Sure Fire

by Jack Higgins

  Rich couldn’t understand any of what the driver was telling Vishinsky, but he was delighted to see that the man didn’t take it like good news. The limo speeded up – trying to beat the tank to the junction ahead.

  It was going to be a close-run thing. One of the two jeeps following the limo had veered off the service road and was bouncing towards the tank. The soldiers in the jeep were being thrown around as it sped over the uneven ground. The driver got in front of the tank and turned his vehicle towards it – heading straight at the tank. The other soldiers were waving at the tank to stop. Then, as the tank showed no sign of stopping, they shot at it with their rifles.

  The tank didn’t even slow down. Two of the soldiers in the back jumped out, rolling across the ground. At what seemed like later than the last minute, the driver tried to steer out of the tank’s way. He was too late. The driver leaped after the last of his passengers, and a split second later the tank smashed into the jeep. The bonnet crumpled, dragged under the tank tracks. The tank lurched upwards, then slammed down and kept going.

  The limo’s engine roared as the driver dropped a gear in an attempt to accelerate more quickly. But he had left it too late. The tank was almost at the junction where the service road fed into a slip road on to the main highway. One of the treads stopped moving suddenly and the tank skidded round so it was pointing right at the limo and blocking the entrance to the slip road.

  The driver wrenched at the wheel, and it looked like he was going to be able to steer the big car round the tank and back on to the road. Rich brought his feet up and kicked out as hard as he could. The soles of his shoes hammered into the back of the driver’s seat, sending shockwaves right up Rich’s legs. He could feel his seatbelt cutting across him.

  But it had the right effect. The driver lurched forwards over the wheel. The limousine smashed into the front of the tank. The bonnet shot up and a cloud of steam erupted from beneath. The engine stopped, leaving only the rumble of the tank’s engines. The driver stayed slumped forward.

  Magda was already fumbling for her gun when Rich’s door was dragged open and he almost fell out.

  “Jade!”

  “Don’t just sit there, come on!” she yelled at him, pulling him from the car.

  Magda’s hand came up and Rich kicked the door shut behind him. His whole body felt battered and bruised and he wasn’t about to get shot. He heard the bullet thud into the door and Vishinsky yelling in Russian. Then he was running with Jade for the tank.

  He was astonished to see Halford’s upper body sticking out of the hatch in the turret. Where had he come from? The man had a machine pistol and was firing at the soldiers and Mr Stabb in the remaining jeep, keeping them pinned down. Seeing Rich with Jade, he gave a grin and changed his aim slightly.

  Steam rose from the jeep’s radiator and then the front tyres exploded. It wasn’t going to be following them any more than the wrecked limo was, Rich realised. Jade ran round to the back of the tank so they could climb up without fear of being shot at by the soldiers in the useless jeep.

  They hauled themselves up to the turret, just as Halford ran out of ammunition. His gun clicked uselessly and he cursed. “Hurry it up!” he shouted to Jade and Rich. They were almost there. Halford was already ducking back down inside the tank turret when a bullet hit him.

  Rich saw the surprise and pain on the man’s face as he was slammed back into the unforgiving metal of the hatchway. He clutched at his shoulder, and blood trickled out from between his fingers. Then he slid slowly out of sight.

  “In – get in!” Jade yelled, pushing Rich after Halford through the hatch. No sooner was he inside the cramped space than Jade was after him, dragging the hatch closed behind her.

  “Got to get moving,” Halford gasped. His whole hand was stained red. “Jade – you know what to do?”

  “I think so.”

  There was barely room to move inside the cabin of the tank. Rich couldn’t even stand up. It sounded like a hailstorm as bullets pinged off the tank’s outer shell.

  Rich watched in amazement as Jade hurried to the controls. “You can drive a tank?”

  She gave him a nervous smile. “Easy enough. These two levers control the tracks – one for each side. Push both forward to go forward, or pull them back for reverse. Just one track at a time will turn so that’s how you steer. Don’t worry – I’ve been taking lessons.”

