The Judas gate

12

As the Falcon descended on its approach, Holley, at the controls, said, 'Since the runway is parallel to the shore, I'm going to go straight in and have a look at the place first.' He went down to four hundred feet and roared in.

At Dafur the river emerged from the marsh; there was a surprisingly large stone jetty, another legacy of the Afrika Korps and Rommel, with two large launches alongside. Men in uniform gazed up, shading their eyes, but nobody waved.

'A cheerful bunch, aren't they?' Dillon said.

Miller, leaning over between Dillon and Holley, said, 'So it would appear. Did you notice the machine gun mounted on each launch?'

'I certainly did,' Dillon said.

It was a typical Arab fishing village, boats pulled up on the beach, nets, a range of flat-roofed houses painted a grimy white, most of them in various stages of decay. Poverty was very definitely evident and, from the look of the twenty or so villagers in shabby clothes who had turned out to watch the plane come in, it looked as if it was a daily companion.

The Falcon swept round, and landed, turned, taxied back to the village and stopped. Holley turned off the engines and Hakim came forward, followed by half a dozen policemen in khaki uniforms.

'That's our man,' Holley said.

'I know,' Dillon said, 'I saw his photo. I don't think much of his friends. An ugly bunch. They look as if the only thing they have on their minds is rape and pillage.'

Miller dropped the airstair door and Holley went out first. Hakim embraced him, and his men came to a halt, watching.

'The greetings of Allah, Daniel, my friend,' he said in Arabic. 'It has been too long.'

'To see you again, Colonel, is always a pleasure.' Holley kissed him lightly on each cheek. 'And how is Malik?'

'Missing you as always. Naturally, I've not informed him how far this business has gone. He's a worrier where you are concerned. Much better to achieve a successful conclusion and then tell him.'

'I agree completely.'

Hakim's men seemed to be surprised at Holley's fluent exchange with Hakim and were muttering amongst themselves. Holley now said, 'But my friends, Major Miller and Mr Dillon, don't speak Arabic. You must excuse them.'

Hakim moved into English. 'Gentlemen, a sincere welcome to Algeria. If my men can help you with your equipment in any way, you only have to ask.'

'Actually I could do with something to eat and maybe a drink,' Dillon said. 'But I suppose alcohol would be a difficulty.'

'Not at all,' Hakim said. 'We can handle that. Allow me to escort you to my boat.'

'That's fine,' Dillon said. 'You carry on, Daniel, I need Harry to help me with the controls. We'll catch up.'

He turned back to the Falcon, and went through the airstair door into the cabin, where Miller found him in the cockpit.

'What's going on?'

'Just killing a little time.' Dillon watched Hakim and Holley go. Several of the policemen were still hanging around the Falcon, looking it over and talking amongst themselves.

'I just wanted us to get away from Hakim and Holley. I don't like the look of that bunch of gorillas. They look all bad to me and I wonder why that should be.'

'I admit they don't seem very prepossessing,' Miller said.

'Which is a posh way of saying they look bloody awful,' Dillon told him. 'And as they've now been told we don't speak Arabic, I think it might be interesting to hear what they say about us.'

'Okay, let's test the water. I suggest we each take an AK47 loaded for bear, as they say.'

'Now you're talking,' Dillon said, and went and unpacked the holdalls.

When they emerged from the Falcon and went down the steps, Dillon closed and locked the airstair door, turned and smiled at the policemen hanging around, then said to Miller, 'Shall we go, old man?' He turned to the men, 'Where is Colonel Hakim?' He spoke rather slowly, as if to fools.

'That is the British for you,' one of the policemen said. 'Stupid and arrogant, Nadim, as if we were idiots.'

'What you say is true, but be patient: every dog has its day, and that day has come as far as these two are concerned.' Nadim, who was a Sergeant, pointed in a direction and said to Dillon, 'Hakim.'

'Thanks very much,' Dillon told him.

As he and Miller started to walk, another of the men said, 'The AK47s they've got are the fully automatic version. A very dangerous weapon.'

'Do not be afraid,' Nadim said. 'A knife in the dark can be just as effective.'

'And the small man carrying it doesn't look like much,' another said.

'Cut it out,' Nadim told him. 'Remember what Colonel Hakim said: these are dangerous men. You must be very careful. Remember the proverb. It is the cat which bides its time that catches most mice.'

They moved away, and Hakim appeared on the jetty and waved. 'So what do you make of that?' Miller asked.

'Well, it could just have been some Muslims shooting their mouths off. They don't like us much these days.'

'Dillon, I only speak a certain amount of Arabic, but what I could understand, I didn't like. You speak the language fluently, so for God's sake, you little Irish bogtrotter, tell me what you think.'

'Well, to put it inelegantly, I'd say we're in deep shite,' Dillon said. 'You are carrying?'

'Armed to the teeth, which includes my underwear if you count the vest.'

