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“If these guns are in good working order, I would be interested in buying a hundred of them,” said Sha
“As for the condition, monsieur, they are all brand new. Still in their maker’s grease and each still wrapped in its sachet of greaseproof paper with seals unbroken. As they came from the factory thirty years ago and, despite their age, still possibly the finest machine pistol ever made.”
Sha
“May I see?” he asked.
Wheezing heavily, Boucher pulled the black case he carried onto his knees and flicked open the catches after twirling the wheels of the combination lock. He lifted the lid and held the case forward without attempting to get up.
Sha
It was a beautiful piece of weaponry. Sha
“That is the sample model,” wheezed Boucher. “Of course it has had the maker’s grease removed and carries only a light film of oil. But the others are identical. Unused.”
Sha
“It takes standard nine-mm. ammunition, which is easy to come by,” said Boucher helpfully.
“Thank you, I know,” said Sha
“I can supply five with each weapon,” said Boucher.
“Five?” Sha
The bargaining had begun, Sha
Vlaminck escorted the fat man with his lethal briefcase down to the lobby and saw him away in his taxi. When he returned, Sha
“Do you see what I mean about the truck you bought?” he asked Tiny.
“No,” said the other.
“We will have to use that truck for the pick-up on Wednesday,” Sha
“Okay, Cat, I’ll be ready. I got the lock-up garage two days ago. And the other stuff is on order. Is there anywhere I can take you? I have the hired car for the rest of the day.”
Sha
There was still £7000 in the Keith Brown account, but a debit of £2000 for the four mercenaries’ salaries was due in nine days. He drew a banker’s check in favor of Joha
The other letter was to Alan Baker, addressed to his home in Hamburg. The check it contained was in Baker’s name for $7200, and Sha
Last, he instructed Baker to get right on with the purchase and promised to be in touch by phone regularly to check on progress. Both letters were mailed from Brugge post office, express rate and registered.
Sha
The boat train deposited him at Victoria Station at midnight, and he was in bed and asleep by one in the morning of that Saturday. The last thing he did before sleeping was to send a telegram to Endean’s poste restante address to say he was back and he felt they ought to meet.
The Saturday morning mail brought a letter mailed at express rate from Malaga in the south of Spain. It was addressed to Keith Brown but began “Dear Cat.” It came from Kurt Semmler and stated briefly that he had found a boat, a converted motor fishing vessel built twenty years earlier in a British shipyard, owned by a British citizen, and registered in London. It flew a British flag, was 90 feet overall and 80 tons deadweight, with a large central hold amidships and a smaller one aft. It was classed as a private yacht but could be reregistered as a coaster.
Semmler went on to say the vessel was for sale at a price of £20,000 and that two of the crew would be worth engaging under the new management. He was certain he could find good replacements for the other two crew members.
He finished by saying he was staying at the Malaga Palacio Hotel and asked Sha
The boat was called the MV Albatross.
Endean phoned Sha
“You’ll have to make further transfers of money if we are to move ahead in the forthcoming weeks,” Sha
“How much do you need at once?” Endean asked.
Sha