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he following morning Peter was having a wash when Drew came in. He immediately cornered him and his first excited words were, “I know how to do it Drew.”
“Well gee! It wasn’t that much of a problem; you only have to stuff something in the holes where the light comes through.”
Peter blinked a couple of times, “Pardon!” Then it dawned on him what Drew was referring to. “Oh that. We’ll just put some mud in the holes. No! What I was referring to was how we get away. How we elude the dogs and leave no scent for them to follow.”
“Go on then I’m all ears, I can see you are dying to tell me. How do we do it?”
“We fly!” Then with a broad grin added, “You see dogs can’t fly.”
Drew just looked puzzled. “Gee! I always new you limy’s were crazy bastards. I don’t suppose it’s escaped your notice, but you are pretty short in the wings department yourself.”
“Ah! Yes, but I can make a pair of wings for me.”
“Make some wings? Look; forget this fancy joke crap. What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well Drew the rope trick only gets us half way down the cliff face, to the road. The dogs would soon catch our scent when the guards took them down to the road. That’s the first thing they would do when the dogs get no scent around here. Then I thought of a parachute, but that would only get us to the bottom of the cliff and would only delay the dogs catching the scent. Then I thought about a paraglider, you know, a steerable parachute that would take us further away. But I don’t know how to design one of those. They’re a bit nifty in the sewing and cutting of the cloth and strings. So I decided; we make a hang-glider. We make it out of bamboo poles rattan stringers and use some cloth for the wing covers or sails. The bamboo is light enough; the rattan rope is strong enough. I don’t know about the cloth, beg, borrow or steal it. Anyhow we do this in the loft void. Then one night take it through the door in the gable end, assemble it on the flat roof and fly away... Let’s see one of those damn dogs follow me then.”
“I see!”
“Is that all you can say. ‘I see.’... I’ve been up half the night with this thing and all you can say is ‘I see’. Come on Drew, where’s the catch?”
“Hey! I haven't figured it out yet. You’ve had half the night. But the first thing that springs to mind is. Well! Have you ever designed or flown one of those things? Next have you ever built one? Can you make it strong enough? And what about Helen, have you thought about her, are you going to make two of these things?”
“Whoa! Hold it. Let me take the last of those first. Of course I thought about Helen. I’m going to talk to her, ask her what she wants to do. Making two is out, we either make one big enough for the two of us or she hides until I can bring some help.”
“If she wants to go with you it is going to have to be bigger and even stronger to carry two people. Not that she is heavy but you aren't exactly a light weight.”
“So we make it bigger. And yes I have flown a hang-glider.” Peter deliberately left out the fact that it was a two-man glider and he was the passenger. “I helped a friend assemble a glider once so I know the principals. Come on Drew don’t be so negative. I need some positive vibes, unless you can come up with a better solution.”
“Peter I think it... has possibilities. Leave it with me for a while, let me think it through.”
“Okay! I’m going to run it by Helen as soon as I can, see what she has to say about it.”
“No! Don’t do that Peter. Let’s think about it for a day or two. There’s plenty of time after we know whether or not it is feasible. After all you don’t want to get her hopes up too soon.”
“No! I disagree Drew; she’s an intelligent woman and would want her say in the idea from the start. She may even have one or two ideas her self... I’ll give you until this evening, and then I’m going to talk to her. We’ll need her help to get all the things together, especially stitching the cloth.”
* * *
Later that same day Peter again talked to Drew but he had no really insurmountable obstacles to put forward. So after the evening meal and soon after a guard patrol had gone by both Peter and Drew took their usual place for conversation. They were no sooner sitting in the dust at the corner of the dividing fence and the bamboo store when Helen arrived on her side of the fence.
Peter opened the conversation. “Good evening madam. And how was your day today? I trust you had a pleasant time at your work?”
Helen looked first at Peter then turned her attention to Drew and raised an eyebrow. Drew just shrugged his shoulders and added the obligatory. “Hi!”
“Well! Good evening guys. What should we talk about tonight?”
“How about you and I flying out of here?” Peter replied flippantly.
“I’m game for it. Your private jet or do we have to take a noisy helicopter thing. And you Drew are you coming too?”
“Not me Helen, not this time, I’m not invited. According to Peter it can only be a two-seater... Max.”
Helen looked again at Peter, but she spoke before he could say anything. “I’m missing something! I appear to have joined a conversation that has been going on for some time and I don’t know what the subject is?”
“Sorry!” Peter said, “I had an idea last night, how we can get out of here. It’s risky! Drew wanted to sleep on it before talking to you.”
“And?”
“And I didn’t.”
“Quite right. So let’s have it.” She leant forward and looked at Drew. “You don’t have to protect me Drew. I can weigh risks and I can take disappointments, I’m a big girl now.”
Drew dropped his head and looked at the ground, saying nothing. Peter, now a little unsure of him self after the initial flush of eagerness, was also more subdued. He suddenly had all sorts of misgivings about the idea. Then quickly he blurted it out whilst intently watching Helen’s face as he did so. “I thought we could build a hang-glider out of bamboo and rattan. Build it in the roof void then assemble it on the flat roof and fly away.”
Helen froze, her chin dropped slightly as she thought about it. Then slowly a smile began to play around the corners of her mouth. “Brilliant! Hence a two-seater. Though I don’t think you sit you hang on those things. And the dogs can’t follow. Gosh! I won't even need my boots, and after all that trouble of hiding them. How long will it take? ... When do we go? ... How can I help and what do you want me to do?”
“Well! All this is just an idea. So don’t get your hopes up. First of all we have to design it. I need paper and a pencil for that, and then we have to build it. Getting all the materials together could be a problem.”
Helen leant forward to look past Peter. “What is your problem with this idea Drew? You're a bit quiet and don’t seem too enthusiastic. Have you any gripes?”
“No! You’re right I’m not too happy with the idea. We’re going too fast. You haven’t been here a week yet and you already know how to escape. There are all sorts of problems to overcome.”
