‘We need to keep this in the family. If some big organization goes in with guns blazing, the first thing the narcos will do is top their hostages. Our own speciality is covert approach and surprise.’
Minutes ticked away. Then the secure line rang and I grabbed the receiver.
‘Geordie? You have a problem?’ Far from sounding annoyed at having been dragged out of bed, Alan Andrews, the ops officer, was all lit up.
‘Sorry to get you in,’ I said.
‘Not to worry. What is it?’
‘I’m in Bogotá and we’ve got a fastball. Peter Black’s been lifted by the PIRA, or by Colombians, or both.’ I told him what had happened, cutting everything short.
‘I’ll inform the Director immediately,’ he said. ‘He’ll be round to the Foreign Office as soon as they’re in business. We’ll get a squadron on standby.’
‘Great. The question is, what do I do now? The earliest I can collect the guys together is tomorrow morning. I’d like to get everyone back to our training camp, but it’s four hours out of town.’
‘What time is it now?’
‘Quarter to midnight. We’re five hours behind you.’
‘Wait one. I’ll speak to the CO and call you back.’
Five minutes later he came on again. ‘I’ve talked to the CO,’ he said. ‘Recovery of the personnel is the number one priority. Everything else has to give place to it. You’ll have to suspend the training course, or cancel it if need be.’
‘Roger. We’ll keep this phone manned from now on. It’s the best comms base by far.’
‘Good. The other thing is, this whole saga needs to stay under wraps. Officially, you aren’t there. The diplomatic shit’s already stirring over the guy at Essex University, so it’s essential you keep your head down, if you can.’
‘That’s fine by me.’
I rang off. ‘As I thought, they don’t want the Colombians involved,’ I told Egerton. ‘Is that going to make things awkward for you?’
‘We’ll have to see what happens. If the DA doesn’t reappear fairly soon, we’ll have to report his absence. But we can give it a few hours anyway. The Ambassador’s gone off for the weekend; if we can avoid having to drag him back, all the better.’
‘Listen,’ I said. ‘This is really very good of you. Don’t let me land you in it too.’
‘That’s all right. I had a brother in your Regiment, so it’s a pleasure to help.’
TWELVE
Egerton announced that he was going to stay over, and called his wife to tell her. Then he revealed that there were a couple of bedrooms behind the offices, and offered me one of them. As this seemed a better option than returning to the hotel, I took it. Before I turned in, I phoned Tony again and brought him up to date. I said he should get his head down.
I tried to do the same, but couldn’t. I was half-listening through the open door for the phone, half-cursing the way things had gone to ratshit. In a way it was my fault. If I hadn’t recognized Farrell and reported his presence, nothing would have happened. On the other hand, I couldn’t have ignored him and left him to carry on with whatever villainy he was engaged in. If the PIRA were into drug-running to the extent of sending him to Bogotá, it was really bad news for the Province, and something that ought to be tackled right away.
I think I lay awake most of the night, imagining various scenarios; but in fact I must have gone to sleep, because suddenly I became aware of Egerton standing over me with a brew of tea. It was 6 o’clock in the morning.
‘Things are moving,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a police report of a disturbance outside your restaurant, so I guess that was it. Also, I made a couple of calls. They should produce results within an hour.’
‘Brilliant. Is there a back way out of the building?’
‘Certainly. If you carry on down to the lower garage level in the lift, you can walk out of the pedestrian exit.’
‘Great. I want to nip back to the hotel to square things away. Now that this has happened, there’s bound to be someone watching the embassy, and I don’t want to be seen.’
‘Fair enough.’
By then it was mid-morning in England. I called Hereford again, and was put straight on to the CO.
‘No positive news yet?’ he asked.
‘No, but things are on the move. What do you advise about our location? I could send the team back to camp, but that’s more than four hours out of town. I’d rather have them on hand in case we have to head off somewhere quickly.’
‘I understand. Are they in a secure place?’
‘Reasonably. The hotel think we’re hydro engineers.’
‘Keep them there for the moment, then. If you find out where the hostages have been taken, you’ll need to set up a forward mounting base in the area, and get your people into it.’
‘Fine.’
‘We’ve been looking at ways of getting a squadron out to back you up. It’s been to Defence Minister and Foreign Minister level. We’re just waiting for clearance from the FO.’
‘Good. We’re OK for the moment. I’m getting first-class support in the embassy.’ As Bill was temporarily out of earshot I asked, ‘Do you know of a guy in the Regiment called Egerton?’
‘Donald? Don Egerton. Of course. He was a star. Killed on an exercise in Africa four or five years ago.’
‘Oh — right. I thought the name was familiar. It’s his brother in charge here.’
‘Glad to hear it.’
I hung up and glanced at my watch. I knew that, whatever might be said officially, ways would be found to get reinforcements out to us. Once the Regiment’s involved in an operation of this kind, obstructions tend to fall away.
Then… there was a good chance that on this Saturday morning Tracy would be at home. Worth a try, anyway.
I dialled — and there she was.
‘Geordie! What’s happening?’
‘Nothing. Everything’s cool. I just got a chance to call.’
‘Well, great. Where are you?’
‘In Bogotá.’
‘How’s the weather?’
‘All right. Not as hot as in camp. We’re 9,000 feet above sea-level. What about there?’
‘Typical March — cold and wet.’
‘How’s Tim?’
‘On top form. He’s got a friend here for the day — Alex Kirkby, from the village.’
‘Oh, great. Everything all right, then?’
‘Yes. Well… it was funny. A man rang last night.’
‘What did he want?’
‘He just asked how you were enjoying yourself in the sun.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘No. I asked what he meant, but he rang off.’
I felt a stab of anxiety. ‘What sort of a voice did he have?’
‘Nothing special. I couldn’t place it.’
‘Not Irish?’
‘I wouldn’t say so.’
‘Listen. If it happens again, call the police. OK?’
‘OK.’
‘And don’t worry. It was probably just some nutter.’
I said goodbye and rang off. Although I’d pretended to be nonchalant, I was disturbed. Outside the Regiment, nobody was supposed to know where we were. Who’d passed word around that I was in Colombia?
Before I had time to start worrying, Bill Egerton returned and showed me the way out via the fire-stairs, lending me a key so that I could come back in the same way.
I ran down to the lower garage floor and came out of the door cautiously. The car-park was three-quarters empty, and there was nobody in sight. The rear of the block was deserted, too. I turned to the right and set off, noticing for the first time that the building was flanked by a garden full of spectacularly bright flowers.
I walked the short leg to the hotel without picking up a tail. Tony had dragged everyone out of bed, and I got them all into the room he and I had been sharing. Most of them were looking rough. As I predicted, Mel had lost his money. He still had his wallet, but he’d got so smashed that someone had nicked all his cash from it without him noticing. The only things he had left were some emeralds he’d bought from a guy in the street and stashed in a pocket of his jeans. At least, he thought they were emeralds. The others reckoned they were bits of green glass.