Charley was right behind him. As the engineer's rump filled the entrance to the bay, she reached behind the reactor and retrieved the bomb he had just placed there. It too went into her jacket.
Ten minutes later, in a ladies' room of the main house, Charley examined her trophies. Both were radio controlled, both had magnets to hold them to metal surfaces. She picked up the first bomb, the one she had found behind the hydrogen accumulator tank. Who put this one there? Hedrick, the Chinese, the Russians?
Maybe Hedrick's bomb was still on the saucer.
The actual auction began after lunch in Hedrick's library on the ground floor of the house. The room was large, twenty feet by thirty, with a desk for Hedrick and smaller desks scattered about the room for the bidding groups. In the corner near where Charley Pine sat was a large, black safe, a huge thing, which bore the markings of the Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide Railroad Company, the B,S & A.
Charley settled in to watch with her flight jacket on her lap.
At lunch Hedrick invited her to the table where he and Bernice sat. 'When the auction is complete, I wish to hire you to fly the saucer to where the new owner wishes it to go. I will pay you for your time as we agreed and give you enough additional money to pay for airfare back to America. I will also ask that the new owner pay you ten thousand dollars for flying the saucer for them.'
'You keep saying you'll pay me, but I haven't seen any money.'
Hedrick reached into his pocket and removed a stack of hundreds. He tossed it in front of her. 'There's ten thousand American there. I'll pay you the rest when we figure the airfare.'
She tapped her finger on the bundle. 'What if I take this, then swear out a kidnapping warrant when I get back to the States?'
Hedrick shrugged. 'Do as you think best.'
'Why don't you give me a check instead? That way you have proof you paid me.'
'Let's not play games, Ms. Pine. Check or cash, which do you prefer?'
Charley picked up the bundle of banknotes. 'Doesn't matter,' she said as she slipped the bundle into a pocket.
'It is possible that the deal might be consummated tonight, but more likely tomorrow sometime. Please avoid the wine, so you can fly.'
Charley nodded. Bernice smiled at her, as if to say, See, he's really very nice.
Charley managed a smile as she arranged her napkin on her lap.
'Perhaps,' Hedrick said, 'you would like to watch the auction?'
'That sounds interesting,' Charley Pine said, trying not to sound over- or underwhelmed. After all, she didn't have anything better to do unless she wanted to go for another Land Rover ride with Bernice, and her back was too sore for that foolishness.
'Working for me didn't turn out so bad after all,' Hedrick said with a smile. The bastard could really turn on the charm.
'I guess not,' Charley said and smiled in reply. 'I really enjoyed breaking Rigby's nose.'
She did feel somewhat relieved. Perhaps neither of those bombs were Hedrick's, she thought as she sat listening to dear, earnest Bernice chatter away.
Now, sitting in the library watching Hedrick, she realized that he had paid ten thousand dollars so she would relax, not try to escape, so she would agree to fly the saucer for the successful bidders, and die with the Russians.
Ten thousand dollars was chump change to Roger Hedrick. Bernice spent that much every half hour she shopped.
This afternoon Bernice and another secretary did the necessary paper shuffling and legwork. There were several people sitting near Hedrick whom Charley didn't know, so she asked Bernice at one point. One of the balding gentlemen was with the Australian tax ministry. Another was from the prime minister's office.
Anyone who didn't think Roger Hedrick had connections, think again!
Each of the bidding parties had already prepared their first bids, so the first round went quickly. All four parties bid the minimum, ten billion dollars. As they were preparing their bids for the second round, Bernice wandered over to where Charley was sitting beside the safe.
Charley asked her about Siberia.
'I think Roger made some agreement with the Russians,' Bernice whispered, 'but I don't know what. He doesn't like it when I ask him about business matters.'
'I see.'
'If he doesn't want me to know anything, then why does he want me to help out with these business things?' Bernice asked. 'I think he sees me as cheap secretarial help.' She smiled when she said that. Actually, Charley thought, Roger wanted Bernice around so she would think he liked her. That was his hold on her.
The thought that she was overthinking this whole thing irritated Charley. Maybe Hedrick really did like Bernice. What the hell did it matter?
Then again… she was acutely conscious of the heft of the bombs in her coat pockets.
The Japanese and Europeans both bid twenty billion in the second round. The Chinese were next at thirteen billion, the Russians bid eleven billion, the minimum.
After the second round, each group wanted to make telephone calls, so that took some time.
The third round took even more time. This time the bids were in the mid-thirties.
After the fifth round, the high bid was fifty-eight billion and all the players were still in. They were sweating now. Ties were loosened, coats were on the backs of chairs, even Roger Hedrick was feeling a bit of the tension. He had loosened his tie and was watching each group with eyes that didn't miss a thing.
At this point Charley thought the Russians were the least likely group to buy the saucer. The Japanese exuded confidence, but Charley knew of the bomb one of the engineers had planted, so she thought they had a firm top figure that the Japanese government had refused to exceed. The only question in Charley's mind was how close to the limit they had come.
One more round, or two?
The Chinese seemed to be most in control. The senior man was as calm as if he had been playing mah-jong for matchsticks. He was the only man in the room who was still wearing his suit jacket. If he had a limit that he could not exceed, his demeanor certainly gave no hint of it.
That thought seemed to trouble the Japanese, who kept eyeing the Chinese warily.
The Europeans were arguing among themselves. They would whisper vehemently together, then leave the room, come back and whisper some more, then leave again.
It was getting along toward five o'clock and the bids for the sixth round had yet to be filled out when Bernice came over to Charley. 'Roger says this will be the last round today. Would you care to freshen up for dinner?'
'I'd like that,' Charley Pine said and picked up her flight jacket from the floor beside her chair. It felt lighter with only one bomb in the pocket.
She smiled to herself as she walked for the door.
At dinner Charley Pine learned how the sixth round of bidding had turned out. All four parties were still in the game, high bid $62.6 billion by the Japanese.
Charley was wearing one of Bernice's French frocks. Ivan the Russian Romeo was too busy conferring in low tones with his colleagues to pay attention, but Pieraut found the time to give her a very pleasant smile. Ah, those Frenchmen!
That little smile warmed her.
Charley wondered if Rip Cantrell would like the way she looked, then spent the next hour feeling vaguely guilty. After all, the kid was eight years younger than she was.
Well, at least she had ten thousand bucks in her jeans. When,
Thinking these thoughts, she attacked her steak.
