Part 9 (1/2)
Even above our own engines I heard the Allisons give tongue, and fro deadly shape
Even by starlight, I recognized her i lines, greyhound waisted and the square chopped-off stern - one of the Royal Navy crash boats who had spent her best days in the Channel and noasinto senility on this fever coast
The darkness was kind to her, covering the rust stains and the streaky paintwork, but she was an old woman now Stripped of her marvellous Rolls marines - and underpowered with the more economical Allisons In a fair run Dancer would toy with her - but this was no fair run and she had all the speed and power she needed as she charged into the channel to cut us off, and when she switched on her battle lights they hit us like so in their intensity so I had to throw up my hand to protectthe channel, and on her foredeck I could see the shadowy figures of the gun crew crouching around the three-pounder on its wide traversing plate Thedirectly into my left nostril - and I felt a wild and desperate despair
It was aher, she had a marine ply wooden hull, probably badly rotted, and Dancer's fibreglass bows ainst her Dancer was not h the water
Then suddenly a bull-horn bellowed elecahts
”Heave to, Mr Fletcher Or I shall be forced to fire upon you
One shell from the three-pounder would chop us down, and she was a quick firer At this range they would s wreck within ten seconds
I closed down the throttles
”A wise decision, Mr Fletcher - now kindly anchor where you are,” the bull-horn squawked
Okay, Angelo,” I called wearily, and waited while he rigged and dropped the spare anchor Suddenly ain - for the last few hours I had forgotten about it
”I said we should have brought that piece,” Chubbyit out with that dirty great cannon, Chubby That would be a lot of laughs”
The crash boat hts still trained on us We stood helplessly in the blinding illuhts and waited I didn't want to think, I tried to feel nothing - but a spiteful inner voice sneered at ood-bye to Dancer, Harry old sport, this is where the two of you part coood chance that I would be facing a firing squad in the near future - but that didn't worrymy boat With Dancer I was Mister Harry, the damnedest fellow on St Mary's and one of the top billfish men in the whole cockeyed world Without her, I was just another punk trying to scratch his next ether I'd prefer to be dead
The crash boat careered into our side, bending the rail and scraping off a yard of our paint before they could hook on to us
”Motherless bastards,” growled Chubby, as half a dozen arures poured over our side, in a chattering undisciplined rabble They wore navy blue bell bottoms and bum-freezers hite flaps down the back of the neck, white and blue striped vests, and white berets with red porn-poms on the top - but the cut of the unifor AK47 autoazines and wooden butts
Fighting aet in a kick or a shove with a gun butt, they drove the three of us down into the saloon, and knocked us into the bench seat against the for'ard bulkhead We sat there shoulder to shoulder while two guards stood over us with ers curved hopefully around the triggers
”Now I knohy you paid elo tried to uard screaun butt He wiped his ain
The other aran to tear Dancer to pieces I suppose it was h her acco the panelling
One of theh there were only one or two bottles, there was a roar of approval They squabbled noisily as seagulls over a scrap of offal, then went on to loot the galley stores with appropriate hilarity and abandon Even when their co officer was assisted by four of his crew to make the hazardous journey across the six inches of open space that separated the crash boat fro and laughter and the crash of shattering ork and breaking glass
The commander wheezed heavily across the cockpit and stooped to enter the saloon He paused there to regain his breath
He was one of the biggest men I had ever seen, not less than six foot six tall and enore balloon beneath the white uniform jacket The jacket strained at its brass buttons and sweat had soaked through at the ar burst of stars and nized the American Naval Cross and the 1918 Victory Star
His head was the shape and colour of a polished black iron pot, the type they traditionally use for cooking old braid, rode at a jaunty angle upon it His face ran with rivers of glistening sweat, as he struggled noisily with his breathing andeyes
Slowly his body began to inflate, swelling even larger, like a great bullfrog, until I grew alar him to burst
The purple-black lips, thick as tractor tyres, parted and an unbelievable volume of sound issued from the pink cavern of his mouth
”Shut up!” he roared Instantly his crereckers froze into silence, one of the behind the bar
The huge officer trundled forward, see to fill the entire saloon with his bulk Slowly he sank into the padded leather seat Once ain and slowly his whole face lit up into the most wonderfully friendly smile, like an enor and flawlessly white and his eyes nearly disappeared in the rolls of s black flesh
”Mr Fletcher, I can't tell you what a great pleasure this is for me” His voice was deep and soft and friendly, the accent was British upper class - al His English was better thanyou for a number of years”
”That's very decent of you to say so, Admiral” With that uniform he could not rank less
”Adhed It began with a vast shaking of belly and ended with a gasping and straining for breath ”Alas, Mr Fletcher, you are deceived by appearances,” and he preened a little, touching thethe peak of his cap ”I am only a huh, Commander”
”No No, Mr Fletcher - do not waste your sympathy on me I wield all the authority I could wish for” He paused for deep breathing exercises and to wipe away the fresh ooze of sweat ”I hold the powers of life and death, believe me” ”I believe you, sir,” I told him earnestly ”Please don't feel you have to prove your point”
He shouted with laughter again, nearly choked, coughed up soe and yellow, spat it on to the floor and then told me, ”I like you, Mr Fletcher, I really do I think a sense'of humour is very important I think you and I could becoly
”As a mark ofme - Suleiman Dada”
”I appreciate that - I really do, Suleiman Dada, and you may call ether” At that ure, dressed not in his usual colonial police uniforht silk suit and leator-skin shoes on his feet
The light blond hair was carefully combed forward into a cow's lick, and the fluffy,to favour an injury I grinned at hi feel now, Daly?” I asked kindly, but he did not answer and went to sit across from Lieutenant Coe black paw and relieved one of his men of the Scotch whisky bottle he carried, part of lasses from the shattered liquor cabinet
When we all had half a tuave us the toast
”To lasting friendshi+p, and mutual prosperity” We drank, Daly and I cautiously, Dada deeply and with evident pleasure While his head was tilted back and his eyes closed, the crew man attempted to retrieve the bottle of Scotch frolass Dada hit hihty openhanded clout across the side of the head, a blow that snapped his head back and hurled him across the saloon to crash into the shattered liquor cabinet He slid down the bulkhead and sat stunned on the deck, shaking his head dazedly Suleiman Dada, despite his bulk, was a quick and fearsolass, set it down, and refilled it He looked at ed The clown had disappeared, despite the ballooning rolls of flesh, I was confronting a shrewd, dangerous and utterly ruthless opponent
”Harry, I understand that you and Inspector Daly were interrupted in the course of a recent discussion,” and I shrugged
”All of us here are reasonable , but studied the whisky in lass with deep attention
”This is very fortunate - for let us consider what ht happen to an unreasonable led a little with a sip of whisky Sweat had formed like a rash of little white blisters on his nose and chin He wiped it away ”First of all, an unreasonable ht watch while his creere taken out one at a tiruelling business, and Inspector Daly assures me that you have a special relationshi+p with these two elo shi+fted uneasily in their seats ”Then an unreasonable man would have his boat taken in to Zinballa Bay Once that happened there would be no way in which it would ever be returned to him It would be officially confiscated, out of my humble hands” He paused, and showedtheorilla We both stared at theht find himself in Zinballa jail - which, as you are probably aware, is a maximum security political prison”
I had heard of Zinballa prison, as had everyone on the coast
Those who came out of it were either dead or broken in body and spirit