Time of the Assassins

'You care a lot about him, don't you?'

'I guess,' she replied with a nonchalant shrug. 'He is my partner.'

The evasive answer wasn't lost on Laidlaw. He decided against pursuing the matter. He leaned back against the railing and folded his arms across his chest. 'I can't believe how much he's changed. It's hard to believe it's the same Mike Graham I knew at Delta. You mentioned how independent he is. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed you.'

She shifted round until she was facing him. It was the first time she had ever heard anyone talk about the Mike Graham she had never known, and it fascinated her. 'What do you mean?' she prompted, desperately trying to keep the conversation alive.

'Mike always encouraged a team spirit at Delta. We'd go places as a unit, not as individuals. And he was the worst practical joker I've ever come across. You always had to be on your guard when Mike was about. You never knew what to expect.'

'Yeah?' Sabrina said with a grin.

Laidlaw shook his head slowly. 'It's hard to believe it's the same man, it really is.'

'It's understandable under the circumstances,' she said, her face serious again. 'From what he's told me about them, I get the impression he doted on Carrie and Mikey.'

'Yeah, he did,' Laidlaw replied then lapsed into silence.

A jeep appeared on the approach road to the farmhouse. She scrambled to her feet as it turned into the driveway. She could make out two occupants sitting up front but it was only when it reached the courtyard that she realized it was Graham and Tambese. The jeep came to a stop in front of the porch and Tambese killed the engine. Graham was the first to get out.

'Like the outfit,' Sabrina said with a grin, indicating the white tunic and trousers Graham had borrowed from the hospital.

'Very chic, isn't it?' he replied, mounting the steps onto the porch.

'You've got a couple of nasty bruises there, buddy,' Laidlaw said, pointing to Graham's face.

'Ngune caught me with a couple of good punches.'

'Did you get him?' Sabrina asked.

'Not personally. He's under the tarpaulin in the back of the jeep. The army's going to put the body on public display in Habane.' He moved to the door. 'I'm going to change. I'll be down in a minute.'

Sabrina watched Graham disappear into the house then looked round at Tambese. 'What happened to Ngune?'

Til explain everything inside,' Tambese replied, opening the door for them.

Moredi and Okoye were waiting in the lounge for Tambese. They shook hands and the three of" them spoke amongst themselves until Graham returned to the lounge, dressed now in a pair of faded jeans and a black T-shirt.

'Please, won't you all sit down?' Okoye said.

Graham and Sabrina sat on the sofa, Okoye, Laidlaw and Moredi in the armchairs close by. Laidlaw reached down to put his mug on the floor and his hand brushed against Sabrina's Uzi which was propped up against the wall. He immediately picked up the mug again and put it on the other side of his chair. It made him feel better.

'How is Mr Mobuto?' Sabrina asked, looking up at Tambese who had decided to remain standing.

'Drowsy, but otherwise he's fine. The doctor who examined him said there would be no side-effects from the drugs. He'll be discharged tomorrow morning.'

'I still don't understand why Ngune didn't kill him if he was such a threat,' Laidlaw said.

'Ngune needed him alive in case his coup failed. Then he could have used him as a hostage to get out of the country. Jamel and Remy have always been close. It's a bond that's developed over the years through their mutual abhorrence of their father's regime. Jamel refused to contemplate any military action against Ngune until he knew Remy was safe.'

'Why was he kidnapped?' Moredi asked. 'What did he have on Ngune?'

'Plenty. His mysterious informer was Ngune's personal secretary.'

Moredi whistled softly. 'No wonder Remy was so secretive about him. He must have been a mine of information.'

'Oh, he was. He knew about the coup; he also knew about the plot to assassinate Jamel; and he passed all this information on to Remy. When Ngune found out what had happened he had to stop Remy from printing the story, so he had him kidnapped.'

'Did Ngune's secretary identify the third man?' Sabrina asked.

'It is Bernard,' Tambese replied. 'But what really interested me was the fact that the actual plot to assassinate Jamel didn't originate here in Zimbala, as our intelligence sources have been led to believe. It's been a CIA operation all along. Ngune was their man. He's been working for the CIA for the past twenty-four years.'

'Ngune, CIA?' Moredi said in amazement. 'Why would he work for them?'

Tambese shrugged. 'I couldn't tell you. All I know is that it's been one of the CI A's best-kept secrets for all those years. His secretary only found out by chance.'

'Did he know who was behind the operation at Langley?' Sabrina asked.

'No.'

'It could be Bailey,' Sabrina said, looking at Graham.

'Could be,' Graham agreed. 'But right now we've got more important things to worry about.'

'What do you mean?' she asked suspiciously.

Graham looked at Tambese. 'Tell her.'

'You know that Jamel will be attending a trade fair in New York later this afternoon. It'll be his last public engagement before he flies out tonight.'

'Yes,' she replied hesitantly.

'Bernard will be there as well, armed with a high-powered sniper rifle. Ngune was told that a final attempt would be made to assassinate Jamel at the

Trade Center if he was still alive on the last day of his trip to America.'

Sabrina looked at her watch. 'New York's seven hours behind Zimbalan time. That means it'll be almost eleven thirty at night back home.' She turned to Graham. Til call Sergei and tell him about Bernard.'

'What can he do without alerting the CIA?' Graham asked, holding her stare. 'He'd have to tell the NYPD if he wanted to carry out a search of the building. And they're sure to have CIA moles at the highest level. It wouldn't take long for word to reach Langley that Bernard had been compromised, and he'd be told to pull out. Then we'd be back to square one again.'

'Surely the CIA will abort the operation anyway when they find out the coup has failed and that Ngune is dead?' Okoye said, looking from Graham to Sabrina.

'But they don't know that,' Tambese told him. 'All they'll know at the moment is that Branco and the rebel garrison have been destroyed by troops loyal to the government. We haven't released any casualty figures yet. What Mike suggested we do is put out some disinformation that Ngune and about two hundred of his men have amassed on the Chadian border to try and retake Kondese within the next twelve hours — so the CIA will still believe that they can overthrow Jamel and the government.'

'I'd like a word in private,' Sabrina said to Graham then looked round at the others. 'Would you excuse us for a moment, please?'

Graham followed her out onto the porch.

' Yow suggested that they should spread some disinformation about Ngune? Why, Mike?' She held up her hand before he could answer. 'No, let me guess. So that it would give you enough time to get back to New York and deal with Bernard yourself.'

'Not me, us,' he retorted.

'This has become an obsession, hasn't it? You'll go to any lengths to confront Bernard yourself. Even to the point of deliberately putting an innocent man's life in danger. It doesn't bother you, does it?'

Graham rested his arms on the railing and nodded his head slowly to himself. 'I admit I was wrong going after Bernard like I did. At the time it was an obsession. But not any more. I've seen what Mobuto means to this country. The people need him.' He glanced round at her. 'Don't get me wrong, I still want to see Bernard brought to justice. But right now it's more important to stop him before he can get to Mobuto.'