Skinner's festival

'Then you squeeze out some of the stuff at the top – like this, see. Then you lets a little air in instead. Are you watching?'

He needed no reply.

"Then you reconnect the fluid, like this. See? Then you turn on the drip, like this. Then you let the tube go. And the little magic bubble works its way down the tube and up the needle and into the bloodstream, and round, and round, until… Embolism, I think they call it. Whatever they call it, it's fookin' fatal And that's all that's to it.'

The man stared at Arrow's hand as it held the tube. He had gone rigid on the bed.

Arrow smiled at him. 'No, no. It's all right. I'm not going to let go – yet. I won't let go until you make me believe that you really want to die, and that you're not going to tell me what I need to know to help me find my friend's lass. But the second I do believe that, I let this tube go, and not long after that, my friend, you will experience very painful and quite inevitable death. Now. Let's start wi' your name.' go

84

Skinner was touched by the Queen's good wishes. Most of all he was relieved by Proud's news of her insistence that all steps necessary should be taken to ensure Alex's safe return.

'I'll take personal charge of this operation,' said Proud Jimmy.

'I promise you that no risks will be taken, I'll put marksmen in hiding around the aeroplane. If I'm completely satisfied that it's safe for Alex, I'll open fire. Otherwise I'll let them take off. We'll send word to every country within the plane's operating range to watch out for its landing, and that way we'll get Alex back as soon as possible.' I Skinner smiled: a tired, drained sort of smile.

Two things. Chief. First, you will need to tie me down to keep me away from this operation. Remember, I'm still head of the anti-terrorist unit Ballantyne set up, until his successor tells pie otherwise. Next, if you have men waiting at the airport, they'll be there all bloody night. Mr Black knows there's no way I'll let him get on board that plane with Alex. As soon as they were clear of our air-space, she'd be dead. They're not going to show up at Edinburgh Airport. That plane's just another feint. That's the way our Mr Black works. He sells you a dummy, every time. He's got something else planned. Well, so have I.'

His jaw tightened, and some of the tiredness left his face.

'Anyway, it might not come to that. Let's wait to see what our guest in the Simpson has to tell Adam.'

'What makes you think he'll teH him anything?'

Skinner laughed, quietly. 'You don't know Adam!'

85

"Carl Stewart!'

The name broke out of him in a strange, half-strangled squawk, as if the man had been holding his breath in disbelief while he watched the last of Arrow's preparation for his execution.

'That's good. Seen the light, have we?' Arrow's right thumb and index finger were clamped tight on the clear plastic tube, holding up the flow of the nutrient – and of the deadly bubble.

'Let's have the rest, then. Nationality: Canadian, I'd guess by the accent. Right?'

The man nodded.

'And you are a fookin' mercenary, aren't you? Where've you been?'

It came more slowly this time, weakly, as Stewart measured each painful breath.

'I wasn't always a mercenary. I was a regular in the Gulf. I came out after that. Since then I've been in Bosnia, in Africa, in Guatemala – and a few other places.'

'What d'you know of this Mr Black, the fella who paid for the plane you lot were going to catch?'

'He does things for people. Difficult things they need done – or want done.'

'You worked for him before?'

'Twice. Once in the States. Once in South Africa. First time, we busted into a gallery in New York – and stole a painting for a collector.'

'Who?'

'Don't know. We never know who the customer is – or the client, as Mr Black calls them. And we know better than to ask.

Mr Black wouldn't like that. And you don't cross him.'

'So what did you do in South Africa?'

'We started a bit of a Civil War. We killed a black guy, a leader.

Made it look like one tribal group did it. Then we killed some other guys, leaders on the other side – and made it look like the first lot was taking revenge. Once they were all killing each other, we killed some white guys – and all the black guys were blamed at once. Christ, man, we had them all chasing their tails down there.

Just like we've had you chasing yours up here. Once the cops were all used up, keeping the sides apart, we hit a diamond mine. We cleared one hundred million dollars in uncut stones. The nearest cops were sixty miles away, caught in the middle of a gun battle.

Mr Black's a great planner. What makes him so great is he thinks big.'

'So what's he like?'

'I've never met him.'

Arrow's hand moved on the tube. The man flinched in quick terror.; 'Come on, Stewart. You expect me to believe that? You tell me that this Cooker walks on water, then you say you've never mt him.'.1 •It's true. None of us have ever seen him. He sends hi messages, his orders, through someone else, A woman. I' name's Ariel. She's European of some sort. We all figure she m be his lady.'

'If you've never seen this Mr Black, how d'you know this M isn't the boss herself.'

'Ariel could never do what someone did to Klaus. That had be Mr Black himself.'

'Who's Klaus?'

'He was our explosives guy on the New York contract. We wen holed up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, up in the Catskills ready to go – when Klaus decided that the money wasn't gooc enough. He told Ariel that he was out unless the dough was doubled. He said he wanted to see Mr Black himself, not deal wit his whore. Ariel got very steamed up – as she can – but she saii OK, she would arrange for Klaus to meet him.'

'So what 'appened?'

'Next morning we all came down to breakfast. Ariel cooked for us all in that place, and she dished it up in this big mess hall. Klaus was there, waiting for us. He was nailed to the timber wall. I mean he was crucified, hands and feet, man. There was a big knife through the middle of his chest, pinning a notice. It said, "A deal is a deal. Anyone else want to meet me?" Wasn't no Ariel did that to Klaus. The guy was a house. Six feet six. Looked like Hulk Hogan.

'Mary Little Horse, she was brought in to replace him. A genius with explosives, and pretty good with a knife too. I read in the papers you've tied her into this thing. But I never saw Mary here.

She did the jobs she was paid to do, but she didn't know the whole story, or get to see any of my team.

'Mr Black let only me and my guys in on the whole plan. Ariel said he had a very big commission, money no object, from some collector. Each of us was on 200,000 dollars, and if anybody had to do time, there would be an annuity waiting when we were released, so we'd never have to work again. No, Mary just did her thing with the bombs. Then she came up to town and did the singer. Ray helped her get in, but it was mostly her. She went underground after that. Ray, the guy you killed, he stole the special explosive in France.'

Arrow nodded. 'So who was in on last night? Who planted the other bombs?'

'Ariel and Ingo did that.'

'Ingo!' Arrow's grip on the tube almost slipped.

'Yeah. Ingemar Svart. He's our pilot, engineer. An all-round mechanical genius. You need it built, lngo'11 build it. You need it fixed, lngo'11 fix it. You need it to run, lngo'11 run it. You need it screwed, lngo'11…' For a second, the man laughed, weakly, then coughed with the effort. 'Ingo flies us out of the action, so he tends to be kept out of the shooting. But he has pitched in sometimes. I saw him in Cape Town. He is very good with a gun.'

Stewart looked pleadingly at Arrow. 'So how'm I doing, man?'

Adam shook his bullet head. Somewhere along the corridor a baby was crying, but he put the sound to the back of his mind.