by Jack Higgins
Twin streaks of fire erupted from the castle battlements above them. Two missiles blazed through the sky above them, heading for the distant mainland.
“That’ll do,” Jade admitted. “I wonder what’s going on.”
The two missiles were brilliant orange against the night as they blazed towards the car. So much for the element of surprise, Chance thought. He waited until they were almost on him before wrenching the steering wheel abruptly to one side.
The car spun a full circle in the narrow road. The first missile hammered into the tarmac twenty metres behind and debris rained down on the Focus. The windscreen crazed and a window exploded.
The second missile, a fraction behind the first, disappeared through the hedge at the side of the road. There was the low crump of detonation and Chance felt the shockwave knock the car forwards.
He turned it out of the spin and fishtailed down the road. There was another flash from the castle battlements – a third incoming missile. Then another. He couldn’t hope to avoid them all.
The car accelerated down the road. The wind whipped noisily through the broken side window. The lines of flame streaked towards Chance as he floored the accelerator.
When he reached the point where the road turned sharply to follow the line of the coast along the cliff tops, Chance held tight to the steering wheel – keeping the car on a straight line course towards the island castle. The tyres jolted up the kerb and skidded through wet grass.
There was only the sound of the wind as the Focus hurtled over the edge of the cliff. As it fell, the missiles overshot it, slamming into the roadway above.
Chance braced himself, pressing back into the seat as the nose of the car dipped down and the dark water filled his vision. Then the whole vehicle punched into the sea. The cracked windscreen collapsed and caved in. Freezing water poured through the side window and the hole where the windscreen had been.
Suffocating darkness closed over Chance’s head as the car sank.
The door exploded inwards. Splinters of wood flew across the room, whipping at Rich’s cheeks. The Banker was knocked off his feet by the blast.
A figure stepped through the noise and the smoke. Bannock’s bearded, angry face stared down at Rich and his hands closed tightly on the boy’s throat.
24
The loss of the windshield was a blessing. Chance was able to get out through the hole. He wrestled his way out of the car and kicked upwards until, gasping, he broke the surface. His jacket was hampering his movement and he struggled out of it.
The Tiger and his men would expect whoever had been in the car to have drowned or to freeze in the water. At best, they might manage to get back to the shore – bruised and battered.
But the LARM suit had protected Chance from the worst effects of the impact, and now it kept his body as warm in the icy water as it had in the freezing cockpit of the Tornado. The castle looked to be a good way off, but Chance was an excellent swimmer. He struck out swiftly, knowing that the life of at least one and possibly both of his children depended on him.
Two dark figures moved quickly across the castle courtyard, past the spider-like shape of the Tiger’s helicopter. They wore dark uniforms and camouflage caps. One of them was limping slightly.
On the other side of the castle a door was flung open and a figure staggered out, a young boy who went sprawling. He was quickly followed by another – an old man in pebble-lensed glasses.
“No need to push,” Rich said, picking himself off the ground.
Bannock grabbed him by the collar and pushed him onwards, towards another door.
“The Tiger’s going to rip you to bits,” he said. He grabbed the Banker by the shoulder and pushed him roughly after Rich. “That’s what Tigers do.”
As soon as they had re-entered the castle by the other door, the two dark figures emerged from the shadow of the helicopter.
“We have to get them away from here,” Jade said.
“Yes, but how?”
“Follow them. Wait for an opportunity to help.”
“If it ever comes,” said Halford grimly. “But you’re right. That’s our best bet.”
Jade pushed stray damp strands of her blond hair up into her cap. She and Halford each pulled the brims down as low as they dared.
“Guard duty?” Jade suggested.
“Guard duty,” Halford agreed.
“We found this on him.” To Rich’s horror, Bannock was holding up the diamond.
“On the boy?” The Tiger took the diamond from Bannock and held it up to the light. “Quite beautiful. Exquisite. Though I suspect it is actually yours,” he said turning to the Banker.
The Banker did not reply.
“So, I ask myself – why do you have it?” the Tiger went on. “Valuable? Oh, undoubtedly. Insurance, perhaps. But there again, perhaps there is more to it than that…”
“What are you going to do to us?” Rich asked, hoping to distract the Tiger.
The Tiger continued to examine the diamond, turning it to catch the light. “I’m not going to do anything to you. I shall leave that to Bannock.”
Rich felt cold as he saw the way the huge Scotsman grinned at the Tiger’s words.
“Unless you tell me what I want to know,” the Tiger went on. “And I warn you, time is running out. It will be dawn soon. I want to get my money transferred to rather safer accounts and then be away from here before any more of your friends come looking. It won’t be long before Ardman finds me, I’m afraid.”
“Why not just give up and go now?” the Banker asked. He sounded defiant, but Rich could see the little man was trembling.
“Oh, I’m sure there is no immediate rush. The advance party, if that was what it was, lost an argument with a couple of surface to surface missiles just now. You probably heard the noise. Sorry about that.”
“You’re mad,” Rich blurted out. “Sick. A criminal. Why are you doing this?”