'Excellent. Let's go and enjoy Hakim's hospitality and see what unfolds. It intrigues me, the thought that the police could turn out to be our problem.' Dillon shook his head. 'Now why would that be? It would put Hakim on the other side, a man whom Daniel has known for years and respects, a government man.'

'Yes, well, life does have its little surprises.' Dillon waved to Hakim, who was standing in the stern of the launch with Holley. 'Join us for champagne,' Hakim called. 'You see we have everything. Then we'll go to the village cafe where they are preparing a meal – it's better than you would imagine.'

An orderly in a white jacket came forward and offered a tray, and Dillon and Miller accepted a glass each. 'To the friendship of our two great countries,' Hakim said. 'And especially to Daniel, who more than anyone has built the bridges that unite us.'

'Isn't that nice?' Dillon said. 'You have a way with the words, Colonel.'

Sergeant Nadim came along the jetty and stood waiting. Hakim said, 'Excuse me a moment.' He went down the short gangway to speak to him.

Dillon took the last glass from the tray, the orderly went below, and Miller said, 'You were saying how sensible it would be to keep quiet about being able to speak Arabic.'

Holley's face betrayed nothing. 'Tell me the worst.'

Which Dillon hurriedly did. 'It all sounded pretty menacing to me.'

Holley frowned. 'It's not that I disbelieve you. But he's been a friend for years.'

'Let's just stay alert and prepare to cope with whatever comes up,' Miller said.

Hakim returned. 'Excuse my bad manners, but I was just discussing your quarters with Sergeant Nadim. You'll be staying on the second boat, Evening Star. He'll command the boat with six men. He is very experienced in the ways of the Khufra, so he'll lead our little invasion, and I will follow, half an hour later, in Fortuna. General Ferguson expressed a wish for you to take part in the action, so I thought my plan would please you.'

'It certainly does,' Miller said.

'So, you will leave at dawn. Four in the morning, gentlemen. But for now, the Cafe Bleu awaits.'

As they went over the side to the jetty, Dillon murmured, 'I thought the French left this country years ago?'

Holley said, 'Just shut up, Sean, you never know. Maybe you'll get a surprise.'

Which they all did. It was a house slightly larger than the others, a terrace open to the sky and looking out to sea. Sergeant Nadim and four men armed with small Uzi machine guns stood guard, menacing and watchful.

There was French wine, Chablis, cold from a deep well where it had been hanging suspended by string. There was a roast lamb to be carved, mounds of rice, peppers of various kinds and onions that had been cooked with the lamb.

Afterwards, drinking more wine, Hakim said, 'I am sorry if the presence of guards has spoiled the meal, but there are those out there in the marshes, possibly even watching us now, who would kill me without compunction.'

'There is no need to apologize. Life is the most precious thing we have,' Dillon said. 'One must be willing to do anything to preserve it. Sometimes, however, even the guards are not enough.'

'Then what is, my friend? If we were sitting here, as we are now, and brigands from the Khufra rushed in to overwhelm us, what would you do?'

Dillon took a pineapple fragmentation grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin and held the release bar tight. 'I would point out that if I released the bar, I might kill myself, but also every person within a fifteen-metre radius.'

The four men with Nadim cried out and backed away hurriedly. Nadim stood firm and Dillon smiled. 'A brave man, your Sergeant, but we'd have died together.' He replaced the pin and put the grenade back in his pocket.

'My friend, you must be insane.' Hakim was horrified.

'Ah, well, I'm from County Down, and they say we're all a bit crazy there.' Dillon turned to his friends. 'I'll need to get a few things from the plane, Harry. If you'll help me, we can leave Daniel to chat on for a while.'

'Of course,' Hakim said, 'but I insist Sergeant Nadim and his men accompany you.'

Dillon said, 'A good man, the Sergeant. I'm sure he'll take care of us perfectly.'

There was a half-moon and a slight breeze as Dillon and Miller walked ahead, Nadim and his men behind.

'There was a purpose to your utterly mad act and now this?' Miller said. 'I'm right, aren't I?'

'Of course you are, but let me listen, Harry.'

They walked in silence, the murmur of conversation behind them, and reached the Falcon. Dillon found the key, opened the airstair door and led the way in. He reached for the weapons bag and opened it. 'I'll get an AK47 for Holley: he's going to need it.'

'Why?' Miller demanded.

'One of the cops asked Nadim why they couldn't cut our throats in bed while we were asleep on the launch. Nadim said it was necessary for us to die in action in the Khufra. He said Hakim had told him it would look better.'

'Anything else?'

'Oh, yes. One of the other guys tried to argue, and Nadim told him he had taken the oath from Colonel Hakim. You know what the oath was, Harry? To put his life on the line to serve Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. What do you think of that?'

'I learned a long time ago not to be surprised at anything in our line of work, Sean. It'll be terrible for Holley when we tell him the man who's been his partner's best friend since youth, is what he is. Do you think there's any chance Malik has gone the same way?'