  She hesitated, flexing her fingers before reaching for the two levers.

  “And how do you stop?” Rich asked.

  Jade looked at her brother.

  “We didn’t get to that bit,” she replied, and smiled.

  The man wasn’t really called Ralph, but that was the name Halford had listed in his mobile. Halford’s vision was blurring and he got Rich to dial. Rich then handed him back the phone.

  Jade, meanwhile, had taken the tank off the main highway at the first junction and was looking for a suitable place to try to stop. Somewhere inconspicuous but easy to describe to “Ralph”. Eventually, she turned into the forecourt of a derelict petrol station. The awning was still there, stained and at a drunken angle, but the pumps were gone, and the kiosk that might also have been a little shop was boarded up. There was space at the back, behind the kiosk and out of sight of the road.

  She described where they were to Halford and he relayed the information in Russian to “Ralph”. When he had finished, he looked exhausted.

  “If I lose consciousness,” he said, trying to raise himself up into a sitting position, “then wait for Ralph. He isn’t the most savoury of characters, but he owes me a favour. He’ll help.”

  “Who is he?” Rich wondered. “What does he do? Is he in the government or police or something?”

  Halford forced a smile. “Not quite. Let’s just say he’s a businessman and leave it at that, shall we?”

  “A businessman?” Jade said. “What sort of business?”

  “Well, not really what you’d call legitimate business,” Halford admitted.

  “You mean he’s a gangster?” Rich said.

  Jade shook her head in disbelief. “Terrific. Just the sort of help we need.”

  “Against Vishinsky, it is,” Halford told her. He sagged back, breathing deeply, eyes closed.

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” Rich said to his sister. “I knew you would.”

  “Don’t take me for granted,” Jade warned him. “Don’t expect everything.”

  “Didn’t expect you in a tank.”

  Ralph arrived in a large dark Mercedes. It pulled quietly on to the forecourt, headlights cutting through the night. The back door opened and a man got out. He was short but thick-set, with a heavy brow, combed black hair and a shiny pinstripe suit.

  The driver and two other men followed Ralph closely, over to where the children were waiting. They all wore pinstripe suits. They helped get Halford out of the tank and put him carefully in the back of the car.

  “We shall leave your tank here,” Ralph told them. He grinned, showing off a gold tooth at the front of his mouth.

  “It’s not really ours,” Rich protested.

  Ralph shrugged. “What do you say? Finders keepers? It is yours now.”

  “You’ll look after Halford?” Jade asked.

  “A doctor is examining him in the car. He will do what he can. We can get him to a safe hospital, but it looks like it was a clean shot – the bullet went right through.” He smiled again. “I have some experience of gunshot wounds.”

  “I bet,” Jade said. “So what’s your real name? It’s not Ralph.”

  The man frowned. “Ralph? Halford said my name was Ralph?” He sighed. “It is as good a name as any. It will do. Yes, I like it. Ralph.” He clicked his fingers and one of the men in pinstripes stepped closer. Ralph talked to him rapidly in Russian and the man handed over a mobile phone.

  Ralph handed a phone to Rich. “Speed dial six will get through to me at once. Don’t worry, the phone is untraceable.”

  “Is it stolen?” Ri
ch asked.

  “Acquired. We will look after Halford. Do not worry. I owe him much. He said, when he called, that you are going to rescue your father from Vishinsky.”

  “That’s right,” Jade said.

  Ralph whistled. “Rather you than me. He also said that your father is a man I know as Harry.” He held his hands up before either Jade or Rich could reply. “I do not need or want to know his real name. That would not help any of us, any more than my real name would help you. I only know Halford is a real name by accident. But I owe Harry as much as I owe Halford. I cannot move directly against Vishinsky, you understand.”

  “Why not?” Rich wanted to know.

