Time of the Assassins

She tried to blink it away as it stung her eyes. The beam scythed across the darkness then went out as suddenly as it had come on.

'Rosie?' Bernard called out.

The voice came from behind her. The torch light had come from a different direction. Were they trying to close in on her from different directions? She wiped her forearm across her face then moved tentatively to her right, the branch still scraping the ground in front of her. It was noisy, but there was nothing she could do about it. She heard a rustle in front of her and ducked behind a tree a split-second before the torch beam sliced through the darkness again, panning the trees around her. Elias shouted something in Swahili and she heard him approaching the tree. Had he seen her? Or was he trying to force her to break cover? The footsteps came closer then stopped and the torch went out. Where was he? She swallowed nervously and ran her tongue across her dry lips. The silence was agonizing. Where the hell was he? Keeping her back pressed firmly against the tree, she turned her head slightly and peered cautiously into the darkness behind her. Nothing. At least he wasn't on the other side of the tree. Then she heard another noise, this time to her right. It had to be Bernard. But did they know where she was? She forced herself to control her ragged breathing. She had to keep silent. It was her only chance. Then a torch beam shone onto a cluster of trees thirty yards away from her. They didn't know where she was! She felt a surge of relief flow through her. Bernard called out her name again. It came from the direction of the torch beam. The light became fainter as he moved further into the wood.

She screamed in terror as someone grabbed her arm from behind and yanked her away from the tree. Elias switched on his torch then shouted to Bernard that he'd caught her. His voice seemed to bring her out of her shock. She lashed out with the branch, catching him on the side of the face. The Walther fell to the ground as he clutched his face in agony. She turned to run but he grabbed her roughly round the neck and threw her to the ground, winding her. He kept the torch beam trained on her as he felt in the darkness for the Walther. There was a sickening crunch of bone as the jaws of a trap, hidden under a pile of leaves, snapped over his wrist. He screamed in agony and the torch fell from his grasp as he slumped to his knees where he clawed desperately at the serrated edges of the trap in a frantic attempt to release his mangled wrist. Bernard reached them and shone his torch onto the trap. Rosie turned away sharply and clutched her stomach as she vomited against the tree.

'Help me!' Elias screamed at Bernard in Arabic.

'Why? You're no use to me now,' Bernard said disdainfully and shot him through the head.

Rosie huddled against the tree as the gunshot echoed across the silent wood. Bernard grabbed her arm roughly and hauled her to her feet. She purposely averted her eyes from the body at her feet.

'Have you finished playing games now?' Bernard snapped, bolstering his automatic.

She could only nod mutely.

'Then let's get out of here before we have another accident,' he said then tightened his grip on her arm and marched her back to the house.

'That's better,' Bernard said after he had handcuffed her to the radiator in the bedroom.

She tugged angrily at the handcuffs then slumped back against the wall. He left the room, closing the door behind him, and went to the main bathroom to attend to the cut above his eye. The bleeding had stopped and the area around the eye was already swollen and puffy. It would be closed by morning. He wet a cloth and dabbed it gingerly against his eyebrow. The wound turned out to be deeper than he had originally thought. He washed his hands and face then found some disinfectant and cotton wool in the wall cabinet above the basin. He sprinkled some of the disinfectant onto the cotton wool then pressed it against his eyebrow. His face remained expressionless as the disinfectant seeped agonizingly into the wound. He discarded the swab then went to his bedroom and changed into a clean shirt.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he picked up the telephone and dialled an unlisted number then propped a pillow against the headboard and sat back against it, waiting for the call to be answered. When it was, there was only silence on the other end of the line.

'It's Columbus,' Bernard said.

'This is Seabird. I've been trying to contact you for hours. Where the hell are you?'

'At the safe house off the Garden State Parkway.'

'What?' came the incredulous reply. 'You weren't cleared to stay there.'

'I didn't exactly have much time to pick and choose, did I? Or haven't you heard about what happened at the apartment?'

'Of course I heard,' Seabird retorted angrily. 'That was one of our best safe houses in the city. And thanks to you it's been blown. Three bodies, two of them cops — what the hell happened there? And what's this about Whitlock's niece being involved?'

Bernard explained briefly about Rosie, her connection with Doyle and the reason the police had come to the apartment.

'And why wasn't I informed that you're holding Whitlock's niece?' Seabird said once Bernard had finished speaking. 'You could blow the whole operation.'

'You weren't informed because it doesn't concern you. She's my insurance in case something should go wrong tomorrow.'

'Insurance against what? Do you honestly think UN AGO will just let you walk away because you've got Whitlock's niece? Credit them with some professionalism.'

'Of course they won't. But I can use her to buy time.' Bernard swung his legs off the bed. 'But we're speculating here. Nothing will go wrong, I guarantee that.'

'Why don't I feel reassured?'

'I need a favour, that's why I called,' Bernard said, then went on to explain what had happened earlier at the house. 'I need another babysitter for the girl.'

'Do you, now?' came the sarcastic riposte. 'And who the hell was this Elias anyway?'

'The fifth member of the Zimbalan team.'

'Fifth? I was told there were only four.'

'I included a fifth man as backup. It seemed the sensible thing to do in case one of the others was killed or arrested before the operation began.'

'You included him? This whole operation was devised after months of detailed planning. But that doesn't seem to bother you, does it? You just do what the hell you want, don't you? You work for us, in case you'd forgotten. And we tell you what to do. Is that understood?'

'Sure,' Bernard replied disinterestedly. 'What about that baby-sitter?'

'You're not getting one!'

'Then find yourself another assassin,' Bernard replied and slammed the receiver back into the cradle.

The telephone rang moments later.

Bernard picked it up. 'Yes?'

'Columbus?'

'Yes.'

'Don't you ever do that to me again!'

'Then we'd better come to an arrangement about a babysitter,' Bernard said matter-of-factly.

'Very well,' came the bitter reply. 'You'll have one in the morning. That's the best I can do.'

'That's fine. I only need him to watch the girl while — I'm at the Trade Center.'

The line went dead.

Bailey sat thoughtfully in his study after he had replaced the receiver then reached for the bourbon beside him and took a sip. It was just as well he had already arranged to have Bernard eliminated after Mobuto's death. A babysitter indeed! He glanced at his watch. Seven forty-five. Brett would already be at the hotel, having relieved Rogers at six that evening. He found the number of the United Nations Plaza and, when he got through, asked the switchboard operator to connect him to the room which had been specially set aside for the presidential bodyguards. It was answered by Brett.