Hot Pursuit

60

Holly answered on the first ring. “Talk fast,” she said.

“Holly,” Millie replied, “sit down. This is going to take time to explain. Where are you now?”

“In the car with the president.”

“This is what has happened, or what we think is happening.” She ran through her day as quickly as possible.

“Tell me what you want to do,” Holly said when she had finished.

“We need the president’s authorization for a surreptitious entry into a building owned by a foreign embassy, and, if the surreptitious part fails, to engage and detain foreigners carrying diplomatic passports.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“That’s all so far,” Millie replied.

“Well, I’m going to have to get back to you on that,” Holly said, then hung up.

Millie waited for the better part of an hour for a callback, and when it didn’t come she went into the conference room, where Quentin and his team sat around, looking nervous and occasionally monitoring the monitors.

“I take it you spoke to Holly Barker,” Quentin said.

“I did.”

“And?”

“And she’ll get back to us.”

“We’re losing time,” Quentin said. “We’ve got to do this tonight, if we’re going to stop them. We can’t be put in a position where our only alternative is to shoot down the drone after it takes off.”

“I’ve explained that to Holly, and I expect she’s explaining it to the president right now. If you want to be sure of being ready, I suggest you start planning for both alternatives now.”

Quentin stood up. “Okay, everybody, we’re going to split into two teams: Ian, how’s this? We’re sixteen in all — you pick four Brits, and I’ll pick four Americans. One of us will plan a black ops rooftop incursion, the other will plan to destroy the drone after it flies off the roof. Which operation do you want?”

“I think I’d better take the one that requires live rounds to be fired over London,” Ian said. “We can’t have Yanks doing that.”

“That’s good reasoning,” Quentin said. “You and your people take the conference room, and my group will meet in my office.”

Everybody started to move, but the ringing of Millie’s cell phone stopped them.

“Hello?”

“Are you with Quentin?” Holly asked.

“Yes, we’re in the conference room with the whole team.”

“Put this on speaker, then.”

Millie pressed the button. “We’re on speaker, Holly.”

“We’re now at the Rome embassy, and the president has just teleconferenced with Lance Cabot, Lev Epstein, and Dame Felicity. They have confirmed your account of the earlier teleconference as correct in every respect, so congratulations.”

“Thank you. What are our instructions?”

“You are to divide yourselves into two teams, each half Brit, half American. Team one, under the command of Quentin Phillips, is to gain surreptitious access to the rooftop of Regency House, there to capture or destroy whatever weapon it finds there, hopefully without being discovered or having to shoot anybody. In the event of the failure of that mission and the launching of a drone or other means of attack, team two, under the command of Ian Rattle, will destroy it the moment it leaves the roof, by any means deemed necessary, up to and including RAF aircraft. These operations are to commence at six AM, London time. The Washington operation will commence at one AM, local time. You are to capture and detain Larry and Curly, the twins known as David and Derek Kimbrough, unharmed if at all possible, and transport them, under guard, to RAF Northolt airfield, from where, later in the day, they will be picked up by an aircraft and flown directly to Dahai. Is that all perfectly clear?”

“Yes, Holly,” Millie replied.

“I assume you’ve recorded this conversation?”

Millie looked at Quentin, who nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then play it back so that no one can doubt the instructions, then destroy the recording. Any questions?”

“Holly, it’s Quentin Phillips. How will the Washington operation be conducted?”

“They will be commanded by Lev Epstein, whose instructions are identical to yours. The Dahai embassy has a sultanate aircraft on the ground at Dulles, and Ali Mahmoud will be placed on that aircraft under armed guard. It will be flown to Northolt, where it will be refueled and take on the twins and be escorted by teams of British and American fighters to the border of Dahai on the Gulf of Aden. The Dahai pilots will be told that if they deviate from that flight plan in any way, their aircraft will be destroyed. Any other questions?”

Quentin shook his head. “No, Holly,” Millie replied, and they both hung up. “Well,” she said to Quentin, “you read their minds, didn’t you?”

“It would seem so,” Quentin replied, then he opened the conference room door and called to Ian, “Do you have — either in service or under development — a helicopter that can fly very, very quietly?”

“I thought you might ask,” Ian replied. “I have already requisitioned it.”

“Thank you,” Quentin said, “and please ask them to have two invalid litters aboard.”

“Already done.”

Quentin smiled and closed the door.

“Do we have such an aircraft in or around Washington?” Millie asked.

“You bet your sweet ass we do, and you can also bet that Lev has already commandeered it.”