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‘He is,’ said Abbot. ‘Danny boy can make a Mark XI sit up and do tricks. Meet Mr Parker, the best petty officer and torpedo mechanic the Royal Navy ever had.’
‘You interest me,’ said Eastman. ‘Are you sure about that fifteen miles?’
Parker smiled slowly. ‘I can pep up a Mark XI so you can stay safely outside the legal twelve mile limit an’ shoot her ashore at thirty knots. No bubbles, either.’
‘And carrying five hundred pounds’ weight?’
‘That’s right.’
Eastman pondered. ‘What about accuracy?’
‘That depends on the fish you give me – some o’ the guidance gear is a bit rough sometimes. But I can doctor it up if you let me have sea trials.’ Parker scratched bis jaw. ‘I reckon I could give an accuracy o’ three inches in a hundred yards – that’s less than seventy yards out either way at fifteen miles.’
‘Jesus!’ said Eastman. ‘That’s not too bad.’
‘You should be able to find a quiet beach that big,’ said Abbot. ‘You’ll have to find one that slopes pretty shallowly, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.’
‘Wait a minute,’ said Parker. ‘That’s the accuracy o’ the fish I’m talkin’ about. Currents are somethin’ else. You shoot across a current an’ the fish is goin’ to be carried sideways, an’ don’t forget it’ll be in the water for half an hour. If you have a cross-current of as little as half a knot then the fish will get knocked five hundred yards off course. Still, if you can plot the current you can compensate, an’ you might avoid the problem altogether if you shoot at slack water.’
‘Yeah, that can be gotten around.’ Eastman nibbled at a joint of his thumb thoughtfully. ‘You seem pretty certain about this.’
‘I am,’ said Parker. ‘But it’s goin’ to cost you a hell of a lot. There’s a torpedo in the first place an’ a tube to go wi’ it; there’s high-power mercury cells to be bought an’ they don’t come cheap, an’ there’s …’
‘… the cost of our services,’ said Abbot smoothly. ‘And we don’t come cheap, either.’
‘If you can pull it off you’ll get taken care of,’ said Eastman. ‘If you don’t you’ll get taken care of another way.’ His eyes were chilling.
Parker was unperturbed. ‘I’ll show you that it can be done first. You’ll have sea trials.’
‘Right,’ said Eastman. ‘I’ll have to see the boss about this first.’
‘The boss!’ said Abbot in surprise. ‘I thought you were the boss.’
‘There are a lot of things you don’t know,’ said Eastman. ‘Stick around and stay available.’ He stood up. ‘Where are you guys from?’
‘London,’ said Abbot.
Eastman nodded. ‘Okay – I’ll be seeing you soon.’
‘I don’t want to seem too pushing,’ said Abbot, ‘but what about a retainer? Or shall we say you’ve just taken an option on our services which has to be paid for.’
‘You’ve got a nerve.’ Eastman pulled out his wallet. ‘How much did Picot stick you for?’
‘A thousand Lebanese pounds. Half down, half later.’
‘Okay – here’s two-five; that gives you two thousand clear profit so far – and you haven’t done anything yet. If Picot asks you for the other five hundred tell him to see me.’ He smiled thinly. ‘He won’t, though.’ He turned abruptly and walked out of the room.
Abbot sat down slowly and turned to Parker. ‘I hope to God you can handle your end. We’ve hooked them at last, but they’ve also hooked us. If we can’t deliver we’ll be in trouble.’
Parker filled his pipe with steady hands. ‘They’ll get what they want – an’ maybe a bit more.’ He paused. ‘Do you think he’ll check back to London?’
‘He’s sure to. You’re all right, Dan; there’s nothing in your background to worry him.’ Abbot stretched. ‘As for me – I had a flaming row with my editor just before I left, specially laid on. I’ll bet the echoes are still reverberating down Fleet Street.’ He grinned. ‘I was fired, Dan – out on my can for unprofessional conduct unbefitting a journalist and a gentleman. I only hope it’ll satisfy Eastman and company.’
IV
Eastman did not keep them waiting long. Three days later he rang up and said, ‘Hello, Abbot; put on your best bib and tucker – you’re going on the town tonight.’
‘Where to?’
‘Le Paon Rouge. If you don’t have decent clothes, buy some out of the dough I gave you.’
‘Who’s paying for the night out?’ asked Abbot in his character as a man on the make.
‘It’ll be paid for,’ said Eastman. ‘You’re meeting the boss. Be on your best behaviour. I’ll send a car for you at nine-thirty.’
