Moments
after he knocked, the door swung open.
“It’s so good to see you again, Mr. McGuire,” John
Rainey said as Sean walked through the doorway. “The higher-ups
have made a decision. Your being here this evening will give us a
chance to share it with you.”
The smile on Rainey’s face belied the tone of his voice.
This bastard’s not wasting any time, Sean thought.
“Hold on a bit, Rainey,” Rafferty said. “Give the
lad a chance to take his bloody coat off. There’s no rush here.
We can have a pint and discuss business properly, if you don’t
mind.”
Michael Rich and Bridgette Toomey looked over to Rafferty and nodded
in agreement. There was little doubt among them as to who would be
running the gathering.
“Hello, Sean,” Bridgette said. “It’s good
to see you. I’m happy you could come.”
Her greeting sounded genuine. Michael Rich remained quiet. Sean found
nothing to read in his face.
Before long, the meeting turned to the business at hand. Mick Rafferty
took charge and relayed what they expected.
“You’ve a bit of time, Sean, but we want you to start
arranging for us to get past the wire. You navy chaps are the ones
manning the gate, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Sean replied. “It’s who happens to
have duty whenever we tie up that gets the gate. We rarely know who
it’s going to be.”
“Armed?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve some idea as to how you fellows work, Sean. Can
you arrange it so that you’ve got duty the night we need you?”
“Maybe,” Sean said. “It’s not a job too many
people like.”
“Good. We’ll make it look like you put up a fight trying
to stop us.”
“How much time have I got to arrange this?” Sean asked.
“It will be the trip after this one,” Rafferty replied.
“Check everything out when you get there the next time, and
you can let us know when you come back. We’ll arrange the rest
and coordinate the times. It will be a simple thing if you do your
part, and no one will be able to tie you to it.”
The voyage back to Ireland was rough for Sean. The submarine performed
well, with training dives and drills going smoothly, but again the
web he found himself in filled him with anger and confusion. He accepted
that Rafferty’s people were never going to leave him alone.
Even if by some miraculous turn of events this particular mission
they’d concocted fell through, he knew too much. They had him,
and no one would ever believe he wasn’t part of their twisted
world. He was Irish, so it was expected.
Rain, welcomed by the sailors on deck, began falling shortly after
the boat started its passage up the river toward Derry. They welcomed
it, hoping its presence lessened the chance of the occasional sniper
hidden within the lush foliage lining the riverbank.
After they tied the vessel alongside the pier, the deck crew dismissed
to prepare for port watches.