There was a chattering noise from below and a stream of bright sparks arced over the lagoon as someone let rip with a machine-gun and fired a magazine load of tracer bullets. Then there was a thump in triplicate and three fountains appeared in the lagoon, red fire at their hearts.
‘A machine-gun and a mortar,’ I said. ‘That’s more than talk. That’s the army.’
‘I want to know what was said,’ Haslam insisted. He jabbed his finger at Leotta. ‘And who the hell is she?’
‘Frank wanted a souvenir,’ said Philips tiredly. ‘This whole thing’s a bust. It’s gone sour.’
‘The hell it has,’ said Frank. ‘They won’t dare use those weapons up here. We can still make it out. Let’s get back to the hangar and finish the loading.’
‘What for?’ demanded Haslam. He pointed to the sky. ‘If you think I’m going to take off with those bastards up there you’re crazy. What was the deal? There must be a deal.’
‘Sure!’ said Frank. ‘They want us to walk out with our hands up, and then maybe we’ll get our wrists slapped. Call that a deal?’
Haslam swung on me. ‘Kemp, is that true?’
‘True enough,’ I said. ‘You can’t make a deal with the police.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ said Frank. ‘That plane load of people over there are our bargaining chips.’
‘That might wash with a political hijacking,’ I said. ‘But no one’s going to make a deal with a bunch of thieves.’
Frank pushed the gun into my kidneys. ‘Shut your mouth! Now, for Christ’s sake, let’s get back to the hangar and stop this yapping.’
We trudged over to the brightly lit hangar in silence. The Boeing was parked on the apron and a number of men were busy trundling wheelbarrows about underneath it. Every so often, a big canvas bag would drop from the plane’s cargo bay to the tarmac, then someone would heave it into a barrow and transfer it to the hangar. I did a quick count. Not including the armed man who was overseeing the operation, there were four of them in sight. That’s if they were actually part of the gang: for all I knew, this was Bette Haslam’s slave labour. If they were, then the odds had shortened significantly.
Inside the hangar, a man I didn’t recognise was stacking the canvas bags in a pile beside the Learjet. The young man went over and began to help him. Frank turned and stared wearily at Leotta and me.
‘Put these two with the others,’ he said.
‘I don’t know what you brought them for,’ Philips said. ‘They’re nothing but trouble. When did you figure it all out, Kemp?’
‘Not long ago,’ I said. ‘This afternoon.’
It seemed like an age.
II
Leotta struggled to climb the metal ladder that was leaning against the Boeing’s fuselage by its rear door, but with some effort and her natural agility, she finally made it. I supervised her ascent solicitously from the ground, then followed her up. Philips watched until I was at the top of the ladder and then went away towards the hangar, shouting something I couldn’t make out to the armed man below.
The passengers were jittery and I couldn’t blame them. I was pounced on as soon as I went through the door and assailed by a score of voices all asking different questions. I saw a hostess elbowing her way along the aisle from the front of the plane. ‘Quiet!’ I yelled, and was surprised to find myself instantly obeyed. The hostess came up to me and I said, ‘Where’s your chief officer?’
‘Captain Dehn is in the first-class accommodations,’ she said in a thick German accent. ‘This way, sir.’
I followed her, pushing my way along the aisle to make a path for Leotta and ignoring the questions and demands that were shot at us. Anxious hands tugged at my sleeve as I passed and a constant babble of worried voices accompanied us the length of the plane. All I would say was, ‘Later! Later!’ I knew this mixture of tourists and business people would be in genuine fear of their lives and could only imagine the uproar in the cabin when the hijackers had struck. Even those passengers who hadn’t witnessed the actual attack would surely have worked out that something was seriously wrong when the plane banked sharply back towards Campanilla from the open ocean and then flew in low over the northern coast of the island. Unable to see the landing strip in front of them, they must have thought the aircraft was going down. That kind of helpless terror can do strange things to a person.
I wondered how long the tension in the cabin would hold before outright panic erupted on board.
The German crew were huddled together in the first-class cabin. Dehn had his jacket off; his shirt sleeve was torn and his arm was in an improvised sling.