Abbot put the phone on the hook slowly and turned to find Parker regarding him with interest. ‘Have you got a dinner-jacket, Dan?’
Parker nodded. ‘I packed it on the off-chance I’d need it.’
‘You’ll need it tonight. We’ve been invited to the Paon Rouge.’
‘That’ll be the third time I’ve worn it, then,’ said Parker. He put his hand on his belly. ‘Might be a bit tight. What’s the Paon Rouge?’
‘A night-club in the Hotel Phoenicia. We’re meeting the boss, and if it’s who I think it is, we’ve got it made. We’ve just been told tactfully to shave and brush our teeth nicely.’
‘The Hotel Phoenicia – isn’t that the big place near the Saint-Georges?’
‘That’s it. Do you know what a five-star hotel is, Dan?’
Parker blinked. ‘The Saint-Georges?’ he hazarded.
‘Right! Well, there aren’t enough stars in the book to classify the Phoenicia. Dope-smuggling must be profitable.’
They were picked up by the black Mercedes and driven to the Phoenicia by an uncommunicative Lebanese. Parker was unhappy because his doubts about his evening wear had been confirmed; his dress shirt had taken a determined grip on his throat and was slowly throttling him, and his trousers pinched cruelly at waist and crotch. He made a mental note to start a course of exercises to conquer his middle-age spread.
The name of Eastman dropped to an impressively-dressed major-domo brought them to Eastman’s table with remarkable alacrity. The Paon Rouge was fashionably dark in the night-club manner, but not so dark that Abbot could not spot his quarry; Eastman was sitting with Jeanette Delorme and rose at their approach. ‘Glad you could make it,’ he said conventionally.
‘Delighted, Mr Eastman,’ said Abbot. He looked down at the woman. ‘Is this the boss?’
Eastman smiled. ‘If you cross her you’ll find out.’ He turned to her. ‘This is Abbot, the other is Parker. Gentlemen – Miss Delorme.’
Abbot inclined his head and studied her. She was dressed in a simple sheath which barely covered her upperworks and she appeared to be, at the most, twenty-five years old. He knew for a fact that she was thirty-two, but it was wonderful what money would do. A very expensive proposition was Miss Delorme.
She crooked a finger at him. ‘You – sit here.’ There was a minor flurry as flunkies rearranged chairs and Abbot found himself sitting next to her and facing Parker, with a glass of champagne in his fingers. She studied Parker for a moment, then said, ‘If what Jack tells me is true, I may be willing to employ you. But I need proof.’ Her English was excellent and almost unaccented.
‘You’ll get your proof,’ said Abbot. ‘Dan will give you that.’
Parker said, ‘There’s plenty of sea out there. You can have trials.’
‘Which torpedo would be most suitable?’
‘Doesn’t really matter,’ said Parker. ‘As long as it’s an electric job.’
She twirled her glass slowly in her fingers. ‘I have a friend,’ she said. ‘He was a U-boat captain during the war. His opinion of the British torpedo was very low. He said that on half the firings the British torpedo went wild.’ Her voice became sharp. ‘That would not be permissible.’
‘Christ, no!’ said Eastman. ‘We can’t lose a torpedo – not with what it will be carrying. It would be too goddam expensive.’
‘Ah, you’re talking about the early British torpedoes,’ said Parker. ‘The Mark XI was different. Your U-boat skipper was dead right – the early British fish were bloody awful. But the Mark XI was a Chinese copy o’ the German fish an’ it was very good when it came into service in ‘44. We pinched it from the Jerries, an’ the Yanks pinched it from us. Any o’ those torpedoes would be good enough but I’d rather have the old Mark XI – it’s more familiar, like. But they’re all pretty much the same an’ just differ a bit in detail.’
‘On what basis will you get the extra performance?’
‘Look,’ said Parker, leaning forward earnestly. ‘The Mark XI came out in ‘44 an’ it had lead-acid batteries – that was all they had in them days. Twenty-five years have gone by since then, an’ things have changed. The new kalium cells – that’s mercury oxide-zinc – pack a hell o’ a lot more power, an’ you can use that power in two ways. You can either increase the range or the speed. I’ve designed circuits for both jobs.’
‘We’re interested in increasing range,’ said Eastman.
Parker nodded. ‘I know. It’s goin’ to cost you a packet,’ he warned. ‘Mercury cells ain’t cheap.’
‘How much?’ asked Delorme.