'No, I honestly don't, for all sorts of reasons,' Dillon said. 'The most important thing here is that we've been sold a pup. Clearly, the purpose of our being here isn't to try to get our hands on Shamrock.'

Miller nodded. 'The whole thing has been a ruse to get us here so we could be executed. They were probably hoping that Ferguson and Billy would come along for the ride, too. So there's no Shamrock waiting with Hamza on Diva Island.'

'That's the crazy thing,' Dillon told him. 'It seems Shamrock actually did come in on a plane shortly before we did. He landed at some place called Fasa on the other side of the Khufra. Hamza and his daughter picked him up and he's with them now at Diva. Hamza has been in touch with Hakim, and everyone is very puzzled.'

'And why would that be?' Miller asked.

'It seems he talks like a Brit, but is disguised as a Tuareg, wearing dark blue robes, face veil, the lot!' Dillon smiled wolfishly. 'Wouldn't you say that's a trifle bizarre?'

'I could say a lot more than that,' Miller said. 'What's our next move?'

'To get back to the Evening Star and check in with Holley, who's going to get a bit of a shock. If Hakim is with him, have your AK handy, just in case.' Dillon picked up the weapons bag. 'Let's get moving.'

They left the Falcon, he locked the airstair door again and walked along the beach to the jetty, Nadim and his four men following. Hakim's boat, Fortuna, had five policemen lounging around it, smoking and passing a jug of wine from hand to hand. The second launch, Evening Star, was tied up at a point where the river was swallowed up in a wall of fifteen-foot reeds.

There was a small hut to one side, a large door open to reveal a range of army cots. Two policemen lounged there, smoking in slung hammocks. Nadim and his men joined them and, as Dillon and Miller went on board, Holley and Hakim appeared together, walking along the beach from the Cafe Bleu.

'Ah, there you are,' Hakim called. 'We thought we'd lost you.'

'No chance,' Dillon replied. 'Come and have a nightcap. I've brought a bottle of whisky from the plane, unless it would give you a problem.'

'Not at all, a delightful idea, and over a long life I have discovered that one thing is absolutely for certain. Allah is merciful and understanding of the frailties of men.'

'Excellent,' Dillon said. 'So come on board. Let's go below. The midges are beginning to bite.'

'But of course,' Hakim said amiably.

They went down to the saloon, sat on the benches on either side of the table, and Dillon put four glasses down and poured. He picked one up and toasted them. 'To friendship.'

'To friendship,' Hakim answered.

'Good, I'm glad we've got that over with.' Dillon took out the Walther and put it on the table. 'What would you say that is?'

Hakim laughed. 'A Walther PPK, the new silenced version.'

'Exactly,' Dillon told him. 'And the automatic AK47 which Major Miller is holding across his knees is also silenced, a rare model. He could open a porthole, stick the barrel out and have a very fair chance of knocking off Sergeant Nadim and those six men before they knew what hit them.'

'I'm sure he could, but why would he do such a thing?'

Holley said, 'Come on, Sean, the grenade was bad enough, but this is going a bit too far.'

'Really?' Dillon carried on in excellent Arabic. 'As you can see, we haven't been honest with you. Even Major Miller speaks some Arabic. Your men have been loose-tongued, discussing in our hearing how they would murder the stupid Englishmen. Of course, they got that wrong, as I'm Irish.'

Holley turned to the Colonel and said in Arabic, 'Tell me this is not true.'

Dillon poured himself another whisky. 'He's our man in Algiers as far as Al Qaeda and the Preacher are concerned. Nadim and his boys have all taken the oath at his hands. They were talking about it as we were walking to the Falcon.' Hakim's face had turned ghostly pale; he was consumed with uncertainty about what was going to happen next. Dillon added, 'It would seem obvious to me, Daniel, that he's been using his friendship with your partner, Hamid Malik, to no good purpose. This whole thing was an Al Qaeda sting, a ruse to draw us all in for summary execution.'

'So no Shamrock?' Holley said.

'Oh, yes, he landed in a plane on the far side of the Khufra, shortly before we got in, at a place called Fasa. He's with Hamza on Diva now, a puzzle to everyone. He speaks like a Brit and is disguised as a Tuareg.'

'You bloody sod,' Holley said to Hakim. 'I should kill you myself.'

'Don't let's be hasty,' Dillon said. 'He still has his uses.' He picked up the Walther and cocked it. 'If I shot you now, Nadim wouldn't hear a thing, so be sensible. Who is the Preacher?'

'The most powerful man in Europe. If I did know his name, which I don't, and told you, there would be no place to hide. He's the Preacher, a voice on the phone. It's impossible to trace the source of his calls.'

'There's no such thing as impossible,' Dillon told him.

'I thought that, too, and had experts try.' Hakim tried to make it sound convincing. 'They all failed.'

