Shelby turned to the others and said, 'Hell, I don't know what to say to a royal boy. What do you say?'
'The boy has had a shock,' said the man at the door. He has temporarily lost his voice.' 'What the hell do you mean?' demanded Shelby.
'It's not uncommon and it won't last long,’ said the man evenly.
Shelby ran his hands over the boy and was impressed that he did not shy away. He turned again and said with a half laugh, ‘I’ll say this for him. He's got dignity, yes sir real class. Haven't you, little feller?'
The child did not flinch but continued to stare at Shelby.
Shelby stood up and turned to Roker and Innes. 'I suppose this is the right boy?' he asked with an embarrassed grin. 'It's crazy but it keeps occurring to me that none of us has ever seen him before… in the flesh, I mean… it's crazy when you think about it… pictures are OK but…' Shelby reached inside his jacket and pulled out a revolver. He levelled it at the man standing by the door and said triumphantly, 1 see you changed your mind about the explosive device. The boy is clean. I just frisked him.'
The stony expression on the face of the man at the door did not change. He shook his head slowly and said, There was no change of mind. The boy is wired.'
Shelby was embarrassed. 'What the hell do you mean?' he demanded weakly.
'May I?' asked the man, gesturing to the child.
'Go ahead.'
The man bared the left side of the boy's neck and pointed to a very recent scar. 'He has an implant.' He checked his watch. 'If I do not return within twenty-five minutes, you can scrape him off the wall.'
The sweat was pouring down Shelby's face. He dabbed at it angrily with a handkerchief. 'Well," he mumbled. 'You can't blame a guy for trying.'
The man said nothing.
'And if you are back within twenty-five minutes?' asked Roker.
'You will be called and asked for the password. The device will not be triggered. When the money has been transferred you will be directed to a nearby clinic where the device will be removed.'
'What's to stop you just running off with the money?' demanded Shelby to the embarrassment of the others.
'As you've been told before. A dead child is no good to anyone. We like to keep our customers happy.'
'Just who is "we"?' asked Roker.
‘That need not concern you,' replied the man. He looked at his watch. ‘Time is running short.'
A knock came at the door. Innes acted immediately to calm the others. 'It's all right, take it easy,’ he soothed. 'Who is it?' he called out.
'Your whiskey, Mr Innes,' said the voice.
'A little celebration,’ smiled Innes. 'He's a bit early that's all. Come in!'
A waiter entered and put down a tray bearing a bottle of Irish whiskey and a number of glasses on the table while life stopped around him. 'Will that be all, sir?'
'Not quite, Reagan,’ said Innes. The fat one is yours!'
The waiter took the silenced pistol that he had been holding under the tray and fired three times into Shelby. At the same time Innes fired twice at the man by the door and watched him slump to the ground.
'What the hell…?' exclaimed Roker, unable to believe his eyes. 'What in Christ's name did you do that for? Just what the hell do you think you are doing?'
Reagan took off his waiter's waistcoat and flung it in a corner before securing Roker to a chair while Innes held his gun on him.
'Fasten the boy too,’ said Innes.
When both were tied firmly Innes put the barrel of his gun under Roker's nose. 'Now,’ he said softly, 'I want that password.'
'You are mad,’ stammered Roker, but he was afraid.
The password!' Innes pushed the tip of the silencer so that Roker's face was forced up and to the left.
'Get lost,’ said Roker.
'There's no time for heroics,’ said Innes to Reagan. The brat is going to explode in fifteen minutes. Get the stuff from the bathroom.'
Reagan returned with the implements that Innes had prepared and Innes saw the fear in Roker's eyes. 'Now then,’ said Innes, 'I've got acid for your eyes and needles for your nails. What's it to be?'
'You're crazy!' spluttered Roker, shrinking as far back as he could which was hardly any distance at all.
'Nails, I think,’ said Innes, removing one of the needles from the wallet. 'Stick something in his mouth and hold him steady!' he said to Reagan.
Reagan looked about him and saw Shelby's handkerchief lying beside his body. He picked it up and forced it roughly into Roker's mouth then he held Roker's hand firmly on the arm of the chair while Innes inserted a needle under the nail of the index finger and pushed.
Roker's eyes rolled in agony. His skin paled and sweat ran down his forehead in a river.
'For Christ's sake, keep him conscious!' said Reagan.
'Don't tell me my job,’ replied Innes, pushing the needle further under the nail.
Roker's head began to roll on his chest and Innes stopped. The gag!' he said to Reagan. Take it out.'
Reagan removed the handkerchief.
‘The password!' demanded Innes in a whisper.
'All right… all right… it's… ARCHIMEDES.. but…'
Innes smiled and said, ‘That's all I wanted to know.' He pulled out one of the long hatpins from the wallet and searched for the right space between Roker's ribs. As Roker's eyes filled with horror at the realisation of what Innes was about to do Innes pushed the pin through his heart.
Innes checked his watch and looked at the child. ‘Ten minutes to go. We've got time to phone from here.' He picked up the room phone and dialled a
series of numbers. This is Mr Innes, account number 6671081. I want to have some money transferred from account number 4494552.'
That is a password transfer,’ said the voice. 'At the tone, give the password,’… BLEEP
'ARCHIMEDES.’
There was a long pause. 'I'm sorry,’ said the 'have a nice day' voice. The voice- print is unacceptable to our computer.’
Innes felt the bottom drop out of his world. Paralysis threatened his throat. 'What do you mean?' he croaked.
'I'm sure there's some simple mistake, sir, but the computer is saying that the voice authorised to give that password… is not yours.’
'Sweet Jesus Christ,’ said Reagan, who'd been listening at Innes's elbow. 'Now you've done it.’
Innes put down the phone as if in a dream and looked at the corpse of the man who had been authorised to give the password. 'A mistake, that's all,’ he murmured, thinking of Kell. 'Just a simple mistake.’
'We'd better get out of here!' said Reagan, suddenly realising that time had been passing. As they left the room Reagan paused by the child and ruffled his hair. 'No hard feelings, son, eh? No hard feelings.’
Innes followed Reagan out the door but seemed totally preoccupied. ‘Time to think,’ he muttered… 'I need time to think.'
Avedissian, Kathleen and Jarvis, who had had to listen to everything that had gone on in agonising impotence, sprang into life as they heard the IRA men leave. They raced along the hotel corridor and down the stairs to the room vacated by Innes and burst through the door.
The child was sitting, in the centre of the room, his arms secured to the back of a chair. He stared silently at Avedissian who entered first.
'Three minutes!' said Jarvis who had been keeping track of elapsed lime since the kidnapper had spelled out the consequence of his failure to return. 'What can you do?' The tone of his voice reflected the despair that he felt.
Avedissian did not untie the boy for there was no lime. He examined his neck on both sides and found the scar where the device had been implanted. 'Get out of here!' he snapped to Kathleen and Jarvis.