Follett, Ken - On Wings of Eagles.txt

by On Wings of Eagles [lit]

  292 Ken FoIku

  said. "If Paul and I weren't here, none of you would be in any danger-you

  could just wait here until flights out resume. Maybe Paul and I should throw

  ourselves on the mercy of the U. S. Embassy. I I

  Simons said: "And what if you two get out, then Dadgar decides to take

  other hostages?"

  Anyway, Coburn thought, Simons won't let these two out of his sight now,

  not until they're back in the U.S.A.

  The bell at the street gate rang, and everybody froze.

  "Move into the bedrooms, but quietly," Simons said.

  Coburn went to the window. The landlady still thought there were only two

  people living here, Coburn and Poch6---she had never seen Simons--and

  neither she nor anyone else was supposed to know that there were now eleven

  people in the house.

  As Coburn watched, she walked across the courtyard and opened the gate. She

  stood there for a few minutes, talking to someone Cobum could not see, then

  closed the gate and carne back alone.

  When he heard her door slam shut upstairs, he called: "False alarm. I I

  They all prepared for the journey by looting the Dvoranchik place for warm

  clothes. Paul thought: Toni Dvoranchik would die of ernbarTassment if she

  knew about all these men going through her drawers. They ended up with a

  peculiar assortment of ifl-fitting hats, coats, and sweaters.

  After that they had nothing to do but wait: wait for Majid to find another

  Range Rover, wait for Cathy to get better, and wait for Perot to get the

  Turkish Rescue Team organized.

  They watched some old football games on a Betamax video. Paul played gin

  with Gayden. The dog got on everyone's nerves, but Cobum decided not to

  slit its throat until the last minute, in cast there was a change of plan

  and it could be saved. John Howell read The Deep by Peter Benchley: he had

  seen part of the movie on the flight over and had missed the ending because

  the

  pi Ibe orevie finished, and he had never

  figured

  f

  otn= I gCZ Z

  d e ys and who were the bad guys. Simons said: "Those who wish to

  drink can do so, but if we have to move fast we'll be much better

  without any alcohol in our systems," but despite the waniing both

  Gayden and Gallagher surreptitiously mixed Drambuie with their coffee.

  The bell rang once more, and they all went through the same routine,

  but again it was for the landlady.

  ON WINGS OF EAGLES 293

  They were all remarkably good-tempered, considering how many of them were

  crammed into the living room and three bedrooms of the place. The only one

  to get imtable was-predictably-Keane Taylor. He and Paul cooked a big

  dinner for everyone, almost emptying the freezer; but by the time Taylor

  came in from the kitchen, the others had eaten every scrap and there was

  nothing for him. He cursed them all roundly for a bunch of greedy hogs, and

  they all laughed, the way they always did when Taylor got mad.

  During the night he got mad again. He was sleeping on the floor next to

  Coburn, and Coburn snored. The noise was so awful that Taylor could not get

  to sleep. He could not even wake Coburn to tell him to stop snoring, and

  that made him even madder.

  It was snowing in Washington that night. Ross Perot was tired and tense.

  With Mitch Hart, he had spent most of the day in a last-ditch effort to

  persuade the governinent to fly his people out of Tehran. He had seen

  Undersecretary David Newsom at the State Department, Thomas V. Beard at the

  White House, and Mark Ginsberg, a young Carter aide whose job was liaison

  between the White House and the State Department. They were doing their

  best to arrange to fly the remaining one thousand Americans out of Tehran,

  and they were not about to make special plans fbr Ross Perot.

  Resigned to going to Turkey, Perot went to a sporting-goods store and

  bought himself cold-weather clothes. The leased 707 arrived from Dallas,

  and Pat Sculley called from Dulles Airport to say that some mechanical

  problems had surfaced dunng the flight: the transponder and the inertial

  navigation system did not work properly, the Number I engine was using oil

  at twice the normal rate, there was insufficient oxygen aboard for cabin

  use, there were no spare tires, and the water-tank valves were ftozen

  solid.

  While mechanics worked on the plane, Perot sat in the Madison Hotel with

  Mort Meyerson, a vice-president of EDS.

  At EDS there was a special group of Perot associates, men such as T. J.

  Marquez and Merv Stauffer, to whom he turned for help with matters that

  were not part of the day-to-day business of computer software: schemes like

  the prisoners-of-war campaign, the Texas War on Drugs, and the rescue of

  Paul and Bill.

  294 Ken Folleu

  Although Meyerson did not get involved in Perot,s special projects, he was

  fully informed about the rescue plan and had given it his blessing: he knew

  Paul and Bill well, having worked alongside them in earlier years as a

  systems engineer. For business matters he was Perot's top man, and he would

  soon become president of EDS. (Perot would continue to be chairman of the

  board.)

  Now Perot and Meyerson talked business, reviewing each of EDS's current

  projects and problems. Both knew, though neither said, that the reason for

  the conference was that Perot might never come back from Turkey.