'You bastard,' Holley said bitterly. 'All Malik's years of friendship meant nothing to you.'

'Osama bin Laden meant more.' There were tears in Hakim's eyes. 'You must see this, Daniel. He is the greatest hope for the Arab world since the Prophet himself.'

'Strange,' Holley said. 'All I see are the never-ending bombs, the bodies in the streets.'

'Okay, let's move on from that and discuss what's going to happen.' Dillon was still holding the cocked Walther and smiled amiably at Hakim. 'I am prepared to kill you at any given moment. Your friends outside won't hear a thing. The only way you stay alive is by doing exactly as you're told.'

'So what do you want?'

'We'll go on deck and you tell Nadim you've changed your plans. You've decided to take command here on Evening Star and he can follow in Fortuna. Tell him to leave his six men as arranged. It might puzzle him if you didn't. Tell him you want to handle the situation yourself; say that you might go in earlier, but stress that he keep half an hour behind you.'

'And what do you intend to do?'

'Why, push our way through to Diva and get our hands on Shamrock.' Hakim frowned slightly. Dillon put the muzzle of the Walther between Hakim's eyes. 'This is your moment of truth. I could kill you now, and I'll certainly kill you on deck if you don't do as I say. Once we start on that, Major Miller will start spraying your men, and you know how destructive the automatic version of the AK47 is.'

'Only too well,' Hakim said bitterly. 'So let's get it over with.'

'When you speak to him, make it in Arabic,' Dillon said. 'That way I can hear exactly what he's saying about me without him realizing. Another thing.' He held out his hand. 'Your mobile phone.'

Hakim took it from his breast pocket, put it on the table, turned and went up the companionway, Dillon and Miller following. There were strange birds calling, cicadas, the voices of the marsh and the croaking of bullfrogs. The men were playing cards beside a coal brazier, two armed guards by the prow of the launch, a small fire glowing. Nadim was watching and smoking, and turned as they appeared, and Hakim called him over. He told him exactly what Dillon had told him to say.

'You think this wise, Colonel, exposing yourself in such a way? These people need handling with care, especially Dillon. I wish you would allow me to dispose of them for you. What is to be gained by this farce concerning the man Shamrock? What is he here for? It was not necessary.'

'He wants to have a hand in the killing,' Hakim said, 'so obey me in this. Make the change now, and have one of the men bring me my night robe and toilet bag from the Fortuna.'

Nadim glanced at Dillon, his expression giving nothing away, then turned, moved to the fire. He outlined the change of plan, then went into the hut. He came out five minutes later with his peaked cap on, carrying a holdall, and walked to the Fortuna at the far end of the jetty.

'We'll wait for someone to bring those things you wanted,' Dillon said. 'Have a cigarette, it will calm your nerves.'

Hakim did as he was told and offered one to Daniel, who said, 'Never again. I don't trust myself not to kill you now.'

The policemen playing cards retreated inside and made ready for bed, leaving just the two on guard. An orderly came running along the jetty, saluted Hakim, handed over the robe and toilet bag, and retreated.

'Time to go below,' Dillon said. 'You lead the way.'

Hakim did as he was told. In the saloon, Dillon took the toilet bag from him and emptied it while Miller checked the robe.

'Did you really think I might have a spare in there?' Hakim asked.

'Plenty of people do,' Dillon said. 'Now go and get your head down for a while and behave yourself.'

Hakim went and settled himself in a bunk in one of the stern cabins, and Dillon and his friends had a drink and discussed the plans. 'I'd like to see us move out at a different time than Hakim arranged,' he said.

'That was four o'clock in the morning,' Miller pointed out. 'Any earlier, it would be dark.'

'Would you think there was any kind of chance of slipping away without those six policemen?' Dillon asked.

Holley said, 'We could dispose of the sentries easily enough. There's that long pole on deck for punting the boat when in difficulty in the reeds, so you could float the boat some distance away before turning the engine.'

'And that would be enough to wake the dead.' Holley shook his head. 'That's no good at all. When we did the low approach in the plane, there were a few other boats further upstream from here. I think I'd better go for a walk and take Hakim with me. You two stay and keep the sentries happy.' Ali Hakim, instructed to come for a stroll and smoke a cigarette, did as he was told, and Holley found what he was looking for a hundred and fifty yards along a path beside the river. A shack with the door padlocked and a small jetty just above the water. There were two plastic orange inflatables with both outboard motors and oars. Each inflatable was capable of carrying five or six people. Holley had brought a lantern from the launch and examined them closely.

'Who owns these?'

'The coastguard service, but they hardly ever come. Local people frequently use them illegally, that's why you can smell the petrol. I've travelled in them myself.'

Holley gave him the lantern. 'Check them out.'

Hakim did. 'As I thought, somebody's been using them: both tanks are quite full. It's a push-button engine. Shall I show you?'

'I'll take your word for it. Let's go back.'

