Sean Dillon 3-Book Collection 1: Eye of the Storm, Thunder Point, On Dangerous Ground

‘Why not?’ She looked up at Luigi. ‘We’ll order later.’

‘One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is my operating money. Thirty thousand dollars. Aroun was to arrange that,’ Dillon said.

‘It’s taken care of. The man in question will be in touch with me tomorrow. Some accountant of Aroun’s in London.’

‘Okay, so what have you got for me?’ he asked.

‘Nothing on Fahy yet. I’ve set the wheels in motion as regards the flying licence.’

‘And Number Ten?’

‘I’ve had a look at the file. The public always had a right of way along Downing Street. The IRA coming so close to blowing up the whole cabinet at the Tory Party Conference in Brighton the other year made for a change in thinking about security. The bombing campaign in London and attacks on individuals accelerated things.’

‘So?’

‘Well, the public used to be able to stand at the opposite side of the road from Number Ten watching the great and the good arrive and depart, but no longer. In December eighty-nine Mrs Thatcher ordered new security measures. In effect the place is now a fortress. The steel railings are ten feet high. The gates, by the way, are neo-Victorian, a nice touch that, from the Iron Lady.’

‘Yes, I saw them today.’

Luigi hovered anxiously and they broke off and ordered minestrone, veal chops, sauté potatoes and a green salad.

Tania carried on, ‘There were accusations in some quarters that she’s become the victim of paranoid delusions. Nonsense, of course. That lady has never been deluded about anything in her life. Anyway, on the other side of the gates there’s a steel screen designed to come up fast if an unauthorised vehicle tries to get through.’

‘And the building itself?’

‘The windows have specially strengthened glass and that includes the Georgian windows. Oh, and the net curtains are definitely a miracle of modern science. They’re blast-proof.’

‘You certainly have the facts.’

‘Incredibly, everything I’ve told you has been reported in either a British newspaper or magazine. The British press puts its own right to publish above every other consideration. They just refuse to face up to security implications. On file at the clippings library of any major British newspaper you’ll find details of the interior of Number Ten or the Prime Minister’s country home, Chequers, or even Buckingham Palace.’

‘What about getting in as ancillary staff?’

‘That used to be a real loophole. Most catering for functions is done by outside firms and some of the cleaning, but they’re very tough about security clearance for these people. There are always slip-ups, of course. There was a plumber working on the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s home at Number Eleven who opened a door and found himself wandering about Number Ten trying to get out.’

‘It sounds like a French farce.’

‘Only recently staff from one of the outside firms employed to offer cleaning services of one kind or another, staff who had security clearance, were found to be operating under false identities. Some of them had clearance for the Home Office and other ministries.’

‘Yes, but all you’re saying is mistakes occur.’

‘That’s right.’ She hesitated. ‘Have you anything particular in mind?’

‘You mean potshots with a sniper’s rifle from a rooftop two hundred yards away as he comes out of the door? I don’t think so. No, I really have no firm idea at the moment, but I’ll come up with something. I always do.’ The waiter brought their soup. Dillon said, ‘Now that smells good enough to eat. Let’s do just that.’

Afterwards, he walked her round to her door. It was snowing just a little and very cold. He said, ‘Must remind you of home, this weather?’

‘Home?’ She looked blank for a moment then laughed. ‘Moscow, you mean?’ She shrugged. ‘It’s been a long time. Would you like to come up?’

‘No thanks. It’s late and I could do with the sleep. I’ll stay at the hotel tomorrow morning. Let’s say till noon. From what I saw I don’t think I could stand the thought of lunch there. I’ll be back after two so you’ll know where I’ll be.’

‘Fine,’ she said.

‘I’ll say goodnight then.’

She closed the door, Dillon turned and walked away. It was only after he rounded the corner into the Bayswater Road that Gordon Brown moved out of the shadows of a doorway opposite and looked up at Tania’s window. The light came on. He stayed there for a while longer then turned and walked away.

In Paris the following morning the temperature went up three or four degrees and it started to thaw. Mary and Hernu in the Colonel’s black Citroën picked Brosnan up just before noon. He was waiting for them in the entrance of the Quai de Montebello apartment block. He wore his trenchcoat, a tweed cap and carried a suitcase. The driver put the case in the boot and Brosnan got in the rear with the other two.

‘Any news?’ he asked.

‘Not a thing,’ the Colonel told him.

‘Like I said, he’s probably there already. What about Ferguson?’

Mary glanced at her watch. ‘He’s due to see the Prime Minister now, to alert him as to the seriousness of this whole business.’

‘About all he can do,’ Brosnan said. ‘That and spread the word to the other branches of the security services.’

‘And how would you handle it, my friend?’ Hernu asked.

‘We know he worked in London for the IRA in nineteen eighty-one. As I told Mary, he must have used underworld contacts to supply his needs. He always does and it will be the same this time. That’s why I must see my old friend Harry Flood.’

‘Ah, yes, the redoubtable Mr Flood. Captain Tanner was telling me about him, but what if he can’t help?’

‘There’s another way. I have a friend in Ireland just outside Dublin at Kilrea, Liam Devlin. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about IRA history in the last few years and who did what. It’s a thought.’ He lit a cigarette and leaned back. ‘But I’ll get the bastard, one way or another. I’ll get him.’

The driver took them to the end of the Charles de Gaulle terminal where the private planes parked. The Lear was waiting on the tarmac. There was no formality. Everything had been arranged. The driver took their cases across to where the second pilot waited.

Hernu said, ‘Captain, if I may presume.’ He kissed Mary lightly on both cheeks. ‘And you, my friend.’ He held out his hand. ‘Always remember that when you set out on a journey with revenge at the end of it, it is necessary to first dig two graves.’

‘Philosophy now?’ Brosnan said. ‘And at your time of life? Goodbye, Colonel.’

They strapped themselves into their seats, the second pilot pulled up the stairs, locked the door and went and joined his companion in the cockpit.

‘Hernu is right, you know,’ Mary said.

‘I know he is,’ Brosnan answered. ‘But there’s nothing I can do about that.’

‘I understand, believe me, I do,’ she said as the plane rolled forward.

When Ferguson was shown into the study at Number Ten the Prime Minister was standing at the window drinking a cup of tea. He turned and smiled. ‘The cup that refreshes, Brigadier.’

‘They always say it was tea that got us through the war, Prime Minister.’

‘Well as long as it gets me through my present schedule. We’ve a meeting of the War Cabinet at ten every morning as you know, and all the other pressing matters to do with the Gulf.’

‘And the day-to-day running of the country,’ Ferguson said.