She had red apple cheeks and a warm smile. Her grey hair was tied back in a bun, reminding the American of Monica"s hairstyle. She ushered her guests inside and Newman patted her affectionately on the rump.
"Meet your hostess, Cord. This is Mrs Carson. She runs the "Bunker and we take orders from her. This is Cord Dillon - just arrived from the States," he introduced. "No sleep for days and hungry as a hunter, I"m sure."
"That door has a solid steel plate on the inside," observed Dillon as Mrs Carson closed and attended to three sophisticated locks.
"Behind the closed shutters of every window is armour-plated gla.s.s," Newman told him.
"Place looks like a series of shacks and turns out to be a fortress. Who protects it if we come under attack?"
"I do," said Mrs Carson. "Not that anyone will find us."
Dillon stared at her in disbelief. His expression became more p.r.o.nounced as she slipped her hand inside a large canvas shopping bag perched on a shelf and took out a Heckler & Koch MP5 9mm sub machine-gun.
Effortlessly she inserted a magazine, then, still smiling, looked at Newman.
"Is he trustworthy?"
"Totally. And he may be staying here for a while. He"s on the run from gunmen."
"You"d better have this, then," she said, handing the weapon to Dillon. "You do know how to use it?" she asked.
"Cord is very familiar with it," Newman a.s.sured her.
"I have another one ready hanging in a cupboard," she a.s.sured her guest. "And down in the cellars we have an armoury. Handguns, machine-guns, smoke bombs, grenades. I"ll show you, then you can have supper. Tweed phoned me, said he thought you"d need a good hot home-cooked meal..."
They were standing in a large kitchen-breakfast room with a wooden table laid for three people to eat. The atmosphere was warm, cosy and Dillon detected a slight humming sound.
"You"ve even got air-conditioning, for Pete"s sake."
"We have, Newman told him. "Powered by our own generator. We have a spare as back-up in case of a breakdown."
"Are you a drinking man?" Mrs Carson enquired. "I haven"t Bourbon but I could supply a double Scotch. You look as though you could do with it."
"I sure could. Thank you."
"Nothing for me," Newman chimed in. "I may have to drive back tonight. I"ll know when I"ve phoned Tweed."
Their hostess had walked quickly to check what was happening on her Aga cooker, lifting lids of several pans, stirring one gently. She then opened a cupboard, brought out a bottle of very expensive whisky, poured a generous double Scotch, handed it to her guest.
"Get that inside you. Supper"s not quite ready. I"ll show you your sleeping quarters underground."
"This is what I need." Dillon took a large swallow. "The weakness of this place is that a mob of gunmen could ignore that gate, scramble through the hedge. They"d be all round this farmhouse before you knew what was happening."
"No, they couldn"t," Mrs Carson said sharply. "Look at this." She opened a large white metal panel on the wall. Behind it was a series of small porthole windows, each with a number above it. "There"s an electric tripwire all round all the hedges. If there are intruders a buzzer goes off. I only have to check this and whichever number is flashing tells me which sectors they"re coming in through. Three teenage boys did try to break in. I knew where, saw them coming through my binoculars, went out to meet them with my miniature water cannon. The pressure on the jet is very powerful. It is so strong I knocked them over when I aimed it at them. And it was in winter so they were soaked in icy water. They ran for it, I can tell you."
"I"m dazed," reacted Dillon.
"Must be the drink," Mrs Carson suggested, pulling his leg. "Now follow me..."
Crossing to the opposite panelled wall, she pressed a b.u.t.ton. A section of the panel slid back, revealing a doorway. Telling Dillon to mind the steps, she switched on a light and led the way down a flight of concrete steps with a handrail on either side.
The underground complex was vast, one cellar leading to another. The floors, walls and tunnel-like ceiling were painted white. There was nothing primitive about the complex. Opening one door, she ushered her visitor into a comfortably furnished bedroom with a modern bathroom leading off it. Dillon could hardly believe it as she escorted him to more rooms. Taking out two keys she unlocked a steel door and a light came on inside automatically.
