Scorpio Illusion by Robert Ludlum

Author:Robert Ludlum [Ludlum, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bestseller
ISBN: 9780006476337
Google: XuoyDk_m-nEC
Amazon: 0006476333
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Published: 1993-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

336 RoISERT LuDLUM

The flyers looked at each other. "Go on, tell him," said the pilot. "They haven't a fucking thing on us!"

"Sky Transport International," said the copilot. "It's a placement service, sort of a class-act employment agency."

"I'll bet it is. VAere's it located?"

"Nashville."

"Even better. All those country millionaires."

"We've never knowingly flown a felon or any individual or individuals carrying illegal substances-"

"Yes, you've said that, Mr. Pilot. Outside of your legal expertise, where were you trained? The military?"

"Absolutely not," replied the copilot angrily. "The finest civilian schools, top graded by the FAA with a combined five thousand hours logged."

"You got somethin' against the military?" asked Poole.

"The rigidity of the chain of command excludes individual initiative. We're better pilots."

"Now, just wait a hog-damned minute...

"Hold it, Lieutenant." Catherine Neilsen came out of the radio house. "Any surprises?" asked Hawthorne, gesturing for the major to return the wallets and passports.

"One or two," replied Cathy, handing their property over to the pilots. "Our fly-boys are named Benjamin and Ezekiel ]ones. They're brothers. They've been traveling extensively during the past twenty months or so. Interesting places like Cartagena, Caracas, Port-auPrince, and Estero, Florida."

"The lopsided rectangle," said Tyrell. "The last leg over the Everglades."

"Drop zones alpha through omega," commented Poole, disgust in his voice. "Pin-point releases the order of the day-- like in OD, you bastards. Boy, did Ezekiel get the wheel!"

"That's Sonny!" said the pilot. "Can we get the hell out of here?" Sweat poured THE SCORPIO ILLUSION 337 down the copilot's face as he kept glancing at the hedgerow fires.

"Oh, you're going to leave right away," answered Hawthorne, "and you're going to leave the way I tell you and do what I tell you. The lieutenant informs me that you've been cleared for Charlotte, North Carolina-"

"The departure time's passed and we haven't confirmed a new one!" Benjamin Jones objected. "We'd never get clearance for that routing-there's traffic up there!"

"You boys better go back to one of those top-rated schools," said Jackson. "By the time you circle at a few hundred feet, I'll eitheri have you a new routing or confirm the old one. "

"You can do that, Poole?"

"Certainly, he can," replied Cathy. "So can 1. That equipment reaches towers from Dulles to Atlanta. As Ben here said on the way up, Van Nostrand goes first class."

"You expect us to fly right into a crowd of federals wai'in forapassengerwehaven'tgot?"shoutedSonnyEzekief Jones.

"You're out of your fucking mind!"

"You're out of yours if you don't," said Tyrell calmly, reaching into his pocket for a small telephone pad and pencil, courtesy of the hotel in San Juan. "Here's the number you're to call when you get to Charlotte. Use a credit card, because it's in the Virgm Islands, and you'll reach an answering machine."

"You're crazy!" yelled Benjamin Jones.

"I really believe you should. You see, you'll never fly a remotely legitimate plane again in this country if you refuse.

On the other hand, if you do what I tell you to do, you're home free-with one proviso, which I'll 'get to in a moment.

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