Edge of Danger

Billy squeezed off a single round as asked, and a Bedu fell to one side from the shelter of one of the Land Rovers.

'There you go, Billy, that's the way,' Dillon said. 'We hold them back until Villiers gets here.' He took out a pair of Zeiss glasses. There was a flurry of Bedu moves from one Land Rover to another.

Dillon said, 'I just caught a glimpse of George Rashid.'

'So we know where we are with that bleeding lot,' Harry Salter said, and fired a long burst.

Below, George Rashid spoke to his men. 'I want covering fire from one Land Rover. I'll go with four of you in the other, round to the rear. The wall is half fallen there. We take them two ways. Now move.'

A moment later, the Land Rover roared away. Dillon looked again through his glasses and saw legs underneath the other Land Rover. He took careful aim and fired, and another Bedu fell into view and lay writhing on the ground. At the same time, there was a burst of firing from the rear, Dillon turned and George Rashid and his men poured over the broken wall below into the courtyard.

Dillon and the Salters fell down on their faces as automatic fire raked the wall. Dillon and Billy fired back, another Bedu went down, but at the same moment, the men behind the Land Rover at the front gate raked the wall with automatic fire.

Dillon and his friends crouched low as pieces of the wall cascaded over their heads and then there was a burst of firing from some other direction, and Dillon looked out and saw Tony Villiers and his Hazar Scouts come over one of the huge dunes in five Land Rovers. They paused, then opened up with heavy machine gun fire at the Land Rover in front of the fort's main gate. It fireballed as its fuel tank was hit, and the four men left ran for their lives across open ground and were cut down.

Villiers and his men came down the side of the dune, and George Rashid and the three survivors of his group disappeared back over the crumbling rear wall. A moment later, their Land

Rover raced away and disappeared into a narrow defile.

It was suddenly very still. Dillon leaned against the wall with Billy and got a pack of Marlboros out. Harry was slumped down. 'For Christ's sake, Dillon, I'm an old guy.'

'You've done good, Harry.'

'Yeah, I'd be great – if I were the third lead in some old black-and-white movie on a satellite channel. Only you make it happen for real. You're a monster, Dillon.'

The Land Rover column of Hazar Scouts came in through the entrance and halted in the courtyard. Dillon and the Salters went down the steps and Tony Villiers got out of the lead vehicle and approached.

'Hot stuff.'

Dillon shook hands. 'George Rashid was in charge.'

'Really? Then you've definitely hit a nerve, Dillon. You're a lucky man.'

'I'd say that speaks for itself.'

Villiers lit a cigarette. 'Right, I'll take you to Shabwa Oasis. We'll arrange for Carver to find a plane and fly you back to Hazar.'

'That makes sense,' Dillon said.

'And don't forget to thank Charles Ferguson. Without him, you gentlemen would have been dead.'

In the bar at the Excelsior, Dillon sat with Hal Stone and the Salters.

Stone said, 'It really is like a bad movie, Harry.'

'You can bleeding well say that again. A few days away with Dillon isn't like walking up the Palace Pier at Brighton and having fish and chips and a glass of champagne. This one puts you in serious hazard of your life.'

'Oh, come on, Harry,' Dillon said. 'You haven't had so much fun in years and what have you got to worry about? It's Tony Villiers and his boys who're up there taking all that shite.'

Hal Stone said, 'That's all very fine, Dillon, but we still don't have the slightest inkling what the Rashids are up to. The only thing we know for sure is that they want to knock you off, but why? Why are you such a threat?'

'I'd like to know that myself,' Dillon told him.

Billy said, 'If you look at it, the most significant thing is that Bell and his mob are here as a team. What do they need a whole team for?'

'Well, we don't know, do we?' his uncle asked.

There was a moment's silence, and then Hal Stone said, 'Of course, we could always find out.'

They all looked at him, and Dillon said, 'What are you suggesting?'

'Well, there's four of them, including Bell. I assume they must all know what the game is.'

Billy said, 'So if we cut one of them off from the pack, is that what you're saying?'

'Something like that. I don't know. Seems rather obvious.'

'But sometimes the most obvious plans are the ones that work best,' Dillon said.

Harry said, 'What we'd need to know is when these bleeders are available. When they come into town and for what purpose.'

'To get laid,' Billy said.

They all laughed, but Stone said, 'Actually, you're right. I've kept my ear to the ground. One of them, Costello, I think, is apparently quite fond of an establishment named Madame Rosa's.'

'So what do we do, kidnap him?' Harry Salter asked.

Stone said, 'Why not?'

Billy said, 'Okay, so what do Bell and his goons do when Costello turns up missing?'

'I don't know.' Stone shrugged. 'Of course, it's possible they just might think he's in bed with a woman somewhere. Or two.'

'Why, Professor,' Harry Salter teased him. 'I'm shocked, a man of learning like yourself indulging in such unsavoury thoughts.'

'I'll get over it.'

Dillon left the planning of the operation to Harry Salter, and Harry performed brilliantly. That night, he wore an open-necked dark linen shirt, and a cream linen tropical suit, and looked quite affluent.

He sat with Billy at a pavement cafe on the other side of the road from Madame Rosa's and, thanks to a discreet bribe, waited for word from inside that Costello was on his way. When it came, Harry went in himself – older, well-dressed, wealthy-looking, and had the girls queuing up. Billy waited until he saw Costello arrive, then followed.

Bell and his group sat with Kate Rashid and went over the maps again. Bell said, 'So, we're on line here. The Elders will be en route to the Holy Wells at around noon. We'll fly up tonight in Carver's

Golden Eagle. Sort out weaponry at Shabwa, then carry on by Land Rover in the morning.'

Kate said, 'That sounds good.'

'One change. We'll connect with your brother and his Bedu up there. We may need back-up. Better to have them available.'

'Fine,' Kate said. 'I'll speak to George and arrange it.'

She phoned her brother in London and got nowhere, so she tried his mobile. Paul Rashid answered at once. 'How are things going?'

'Fine. We're going to fly up to Shabwa in one of Carver's planes.'

'I'll see you there. I'm on my way. I'll land at Haman, come on in the Hawk helicopter. Look for me.'

'I will.'

Costello had slipped out of the Excelsior and made his way to Madame Rosa's, where he was greeted with enthusiasm. He had three girls to take care of his every want, Irish whiskey and cocaine to influence him. South Armagh it wasn't. He'd never known such pleasure, and when they took him to a luxurious bedroom, kissed and fondled him a little, then suggested he undress, he was falling over himself. The girls left and Costello started to get ready. The door opened behind him, he turned and Harry Salter came through the door, followed by Billy.

'Here, what is this?' Costello demanded.

Harry had him by the throat. 'Keep your mouth shut. Start dressing again.'

'Now look here.'

Billy took a Browning from his pocket and clouted Costello across the side of the head. 'Just do as the man says if you want to live.'

And Costello, frightened for the first time in years, did as he was told.

They took him out to the Sultan, where Dillon and Hal Stone waited. Two Arab deckhands ran Costello into the stern. Dillon barked orders in Arabic. They ripped off Costello's jacket and shirt and then his trousers, leaving him in his underpants. The Salters leaned against the rail, and Hal Stone sat on a canvas chair and drank cold beer, two of his divers behind him.