‘My name is Kemp. This is Leotta Tomsson.’
‘Gerhard Dehn. Can you tell us what is happening?’
‘This airfield is surrounded by police,’ I said. ‘I don’t know their plans but I think every precaution will be taken to ensure the safety of your passengers. Do you have many casualties?’
Dehn indicated his arm. ‘Only myself.’
‘Snap,’ said Leotta, pointing at her own injury.
The captain nodded sympathetically. ‘I foolishly put up some resistance when they stormed the cockpit. And you?’
‘Something similar.’
Another officer said, ‘We heard firing a few minutes ago. A machine-gun.’
‘And there were explosions,’ said the hostess.
‘A demonstration of force,’ I said. ‘That’s all. Nothing to get worried about. Have you any idea how many men there are out there?’
‘I asked Hassel to count. How many, Helmut?’
‘Maybe six,’ said the officer who had asked about the machine-gun. ‘I don’t know how many are in the hangar.’
‘I think seven altogether,’ said the hostess.
‘What about the men shifting the bags from the plane?’ I said.
Dehn shook his head. ‘They picked out some of the stronger-looking passengers.’
His mention of the passengers prompted a thought. ‘Somebody had better say something to those people back there,’ I said. ‘Tell them help is all around. And then stay with them – I’m not sure it’s good for morale to have the crew separated from them like this.’
Dehn nodded. ‘Helmut, you do that. Take Lise with you.’
The officer and the hostess left. I bent down to look through the window. There was a group of men just inside the open hangar doorway but they were no longer moving bags. Instead, they appeared to be having an argument. Even at that distance and not hearing a word that was said, it was easy to tell that. Men do not speak only with their mouths but with their bodies too, and the stance and postures of those men told of violent disagreement.
Dehn said, ‘How many police are here?’
‘I don’t know. About sixty came in from the sea. I don’t know how many came in from the other side.’
Someone from the arguing group walked away from the hangar and towards the Boeing. It was Haslam.
‘How do you estimate our chances?’ asked Dehn.
‘How would I know? I’ve never been in a situation like this.’
‘Neither have I,’ said Dehn wryly.
I watched Haslam grab the ladder that was propped against the fuselage and drag it to the plane’s front door, nearest to where we were talking. When he came in, he said, ‘They want to talk to you, Kemp.’
‘What about?’
‘Just questions. But first, I have one for you.’ He looked troubled. ‘Do you know what happened to Bette?’
He had a pistol in his hand and that made me nervous. ‘She killed a friend of mine,’ I said, watching him closely. ‘Then someone killed her.’
‘You?’
I shook my head and made damn sure I didn’t make a flicker of an eye movement in Leotta’s direction. ‘Someone else.’
A cloud passed across his face but I couldn’t decipher its significance. He waved the gun at me, guiding me towards the door. I looked back at Leotta and she gave a determined smile. As I went through the door,
she was already standing in front of the crew, taking charge.
I climbed down the ladder and Haslam followed. I could have run away into the darkness while he was coming down but that wasn’t the name of the game. Not with Leotta and a plane load of hostages standing defenceless on the runway. He seemed surprised to find me waiting for him on the ground. ‘I should have come down first,’ he said. ‘Bette wouldn’t have made a mistake like that.’
We walked towards the huge open doors of the hangar and Haslam said, ‘I didn’t know what I’d married, Kemp. I didn’t know, I swear it.’
‘I can believe that. But you still did what she said.’
‘It came out so slowly, a bit at a time. And she made it sound so easy. And it was twelve million dollars, Kemp. Twelve million.’ He spoke the number like a holy incantation.
‘And how much is that twelve million worth now?’
I heard raised voices from the hangar and glanced sideways at Haslam. ‘What do they want to know?’
‘They want you to tell them about the police down there.’
‘I’ll tell them,’ I said.
We walked inside and the group turned to face me.
Haslam, next to me, made a sudden movement. ‘For God’s sake, Bruno! Put out that goddamn cigarette.’
