I've kept my combat logs, and in
rereading them I realized the mission
could not have been successful without
his particular strategic contribu-
tions. They're hung. Both ways. A man
won't inform on a crime that couldn't
have been committed without his
expertise especially when it's worth
an additional half million and he sure
as hell doesn't want his fellow con239
.
1
spirators to know he got preferential
treatment to the tune of a half
million."
"My Godl" Sam could not stop the
admiration from creeping into his
voice.
"Clausewitz makes it clear that you
don't engage the Berber in the same
way you do battle with the king's
dragoons. It's a question of
applicable tactics."
Devereaux, once again, was struck by
the Hawk's sheer boldness. He spoke
softly, barely above a whisper,
"You're talking about Jesust three and
a half million dollars!"
"That's correct, you add real quick.
And a million apiece for the girls,
that's four more million. Plus the
original compensation for the
officers, another three and a half.
And for your information, though I
should probably reconsider, I've got
another bearer bond Fir you. That's a
million on your paysheet."
"What?"
"I kind of suspected you never
understood the forty-mill
capitalization. I didn't just come up
with a figure, you know. That sum was
arrived at after very careful
deliberation. I got a booklet from the
Securities and Exchange Commission
which told what to look for in sound
corporate financing. You see, before
the company even markets its services,
we have a preoperation salary outlay
of close to fifteen million; then
there was the capitalization expenses,
including travel and front money and
finder's fees I Linda screwed you on
that, son, but I knew you had good
things coming and the corporate real
estate and the equipment indigenous to
the marketing sources....
Involuntarily, Sam's ears distorted
the sound waves. Isolated phrases such
as "aircraft purchases estimated at
five million," and "shortwave
communication relays coming in at a
million-two," and "refurbishing, and
supplies," and "additional company
offices" all these came through with
sufficient clarity to make Sam wonder
where he was. Stark naked under an
eiderdown quilt somewhere in
Switzerland, or fully clothed in a
boardroom somewhere in the Chrysler
Building. Unfortunately for the state
of his stomach, everything came
together with the Hawk's brief
summation.
240
"This SEC booklet was very specific
about liquid assets available for
reserve capital. It recommended a
point spread of twenty to thirty
percent. Then I checked out the
custom-of-the-trade practices with
limited partnership agreements and
found that the overcalls were
generally ten to fifteen percent,
which struck me as inadequate. So I
skulledabit and decided on twenty-five
percent plus. And that's what we've
got. The budget projections prior to
marketing come to just about thirty
million. Taking that as the base
figure, you add twenty-five percent
plus, or ten million for contingency.
That makes forty million and that's
what I raised. Damned sound economics,
I'd say."
Devereaux was temporarily speechless.
His mind was racing but no words came.
MacKenzie the military fruitcake was
suddenly Hawkins the conglomerate
financier. And that was more
frightening than anything he had
previously considered. Military
principles (or lack thereof
when combined with industrial
principles (of which there was a lack
thereof did a military-industrial
complex make. The Hawk was a walking
military-industrial complex!
If there was strident urgency in
Sam's stopping MacKenzie before, it
was tripled now.
"You're invincible," said Sam
finally. "I rescind all my previous
reservations. Let me join you, really
join you. Let me earn my silly
million."
-
241
ClIAPI`ER TWENTY-ONE
Each officer had been assigned a color
in French. Not only was French spoken
by everyone, but the sounds of the
color words were more distinctive in
French than in any other language.
The AmeicanNegro from Crete was
IVoir; of course. The Viking from
Stockhohn, Cris; the Frenchman from
Biscay was Bled, while his countryman
from Marsilles was Vert the
dark-skinned non-Black from Beirut was
Bran; Rome was Orange; and t'inally,
Athens was Rouge, in honor of his ever
present kerchief. To instill a
sense~of discipline and identity among
the men, the Hawk further insisted
that the word "Captain" precede each
color.