"The armoury."
Dillon stared in amazement as he wandered slowly round, looking at the racks holding a vast majority of guns amd grenades. Below each rack holding weapons was another rack stacked with the correct ammunition. As he turned round Mrs Carson was checking her watch.
"Must have taken you ages to excavate all this," he said.
"No, it didn"t," Newman explained. "This place has a history of being used by smugglers in the old days. The cellars were here so they just had to be modernized. Marler supervised the development."
"Difficult to keep it secret. Workers talk."
"Not the workers who created this. Marlev recruited them in Eastern Europe. Brought them in secretly aboard small launches by night. They never knew where they were. Marler could talk to them in their own lingo. A lot were miners - used to working underground. They never left the place until it was done. Then they were transported secretly back to where they"d come from - with a load of dollars, their favourite currency. For the sophisticated technical work we used boffins from Park Crescent and the training mansion down in Surrey."
"You two will be gabbling all night and the meal is ready," Mrs Carson said severely.
"What do they think about the a.s.sa.s.sination of our Prime Minister in the States?" Newman asked as they followed her upstairs.
"The rumour they spread was it was the work of a splinter group of the IRA."
"Who might "they" be?"
"Top-flight spin doctors. Incidentally, a team of them have also arrived at the Emba.s.sy. Experts in TV, radio and the Internet. Why, I don"t know. Something very big is being planned." Dillon drank the rest of his Scotch.
"When I said top-flight I meant it - recruited from private industry."
"What do these spin doctors do in America?" Newman asked as they entered the kitchen-breakfast room.
"Brainwash people. Which is why the President is still in the White House."
"Stop chattering, you two," Mrs Carson ordered. "Supper is ready. I hope you like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Mr Dillon?"
"Lead me to it. And call me Cord."
"I must call Tweed from the office here," Newman told her. "I may not have time to eat anything. Back in a minute."
Opening another door, he went into a small room after switching on the light. Closing the door, he sat in a swivel chair behind a desk. Its surface contained a phone, the machine Mrs Carson typed her reports on, but no fax. Security was very tight at the Bunker. When Monica answered he asked for Tweed.
"I"m on the line..." Tweed"s voice.
"Be careful. I"m not sure this is any longer a safe phone." Newman was recalling Dillon"s reference to a team of communication experts arriving at Grosvenor Square. "I"ve arrived here with the parcel."
"Any important data?"
"Yes, but I don"t think I should give you it on the phone. I propose to drive straight back. I can give it to you in the morning."
"I"d like it tonight. I"ll wait for you."
"I"m on my way..."
Going back into the other room, he found Dillon ravenously devouring Mrs Carson"s meal. She had refilled his whisky gla.s.s and was eating a small portion herself. The aroma made Newman suddenly feel hungry. Mrs Carson was an excellent cook, besides being a crack shot with a variety of weapons.
"Sorry," he said, "but I have to drive straight back to London. Cord, I have a full outfit of clothes down here, including pyjamas and shaving kit. You"ll find everything you need."
"Thank you, friend, for bringing me here." Dillon had stood up, left hand holding his napkin, shaking New- man"s with the other. "How long will I be in the Bunker?"
"Until it"s safe to come out. There are fifteen acres round the farmhouse. Mrs Carson will show you outside. She"ll give you some old farmer"s clothes in case anyone sees you. They"ll think you"re a yokel."
"Better practise my yokel accent."
Mrs Carson was putting the plates of food in a warming drawer. She produced her keys, ready to let Newman out.
"One more thing, Cord, before I go. All the things you have seen recently, what has happened to you. Any idea what it"s all about?"
"The whole grim business is a mystery."
Mrs Carson dimmed the lights before unlocking the main door. Newman hugged her, went out into the breathtaking cold air to his car. He drove slowly back up the track and Mrs Carson timed the opening of the gate perfectly.
Leaving the farmhouse behind, he turned his lights on full beam. As he navigated the maze of lanes half his mind was on driving the car, half on what Dillon had told him. Why did he have a sense of imminent doom?
