Van Effen sighed. ‘Vasco, Vasco. Some of the most powerful and vicious gangs in the world are controlled by bosses temporarily confined to maximum-security blocks in prisons. Palermo, Cagliari, Ajaccio, Marseilles, half a dozen cities in the United States, even London and Amsterdam and Naples — there’s where the criminal overlords — overlords still with powers of life or death — hang out in their prison cells. It’s Romero’s brothers who have the orders for the sending of those menacing postcards to me, who ordered Julie’s kidnapping. But they’re not after Julie. I don’t believe they’re even after me. Convicted criminals, oddly enough, don’t usually harbour grudges against the cops who caught them: their resentment is reserved for the judges who sentenced them. Italy Is a classic example of this.’
‘If they’re not after you or Julie,’ George said slowly, ‘then my towering intellect tells me they’re after something else. And to think that Samuelson had the staggering effrontery to say that Riordan was prepared to use the devil’s tools to fight the devil.’
‘And I said that one would require a very long spoon to sup with the devil.’
‘Speaking about the devil,’ Vasco said, ‘and with all due respect, of course, what the devil are you two talking about?’ ”The devil,’ George said. ‘Or devils. Part of the flooding — or non-flooding of the country — and it may even be a pre-condition — will be that Romero’s murderous brothers be released from prison or, heaven help us, be given a free pardon.’
There was a brief hiatus while George returned inside the mill to get some more anti-pneumonia specific. When he returned van Effen said: ‘Well, so much for theory. I d-Link we’ve got everything right except Samuelson’s ultimate motivation. We’re not even wrong about that — we just don’t know. Now, practicalities: that shouldn’t take too long. Our options are limited and, besides, it’s too damned cold.
‘We have agreed that now is not the time to dispose of the three boss villains here. There are other and non-theoretical reasons. Samuelson may not be the C-in-C, although I’m convinced he is. There may be others. He has to have someone in the vicinity of the lisselmeer to trigger off that damned nuclear device of theirs. They also told us, unwisely, that this is only a stop-over HQ. The other will be their main one and, almost certainly, the one from which they intend to make their final strike. We have to find it so, for the moment, we have to go along with them. ‘I’m more than prepared for the fact that they’ll breach the dykes north and south of Lelystad and flood the east and south Flevoland areas shortly after midnight because I’m equally certain that the British are going to temporize and not throw in the towel before the first bell rings. With any luck there should be no loss of life — human life, that is: I wouldn’t care to guess what is going to happen to the livestock. This nuclear device to be detonated in the Ijsselmeer tomorrow afternoon presents a more serious threat — my guess is that it would be in the Markerwaard — and I wouldn’t much care to be in the vicinity of Marken or Volendam, when it went off. Nasty things, tidal waves, especially when the height is unpredictable. Things might even be unpleasant in Hoorn or Amsterdam itself, although I doubt it. After all, this is meant primarily as a demonstration for the British cabinet or whatever. The big bang will come later — considering the steadily worsening conditions that should be at the next high tide afterwards. Or the one after that. In daylight, anyway.’ Vasco said: ‘Why daylight?’
‘You think they have this helicopter just to make a non-existent film? They want it to take them some place a land-based vehicle can’t reach. An island, perhaps, though that seems unlikely. The point is that it’s very difficult to land a helicopter in gale force winds although highly-trained air-sea rescue pilots do it regularly. But to try it in a gale in total darkness and driving rain — in zero visibility, that is — is foolhardy to the point of suicide — especially if you happen to have as part of your cargo some potentially unstable nuclear devices. So, daylight.’
‘We might be here for a couple of days yet?’ George said. ‘My guess is that we’ll be off first light in the morning. They’ll want to establish themselves in their HQ, near the scene of action. Those ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles — they have been deactivated?’ George nodded. ‘How are you when it comes to deactivating tactical nuclear devices?’
‘I’ve never even seen a tactical nuclear device. If I could examine one or see a blue-print, well, yes, perhaps. Otherwise, no. I know I wouldn’t feel a thing but I still don’t much fancy being vaporized.’ ‘Well, we’ll have a look at them later on tonight. They’re somewhere on the premises. We don’t even have to look. You heard what Agnelli said — “I can show them to you now.” ‘
‘Won’t that make them suspicious?’ George said. ‘That we didn’t ask to see them right away? They’ll be thinking we have been having a conference and have dreamed up some devilish scheme.’