“So what are you saying Drew? That we should leave it for a while. That Peter shouldn’t have told me about his idea. I’m not stupid, don’t you think three heads are better than one or two. Or is it because this head resides on the top of a woman’s body. Are you one of those... male chauvinists?”
“Hey! I’m not saying anything of the kind lady. No! I’m no male chauvinist, I happen to have one or two very bright women friends.”
“Bully for you Drew, but you can forget that lady crap. The way you say it is derogatory.”
Peter was suddenly furious at the way things were going between his two friends and interrupted the harangue. “God damn! Stop it you two, how the hell are we going to get anything accomplished with the pair of you at each other like cat and dog. Now apologise both of you... and shake hands. We have to work to do.”
He looked first at Helen then at Drew. “I mean it, both of you. Come on shake hands.”
Helen took the initiative and glanced around before thrusting her hand through the wire fence. Drew leant over and reluctantly took the hand. Then almost at the same time apologies were exchanged and accepted.
“Okay!” Peter then turned to Helen. “Now do you have any ideas or anything you want to put forward Helen?”
“Well I haven't had much time to think about it. What does spring to mind though is size, how big is it going to be? And you need some cloth for the wings. The only cloth available is that used for the cushion covers or the black canvas underneath. I’ll look into it. I think I may be able to get you some paper.”
“Good! Drew, have you anything to add.”
“No! ... Except we have to be very careful of the guards. We mustn’t take too much of the cloth or the bamboo in one go. And we have to find a way of getting things from the women's quarters over to ours. I’ll have to look into that.”
Helen, still weary of Drew’s motive, decided to stake her claim early to the second ‘seat’. “Drew, bear in mind that I will have to get over there when it comes to the day we go. It’s not just things we have to get across.”
Peter quickly stepped in before Drew could reply. “Yes! Well that is a long way down the line. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. I think we should finish this meeting now; we have been here long enough already. Mean while think about things and I’ll see you tomorrow Helen.”
Without a further word Helen got to her feet and with a nod to Peter walked off towards her dormitory fuming inside. She was really annoyed at Drew who, she realised, was a bit of a ‘male chauvinist’ despite his protestations to the contrary. It was now obvious that he wanted the ‘second seat’ and it was so unfair that she had to go, leaving him with Peter. ‘I’ll show them, somehow I’ll contribute so much to this project that even Drew will wonder how they could manage without me.’
A few minutes later Peter and Drew were in the men’s quarters. They were in the wash-room at the end as Peter closed the door behind him and leant against it. “What the hell was all that about Drew? Why did you pick a fight with her? I thought you two were getting on all right then suddenly out of nowhere you are at each others throats.”
“It’s not just her, the both of you. You come into this place and before you have looked around you are trying to run the place. Get in line mate; I have news for you everyone here wants out. Do you think you are the only ones trying to escape?”
“Yes! I do. Does anyone else have a plan on how to get out... and get away? You haven't mentioned it... Well! Is anyone else attempting anything? I don’t want to jeopardise anyone else's chances.”
“Okay! Not that I know of. But that isn’t the point Peter, you should have checked.”
“Yeah! Maybe I should, but we haven't done anything yet. This is just talk but then that’s not the reason you're upset. You’ve intimated that you don’t like the plan from the start. There’s something else bugging you so what is it?”
“You said there is only room for two in this escape plan. Well Helen automatically assumes that she is going with you. It would be better if the two of us went. I’m much stronger than she is.”
“Ah! That’s what’s been bugging you. Well the jury is still out on that one, I haven’t made up my mind yet. Does that mean I don’t get your help unless I promise to take you along?”
“Err! No! ... No of course it doesn’t. I’m with you either way. It’s just that she was, well... so presumptive. As if she had the right to go.”
“Perhaps she does Drew. I won’t bullshit you. But thinking about it now, she does have first choice. She’s a gutsy woman and despite saying she doesn’t need her boots, she will need them. We will need to hike down the road and up in the rain forest. We definitely will not be able to glide all the way back to Sao Agusta and the coast. And that’s the only way out of this damn country that I can see. Have you got any decent footwear, are you fit enough to hike through the forest?”
“You know I haven’t got any boots but I could soon get fit.”
“Okay! Get fit. Get some boots Drew. But so far she has first choice. I can’t leave her behind to be punished for my escape... Now are you still with me, with us?”
“Gee! You're a straight talker aren’t you? No beating about the bush.” Drew stood, his head bowed, looking down at his toes peeping through the straps of his rope sandals. Then made up his mind and raised his head. “Well! Okay you can count me in. I’ll do all that I can to make it a success. But if she hesitates I want your assurance that I’m coming.”
“Footwear Drew. You couldn’t wear her boots, they’re too small. If you get some decent footwear and she doesn’t want to come then you’re on.”
* * *
Back in the women's quarters Helen lay on her bunk and began to plot Drew’s downfall. Not maliciously! But anything that he could contribute towards the escape she would try and beat him to it. And the first thing was Peter’s requirements for paper and pencil, a ruler would be an extra bonus. First the paper and pencil, and that meant her friend Angie who occasionally had access to one of the offices. A ruler meant pinching one from the ‘factory’ where they used it to measure the cloth. Perhaps it would be safer to copy measurements onto a straight edge length of bamboo. Also she had to come up with a way of getting things and her self from here to the men's quarters, she wasn’t about to trust Drew with that task. ‘What else do we need? Cloth for the wings was the biggest requirement. I’ll have to start squirreling some away immediately so that a lot doesn’t have to disappear all at once. But which cloth should we use, the seat cushion cloth is the strongest but it is heavy. The black canvas is much lighter but is very loosely woven... We need something in-between. Could we make the canvas stronger bye sewing seams in it or something?' She tossed this around in her head for a while before deciding she needed help. ‘But who? Angie obviously to get the paper. Gina? I’ll have to include her because I can’t do anything without her seeing it. And that also meant Maria because Gina would tell her anyway. Anyone else? No best keep it as tight as possible at this stage.
