And it was cold, the kind of shock that numbed the brain, and the current was fierce. Dillon kicked Barry away as he surfaced, felt himself swept against the stern anchor chain and grabbed at it. As he turned, he saw Barry being carried away.

'Fuck you, Dillon!' he called, and was gone.

Dillon hung on, then hauled himself along the chain to the other side of the Griselda and reached for a ring bolt on the wall.

'Dillon?' Ferguson called.

'Here.' Dillon pulled himself to a ladder.

He sat on the old quay, streaming water, and Ferguson said, "Do you think he's gone?'

'Only elsewhere, Brigadier. I'll confirm he's gone when I've shot him between the eyes at very close quarters, but not before.'

'What now?'

'Let's go below. I'm wet through and I could do with some dry clothes.'

In the shower room, Dillon stripped and towelled. In the small bedroom he helped himself to underwear and jeans and a sweater far too large, then joined Ferguson in the saloon. He nodded to the black suit, white shirt and tie.

'Nice gear, Brigadier. I mean, if you were going to circulate at a great hotel like the Dorchester, you'd really pass dressed like that.'

'You don't think he's at the bottom of the Thames?'

'No, probably on the other side by now, but he won't be turning up at the Dorchester. You see, Jack isn't a patriot, he's a very practical man, and a British prison is the last thing he needs. He came, he failed.'

'I know. Strange, Dillon. When you told me he was here, I said it had to be for Cohan. I couldn't think of any reason that could bring him here from Ulster. But why? Barry runs the Sons of Erin. Why would he want to eradicate the last member of the New York branch?'

'Because that's exactly what Cohan is. He's a problem to you, he's a problem to the President. Maybe he's a problem to the Connection, too.'

Ferguson was suddenly cheerful. 'My dear boy, you sometimes have a perfect facility for hitting the nail on the head. Let's go.'

Dillon said, 'And the boat?'

'Wherever he goes, if he's still on the planet, he won't come back here. Just turn the lights out. I'll have a recovery team check it out tomorrow.'

But Ferguson was wrong. Barry surfaced at St James's Stairs. He hauled himself up a ladder and started back to the basin. The lights were still on in the boat. He crouched there in the darkness, wet and cold. After a while, the lights went out below and Ferguson and Dillon appeared. The deck lights went out, they came up the gangway and walked away, talking.

When the sound of the voices had faded, he hurried across, went below and stripped hurriedly. He towelled, found fresh clothes and dressed. Then he pulled on the bomber jacket, which still had his mobile in one of the pockets. He reached under one of the benches, pulled up a plank, rummaged inside and took out a Smith amp; Wesson revolver. He slipped it in a pocket and left, switching off the lights.

He walked away through the rain, not at all depressed, actually laughing out loud. What a bastard Dillon was, and it was nice to have a face to put on Ferguson 's name after all these years. It was all a game, after all. He understood that, so did Dillon and Ferguson, but did the Connection? He reached the Escort, got in and drove away.

Dillon pulled up outside Ferguson 's flat in Cavendish Square. 'I suppose it means we don't have to worry about Cohan for the rest of his stay.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'He's no samurai, our Jack, he has no intention of committing suicide. Now that he knows we're on to him, if he was here for Cohan, he's on his way.'

'You say if

'Let's wait and see.'

'And our mystery assassin – your woman?'

'Let's wait and see there also.'

Ferguson nodded. 'Nine o'clock. My office.' He got out and Dillon leaned through the window.

'Charles? You will have that wrist seen to, won't you? None of that British stoicism, I hope.'

Ferguson smiled. 'Don't worry, Sean, I'm not daft. Now be off with you.'

Dillon drove away.

The weather was terrible as Barry drove out of London. Heavy, heavy rain. For some reason though, he still felt incredibly cheerful, as he stopped on the motorway at a Little Chef, had an all-day English breakfast and bought half a bottle of Scotch in the shop.

He drank a quarter of it on his way down to Roundhay, where he found the little airstrip dark and quiet, except for a light in the barn. He drove in beside the Chieftain and found Docherty sitting on a stool reading a newspaper.

'Did it go well, Jack?' he asked.

'Don't ask. Just get me out of here. Can you do it?'

'I'm your man.'

Ten minutes later, the Chieftain lifted into the night, Barry sat back, opened the half-bottle of whiskey again and drank. Then he took out his mobile and rang the Connection.

'It's me, Barry.'

'Where are you?'

'On my way from England to Ireland in a small plane and lucky to be here.'

'Tell me.'

Which Barry did.

Thornton said, 'How would they know about your houseboat, for God's sake?'

'I don't know. All I know is that they did and I'm lucky to be getting the hell out of it.'

'And Cohan?'

'He can take his chances, as far as I'm concerned,' and Barry rang off.

Chapter Nine

Dillon,in the office at ten o'clock, woke Blake in bed at five a.m. in Washington.

'For God's sake, Sean, look at the time!'

'I'm doing you a favour, Blake. My story is better than the midnight movie. You'll come dangerously alive, go down to the kitchen in your track suit, drink fresh orange juice and contemplate a five-mile run.'

'Like hell I will.'

'Just listen.'

When Dillon was finished, Blake said, 'God help us, it gets worse.'

'Don't tell me. I'll keep in touch,' and Dillon rang off".

Lady Helen Lang jogged through Hyde Park. It was ten-thirty the following morning. She sat on a bench by the pond and rested. She wasn't breathless, she felt fine. The prospect of the evening at the Dorchester was strangely like going into battle. She was determined on her course of action, no question of that. It was fitting that Cohan should go the same way as the rest of the club. She was realistic enough to realize that the prospect of ever facing Jack Barry or the Connection just wasn't likely. However, she would have exacted a considerable amount of justice, as she saw it. It would comfort her next time she placed flowers on her son's monument.

Her name was called and she looked up and saw Hedley walking towards her. 'Thought I'd see how you were getting on.'

'That was nice of you.' She stood up and suddenly was struggling for breath. She clutched her chest, then sat down again, fumbled for the plastic bottle of pills in her pocket and dropped it.

He picked it up, and sat beside her and opened it. 'Is it bad?'

She lied, of course. 'No, no, I was just a little dizzy for a moment.' He passed her two pills in his palm. She picked them up and swallowed them down. 'That's better.'

'This ain't good, Lady Helen.'

She patted his knee. 'A nice cup of tea and I can go on for ever, Hedley. Now take me across to the cafe.'

They stood up and she took his arm.

In his office at the Ministry of Defence, Ferguson was going over the previous night's events with Hannah Bernstein and Dillon.

'What a load of male macho nonsense,' Hannah said, outraged. 'And at your age, Brigadier.'

Ferguson, who was wearing an elastic bandage on his gun hand, said, 'I stand corrected, Chief Inspector.'

'God, but you look grand when you're angry, girl,' Dillon told her. 'The eyes sparkle and there's a flush to the cheeks.'

'Oh, go to hell,' she said. 'It should have been a major anti-terrorist squad operation. If the place had been flooded with armed officers, we'd have had him. One of the most wanted Irish terrorists.'