‘Let them think what they like and be as suspicious as they like. We’re as safe-as men in a church. We, my friends, are indispensable.’ George and Vasco looked at each other, then at van Effen, but said nothing. ‘We’re also not very bright. Joop, Joachim or some of their psychopathic Red Army Faction pals stole those nuclear devices from the US NATO arms dump near Metnitz on the night of February 3rd. Something else happened on that same night.’
‘February 3rd,’ George said. ‘Of course. We really are not very bright. That was the night the De Dooms ammunition dump was blown out of existence. Samuelson’s explosive experts trying to replenish their supplies. An enormous crater. No replenishments and, of course, no experts. No wonder the FFF were so desperate for our supplies and services. We’re probably the only people around who could set off a squib. Lloyd’s of London would approve of this.’
Vasco said: A marvellous insurance policy, to be sure. But has the thought occurred to you that Joop or one of his lunatic associates may know how to trigger those nuclear devices?’
‘The thought has occurred,’ van Effen said. ‘So we’ll just have to attend to the lunatics or the devices, won’t we? Or both. But before we start attending to anything I suggest we go inside, have a wash and brush up, find out how thoroughly they have examined our luggage, listen to the next riveting communication from the Dutch or British governments or the FFF, then join our genial hosts for dinner. One would imagine that a of Samuelson’s resources could run to a cordon bleu chef.’
Romero Agnelli greeted them genially on their entrance and at once pressed jonge jenevers on them. ‘You must be needing this after your long stay outside. I mean, it’s pretty cold tonight.’
‘Not for us,’ van Effen said. ‘We’re fresh-air fanatics.’ 11 thought that applied only to the English. Anyway, I trust you enjoyed your stroll.’
‘If you call pacing up and down your veranda a stroll, then, yes, we did.’ Van Effen knew that Agnelli was perfectly well aware that they had not once left the veranda.
‘And, of course, the opportunity for a private conversation.’ Agnelli was still smiling.
‘Well, yes. Pondering our probable future, about which we know precious little. After all, you and your friends are hardly very communicative. We don’t know what we’re here for, what services we are expected to perform, where we’re going, even when we’re going.’ ‘That last I can tell you — eight o’clock tomorrow morning. As for the rest, well, you and I are great believers in the need-to-know principle.’ ‘True, true. But there’s one thing that we do need to know — where do we sleep tonight? On the floor?’
‘Dear me, no. Mind you, this is no Amstel but we do have accommodation of sorts. Come, I’ll show you. I’ve already had your baggage brought up.’ He led the way up the curving staircase and along to a door at the end of a passageway. The room beyond was of moderate size with three single beds. Agnelli indicated a door at the far end of the room. ‘Bathroom. No marble bath, no gold taps, but serviceable enough.’ He looked at his watch, ‘Dinner in twenty minutes.’ He left, still smiling. Van Effen and George sat on their beds, engaged in desultory conversation, while Vasco looked around. In this particular kind of looking-around Vasco was a specialist, very meticulous, very thorough. After a few minutes he said: ‘Clear. No bugs.’
George hoisted his medium-sized suitcase on to his knees. It was one of those fancy cases with combination locks, four figures by each of the two keyholes, eight in all. George peered at it closely. ‘Combinations as set?’ van Effen said.
‘As set. But not untouched. Very tiny scratches. This case is brand new, never been used before. Normally, I wouldn’t be seen dead with this junior-executive status symbol but Annelise gave it to me for my birthday and it would have been more than my life’s worth to have left home without it. It’s been opened and closed and in very short order, too. I don’t know of a safe-breaker in the Netherlands who could have done this.
Anyone who knows his job can open a conventional safe — 2 pair of good ears or a doctor’s stethoscope can hear the tumblers click. No tumblers in this type of lock.’
Van Effen said: ‘I’ll bet O’Brien could open the vaults of the Amsterdam-Rotterdam bank with a bent hairpin.’
‘I wouldn’t doubt it.’ George adjusted the combination figures and opened the case. ‘A very neat character. Everything exactly where it was except of course where it’s naturally settled in the process of being carried.’ ‘Yours,
