Free The Judas Gate by Jack Higgins Page A

Nineteen seventy-nine. Anybody can read about it, Sean — it doesn’t have to be somebody who was there.’
    ‘And as I’ve already mentioned,’ Miller said, ‘I’ve used theWarrenpoint disaster in my lectures at Sandhurst for ten years. Hundreds and hundreds of officer cadets have heard that lecture.’
    ‘Let’s move on,’ Ferguson said. ‘By chance, Major Miller and I bumped into an old comrade of mine today, General Sir Hedley Chase, Chairman of Talbot International. He was with his Managing Director, Major Justin Talbot, who was just back from Pakistan. I presume you know the firm,
    Daniel?’
    ‘Of course I do. It’s one of the biggest in the business. Family-owned — the Chairman for years, Colonel Henry Talbot, was involved in Ulster politics.’
    ‘And that’s a polite way of putting it,’ Dillon said. ‘The kind of old-fashioned Protestant politician who’d have welcomed another potato famine just to reduce the Catholic population to manageable proportions.’
    ‘You appear to feel strongly on the matter, Sean,’ Ferguson said.
    ‘And why wouldn’t I, living only a few miles up the road at Collyban for some years in my youth? It was with my uncle on my mother’s side, Mickeen Oge Flynn — good man; still has a garage there. And I can assure you, Colonel Henry Talbot was one of the most hated men in County Down. The grand house he had where he lorded it over the Catholic “scum of Kilmartin”, as he described them. The only thing that kept someone from shooting him was his wife, Mary Ellen. Mickeen Oge used to say, if ever a saint walked this earth, it was her, even if she was a Protestant.’
    ‘He certainly sounds a real old bastard,’ Harry Salter said.
    ‘Warrenpoint must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow,’ Ferguson said. ‘Only a few miles away.’
    Dillon said coldly, ‘Enough of the ould sod, and back to our problem. We know there are British Muslims in the Taliban ranks: we have recordings of them. I’m with Billy in thinking that most of them simply make their own way to Pakistan and join up there. I shouldn’t imagine there is any organization as such. Information about where to join is probably available at any local mosque.’
    ‘So what is your point?’ Ferguson demanded.
    ‘That the job comes down to one thing: find Shamrock. The President asked me if I thought we could, and I said yes. He said, don’t let me down and, with all due respect to you, General, I don’t intend to.’
    Ferguson turned to Holley. ‘For twenty-five years, behind the respectable front of Malik Shipping, you’ve sold arms to anyone who could pay. You must be one of the most experienced dealers in the business. Who would we get in touch with? In our discussion with Talbot and Sir Hedley, we kept it general, made no mention of Shamrock. They both felt that if the government was concerned about the situation, they should send someone to take a look. Talbot said he had an excellent staff who would be willing to help.’
    ‘They wouldn’t be much help for what you’re looking for,’ Holley said. ‘They’re far too respectable. I could provide two or three names, the kind of people who have their hands in everything. But you really have to do it face-to-face: it’s the only way. Peshawar International may not be the biggestairport in the world, but it’ll handle an RAF Gulfstream, I should think.’
    Harry Miller said to him, ‘What a splendid idea.’
    Ferguson turned to Miller, ‘By heavens, I could go with you. I’ve excellent contacts with Pakistan Intelligence.’
    ‘That’s up to you,’ said Holley, ‘but be careful what you say. Pakistan Intelligence is riddled with corruption and Taliban sympathizers. As for Shamrock, I’d keep that for the lowlifes whose names I’ll give you.’
    ‘Thanks for the warning, Daniel. Give Roper the names of the dealers you suggest we meet in Peshawar, if you would.’
    ‘I can do more than that. They all have laptops, I’ll