Sepulchre by James Herbert Page B

pleasureboat guide drifted over the terrace parapet. Cora's fingers became still.
    'For the past week,' she began, her voice low and hesitant, aware of the people around them, 'Felix has been troubled by some kind of premonition. Nothing substantial, nothing he can recognise. A dream, a nightmare, one that he can never remember when he wakes. But he knows it's a warning to him, a precognition of sorts that won't fully reveal itself to him. It's made him distraught. No, more than that -Felix is terrified.'
    'He didn't look that way to me,' commented Halloran.
    'He'd never show those feelings to an outsider. Felix is a very private man.'
    'You're telling me he's had a premonition of his own death'?'
    She gave a shake of her head. 'No. No, something worse than that.'
    A shadow fell across the table startling them both. A barman collected their empty glasses, transferring them to a tray of others.
    'Lovely day,' the barman said, turning away without waiting
    The girl looked across at Halloran. She said nothing more.
    8 Bodyguards
    Snaith wasn't happy.
    'You mean Magma is going to all this bother because their man - this chap Kline - has had a premonition of some sort?' He glared at Halloran as though it were his fault.
    Halloran, himself, seemed preoccupied. He scratched the back of his fingers against his jaw. 'That's how it is,' he said.
    Snaith rested back in his chair, one hand still on the desk, fingers drumming a beat. 'Ludicrous,' he pronounced.
    'Not to the Corporation,' said Mather, sitting in an easychair opposite Halloran, his bad leg stretched out before him (now and again during the briefing and planning meeting he would absent-mindedly rub at his kneecap as if to ease the pain of the old wound). 'They have great faith in this man's ability; I don't think it's for us to dismiss his foreboding so lightly.'
    Dieter Stuhr, sitting at one end of the Controller's desk, tapped the blunt end of his pencil against the large notepad in front of him. 'Personally, I don't see how that affects us anyway. What goes on between Kline and the Magma Corporation is their affair. We should treat this like any other job.'
    'Of course you're right,' agreed Snaith, 'but this business bothers me. It's . . .' he shook his head, frustrated '. . . it's not logical. What kind of man is he, Liam?'
    'Changeable,' came the reply. 'I'd say he's highly unstable neurotic, in fact. He's going to be a problem.'
    'I see.' Snaith's expression was grim. 'Well, we've dealt with prima donnas before. And his personal bodyguards? What's your opinion of their worth?'
    'I was only introduced to one. He wasn't very effective.'
    Nobody in the room asked him how he'd reached that conclusion; they accepted his word.
    Mather consulted a notebook. 'I have the names of the other three here. Let me see now, yes - Janusz Palusinski, his driver, then Asil Khayed and Youssef Daoud. They're described as "personal attendants", which I suppose could imply anything.'
    'Good Lord,' exclaimed Snaith. 'Arabs?'
    'Jordanians.'
    'And the first? Czech? Polish?'
    'Janusz Palusinski - Polish.'
    'And the one you met, Liam?'
    'Monk. He didn't say much.'
    'Theodore Albert Monk,' Mather supplied from his notebook. 'According to the Magma files, he's American.'
    'That's some mixed bag,' commented Snaith.
    'Apparently Felix Kline picked them up on his travels. They've all been with him for years.'
    'The driver might need some training,' suggested Halloran.
    'That's being taken care of,' Snaith told him. 'Kline's PA, Miss, uh - Redmile, rang me earlier this afternoon to arrange it. Dieter?'
    'I've got him booked in for tomorrow. We'll lease Magma one of our own specials - for Palusinski to train in and to use afterwards. Kline's own vehicle doesn't have enough protection facilities; body and windows are bullet-proof, but that's about it. I'll want to keep Palusinski for at least two days, Liam, to make sure he really knows what he's doing when he leaves us, so it looks like you're Kline's