Spandau Phoenix (96 page)

"Left lateral's completely gone. Vertical's got more holes than a Swiss cheese."

"Shit! What now, amigo?' Diaz tried to smile. "We re dead men, eh?"

"Not bloody likely," Burton said with an optimism he didn't feel.

"That's an airstrip up there, isn't it! This place is too damned remote to service by road. It's bound to be just a matter of time before another plane lands."

Diaz squinted skeptically at the Englishman.

"And when it does, sport," said Burton, tapping his submachine gun against his chest, "I'm going to climb aboard and watch Captain Juan Diaz fly our wet arses right out of here."

The Cuban grinned, exposing dazzling white teeth. Burton pulled some more brambles around the little depression he had expanded into a hiding place during the night. A patrol from the house had come by just after last night's attack. It had missed them, but Burton wasn't sure the shelter would stand up to daylight scrutiny.

"I tell you, Juan boy," he said wistfully, "it's times like this I wish I was back in England, fishing a stream in Cotswolds."

"Why aren't you?"

Burton smiled sheepishly. "I'm persona non grata there, sport.

Occupational hazard. Her Majesty takes a rather dim view of soldiering for pay. Not like your scruffy boss in Havana. The only thing waiting for me in England's a bloody jail cell."

Diaz tried to smile in sympathy.

"I had a chance to go back free and clear," Burton said quietly.

"Last night. But we ballsed it up."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean while you were working for a Colombian drug baron, I was working for Her Majesty's Government. My pay was full reinstatement of British citizenship. I don't know why everyone wants the old man in that fortress dead.

' 9

I don't care much, either. Maybe his dru s are ending up in London, and the bloody House of Lords wants him discreetly blotted from their universe." Burton grinned. "By God, if I thought I had half a chance, I'd give it another go on my own. I know, I know-English loco, right?"

Diaz nodded, then grimaced in pain.

Burton checked the barrel of his MP-5 for mud. "Who needs England, anyway?" he muttered. He fixed his gaze on the rim of the ravine.

"You've got one job, Juan boy-Stay alive until I can commandeer some air transport. Then it's straight back to civilization. Comprende?"

Diaz coughed horribly.

Burton touched the Cuban's forehead. It felt cool and clammy. A fishy paleness had spread beneath his olive skin.

"Can you do it, lad? Can you hold out?"

"Fucking-ay, English," Diaz grunted. "You get me a plane, and I'll fly the whore out."

"That's the ticket." Burton patted the Cuban on his good shoulder.

"But you better hurry, amigo," Diaz coughed, gripping his torn side. "I can fly drunk, stoned, or bleeding, but I can't fly dead."

Burton nodded grimly.

1.40 Piw. The Union Building. Pretoria Captain Barnard slammed down the phone and glared at his watch. He had been trying in vain to reach General Steyn since ten-thirty. When the general failed to show up for work this morning, Barnard had assumed he was simply late.

But by ten A.M. Barnard knew something was wrong. No one answered at General Steyn's home, and none of the government ministries knew where he was. As Barnard continued his round of calls, a disturbing image kept coming back to him: the resolute eyes dr the German police captain.

Barnard was certain that Captain Hauer believed he possessed information vital to South Africa's security. Hauer might be insane, but he was sincere. The Afrikaner ground his teeth in frustration.

Major Graaff had told him that the Visagie police interrogators would have the prisoners' story by lunchtime, yet Bernard had received no further word regarding them. Bernard had never liked Major Graaff, but in the NIS, like the army, you had to go along to get along.

Fspecially with superiors. Barnard almost jumped out of his skin when the phone on his desk rang.

"General Steyn's office," he answered.

"Bernard?" boomed a husky voice.

"General Steyn! Where are you?"

"I'm out at the Pretoria office of Phoenix AG. The directors here seem to think that some type of shenanigans may be going on in their defense division. I felt I should handle it myself Phoenix works on some very sensitive projects, you know Captain Barnard felt sweat on the back of his neck. "Excuse me, General, but how did you learn about this problem?"

"Gruaff called me at home this morning. He's right on top of this.

Seems he's friendly with the people over here at Phoenix. He was the one who suggested I handle it personally, in fact."

"Where is Major Graaff now, GeneraIT' "I haven't the foggiest, Bernard."

"General," Captain Barnard said hoarsely, "I think we've got a problem."

2.05 Pm. Visagie Straat, Pretoria When General Jaap Steyn strode through the doors of the Visagie police station, the desk sergeant knew that his afternoon had just been shot to hell. The chief of South Africa's ruthlessly efficient intelligence service was a bluff, redfaced giant of a man. He stalked straight up to the high desk and planted himself like an admiral on the prow of a flagship.

'Sergeant!" he bellowed. "I want to see your foreign prisoners immediately. Where are they?"

"Urn ... yes, sir. Well, one is in the cellblock and the other ... I believe Major Graaff is supervising his interrogation. 19

"Lead on, Sergeant!"

The desk sergeant wasn't sure if the NIS general had legal authority to give orders to a municipal police officer, but risking his career to find out didn't seem like the best of options. He jumped down from his stool and led General Steyn and Captain Barnard to a heavy steel door at the back of the station. He nodded once, then fled down the hall.

General Steyn grunted and pushed open the door. Inside he saw two bull-necked policemen holding-a shirtless, grayhaired man against a cinder-block wall. The man's face was covered with sweat and blood.

Major Graaff held a rubber truncheon high above his head, poised to strike.

"That will do, Major," General Steyn said icily.

Graaff whirled. When he saw his furious general filling the door, he ftoze, the truncheon still above his head. He looked back at his muscular accomplices, but after one look at General Steyn they released their bruised captive and came to stiff attention. Hauer slid slowly to his knees.