  “Politics. Economics. Boring reasons. But at the moment the state is not too hard on us, so we have an understanding. It works for us and it works for them too. But if I am seen to oppose Vishinsky then that could change. If the criminals who run our country, our police and armed forces have to decide who they most need – me or Vishinsky…” He opened his hands. “I would not bet on me coming out as favourite.”

  “So, are you just going to abandon us here or what?” Jade asked.

  “I could not do that. I said I cannot be seen to help, but I will do what I can.”

  “Which is what?” Rich said.

  “Another car will be here soon. The driver will have certain things for you that Mr Halford has suggested may be useful, and the car will take you close to the main KOS pumping station. It is Vishinsky’s base of operations, though he has his own castle in the foothills of the mountains to the north. But it is at the pumping station he is keeping your father.”

  “How do you know?” Rich asked

  “Because he bribes soldiers to take him there and to keep quiet. I bribe soldiers again to tell me everything that Vishinsky wants them to keep quiet about. Probably he bribes them a third time to let him know what they have told me, but I really can’t afford to bribe them a fourth time to find out.”

  “And Dad’s definitely there?” Jade said.

  “He was taken there. He nearly escaped, which amused the soldier who told me. He has not been taken away and I have asked where he is being held – it is a big facility. If we have news, the driver will tell you when he comes. It will not be long. I did consider bribing soldiers to bring your father to me, but I am afraid there is no profit in it, and Vishinsky would not be pleased. By all the accounts I am getting, your father is very important to him.”

  “It’s what he has that’s important,” Rich said.

  “Or rather, what he has hidden,” Jade added.

  “Oh?” Ralph’s eyes were shining with curiosity. But before either of them could answer he laughed. “Better you do not tell me that either. Better that I don’t know.”

  His smile faded. “Better you get into the habit of trusting no one, however friendly they may seem. You were lucky to find Halford – he is a rare breed. But in this world you have fallen into, this dark and dangerous world, no one is what they seem and no one has any interest in anything other than themselves.”

  “Including you?” Rich asked.

  Ralph smiled again. “Especially me. I have been in this business a long time now, and you know what I have learned?”

  “What?” Jade prompted.

  “Survival – that is all there is. The money is easy. The money is cheap. The money doesn’t matter.” He patted Jade on the shoulder. “Look after yourselves. Both of you.” He reached out to shake hands with Rich. “I have to leave now.”

  “Can we see Halford?” Jade asked. “Before you go?”

  Halford was conscious, but obviously woozy from an injection to ease the pain. He lay along the back seats, his shoulder bandaged, blood already seeping through.

  “We take him to a hospital. Do good job there,” the doctor assured them. “He be all right. Tough as old shoes, this one.”

  “Just leave me,” Halford whispered. He struggled to sit up. “Thanks, but leave me. I’ll be fine with Ralph. And I’ll put in a call to Ardman. Vishinsky won’t be looking for me anyway. You find your dad.”

  “You’re a grown-up,” Jade told him. “You’re supposed to tell us not to be so stupid, not to go it alone, not to do anything dangerous but to wait for proper help and the professionals.”

  “And would you listen?” Halford asked.

  “Course not,” Rich told him.

  “Didn’t reckon you would, either of you,” Halford said. His speech was slurring. “I’ll be fine,” he said slowly and weakly. “You can tell who your father is all right.” The door closed and the car turned out on to the road.

  “He’ll be OK,” Rich told Jade. He hoped that just saying it would help make it true.

  “I know,” she said. “And we have to find Dad.”

  Another car was turning in. It parked under the broken awning and flashed its lights at them.

  “Let’s find Dad then,” Rich said, walking with Jade to the car. “At least we have the element of surprise. They might be looking for us, but they won’t expect us to come after them.”

  “We’ll find them,” Stabb promised. “I think I winged the man Halford.”

  “They can hardly hide a tank,” Magda agreed. “It won’t take long.”

