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.That talk about leaving tomorrow was camouflage.I'm sure Sable won't be able to help spilling the beans to someone.Marler has been alerted.He's warned Harry.I don't want MacBlade or Falkirk to know.'As they arrived back at the garage, Marler appeared from nowhere with Harry.He told Tweed they were ready to leave now.Looking at Paula he smiled.'Hope you don't mind riding as my passenger in my Maserati - on the motorway for a lot of the trip.''I’d love that,' she fibbed as her stomach flipped.'Tweed drives the Audi with the armour plate and armoured glass, taking Harry as passenger.'He broke off as Lance walked in from the hotel.He wore a long white pullover and plaid trousers.He greeted them with a warm smile.'Off somewhere, are we?''To London.Tomorrow,' Tweed said quickly.'We're checking the state of our transport.''You'll be coming back, I hope?''At the latest two days after tomorrow,' Tweed assured him.'I mustn't linger.Busy day ahead of me.'As he spoke he jumped on a brand-new Harley-Davidson motorbike and left the garage at speed, driving up the High Street.Paula watched him as he pulled in at a house halfway up the street, ran to the door, which was opening.A tall well-built blonde appeared holding a shopping carrier.She kissed him, he patted her on the rump, she walked away as he closed the door.'Another arista victim,' Paula commented.'Bet he's packing her bag, ready to dump it on the doorstep.''I've got the special weapons you suggested,' Harry reported to Tweed.'Time to move,' said Tweed.'Now!' He looked at Marler.I’d like to know where we're going.''Seaward Cove, border of Somerset and Devon.We'll be there before night.Cove is remote, size of an oyster shell.'EIGHTEENWith Marler at the wheel and Paula beside him, Hobartshire passed in a flash as they headed south.Turning onto the motorway, Marler pressed his foot down.They flew.As far as Paula could tell, Marler kept just within all speed limits - she knew he had an instinct for speed traps.The drive was an experience she would never forget.Scenery passed in a blur - rolling green hills, a dense wood, a vast rocky quarry where strange machines prowled.Marler, wearing tinted goggles, had long ago passed her a pair to counter the searchlight glare of the sun burning out of an endless blue sky.Some time before, Marler had turned south-west.Paula's thick glossy black hair was streaming out behind her.She found a pink ribbon, tied her hair into a ponytail.Later Marler pointed to a plastic box.'Food,' he said abruptly.She extracted thick salmon sandwiches, fed Marler as he continued driving, then herself.There was Evian water to quench their thirst.By now Paula was relaxed.I could get used to driving like this, she thought.Occasionally she glanced in the rear-view mirror, at first surprised to find the heavy armoured Audi was only a hundred yards behind them, then remembering Harry had souped up its engine.'Can you find out,' she asked Marler, 'when we are about half an hour from our destination?''You ask Ben,' he said, handing her his mobile after pressing umpteen buttons.'Ben here.Who the hell is this?' a rough voice answered.She identified them, giving the name of a winding village Marler had been compelled to crawl through.The rough voice wasted no time.'Thirty minutes from now, the way Marler drives.'Paula contacted Tweed on her mobile, which he still possessed.Her reminder was short.'Paula here.The bottle, Tweed.Now!'In the Audi, Tweed reached for the twist of paper inside which he had folded a Dramamine tablet.Tactfully, Harry handed him a bottle of Evian water without a word.Tweed swallowed the tablet.The one aversion Tweed had was the sea.He disliked even looking at it from firm land.'It never stops wobbling about,' he had once explained to Paula.Sheknew this and always persuaded her chief to take precautions.'How much further, I wonder?' speculated Harry.'The sun is dropping into lower orbit.''Another thirty minutes and we're there,' Tweed replied.'I gather we arrive just before dusk and go aboard the Tiger as soon as we get there
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