* * *
Vitorio was talking animatedly trying to persuade the old man that what he had seen when tailing Fidel, warranted further investigation. “Why was he walking instead of driving his car? Why did he go to that house down by the river? I tell you he was definitely acting suspicious.”
“Perhaps he had an assignation with the lady of the house. A man like that has to get his pleasures somewhere.”
“In that case why take a brief-case full of papers? And why in the middle of the morning? It just didn’t look right.”
“Perhaps he had a meeting to go to after visiting the lady. Did you wait and see where he went when he came out of the house?”
“No of course not. To stand around or even wait in the pick up would have been obvious and dangerous. Besides Tino was waiting with the hide and telescope up on the forest road.”
“Okay! I will look into it. I will make some discreet enquiries.”
“What about those foreigners that you said owned the dam? You said you were going to talk to them. Did you find out anything from them?”
“No! Vitorio I haven't managed to find them, they disappeared. As the hotel the porter said they drove off in a four-wheel drive then the next day checked out. But I don’t think they have left the country, I don’t know where they have gone.”
“All the more reason to find out what this Fidel was doing at that house. We aren’t getting very far; every one seems to be disappearing.”
“I have already said I will make some enquiries but it mustn't get back to Fidel. I’m sure that man is trouble.”
* * *
In the forenoon of the next day two sheets of writing paper and a stubby pencil were passed to Peter as he was working in the ‘factory’. After thinking about it he had realised that jumping off the roof of the wash-rooms was not the best way to prove a design and so had decided to make a model and experiment with it to prove the design first. The things he needed for this where some thin canes from a length of bamboo, a bobbin of thread and some tissue paper, or similar, for the sails. Then he added elastic bands, paper clips, sticky tape, just the sort of items you would find in an office. The lengths of cane were easy to get. The rest of the items particularly the thread he asked both Helen and Drew to see what they could do. At the same time thanking Helen for the paper and pencil when they managed to speak to each other for a few moments during the mid day break.
It was mid afternoon when to his surprise Miguel passed him a bobbin of thread with a message from Helen that she was having difficulty obtaining the tissue paper. A little later a small roll of used sticky tape was thrust into his hands. He managed to gather some staples that where lying around but the tissue paper was causing a problem. In the end he decided to use toilet paper stuck together with bits of sticky tape. But there was no urgency; the first thing was to make the frame. Drew had spoken to another man and when work ended they split the trophies between the three of them and Miguel to take back to the quarters.
Early that evening found Helen sitting against the fence waiting for a chat. It was the first time she had initiated a conversation and had to wait some time before word got through to Peter who had already started working. He was roughing out a design for the glider with Drew standing at his shoulder when Miguel pointed her out. “Damn! What does she want to talk about? I really need to get on before the light goes.”
“I’ll go and speak to her,” said Drew. “I need to make up with her some more anyhow. And don’t worry I won’t just say you are too busy.”
“Well! ... Okay. But be nice to her Drew. Remember I have you to talk to; she is all on her own over there. And thank her for the paper, pencil and stuff, she has managed really well.”
Drew ambled outside over to the communal fence and sat down in the dust beside Helen. “Hi! Peter sends his apology, he has started drawing it already and wants to get on whilst the light is okay. Besides I wanted a word with you. We appear to have got off to a bad start, and I’m sorry. You did real well today with the paper and all that. How the hell did you get it so soon?”
“You’re apology is accepted Drew... I know what has upset you though. You think it should be you who goes with him don’t you?”
Drew looked at her sharply. “Yeah! ... It’s going to need strength and stamina, and that you haven't got.”
“And you have! Do you really think you are up to it?”
“Yes! ... I think I can pull my weight. I could soon get fit.”
“And what do you think would happen to me when they found him missing? I’m his partner remember.”
“We could hide you Helen... We could hide you in the loft.”
“Yes! ... Maybe. Give him this will you,” she said, sliding the home-made rule under the wire in the dust. “He may find it useful. And Drew, I do want to go, I have a better understanding of Peter than you. I can draw the best from him and for this we will need the best that he can give. But don’t let me stop you from getting fit... Just in case.”
Drew looked down at the rule with surprise before glancing around. Quickly he slid it inside his shirt as Helen rose to leave him. “Good night Drew. See you.”
“Yes, see you too.” He answered to her departing back. Drew sat and waited a few moments. ‘How did things between Helen and I go so wrong? She’s an intelligent woman so what has she got against me? Apart from me wanting to go in her place that is.’ He pondered this for a while before scrambling to his feet and returning to his quarters.
A quizzical expression was still on his face when he came back into the room and stood looking over Peters shoulder. “She thought this may help,” he said. Tossing the home made rule onto the paper. Peter picked it up and examined it before turning and looking at Drew. “Great! I told you she was bright, I didn’t ask her for this. She must have made it off her own bat and it’s exactly what I need at the moment.”
The hang-gliders that Peter had seen flying over the Derbyshire hills had very little sweep back of the wings but this was putting a lot of strain on the wing struts. It would also make the glider less stable front to back. The angle from what he could remember was about 140 degrees. So he decided to reduce this angle, 90 degrees looked too much so he decided to split the difference and went for about 110 degrees. Next he drew two lines of equal length on this angle for the wing spars then bisected the angle for the main front to rear spar. From the middle of each wing spar lines he drew another faint line to the opposite tip and where these crossed was his centre of area of the triangle. This corresponded to the centre of effort. Fortunately they also crossed on the centre line. He next drew a line at right angles to this centre line which was the main crossing spar. It was only when he measured this line against the wing spars that he realised that this had to be the longest spar and therefore the longest piece of bamboo he could get and which was also going to define the maximum size of the glider. His main worry then was would it be big enough for two?
