Geoffrey?'
'Light plane to Debra Maryam. There is an emergency landing field there.
Colonel Nogo met us, and brought us -the rest of the way by army jeep,'
Geoffrey explained. 'The pilot and the aircraft are waiting for us at
Debra Maryam.'
Geoffrey broke off and spoke to the camp staff in execrable Amharic,
before turning back to Nicholas. 'I have just arranged a hot bath for
you and Dr Al Simma.
After that, a meal and a good night's sleep should work wonders.
Tomorrow we can fly back to Addis. No reason why we shouldn't be there
by tomorrow evening at the latest.'
He patted Royan's shoulder, disguising his carnal interest in her behind
a benign avuncular smile. 'I must say I am rather pleased not to have to
go traipsing down into the Abbay gorge looking for the pair of you. I
hear that it's a pretty beastly part of the world.'
explained to chase the goats off the emergency airfield at Debra Maryam.
In the meantime Nicholas was stuffing the roll of dik-dik skin under the
rear passenger seat. One of Nogo's sergeants you mind, Dr Al Simma, if
I sit in front?
Terribly rude of me, but I am inclined to suffer from malde air. Ha ha!'
Geoffrey Royan as they waited for three small boys to had made a night
descent of the escarpment, and had delivered both his bag and the skin
while they were breakfasting that morning.
Nogo gave them a smart salute as they taxied out in a cloud of dust.
Nicholas waved and smiled at him through the side window, murmuring,
'Screw you, Nogo, screw you very much indeed.'
When at last the pilot lifted the little Cessna 260 off the rough grass
strip, the horizon over the Abbay gorge resembled a field of cosmic
mushrooms, vast thunderheads reaching up into the stratosphere. The air
beneath them i was turbulent as a storm sea and they were thrown about
mercilessly in the rear seats. Up in front Geoffrey seemed to be faring
no better. He was very quiet and took no interest in their conversation.
There had been no opportunity for them to talk privately the previous
evening, what with either Geoffrey or Nogo hovering within earshot at
all times. Now with their heads close together, the engine beat covering
their voices and Geoffrey occupied with his own queasy thoughts, they
were able to concoct their story.
Geoffrey had made it clear that the British Ambassador in Addis was less
than delighted with the inconvenience they had caused him. Apparently
there had been a string of faxes from Whitehall since they had been
reported missing. Added to that, the Ethiopian Commissioner of Police
was anxious to question them. They had to make sure that they did not
implicate Mek Nimmur in the killing of Boris Brusilov, and at the same
time they must not alert or alarm Pegasus in any way. They realized that
the reaction from that quarter would be swift and probably lethal if
they gave the least suspicion that they knew who the other players were
in Taita's game.
Most of all they must avoid antagonizing the Ethiopian authorities, or
give them any cause to cancel their visas and declare them to be
undesirable immigrants. They agreed to feign ignorance and play the role
