Read Online Day of Reckoning by Jack Higgins - Free Book Online Page B

from his pocket and rolled them on the table. They all came up ones. 'Snake eyes.' He turned to Blake. 'Isn't that what you call them in Vegas?'
'It sure as hell is.'
'Excellent. God help Jack Fox and the Colosseum this evening. I think I'll go and watch.'
'You have to be a member,' Hannah Bernstein said.
'Which, thanks to my computer, I am. In fact, you all are.' The waiter appeared with his breakfast. 'My God, this looks good.' He picked up a knife and fork and got to work. 'I assume it had occurred to you that if Dillon and Blake wanted to create mayhem in the Colosseum tonight, they also needed to be members?'
'Of course it did.' Ferguson smiled. 'And I knew you'd take care of it. It'll be an interesting night ahead of us, I think.' 'You can sure as hell say that,' Blake agreed.
     
     

 

     
     

     
    6
     
     
    'Excellent. God help Jack Fox and the Colosseum this evening. I think I'll go and watch.'
'You have to be a member,' Hannah Bernstein said.
'Which, thanks to my computer, I am. In fact, you all are.' The waiter appeared with his breakfast. 'My God, this looks good.' He picked up a knife and fork and got to work. 'I assume it had occurred to you that if Dillon and Blake wanted to create mayhem in the Colosseum tonight, they also needed to be members?'
'Of course it did.' Ferguson smiled. 'And I knew you'd take care of it. It'll be an interesting night ahead of us, I think.' 'You can sure as hell say that,' Blake agreed.

Roper's expertise produced plastic membership cards for all of them, plus photos of Rossi and Cameci, the restaurant's minders, to add to those of Falcone and Russo, and that evening, at eight o'clock, they were passed through the door at the Colosseum by Henry, Roper in a light collapsible wheelchair pushed by Dillon.
The main room was already busy, waitresses in minuscule skirts moving through the crowd offering champagne. Dillon took a glass and looked up.
'Any good?' Blake asked.
'If you like sparkling wine, but champagne it's not.'
'Ah, well, Fox will be into profit margins,' Ferguson observed.
They stood in a small group by the bar, and Hannah said,
'There are a couple of villains you're interested in, sir. The Jago brothers, Harold and Tony, at the end of the bar.'
The others took a look.
Ferguson said, 'Very unsavoury.'
'Yes, well, we can sort them out later,' Dillon said. 'The thing is, who's going to start the ball rolling?'
'Well, actually, I've had another of my ideas,' Ferguson said. 'We have six dice, so why not two each?'
'Brigadier, I can see why you achieved high command,' Blake told him. 'Agreed, Sean?'
'Why not?' Dillon turned to Roper. 'Here we go. Show- time.'
Roper passed the dice across and Dillon gave the others theirs. 'There you go.'
'Into action, then,' Ferguson said. 'Let's get on with it,' and turned for the dice table. 'Oh, and palm your dice smoothly, gentlemen.'
In the restaurant, Fox enjoyed his scrambled eggs and smoked salmon again and tried a little Krug champagne.
'Great stuff, this,' he said to Falcone. 'But not the vintage. It's the non-vintage that's really special. Different grapes.'
Russo appeared. 'There's a problem, Signore. You remem ber those two from the Four Seasons in New York, Dillon and Johnson?'
'Yes?'
'They're here now, in the main room.'
'Really?' Fox emptied his glass. 'Well, let's take a look.'
Falcone pulled back the chair, and Fox stood up and walked out into the most active part of the casino.
Russo said, 'Over there, Signore. Next to some woman and another man. In the striped suit, see?'
Fox snorted. 'That "some woman", Russo, is Detective Superintendent Hannah Bernstein of Scotland Yard's Special Branch. And that "another man" is Brigadier General Ferguson, head of a special intelligence unit for the Prime Minister. An absolutely devious old bastard. I guarantee you they're not here for a friendly game of cards.'
'So what do we do, Signore?' Falcone asked. 'Move them out?'
'Don't be stupid,' Fox said.