  “Don’t even bother,” Vishinsky said. “Don’t waste your time.” They were all three sitting in the back of a replacement limousine, heading through the evening to the main KOS installation. The first limousine was a write-off, and they had left the driver still out cold over the wheel. Stabb’s jeep had to be towed off for a new engine and tyres.

  “What do you mean?” Magda asked.

  “They think they are so clever,” Vishinsky said. “But we have something they want very badly.”

  “Chance,” Stabb said, amused. “They’ll try to find Chance.”

  “And I have made sure that it is well known where we are holding him. They will come to the main plant,” Vishinsky agreed. “And when they do, we shall be waiting for them.”

  20

  On the journey across town, they went through the stuff in the rucksack and holdall that the driver had brought. He had also given them bulky, padded coats which they put on to ward off the increasing cold of the night.

  Some of the other stuff was obviously useful – like wire-cutters, and a map of the KOS installation with security cameras marked and a large red arrow pointing at one small building in the middle where Chance was being held.

  Some of the things were probably useful, but Rich and Jade agreed they would not take them – including handguns. Other stuff they had no idea what it was – like metal canisters with levers held by pins attached. They might be grenades or they might be fizzy drinks, Rich and Jade couldn’t tell – and didn’t try to open them to find out. There was also a small black box with a switch on it next to a small blank display screen. Rich was careful not to touch the switch. The box, and anything else he wasn’t sure about, Rich stuffed back into the rucksack.

  “Dad’ll probably know what to do with it,” he said.

  “Gonna take him a gun as well?”

  Rich considered this. “I’d rather not.”

  “Good.” She rummaged through the small rucksack she had managed to keep with her throughout and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. “His mobile’s gone, but I’ve still got these.”

  Rich took the packet and opened it. There were six cigarettes left, and Chance’s lighter was pushed inside the packet too. He closed it and handed it back to Jade. “You took them. You should give them back.”

  “OK.”

  The driver seemed to speak no English. He dropped them beside a narrow service road apparently in the middle of nowhere. But in the distance, they could see the huge KOS facility outlined in black against the deep grey of the night sky.

  Before leaving them, the driver took the map from Rich, opened it on the bonnet of the car and jabbed a finger at a point on the edge of the installation.

  “Good place to break in?” Rich said. “Thanks.”

&nb
sp; The driver indicated another point on the perimeter. He gave an exaggerated shrug. Evidently, each place was as good – or bad – as the first.

  “So where are we now?” Jade asked. She pointed down at the ground. “Here. Where?” She pointed at the edge of the map, outside the installation and mimicked the driver’s exaggerated shrug.

  He nodded to show he understood and indicated a point on a narrow road leading past the back of the complex.

  Jade stared. “But that’s miles away.”

  “I thought you liked exercise,” Rich said. “And anyway – it’s a nice night for a walk.”

  It seemed to take for ever to get across the undulating barren landscape to the KOS installation. As they approached they could hear clanking and hissing and the flare of burning oil. They could see plumes of fire and smoke from various points of the facility. And they could taste the fuel in the air, acrid and oily.

  “You realise we’ll never get past all those cameras,” Rich said. “Not without some massive distraction.”

  “I do,” Jade said. “And I’ve been thinking about that.”

  “Got a plan?”

  “Got an idea. You help me make it into a plan.”

  Rich listened. He liked the idea, but he didn’t like what it meant for Jade. They spent the rest of the journey to the facility talking about how to make it work.

  Two figures approached the perimeter fence, silhouetted in black against the grey of the outer buildings and the puddles of security lighting. They were both the same shape and size, padded out in the bulky coats the driver had given them. Even in the glow of the security lights as they reached the fence, they were barely indistinguishable with the same fair hair, similar features and identical expressions – grim and determined. Only the longer hair of one of them, hanging past her shoulders, marked Jade out as different from her brother.

  “Good luck,” Rich said quietly.