uzegar, "I am leaving the plane now and you will follow me out in five minutes." After the allotted time elapsed, the hostages did as they were told and left the aircraft, wondering if it was about to explode. When they reached the safety of the VIP lounge they discovered that the terrorists were already there. As the hostages began to relate the details of their ordeal to Bouteflika, an angry Khalid approached them and grasped at his shirt. Thinking quickly, Bouteflika passed Khalid a glass of juice giving the Algerian police time to hold and search him. When they found a gun concealed under his arm, he told the police, "I came here to carry out the agreed execution of these criminals, but you have prevented me." Some time later a group of journalists watched as a convoy of official black cars left the airport. As the convoy approached, one of the cars stopped beside them. Carlos leaned from the passenger's window and stared at them for several minutes before giving the order to go. Carlos the Jackal had escaped unscathed yet again. In the years following the OPEC raid, Abu Sharif and Joachim Klein both confirmed that Carlos had received a large sum of money in exchange for the safe release of the Arab hostages and had kept it for his personal use. There is still some uncertainty regarding the amount that changed hands but it is believed to be somewhere between 20-50 million dollars. Who paid the money is also uncertain but according to Klein it came from "an Arab President." Carlos later told his lawyers that the money was paid by the Saudis on behalf of the Iranians and was, "diverted en route and lost by the Revolution." He insisted that had he taken the money for himself he would have been tracked down and killed before he could spend it. Following his triumphant exit from Algiers airport and the accompanying media coverage, Carlos was believed to be hiding somewhere in Algiers. Shortly after the dramatic conclusion to...