  In some ways the two men were as different as chalk and cheese. Meyerson's

  grandfather was a Russian Jew who had saved for two years to buy his rail

  ticket from New York to Texas. Meyerson's interests ranged from athletics

  to the arts: he played handball, was involved with the Dallas Symphony

  Orchestra and was himself a good pianist. Making fun of Perot and his

  "eagles, " Meyerson called hisown close colleagues "Meyerson's toads. " But

  in many ways he was like Perot, a creative and daring businessman whose

  bold ideas often scared more conventional executives in EDS. Perot had

  given instructions that, if something were to happen to him during the

  rescue, all his stock would be voted by Meyerson. EDS would continue to be

  run by a leader, not a bureaucrat.

  While Perot discussed business and worried about the plane and fumed

  against the State Department, his deepest concern was for his mother. Lulu

  May Perot was sinking fast, and Perot wanted to be with her. If she were to

  die while he was in Turkey, he would never see her again, and that would

  break his heart.

  Meyerson knew what was on his mind. He broke off the business talk to say:

  "Ross, why don't I go?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Why don't I go to Turkey instead of you? You've done your share.-you went

  to Iran. There's nothing you can do that I can't do in Turkey. And you want

  to stay with your mother."

  Perot was touched. Mort didn't have to say that, he thought. "If you're

  willing. . . " He was tempted. "That's something I'd sure want to think

  about. Let me think about it. "

  He was not sure he had the right to let Meyerson do this instead of him.

  "Let's see what the others think." He picked up
the phone, called Dallas,

  and reached T. J. Marquez. "Mort's

  ON WINGS OF EAGLES 295

  offered to- go to Turkey instead of me," he told T.J. "'Arhatt 8 your

  reaction to that?"

  "It's the worst idea in the world," T.J. said. "You've been close to this

  project from the start, and you couldn't possibly tell Mort everything he

  needs to know in a few hours. You know Simons, you know how his mind

  works-Mort doesn't. Plus, Simons doesn't know Mort--and you're aware of how

  Simons feels about trusting people he doesn't know. Well, he won't trust

  diem, that's how he feels."

  "You're right," Perot said. "It's not for consideration."

  He hung up. "Mort, I sure appreciate your offer, but I'm going to Turkey."

  "Whatever you say."

  A few minutes later Meyerson left, to return to Dallas in the chartered

  Lear jet. Perot called EDS again and spoke to Merv Stauffer. "Now, I want

  you guys to work in shifts and get some sleep," Perot said. "I don't want

  to be talking to a bunch of zombies back there.

  "Yes, sir!"

  Perot took his own advice and got some sleep.

  The phone woke him at two A.M. It was Pat Sculley, calling from the

  airport: the plane's mechanical problems were fixed.

  Perot got a cab to Dulles Airport. It was a hair-raising thirtymile ride on

  icy roads.

  The Turkish Rescue Team was now together: Perot; Pat Sculley and Jim

  Schwebac"e deadly duo; young Ron Davis; the crew of the 707; and the two

  extra pilots, Dick Douglas and Julian "Scratch" Kanauch. But the plane was

  not mended. It needed a spare part that was not available in Washington.

  Gary Femandes-the EDS manager who had worked on the leasing contract for

  the plan"ad a friend who was in charge of ground support for one of the

  airlines at New York's LaGuardia Airport: he called the friend, and the

  friend got out of bed, found the part, and put it on a plane for

  Washington. Meanwhile, Perot lay down on a bench in the terminal and slept

  for a couple mom hours.

  They boarded at Six A.M. Perot looked around the interior of the aircraft

  in amazement. It had a bedroom with a king-size bed, three bars, a

  sophisticated hi-fi system, a television, and an office with a phone. Them

  were plush carpets, suede upholstery, and velvet walls. "It looks like a

  Persian whorchouse," said Perot, although he had never seen a Persian

  whorehouse.

  296 Ken FoUett

  The plane took off. Dick Douglas and Scratch Kanauch immediately curled up

  and went to sleep. Perot tried to follow their example: he had sixteen

  hours of nothing to do in front of him. As the plane headed out across the

  Atlantic Ocean, he wondered again whether he was doing the right thing.

  He might, after all, have left Paul and Bill to take their chances in

  Tehran. Nobody would have blamed him: it was the government's job to rescue

  diem. Indeed, the Embassy might even now be able to get them out unharmed.

  On the other hand, Dadgar might pick them up and throw them in jail for

  twenty years-and the Embassy, on past performance, might not protect them.

  And what would the revolutionaries do if they got hold of Paul and Bill?

  Lynch them?

  No, Perot could not leave his men to take their chance"t was not his way.

  Paul and Bill were his responsibility-he did not need his mother to tell

  him that. The trouble was that he was now putting more men at risk. Instead

  of having two people hiding in Tehran, he would now have eleven employees

  on the run in the wilds of northwest Iran, and another four, plus two

  pilots, searching for diem. If things went wrong-ff someone got kdkd-the

  world would see this whole thing as a foolhardy adventure by a man who

  thought he was still living in the Wild West. He could imagine the

  newspaper headlines: NmuoNAIRE TEXWS HLAN RESCUE BID 13NDS IN DEATH ...

  Suppose we lose Coburn, he thought; what would I tell his wife? Liz might

  find it hard to understand why I staked the lives of seventeen men to gain

  the freedom of two.