The next part was to draw the vertical frame, here he had a choice, should be an inverted Y, an A or an X frame. In each case the bottom two legs would be joined with a bar, the control bar. The two occupants would be in a prone position just above this bar hanging from the main cross spar. After a lot of thought he decided on using an A frame as there would be more space for two people to swing sideways. He estimated the control bar to be something less than two metres below the cross spar and therefore the sides of the A frame should be about 4 metres long.
Next he added the stringers from the top and bottom of the A frame to the nose and to each wing tip and to both ends of the cross spar.
By now the drawing looked impressive on the paper and also it looked correct. Drew looking over his shoulder was nodding his head, making approving noises as it began to take shape.
Peter leant back and sighed. “Okay that’s the first stab at it. Now we have to make a model and get it to fly. Then we scale it up to the size for two people.”
“It’s going to take a long time, first a model then scaling it up. Is that going to be difficult?”
“No! Not really the difficult bit is going to be making all the joints, fastening the spars together will be tricky... First things first though, let’s start the model.”
With that, the model phase started as Peter searched through the lengths of bamboo strands for the longest piece, then the next two long pieces. Building the frame-work of the model and taping it together didn’t take too long. It was more difficult adding the thread stringers to make the whole thing rigid. By tightening one piece of thread another two went slack. Eventually the frame was built but they had nothing to cover the wings with. The natural light was nearly gone when Drew decided it was enough for one night and suggested they stop. Peter would have liked to continue in the loft void but they hadn’t yet made any candles and neither had they light proofed the space.
The next day started much like any other working day until mid morning break in the ‘factory’ when Peter received the first two candles. They looked right, squat and round, a dirty brown grey colour. He suspected they would smell and burn with a dirty smoke but this couldn’t be helped. Both had been partially used probably for testing then just after the lunch break several sheets of an old newspaper were passed to him. He couldn’t help but be amazed how the things that he asked for were suddenly appearing and from prisoners that he had never before spoken to. It was then he began to realise how dangerous it was becoming. An awful lot of prisoners were in the know that something was going on, and they also knew that he was leading it or at least taking a big part in it. It was time to call a halt and get things a little more organised. But first they had to smuggle the items, the candles and newspaper back to the dormitory and he mentioned his concern to Drew who immediately agreed.
“You can’t carry anything yourself tonight. I’ll have a word with Miguel, he’s reliable but you must be clean Peter. If they do get a whisper something is going on then you may be the target.
Miguel volunteered to take the candles; he would put them in his hat he said. Drew, not to be out done, decided to take the paper him self.
Miguel left the ‘factory’ first carrying the hat with the candles jammed into it. As he got to the gate leading into the compound he put on his hat and continued walking. Next went Drew with the paper down his trouser leg. He joined a group of several other prisoners that were all talking between themselves. Last came Peter walking slowly and on his own, he took his time and arrived at the gate to the compound after both Drew and Miguel had entered the dormitory. He wasn’t stopped and made his way over to the dormitory.
Drew didn’t wait for Peter, immediately he and Miguel hid the paper and candles in the loft and as the ceiling panel dropped back into place the horn sounded for assembly. Peter had not had time to enter the quarters before everyone started coming out. He quickly cornered Drew and Miguel before whispering frantically. “Where are they, what have you done with the candles and paper.”
“Relax Peter they are already in the loft. As soon as I got in Miguel and I put them away.”
“Whew! Great! That’s good Drew thanks. I don’t know how I would have managed without you. Let’s get this over with and then we had best talk. Seriously.”
* * *
Once again Fidel was in Shaun’s apartment, but this time he had arrived on time and as a consequence was holding a mug of steaming coffee. “I have been thinking over what you said about filling the void of the dam with gas. Especially natural gas. It has some distinct advantages if we could blame it on natural causes. We... I want you to do some more work in this area. Firm up your figures and tell me what you need.”
“You're too late Fidel.”
“What do you mean I’m too late?”
Shaun waved towards a chair in the corner of the room where two books occupied the seat. “I’ve already started, I was intrigued by the idea and I noticed you didn’t dismiss it out of hand so I’ve been doing some research. I had to purchase the books after I had found them, as I couldn’t keep on going back to refer to them.”
“Excellent!” Fidel took another sip of his coffee and found it was still to hot. “So first thing, tell me what you require and then I’ll try and find a way of acquiring it.”
“Well I have done some more work on the volume of the void and I estimate it to be 42,000 cubic metres, as near as I can calculate. Now according to that book natural gas can ignite in air when its volume is greater than 5% and less than 15%. So taking the mean of these two as 10% we need 4,200 cubic metres of gas. You follow?”
“Yeees! ... But are you sure, why does it not ignite if there is more gas than 15% though?”
“I don’t know, I guess the lack of oxygen snuffs it out. But that’s what the book says. Now we can purchase gas in one of two ways, under pressure or liquefied.”
“Liquefied!” Fidel exclaimed, his interest growing.
“Yes! Now don’t interrupt I’m on a roll.” Shaun looked down at his notes to verify his figures. “If you use gas under pressure it comes at about 1500 p.s.i. that’s about 100 bar which means you need 42 cubic metres. Now those cylinders I was telling you about are approximately 40 cm in diameter and 1.6 metres long which gives one cubic metre each. That is likely to be a sensible size, so you will need 42 cylinders. That’s for gas under pressure. Okay?”
“That’s a lot of cylinders to move, two truck loads.”
“Yes, but it’s a lot less than I first estimated. If that is a problem we can reduce it further by using liquefied gas. We still need 4,200 cubic metres of gas but when liquid the gas takes up 1/600th of its gas volume at one bar. That means we only need 7 cubic metres. And the gas industry has tanks that will hold 8 cubic metres; they are about 2 metres diameter and about 3 metres long including the insulation. They’re built to fit on railway carriages.”
“You mean they carry this stuff on the railways?”
“Yes! I suspect very carefully.”
