A Devil is Waiting by Jack Higgins

Author:Jack Higgins [Jack Higgins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2012-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

9

When they got to Holland Park, Ferguson was sitting with Dillon and Roper, Doyle serving tea and coffee.

‘There you are.’ Ferguson was remarkably cheerful. ‘Let’s get started. It could be a long night, thanks to Ali Selim. The Prime Minister is furious, thinks the whole business makes us look very bad in Washington, so Ali Selim must be dealt with once and for all.’

‘Which is where hot pursuit comes in,’ Sara said. ‘But what does that mean, sir?’

‘Exactly what I was going to ask,’ Dillon said. ‘Do we try and capture the man or just put a bullet between his eyes?’

‘That would obviously depend on the situation,’ Ferguson told him.

‘But the bullet would make more sense,’ Holley said. ‘In any case, do we know if he’s actually reached Peshawar?’

‘Not to our knowledge,’ Roper said. ‘His plane had a flight plan to Bahrain. Since then it’s dropped out of view. It’s an Arab plane owned by a wealthy sheikh, flying in Gulf airspace.’ He shrugged. ‘It might as well be invisible. On the other hand, if it has landed at Peshawar, it hasn’t done anything wrong. We all know how corrupt the situation is in Pakistan. It’s easy for Ali Selim to be passed through, and after all, he isn’t going to stay there. According to Jemal, he intends to cross the border into Afghanistan to this village called Amira.’

‘One thing in our favour,’ Ferguson said. ‘Our old friend Seleman Hamza has been promoted to colonel in charge of the military police headquarters in Peshawar. He’s not only on our side, he hates Al Qaeda.’

‘So you are completely in charge, General, not the Cabinet Office,’ Roper said.

A statement, not a query, and Ferguson smiled. ‘Just the way I like it. Tell me about this Amira place.’

‘About forty miles inside Afghanistan, west of the Khyber Pass.’

‘So an illegal crossing is necessary.’ Ferguson nodded, thinking about it.

‘Definitely,’ Roper said. ‘A dangerous trip by road in the back-country, which I believe they call the Wilderness. A helicopter would be better.’

‘Which would mean the Pakistani Army having to look the other way. That’s where Colonel Hamza would be useful. I believe there are private firms flying cargo in old Soviet Raptor helicopters and vehicles like that. Money talks, so something could be arranged. He’s bound to have the right contacts.’

It was Dillon who said, ‘Remember Ben Carver, who we used to use in Hazar? He sold his air taxi firm to a guy named Greg Slay, a captain in the Army Air Corps. Helicopters and fixed-wing. Got a DFC in Iraq. The old military airfield where he’s based is used regularly for refuelling by RAF traffic on the way to the war zone in Pakistan.’

‘Good thinking,’ Ferguson said. ‘Get in touch with him, Giles. Make him an offer he can’t refuse, and tell him I want him at Peshawar International Airport within twelve hours. He’ll arrange a lift, I’ve no doubt, from some RAF transport plane passing through.’

‘I’ll get right on it.’

‘I suggest we all

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