They sat at the table in the saloon and discussed it. Holley said, 'That would be the way to do it as far as I can see. It would be suicide to keep to Hakim's time. Omar Hamza would blow us out of the water. With these boats, you can cut the engine and approach with oars.'

'Just the two sentries to dispose of,' Miller said.

'No problem in that,' Holley said. 'And I've been thinking about the earlier start. The sky's clear and there's a lot of light from that half-moon. I say we go.'

'That's it then,' Dillon said. 'Back to your bunk, Hakim. I suggest we all get some shut-eye. Three o'clock it is.' Earlier on Diva, Justin, Hamza and Fatima had been drinking coffee when Hamza received a call. 'This is Sergeant Nadim. How is everything?'

'We are ready and waiting, but I haven't heard from Hakim and his phone isn't answering.'

'I suppose he could be sleeping.'

'It's certainly an early start.'

'Perhaps earlier than you think. He changed plans a couple of hours ago. Told me he was going to take command of our lead boat, Evening Star, and relegated me to Fortuna.

'Why did he do that?' Hamza asked.

'I've no idea. He's acting it up with our friends. I think he's enjoying himself, but that's playing with fire. He even said he might want to go in even earlier.'

'Than four o'clock? He must be mad. It will be dark, for one thing.'

'Yes, but getting lighter. I thought I'd better speak to you, as I know your strange friend is anxious to deal with them.'

'To a certain extent, that's true.'

'Wouldn't it be ironic if he got knocked off himself? This Dillon man is a maniac.'

'Well, that should make it interesting,' Hamza said. 'If Shamrock gets his way, there won't be much left for you and me. I'll see you in the morning.'

'What was that all about?' Fatima asked.

Hamza told them, and Justin yawned and said, 'I suppose I'd better get a couple of hours' sleep. What about you, Omar?'

'Gave up sleeping years ago in the Legion. They taught you how to do that. I only doze.'

'Was the Legion everything they say?'

'And more. Muslims, Jews and Christians and every colour under the sun and every race. Everyone was equal. Nothing like it anywhere else in the world. You'd have to go back two thousand years to the Roman legions to find anything similar.'

'I guess I missed out on that one.'

'What about you?'

'Grenadiers and SAS.'

'A formidable combination. You should do well in the morning. I'll see you then.' He went in his room and closed the door.

There was a kind of silence except for the marsh sounds, and it hung heavy between Fatima and Justin. She said calmly, 'Would you like to make love to me?'

He gave her one of his dazzling smiles. 'I'm not really in the market for that.'

'Are you of the other persuasion sexually?'

'Good heavens, no.'

'I see, so I am not attractive to you?'

'You are immensely attractive, Fatima. It's just that I wouldn't be good enough for you.'

'Do you mean in bed?'

'That's only about one per cent of any relationship. I'm not good enough for you or any woman: I'm a bad man. I spoil things and that includes relationships. I have a very, very wonderful mother and I spoil it for her, too.'

'I think that's the saddest thing I ever heard,' Fatima told him.

'I'm inclined to agree with you.'

She walked out and he sat there for a while, then pulled his rucksack over, produced his AK47, took it apart then put it together again effortlessly. Dillon came out of a catnap and found Holley standing by the other bunk, his face – beneath the crumpled jungle hat – already darkened. 'Come on, Sean, ready to go.'

He moved out, Dillon pulled on his hat, grabbed his weapons bag and AK47 and followed him into the saloon, where he found Miller already geared up. Hakim was sitting, waiting, and Holley was slinging his weapons bag across his body to the left. He picked up his AK47 in his right hand.

Dillon took some camouflage cream from a tin on the table and rubbed it on his face. 'What about the sentries?'

'I've taken care of that,' Holley told him. 'Shot them both.'

Hakim looked sick as Dillon said, 'That's all right then. Let's get out of here.'

They left the launch very quietly, everything still in the darkened shack, and moved along the path of the marsh in line, Dillon leading the way, Hakim next, then Miller, with Holley at the rear. When they reached the boats, they examined them quickly.

'I think we should take both,' Dillon said. 'Holley and Hakim in one because of that "special relationship", and Miller and me in the other. It means we've got backup.'

'I'll buy that,' Holley said. 'We'll row for a couple of hundred yards before starting the engines and, with luck, they can coast along on a very low rumble.'

'And remember the mobile phone,' Miller said. 'It'll be useful in this kind of terrain if you stray.' He said to Hakim, 'Get the oars out then, you bastard, and show us what you can do.'

The Colonel did as he was told. They led the way and Dillon and Miller followed, the Irishman at the oars. The reeds were alive with life in the pale moonlight as they floated past, wings beating and muted cries as they disturbed the birds.

After a while, Dillon said, 'I've had enough of this, so I'm shipping my oars and starting up.' His thumb on the button produced a gratifying growl, which he turned down until it balanced out to a pleasant throbbing. Hakim achieved the same results and they nosed into a sort of small lagoon, the reeds towering above them, the half-moon still glowing in a dark sky that was already clearing. They floated there together.

