Drink With the Devil (9 page)

“Well, that’s his business,” his friend told him, “so let’s have a cup of coffee.” He opened a Thermos and somewhere up ahead there was the muffled sound of an explosion and smoke lifted into the air.

“Jesus, what’s that?” the driver demanded and they went round the corner leading to the junction.

K
EOGH SWERVED INTO
an open field gate, got off the motorcycle, and pushed it up on its stand. The suitcase containing the weaponry was on the ground by the wall and he saw Kathleen at the side of the road smearing the false blood on her face as Ryan ran to the back of the Ford. A moment later there was a muffled explosion and flames flickered around the vehicle. A larger explosion followed as he ran, and black smoke lifted into the sky.

The transporter came round the corner and skidded to a halt at the horrific scene. Keogh pulled out his AK and unfolded the stock, but it wasn’t necessary. Ryan switched on the Howler and punched the buttons.

“The door,” he cried to Keogh. “The door.”

Keogh ran to the off-side door, pulled on the handle, and it opened to his touch. He was aware of the driver, the two behind, one already with a gun in his hand. Ryan lobbed in a stun grenade. It was enough. A moment later, he had the driver from behind the wheel, dazed and bewildered. Keogh pulled out the two security guards. They dragged them behind the field wall and secured them with the plastic handcuffs.

Kathleen was on her feet, wiping the blood away. Ryan said, “Good, you got your Oscar.” He ran to the back of the truck and opened the doors, revealing the containers inside.

“Would you look at that now?” Keogh said.

“Would you, indeed.” Ryan picked up the suitcase with the weaponry and shoved it up into the cabin of the transporter. “Go on, Martin, get the hell out of it.”

Keogh folded the AK and put it back inside his biker’s jacket. “Come on, girl,” he said to Kathleen.

He flung a leg across the motorcycle. She jumped onto the pillion behind him and put her arms around him. As they drove away, Ryan switched on the engine of the transporter and followed leaving only the burning van hissing in the rain and the three men slowly regaining their senses behind the wall. It was almost half an hour later that a local farmer in his station wagon came upon the scene of carnage.

W
HEN
K
EOGH AND
Kathleen on the Montesa reached Marsh End and turned along the track to the jetty, the
Irish Rose
already had the ramp down. Tully was waiting on deck with Dolan and Fox, and Keogh ran the Montesa straight on board and braked to one side. Kathleen slid from the pillion and Keogh dismounted. He had the AK out in seconds and unfolded the stock.

“There’s no need for that,” Tully said. “Did it work?”

“Like a dream.”

“Then where is it? We’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got the engines turning over and a man on the wheel.”

“Take it easy,” Keogh said. “He’ll be here. Go and make sure everything’s ready.”

Tully turned away reluctantly and Keogh smiled at Kathleen and took out a cigarette. “We did it, Kate, we did it.”

She was incredibly excited. “I know, I know, Martin, but where is Uncle Michael?”

“He’s coming, girl dear. That transporter isn’t as nippy as the Montesa.”

But it was another agonizing twenty minutes before the green and white transporter appeared from the mist, came along the jetty, and bounced on board. It rolled to a halt and braked and Ryan got out.

“I thought I’d had it. The damned engine died on me.”

Already Dolan and Bert Fox were hurriedly clamping the huge wheels to the deck.

Kathleen said, “What happened?”

“There’s an automatic choke system. It was jammed full on. Must have been the blast from the stun grenade. Once I’d got it in I managed to get going again.”

Tully called from the bridge, “Can we go for Christ’s sake?”

Ryan waved. “As soon as you like.”

The
Irish Rose
slipped out into the estuary and fled into the mist leaving the land behind.

“We did it,” Ryan said.

“We certainly did.” Keogh offered him a cigarette. “Only one matter of interest still to be resolved.”

“And what’s that?” Ryan asked, accepting a light.

“Oh, exactly at what point on the way to Kilalla they intend to hit us.”

“Well, the best way of handling that is to impress them,” Ryan said. “Get your AK out and I’ll do the same. Conspicuous display at all times.”

“And I’m carrying, too,” Kathleen said. “I’ve got my Colt in my inside pocket.”

“For God’s sake, stay out of it, girl, and leave it to Martin and me.”