"Captain Bernard," General Steyn ordered, "place Major Graaff under arrest. You men clean the prisoner up and bring him and his companion to the visiting room" General Steyn stalked out.

Barnard drew a pistol and leveled it at Graaff. "Give me an excuse, you bloody bastard."

Hauer faced General Steyn across the long wooden table used to separate prisoners from their visitors. He had a bloody towel wrapped around his bared shoulders. Captain Barnard stood stiffly behind his superior.

Gadi Abrams sat at Hauer's left. Hauer had brushed aside their concern over his injuries and immediately gone over to the offensive.

"I simply don't have time to explain everything you want to know, General," he repeated. "Stern needs your help."

"I'm afraid that's just not good enough," General Steyn said.

"Jonas Stern is a good friend of mine, a damn fine intelligence officer.

He's a friend to this country. But I simply cannot agree to help without knowing more."

Hauer sighed. Stern had told him to call out the NISin full strength-to request whatever was necessary to take Alfred Horn's isolated fortress by storm. But after what he had seen of Major Graaff, Hauer didn't share Stern's confidence in the South Africans who would be called upon to carry out that attack.

"General, did Captain Barnard inform you of the code word Stern told me to repeat to you?"

General Steyn's jaw muscles flexed. "He did."

"And still you won't agree to help me?"

Captain Hauer, the South African government does not yield to blackmail.

If by some remote misfortune Jonas Stern has seen fit to confide in you the true meaning of that code word-and if you have been trumpefing it about-I may decide that Major Graaff's tactics were lenient. Do you understand? Now, do you know the meaning of that code word?"

Hauer nodded slowly. "It's Hebrew. Literally, it means going up to Zion."' General Steyn's face flushed. "Leave us please, Captain Barnard."

Barnard reluctantly obeyed.

"General," Hauer said gravely, "Aliyah Beth is a secret contingency plan that mandates the evacuation by sea and air of South Africa's entire nuclear weapons arsenal and fuel stocks to Israel in the event of armed insurrection by the black population. This move will be considered a redeployment of weapons, as the warheads will remain under the control of the South African government@' "My God, " General Steyn breathed.

"Stern's gone mad."

"No!" Hauer argued. "General, Stern knew that the dimensions of this crisis are such that any other consideration pales beside it. I'm telling you that a nuclear threat exists now-inside this country!"

General Steyn slammed his fist down on the table. "Then I'll have the bloody -details now, Captain! Even if I have to torture you to get them!"

"You wouldn't get them in time, General. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. Don't you understand? Your men can't be trusted.

Major Graaff was on your personal staff, for God's sake! One phone call from an informant could bring about the very disaster that Stern is trying to avert. A nuclear weapon could be detonated before we leave this building!"

General Steyn came to his feet, knocking his chair to the floor.

Startled, Captain Barnard rushed in with pistol drawn.

"It's all right, Barnard," the general said. The Afrikaner towered over Hauer. "Tell me something, Captain. What does Stern have to do with this? How is Israel involvedt' Hauer had been dreading this question.

"General," he said slowly, "all I can tell you is that a madman possesses a nuclear weapon within the borders of your country.

It could be detonated at any moment. In my opinion, any political considerations are secondary."

"Political considerations are never secondary, Captain.

More's the pity. What about Thomas Horn? What's he got to do with all this?"

Hauer knew he had to tread carefully beri. "General, how would you describe -Herr Horn's ties to the South African government?"

"Well, he's what some would call a power broker, a behind-the-scenes type. Very reclusive. But I understand he's a force to be reckoned with in the ultraconservative encloves. Very chummy with the old Afrikaner stock. It's the military Horn's tied to, you see. As you probably know, during the last few decades South Africa has been forced to become self-sufficient in many areas@specially defense. We build everything from bullets to heavy artillery and aircraft.

We're damned proud of it, too. As you.might imagine, anyone with Thomas Horn's industrial clout is courted constantly. His money and factories have produced untold amounts of ordnance for the army. He's involved in some very sensitive defense projects. I imagine-" General Steyn's voice faltered. "My God. Horn is the sourre of this nuclear threat? But ...

but he's one of the most patriotic men in the country!"

"Perhaps," Gadi said, speaking for the first time, "Mr.

Horn isn't who he appears to be."

General Steyn eyed the Israeli suspiciously. "Just who the devil do you think he is, lad?"

When Gadi didn't reply, the general turned to Hauer.

"What is it you want me to do, Captain? Exactly?"

Hauer looked straight into General Steyn's eyes. "I want you to place a small group of men under my command and give me until midnight before you call out the army."

The general gaped in astonishment. "You're mad! You're asking me to place South African officers under the command of a foreign policeman?

So that he can carry out an unsanctioned and illegal operation within this republic? Is that what you're asking?"

"I'm not asking." Hauer's eyes were flat and steady. "I'm demanding it."

General Steyn reddened in outrage. "You're not in a position to demand a bloody toothpick!"

Hauer looked pointedly at his watch. "General, I have a man waiting in Pretoria for a telephone call. He has a full description of Plan Aliyah Beth. If he does not receive that call in the next twelve minutes, he will call the New York Times, the London Daily Telegraph, CNN, Der Spiegel-" General Steyn raised his hand. "And if I don't consider that a strong enough threat?"

"You may be personally responsible for the deaths of millions of people."

Captain Bernard stood openmouthed in astonishment. He had never heard anyone speak to General Steyn like this, and the mention of hostile nuclear weapons on South African soil had all but pushed him over the brink. But General Steyn simply rubbed his right hand over his close-cropped scalp and said, "Excuse us for a moment, gentlemen..

Barnard?"

When they had gone, Gadi leapt to his feet. "What the hell are you doing, Hauer? My uncle told you to get enough troops to flatten Horn's estate. You're asking for a small group of men! What are you up to?"