Parker scratched his head. ‘Every time you shoot a fish it’ll cost you over a thousand quid just for the power.’
She looked at Eastman, who interpreted, ‘A thousand pounds sterling.’
Abbot sipped his champagne. ‘The cost of everything is going up,’ he observed coolly.
‘That’s a fact,’ said Parker with a grin, ‘Back in ‘44 the whole bloody torpedo only cost six hundred quid. I dunno what they cost now, though.’
‘Fifteen hundred pounds,’ said Eastman. ‘That’s the going rate on the surplus market.’
‘There you are,’ said Parker. ‘Another thousand for a trial an’ another for the real job, plus, say, five hundred for conversion. That’s four thousand basic. Then there’s our share on top o’ that.’
‘And what is your share?’ asked Jeanette Delorme.
‘A percentage of the profits,’ said Abbot.
She turned to him. ‘Indeed! And where do you come in on this? It seems that Parker is doing all the work.’
Abbot smiled easily. ‘Let’s say I’m his manager.’
‘There are no passengers in the organization,’ she said flatly.
Parker broke in. ‘Me an’ Mike are mates – I go where he goes, an’ vicey-versey. Besides, I’ll see he works hard – I can’t do it all meself.’
‘It’s a package deal, you see,’ said Abbot. ‘And you talk business to me.’
‘The profits on smuggling gold are not very big,’ she said doubtfully.
‘Oh, come off it,’ said Abbot in disgust. ‘You’re not smuggling gold – you’re running dope.’
She looked at Eastman and then back at Abbot. ‘And how do you know that?’ she asked softly.
‘Just putting two and two together. There was a whisper in London – that’s why we came out here.’
‘That was one whisper too many,’ she snapped.
Abbot smiled. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I was a professional in the whisper-listening business. It was just a matter of chance, and coming out here was a hell of a long shot.’ He shrugged. ‘But it’s paid off.’
‘Not yet,’ she said pointedly. ‘How much do you want?’
Twenty per cent of the take,’ said Abbot promptly.
She laughed. ‘Oh, what a stupid man we have here. Don’t you think so, Jack?’ Eastman grinned, and she said seriously, ‘You will get one per cent and that will make you very rich, Monsieur Michael Abbot.’
‘I may be stupid,’ said Abbot, ‘but I’m not crazy enough to take one per cent.’
Eastman said, ‘I think you are crazy if you expect to get any kind of a percentage. We’re not going to work that way.’
‘That’s right,’ said Delorme. ‘We’ll give you a flat rate for the work. What would you say to a hundred thousand American dollars?’
Abbot raised his eyebrows. ‘Each?’
She hesitated fractionally. ‘Of course.’
‘I’d say it’s not on,’ said Abbot, shaking his head. ‘We’d want at least double that. Do you think I don’t know what the profits are in this racket?’
Eastman chuckled raspingly. ‘You’re both stupid and crazy. Hell, you’ve given us the idea anyway. What’s to prevent us going ahead without you?’
‘Now who’s being stupid?’ asked Abbot. He pointed to Parker. ‘Torpedo mechanics aren’t easy to come by, and those who can do a conversion like this are even rarer. But a mechanic who can and is willing to run dope is as rare as a hen’s tooth. You can’t do it without us – and you know it.’
‘So you figure you’ve got us over a barrel.’ said Eastman ironically. ‘Look, buster; a week ago we didn’t even know you existed. We don’t need you, you know.’
‘But it’s still a good idea, Jack,’ said Delorme thoughtfully. ‘Maybe Abbot will meet us half way.’ She turned to him. ‘This is final – take it or leave it. Three hundred thousand dollars for the two of you. One hundred thousand deposited in a bank here on the successful completion of trials – the rest when the job is done.’
Abbot said, ‘What do you think, Dan?’
Parker’s mouth was open. He closed it, and said, ‘You have the business head; I’ll leave it to you, Mike.’ He swallowed convulsively.
Abbot pondered for a long time. ‘All right; we’ll take it.’
‘Good!’ said Delorme, and smiled radiantly. ‘Order some more champagne, Jack.’
Abbot winked at Parker. ‘Satisfied, Dan?’
‘I’m happy,’ said Parker faintly.
‘I think payment by result is the best way,’ said Abbot, and looked sideways at Eastman. ‘If we’d have stuck to a percentage, Jack here would have cheated the pants off us. He wouldn’t have shown us the books, that’s for certain.’
Eastman grinned. ‘What books?’ He held up a finger and the sommelier came running.