“Then it will go on one truck, we will use that to bring the gas in.”
“Not so fast Fidel there is one major problem with doing it this way.”
“Ah! ... There always is. What is the problem?”
“We would need a re-gas plant. It comes as a liquid and when converting back to a gas it requires heat for the gas to boil off... And I can’t find out what the maximum rate that one of these plants will deliver gas.”
“I don’t follow. Does that really matter?”
“Well yes! You don’t want to spend weeks pouring gas into the void of the dam do you?”
“Ah! Then put some explosive next to the tank and blow it up. That would release the gas.”
“Fidel! ... One, we couldn’t get the tank into the void and two it would just burn rather than explode. Of course it would burn very violently but much more slowly than if it were already a gas”
“I see! That reminds me. I had a brilliant thought. If I were to get one or two antitank mines, we could use these to trigger the gas and at the same time cut several of those cross girders.”
“Yeees! That sounds Okay, it would trigger the gas explosion which would initiate where the cross girders would be cut. That sounds ideal. Of course we would need to fix the explosive in place first, before filling the place with gas... The other thing is we must ensure all the fuses in the dam are pulled so that we will not get a spark and cause a premature explosion.”
“No! We can’t do that; it would look a bit suspicious afterwards if someone found the fuse box with no fuses in it. I think there are only the lights and some monitoring equipment in there though. As long as no one switches the lights on there shouldn’t be any sparks.”
“Well! ... That would be very risky. However we do need some power in there, we have to install a couple of fans to agitate, to circulate the air and gas whilst we fill the void. These fans must be special ones; they must be gas proof, sealed so that the sparks of the motor won’t ignite the gas.”
“Do we really need those? I don’t fancy putting anything in there that shouldn’t be there and could later be found amongst the debris.”
“I doubt anyone would notice the remains of a couple of fans, but if you are really concerned we could mount them near the initial explosion and blow them to bits.”
“Yes! That would be all right Sha... Brian. Fasten them to one of the steel girders that we are going to cut. Any thing else?”
“Yes one more point, we want this explosion to be as violent as possible. Lots of over pressure in the void of the dam right?”
“Obviously yes!”
“In that case we should seed the air with extra oxygen. You need two or three cylinders of oxygen. If we add this to the mix... well you get more bang for your bucks.”
“More bang, how much more?”
“That! I don’t know. The books don’t go into it, in fact they only comment on it in passing, as it were... But it does make a lot of sense. In an explosion the gas does actually burn, very quickly I grant you. But it is only burning. If you enrich the air with more oxygen it will burn faster and hotter, causing a bigger explosion.”
“Will it be detectable? Afterwards I mean.”
“Err! ... No. I shouldn’t think so; all the extra oxygen will be consumed.”
“Good! Excellent! Let me get this down, I think I will soon be going on a shopping trip. Which do you think we should go for? Liquefied gas or under pressure.”
“The gas under pressure is easier to handle unless you have a logistics problem. If you can get the cylinders up to the top of the dam and get the empties away again that would be my choice. With liquefied gas we don’t know how long it would take to discharge the tank.”
“Okay! I understand that. I think it would be wise to stick to gas under pressure. It’s the simplest solution.”
“In that case you will need to connect those gas cylinders in some sort of order. We don’t want to have to connect 42 cylinders in turn, to one pipe which discharges into the void of the dam. The best way would be to connect say, seven or eight cylinders together in a manifold. Then have long pipes from each of these manifolds into the dam. That way the discharge rate would be six times faster.”
“Yes! I see what you mean. I wonder if we can get them in pallets of say eight bottles each.”
“You may be able to get them already connected, but don’t forget the long pipes to run into the dam.”
“Yes I have that, I have a list here of what you need, is there anything else?”
“Yes! A fork lift truck.”
“To move all the gas bottles, yes? A good idea. I will see what I can do.”
“Another thing. The anti tank mines; the explosive probably comes in four quarters in a round tin with the detonator in the middle. That makes eight pieces of explosive altogether. The detonators of the mines will not be the correct type. I have in mind to cut eight girders so I will need sixteen detonators. Two each for safety and a long length of twin wire. The trigger I will buy and modify myself. This means I need some more money as well.”
Fidel reached over for his coffee only to find the remaining half had gone cold. “Do you want some more coffee Fidel?”
“No! Thanks I have to be getting along.” Fidel withdrew his wallet and emptied the notes from it onto the table. “Here’s some more money, it should keep you going for a while but I will bring some more next time I see you. Meanwhile buy your self a mobile phone, don’t use your own name. Then give me a ring on that same number and let me have yours. But be very careful what you say over the phone; consider it like you were talking in public, think about what you say.”
* * *
After stealing two long lengths of the bamboo and putting it in the roof void the stock of bamboo in the store was looking low. Low enough to warrant a cutting expedition to the bottom of the cliff face. It was going to be an overnight trip to get the maximum work done. Two armed guards each with a dog were to take four men and one woman. She was to do the cooking whilst the men chopped and sorted the bamboo. Much to his annoyance Peter was chosen; it was going to slow up the model making and testing. Miguel and two other Hispanic’s Ramiro and Guillermo were also chosen along with Guillermo’s wife Matilde Cubrero de Castro. It appeared to Peter at first that the couple were an odd choice because they were both quite elderly. But apparently Guillermo Cubrero knew bamboo and had been working with it all his life.
They set out early in the morning each carrying a bag of rations and water for the two days. There was no hurry as they walked down the zigzag road. It started out with Peter in the lead Miguel and Ramiro came next talking to each other and then the Cubrero couple whilst the guards brought up the rear with the two dogs. Half way down after several corners and when they were well away from the prison the guards became bored and started to increase the pace. Soon they were on the heels of the couple and began teasing them with the dogs. Matilde became agitated and frightened which encouraged the guards even more, allowing the dogs a longer lead. Matilde accompanied by Guillermo soon pushed her way to the front walking quickly. The dogs sensing her fear became excited and started pulling on their leads. Soon the whole group was walking faster, then faster still. By the time they were at the bottom of the cliff everyone was running. The dogs, now straining at their leads, were jumping up and barking excitedly as the guards laughingly encouraged them. The four men, all out of breath, formed a circle with Matilde in the middle trembling with fright. It was only after the dogs had been given a bowl of water and biscuits that things calmed down enough for the work to begin.