This aspect of authority and
identity was desirable because
MacKenzie's second command by
necessity stripped his men of their
specific individualities. For Ground
Zero's assault was to be made in
stocking masks. Head and face hair
were to be at a minimum; skins
powdered or bleached to medium
Caucasian hues, and all ambulation
which, no 'doubt, had been studiously
disguised, drastically changed.
The men accepted the order without
question. Razors and scissors and
bleaching agents went to work; none
had any desire to stand out any more
distinctly from his fellow officers
than basic nature dictated. There was
security in anonymity, and they knew
it.
The maneuvers progressed into the
fourth week. The forest road bordering
the Machenfeld field had been shaped
to cvntorm as accurately as possible
to the site of Ground Zero; boulders
had been moved, trees uprooted, whole
areas of bush transplanted. A second
location had been selected and
cosmeticized: a winding, narrow, back
road that descended a relatively steep
hill in the woods.
242
i
In redesigning both these sites the
men worked from enlarged
photographs 123 photographs, to be
exact sent by an agreeable tourist in
Rome by the name of Lillian
vonSehnabe. However, Mrs. von Schnabe
did not take credit for her films. As
a matter of fact, the rolls were sent
undeveloped by two relays of couriers
unknown to each other and delivered to
a bewildered Rudolph in Zermatt. In
several cases of tampons. Rudolph put
the strange cargo in the trunk of his
Italian taxi, underneath the tools. A
man had his dignity to consider.
On the third day of the fourth week
the Hawk scheduled the first complete
run-through of the assault. By
necessity it was a start-stop
hold-to-position exercise as the men
switched around, assuming the pivotal
roles of the adversary. Motorcycles
raced, limousines sped, figures in
stocking masks leaped from their
stations to perform the tasks
assigned. Using a stopwatch, MacKenzie
clocked each phase of the maneuver; he
had developed eight basic phases for
the entirety, from incursion to
escape. And goddamn, his officers were
progressing beautifully! They knew
that the overall success of Ground
Zero depended on the complete success
of each individual assignment within
each speciBc phase. The concept of
failure was not attractive.
Which was why the captains objected
unanimously to the Hawk's prime
tactical innovation: total absence of
hand weapons. A well-placed knife or
a rapidly exercised garrote had served
them all in past skirmishes, more
often than not being the difference
between survival and capture. But
MacKenzie was adamant: It would be
both guarantee and proof that no harm
would come to the pope until the
ransom was paid. Therefore, all
pistols, knives, coils, foot studs,
knee cleats, finger points even
pig-iron knuckles were eliminated.
Forbidden, too, were any forms of
hand-to-hand above the level of basic
jukato.
Eventually, they accepted the
limitations. "In Sweden there is a
saying," intoned Captain Gris in his
Nordic lilt. "One Volvo in the garage
is worth a lifetime of passes on the
Scandinavian railroad. I shall
accommodate the commander."
"Oui," agreed Captain Bleu, the
Frenchman from Biscay. 243
~ For the recompense involved,.! shall
sing them to sleep with Gascogne
lullabies, if it is required."
But lullabies were not required.
Instead sleep was to be induced by
half-inch hypodermic needles
dispensing solutions of sodium
pentothal. Each officer would be
outfitted with a thin bandolieracross
his chest, which carried tiny
hypodermic needles in small rubber
receptacles where once had been
bullets. They were easy to extract
swiftly. If administered properly,
within a three-inch diameter on the
lower right area of the neck, the
anesthetic would take effect in
seconds. The problem was merely to
immobilize the victim for those brief
moments until the drug caused
collapse. It was not a difficult
problem and since there'd be
considerable noise from the vehicles,
even a partial scream or two might go
unnoticed.
So the officers, heeding the words
of wisdom from Gris and Bleu,
reevaluated their objections to the
Hawk's order. In a way it was a
challenge; and none were interested in
lifetime passes on the Scandinavian
railroad. Not when he could own a
fleet of Volvos.
Each captain's expertise was called
on. Captain Gris and Bleu were masters
of camouflage- and escape cartography.
