“I would prefer to call it understandable but reprehensible. Terrorism in any form can never be morally justifiable.”
Provoked himself, Peter used the word deliberately to provoke and saw the small lift of Parker’s thick bushy eyebrows.
“There is terrorism from above as well as from below.” Parker picked up the word and used it deliberately. “If you define terrorism as extreme physical or physiological coercion used to induce others to submit to the will of the terrorist there is the legal terror threat of the gallows, the religious terror threat of hell fire, the paternal terror threat of the cane are those more morally justifiable than the aspiration of the weak, the poor, the politically oppressed,
the powerless victims of an unjust society? Is their scream of protest to be strangled-” Peter shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Protest outside the law-“
“Laws are made by man, almost always by the rich and the powerful laws are changed by men, usually only after militant action. The women’s suffragette movement, the civil rights campaign in this country-” Parker broke off and chuckled. “I’m sorry, Peter.
Sometimes I confuse myself.
It’s often more difficult to be a liberal than it is to be a tyrant. At least the tyrant seldom has doubts.” Parker lay back in his chair, a dismissive gesture. “I propose to leave you in peace for an hour or two now. You will want to develop your plans in line with the new developments. But I personally have no doubts now that we are dealing with politically motivated militants, and not merely a gang of oldfashioned kidnappers after a fast buck. Of one or ” her thing I am certain: before we see this one through we will be forced to examine our own consciences very closely.”
%
Make the second right,” said Ingrid quietly, and the Boeing swung off the grass onto the taxiway. There seemed to be no damage to her landing gear, but now that she had left her natural element, the aircraft had lost grace and beauty and became lumbering and ungainly.
The girl had never been on the flight deck of a grounded jumbo before, and the height was impressive. It gave her a feeling of detachment, of being invulnerable.
“Now left again,” she instructed, and the Boeing turned away from the main airport building towards the southern end of the runway. The observation deck of the airport’s flat roof was already lined with hundreds of curious spectators, but all activity on the apron was suspended. The waiting machines and tenders were deserted, not a single human figure on the tarmac.
“Park there.” She pointed ahead to an open area four hundred yards from the nearest building, midway between the terminal and the cluster of service hangars and the main fuel depot. “Stop on the intersection.” Grimly silent, Cyril Watkins did as he was ordered, and then turned in his seat.
“I must call an ambulance to get him off.” The co-pilot and a stewardess had the flight engineer stretched out on the galley floor,
just beyond the door to the flight deck. They were using linen table napkins to bind up the arm and try and staunch the bleeding. The stench of cordite still lingered and mingled with the taint of fresh blood.
“Nobody leaves this aircraft.” The girl shook her head.
“He knows too much about us already.” My God, woman. He needs medical attention.”
“There are three hundred doctors aboard-” she pointed out indifferently. “The best in the world. Two of them may come forward and attend to him.” She perched sideways on the flight engineer’s blood-splattered desk, and thumbed the internal microphone.
Cyril Watkins noticed even in his outrage that it needed only a single demonstration and Ingrid was able to work the complicated communications equipment. She was bright and very well trained.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed at Johannesburg Airport. We will be here for a long time perhaps days, even weeks. All our patience will be tried, so I must warn you that any disobedience will be most severely dealt with.
Already one attempt at resistance has been made and in consequence a member of the crew has been shot and gravely wounded. He may die of this wound. We do not want a repetition of this incident.
However, I must again warn you that my officers and I will not hesitate to shoot again, or even to detonate the explosives above your heads if the need arises.” She paused and watched a moment as two selected doctors came forward and knelt on each side of the flight engineer. He was shaking like a fever victim with shock, his white shirt splashed and daubed with blood. Her expression showed no remorse, no real concern, and her voice was calm and light as shement on.
“Two of my officers will now pass down the aisles and they will collect your passports from you. Please have these documents ready.”
Her eyes flicked sideways, as movement caught her eye.
From beyond the service hangars a line of four armoured cars emerged in line ahead. They were the locally manufactured version of the French Panhard with heavily lugged tall tyres, a raked turret and the disproportionately long barrels of the cannons trained forward.
The armoured vehicles circled cautiously and parked three hundred yards
Out, at the four points wing tips, tail and nose around the aircraft, with the long cannon trained upon her.
The girl watched them disdainfully until one of the doctors pushed himself in front of her. He was a short, chubby little man, balding but brave.
“This man must be taken to a hospital immediately.”
“That is out of the question.”
“I insist. His life is in danger.”
“All our lives are in danger, doctor.” She paused and let that make its effect. “Draw up a list of your requirements. I will see that you get them.” They have been down for sixteen hours now and the only contact has been a request for medical supplies and for a power link-up to the electrical mains.” Kingston Parker had removed his jacket and loosened the knot of his tie, but was showing no other ill effects of his vigil.
Peter Stride nodded at the image on the screen. “What have your medics made of the supplies? “he asked.
“Looks like a gunshot casualty. Whole blood type AB Positive,
that’s rare but one of the crew is cross-matched AB Positive on his service record. Ten lit res of plasmalyte B, a blood-giving set and syringes, morphine and intravenous penicillin, tetanus toxoid all the equipment needed to treat massive physical trauma.”
“And they are on mains power?” Peter asked.
“Yes, four hundred people would have suffocated by now without the air-conditioning. The airport authority has laid a cable and plugged it into the external socket. All the aircraft’s support system even the galley heating will be gfully functional.”
“So we will be able to throw the switch on them at any time.” Peter made a note on the pad in front of him. “But no demands yet? No negotiator called for?”
“No,
nothing. They seem fully aware of the techniques of bargaining in this type of situation unlike our friends, the host country. I am afraid we are having a great deal of trouble with the Wyatt Earp mentality-“
Parker paused.
“I’m sorry, Wyatt Earp was one of our frontier marshals-“
“I saw the movie, and read the book, Peter answered tartly.
“Well, the South Africans are itching to storm the aircraft, and both our ambassador and yours are hard pressed to restrain them. They are all set to kick the doors of the saloon open and rush in with six-guns blazing. They must also have seen the movie.” Peter felt the crawl of horror down his spine. “That would be a certain disaster,” he said quickly. “These people are running a tight operation.”
“You don’t have to convince me,” Parker agreed. “What is your flying time to Jan
Smuts now?”
“We crossed the Zambesi River seven minutes ago.” Peter glanced sideways through the perspex bubble window, but the ground was obscured by haze and cumulus cloud. “We have another two hours ten minutes to fly