These excursions were a fairly regular thing and soon camp was established near to where the pile of bamboo had been when Peter and Helen first arrived. Under the direction of Guillermo they began chopping down and sorting the bamboo, stacking it near by. Whilst his wife Matilde still shaking from her scare got the camp-fire going. At mid morning they stopped work for coffee and Matilde started water boiling again. She was using a ladle to remove odd bits of dust that floated on the water when the guards allowed one of the dogs to get near her. She was trembling but couldn’t move further away from it with out getting nearer the other one. They say dogs can smell fear. This one could, it suddenly lunged forward and snapped at her. Quick as a flash before anyone else could react a ladle full of boiling water hit the dog in its face, it yelped, shaking its head before falling to the ground, both paws covering its eyes.
Nobody moved. Everyone was watching the animal on the ground. The dog whimpered some more and climbed to its feet then fell over before crawling away back to its handler. The guard quickly dampened a cloth in cold water and with great tenderness held it to the dog’s face, covering its eyes. The other guard reached for his pistol and slowly drew it from the holster. The click of the safety on the machine pistol sounded so loud and every one held their breath when he pointed it at Matilde. Guillermo leant over in front of his wife, raising a hand as if to shield her further.
No!” Shouted Peter climbing to his feet. “You brought it on yourselves, you know you did. This is not right... Your Commandant Carlos will not like it.”
This last comment caused the guard to hesitate; slowly he changed his aim and pointed the pistol straight at Peter who inwardly cringed, whilst looking him straight in his eyes. Still there was no other sound even the second dog appeared to be holding its breath. Peter slowly sat down, the muzzle of the pistol following his every move.
At last the guard spoke, attempting to save face. “Shut up sit down and stay down. Don’t let me see any of you move. Don’t even scratch yourselves.” He turned towards the injured animal and the other guard. They held a whispered and animated conversation with occasional glances at their prisoners. Peter watched them noting with some trepidation that the guard had not returned the safety on his pistol. A few moments later and they were ordered back to work.
By the evening they were tired, the prisoners were grouped together and handcuffed in the usual manner. Peter was handcuffed to Guillermo whilst Miguel was paired with Ramiro. Matilde was left free and sat down on the other side of her husband. Peter ever mindful of the glider that he was trying to build decided to enlist Guillermo’s help and explained quietly what he was proposing to do.
“I cannot help you Señor... My wife, I cannot risk it, you understand.”
Before Peter could reply his wife burst into a torrent of Spanish. She whispered it with a degree of harshness and vehemence that left Peter in no doubt of the meaning, only to have this confirmed when Guillermo raised a hand to his wife as a sign of surrender. He cast a sheepish grin at Peter before asking, “How can I help you Señor?”
“I don’t know how best to do the joints between various pieces of the glider. We have to join the three spars at the nose, and also to join several pieces across one another.”
“Do you wish joints to move? I mean... you want to fold flat and then open out again?”
“That would be the ideal, if that’s too difficult then I will have to remake the joint each time.”
Guillermo pulled a face at this suggestion. “That would take a long time. How many joints do you have to make?”
Peter thought for a moment before answering. “One three piece at the nose and five crossing pieces. And I also have to make a triangle. I want to collapse it to a stack of poles as quickly as possible.”
“You wish to fly down to the valley, fold it up and carry it up the mountain to fly again?”
Peter was impressed at how quick he picked up on this point. “Si! Yes! That is exactly so.”
“Un momento... I think a little. Yes!” He lay back and closed his eyes. Peter looked at Matilde and raised his eyebrows. But all he got in reply was a puzzled expression as she also lay back and draped an arm over her husband.
Half an hour later the man still had his eyes closed. ‘He’s gone to sleep damn it. He didn’t want to help me and now he has gone to sleep.’ Peter was on the brink of waking him and asking again if he was inclined to help when Guillermo opened his eyes and smiled at the expression on Peters face.
“Patience Señor, we are not going anywhere tonight. I have idea for the three at the front, the nose. This is most difficult; it must be strong yet flexible. It require a lot of time to make the piece but worth it.” He then drew the requirements in the dirt between them. “The joints for triangle can be made in a similar manner, but lower joints must come apart to... lie together.”
“Yes I realise that but how do I stop it coming apart when I don’t want it to?”
“Ha! You drill hole through joint and put peg in it. Is quite strong... strong enough. And a triangle, it will not collapse.” Guillermo then went on to explain to Peter how to complete the cross over joints and make everything secure.
Peter then tried to enlist his help in the actual build. Guillermo lived in the lower men’s dormitory and Peter tried to persuade him to move up to the top one. But Guillermo was having none of it. His wife was asleep now and he was quite prepared to refuse further help other than advice. If the guards found out about the glider, he was going to be the obvious choice for making it work. Then it would be his wife who would be in trouble.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully and come daybreak they were back at work cutting bamboo and stacking it for the truck due at the end of the week. It was towards the middle of the afternoon before the guards called a halt to the work. After a last drink they packed up camp for the long climb up the zigzag road. Matilde picked up a length of bamboo to use as a walking stick. The pole, about two metres long, looked rather incongruous with her diminutive stature. They had been walking for some time whilst being mildly harried by the dogs. Matilde became frightened of them but was also getting tired. She was at the back of the group and so took the brunt of the dog’s annoyance. Guillermo then Peter tried to drop back and walk with her only to have the guards usher them forward. They were still resentful of the previous day and began giving the dogs an even longer lead. This went on for the whole climb until when nearly at the prison one of the guards allowed one dog to come too near Matilde. It jumped up, pawed her and nipped her arm. For Matilde, already very frightened, this was the last straw. She turned and fled along the cliff edge trailing the length of bamboo she had been using. She was running towards some stunted trees when without hesitation Guillermo ran after her and soon caught up. They stood a moment whilst he put his arms around her.
