‘That was quick. I’ve only just got back to my desk. Well there’s no point in me doing anything. Call Herbet on the emergency line.’
‘Will he listen?’
‘He has to respond to an emergency call.’
Zak called Herbet as instructed, but made the connection audio only. The call went straight through to him.
‘Who’s this?’ snapped Herbet. ‘I’m in a meeting.’
‘It’s Zak. I know you don’t trust me, but believe me, this is important. I’ve just seen a couple of guys go into Cabin Y-13,’ he said, twisting the truth slightly. ‘They’ve got a gun. They’re the ones I’ve been following.’
‘Zak Carter,’ said Herbet, ‘You just don’t know when to give up, do you. Is this some kind of joke?’
‘No way. I’m absolutely serious. Send a guard down to check, but be careful, they’re armed.’
‘Damn. It’s the emergency line,’ said Herbet. ‘Do you realise the trouble you’ll be in if this is a false alarm Zak - I’ll lock you up for the rest of the trip. So if this is a prank, you’d better call it off now.’
‘I swear on my life,’ said Zak.
‘Okay,’ said Herbet, sighing. ‘I’ll send someone to investigate.’
Zak returned to the footage. To his alarm, the gun was nowhere to be seen, and the men were just sitting around talking again. He berated himself for not watching what O’Neill did with the gun. He feared that if the security officers did not search the cabin, he would soon be languishing in jail.
He waited for what seemed like an age, then a bell sounded in the cabin. The men suddenly stopped their conversation and froze.
‘Come on, look nervous,’ said Zak.
‘Who is it?’ shouted Krushkov.
‘Security,’ came the voice. ‘We’d like a word.’
The door opened and the men within the room stood up. There were two security guards in the doorway.
‘Good afternoon,’ said one of the guards. ‘We’re sorry to disturb you, but we’ve been asked to check out this cabin. Do you mind?’
The gang looked alarmed and puzzled.
‘Er… no,’ said Krushkov. ‘Go right ahead.’