“Money. Everything comes down to money.” The Tiger paused as his study door opened. But it was just two more of his guards in their black uniforms and camouflage caps. “But how you get it, what you do with it is… wrong,” Rich insisted.
The Tiger shrugged. “I am an investor. That’s all. I lend money to enterprises that I think will turn a profit.”
“Terrorists? Criminals? Rogue states?”
“Perhaps my remit is a little broader than most. But how is it any different from a man who invests in defence industries – in armaments? You know, most of the bullets and bombs that were used in the world last year were bought by US taxpayers. You blame me for investing my own money in enterprises that I think will give a better return than NATO or Iraq or Afghanistan?”
“It’s murder. Organised crime. People suffer.”
The Tiger laughed. “You have no idea how this world really works, have you? What would you rather I invested in? Computer database systems for the healthcare industry? Oh, good idea – that would be money right down the drain. I might as well give it away. Which is pretty much what our government does.” He held the diamond in his fist and brandished it. “Have you any idea how much money I watched being wasted by the Home Office while I was working for dear Lionel? Any idea how it is frittered away and wasted, when it could be invested in something that turns a profit?”
“It’s not all about profit,” the Banker said.
“Ah, the bank manager speaks. You’ve changed your tune. You were happy enough to take my money – anyone’s money – and invest it wherever we told you.”
“I was wrong,” the Banker said simply. “And, for your information, I was never happy. I never made that decision. It was just something that happened.” He met the Tiger’s gaze for a moment, then looked away. “I should have been brave enough to face up to that sooner. Should have stopped it at once.”
“But instead, you took the money. Bought diamonds.” The Tiger held the diamond between his thumb and index finger and stared into it. “Now, investing in beauty I can understand.” He frowned, looked
closer, then gestured urgently at Bannock. “Get me a magnifying glass. Quickly, man.”
“A what?”
“Just do it!” the Tiger roared. “It’s here, isn’t it?” he said to the Banker, his eyes gleaming like the diamond. “The account data, everything – inside this diamond!”
Bannock turned to the Tiger’s desk to look for a magnifying glass. The Tiger held the diamond up in triumph.
And one of the uniformed guards stepped quickly up to the Tiger and grabbed the diamond from him. The guard turned and punched another of the guards full in the face before headbutting another. His cap came off.
“Dex?” Rich exclaimed.
“Run!” Halford told him.
The way to the door was clear. But Bannock – out of Halford’s immediate reach – had drawn a pistol and took aim at Halford. Rich hurled himself at the big man, knocking his arm as the gun went off.
The bullet thudded into the ceiling.
The Banker made a dash for the door, but the Tiger had recovered from his surprise and grabbed the little man’s arm, wrenching him back.
Bannock threw Rich to one side, sending him crashing into the desk. Another guard – the only one that Halford hadn’t attacked – reached down towards Rich.
His vision was blurred and he blinked to try to clear it. Halford and Bannock were wrestling. Halford had hold of Bannock’s gun hand. But the other guards were recovering, and coming to help. The diamond fell to the floor as Halford tried desperately to keep the gun away. With a final effort, he pushed Bannock aside and limped rapidly for the door.
Bannock sprawled backwards. One of the other guards was scrabbling for the diamond. Another guard ran after Halford. Rich lashed out, kicking the man’s legs from under him. To his surprise, the guard pulling him to his feet made no effort to stop him.
The guard was slight of build and Rich turned, ready to wrench his arms away and thump hard at the man.
Except it wasn’t a man.
The guard put a finger to her lips and winked. It was Jade.
“Get after him!” Bannock yelled at the other guards. They were already running from the room, one pausing to hand Bannock the diamond.
“Who is he? How did he get in here?” the Tiger demanded.
“No idea,” Bannock growled. “But I’m going to find out before I kill him.” He gave the diamond to the Tiger. “You really think this is it?”
“I’m sure of it. Now, where’s that magnifying glass I asked you for?”
The two guards were not far behind him and Halford knew there would soon be others. The first hints of dawn were streaking the sky, turning it from black to grey as he limped out of the castle and into the courtyard again.
They’d catch him soon. Or shoot him. He knew that. But the important thing was that he was drawing the guards away from Rich and the Banker – allowing Jade a chance, just a possibility, of getting them away.
The guards at the main gate that Halford and Jade had knocked out had guns. If Halford could get that far, could get a gun, he could fight back and keep more of the Tiger’s men occupied. He cursed himself under his breath for allowing Jade to talk him out of taking a gun in the first place.
“We’re not shooting anyone,” she’d said.
Which was a fine principle. But as the shouts and the first bullet followed Halford, it was a principle he felt happy to abandon in favour of survival.
Through the open part of the gates he could see the early light reflecting on the water. He limped onwards, aware of the sound of running feet behind him. The shooting had stopped – they’d probably realised he was going nowhere.
Just as far as the guns outside the main gates.
But then a figure rose up out of the water, striding up the causeway, silhouetted against the sea. Heading inexorably towards Halford. He hesitated – friend or foe?
The figure reached the gates, glanced down at the fallen guards shivering and unconscious without their uniforms. He picked up one of the automatic rifles and pointed it directly at Halford.