2.
When Newman walked into Tweed"s office in the middle of the night there was a tense atmosphere. Paula and Monica sat silently behind their desks. Tweed was leaning forward in his chair chatting to a man in his thirties who Newman detested. Basil Windermere.
Leaning against a wall, smoking a king-size, stood Marler, a key member of Tweed"s team, reputed to be the best marksman in the whole of Western Europe. Shorter than.Newman - he was five feet seven tall - Marler was slim and, as usual, smartly dressed. Wearing a grey suit with a Prince of Wales check, his trouser creases were knife-edged, his white shirt fresh from the dry-cleaner, his blue silk tie decorated with a subtle chain link design. His dark hair was neatly trimmed and his clean-shaven face had an expression suggesting he was miles away in thought.
"I think you know Basil," Tweed said.
"We"ve met," Newman replied without enthusiasm.
"Good to see you, old chap." Windermere extended a hand which Newman ignored. "What a bunch of night birds we are," he went on in the soft voice which made many women fall over backwards. "I"m here to put Tweed on to a good thing. Heard on the grapevine Sharon Mandeville is up for insurance to the tune of thirty million dollars."
"Thought she was in America," Newman lied.
"My dear chap, you"re the world"s greatest foreign correspondent. Thought you kept up to date. The delectable Sharon is in town here. Some big job with the American Emba.s.sy. Thought of Tweed at once. His insurance company handles protective cover against eminent souls being kidnapped."
Which confirmed to Newman that Windermere had no idea the General & c.u.mbria a.s.surance plate on the., door at the entrance was a cover for the secret HQ of the SIS. He simply nodded. Windermere turned back to Tweed.
"I"m a bit short of the readies." He flicked index finger and thumb. "Some of the folding stuff for the tip would most certainly not come amiss."
"Who is proposing to pay this enormous premium?" Tweed asked.
"Presumably her latest billionaire boy friend back in the US of A."
"Presumably? The boy friend has a name?"
"Sorry, I haven"t got that far."
"Maybe this anonymous boy friend hasn"t got that far either. He could just hope to."
"Mind if I smoke?"
Windermere extracted a gold cigarette case from his pocket and selected a Turkish cigarette with a flourish. On the outside was engraved a royal-looking crown. Undoubtedly a fake, Newman decided. Just like the owner.
Windermere was known to live off rich women. Once a male model, he was six feet tall, and took care to keep his weight down at a health club. This was one place where he encountered female prospects. He was wearing a white linen suit, which was ridiculous for the time of the year. He hardly ever stopped smiling, which Newman described as a smirk. He had a head of thick hair and too-perfect features.
"How did you come by this information?" Tweed probed.
"Met her at a party, didn"t I? She"s something else again - a real knock-out. Intelligent with it. Told me during the course of our long conversation. Think she rather liked me. I took the liberty of mentioning your organization."
"Who mentioned my name?"
"She did, as a matter of fact. Hope you don"t mind." "Don"t do it again," Tweed said. "I don"t tout for any of my business."
"Any chance of a small advance for the tip?"
"None at all. Too vague."
"A couple of hundred pounds would make me happy."
"Try your luck with the lottery."
"Suppose I"d better love you and leave you." Windermere stood up. The hostile reception has at last penetrated his thick skull, Newman said to himself. "I had a coat."
Monica was already taking down his white coat from a hook. She simply handed it to him without making any effort to help him on with it. Windermere stood very still, glancing round the spartan office. Newman could see why he would be attractive to a certain type of woman.
"Don"t think I know you," Windermere remarked, addressing Marler.
"You don"t."
"And what a charming lady," Windermere went on, gazing at Paula.
She had her head down, studying some papers. She appeared not to have heard him.
"Newman will accompany you to the door," Tweed told him.
"Let"s keep in touch, you beautiful people..."
Newman had the door open. As he closed it and followed their visitor down the stairs Windermere began talking over his shoulder.
"I say, Bob, maybe we could have a drink together one evening."