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Authors: Alistair MacLean
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My life on it. And if it were a police trap what would my life be worth then? Don't be silly."' A few moments later van Effen said: 'That was fine. Will you be coming with them? Fine? Be sure to tell whoever comes with you - I'm sure it won't be the gentlemen who have you under surveillance at the moment - that I have a police record in Poland and have a United States extradition warrant out against me. I shall be wearing a black leather glove.' He hung up. 'Nice touch about the police record and extradition warrant,' de Graaf said. 'Nice criminal touch and two statements they have no way of checking on. You will be carrying a gun, I assume?'
'Certainly. It would be expected of me and I'll have it in a shoulder holster that should make it obvious to even the most myopic that I am armed.'
Annemarie said doubtfully: 'Perhaps they will take it off you before discussions start. just as a precaution, I mean.'
'One must take a chance about those things. I shall be brave.' 'What Peter means,' de Graaf said drily, 'is that he always carries a second gun. It's like his single glove theory, that people only concentrate on one thing at a time. It's in that book of his, I'm sure. If a person finds a gun on you he's got to be almost pathologically suspicious to start looking for another.'
'It's not in the book. I don't put thoughts like those in criminal minds. Curious, sir, that we'll both be engaged in something interesting at exactly four-thirty - you and the Minister, schnapps in hand, peering down at the Texel sea dyke from the safety of your helicopter seats while I am entering the lion's den.'
'I'd switch with you any time,' de Graaf said morosely. 'I should be back from Texel by six - damn all I can do up there anyway. Let's meet at seven.'
'Provided we both survive - you the schnapps, me the lions. The 444 would be in order, sir?'
De Graaf didn't say that the 444 would be in order: on the other hand he didn't say it wouldn't.
Three
The Chinook helicopter, a big, fast experimental model on demonstration loan from the US Army of the Rhine, suffered from the same defect as other, smaller and less advanced models in that it was extremely noisy, the rackety clamour of the engines making conversation difficult and at times impossible. This wasn't helped by the fact that it had two rotors instead of the customary one.
The passengers were a very mixed bag indeed. Apart from de Graaf and his justice Minister, Robert Kondstall, there were four cabinet ministers, of whom only the Minister of Defence could claim any right to be aboard. The other three, including, incredibly, the Minister of Education, were aboard only because of the influence they wielded and their curiosity about things that in no way concerned them. Much the same could have been said about the senior air force officer, the brigadier and rear-admiral who sat together behind de Graaf. Flight evaluation purposes had been their claim. The evaluation tests had been completed a week ago: they were along purely as rubber-neckers. The same could be said of the two experts from the Rijkswaterstaat and the two from the Delft Hydraulics laboratory. Superficially, it would have seemed, their presence could be more than justified, but as the pilot had firmly stated that he had no intention of setting his Chinook down in floodwaters and the experts, portly gentlemen all, had indicated that they had no intention of descending by winch or rope ladder only to be swept away, it was difficult to see how their presence could be justified. The handful of journalists and cameramen aboard could have claimed a right to be there: but even they were to admit later that their trip had hardly been worthwhile.
The Chinook, flying at no more than two hundred metres and about half a kilometre out to sea, was directly opposite Oosterend when the sea dyke broke. It was a singularly unspectacular explosion - a little sound, a little smoke, a little rubble, a little spray - but effective enough
'Certainly. It would be expected of me and I'll have it in a shoulder holster that should make it obvious to even the most myopic that I am armed.'
Annemarie said doubtfully: 'Perhaps they will take it off you before discussions start. just as a precaution, I mean.'
'One must take a chance about those things. I shall be brave.' 'What Peter means,' de Graaf said drily, 'is that he always carries a second gun. It's like his single glove theory, that people only concentrate on one thing at a time. It's in that book of his, I'm sure. If a person finds a gun on you he's got to be almost pathologically suspicious to start looking for another.'
'It's not in the book. I don't put thoughts like those in criminal minds. Curious, sir, that we'll both be engaged in something interesting at exactly four-thirty - you and the Minister, schnapps in hand, peering down at the Texel sea dyke from the safety of your helicopter seats while I am entering the lion's den.'
'I'd switch with you any time,' de Graaf said morosely. 'I should be back from Texel by six - damn all I can do up there anyway. Let's meet at seven.'
'Provided we both survive - you the schnapps, me the lions. The 444 would be in order, sir?'
De Graaf didn't say that the 444 would be in order: on the other hand he didn't say it wouldn't.
Three
The Chinook helicopter, a big, fast experimental model on demonstration loan from the US Army of the Rhine, suffered from the same defect as other, smaller and less advanced models in that it was extremely noisy, the rackety clamour of the engines making conversation difficult and at times impossible. This wasn't helped by the fact that it had two rotors instead of the customary one.
The passengers were a very mixed bag indeed. Apart from de Graaf and his justice Minister, Robert Kondstall, there were four cabinet ministers, of whom only the Minister of Defence could claim any right to be aboard. The other three, including, incredibly, the Minister of Education, were aboard only because of the influence they wielded and their curiosity about things that in no way concerned them. Much the same could have been said about the senior air force officer, the brigadier and rear-admiral who sat together behind de Graaf. Flight evaluation purposes had been their claim. The evaluation tests had been completed a week ago: they were along purely as rubber-neckers. The same could be said of the two experts from the Rijkswaterstaat and the two from the Delft Hydraulics laboratory. Superficially, it would have seemed, their presence could be more than justified, but as the pilot had firmly stated that he had no intention of setting his Chinook down in floodwaters and the experts, portly gentlemen all, had indicated that they had no intention of descending by winch or rope ladder only to be swept away, it was difficult to see how their presence could be justified. The handful of journalists and cameramen aboard could have claimed a right to be there: but even they were to admit later that their trip had hardly been worthwhile.
The Chinook, flying at no more than two hundred metres and about half a kilometre out to sea, was directly opposite Oosterend when the sea dyke broke. It was a singularly unspectacular explosion - a little sound, a little smoke, a little rubble, a little spray - but effective enough
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