The young man looked at Haslam in surprise, a cigarette poised halfway to his lips. Haslam said, ‘You’re yards away from a plane full of avgas. What do you want to do? Blow us to hell? Aren’t we in enough trouble?’
Bruno shrugged, drew on the cigarette and then dropped it, putting his foot on the stub. He blew a long plume of smoke in Haslam’s direction.
Frank said, ‘How many police are there, Kemp?’
I took my time answering. ‘I counted sixty, police and soldiers. But those came in from the sea. I don’t know how many came through the gates. Maybe twice as many, maybe more. I’d say you can count on at least two hundred.’
‘Jesus!’ said Bruno. He looked at Frank. ‘And you want us to fight them?’
Frank ignored Bruno. ‘Those jets,’ he said. ‘Where did they come from?’
‘They’re American,’ I said.
‘That’s not what I asked. Where did they come from?’
I thought of Auerbacher’s remarks on his shortage of fuel and said, ‘How would I know? A carrier, maybe.’ I certainly wasn’t going to tell the truth about that. Haslam or Philips would be smart enough to figure out the likelihood of a fuel shortage. But a carrier could be anywhere.
Frank said, ‘I still say they wouldn’t shoot us down. They wouldn’t want that publicity.’
Terry, the one with the unlined young face, said, ‘They could follow us.’
‘All I get from you bastards is obstruction,’ snarled Frank. ‘If you want to say something, say something useful.’ He cocked his head on one side and listened.
The murmur of the cruising fighter jets had changed in quality and was becoming louder. Again the Phantoms slammed low across the airfield, deadening the brain by the sheer volume of noise. It was an awesome demonstration of raw power. I knew it was also the final demonstration. Auerbacher’s time was up and Hanna’s bluff could be called at any moment.
The jets faded into the distance and a bellow came up the hill from a loudspeaker. ‘This is Superintendent Hanna. You’ve got fifteen minutes to make up your minds. Then I take action. If you want to quit, then come down the road one at a time with your hands up. No guns. That’s all.’
‘I’m for quitting,’ said Philips. ‘We’re not going anywhere.’
Frank slapped him down quickly. ‘You’ll quit when I say you can.’
‘You want to know what I think?’ I said.
‘No,’ said Frank. ‘I don’t give a good goddamn what you think.’
‘I do,’ said Bruno.
‘So do I,’ said Haslam, and a couple of the others made noises of agreement.
I said, ‘You have two choices. You can stay here – that’s one choice. But how long for? The police have got more staying power than you have. They’ll be content to wait. They can starve you out.’
‘Then the people in that 707 will starve too,’ said Frank. ‘That’s our edge and we’re sticking with it.’
‘All right. Suppose you fly out in this Lear. Where are you going to go?’
‘You don’t need to know,’ said Frank. ‘That’s all arranged.’
‘It was all arranged. You don’t think any plans are going to stand up now, do you? If this had been a political hijacking you might have got away with it. There’d be some country that would take you in. But every government on the face of this earth will be against you. And every cheap crook in the world will be looking for you because they’ll know you have money and they’ll want a slice of it.’
Philips said, ‘He’s got a point.’
‘Shut up!’ said Frank. ‘Can’t you see what this guy’s trying to do? The plan still stands.’
‘With jets following you?’ I let that one hang in the silence, hoping to God nobody would challenge it. ‘There is something else you can do, though. You can stay here and wait for the troops. If you do, you’ll be very dead, the lot of you. And you’re a long time dead.’
Frank took out a gun. ‘One more word and you’ll be dead, buster.’
Haslam said, ‘Put down that gun, Frank.’ His own pistol was levelled.
Frank’s eyes blazed and the two of them held their stand-off for what seemed like an eternity. At last Frank lowered his gun. ‘You’re crazy,’ he said. ‘Any minute now he’ll be leading you down that goddamn hill one at a time.’
‘Which is just what I suggest,’ I said. ‘Okay, you’ll go to jail, but you’ll be alive and you’ll be out again one day. It may not be soon, but at least you’ll be around to see it. My advice is to cut your losses.’
‘I’m not going to jail,’ said Bruno. There was a tremulous note in his voice.
