Dick Francis - The Danger

'Where are you?' he demanded.

'Up the creek.'

'You've said it.'

'What's happened in the house?'

'Nothing. Whatever that chute is, the goods have not yet gone down it. But they're still quivering like effing jellyfish.' He paused. 'Effing bad luck, them having their car in that street.'

He was excusing me. I was grateful. I said, 'I'd been there only ten minutes.'

"Way it goes. Kev is back with them, incidentally.'

'I'll be here, if you need me.'

'OK,' he said. 'And by the way, it was the one called Peter who picked the goods up. Sweet as a daisy, they said. Peter 'phones them every day and apparently might go there himself tomorrow or the day after. Pity we can't wait,'

'Too risky.'

'Yeah.'

We agreed on a time and place for me to meet him, and switched off to conserve the power packs he had with him in the boat. Listening to the bugs was far more important and, besides, drained the batteries less.

There was always the slight chance with radio that someone somewhere would be casually listening on the same channel, but I reviewed what we'd said and thought it wouldn't have enlightened or alarmed anyone except the kidnappers themselves, even if we had, on the whole, sounded like a couple of thieves.

I stayed by the water all afternoon, in or near the car, but heard no more from Tony, which was in itself a sign that the status was still quo. At a few minutes to five I drove inland to the nearest telephone box and put a call through to Eagler.

He was off duty, the station said. What was my name?

Andrew Douglas.

In that case, would I ring the following number?

I would, and did, and he answered immediately. What a terrific change, I thought fleetingly, from my disaster with Pucinelli's second in command.

'Can your men work at night?' I said.

'Of course.'

'Tony found the kidnappers,' I said.

'I don't believe it!'

'It should be possible for you to arrest them.'

'Where are they?'

'Er,' I said. 'They are extremely alert, watching for any sign of police activity. If you turn up there too soon it would be curtains for the boy. So would you - um - act on our suggestions, without questioning them, and positively, absolutely not altering the plan in any way?'

There was a fair pause, then he said, 'Am I allowed to approve this plan, or not?'

'Er… not.'

Another pause. 'Take it or leave it?'

'I'm afraid so.'

'Hm.' He deliberated. 'The kidnappers on your terms, or not at all?'

'Yes,' I said.

'I hope you know what you're doing, laddie.'

'Mm,' I said.

A final pause, then he said, 'You're on. All right. What's the plan?'

'You need enough men to arrest at least three people,' I said. 'Can you get them to your Chichester main police station by one in the morning?'

'Certainly.' He sounded almost affronted. 'Plain clothes or in uniform?'

'I don't think it will matter.'

'Armed or not?'

'It's up to you. We don't know if the kidnappers have guns '

'Right. And where are my men to go?'

'I'll call you with directions after one o'clock.'

He snorted. 'Not very trusting, are you?'

'I do trust you,' I said. 'Otherwise I wouldn't be setting this up for you at all.'

'Well, well,' he said. 'The iron man in the kid glove, just as I rather suspected. All right, laddie, your trust won't be misplaced, and I'll play fair with you. And I'll tear the both of you to shreds if you bungle it.'

'It's a deal,' I said thankfully. 'I'll call you at the station.'

I went back to the water to wait but heard no squeak from Tony; and long after it had grown dark I drove to where we'd agreed to meet, and transferred him and his equipment from boat to car.

'They simmered down a bit in the house,' he said. 'They had a 'phone call from Peter, whoever he is, and that seemed to steady them a bit. Pity I couldn't have fixed a tap on the telephone. Anyway, Peter apparently told them to carry on with the look-out and not dump the boy unless they could see the police outside.' He grinned. 'Which I hope they won't do.'

'No.' I stowed the power packs from the boat beside a large, amorphous canvas bag. 'Our friend Eagler promised. Also…' I hesitated, 'I've thought of another safeguard.'

'Tricky, aren't we?' Tony said, when I told him. 'But yes, we can't afford a balls-up. Want a nut bar? Good as dinner.'

I ate a nut bar and we sat quietly and waited, and a good while after one o'clock I telephoned Eagler and told him when and where to bring - and conceal - his men.

'Tell them to be silent,' I said. 'Not just quiet. Silent. No talking. No noisy feet. Absolutely silent.

'All right.'

'Wait for us, for Tony and me. We will come to meet you. We may be a long time after you get there, we're not sure. But please wait. Wait in silence.'

'That's all you're telling me?' he said doubtfully.

'We'll tell you the rest when we meet you. But it's essential to get the timing right… so will you wait?'

'Yes,' he said, making up his mind.

'Good. We'll see you, then.'

I put the receiver down and Tony nodded with satisfaction.

'All right, then,' he said. 'How are your nerves?'

'Lousy. How are yours?'

'To be honest,' he said, 'when I'm doing this sort of thing I feel twice as alive as usual.'

I drove us gently back to Itchenor and parked in a row of cars round the corner from the kidnappers' house. There was only one street lamp, weak and away on a corner, which pleased Tony particularly, as he wanted time for us to develop night vision. He produced a tube of make-up and blacked his face and hands, and I tuned into the bugs again for a final check-up.

There was no noise from either of them.

I looked at my watch. Two-fifteen. Eagler's men were due to be in position by two-thirty. With luck the kidnappers would be asleep.

'Black your face,' Tony said, giving me the rube. 'Don't forget your eyelids. If you hear anyone walking along the street, squat in a corner and close your eyes. It's almost impossible to see anyone in the shadows who's doing that. Standing up and moving with your eyes open and gleaming, that's playing silly buggers.'

'All right.'

'And be patient. Silence takes time.'

'Yes.'

He grinned suddenly, the white teeth satanic in the darkened face. 'What's the good of years of training if you never put them to effing use?'

We got out of the car into the quiet deserted street, and from the large shapeless canvas bag in the boot Tony extracted his intricate and lovingly-tended harness. I held the supple black material for him while he slid his arms through the armholes and fastened the front from waist to neck with a zip. It changed his shape from lithe normality to imitation hunchback, the power packs on his shoulders lumpy and grotesque.

The harness itself was a mass of pockets, both patched on and hanging, each containing something essential for Tony's purpose. Everything was in pockets because things which were merely clipped on, as in a climber's harness, clinked and jingled and also threw off gleams of light. Everything Tony used was matt black and if possible covered in slightly tacky binding, for a good grip. I'd been utterly fascinated the first time he'd shown me his kit, and had also felt privileged, as he kept its very existence private from most of the partners, for fear they would ban its use.

'OK?' he said.

I nodded. He seemed to have no trouble breathing, but my own lungs appeared to have stopped. He had gone in, though, with his bare hands in many a land where to be discovered was death, and I daresay a caper in an English seaside village seemed a picnic beside those.

He pressed an invisible knob somewhere up by his neck, and there was a small muffled whine as the power came on, steadying to a faint hiss inaudible at two paces.