The Day of the Jackal

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‘Will you get the chance of a second shot, bearing in mind that it will take several seconds to extract the spent cartridge and insert a fresh one, close the breech and take aim again?’

‘Almost certainly not. I just might get a second if I use a silencer and the first shot is a complete miss which is not noticed by anyone nearby. But even if I get a first hit through the temple, I need the silencer to effect my own escape. There must be several minutes of clear time before anyone nearby realises even roughly where the bullet has come from.’

The Belgian continued nodding, by now staring down at his desk pad.

‘In that case you had better have explosive bullets. I shall prepare a handful along with the gun. You know what I mean?’

The Englishman nodded. ‘Glycerine or mercury?’

‘Oh, mercury I think. So much neater and cleaner. Are there any more points concerning this gun?’

‘I’m afraid so. In the interests of slimness all the woodwork of the handgrip beneath the barrel should be removed. The entire stock must be removed. For firing it must have a frame-stock like a Sten gun, each of the three sections of which, upper and lower members and shoulder-rest, must unscrew into three separate rods. Lastly, there must be a completely effective silencer and a telescopic sight. Both of these too must be removable for storage and carrying.’

The Belgian thought for a long time, sipping his beer until it was drained. The Englishman became impatient.

‘Well, can you do it?’

M. Goossens seemed to emerge from his reverie. He smiled apologetically.

‘Do forgive me. It is a very complex order. But yes, I can do it. I have never failed yet to produce the required article. Really what you have described is a hunting expedition in which the equipment must be carried past certain checks in such a manner as to arouse no suspicion. A hunting expedition supposes a hunting rifle, and that is what you shall have. Not as small as a .22 calibre, for that is for rabbits and hares. Nor as big as a Remington .300 which would never conform to the limitations of size you have demanded.

‘I think I have such a gun in mind, and easily available here in Brussels at some sports shops. An expensive gun, a high-precision instrument. Very accurate, beautifully tooled and yet light and slim. Used a lot for chamois and other small deer, but with explosive bullets just the thing for bigger game. Tell me, will the … er … gentleman be moving slowly, fast or not at all?’

‘Stationary.’

‘No problems, then. The fitting of a frame-stock of three separate steel rods and the screw-in trigger is mere mechanics. The tapping of the end of the barrel for the silencer and the shortening of the barrel by eight inches I can do myself. One loses accuracy as one loses eight inches of barrel. Pity, pity. Are you a marksman?’

The Englishman nodded.

‘Then there will be no problem with a stationary human being at a hundred and thirty metres with a telescopic sight. As for the silencer, I shall make it myself. They are not complex, but difficult to obtain as a manufactured article, particularly long ones for rifles which are not usual in hunting. Now, monsieur, you mentioned earlier some tubular compartments for carrying the gun in its broken-down form. What had you in mind?’

The Englishman rose and crossed to the desk, towering over the little Belgian. He slipped his hand inside his jacket, and for a second there was a flicker of fear in the smaller man’s eyes. For the first time he noticed that whatever expression was on the killer’s face it never touched his eyes which appeared clouded by streaks of grey like wisps of smoke covering all expression that might have touched them. But the Englishman produced only a silver propelling pencil.

He spun round M. Goossens’ note-pad and sketched rapidly for a few seconds.

‘Do you recognise that?’ he asked, turning the pad back to the gunsmith.

‘Of course,’ replied the Belgian, after giving the precisely drawn sketch a glance.

‘Right. Well now, the whole thing is composed of a series of hollow aluminium tubes which screw together. This one …’ tapping with the point of the pencil at a place on the diagram … ‘contains one of the struts of the rifle stock. This here contains the other strut. Both are concealed within the tubes that make up this section. The shoulder-rest of the rifle is this … here … in its entirety. This is therefore the only part which doubled up with two purposes without changing in any way.

‘Here …’ tapping at another point on the diagram as the Belgian’s eyes widened in surprise … ‘at the thickest point is the largest diameter tube which contains the breech of the rifle with the bolt inside it. This tapers to the barrel without a break. Obviously with a telescopic sight being used there need be no foresight, so the whole thing slides out of this compartment when the assemblage is unscrewed. The last two sections … here and here … contain the telescopic sight itself and the silencer. Finally the bullets. They should be inserted into this little stump at the bottom. When the whole thing is assembled it must pass for precisely what it looks. When unscrewed into its seven component parts the bullets, silencer, telescope, rifle and the three struts that make up the triangular frame stock can be extracted for reassembly as a fully operational rifle. OK?’

For a few seconds longer the little Belgian looked at the diagram. Slowly he rose, then held out his hand.

‘Monsieur,’ he said with reverence, ‘it is a conception of genius. Undetectable. And yet so simple. It shall be done.’

The Englishman was neither gratified nor displeased.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Now, the question of time. I shall need the gun in about fourteen days, can that be arranged?’

‘Yes. I can acquire the gun within three. A week’s work should see the modifications achieved. Buying the telescopic sight presents no problems. You may leave the choice of the sight to me, I know what will be required for the range of a hundred and thirty metres you have in mind. You had better calibrate and zero the settings yourself at your own discretion. Making the silencer, modifying the bullets and constructing the outer casing … yes, it can be done within the time allowed if I burn the candle at both ends. However, it would be better if you could arrive back here with a day or two in hand, just in case there are some last minute details to talk over. Could you be back in twelve days?’

‘Yes, any time between seven and fourteen days from now. But fourteen days is the deadline. I must be back in London by August the 4th.’

‘You shall have the completed weapon with all last details arranged to your satisfaction on the morning of the 4th if you can be here yourself on August 1st for final discussions and collection, monsieur.’