‘Listen!’ said Frank sharply, and everybody looked at him.
‘What is it?’ said Terry.
‘Just listen!’
We waited in silence. Bruno said, ‘I don’t hear anything.’
‘That’s it, you dumb son-of-a-bitch,’ said Frank. ‘There’s nothing to hear. Those jets have gone.’ He swung on Philips. ‘How much have we got off the Boeing?’
‘About half of it.’
‘That’ll have to do. We’re leaving. Now.’ He pointed at Haslam. ‘And you are flying us out.’
Haslam stood still for a moment, then went to the door of the hangar and stuck his head out. He came back quickly. ‘I think you’re right. They have gone.’ He nodded to Bruno. ‘Bring the tractor.’
Bruno ran outside and Frank said, ‘All right, everybody, start heaving those sacks.’ Haslam and Philips each grabbed the nearest sack of currency and dragged them to the Lear. Terry joined in. Frank pointed his gun at me. ‘And you stay quiet.’
‘I’m not going to stop you leaving,’ I said. I didn’t care if they got away with the lot, as long as the people in the Boeing were safe.
Bruno roared in driving one of those curiously specialised vehicles you see on airports, just an engine set between wheels with a seat on top and a steering wheel. It was probably weighted with concrete so it wouldn’t lift off the ground when it manoeuvred the Lear about the airstrip. He backed it up to the Lear, and Philips started fiddling with the fixings on the plane’s front undercarriage strut. Haslam yelled, ‘Everybody in – we’re leaving now. Never mind those bags.’
Haslam was first on board and Terry followed. Bruno revved his engine and looked over his shoulder at the flight deck of the Lear, waiting for Philips to hook it up to the tractor and for Haslam to give him the signal.
Frank was about to climb into the jet when there was a faint cry from outside the hangar. ‘Hey!’
Frank turned his head. ‘What the hell is it, Slim?’ he shouted.
The armed man who had been out by the Boeing’s cargo hold appeared at the door of the hangar. ‘Something’s ha
ppening on the runway.’
Frank said, ‘Go see what’s up, Bruno.’
Bruno looked behind him, saw that the drawbar was not yet connected to the Lear, and sped the tractor out of the hangar. Philips watched it go and threw up his hands in exasperation. ‘Bloody hell,’ he said to no one in particular.
Then he beckoned to Frank, who joined him while keeping a wary eye on me. ‘We take her out of the hangar,’ said Philips. ‘And as soon as we start the engines we’re on our way. There’ll be no preliminary run-up. If the police hear aircraft noises in here, they’ll start to move. You’d better get Slim on board.’
‘He can join us just before you start the engines.’ He grinned tightly. ‘I told you they were pulling a bluff with those fighters.’
Bruno appeared at the hangar door on foot. He came inside at a dead run, his legs pumping at the ground like pistons. He skidded to a halt and said breathlessly, ‘They’ve blocked the runway. Looks like three trucks.’
‘How far up?’ asked Philips.
‘About halfway.’
‘Son of a bitch!’ exploded Frank. ‘We ought to be able to clear those. There are enough of us.’
‘Not without an anti-tank gun,’ I said. ‘Those are armoured riot trucks.’ Silently I cursed Hanna. If he hadn’t done that, then this mob would have been away within minutes and the hostages would have been safe. Philips would never have gone ahead with his crazy parachute stunt now – there was no point.
Frank stared at me with wild eyes. I thought for a moment he was going to shoot me and I tightened for a quick dive. Then he yelled, ‘Everybody out!’
The men assembled again in front of the Lear. Frank had pulled himself together but he was still on the edge. ‘They might think they’ve stitched us up, but nothing’s changed. We still have the Boeing, and that means we still have control. Now comes the time to separate the men from the boys. I’m staying. Who’s with me?’
They looked at each other with sideways glances. Bruno said, ‘What’s the use? We’re boxed in.’
Frank looked at his watch then said, ‘You’re the one who said nobody’s going to put you in jail. And after two hours you’re ready to give up. Jesus, what a crowd.’
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