'Where are we?' Holley asked Hakim. 'How far to Diva?'

'Perhaps a mile,' Hakim told him, and pointed. 'From here, think twelve o'clock as you look ahead, and Diva is ten o'clock.'

Way behind them in the distance, there was the sound of an engine. 'It's one of the launches,' Hakim said and stood up.

There was the crack of a rifle quite close by and he was struck in the left side of his chest, spun round and went into the water. Holley reached over and got him by the collar and half turned the boat, towing Hakim behind.

'Get out of it, for God's sake, and into the reeds as quickly as you can,' he called. He crashed the boat through, came to a halt, switched off the engine and realized he was alone, except for Hakim in the water. So often in life, the most careful plans are disrupted for the simplest of reasons – in this case it was due to a police officer named Abu, one of those sleeping in the shack. Awakened by a bad stomachache, he had taken a torch and visited the outside latrine. He had noticed the absence of the two sentries and, on investigation, had found one of them in the water between Evening Star and the jetty. The further discovery that there was no one on the launch had sent him on the run to alert Nadim. The Sergeant's more thorough check had discovered the second sentry also in the water.

It seemed absurd to deduce from what had happened that Ali Hakim had been party to the murder of two of his own men, and the only plausible explanation was that the others had been responsible. As a quick search failed to discover Hakim's body, Nadim could only conclude that Dillon and his friends had taken him with them. But what for? He called Omar Hamza on his mobile.

Hamza listened to him, and Fatima and Talbot, awakened by the disturbance, awaited an explanation. Hamza said into his phone, 'God knows what's happened, but I suggest you come into the marsh heavily armed. I'll stay put in the trading post and greet them with a machine gun if they turn up here. Get moving.'

'What's going on?' Talbot asked.

Hamza told him. 'It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.'

'Well, it certainly does to me.' Justin was actually smiling. 'What bastards they are, Dillon and Holley. They know what we're up to. Don't you see, they've got Hakim with them, who's probably shot his mouth off, and he's leading them to me.'

He was full of energy, went back in the other room, hooked up his veil, slung his weapons bag across his chest and picked up his AK47.

'So what are you going to do?' Hamza asked.

'Go hunting, give them a nice surprise. What about you?'

'I've got an old Browning machine gun. I'll set it up on the jetty and await events.'

'Fort Zinderneuf?'

'Ah, you've read Beau Geste?' Hamza smiled. 'An Englishman named Wren wrote that book. He actually served in the Legion.'

'Very interesting, but that was then, this is now. These men who are coming are killers of the first water.'

'I know this, my friend, if only because I trained Daniel Holley myself. I can only wish you luck.' He turned to Fatima. 'What about you?'

'I think I'll go with him. You know what you're doing, he doesn't. He thinks he knows everything, this one, but he doesn't know the marsh and he could get lost. We'll take Stingray.'

'You're worse than your mother was.' Hamza shrugged. 'As Allah wills.'

Talbot followed her outside and looked down at the Stingray. 'Is the sport fisherman the sensible boat to use? I'd have thought an inflatable with an outboard.'

'The reeds are fifteen and sometimes twenty feet high, so they'll conceal the upper deck, but at the same time, standing at that wheel, I can peer over occasionally and see where we are and what's going on.'

'That makes perfect sense.' He dropped down to the deck and she followed. 'I'll be guided by you, so let's get moving.'

She cast off and went up the ladder to the wheel, and Talbot followed and stood beside her, the AK cradled in his arms. It started to rain; as they drifted out, she switched on the engine and kept it down to a low rumble. There was the grey light of dawn now, and a curtain of mist floated in.

'When we have the heat of high summer and unexpected heavy rain, it produces the mist,' she told him.

'At least it makes it easier to play hide and seek,' he said.

They nosed into the reeds. Suddenly, wildfowl lifted in a cloud some little distance away, the birds angrily calling, and Fatima cut the engine.

'Something caused that. Keep your head low, but we can look with caution.' She produced a pair of Zeiss glasses from the map compartment and focused them. 'Ah, a flash of orange.' She nodded and turned to him, handing the glasses over. 'And another. Two of them. Inflatables with outboards.'

'Can we get closer?'

'Not without making a noise. I'll try using the pole. You stay here watching.'

She went down to the stern and commenced, and Talbot watched cautiously as the reeds parted and Stingray floated through; some distance away to the left he could hear the sound of an engine.

'What do you think?' he called down to Fatima.

'It sounds like two engines. I think Nadim has probably brought both boats.'

'How many men?'

'Sixteen or so. Each boat has a machine gun mounted. There's nothing those bastards like better than sweeping the marshes with those things, shooting everything in sight like schoolboys playing with toys.'

'The next thing you'll be saying is: that's men for you. Just a little closer, if you will.' She did as he asked, and everything happened in a hurry.

