Part 16 (1/2)
”Just hold themselves ready?”
”That's right. The whole purpose of the cell system is to maintain absolute security. I share no information about my sleepers with anyone on the Army Council, even the chief of staff.”
”How do I persuade this woman I am from the right people?”
”She knows my name. What you say is: 'Liam Coogan sends you his blessing and says hold yourself ready.'”
”And that's all?”
”Tell her that when the time comes to strike, the word will be: 'The day of reckoning is here.' I'll call you and you will pa.s.s it on.” He had a fit of coughing. ”Jesus, I should give up the smoking. Do this for me, son.”
”Of course I will, Liam.”
”Take care.”
Daniel thought about it for a while, then phoned the airport and booked a flight, trying to open the package with one hand as he did so.
It was Sat.u.r.day, and Caitlin Daly was in the kitchen at the presbytery, enjoying a cup of tea with her mother, when the phone rang. She answered, and the voice with the slightest touch of a Yorks.h.i.+re accent said, ”Caitlin Daly?” and Caitlin Daly was in the kitchen at the presbytery, enjoying a cup of tea with her mother, when the phone rang. She answered, and the voice with the slightest touch of a Yorks.h.i.+re accent said, ”Caitlin Daly?”
”Yes, who am I speaking to?”
”Liam Coogan sends you his blessing and says hold yourself ready.”
The shock was immense, and she put a hand on the table to steady herself. ”Who are you?”
”Just call me Daniel. I'm Liam's cousin.”
”You don't sound Irish.”
”My mother was from Crossmaglen. I'm sitting in a rear pew in the Church of the Holy Name. It's very peaceful, and not a soul here. Can I see you? My time is limited. I have a plane to catch to Algiers.”
”Five minutes.” She put down the phone, and her mother said, ”Who was that, dear?”
”Business,” Caitlin told her. ”I've just got to go round to the hospital.” She reached for her coat and put it on. ”I shan't be long.”
Reading the notes on Caitlin Daly, her tragic experience as a child in Derry, her life till now in her mid-thirties, Daniel had expected to find her interesting, but he hadn't been prepared for her beauty. It left him momentarily speechless. But not Daly. on Caitlin Daly, her tragic experience as a child in Derry, her life till now in her mid-thirties, Daniel had expected to find her interesting, but he hadn't been prepared for her beauty. It left him momentarily speechless. But not Daly.
”What's going on?” she demanded.
Recovering his wits, he said, ”I'm only here as a mouthpiece for Liam. I'm to tell you that you must consider your cell activated. There will be a campaign in London next year that will shock the world, though at this stage he can't give you details of what you are required to do.”
”And how will we know?”
”When the time comes to strike, the word will be: 'The day of reckoning is here.' He will tell me, and I will pa.s.s on the order to you. Those are his instructions.”
”So we wait?”
”That's what he told me, and this list for you, the members of your cell. Do the names of these six men still make sense?”
”Oh, yes, they are all members of the Hope of Mary circle at the refuge here at the hospice.”
”Some sort of a club?”
”Much more than that. The sound basis for all our lives. I will call them together tonight and inform them of the situation.”
He stood up. ”You're a remarkable young woman, Caitlin.”
”And you are a remarkable young man, Daniel.”
He left her then and went out, the door banging, and she stood there, leaning on the back of the pew, shaking with emotion. The vestry door opened, and Monsignor Murphy came out. ”Oh, it's you, Caitlin. I thought I heard voices. Who was it?”
”A stranger from a far-off land, Monsignor, who wandered in by chance. He's gone now. I sent him on his way.” She took his arm. ”Let's go to the presbytery and join Mother for a cup of tea.”
That evening, having called the other members of the cell in turn, she met them in the chapel at Hope of Mary. Barry, Flynn, Pool, Costello, Cochran, and Murray joined her, and, filled with excitement and awe, they recited their own special prayer together at roughly the same time that Daniel Holley arrived in Algiers, although it would be many years before he discovered that meeting had taken place. having called the other members of the cell in turn, she met them in the chapel at Hope of Mary. Barry, Flynn, Pool, Costello, Cochran, and Murray joined her, and, filled with excitement and awe, they recited their own special prayer together at roughly the same time that Daniel Holley arrived in Algiers, although it would be many years before he discovered that meeting had taken place.
Two months later, Liam Coogan died of a sudden heart attack. Daniel was in Hazar at the time, brokering an arms deal for the Bedu Army in that region. Malik reached him on his mobile, but protocol was a delicate matter with Arab rulers, and it was a week before Daniel could get down to the port by Land Rover and find a plane to fly out. There was no possible way he could have got to Crossmaglen to attend the funeral, and there would have been great danger for him anyway. The funerals of Provo leaders like Liam were always very public affairs and attracted a great deal of media attention. Liam Coogan died of a sudden heart attack. Daniel was in Hazar at the time, brokering an arms deal for the Bedu Army in that region. Malik reached him on his mobile, but protocol was a delicate matter with Arab rulers, and it was a week before Daniel could get down to the port by Land Rover and find a plane to fly out. There was no possible way he could have got to Crossmaglen to attend the funeral, and there would have been great danger for him anyway. The funerals of Provo leaders like Liam were always very public affairs and attracted a great deal of media attention.
The real shock hit him when he went in the office, and Malik said, ”A terrible tragedy, Liam going like that, but maybe it was a blessing, with a prolonged death from cancer to look forward to. At least, he'll have a smile on his face, wherever he is now.”
”What's that supposed to mean?” Daniel asked.
”The Provisional IRA bombed the Canary Wharf business district in London two weeks ago.”
Daniel was stunned. ”I can't believe it. Is my mail here?”
”On your desk.”
There was no message of any kind from Liam, but, on the other hand, if he'd wanted to speak to Daniel, he could have made contact by mobile, even in such a remote country as Hazar. The truth was that if Liam had been responsible in any way for the London bombing, he would have contacted Daniel and told him to activate the cell. He hadn't, because somebody else had been responsible. The chief of staff knew Liam was a dying man and had probably taken appropriate steps. So there'd been no message to Daniel to pa.s.s on to Caitlin Daly. Her cell would doubtless have taken pleasure in the news from London but been disappointed in their failure to be a part of it.
Should he phone her? He toyed with the idea and dismissed it. The bombing had had nothing to do with Liam, that was the truth of it. He was a sick man, a dying man, and others had taken care of it.
So he put his sorrow behind him and got down to work, busy with deals to Pakistan, and then in June 1996 the Provos struck again, the center of Manchester devastated. But in the end, enough was enough, and the cease-fire of 1997 became peace the following year.