The Terrorists Page #2

Fire station, on standby.

Tango Oscar,

do you read?

- Crash alarm.

- Crash alarm.

Mike Tango Oscar,

Tower, do you read me?

Go over to that far runway.

I say again,

Tango Oscar, do you read me?

Mike Tango Oscar, negative left turn.

Turn to the right.

- All clear?

- Clear, right-hand side.

Well, that's as far

as it'll go.

He took off the anti-skid.

Now that, Captain, will be your

last deliberate mistake.

I can't think straight

with a gun in my neck.

You'd better learn to.

Now listen, there are four of us

and we are all wearing these.

I press that,

and this plane goes up

in two seconds.

And you with it.

That's right.

Any whiff of gas

through the air intake,

any smart-aleck trick like that

and I detonate.

Now get Control and tell them

what's happened and then

let me speak to them.

- Get the inspector.

- Sir.

Shepherd's coming out

in 60 seconds.

- Now move.

- Right, sir.

Stand by, Tower.

- Tower.

- Tower here.

Get me this telephone number.

53-57-78.

No questions.

No debates. Do it.

Right, now let's move out.

Walk normally.

Don't rush.

Just get into the van.

Hello.

Sunflower, this is Petrie.

Marigold is blown.

I repeat,

they know about Marigold.

The police know

where the dropping zone is.

Petrie, where are you?

I'm here at the airport.

I've hijacked a plane to get you out.

Stay where you are.

Do not leave

the ambassador's house.

How the hell

did they blow Marigold?

The pigs have got Chris.

They're swarming all over Marigold,

waiting to get you.

Understood, Ray.

Thank you.

Just sit tight.

Back into the house!

Get back into the house!

Come on. Come on!

What's going on?

Close the gates.

The police are waiting for us

at the other end.

What the hell do we do?

We're not going to

crack just because the police

- have got lucky for once.

- How did they find out?

- Quiet!

- What the hell do we do?

I don't know,

and I don't care.

We keep our heads.

Someone has come to get us out.

Petrie has hijacked a plane.

He's at the airport.

You can trust him.

He knows what he's doing.

We sit tight.

We've just got to hold out and make

sure that if anybody breaks,

it's them, not us.

Right.

This is where it starts

to get difficult.

You've lost the initiative.

You are forced to rely

on someone else.

That isn't difficult.

You don't think so?

Waiting.

That's the worst part.

Is it?

We've been waiting for the last

two days. We've weathered that.

Yes, but then your fate was

in your own hands.

Now you have to rely

on someone

called Petrie.

He makes one mistake,

and you are dead,

my friend.

We are dead, my friend.

Despite the rocky landing,

this plane is quite safe.

You are in no danger.

The captain removed the anti-skid

device and has blown all the tires.

This means that the wheels

will have to be replaced

before the plane can

take off again.

We are therefore obliged

to detain you on board

for the time being.

If you look around,

you will see three men standing

in the gangway.

If you obey their instructions,

keep calm

and remain seated,

we are confident that we should

be able to release you all

within a few hours.

Don't give them

anything until I get there.

I want to know where

the flight originated.

Stopovers, if any.

I want to know how many

passengers are on board.

- What name did he give?

- Ray Petrie.

Petrie? Ray Petrie.

- Tahlvik.

- General.

You know Bernhard

from the Ministry of the Interior.

- You going to the airport?

- Yes.

The hijackers wish to exchange

the passengers for the terrorists

in the British ambassador's house.

Now it's the government's view

that we yield to their demands.

We do not wish to be involved

in the domestic politics

of other nations.

If we give in now,

we'll have another hijack next week

and the week after.

We'll become a soft touch

for any blackmailer who's prepared

to use this kind of piracy.

If we try to resist,

100 innocent people

might well be blown to pieces.

We couldn't possibly

justify such bloodshed.

In a situation like this,

the government is powerless.

There's another important fact

we must not forget.

What is that, General?

There's an election coming up.

Our national security

becomes a farce

if we throw away the rule of law.

This isn't a war game,

Colonel Tahlvik.

There isn't any acceptable

level of casualties.

Absolutely right, Bernhard.

Captain Barnes.

Tahlvik,

politicians and civil servants

hate to be argued with.

I never do it.

As a result,

they do exactly what I want.

The ambassador

was a British affair.

This hijacker is ours.

Here are your orders.

You will delay our surrender

to the last possible moment.

You will try

to overcome the hijackers.

In doing so,

you will not endanger the life

of a single passenger.

Is that clear, Tahlvik?

Perfectly clear, sir,

and quite impossible.

Good.

We understand each other.

I have a strong aversion

to a bunch of foreign anarchists

holding the country to ransom.

And Bernhard?

Try diplomacy.

If that fails, improvise.

You're in charge, Tahlvik.

Drink? Take it.

That's good.

Do you want some sweets?

You too?

Yes, take one.

You forgot to tell the passengers

the plane is wired to explode.

I didn't forget.

Are you going to tell them?

Captain, I have every intention

of avoiding panic back there.

At the moment, most people don't

even know what's going on.

I intend to feed them just enough

information to keep them settled.

No rough stuff,

keep them informed

and there won't be a problem.

And you're not gonna be

a problem, either, are you, Captain?

You seem to be in command.

That's right.

Now refuel and supply us

for a six-hour flight.

- Right.

- Oh, and the tires.

We need a special jack

to change all the wheels.

You should have thought of that

before you removed

the anti-skid device.

I did.

- Get one.

- Anything else?

- Such as?

- A flight plan to Cuba?

All in good time, Captain.

All in good time.

So, what do we do?

We do exactly as he says.

You know our policy.

This man's a professional.

From London?

Get the airline to telex a passenger

list through the control tower.

What did Bernhard say

back there?

I think he was trying to summarize

the duties of a military attach.

You mean keep out of it.

He's not very keen

on the military, is he?

Who is?

What did the General want?

He wants us to do

the impossible.

Sign here.

Are you in charge

of these men?

Who the hell are you?

Only swear at people,

Inspector,

when you know

that you outrank them.

I'm Colonel Tahlvik.

I'm in charge.

Get these rifles out of sight.

I was following routine procedure.

How many hijacks

have you dealt with?

This is the first.

The first?

So don't let's talk

about routine procedure, hmm?

It's also my first.

So I shall need all the help

I can get.

- Matson.

- Yes. Head of the airport authority.

All right, Matson, I want

this tower cleared of everyone

and everything

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