'There they are, two small orange inflatables in a waterway. Two men to each boat. I can't see who it is because they're wearing jungle kit and their faces are black, but here goes.'

He took deliberate aim and fired twice, saw his target fall into the water. 'Did you get him?' Fatima called up.

'Oh, yes.' Talbot smiled in triumph and, for a moment, forgot to keep low. Sean Dillon, with an uncertain glimpse of the Tuareg who was Shamrock, took a snap shot. It drilled Talbot's left side, and he staggered back awkwardly, dropping the AK and sliding down the ladder.

Fatima was on her knees. 'Merciful Allah, how bad is it?'

'Well, I wouldn't know, would I?' He managed a smile. 'You'll have to take a look. I've got a medical kit in my rucksack. You must find the morphine. When you're first shot, the shock kills the pain, but not for long.'

The engines of the approaching launches sounded louder now. 'They're coming fast,' Fatima said.

'Yes, well, let's keep our heads down and stay out of it. Just let them get on with it. If you look in my rucksack, you'll find half a bottle of Cognac, too. Get me that first.' Holley had dragged Hakim out of the water, and the Colonel lay there groaning, soaked to the skin, blood oozing through. He was obviously in a very bad way. Holley had been aware of the return shot and called out. 'Dillon, Miller, where are you?'

There was no reply, so he took out a spring knife and cut open Hakim's tunic. He knew just how bad it was straight away, and Hakim moaned, 'I'm going to die, Daniel.'

'Shut up and lie still,' Holley said. 'This isn't exactly the best place for medical treatment.' He took two morphine ampoules from his bag because he figured one wouldn't be enough, jabbed them in, tore open a pack containing a wound dressing, and applied it.

Hakim shook his head. 'A waste of time. This is Allah's punishment on me for my betrayal of you and Malik, the most shameful thing I have ever done in my life.'

'Don't worry about it,' Holley told him. 'I understand. Osama, Al Qaeda and the Preacher really had you in their clutches.'

Hakim clutched at Holley. 'But at least I can make amends before I go.'

'And how would you do that?'

'To others, the Preacher is just a voice on the phone, but not to me. I gave the special mobile he supplied to an electronic genius. He managed to break into the system.'

'And who is the Preacher?' Holley said, suppressing his excitement.

'He's a British-born Muslim named Hassan Shah. He lives in Bell Street, West Hampstead, I've checked. He's investigated war crimes for the British Government and is a Professor in International Law at the London School of Economics.'

'Good God almighty,' Holley said. 'We've got the bastard.'

'Yes, I believe you have.' Hakim's hand tightened on Holley's jacket, he convulsed, and his head fell to one side.

Holley sat there looking at him for a moment, wondering about his next move, but he was not given a choice. Small waves rippled though the reeds as the speed of whichever boat was approaching increased, and then the boat's heavy machine gun sprayed recklessly through the reeds and there was coarse laughter.

The inflatable rocked violently as the launch passed, and Holley took a fragmentation grenade from his bag and lobbed it over blindly. There were cries of dismay, followed by a violent explosion. He eased out into the channel and saw the Evening Star well alight. Two men with their uniforms on fire jumped into the water. Holley took another grenade out and lobbed it after the others, which seemed to finish the boat and the entire crew.

But there was still the Fortuna somewhere out there; Holley could hear the engines and the sound of its heavy machine gun firing into the reeds at random. He called Dillon on his Codex.

'What's your situation?' Dillon demanded.

'Hakim was hit by a sniper. Never saw who, but he's dead.'

'The sniper was Shamrock in his Tuareg get-up. I fired back and he definitely went down.'

'I got the Evening Star with two grenades and watched them die. Where are you?'

'Not far away at all. We'll move closer to the boat and find you.'

'Well, one other thing I must tell you, in case I get knocked off myself. It turns out that Hakim knew the name and address of the Preacher.'

'Jesus, Mary and Joseph,' Dillon said. 'Tell me.' Which Holley did, and Dillon said angrily: 'The bastard. I can just see him now, standing in the dock at the Old Bailey claiming his human rights.'

There was another burst of obviously haphazard machine gun fire not too far away. 'So what are we going to do?' Holley asked.

'Do you still have Hakim's body?'

'Sure I do. I didn't know what to do.'

'We're only yards away from the Evening Star and it's burning nicely. Start calling out and we'll call out, too, and see if we can get together before the Fortuna turns up. If Nadim's still on it, he won't be pleased.'

A hundred yards or so away, the machine gun fired again, so Holley started up, shouting, and could immediately hear Dillon and Miller calling. In a few minutes, they connected.

'Now what?' Holley asked.