Captain Rouge was an expert in
demolition; he had personally blown up
six piers in the Corinth strait when
it was rumored the American fleet was
sailing in. Sedative medicines were a
specialty of the Englishman, Captain
Brun, who had darkened his skin for a
life in Beirut, most narcotics held
interest for him. Aircraft technology
and electronics were covered
brilliantly. The first, of course, was
the bailiwick of Captain Noir, whose
exploits in Houston and Moscow were
legend. The second was the province of
Captain Vert, who found it necessary
in Marseilles to devise an
extraordinary variety of radio
communications. It was such a busy
port; and Interpol was always
underfoot.
Lastly, native orientation was left
to Captain Orange, who knew Rome like
the back of his constantly gesturing
hand. He would write out full
descriptions of eight
innocuous-looking sets of clothing
that blended into the current dress,
and further, he would provide a
minimum 244
of four separate methods of
transportation, using public
conveyances where feasible, to the
site of Ground Zero. For during the
final days of the fourth week, each
captain was to travel to Rome and
personally survey the assault area.
The airfield at Zaragolo would be no
problem; they agreed to that. And
neither would the helicopter at Ground
Zero. It would be flown in the night
before the assault. Grisand Bleu
assured them the camouflage would be
undetectable.
Coddamn, thought MacKenzie as he
snapped the stopwatch at the end of
the maneuver's Phase Eight. Twentyone
minutes! In another day or so it would
get to the optimum eighteen. He felt
a surge of pride in his once bemedaled
chest. His machine was emerging as one
of the finest ministrike forces in the
military books.
Even the three privates (the
diversionary troops) were splendid.
They had but two functions: scream and
lie still. But as was proper for the
lowest enlisted ranks, they knew
nothing. They had been recruited by
Captain Brun from the poppy fields
high in the Turkish hills, to which
they would return the instant Ground
Zero was terminated. They'd been hired
to perform at a fixed price, did not
care to know anything and, naturally,
were housed by themselves in enlisted
quarters and did not eat at the
officers' mess.
They were called simply: Privates One,
Two, and Three.
The run-through completed, the
officers gathered around the Hawk
beside the huge blackboard he'd set up
on an A-frame in the field. Sweat was
pouring- through their stocking masks.
Those in priestly habits took them off
carefully, studying them for repairs
that might be needed; and
the
inevitable cigarettes and matches came
out of pockets. No lighters;
fingerprints could be lifted from
lighters.
The three privates, naturally, went
off by themselves. In sight but not
within hearing. Enlisted personnel
were not privy to tactical analyses,
it was not proper.
The analysis began. Although
immensely pleased Hawkins did not
dwell on the positive; he told them
their mistakes, 245
marking up the blackboard with his
criticisms with such sharp authority
that the officers cowered like rebuked
children.
"Precision, gentlemen! Precision is
everything! You must never allow your
concentration to lapse, even for a
second! Captain Noir, you're cutting
your time too close between Phase One
and your station in Phase Six. Captain
Gris you had trouble with your cassock
over the uniform. Practice it, man!
Captains Rouge and Brun, your execu-
tion of Phase Five was just plain
sloppyl Take out that radio equipment!
Go over your moves! Captain Orangel
Yours was the most serious lapse of
ail!"
"she cost I make no mistakes!"
"Phase Seven, Captain! Without the
proper execution of Phase Seven, the
whole mission goes up in mortar smoke!
That's the exchange, soldier! You're
the one who speaks Italian best. I put
this Frescobaldi in the pope's car and
take the pope. Where the hell were
you?"
'In position, Generale!"
"You were on the wrong side of the
road! And Captain Bleu, for an expert
at camouflage, you stuck out like a
plucked duck in your Phase Four
station! Cover; man! Use the foliage
for cover!
"Now, as to this latrine rumor that
some of you are unhappy over Phase
Eight, the escape routes to Zaragolo;
that a few of you figure we should
have two copters at Ground Zero. Well,
let me tell you, there's no contingen-
cy for radar, gentlemen. One small
Robert Ludlum - Road To Gandolfo.txt Page 35