“Down!” the figure yelled.
Halford dropped immediately to the ground, recognising the voice and laughing out loud.
A burst of automatic fire drove the guards back. Halford crawled to the nearest cover, a buttress on the outer wall not far from the gates. A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to find that the figure from the sea was offering him the second guard’s gun.
“Good to see you,” Halford said, releasing the safety.
“Good to be seen,” Chance told him. “Sorry to burst in on you like this, but some fool left the gate open.”
“It will take a few minutes to set up the transfers,” the Tiger’s technical man said.
“It has to be done before nine o’clock.”
“That may not be the main problem,” Bannock said as the renewed sound of gunfire came from outside. “Maybe we should get away from here. Make the transfers from somewhere safer.”
“We’d never get the satellite link up again and hack into the banking system in time,” the Tiger said. “Get out there and find out what’s going on. We evacuate only if we have to. Set up the transfer,” he told the technician. “I’ll read you the account numbers and codes from the diamond when you’re ready.”
“We have to stop him,” Rich whispered to Jade while everyone seemed occupied and Bannock was out of the room.
“How?” she murmured back.
He shrugged. “Just be ready.”
The Tiger glared across at Rich. “What are you muttering about?”
Jade looked down, so he couldn’t see her face under the cap. Rich shuffled and tried to look uncomfortable. “You should get out while you can,” he said.
“Oh, thank you.” The Tiger’s lip curled. “When I want your advice, I’ll beat it out of you.”
Bannock ran back in. “There’s just two of them. We have them pinned down near the main gates.”
“Good. Well done, Bannock.”
The phone on the Tiger’s desk rang and he waved at Bannock to answer it. The big Scotsman listened for a moment, then put the phone down again.
“There’s a boat coming,” he said.
“Deal with it.”
“What if it’s Ardman’s people?”
The Tiger’s voice was hard. “I said deal with it.”
25
The launch was big and powerful. It cut through the water heading straight for the wooden jetty by the causeway at the front of the castle.
“Friends of yours?” Halford shouted to Chance above the chatter of machine-gun fire.
“It’s not Ardman,” Chance yelled back. “He sent Goddard for the SAS. That’s hardly their style.”
As boat got closer, Chance had a better view of the two men standing at the prow. They wore dark suits and dark glasses. One was slightly short, a little stocky. The other was tall and lean with a face like a skull.
“I think things are getting complicated,” said Chance.
“You’re telling me,” Halford replied. “I’m out of ammunition.”
From the battlements above, one of the guards fired on the boat. Bullets pinged off the deck and chipped the expensive paint.
Scevola did not flinch. He clicked his fingers and pointed at where the bullets had come from.
Another man in a suit and dark glasses rose into sight between Scevola and Ralph. He was holding a large, brutal-looking automatic rifle. The man barely took aim, firing from the hip. There was a cry from somewhere above Chance and a body tumbled from the battlements.
Bannock ran across the courtyard, taking advantage of the distraction to get past Halford and Chance. The body landed at his feet and he stared down at it, mouth open. Then he ran up the steps to the battlements and looked out at where the boat was now arriving at the jetty.
Moments later, Bannock was running back the way he had come.
While the remaining guards looked out at the boat, unsure what to do after Bannock’s retreat, Chance ran across to Hal
ford, throwing his rifle to him.
“Keep me covered,” he called as he kept running after Bannock and into the castle.
* * *
“We have to get out of here,” Bannock announced as soon as he was in the Tiger’s study.
“What are you talking about?” the Tiger demanded. “We’re almost ready to make the transfers.”
“Forget it. That boat—”
“What about it? Who is in it?”
Bannock’s face was pale behind the red beard. “It’s Cesare Scevola.”
The Tiger also paled. “We can do a deal. He just wants his money back.”
“Since when did Scevola only want his own money? I don’t care what you’re planning, but I’m getting out of here while I still can.”
Jade was amazed to see the big man so obviously scared. It was all she could do to keep from grinning. She could see that Rich was smiling too.
Bannock turned to leave. He stepped out of the room.
“You coward,” the Tiger called after him.
And Bannock was back – flying backwards into the study and landing in a crumpled heap on the floor.
John Chance stepped into the room, rubbing his knuckles. “I rather enjoyed that,” he admitted. “Hello Rich.”
Chance saw Jade too, nodding slightly to show it, but saying nothing.
From outside, the chatter of gunfire was now unrelenting. But it was getting louder – closer…
Bannock groaned and slowly got to his feet. His face was now as red and angry as his beard. He was holding a handgun. He advanced warily on Chance, who backed slowly away. As soon as he was close enough, Bannock swung the pistol in an arc. Chance ducked, throwing his arm up to try to deflect the blow. Even so, it caught him a nasty crack on the side of the head and Chance collapsed to his knees.
“No,” the Tiger said calmly as Bannock stepped forward to strike again.
“You’re finished, Quilch,” Chance told the Tiger before Bannock could object. “Scevola and his people are here. Harm them and some rather influential Italian families will hunt you down and rip out your guts. And that’s just for starters.”
“I told you,” Bannock hissed. “We should get out now.”
