The Day of the Jackal

«If that gorilla is not out of the alcove in fifteen seconds I am going back home,» said the blond man, and put the phone down. Then he walked back up the stairs.

At the top he watched the door of 64 open and Colonel Rodin appeared: He stared down the corridor for a moment at the Englishman, then called softly, «Viktor.»

From the alcove the giant Pole emerged and stood looking from one to the other. Rodin said, «It's all right. He is expected.»

Kowalski glowered. The Englishman started to walk.

Rodin ushered him inside the bedroom. It had been arranged like an office for a recruiting board. The escritoire served for the chairman's desk and was littered with papers. Behind it was the single upright chair in the room. But two other uprights brought in from adjacent rooms flanked the central chair, and these were occupied by Montclair and Casson, who eyed the visitor curiously. There was no chair in front of the desk. The Englishman cast an eye around, selected one of the two easy chairs and spun it round to face the desk. By the time Rodin had given fresh instructions to Viktor and closed the door, the Englishman was comfortably seated and staring back at Casson and Montclair. Rodin took his seat behind the desk.

For a few seconds he stared at the man from London. What he saw did not displease him, and he was an expert in men. The visitor stood about six feet tall, apparently in his early thirties, and with a lean, athletic build. He looked fit, the face was sun-tanned with regular but not remarkable features, and the hands lay quietly along the arms of the chair. To Rodin's eye he looked like a man who retained control of himself. But the eyes bothered Rodin. He had seen the soft moist eyes of weaklings, the dull shuttered eyes of psychopaths and the watchful eyes of soldiers. The eyes of the Englishman were open and stared back with frank candour. Except for the irises, which were of flecked grey so that they seemed smokey like the hoar mist on a winter's morning. It took Rodin a few seconds to realise that they had no expression at all. Whatever thoughts did go on behind the smoke-screen, nothing came through, and Rodin felt a worm of unease. Like all men created by systems and procedures, he did not like the unpredictable and therefore the uncontrollable.

«We know who you are,» he began abruptly. «I had better introduce myself. I am Colonel Marc Rodin…»

«I know,» said the Englishman, «you are chief of operations of the OAS. You are Major Rene Montclair, treasurer, and you are Monsieur Andre Casson, head of the underground in Metropole.»

He stared at each of the men in turn as he spoke, and reached for a cigarette.

«You seem to know a lot already,» interjected Casson as the three watched the visitor light up. The Englishman leaned back and blew out the first stream of smoke.

«Gentlemen, let us be frank. I know what you are and you know what I am. We both have unusual occupations. You are hunted while I am free to move where I will without surveillance. I operate for money, you for idealism. But when it comes to practical details we are all professionals at our jobs. Therefore we do not need to fence. You have been making enquiries about me. It is impossible to make such enquiries without the news of them soon getting back to the man being asked about. Naturally I wished to know who was so interested in me. It could have been someone seeking revenge, or wishing to employ me. It was important to me to know. As soon as I discovered the identity of the organisation interested in me, two days among the French newspaper files in the British Museum were enough to tell me about you and your organisation. So the visit of your little errand boy this afternoon was hardly a surprise. Bon. I know who you are, and whom you represent. What I would like to know is what you want.»

There was silence for several minutes. Casson and Montclair glanced for guidance at Rodin. The paratroop colonel and the assas sin stared at each other. Rodin knew enough about violent men to understand the man facing him was what he wanted. From en on Montclair and Casson were part of the furniture.

«Since you have read the files available, I will not bore you with the motivations behind our organisation, which you have accurately waned as idealism. We believe France is now ruled by a dictator who has polluted our country and prostituted its honour. We believe his regime can only fall and France be restored to Frenchmen if he first dies. Out of six attempts by our supporters to eliminate him, three were exposed in the early planning stages, one was betrayed the day before the attempt, and two took place but misfired.