Not to our knowledge, Roper said. His plane had a flight plan to Bahrain. Since then it s dropped out of view. It s an Arab plane owned by a wealthy sheikh, flying in Gulf airspace. He shrugged. It might as well be invisible. On the other hand, if it has landed at Peshawar, it hasn t done anything wrong. We all know how corrupt the situation is in Pakistan. It s easy for Ali Selim to be passed through, and after all, he isn t going to stay there. According to Jemal, he intends to cross the border into Afghanistan to this village called Amira.
One thing in our favor, Ferguson said. Our old friend Seleman Hamza has been promoted to colonel in charge of the military police headquarters in Peshawar. He s not only on our side, he hates Al Qaeda.
So you are completely in charge, General, not the Cabinet Office, Roper said.
A statement, not a query, and Ferguson smiled. Just the way I like it. Tell me about this Amira place.
About forty miles inside Afghanistan, west of the Khyber Pass.
So an illegal crossing is necessary. Ferguson nodded, thinking about it.
Definitely, Roper said. A dangerous trip by road in the backcountry, which I believe they call the Wilderness. A helicopter would be better.
Which would mean the Pakistani Army having to look the other way. That s where Colonel Hamza would be useful. I believe there are private firms flying cargo in old Soviet Raptor helicopters and vehicles like that. Money talks, so something could be arranged. He s bound to have the right contacts.
It was Dillon who said, Remember Ben Carver, who we used to use in Hazar? He sold his air taxi firm to a guy named Greg Slay, a captain in the Army Air Corps. Helicopters and fixed-wing. Got a DFC in Iraq. The old military airfield where he s based is used regularly for refueling by RAF traffic on the way to the war zone in Pakistan.
Good thinking, Ferguson said. Get in touch with him, Giles. Make him an offer he can t refuse, and tell him I want him at Peshawar International Airport within twelve hours. He ll arrange a lift, I ve no doubt, from some RAF transport plane passing through.
I ll get right on it.
I suggest we all stay over in staff quarters, but I ll be in my office for a while discussing things with the Cabinet Office. So contact this chap Slay, Giles, then Colonel Hamza in Peshawar, and notify Parry and Lacey to be on standby with the Gulfstream at Farley Field. Have I missed anything?
With respect, sir, it s important to know every aspect of the situation, and I don t think we have that, Sara said.
Ferguson frowned. In what way are we lacking?
The Art of War says: Allowing your enemy to choose the field of battle will only serve his purpose, not yours.
And what exactly is that pearl of wisdom supposed to tell us?
The village of Amira. Why has he chosen it and what goes on there?
Roper cut in. I looked it up, Sara. The population is no more than seventeen or so. It s too barren for poppy cultivation, and the climate isn t right there s rain and a certain amount of snow at this time of year. It s goats, sheep, subsistence farming. They re mountain people, and Pashtu speaking.
A fair description of Poverty Row, Dillon put in.
So what s his agenda and what s he doing there? We fought a battle in the garage with silenced weapons, foiled his bomb attack on Parliament, his niece is dead, Jemal is in our hands. There s been nothing in the newspapers or on television, so he can only conclude that it all ended in failure, Sara said.
So what are you saying? Ferguson demanded.
When you re on the run, having done bad things, you expect to be hounded. It s the law of nature. For every action, there s a reaction.
Ferguson said patiently, And what would that be, my dear?
She took a deep breath, glanced at the others, then back to Ferguson and smiled sweetly. I haven t the slightest idea, General, dear, except that you ll be in a village at the backside of nowhere with a bunch of tough mountain Pashtu-speaking boys who won t even go to the lavatory without an AK-47 dangling from one shoulder, and maybe, just maybe, Ali Selim is waiting for you to turn up.
Ferguson burst into laughter. Sara Gideon, I suspected you were a woman of parts, and I ve just been proved right. Anything to add?
Well, I would point out that you all speak Arabic to some degree or other, but as Pashtu was one of the main reasons you recruited me, I do think I should be included on this one. I m good, sir, my Pashtu is fluent, and I can pass myself off as an Afghan woman.
Holley couldn t help himself. Not with that scarlet mop of hair, you can t.
I ve done it before in the right clothing, Daniel you ll see.
He wasn t pleased, but he gave up. Ferguson said, My decision. You ll go as interpreter, Sara, I ll supervise things in Peshawar. Harry will be representing the Prime Minister, and Dillon and Daniel can handle any rough stuff. Now I really must go to my office.
Ferguson reappeared almost an hour later to find Sara, Holley, and Dillon deep in conversation while Roper worked at his screens.
They want me back at Downing Street. Sergeant Doyle can drive me. What s been happening?
Roper said, I contacted Greg Slay in Hazar, and he snapped my hand off before I even got a chance to discuss money. He ll definitely be there when we reach Peshawar. I contacted Colonel Hamza. The Hawker landed three hours ago and is still there. They can t touch it because the owner is too important politically. No sign of Ali Selim, who is obviously on the other side of the border making for Amira. Colonel Hamza will give us all the support he can, but it will have to be unofficial.
Fair enough, Ferguson said.
He s suggested an air taxi firm run by a man named Wali Hussein as our best bet if we want to hire a helicopter. Hussein apparently operates three old Russian Raptors and has the right dodgy reputation smuggling, illegal pickups over the border, that kind of thing. Colonel Hamza is going to suggest to him that it would be in his best interests to help us. It will be a comfort to have an exceptional pilot like Slay along.
You seem to have covered just about everything, Ferguson said.
We aim to please, Roper told him. We re going to be in and out on this one, so no point in staying at one of the downtown hotels. Colonel Hamza suggests a place called Rangoon close to the airport. He s having a word with them.
Excellent, Ferguson said. I ve got a good feeling about this, but I d better get moving and see what they want at Downing Street.
He went out, followed by Doyle, and Sara said to Holley, Is he always so cheerful?
A rare occurrence. Enjoy it while you can.
Dillon said, The smell of power, the possibility of action, is what brings an old soldier to life again, Sara, so you ve got something to look forward to. I d grab a little shut-eye while you can, if I were you. You ve got a long flight ahead of you tomorrow morning.
A sensible thought. I ll see you here later. She gave Holley that special smile and walked out.
At the same moment, Ferguson had arrived outside the Prime Minister s study at Downing Street to find Henry Frankel, sitting alone and working his way through a file.
He glanced up. You look agitated, Charles.
I am, Henry. We ve got a lot on, and that s putting it mildly.
Miller s already here, Charles. The PM wanted a private word.
Ferguson frowned. Without me? Why is that?
To be frank, I think the PM believes this enterprise to be rather more hazardous than he at first thought.
Ferguson was immensely irritated. I m damned if I can see why.
Frankel smiled pleasantly. Well, you can go and find out, Charles, they re ready for you now. He went and opened the study door and ushered Ferguson in.
Harry Miller got up from his seat opposite the PM, who said,
There you are, Charles, do come in. I wanted to have a word with Harry to make sure that he fully appreciates the personal risk he is taking in this matter.