Exocet

'No, ma'am, I'm afraid I can't.'

'Then I suggest you do something about that, Brigadier,' she said calmly. 'Department Four has full power — total authority from this office. Use it, Brigadier, use it any way you can, for the sake of our men in the South Atlantic, for all our sakes.'

'Thank you, Prime Minister. I'll do my best, I can assure you of that.'

Ferguson got the door opened and went out. The eyes of those previous Prime Ministers seemed to follow him as he went down the stairs. He wondered if he'd just secured himself a small niche in history, but decided probably not. Even if it all works perfectly, it was the kind of thing they'd all deny had happened. He chuckled to himself as the aide bowed him to the front door and showed him out.

* * *

As Harry Fox and Ferguson went up in the lift at Kensington Palace Gardens, Fox said, 'We're wasting our time, sir. When I tried to speak to her on the phone, she just told me to get lost.'

'We'll see,' Ferguson said.

He pushed open the lift door, went around the corner to Gabrielle's flat and knocked. After a while the door opened on the chain and she peered out.

'What do you want?'

'To talk to you.'

'Well I don't want to talk to you. Clear off!'

She started to close the door and he pushed his foot in. 'Not even about Raul Montera?'

She stared blankly at him, then took off the chain and turned away. Ferguson followed her in and Fox closed the door behind them.

She went and stood by the fire and lit one of her rare cigarettes. 'Well, get on with it.'

She looked magnificent in her anger, eyes full of hate, and Ferguson decided to go in with both feet.

'Raul Montera arrives in Paris tomorrow to liaise with a man called Felix Donner who the Argentine Government believes can procure them an additional supply of Exocet missiles. I need to find out what they're up to and stop them. I want you to go to Paris, make contact with Montera again, and do whatever is necessary to help us stop them cold.'

'You must be crazy. I'll never work for you again. Never.'

'It's your duty. You're still a British citizen.'

'I am also a citizen of France. That makes me neutral.'

'Impossible,' he said calmly. 'Your half-brother, sublieutenant Richard Brindsley, is serving as a helicopter pilot on board HMS Invincible, as you very well know.'

'Stop it!' she said desperately. 'I won't listen.'

'He is serving with 820 Squadron,' Ferguson carried on relentlessly. 'The same squadron as Prince Andrew. Let me tell you what one of his more unpleasant duties is. The Sea Kings are frequently used to act as decoys for Exocet missiles. Prince Andrew and your brother and their comrades act in the belief that an Exocet cannot fly above twenty-seven feet. They hover, present an attractive radar target, protecting the ship of the fleet. The idea is to gain height quickly at the last moment possible, so that the missile passes beneath them. Unfortunately, rogue Exocets have been known to exceed that height. I'll spare you a description of the possibilities.'

She was almost beside herself with rage and fear. 'I won't listen. Leave me alone.'

'And then there's your friend, Montera. A gallant fool if ever I saw one, but the enemy in this war, Gabrielle, make no mistake about that. A man who has flown a Skyhawk with a five thousand pound bomb load to attack the British fleet in San Carlos Water on no fewer than twelve occasions. I wonder which frigate he helped sink?'

She turned away. Ferguson nodded to Fox and went out. Fox closed the door and found him in the lift, his face strained.

'I told you it was a waste of time.'

'Nonsense,' Ferguson said. 'She'll go.' As the lift descended he said, 'She'll need a man, Harry, to back her up. Someone totally dependable and quite ruthless. Do you know where Tony is at this moment?'

'Operating behind Argentinian lines somewhere in the Falklands with the SAS.'

'Exactly. I thought I might need him so I sent a signal last night, utmost priority. I want him pulled out. Picked up by submarine and off-loaded into Uruguay. It's only fourteen hours by plane from Montevideo to Paris. Our people at the Embassy in Montevideo can have the necessary papers waiting for him.'

They went out and down the steps towards the car. He said, 'I know, Harry, don't bother to say it. I'm the great original bastard of all time.'

* * *

Belov and Garcia sat with Donner in the study of his apartment and waited while Wanda poured coffee.

'That's fine,' Donner said to her. 'Any business calls from the corporation in London, you handle and tell Yanni to stand by. I may need him.'

She went out and he said to Garcia, 'So, Colonel Montera arrives tomorrow? You've brought me that file on him I asked for, I trust? I like to know who I'm dealing with.'

'Of course.' Garcia opened his briefcase and produced a small folder which he pushed across.

Donner opened it, studied the photo it contained of Montera, and quickly scanned the details on the sheets.

'Excellent,' he said at last. 'What arrangements have you made as regards accommodation?'

'A hotel didn't seem like a good idea,' Garcia said, 'and certainly not the Embassy. I've leased a small service flat for him in an apartment block on the Avenue de Neuilly by the Bois de Boulogne.' He passed a card across. 'There's the address and telephone number.'

'Good.' Donner nodded. 'I'll make the necessary contact with him once he arrives.'

Garcia said, 'I was wondering when we might have some further details as to exactly what you intend.' There was a kind of exasperation in his voice. 'I mean, you've still given us not the slightest hint where you expect to get the Exocets from.'

'And I don't intend to,' Donner said. 'Not until the very last moment. This is a matter of the utmost delicacy. The fewer people who know my source, the better. I'm sorry but that's the way I work.' He shrugged. 'Of course if you're not satisfied, it would still be possible to pull out.'

'Good God, no,' Garcia said hastily. 'I didn't mean that, not for a moment.'

'I'm glad to hear it. Now, if you wouldn't mind leaving us alone for a moment. You can wait in the next room. I'm sure Wanda can find you some more coffee.'

Garcia went out. Belov said, 'Amateurs. What on earth is one supposed to do with them?'

'Keep them out of harm's way, that's what,' Donner said. 'I've already made it plain to Paul Bernard that under no circumstances does he discuss with Garcia his dealings with me.'

'Who therefore knows nothing about your interest in Ile de Roc?'

'Exactly.'

'And can you trust Bernard?'

'Oh, yes, the good professor has really got the bit between his teeth. Looks upon the whole thing as a kind of crusade. I haven't been explicit, but he obviously thinks I intend to hijack one of the Aerospatiale trucks which transport Exocets by road to the island every so often. Mind you, if he knew my exact intentions, he might not be so pleased. But he has served my purpose very well.'

'And what happens to him afterwards?'

'Something suitably dramatic, I think, like being found dead with a gun in one hand and a suicide note, regretting his involvement in a conspiracy against his own country to obtain Exocets for the Argentine Government. French Intelligence will have little difficulty in establishing that he gave all that technical assistance early in the campaign. According to Garcia, he was on the telephone to Buenos Aires answering queries for lengthy periods on a number of occasions. It should all come out very satisfactorily. France is, after all, a democracy. Three cheers for a free press.'

'You really do think of everything, don't you?'

'I try. Now to something you can help me with. I need an address where I can pick up some muscle.'

'How many men?'

'I'd say about eight, which makes ten with me and Stavrou. Ample for my purposes if they are the right breed. Thorough-going hoods. Nothing fancy about using their brains. The kind of men who will kill if the price is right.'