‘What happening, Colonel?’ Helen asked. ‘Those are the hijackers voices. How can
we hear them?’
The Colonel laughed. ‘Well, madam, you can see it’s raining, can’t you? We didn’t
want our poor prisoner to get wet, so we gave him a nice yellow raincoat, you see. But it
was an expensive raincoat, because one of its buttons is a small transmitter. So now we
can hear everything they say and we know where are on the plane!’
Helen smiled. ‘Good idea, Colonel. I hope it helps.’
‘Prime Minister,’ Michael interrupted. ‘They’re coming!’
Helen looked through the window. The door of the plane was open and people were
coming down the steps one after another. Some of them started to run towards the airport
building, and few knelt down on the wet tarmac.
‘What are they doing?’ Helen asked.
‘Praying, perhaps?’ said Michael. ‘To thank God that they’re alive?’
Police and doctors came out of the building to help the passengers. Helen stood and
watched through binoculars. She did not see Carl.
‘Ninety-nine, a hundred. That’s it, then,’ said Colonel Carter. The plane door closed.
‘Now we move on to the next step of our plan. Goodbye, Prime Minister.’
Helen turned and saw that the Colonel was putting on white clothes on top of his army
uniform. He put several grenades in the coat pocket, and a machine gun into a long pocket
inside the coat. He smiled at her. ‘I must help my men refuel the plane.’
‘May God go with you, Colonel,’ she said.