The Trojan boy

The wail of a police car siren proclaimed their arrival in the city. An eruption of concrete into the sky confirmed it.

'Not many people about,' said Kathleen for the streets were practically deserted.

'Not many shops either,’ said Avedissian.

'Folks moved out into the suburbs a long time ago,' said the driver. The shops went with them. Theatres, movie houses too. Nobody lives in town any more. Folks drive in the morning and home again in the evening, no call for them to linger.'

Avedissian and Kathleen accepted the explanation in silence and found something depressing about the place. Kansas City looked as if some dreadful plague had destroyed all the inhabitants and left a series of towering concrete tombstones to their memory.

'Crown Center,' announced the driver, slowing and turning off the road along a drive lined with the flags of all nations. They hung limp and lifeless in the still, humid air.

Four miles to the south, in the Plaza Hotel, Innes and Roker waited for the kidnappers to contact them. Relations between them had been at a low ebb since the events at the stadium in Chicago. They were still arguing about it.

'We could have had the boy by now if you hadn't been so damned stupid!' said Innes.

'We had to try,’ insisted Roker. 'It's our money! Don't forget it.'

‘I’m hardly likely to. All you succeeded in doing was to let them know that we can't be trusted.'

'We don't know for sure that they knew we were going to try for the boy in the stadium,’ said Roker.

'Of course they knew!' said Innes. They were watching us all the time. They must have been watching the zone round the empty seats too. They would have seen Shelby and these other two clowns as soon as they moved anywhere near!'

'We had to try,’ repeated Roker.

'I just hope you've learned your lesson,’ said Innes. 'Play it straight from now on or you'll blow the whole deal.’

'Don't lecture me, Innes!' said Roker angrily. 'If there's any more crap out of you I'm going to pull NORAID out of this whole damned thing! I never liked it from the start. In fact, if you ask me, that little bastard Kell is some kind of nut!'

Innes could see that he might have pushed the American too far. Whatever his personal feelings of frustration, he had to recognise that NORAID were the source of the money. Antagonising them was going to be counter-productive. In fact, if he personally wrecked Kell's plan by pushing Roker past the limit it was going to get him less than nowhere; it was going to get him dead.

The thought of Kell's wrath introduced an immediate note of conciliation to Innes's voice. 'I apologise,’ he said quietly. 'We are all a bit edgy over this thing; it's so important to all of us. After all these years we're standing on the very verge of success and a free Ireland.’

Roker appeared to calm down too and they sat in silence for a moment before the telephone rang. It was the kidnappers.

'Do you have the first password?'

'One moment.' Innes turned to Roker and said, They want the password.'

Roker took the phone and said, 'We didn't get a good look at the boy.'

Innes bit his tongue. Roker was still playing the fool.

'You saw the child at the stadium,’ said the voice calmly.

'He was too far away,' said Roker.

'You might have got a closer look if you hadn't planned to double-cross us.'

Innes shot Roker a look that said, 'I told you so'.

'We'd still like to see him close up,' continued Roker.

'That will not be possible.'

'Supposing we refuse to pay?'

‘Then we will sell the child back to the British. Make up your mind. You've got ten seconds.'

Roker bit his lip and Innes held his breath. 'All right,’ he said. 'It's Account Number 4494552 in the bank you specified. The inspection password is Parthenon.'

Thank you. We'll be in touch.'

The phone went dead and Innes breathed a sigh of relief. 'You really push your luck don't you,’ he said to Roker.

'It was worth a try,’ said Roker.

Ten minutes later the phone rang again and the same voice as before said, 'Your deposit has been verified. We will hand over the child to you this evening in exchange for the second password.'

'What are the arrangements?'

'We will bring the child to you at the hotel at eleven o'clock. Any attempt to double-cross us this time will result in disaster.'

'How many people are permitted?'

'As many as you like,’ said the voice. The boy will be carrying an explosive device, not large, just enough to blow his head off. When we have completed the transfer you will be told how to disarm it.'

'What's to stop you transferring the money and killing the boy anyway?' asked Roker.

'A dead child is of no use to either of us,’ said the voice.

'Very well, we agree.’

'Until tonight then.’

Once more Innes let out the breath that he had been holding and said, 'You heard what he said about explosives? For God's sake don't try anything.'

'I won't,’ replied Roker with bad grace.

Jarvis arrived at the Crown Center Hotel at five-thirty and found Avedissian and Kathleen drinking coffee in their room.

'It's all set,’ he said. The child is to be handed over tonight in the Plaza Hotel at eleven o'clock.’

Then the team managed to bug Innes's room in time?' said Avedissian.

'It was perfect. Innes and a man called Roker, who seems to be handling NORAID's end of things, were contacted by the kidnappers this afternoon.’

Avedissian felt his stomach go light with excitement. 'So the team is all ready?' he asked.

'I don't know,’ replied Jarvis looking worried.

'What do you mean?' asked Avedissian.

'I haven't been able to contact them.’

'Haven't been able to contact them?' repeated Kathleen in astonishment.

'I don't understand it either. The phone number I've been using has gone dead.’

'But everything depends on this,’ insisted Avedissian. 'If the team aren't on the spot the IRA will get the boy!'

'You don't have to tell me that,’ said Jarvis quietly and Avedissian backed off.

'Don't you have some other number? The London number? Can't you contact Bryant and tell him something's gone wrong?' he asked.

'I've tried. All the lines are dead.'

The team were supposed to supply me with an emergency medical kit,' said Avedissian.

'We can only hope that you won't need it.'

There was absolute silence in the room for a few moments.

Avedissian looked at Jarvis and said quietly, 'You're the expert. What do you think has happened?'

Jarvis shook his head and said, 'Something major must have gone wrong, they must have had to change all the numbers. There's no other explanation.'

'Where does that leave us?' asked Kathleen.

'On our own,' said Jarvis. He looked at his watch and shrugged. 'Seven hours to go and we're on our own.'

'What can we do?' asked Kathleen.

'We can try to get the boy back on our own,' said Jarvis. Avedissian and Kathleen exchanged glances.

'Do you think that's really possible?' asked Avedissian.

'Let's count our blessings, shall we?' said Jarvis adopting a positive air. 'Innes's room is bugged and his phone is tapped. The receiver equipment is in my room at the Plaza and both systems are linked to a cassette recorder via a voice actuator.'

'A what?'

'A voice actuator. It just means that the recorder switches off again after thirty seconds of silence.'

'So you're not missing anything by being here?' said Avedissian.

'Precisely. If there are any more messages from the kidnappers or changes of plan they will be recorded for us, so our intelligence is good. It has been all along.'

‘So what do you want us to do?'

I suggest we all go back to the room at the Plaza and wait for the exchange; We will hear everything that goes on in Innes's room so if we see an opportunity to rescue the boy after the exchange we can act on it. If not then we might be able to gather some information about what the IRA intend to do with the boy in the immediate future. It might be useful when we re-establish contact with Bryant.'