Shooting Script

'But General Castillo -he does not know his tanks and guns are in no danger; he does not know the Army could walk into the city as soon as it could get here. Not yet, anyway.'

After a moment, Boscolifted both hands in a brief shrug. 'And so? How do you propose to tell Castillo? Or stop him knowing?'

'I know nothing of Castillo – except that he will be trying very hard to find what is happening in the city. If an execution happens, can you be sure he will not know?'

Boscoeyed him, then smiled thinly. 'I could arrange a mostquiet execution.'

'Señor Presidente,' Luizshook his bfad sadly and patiently as if Boscowere a particularly dim pupil, 'to execute me as a spy is one affair. Murder me quietly in an hotel bedroom and whatnorteamericanoreporter is even going toask if I were guilty of anything?'

Boscoglared silently. Then one of the men at the radiocalled something and turned the radio full blast. We caught a roar of tape-recorded trumpets, a click, an amateurish heavy breath – and a sonorous shout:'

'Viva el liberador-Jiminez!'

Miranda and Boscowere both shouting. The radio got turned down hastily. Luiz said softly, 'He has captured the radio station, finally.'

Miranda and the other officer snatched up phones and started yelling. Boscojust looked at me. 'With the jets, we would have held it.' Then he cocked an ear to the muttering radio. 'Jiminez will speak in five minutes.'

I felt Luiz stiffen beside me. It needed just one sentence from Jiminez; if he couldn't resist announcing that the Air Force was crippled, if he forgot it would be an open invitation to the listening Army to walk back in…

Boscosaid drily: 'It would seem your lives are not in my hands any more, Señores.'He started raiding out orders to Miranda and the other officer; both grabbed their phones and passed them on. Then Boscoseemed to think of something else, called a question to the man at the switchboard and lifted his own phone. 'It seems the line to the radio station is not yet cut.' He held the phone out to Luiz. 'Perhaps you would care to discuss with your old friend.'

Luiz reached for it, reluctantly…'! will remind him that it is – damaging to his cause. That is all. And he will decide.'

'Of course. I shall not blame you; I shall only shoot you.'

Luiz smiled crookedly and put the phone to his face. 'Señor Jiminez, con permiso… qué?… Ah, sf -he looked at Boscoand twitched a quick grin -'Presidente Jiminez… Luiz Monterrey…'

Miranda was starting to say something, but Boscowaved him down. Then Luiz must have got to Jiminez, because his Spanish went into top gear and I was left behind. I just picked out the word'Americana'.

Finally he handed the phone back to Bosco, and turned to me. 'It will not be mentioned – this time. Later, or if he hears we are dead…' he shrugged.

Boscosaid: 'You told him where you are. Did you hope he would lead a gallant rescue party? I much hope so myself.' He banged both hands flat on the desk. 'So – we wait. I am sorrywe cannot offer you rooms in the Hall of Justice, but your friends blew down one of its walls in order to do some recruiting there.'

Luiz nodded approvingly: busting into the town jail to free your pals would be the proper opening gambit of any revolution.

Boscolooked around and saw Ned, still standing there,Ïsilent and sullen.'Temente- take them to your room and I guard them properly.' I Ned said: 'Thought I was supposed to be repairing Vamps.' 'That can wait. You may-' Miranda leaned across and said somediing quietly. Boscolistened, nodded, looked up at -me.'Capitán Miranda reminds me of an unfinishedconversation the last time you met.' [I knew what was coming, now. Miranda stood up, quick and smooth, and stalked around the desk, his eyes on my face.

There was nothing to do but wait for him..

He stopped in front of me, studying me with a small, ihungry smile. Then suddenly his left shoulder dropped as fora ¡stomach punch; as my hands came up to guard it, he lashed\ out with his right. I rolled with it, but not enough, not nearly enough. He'd aimed at my bruised jaw and I went down withÌpain screaming through my head.

As I climbed slowly on to my feet, Boscosaid calmly:'That is all. You may go.' I dabbed an already bloody handkerchief at the fresh blood on my lips. 'General,' I said thickly, 'don't ever wonder why people like me turn up on the other side to people like you.'

He watched us file out with a still, calm, expression.

THIRTY

I was sitting in a deep square Scandinavian chair in Ned's room. Half an hour of cold water on the outside, and neat Scotch on the inside, had got my face back into limited conversational use.

'Just what's Bosco waiting for now?' I asked Luiz. He was sitting at the card table, where he could keep watch out of the window, absently dealing himself a series of poker hands. Ned was sitting and brooding, a glass of beer in his hand, in another deep chair. The guard was leaning beside the door.

And still the occasional distant crackle of shots from the old town.

Luiz shrugged and scooped up the cards. 'For the reaction from the Army officers. If they shout Viva Boscoheinvites them to bring their tanks to join the fight for liberty, the fatherland, and a Swiss bank account for all above the rank of major. Once they are committed to him, they cannot go back to Castillo, so the news that his jets are all kaput does not matter.' He shuffled with a quick snap of his long fingers. 'On the other hand, if they cry Viva Castillo he says keep your distance or my jets will blast you to pieces, and goes on fighting with Jiminez alone.' He glanced at Ned. 'Always keeping the road to the air base open and a transport aeroplane warmed up and his bank-book packed.'

Ned just grunted.

I swilled more Scotch around inside my cheek and asked: 'How does Jiminez getting the radio station affect this?'

Luiz stretched a hand and rocked it delicately. 'How you like. It convinces some that the situation is as serious as Boscoclaims, others that Boscohas failed already.' He smiled suddenly. "That is my guess.'

I looked casually round at the guard: he was the same one as before, still staring vacantly across the room, with both his brain cells obviously resting hard.

I said to Ned: 'So where's the Dove, Teniente'?'

He raisedhis head slowly and his face was hard. 'Don't you worry, matey. I won't betenientelong; just as soon as we got something serviceable – Miranda couldn't lead a cat to catmint.'

'He belongs here,' Luiz said quietly.

Ned turned. 'What does that mean?'

Luiz started dealing. 'I believe your reputation reaches from Korea to the Congo; you could find a new flying job anywhere. But I think you would agree that Capitán Miranda's reputation is – perhaps a little limited?'

'Nobody's heard of him,' Ned growled. 'And anybody who has, wouldn't hire him to wipe his own nose.'

'Exactly. So we might assume that his future depends on die one man whohas hired him: General Bosco. And they both know it, and both know the other knows it. That is what is called, in some circles, loyalty.' He paused widi a card frozen in his hand, looking at Ned. 'You made a bad mistake up there, my friend. You said, "I quit." One does not say that to dictators; above all things they prize loyalty. They hire the best men at the highest prices – and then dream that such men truly believe in diem and love diem and diat when the power and money are gone, those men will still bediereto bleed and die and hold back die fall of night.'

He turned the card in his hand, scowled at it and snorted: 'Sonofabitch! I never learn not to draw to an inside straight.'

I said: 'So how about diat Dove, Ned? Or are you waiting until you're chopped down to corporal?'

He drained his glass and walked slowly across and looked down at me. 'Or perhaps I'm waiting until I forget who got me cut down – had you diought of diat? Keidi – if I tiiought you'd done it for money, I might let you go. If I thought you was a God-and-Liberty patriot for Jiminez -dienmaybe I'd let you go. But 7 know you don't believe in Jiminez any more'n in Fadier Christmas. You did it just as a private war against me – because you're die great bloody Keith Carr. All right. But you never stopped to diink how diat'd makeme feel. Keidi – I'm going toenjoy watching you shot.'