“Stop! Stand still!” The guard shouted reaching for his gun with one hand whilst the dog strained at its leash held in his other hand. As the pistol cleared his holster, the safety was still off. His finger curled around the trigger and the gun fired. The bullet grazed his knee and went through his foot. Immediately he screamed and let go of the leash. The dog suddenly freed gave a mighty yelp and shot forward. It covered the ground towards the couple at an alarming rate oblivious to any calls to stop. Guillermo who had his arm around his wife turned to see the dog racing towards them. He pushed her to the ground then, taking the bamboo pole, knelt on one knee before her. He carefully placed one end of the pole under his foot and pointed it at the approaching dog before laying the pole on the ground. The dog came on, bounding over rocks and shrubs its lead trailing behind. Ten metres, five metres, two metres and it pounced. At the same time Guillermo raised the end of the bamboo pole; it went between the dog’s front paws just under the breast and caught the dog in its middle. A sigh escaped through its open jaws as the dog sailed over the pair of them and continued beyond the edge of the cliff. A moment or two later there was a thud on the rocks below. A deathly silence ensued whilst Guillermo stood and looked over the cliff. Then three shots rang out in quick succession catching him full in the back. A moment later and he too disappeared over the edge of the cliff. Matilde uttered no sound as she climbed to her feet looking shocked and disoriented. In a daze it appeared she looked around for Guillermo. The second guard undid the leash of the other dog. “Get! Go get!”
Peter made to run after it as a whispered, “No!” escaped from his mouth. But his wrist was handcuffed to Miguel who wasn’t inclined to get shot for nothing. Miguel stood his ground. “Señor Peter you cannot help her now. You will only get yourself shot.”
Perhaps the dog realised that this was the person that had hurt it the day before, perhaps not. However it covered the distance to the woman even faster than the previous dog. Matilde saw it coming. She also new that Guillermo was with her no more. They all saw her calmly look round at the ground and take two steps backwards and to the side. The guard whose dog it was suddenly realised her intention and called his dog to stop. But its tail was up and it took no heed. The woman drew her self up, squared her shoulders and took her last breath, no longer afraid. One or two metres away the dog pounced and Matilde raised her right arm, the dog’s jaws locked on to it as she took another step backwards to join her husband.
* * *
By the end of the day following his meeting with Shaun, Fidel had made his plans and by him self had typed up a list of requirements. He used initials for each item rather than the full name. The number of gas bottles had increased to 44 and he also decided to add 4 oxygen bottles and 4 fans to circulate the gas. The anti tank mines were proving to be difficult, after receiving a negative from his enquiry in Mexico City. This had caused him a headache until he remembered the army had some. His specials would have to pinch two and disguise the missing items in the armoury. He also decided that he needn't tell Noberto about it. The detonators however, were not going to be a problem; the specials already had a supply of those. The forklift truck he decided could be bought and delivered with the gas bottles in two containers. Further he had discreetly checked up on the railway and found that there should be no problem transferring two container loads of ‘spares’ to the railhead at the dam.
With all this decided it was the time to contact Noberto and tell him what they had planned to do. He needed some money, not only for Shaun but also for him self, a lot of money would be required and it had to be transferred to Caracas Venezuela. Here he had decided to purchase every thing and have it shipped in two containers to Porto Agusta.
Unusually Teresa was not at her desk, Fidel knocked on the door of the office for the Minister of the Interior. It was answered by a gruff ipase, as Fidel pushed the door wide and entered. Once again he stepped back and leaned on the door to ensure that it was properly closed, giving the minister some idea of the nature of the meeting. “Do you mind if I have a drink Noberto. I’m parched!” And without waiting for an answer walked over to the drinks cabinet. “Yourself?” he asked, raising a glass.
Noberto frowned, and looked at his watch.
“We’re celebrating Noberto have one with me,” again without waiting for a reply he mixed two drinks. “We have completed the initial planning phase and now we are moving on to preparation... And I need some more money,” he added.
“Ever time you come in here you need money,” the minister grumbled.
“Well that’s the name of the game,” he retorted. “Speculate to accumulate, as the saying goes.” He sat down on the uncomfortable chair and tried to make him self comfortable.
“I need a return flight ticket to Bogotá on government business, so that I may go shopping.”
“Bogotá! Colombia? I thought you were going to Caracas?”
“I am. But I prefer not to fly direct.” Fidel then began to explain the whole plan that he had devised, including the extra part Shaun was going to play but hadn’t been told about. He concluded by complaining about the chair. “Why can’t you get a decent chair for your visitors to sit on?”
“Because I never sit on it,” was the quick retort.
“Si! ... Well... never mind. I need money and I need to be able to draw on these funds whilst I am in Caracas,” he concluded.
“I’ll arrange for it, mean while we have to make up an excuse for you to visit Bogotá. Teresa will book a flight for you. As early as possible would be best. The U.S. are beginning to make waves about their senator’s man.”
“Tell those norteamericanos it’s not easy. Ask them why they sent him spying on us in the first place.”
This raised a smile on Noberto face and a wishful look came into his eyes. “They want us to arrange for his ‘escape’ and for us to pay the ransom for them. Then they said they would reimburse us.”
“That’s a bit cheeky, getting us to do the dirty work and paying afterwards. I hope you told them to sod off.”
“You can’t talk to the U.S. like that, you have to use a more diplomatic speak. They are arranging for a visit by some units of their Navy. A good will visit, showing the flag they call it.”
“Interfering spying busybodies is what I call it.”
