“you? You blush?” He leaned across the table and kissed her.
“Listen, James, there is not much time. Our other watchers saw that the intruders, the people from BAST, were lazy. They knew we would not come out, or go near the car until either late on Christmas Day, or even the next day. They left all things unguarded. They just went away.”
“And Franco had a look-see?”
“More than a look-see. It was not easy. They used C-4
plastique, with a remote detonator. A button job, as they like to call it.”
“So what did Franco do?”
“It was dangerous. Very dangerous. He bypassed their remote control, and put in a different one. He also added a few extra things for luck. The door had been left open, and their remote simply operated a little light-bulb on the steering-wheel. That was the first thing Franco put in.” She poured herself a cup of coffee, and the building shook slightly as an aircraft took off from the base.
“We had our own button job. When they operated their button, I pressed our button and this made for a great deal of smoke.
Very thick smoke, and a flash, which went off four seconds after the smoke. A big flash. The smoke was dense. It covered the whole parking area.”
Bond remembered, and saw it all again. First there was smoke, then the flash, followed by the terrible detonation.
“This is why I dashed ahead. We thought that if they believed I was dead they would make a move - which they did. As soon as I pressed our button I was able to run through the smoke, and get to the other side of the wall. In the tall metal box, there, we had another remote, linked to the real detonator. With these things there is often a time-lapse. They all thought, like you, that I was blown to pieces “But you were. They found remains.”
She did not look him in the eyes. “Yes, that was most unpleasant, and a terrible thing to do. I shall have to make many novenas.
Franco’s people robbed a grave. I don’t wish to talk about that.”
“You’re alive, Beatrice, my darling. That’s really all that matters.”
“Actually, James, it does matter, but there is something more important. You have to get back to the ship. Even now, terrible things could be happening. We have people watching but we don’t really know what they’re going to do. Or how they’ll do it.
You were followed, by the way .
“Followed here?”
“No, after the bomb. To the place they had set up on the mainland. We managed to get our first good photograph of Bassam Baradj, who we think is the “Viper’ of BAST. The leader, who is going to do something pretty terrible to those three important people you have on your ship.” She pushed a photograph across the table. It was the man he had known as Toby Lellenberg, the Commanding Officer of Northanger.
“That’s Baradj?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if all that was phoney, why in heaven’s name didn’t anyone do something about it? Why didn’t you get me out? Come to that you could have scuppered Baradj at the same time. Why, Beatrice?”
She gave him a wan smile. “Why, indeed? I tried, James. I tried very hard. To me it seemed the obvious thing to do.”
“Then why didn’t you …?”
M overruled it. You were monitored very carefully. The whole Northanger set-up was kept under close surveillance, but M said we were to let them play it out. His argument was fairly sound.
He wanted to use the information regarding your.- hijacking, and, come to that, the hijacking of all the Northanger staff as a lever.”
“What kind of a lever?”
“He thought the Prime Minister, the US President, and Gorby would abort the whole thing if they smelled danger. He that is - laid it all out to the PM; went through the dangers, and the difficulties we might have with security. But . .
“But she wouldn’t listen.” Bond supplied.
Beatrice nodded. “She waved aside everything. Even called the US President while M was there. Their argument was that this was urgent, important, and couldn’t be rescheduled. I rather gather that she just waved aside the danger, and the others followed her, like sheep.”
“That all figures. Do we know where Baradj is now?”
“We’re not sure. Maybe on Gibraltar. Maybe even nearer.
Now you know this, you have to get back. You also have to get Mrs. Thatcher, the President of the United States, and Mr. Gorbachev off the ship in time. Off and away from it.”
An expletive suddenly burst out of Bond’s mouth.
“What?” Beatrice asked.
“If you’re not the “Cat’, then .
“Of course. Did you not realise that before? It’s one of the reasons you have to get back. If we pinpoint Baradj, then I’ll be near him. Look for me near Baradj.” She had risen and pressed a button set in the wall. Mike Carter appeared in the doorway.
“Time to go?” he asked, almost gratefully.
“I have told him all we know, Mike.”
“Your boat didn’t wait for you.” Carter looked at Bond.
“No. No, I have a code sequence with Walmsley. Are you in touch with the ship?”
“Sure. No speech, just the electronics.”
“Okay, send this Songbird requests boat to come aboard.
You should receive a response with the words Tawny Owl in it.
If they don’t send Tawny Owl, then I guess we’re in for a shooting match.” He rose, and she came around the table to him. For the first time Bond noticed that she was wearing the gold and diamond clasp, shaped like a scutum, that he had given her for Christmas.
He held her close, and kissed her hair, then her lips. “If you’re going to be near Baradj, you take care, Beatrice, my darling.”
“You just get those important people off Invincible. Then we’ll go for Baradj together. I want another Christmas with you, James.”
“Maybe a lot of christmases.” Carter had returned and coughed delicately by the door.
“You’re okay, sir. The message read, “Am sending boat for Songbird stop The Tawny Owl is waiting.”’ “Thank God for that.” Bond kissed her again, then left quickly, not looking back. He rarely looked back in a situation like this.
In some ways he thought it might bring bad luck.
The little boat, with its engine throbbing, was already waiting at the steps. In the bow a Leading Wren waited to help him aboard.
“The Captain’s apologies, sir. He couldn’t send the same seaman back for you. The rnan has had to go to the Sick Bay.
He wasn’t too well.”
Bond remembered. “He didn’t seem all that brilliant on the way in.” He jumped down into the boat and waved to Carter, who waited until they were clear of the jetty and then walked to his car.
Ten minutes later, Carter was back at the low building inside the base. Beatrice was waiting outside, looking frantic and agitated.
“Oh, my God, Mike.” Her voice had risen to an almost hysterical pitch.
“What in God’s name he began.
“They’ve got them.”
“Who?”
“Thatcher, Bush and Gorbachev. The Foreign Office in London received a telephone call ten minutes ago. They’ve been told to pass it on to their opposite numbers in Washington and Moscow. The call was from a man. They think from London. He gave them a code word Batsblood and said that the three heads of state were being held in invincible. There will be no release to the Press and their demand is six hundred billion dollars: two hundred billion for each of the heads of state.”
“Just money? Nothing else? No prisoners to be released?
Nothing like that?”
She shook her head, biting her lip. “That’s it. They have until three o’clock our time to agree. If nothing by then, they’ll show us some kind of firework display. If the Task Force makes any attempt to approach invincible, they’ll kill one of the three.” She drew in air.