Strangely, in the end, it was not just his conscience that changed his mind about letting Sumners take over the op, but an ingrained belief in himself and his destiny. Ultimately, he could not accept that if he continued the assignment his end would come at the hands of a mad Russian with an atom bomb. It felt ludicrous and impossible. Fate had many more things in store for him, and perhaps a more horrible finale, but not this. It was more than simple optimism. Stratton believed his life was written and that he had some kind of an insight into his future. He did not know when his time would come but it was not now, not on this operation. Of all the beliefs Stratton possessed, this was his most valuable. He believed he had a life worth living beyond this moment.
He came to a decision, turned his attention to the problem and focused on the tactics required to achieve his goal.The answer was immediate, simple and based entirely on intuition. He believed Sumners to have a high degree of self-preservation, enough for him to drop the ball once he learned of Gabriel’s fear, but Sumners also had pride and the trick was going to be how to manipulate it. The success would hang on the execution.
‘Sumners,’ Stratton said.
Sumners was talking to his boss and did not appear to hear him. Stratton stepped over to the table and leaned closer. ‘Sumners,’ he repeated.
Sumners was annoyed at the interruption. ‘What is it?’ he said.
‘Something you need to know.’
‘You’ll be fully debriefed by Chalmers on the flight back and I’ll receive your entire report,’ he said.
‘That may be too late.’
Sumners exaggerated a sigh. ‘What is it?’ he asked like a tired parent.
‘You’re pretty sold on Gabriel, aren’t you?’
‘Sold?’
‘You suggested earlier you had become one of the converted, a believer.’
‘Hard to be sceptical under the circumstances. He got us this far, didn’t he? What’s your point?’
‘You’re going to be with Gabriel all the way?’
‘Of course,’ Sumners said. ‘He’s our golden goose.’ Sumners suddenly felt he had detected Stratton’s true worry. ‘Don’t worry,’ he added. ‘I’ll look after him. I must say I’m touched if not a little surprised at your concern.’
Sumners turned away to continue talking to his boss.
‘It’s not him I’m concerned about,’ Stratton said. ‘It’s you. Gabriel has seen his own death by the device. He believes he’s going to be blown up by the nuclear bomb. I thought you should know.’
The words dropped like a ten-ton weight through the thin roof of the aircraft, and although Sumners did not face Stratton immediately, he had stopped in mid-sentence, and his boss’s eyes had moved from Sumners to look directly at Stratton - he could smell a game afoot if Sumners could not. Chalmers stopped tapping the keys of the computer and looked between the men. They all instantly understood the implication of the statement that anyone within five miles of Gabriel would also be vaporised. It seemed to rock Sumners to his very foundations though probably only Stratton and his boss could see it.
The blow was a multiple one for Sumners. Every plan and dream of glory he had fermented in the hours since his boss had given him his blessing to take over the assignment were shattered like a stack of crystal ten-pins.
There was a long silence which served only to emphasise Sumners’ astonishment as his mind worked like a computer calculating the various angles he might employ to get out of this predicament, unable to find a single one.
‘When did he tell you this?’ Sumners’ boss asked Stratton, breaking the silence.
‘Yesterday. Obviously the implications weren’t apparent to me until I heard about the nuclear device when I came on board.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything right away, as soon as I told you?’ Sumners asked.
‘I didn’t know you were taking over the operation. ’
‘Why are you telling us this now?’ Sumners’ boss asked, curious.
‘You just heard Sumners say he believes in Gabriel’s viewings,’ Stratton said. ‘If he didn’t find out now he’d find out later and, since he’s a believer, it might affect his command of the situation.’
Stratton and Sumners stared at each other unblinking. If their positions were reversed, Sumners would not have said anything. The operation could go forward on Gabriel’s viewings, but it certainly could not halt because of a daydream about the future. Nevertheless, that wasn’t why Stratton had offered the information. He was not trying to do Sumners any favours either. On the contrary, Stratton had had his operation taken away from him and he was obviously manoeuvring to take it back. But the implication remained that whoever was with Gabriel was going to end up being blown up. It would be easy to prove. Gabriel was right at the door and a lie like that would be the end of Stratton’s career. There was something devious behind it, Sumners was sure of it.
Sumners’ boss remained coldly relaxed in his chair with his legs crossed and fingers intertwined in front of him. ‘Do you believe Gabriel?’ he asked, switching his gaze to Sumners.
Sumners didn’t answer right away, his mind still going like the clappers weighing the various implications of his answer.
Stratton was impressed with the heartlessness of Sumners’ boss.The man had the charm of a rattlesnake and the personality of a lettuce. He was coldly twisting the knife that Stratton had shoved into Sumners, pushing his subordinate into a corner. Stratton almost felt sorry for Sumners. It was his first attempt to step into the field and he was about to be metaphorically blown out of the water before his foot touched down. Since Sumners admitted believing in Gabriel’s unusual abilities, it disqualified him from taking over the ground operation because it would influence his decision-making process. If he now changed his tune, his credibility would be in jeopardy.
Sumners suddenly found himself hating Stratton for putting him in this position, even more so because it was in front of his boss. Stratton could have taken him aside and discussed it first, which would have given him time to manoeuvre. But no, not him. This mere thug of a labourer had conducted himself in the callous and brutal manner he was famed for. The ungrateful sod had turned on his master. This was Stratton’s revenge for the cold-shoulder he had received all those months prior to this operation. What’s more, he had correctly estimated and then ruthlessly attacked Sumners’ weakness, which was his sense of self-preservation, and exposed for all to see that it was greater than the desire to further his career. What Stratton did not know, and what made it look even worse for Sumners, was that Sumners had confided in his boss and Chalmers that his doubts about Gabriel would always remain. The reason behind that revelation was that he simply felt foolish admitting otherwise. He was an intelligence officer of the old school and it was impossible for him to accept that the advancement of this case, of which he was the operations officer, had so far relied entirely on the mystical viewings of a mind reader. The tormenting truth was that until Stratton’s comment, Sumners did not realise how much of a believer he had become. He was now afraid to take over the operation and everyone knew it. Stratton had exposed him, not only to his boss and young Chalmers, but also to himself, and he hated him for it. However, having put everything through the mental scrambler, Sumners still could not understand why Stratton was placing himself in a position to take over the op if everyone on the ground was going to die.
‘Sumners?’ his boss said, still patiently waiting for an answer to his question.
‘I’m afraid I . . . I, er, Stratton is right. It would affect my judgement, sir.’ Sumners looked down at the floor to hide his embarrassment. But there was still some fight left in him. If he were going down he would at least bring Stratton with him if he could. He looked up at Stratton, regaining some of his posture.