Day of Reckoning

Billy had an unholy light in his eyes. 'By God, I am, Dillon. These fucks come over and blow up London. Let's go and blow them up.'

'Billy?' his uncle said.

Ferguson's phone rang. He listened, then said, 'Fine. I'll talk later.' He drank a little champagne. 'That was Major Roper. He's accessed the White Diamond Company's computer. They're receiving a consignment of top-grade diamonds on Thursday. Ten million pounds' worth.'

Dillon said, 'So we know where we are.' He turned. 'Harry?'

Salter said, 'What the hell, we're with you.'

'Excellent.' Dillon smiled. 'It's Scotland for you, Billy, and a nice sea voyage.'

'Christ,' Billy said. 'I get seasick.'

'We'll stop at a pharmacist and get you some pills on the way to Farley Field. That'll be three hours from now, after which you'll be winging your way north.'

'I've never been to Scotland,' Billy said.

'Well, we'll take care of that.' Dillon smiled as Dora brought plates of food to the table.

'Cottage pie and Krug champagne, and God help Brendan Murphy.'

11

SCOTLAND

IRELAND

Blake was flat out when Dillon called at Rosedene to check on his condition. Hannah was with him. Daz was at the university, but Martha was there.

'He'll be fine, but not particularly fit for a while,' she said, and frowned. 'He's not going to get up to any nonsense, I hope, Mr Dillon? I know what your lot are like, and he honestly isn't up to it.'

'I know, Martha. I know. We'll take it as it comes. I'm flying off to Scotland, so keep the Superintendent here informed.' 'Trouble again?' she asked.

Always is.' He kissed her cheek.

'Oh, well,' she said, and gave him the ancient toast. 'May you die in Ireland.'

'Oh, thanks very much.' Dillon laughed. 'See you soon.' He and Hannah left.

On the way to the Dark Man, she said, 'It could be a hard one, Sean.'

'I know, and Blake won't be up to it. Frankly, in his condition, he'd be a liability.'

'What do you want me to do?'

'Try and lose him. With luck, you won't have to do much. Maybe Martha could give him a pill.'

'Always the practical one, aren't you.'

'He's a good man, Hannah, I'm the bad one. I don't care about that, but I do care about him.'

'I'll never understand you.'

'I don't understand me. Join the club. I'm just passing through, Hannah, I'd have thought you'd have realized that by now.'

Dillon phoned ahead, and Billy was waiting outside the Dark Man with his uncle, Baxter and Hall.

Harry said, 'I actually care for this young bastard, so bringhim back in one piece, Dillon. Notice I didn't say try, so don't let me down, because if you come back alone. .'

'I get the picture,' Dillon said. 'In you get, Billy.'

The driver put the case in the boot and Billy sat in front, nervous and excited. 'Christ, Dillon, what have you got me into?'

'High adventure, Billy. You'll come back and join the Marines.'

'Like hell I will. Independent spirit, me.'

At Farley Field, the department's quartermaster, a retired sergeant major, waited with his list.

'All loaded, Mr Dillon. Walthers with Carswell silencers, three Uzi machine pistols with silencers. Stun grenades, and half a dozen of the fragmentation variety, in case you have trouble, plus the Semtex and timers.'

'What about diving equipment?'

'Standard suits and fins as issued to the Special Boat Service. Our local agent in Oban will put six air bottles in the stern rack. That should suffice.'

'Excellent.' Lacey was already in the Gulfstream with Parry; Madoc waited at the bottom of the steps.

Dillon kissed Hannah on the cheek. 'We who are about to die salute you.'

'Don't be stupid. I'll see you tomorrow.'

'I know, and watch Regan. He's a devious little sod.' 'I thought that was you.'

It was such a stupid remark, and instantly regretted, but Dillon smiled. 'Ah, the hard woman you are.'

He pushed Billy up the steps in front of him, Madoc followed and closed the door, and the Gulfstream moved away.

'Why?' Hannah whispered. 'Why do I say things like that?' And yet she knew that, for his past condemned him. All those years as the Provisional IRA's most feared enforcer, all the killing.

She looked up as the Gulfstream lifted. 'Damn you, Dillon,' she said. 'Damn you.'

In his suite at Pine Grove, Roper trawled the computer and came up with results. He checked again, then phoned Ferguson.

'Fox and his two goons are booked into the Dorchester for a week.'

'Anything else?'

'Murphy and Dermot Kelly are booked on an Air France flight from Paris, arriving in Dublin around what the Irish call tea time.'

'Any idea of the onward destination?'

'Come on, Brigadier, it must be Kilbeg. They think he's Robin Hood up there. If you want to check, why don't you call in a favour from that Chief Superintendent Malone at the Garda Special Branch?'

'What an excellent idea,' Ferguson said.

He thought about it, then rang through to Malone in Dublin. 'Charles Ferguson, Daniel.'

Malone groaned. 'What in the hell do you want, Charles?' 'A favour.'

At Dublin Airport, Murphy and Kelly landed at four-thirty, proceeded through customs with light luggage, went out of the concourse and approached an old Ford saloon car. The driver was named John Conolly, the man beside him Joseph Tomelty; both were hard-line Republicans and had been members of Murphy's group for many years, all boyhood friends. They shook hands with Murphy and Kelly.

'Good to see you, Brendan,' Conolly said. 'Did it go well?'

A total fuck-up,' Murphy said. 'Couldn't have been worse. Let's get out of it. Make for home and I'll tell you.'

They all got in and drove away, and Malone, sitting in an unmarked car with a driver, said, 'Jesus. Conolly, Tomelty, plus Brendan and Dermot Kelly. The old Kilbeg Mafia. There's no doubt where they're going, but follow at a discreet distance and let's make sure they're taking the right road north.'

Twenty minutes later and well outside Dublin, he tapped the driver on the arm. 'Turn back. It's got to be Kilbeg.'

A few minutes later, as the car returned to Dublin, he called Ferguson on his mobile and told him what had happened.

'So it's Kilbeg?' Ferguson said.

'I'd say definitely. Are you going to give us trouble here, Charles?'

'Don't be silly, Daniel, we're doing ourselves a favour and you a favour. Leave it alone and I'll keep you informed.'

'One more question. Since you're running this, it means Dillon's involved.'

'Obviously.'

'Then God help Brendan Murphy.'

Ferguson put down his phone and turned to Hannah, who had been listening. 'You heard? Murphy and company are on their way to Kilbeg.'

I'll let Dillon know, sir, in case it affects his plans.'

'It won't make much difference. You know what he's like.

He'll go in tomorrow night anyway, Murphy or no Murphy. Just like a bad war movie.'

'I know, sir. He has a kind of death wish.'

'Why?'

'God knows.'

'You really have it in for him, Superintendent.'

'You couldn't be more wrong, sir. Actually, I like him too much. He reminds me of Liam Devlin, that combination of scholar, actor, poet and absolutely cold-blooded killer.'

'Just like Sir Walter Raleigh,' Ferguson said. 'Very bewildering, life, on occasion.'

Dillon and Billy were delivered by an unmarked RAF car driven by two uniformed RAF sergeants named Smith and Brian.

'Checked it out earlier,' Sergeant Brian said. 'That's the Highlander two hundred yards out.'