Passage by Night (v5) by Jack Higgins Page B

was quite bald and what little hair remained had been razored clean. But it was the eyes that were his most compelling feature, constantly in motion, cold and hard and utterly without mercy.
    'Poor Bayo. I startled you, eh? I made you jump?' A muscle twitched in Bayo's face and Rojas laughed harshly, his body shaking like a jelly. 'He hasn't been the same since his little accident last summer.'
    Anna leaned forward, anger sparkling in her eyes and Manning put a hand on her arm and reached for the bottle. 'More wine, colonel?'
    Rojas raised the glass to his lips and sighed with pleasure. 'Exquisite! Such a delightful bouquet!' He put the glass down and produced a long Havana cigar from his breast pocket. 'I hear you've brought tuna with you, captain.'
    Papa Melos nodded. 'That was the purpose of the trip. Boats from Harmon Springs called frequently, but that was before the crisis. I thought I'd see if we were still welcome.'
    Rojas turned to him in what appeared to be quite genuine amazement. 'But our quarrel is not with your people, my friend. It is with the Americans and those who would help them.'
    There was a slight, awkward silence and Manning said calmly, 'Well, that's certainly nice to know.'
    Rojas put a match to his cigar and puffed out a cloud of blue smoke. 'So, the tuna were your only reason for calling here?'
    The old man moistened dry lips. 'But of course,' he said, a ghastly smile on his face.
    'Strange,' Rojas said calmly. 'I thought that perhaps Senor Manning here had intended taking a few photographs.'
    As a dry sob erupted from the old man's throat, Manning's hand slid inside his shirt, reaching for the butt of the automatic.
    Rojas shook his head. 'I don't think that would be very wise.'
    Something hard and cold nudged Manning in the side of the head and he turned and stared into the business end of a submachine gun. The man who held it looked extremely competent. He wore a neat khaki uniform, a black beret and beard to match.
    Manning put his hands on the table and the soldier reached inside his shirt and removed the automatic. Rojas poured himself another glass of wine and sipped it in leisurely fashion.
    'You know, this is really quite excellent. The best year since the war. Bayo puts some on ice for me each day.'
    'I shouldn't have thought you were capable of telling the difference,' Manning said.
    For a moment, something flickered in the fat man's eyes and there was a curious quality of stillness about his whole body, and then he started to laugh, head thrown back, the flesh dancing across his great frame. When he finally gained control, there were tears in his eyes.
    'My dear Senor Manning,' he said, wiping them away with his silk handkerchief. 'You know, I really think I'm going to enjoy you.'

11
The Man in the Vaults
    As the jeep pulled out of the ravine, Manning got his first full view of the fortress. It was perched spectacularly on the edge of a small plateau which jutted from the side of the mountain like a shelf. Beyond it, there were only the cliffs dropping a hundred feet into the sea.
    He was in the rear seat, an armed soldier on either side of him, and Rojas sat up front with the driver. The walls of the ancient fortress were pierced for cannon and the gates stood open. They slowed for the sentry to raise a long wooden swing bar and Rojas turned and smiled.
    'Spectacular, is it not, Senor Manning?' Manning looked up at the great archway and the grim towers beyond. 'All it needs are a couple of heads on spikes over the gate.'
    'An old English custom, I believe. To encourage the others. Any particular head you'd like to see up there?'
    'Kurt Viner's would do for a start.'
    Rojas chuckled harshly. 'That's what I like about you. Straight to the point. No beating about the bush.'
    'It didn't take much working out,' Manning said as the jeep moved forward. 'It couldn't be anyone else.'
    'A logical deduction. Such a pleasure to deal with a man of intelligence.'
    The jeep turned in a half-circle