He got back in the cab, opened the case, and took out the other AK. He got down again, held it against his thigh, and moved to the rail. There were a couple of ship’s boats on either side at the stern suspended in davits and an inflatable in yellow plastic with an outboard motor.

“Handy for his illicit runs ashore,” Ryan observed.

“The outboard looks pretty good to me,” Keogh said. “Close to brand new.”

“Probably stolen if I know Tully.”

“So what do we do now?” Keogh asked.

“Give him time. He’s got to work the ship. We’ll wait till we’re a few miles out to sea, then we’ll have words.”

He looked up at the wheelhouse and saw Tully looking down at them from the stern window. Ryan waved, grinning.

I
N THE WHEELHOUSE
, Muller was again at the wheel. Tully sat at the chart table, Dolan standing beside him. Grant and Fox were below in the engine room.

“You see what they’re carrying?” Dolan demanded.

“Yes, AKs.”

“Those things could cut us to pieces.”

“I know. We’ve got to box clever. Hide your gun in the chart drawer, Muller’s too, then go below and tell Fox and Grant to stow theirs somewhere in the engine room. I’ll keep mine in my pocket.”

“But I don’t understand.”

“Look, it’s obvious he’s leaving us to make our way out to sea. After a while, he’ll be coming to see me, and armed like that there’s nothing we can do. They’ll search the lot of us at gun point and won’t find anything.”

“Except yours.”

“Which might make Ryan think that’s all there is.” Dolan looked dubious and Tully pushed him. “Go on, get moving. I’ve got a course to lay.”

Dolan went out and Muller said in his heavily accented English, “So, we still go to Kilalla?”

“Well, we can’t exactly turn due south. Ryan’s no fool. For the time being we’ll simply make for the coast of County Down in a general way until we see what happens.”

“With guns such as they have it could be difficult.”

“You worry too much,” Tully said. “It’s going to work, and I’m going to take that truck from them one way or another, I promise you.”

R
YAN WAITED FOR
an hour before making his move. “Right,” he said, “you stay up in the cab, Kathleen, nice and comfortable, while Martin and I go and sort out the bad guys.”

“I could die for a cup of tea.”

“Well, if you look in the case beside the weapons you’ll find a damn great Thermos flask, courtesy of Mary Power. There’s an old cake tin in there, too. No cake, just ham and cheese sandwiches.”

“Uncle Michael, you’re the wonder of the world. You think of everything.”

“Not this time. Thank Mary Power.” He turned to Keogh. “Here we go, Martin, moment of truth.”

T
ULLY WATCHED THEM
coming, Ryan in the lead, and debated for a wild moment trying to shoot him as he mounted the steel ladder to the bridge, but hastily abandoned the idea as Keogh stood back, AK raised to cover Ryan. Ryan reached the bridge safely and stood outside the open door covering Tully, Muller at the wheel, and Dolan.

“Top of the morning,” Ryan said and raised his voice. “Come away up, Martin.”

Keogh joined him a moment later. “There you are, Tully, how’s the ear?”

Tully glowered at him. “It’s been better.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Search them,” Ryan told him.

Keogh quickly ran a hand over Muller, then Dolan. He found the Smith & Wesson revolver Tully had in his pocket.

“Very naughty,” Ryan said. “I’m surprised at you.”

“I’m the captain,” Tully protested. “What do you expect?”

“Oh, almost anything from you. Where are the other two?”

“Grant and Fox are in the engine room.”

“We’ll pay them a visit and take another look at this pig boat on the way.”

“As you like.” Tully shrugged and went to the voice pipe and whistled. Fox replied and Tully said, “Mr. Ryan wants a look at the engine room. We’re on our way down.”

“Good,” Ryan said. “Let’s get moving.” He nodded to Dolan. “You too.”

F
ROM THE DECK
below the wheelhouse a companionway led to a narrow passage, door on either side. One of the doors had
Toilet
painted on it. Keogh opened it and found a stall lavatory, a wash basin, and a shower.

“Is this for the whole boat?”

“No, I have a separate one,” Tully said. “It goes with my cabin. That’s under the wheelhouse.”

“And these other doors?”

“Crew quarters.”

Keogh opened the doors and had a glimpse of untidy bunks and general disorder. “What a stink. Doesn’t anybody wash on this boat?”