  He had never broken the law in his life, and now he was involved in so many

  major illegal activities he could not count diem.

  He put all that out of his mind. The decision was made. If you go through

  fife thinking about all the bad things that can happen, you soon talk

  yourself into doing nothing at all. Concentrate on the problems that can be

  solved. The chips are on the table and the wheel is in spin. The last game

  has begun.

  ON WINGS OF EAGLES 297

  On Tuesday the U.S. Embassy announced that evacuation flights fbr all

  Americans in Tehran would leave during the coming weekend.

  Simons got Coburn and Pochd in one of the bedrooms of the Dvoranchik place

  and closed the door. "This solves some of our problems," he said. "I want

  to split them up at this point in the game. Some can take the Embassy

  evacuation flight, leaving a manageable group for the overland trip."

  Coburn and Pochd agreed.

  "Obviously, Paul and Bill have to go overland," Simons said. "Two of us

  three have to go with them: one to escort them across the mountains and the

  other to cross the border legitimately and meet up with Boulware. We'll

  need an Iranian driver for each of the two Range Rovers. That leaves us two

  spare seats. Who takes them? Not Cathy--she'll be much better off on the

  Embassy flight."

  "Rich will want to go with her," said Coburn.

  "And that fucking dog," Simons added.

  Bufly's life is saved, Coburn thought. He was rather glad.

  Simons said: "There's Keane Taylor, John Howell , Bob Yourig, and Bill

  Gayden. Here's the problem: Dadgar might pick people up at the airport, and

  we'll end up back where we started--with EDS men in jail. Who is at most

  risk?"

  "Gayden," said Cobm. "He's president of EDS World. As a hostage, he'd be

  better than Paul and Bill. In fact, when Dadgar arrested Bill Gaylord, we

  wondered whether it was a mistake, and he really wanted Bill Gayden, but

  got confused becaose of the similarity of the names."

  "Gayden comes out overland with Paul and Bill, then."

  "John Howell is not even employed by EDS. And he's a lawyer. He should be

  all right."

  "Howell goes out by air."

  "Bob Young is employed by EDS in Kuwait, not Iran. If Dadgar has a list of

  EDS names, Young won't be on it."

  "Young flies. Taylor drives. Now, one of us has to go on the evacuation

  flight with the Clean Tearn. Joe, that's you. You've

  298 Ken Folleu

  kept a lower profile, than Jay. He's been on the streets, at meetings at the

  Hyatt-whereas nobody knows you're here."

  'Okay," said Poch6.

  "So the Clean Team is the Gallaghers, Bob Young, and John Howell, led by

  Joe. The Dirty Team is me, Jay, Keane Taylor, Bill Gayden, Paul, Bill, and

  two Iranian drivers. Let's go tell em. I I

  They went into the living room and everyone sat down. As Simons talked,

  Coburn admired how he announced his decision in such a way that they all

  thought they were being asked for their opinions rather than being told

  what to do.

  There was some discussion of who shou
ld be in which teamboth John Howell

  and Bob Young would have preferred to be in the Dirty Team, feeling

  themselves vulnerable to arrest by Dadgar--but in the end they all reached

  the decision Simons had already made.

  The Clean Team might as well move into the Embassy compound as soon as

  possible, Simons said. Gayden and Joe Poch6 went off to find Lou Goelz, the

  Consul General, and talk to him about it.

  The Dirty Team would leave tomorrow morning.

  Coburn had to organize the Iranian drivers. These were to have been Majid

  and his cousin the professor, but the professor was in Rezaiyeh and could

  not get to Tehran, so Coburn had to find a replacement.

  He had already decided on Seyyed. Seyyed was a youtig Iranian systems.

  engineer like Rashid and the Cycle Man, but from a much wealthier family:

  relatives of his had been high in politics and the army under the Shah.

  Seyyed had been educated in England and spoke with a British accent. His

  great asset, from Coburn's point of view, was that he came from the

  northwest, so he knew the territory and he spoke Turkish.

  Coburn called Seyyed and they met at Seyyed's house. Coburn told him lies.

  "I need to gather intelligence on the roads between here and Khoy," Coburn

  said. "I'll need someone to drive me. Will you do it?"

  "Sure," said Seyyed.

  "Meet me at ten forty-five tonight at Argentine Square."

  Seyyed agreed.

  Simons had instructed Coburn to go through all this. Coburn trusted Seyyed,

  but of course Simons did not; so Seyyed would not know where the team was

  staying until he got there, and he

  ON WINGS OF EAGLES 299

  would not know about Paul and Bill until he saw them; and from that moment

  on he would not be out of Simons's sight.

  When Coburn returned to the Dvoranchik place, Gayden. and Poch6 were back

  from seeing Lou Goelz. They had told Goelz that a few EDS men were staying

  in Tehran to look for Paul and Bill, but the others wanted to leave on the

  first evacuation flight, and stay at the Embassy in the meantime. Goelz had

  said that the Embassy was full, but they could stay at his house.

  They all thought that was pretty damn good of Goelz. Most of them had got

  mad at him once or twice over the last two months, and had made it pretty