'Hakim did us nothing but harm in life,' Dillon said, 'but I've got a use for him in death. Don't waste time, because the Fortuna's coming up fast. We'll dump your inflatable next to what's left of the Evening Star with Hakim sitting up in it, the perfect ambush.' Nadim was at the wheelhouse of the Fortuna as it broke out into the channel and saw the smoke and what was left of the Evening Star still burning. His men cried out angrily as bodies floated by, and then Nadim saw the inflatable and Hakim propped up in it. There were cries of rage from the men.

Nadim cut the engine and came out. 'Get the pole and hook him in.'

Three men started to do that. There were only the marsh sounds in the rain, smoke drifting, the fire crackling as they lifted Hakim up on to the deck.

Nadim had never known such rage. 'Dillon,' he roared out in Arabic, 'I will cut you to pieces, and feed you to the fishes when I find you.'

'Over here,' a voice responded in Arabic.

The grenades bounced on deck, two at the same time, then a third that rolled against Hakim. It was the last thing Nadim saw on this earth. Somewhere nearby in the rain, there was the sound of a plane taking off, but in the mist there was little to see.

'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?' Holley asked Miller and Dillon.

'I definitely shot the Tuareg,' Dillon said.

'Well, let's do the sensible thing and go see your friend Omar Hamza,' Miller said to Holley.

As they emerged at the side of the lagoon, they saw the sport fisherman, with Fatima at the wheel, moving towards the trading post. Holley checked through his binoculars. 'Hamza's sitting beside a Browning machine gun,' he said, and called loudly across the water. 'It's Daniel, let's talk.'

Fatima got out of the sport fisherman and tied up and turned to look at them all. Hamza shouted, 'Okay, come over.' He was drinking beer and sitting there beside his machine gun when they arrived. Fatima leaned in the doorway, arms folded, watching them closely.

Hamza said, 'So you've been killing again, Holley? How many?'

'All of them except for Ali Hakim. Shamrock shot him twice.'

'So he's dead?'

'He lived long enough to tell me a few interesting things. Was that Shamrock flying away?' 'So it would appear,' Hamza said.

'I thought I'd shot him,' Dillon said. 'He shot Hakim.'

Fatima nodded. 'So you did. You hit him in the left side and the bullet came out through his back.'

'And you patched him up?' Dillon asked.

'He had a military kit. He told me what to do. I gave him morphine.'

'And then took him to his plane?'

'Yes, his friend was waiting.'

'What kind of plane was it?' Miller asked.

'I have no idea.'

'He was English, I believe, not an Arab.'

It was her father who said, 'That's enough. Go, Daniel, and don't come back.'

'Just one more thing. He was in reasonable health when you left him. You gave him the penicillin in the kit, and soon?' said Dillon.

'Oh yes, I did everything he told me – not that it will do him the slightest good. He's obviously going to die and I think he knows it.'

She went inside, leaving a stunned silence, and Hamza said, 'That's it, on your way.' He patted the machine gun. 'Unless you want to argue with this.'

'Whatever you say, old friend,' Holley told him. 'I think you can take it that we won't be back.'

'You weren't even here, as far as we're concerned,' Hamza said. 'I imagine that's the way the authorities in Algiers will look at it. After all, an Al Qaeda operation is the last thing they'd want to have anything to do with.' The heavy rain kept what little life there was in Dafur indoors. They dumped the inflatable in the creek, walked down to the runway where the Falcon stood, silent and waiting. Holley took the controls and, within five minutes, they were taking off. Dillon found himself a drink and Miller called Roper on his Codex.

'That was quick. Did you finally come face to face with Shamrock?'

'In a way, I suppose. The whole thing was a sting.'

'What do you mean?'

'Ali Hakim turned out to be Al Qaeda's man in Algiers.'

'God in heaven,' Roper said.

'You can imagine what a shock it was for Holley. The story about Shamrock having dealings with Hamza was just bait for us to go and get knocked off. They'd hoped Ferguson would be there, too.'

'So no Shamrock?'

'No, he turned up. Apparently, he wanted to enjoy dealing with us personally.'

'Just start at the beginning, so I can make some sense of it,' Roper said.

Which Miller did, and when he was finished, said, 'So there it is. Shamrock winging his way back to wherever he came from, with the pilot who flew him in and waited for him.'

'Badly wounded and dying, according to this Fatima girl.'

'She's a strange one, but that's what she said.' Miller was repeating himself now. 'Dillon shot him in the side and the bullet went straight through.'

'And he's making a flight to we don't know where, which could take hours. He's committing suicide.'

'Well, that's the story and it's obviously not finished yet.'

'It's incredible. You've certainly had an extraordinary outing this time. God knows what Ferguson will make of it.'

'He'll be over the moon about one thing. We now know who the Preacher is. Imagine, a Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics, and he's moonlighting for Al Qaeda in London.'

'If you wrote it up, nobody would believe it,' Roper said.

'I would: my father knew Kim Philby at Cambridge,' Miller told him. 'Anything been happening while we've been away?'

'There hasn't been time, Harry. You've hardly been away. Take it easy. I'll see you soon.'