“You may be right; it could be a diversion for a little spying, to see how the land lies as it were. Perhaps they intend to put some marines in to search our forest, a good exercise for them. Are you sure about the security of that prison up in the mountains Fidel?”
“Absolutely, would you like me to go up there and have a look round again? It would have to be after I get back from Caracas though.”
“Yes! That would be a good idea. We must have that watertight if they do come and visit. Have you had any luck with a temporary place to hold the prisoners until the dam goes?”
“Yes! The old workers accommodation, below the dam. It’s not used now and is just lying there empty. When the dam breaks the water will land almost on top of them. It’s isolated and nobody goes there much.”
“Is it strong enough to hold them?”
“It will be with guards, dogs and guns.” Fidel fidgeted some more. “How are you going to get the ransom money?”
“I’ll just ask the U.S. ambassador for it, obviously their senator’s friend won’t be allowed to ‘escape’ before the ransom is paid.”
“If we get one of our men to collect it from them. He could supposedly deliver it to the kidnappers and be drowned at the same time. That would look most convincing.”
“Yes! It would seem right.”
“Especially if our man was a woman. As demanded by the kidnappers of course.”
“That is good Fidel. A woman member of government and I know the very one for the job.”
“Oh! Noberto you don’t mean Nancy Corbo de Lozada. What a waste that would be.”
* * *
It was several days later that the old man was again talking to Vitorio. “I have done some checking on that house where Fidel disappeared. It appears a widow owns it and lives on the ground floor. She has recently taken in a new lodger, a foreigner, European, who has the apartment above.”
“Si! So who was he visiting, was it the widower for a little recreation or was it her new lodger for something entirely different... I take it the lodger is a man.”
“Yes he is! I am fairly sure he was visiting the lodger. The widower is too old for this Fidel guy. Anyhow I thought it important enough to try Tino’s technique with her. I am getting to know her, though I fear it will be a long time before I manage to get my foot in the door as it were.”
“Si! But it will give you an excuse to go to her house though.”
Sometime later in the same day the old man was sitting in his car at the end of the road watching the house. Shaun came out and on his way into the city, walked past the car. Whenever he was on a job Shaun was very much aware of his surroundings and this time was no exception. Even an old man sitting in his car reading a paper aroused his conscious. He turned the corner. Five seconds later he pocked his head back around the corner in time to see the old man getting out of his car and heading towards his lodging. ‘Fidel’s man... gone to search my apartment, checking up on me maybe, or just an old acquaintance of the widow perhaps. We shall see when I get back.’
Shaun arrived back at his apartment some time later, a box under his arm. But before entering his room he checked the door carefully. The strand of hair linking door and frame was no longer in place, it hadn’t been dusted away but one end was now trapped between door and jam. He walked into the room, and carefully placed his parcel on the floor before checking one or two other ‘tell-tails’. No others appeared to have been disturbed. ‘Well Fidel your man isn’t that clever, the old man disturbed one. He’s lost his touch it would seem.’
Later Shaun sat in his room playing with the remains of a radio control model aeroplane checking that the controls worked properly. Hard left bank, full dive and engine cut off. He smiled to him self as he contemplated the model. The engine cut off switch on the controller was sometimes used as a bomb release for some models, how appropriate he thought. The wings, tail and engine of his model had been removed and two additional micro switches had been added to appropriate points. A small battery, a bulb and some wire allowed him to switch the light bulb on and off from the other side of the room with the radio control. His next job was to leave the house with the controller and the trigger and test it outside. This was to find out the maximum range the trigger would work at. But first he had to wait for it to go dark.
It had not been difficult to purchase the model from the toy department in a city store, paid for in cash at the busiest time of the day. He hadn’t bothered with any other subterfuge like disguise or even dark glasses. Figuring quite correctly that they weren’t going to keep security tapes for much more than a week before over writing them. Besides he mused you can only take security so far. This trigger is going to be blown up, then have a few thousand tons of concrete mixed with it before getting washed by millions of tons of water and being deposited over fifty miles of river and even sea bed. If an investigator finds anything after that he deserves all he can get.
In addition to this he manufactured another switch which was his master switch. This provided power to the receiver and the switch contacts. It was a thin piece of plastic keeping apart two further contacts. The piece of plastic had a hole in one end to which he attached a reel of string. The other end of the string would be fed through the door at the top of the dam. Pull on the string and the plastic was removed. The two contacts will be made and the model receiver will be switched on, lasting for about six hours. The low battery voltage will be too small to allow any spark when the contact is made.
He called Fidel with his new mobile phone. “Hi! Just a quick call to let you know that all is well and you can enter this number in your phone book.”
“Right I’ll do that Brian, how’s that project going? Do you have it working yet?”
“Yes it’s working fine, I just need to see how far I can get away from it. And I need the other pieces. Are you going away to get them soon?
“Yes I have to go off on business, but I will get a friend to keep an eye on things at this end. Keep your phone switched on in case I have any questions I need answering, okay?
“Oh! Right, who can I expect to lookout for then? Will it be the old man?”
“You won’t know him... What old man?”
“Don’t take me for a fool Fidel. The old man who staked out my apartment and searched it whilst I was out this afternoon. How many old men do you have working for you?”
“Describe him!”
Shaun, sensing the change in his voice gave a short but succinct account of what had happened and described the old man with the grey hair.
“Okay Brian, don’t worry about him I will sort it, we obviously put the wrong man onto you. I’ll send someone who you definitely will not see.”
Shaun put down his phone. ‘Damn! So he is going to have someone else keep an eye on me. Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut, better the devil you know than one you don’t.’ He decided there and then that he would see if he could get another passport... and some extra money. That evening it was testing time, placing the light of his ‘model’ in the window he went on a long walk with the controller in a plastic-bag, whenever he could see the window he checked if he could switch the light on. It appeared to work for as long as he could see the window. Even so, he reminded him self it was little indication of the distance it would operate when confined by two metres of concrete.
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