You would have thought that he was doing the favours, not the other way around. The nerve of it took my breath away.
“You’re not suggesting that I stop the ship sailing, I hope. Because if so…”
“Perish the thought, Mr. Howell You’d be in trouble with Ghaled then, wouldn’t you? Miss Malandra, too, I shouldn’t wonder. He’d twist your arms right off, and that would never do. No, I’m not for a moment suggesting that you actually run any risks in defence of your high moral principles.”
The sarcasm came with a tight little smile. He was a good hater that one.
“Just talking to you is for me a risk,” I retorted. “If your people can’t work out am effective counter to this relay device, if that means that Ghaled’s going to have to be stopped physically from pressing the button, you’ll have to do the stopping. I’ll cooperate passively, if I can reasonably do so, but that’s the limit.”
“What do you mean by cooperate passively?” He made it sound like cyanide of potassium.
The Amalia is going to be in Ancona until Friday of next week, when she sails for Latakia. I could arrange to take on a man of yours, a trained agent I mean, as an extra crewman.”
“One man against Ghaled with an armed bodyguard? What use would one man be in that situation?”
“Send two then, do-or-die boys.”
“Armed with what? Hand grenades? Our people are not that expendable.”
“All right, then, use superior force. You’ve got a navy. Send out an armed patrol vessel and intercept the Amalia before she gets near enough for Ghaled to do any damage. Board her and take him off, and his bodyguard. What’s wrong with that?”
“You’re asking me?”
“That’s right.”
“You, a shipowner? You’re asking me why we can’t board a merchant ship flying a British Commonwealth flag on the high seas and kidnap some of her passengers?”
“A state of war exists.”
He gave me a long-suffering look. “You want to read up on your international law, Mr. Howell. A state of war may exist, even though there’s a cease-fire in force. What does not exist is a proclaimed blockade with some pretensions to being effective. Stopping and searching neutral vessels on the high seas without the justification of a recognized blockade is totally illegal. As for the kidnapping bit…” He threw up his hands.
“I assure you that the owners of the Amalia Howell would not complain.”
“Will the owners of the Amalia, or you as their representative, be on board the ship at the time?”
I saw the trap opening and backed off at once. “I most certainly will not be on board.”
“Then the captain of the ship would undoubtedly complain. He would have to, and rightly. The Defence Ministry would never authorize such an action.”
“Well, if the Defence Ministry don’t want Ghaled pressing that button in the vicinity of Tel Aviv, they’d better authorize something.”
He ignored that “Distances and the appearance of things can be deceptive at sea,” he said thoughtfully. “Couldn’t Ghaled’s plan go a little wrong?”
“How?”
“Well, you will be passing on Ghaled’s orders to the captain. Supposing you changed them a bit. Couldn’t the Amalia find herself in the vicinity of Ashdod instead of Tel Aviv at the appointed time?”
“Yes, and in near-zero visibility that might work. But Ghaled is no fool. In the sort of weather we can expect at this time of year, he would have to be half blind as well as stupid to mistake the lights of Ashdod for those of Tel Aviv.”
“Then perhaps the Amalia could stray accidentally into territorial waters farther north. Say, somewhere just south of Haifa?”
“Stray! Did you say stray?”
“These things happen.”
“The Amalia isn’t a fishing boat with a clapped-out compass. She’s a four-thousand-ton freighter with a competent captain and crew sailing in familiar waters.”
“You said that you wished to cooperate, Mr. Howell. You ask for an Israeli patrol vessel and a boarding party to deal with Ghaled. All I’m asking is some slight assistance from you in creating the conditions in which we can oblige you.”
“You’re not obliging me. I’m trying to oblige you.”
“Why can’t the captain simply radio requesting assistance?”
“On what grounds? That he has a man with a music box on board that he doesn’t like the look of? No, the initiative will have to come from you.”
“But what sort of initiative?”
“As you’ve pointed out, distances at sea can be deceptive. Let’s say your coastal radar makes a slight error. He’s really a mile outside, but your people insist that he’s a mile inside. Anyway, he’s acting suspiciously. So you order him into Haifa as a suspected smuggler or for verification of ship’s papers. Under protest he agrees to obey. You could always apologize later.”
“Is that the best you can do, Mr. Howell?”
“Yes. The ball’s in your court. If you people are too fussy to bend the international rules a bit, I’m sorry. Mind you, I don’t think you are too fussy. You’re just hoping that I’ll do the bending for you. Well, I won’t. I have enough bending of my own rules to keep me busy, my own company rules. The captain of a ship may be an employee of the owner, but he’s not going to behave like an incompetent just because the owner starts issuing foolish orders. The captain is still responsible.”
“Even if the owner is on board and willing to take the responsibility?”
“Even then. And anyway, this owner will not be on board.”
He sighed theatrically. “Cooperation? Ah well. Let’s add up the score. We don’t know the radio frequencies Ghaled’s going to be using. We don’t know the course changes he’s going to give you to pass on to the captain. Correction! The course and speed changes. We don’t know why speed comes into it. We don’t know where ashore these charges are going to be placed or how. Don’t know, don’t know. When will you be given these course and speed changes? Don’t tell me, let me guess. You don’t know.”
“That’s right. As soon as I do know I'll get in touch again.”
“Not with me you won’t Don’t even try.”
I got a beady stare with that, so I gave him one back.
“Okay. That suits me. Well just forget the whole thing.”
“I understood that you were offering passive co-operation. Are you now regretting the offer and now withdrawing it?”
That’s up to you. Let’s say that I find your reception of the offer discouragingly unattractive. Yes, I wouldn’t mind withdrawing it.”
He snorted. “Bullshit, Mr. Howell! You just don’t like plain speaking. You came here to get something off your conscience. What did you expect? Bouquets of roses?”
“Ordinary courtesy would have done.”
“Oops! Sorry. We’re very grateful indeed, Mr. Howell, believe me. Very, very grateful for all this information and non-information you’ve brought us. Will that do? Now have some more orangeade and cool off.”
“No thank you.”
He refilled my glass anyway. “It’s full of vitamin C. Don’t like it? All right, don’t drink it I’ll tell you, very courteously if I can, what I’m going to do. First, I’ll have this component analysed. Maybe we’ll find something, maybe not Another don’t know, but what’s one more among so many? Second, I’ll propose this interception you suggest Mind you, I can’t do more than propose. Other people will make the decisions. Third, whatever is decided about interception and, if there is to be one, the manner of it, I’ve got to have those course and speed changes well in advance. What do you say about that?”
“Ghaled is shrewd and always suspicious. He doesn’t trust anyone completely.”
“How far does he trust you?”
“He can’t quite make up his mind. If you’re suggesting that I might just casually ask for the information and get it, I can tell you now that wouldn’t work. The initiative will have to come from him. I can prod him, of course.”