Tully was enraged but kept his mouth shut. Ryan said, “So where’s the engine room?”

“End of the passage.”

“Right, lead the way the both of you.”

Tully opened a door at the end and the throbbing of the engines became very pronounced. They went down a companionway and found themselves in the engine room itself, Grant and Fox oiling the pistons and other moving parts.

They paused in their work and Tully said, “Is everything okay?”

“As much as it ever will be with this old bag of bones,” Grant told him.

Keogh said, “Hands high, boys.”

Ryan raised his rifle and, sullenly, they did as they were told. Keogh retired, satisfied. “Clean as a whistle.”

“Fine,” Ryan said. “We’ll go back, then.”

T
HE SEA WAS
building up as they went out on deck, and the
Irish Rose
was already beginning to roll from side to side. Rain swept in clearing the mist a little. They went back up to the wheelhouse climbing the ladder one by one.

Tully sat down at the chart table. “So what now?”

“I’ve done a boat crossing from the Lake District coast to Ulster twice over the years,” Ryan told him.

“Is that a fact?”

“Yes, so I know where the Isle of Man is — halfway between the two and we pass south, skirting what they call the Calf of Man?”

“If you say so.”

“Oh, but I do, and there it is on your top chart. I’d say we should be seeing the lighthouse there at midnight.”

“So what?”

“That should give us a landfall at Kilalla around three.”

“It depends on the weather.”

“And so it does, but keep on course. I have a marine compass in any case, and I’d be very hurt if I discovered we weren’t proceeding in a westerly direction.”

“All right,” Tully said sullenly. “Now what happens?”

“Well, as there is nowhere else I’d particularly like to spend the night on this disgusting pig boat, we’ll use the cab of the truck. It even has a bunk behind the driver’s seat.” He turned to Keogh. “Give him your radio, Martin.”

Keogh took it from his pocket and put it on the chart table. “There you go.”

“What’s this?” Tully demanded.

“Two-way radio. I have one, too, so we can keep in touch, us down there and you up here. Another thing. You have one of your men standing on the deck down there where I can shoot him if anything untoward happens.”

“You bastard.”

“I always was, but I keep my word, and I’m going to give you a chance to be sensible.” He took an envelope from his pocket and threw it down. “That’s the fifty thousand pounds Mr. Keogh took from you.”

Tully was truly shocked. “My God!”

“Count it when we’re gone. It’s all there.” Ryan smiled looking like the Devil himself. “No bloodshed, no aggravation, and you get another fifty thousand at Kilalla in a few hours. Think about it.” He nodded to Keogh. “Let’s go. You first, Martin. I’ll mind your back and you cover me.”

They went down the ladder one after the other, and Tully opened the envelope and examined the money. “Damn him!” he said.

“What’s he playing at?” Dolan asked.

“He’s giving me a way out, isn’t he? Play the game and settle for a hundred thousand.”

“And will you?”

“There’s fifty million pounds in gold sitting out there, Dolan, fifty million.”

“All right,” Dolan said, “but these are hard bastards.”

“Well so am I.”

Tully sat there frowning and examining the chart. Dolan said, “Have you any ideas?”

“Not at the moment. If we don’t pass the Calf of Man he’d know it. On top of that he’s got a marine compass.” He shook his head. “No, we’ll have to stay on course and wait for our chance. There’s bound to be one. Maybe in the early hours of the morning when we’re closer to Ireland.”

Dolan nodded. “They’ll be tired then.”

“And seasick with any luck. I didn’t tell the bastard, but I checked the weather forecast and it’s deteriorating. Winds gusting to seven around midnight, and you know what this old tub is like in rough weather.”

“The original beast.”

The radio crackled and Keogh’s voice sounded. “As the song says, is that the captain of the ship?”

Tully pressed the answer button. “What do you want?”

“A man on deck.”

“All right.” Tully turned to Dolan. “Down you go, Mick. Two hours, then I’ll have Muller relieve you, and you’d better take an oilskin. You’ll need it.” He smiled savagely. “See, it’s started to rain again.”

D
OLAN’S SHIFT BEING
over, it was Muller who stood by the ladder, clearly visible in the sickly yellow glow of the deck lights, a miserable-looking figure as he tried to shelter from the rain under the lower canopy of the wheelhouse.