ‘Chedda had our photographs in his hand. How do you explain that one?’

‘It makes no odds who’s right or wrong,’ returned Primar.

‘Doesn’t it?’ I told him fiercely. ‘I ought to take you apart!’

He laughed loudly. ‘What… for being on the wrong plane?’

I dropped the subject and started on a new tack. ‘What the hell are you doing here, Primar? This is private property. You’ve broken in and you’re trespassing!’

‘My dear old chap,’ he went on amiably. ‘I’ve come to welcome you. I couldn’t bear the thought of an old acquaintance arriving in Tel Aviv without a proper welcome.’

‘All right, Primar,’ I growled. ‘The time for playing games is over. I don’t know who you tried to kill on Chedda’s aircraft. The fact is you nearly killed us! You murdered Chedda. And where’s my wife? I’ve just been told that she was kidnapped!’

‘Easy… easy!’ he responded pushing the bed back so that it became a settee again. ‘You’re fraught with allegations. Who said I tried to kill you? How would I know if your wife was kidnapped? You read the letter she left you. If she was abducted, where’s the ransom note… the telephone calls demanding money… the threats to her life? You mustn’t listen to the prattle of old men in their dotage. Men pretending to be Gods, men who have nothing more to do in life than to play games with people from high-class hotels.’

I started to lose my temper and advanced towards him menacingly. The giant Arab moved at tremendous speed to cut off my approach, holding me tightly around the neck and forcing my right arm behind my back.

‘Oh, forgive me,’ continued Primar insincerely. ‘I forgot to introduce you to my very good friend Kemal. He’s taken an interest in my welfare and has volunteered to act as my protector.

You can’t be too careful in foreign parts, can you? Some people entertain evil thoughts and wicked intentions.’ He made a sign with his hands and Kemal released me.

‘How did you know where we were staying?’ enquired Penny, seeming unperturbed at my predicament.

Primar ignored the question as though she wasn’t there, still looking in my direction. ‘I want you to join me in a little venture, Jason. I’m setting up in the Middle East. There’s a place many miles distant from here… a group of mountains to be exact. My fortress. I intend to make it my headquarters for a while anyway. Modern methods of surveillance are such that one must always keep on the move.’

I turned to Penny and stared into her eyes. ‘Did you know about this… venture? She shook her head slowly. I looked at Primar again. ‘Why me? I’m not interested in politics or causes.’

‘How would fifty million pounds in sterling suit you?’ he replied. ‘You can have the equivalent amount in US dollars if you want. The figures don’t really matter.’

‘I’m not worth it,’ I riposted. ‘I could never be worth that kind of money to you or to anyone else.’

He laughed again. ‘Such innocence. Such modesty. I like it1 I’m willing to offer you a deal that will set you up for life.’

‘Why should you bother to offer me anything? What have I got that’s so important to you?’

Primar looked quickly towards Penny. ‘My God! Haven’t you told him yet?’ She shook her head and he turned back to me. ‘I thought you were a businessman, Jason. How long does it take the penny to drop? Like everyone else, we’re interested in Operation Bull’s Eye.’

I became absolutely speechless for a few moments failing to understand what he was talking about. ‘What’s Operation Bull’s Eye?’ I managed to say weakly.

Don’t come the old soldier with me!’ he warned. ‘You work for Dandy Advanced Electronics. You must know all about it!’

‘Dandy’s a conglomerate with many different operations. I work on the domestic side of computer engineering. No one’s privy to information outside their particular division. Even the executives only learn of brief divisional activities from the Chairman’s Report or the Annul Accounts.’

‘Well then tell me something about the organisation in which you work. They have an advanced weaponry division. You must know that!’

‘Well of course I do!’

‘Then you know as well as I do about the plans concerning the new enhanced laser gun for use in warfare. Apparently it’s common knowledge that it can destabilise weaponry, armoured vehicles, tanks, helicopters and airplanes within a range of three miles and can be handled by two men on a transportable unit. It can reduce armoured tanks to dust in half a minute. A very powerful modern laser gun against all kinds of enemy in warfare.’

‘I don’t know where you get your information from. I mean it may be common knowledge to you but no one has appraised me of those facts.’

Primar moved his hand as a signal and the giant Arab placed an arm around my neck restricting my breathing. ‘He could kill you within ten seconds if necessary,’ warned Primar seriously.

‘It wouldn’t help your cause,’ I hissed, gasping for breath as I tried to ease the pressure on my windpipe.

‘Listen, Jason.’ he said in a menacing tone, ‘listen to me carefully. I want the plans of that new laser gun and you’re going to get them for me!’ He motioned to Kemal to release me and came close. ‘I’ll keep my end of the bargain concerning the reward. You’ll be a very rich man.’

‘You’re out of your mind!’ I told him point-blank. ‘There’s no way I can get those plans. The security at Dandy is so tight you can hear it squeak. It’s a mission impossible. There’s no point in trying.’

He looked at me with an extremely disappointed expression on his face. Somehow he thought I was going to be a soft touch. ‘We can’t have negative thoughts like that,’ he expounded. He made a sideways movement of his head towards his bodyguard who took hold of me by the shoulders and dragged me roughly into the kitchen. When we arrived at the sink, he turned on the cold water, holding my head in a fixed position under the tap for what seemed to be eternity. After a while, the Arab let me go and threw a towel across the room. I caught it wondering whether it was a measure of good faith only to realise that it was to prepare me for the next stage of torture. Before I could start to feel sorry for myself, I was propelled back into the other room and pushed forcefully into a chair.