“Yes we are having a few issues here too. We are holding 1F11 at Parkway. We need you to walk toward N164 then relay what you see…”
“Understood”
Houghton returned to his train, informed his guard then carried on toward the tunnel. He sprinted back to the telephone, slipping occasionally on the wet trackside grass as he did so…
“You better call the Emergency Services and tell Newport too. I think a plane or something has crashed into the tunnel. There’s debris everywhere, fire and smoke, I think the tunnel is damaged too…”
*****
I reached for my cellphone, answering on the second ring… “Section Chief…”
“Say that again…? I see… It’s not a light aircraft, it’s a VBIED. It’s the reason you have this number. Have the area sealed off; there will be two teams en route. Ring back on the landline…”
I ran to Steve’s office. Both he and Chris were looking at new images of the Severn tunnel. Steve looked up as I flew through the door…
“There’s a target vehicle here Chief, upper left quadrant…”
“We’re too late. It was detonated nearly ten minutes ago. British Transport Police have said a train driver reported what he thinks is a light aircraft crashing into the tunnel entrance. We need Jim and EOD moving now… Charlie…? Where’s that Railtrack Tec you were talking too…? Find him please, we need damage assessment and I need to brief Robin…
I strode into his outer office, pointed at the Directors door and kept going… Knocking would have wasted time…
“I expect you to at lea’…”
“Bomb detonation… Severn Junction entrance of the tunnel, we have Jim Collins and his team plus EOD en route. I’ve instructed the local British Transport Police to cordon off the area…”
Robin stood, throwing his fountain pen onto his desk as he signalled me to follow him…
“Right…! Have the ports and airports placed on alert… I want the South Wales ferries checked now… Quarantine them if you have too… Get Mark Ward over to Box ASAP and give them a kick in pants… I’m heading over the road…”
“On my way…”
The outer office was chaos, the scene reminiscent to the trading floor scene depicted in the film “Wall Street”, everyone on a telephone, everyone with raised voices… This had to stop… Now…!
I walked calmly to the centre of the room, climbed on to a table, unholstered my Sig Sauer then fired two rapid shots into the desk.
The desired effect achieved, I calmly re-clipped my side arm into its holster.
“People, we are not doing this, not today, not tomorrow not next bloody week…! We all know what the job is now. The detonation is history, gone. Our job now is to focus on the ports and locate the remaining ASU…”
I looked across to Steve, who was only now removing his hand from his weapon.
“It’s also to assist SO12. We need to find these target vehicles; this is the key, the key we have turned successfully on more than one occasion. What I see around me is the exact opposite; I see the response this detonation was meant to achieve… Chaos…
Now, you all know the way we work here, any information or idea, no matter how insignificant you may feel it is, is important. You know we’ll look into it…
Split the room in half…I want two teams, one on the ports, and one on the vehicles. That’s it…The Severn Tunnel is just a distraction for us now…”
I looked around the room… Good, their faces told me all I need to know…
“Now, someone help me off this bloody thing…!”
At that point four SO13 officers charged on to the floor… “Begging your pardon Chief, we’ve had a report of gun fire…?
“Yeah Kenny… I was just grabbing their attention, mate… I’ll fill the report later. Do you want my side arm…?
“Do you think you managed to grab their attention, undivided like…?”
“I do, yes…”
“In that case Chief, that won’t be necessary in this instance…”
“Thanks Ken… Sorry…”
“No problem, anyway just look at them…, the porky buggers need all the exercise they can get; we had to carry Mike half the way…!”
Steve entered my office as I lifted my telephone hand set, I gestured for him to hold on.
“Raven…?”
“I know Chief; I think most of us have heard…”
“I need you to send Cormorant to Swansea ASAP… It’s the closest port to Bristol.”
“Ok, if the cams are negative, I’ll push him onto Pembroke and Fishguard. Wren is still on the east coast assisting Snipe. It’s getting a bit thin on the ground out here Chief, what with Kestrel and Albatross out of the equation…”
“Understood… I don’t think they’ll head for North Wales or Liverpool…”
Steve handed me the timetable for the Swansea ferry company, he had circled the appropriate times…
“Raven, there was a sailing from Swansea at 1230… We need the afternoon sailings from the other two ports held up now…”
“Ok, I’ll ring you back…” “Steve…?”
“Nice speech, I thought your method of introduction was, er, unique, clearly something you’ve been working on. Next time we’re in the Basement I think the PM will love it…”
“Do you want something like…?”
“Yes… We should have images from the tunnel site by 1600. They’ll be flown. EOD’s arrival is imminent, Jim Collins has brought in another squad; we’ve also spoken to the media to let them know that we are in no mood for fun and games. They’ll behave…”
“Good and Stourbridge…?”
“Central Air Support have been moving west since 0800, they’ve pin pointed ten possible locations, four in particular fit the demographic, we’re moving on them within the hour, once the manpower is upto strength.”
“Nicely done … You know about Cormorant, I’m about to task Snipe and Wren south toward Hull and Harwich. I favour Harwich out of the two… Any suggestions of where Raven would be best situated…?”
“Well, with the bomb, TACCOM for the searches and the Severn investigation is untenable,; I’ve too much on my plate now. He’s a bright boy, how about him…? Based at Bristol, it’s central to both areas of interest…?”
“Ok, I’ll give him the good news.”
“I’ll arrange a rapid escort for Snipe and Wren, if it isn’t do-able maybe an airlift…?”
“I was thinking the same thing…”
“OK… It’s 1300, I’ll be back at 1530… I need to go to the Yard…” “Right… Meeting and update at 1615 after the images arrive…”
I walked out of my office and headed to Robin’s, stopping only to speak with Chris and Charlie…
“Meeting and update at 1615, there’s images arriving from the blast site by 1600…”
“Aye, ok… Chris is heading up the vehicle search; I’m on the ports. Both Pembroke Dock and Fishguard are holding their ships for ninety minutes, Swansea – Cork is at sea, I was thinking of having the Navy board her, then I realised that if one or two are on board, armed or worse it would probably get ugly…”
“Agreed Charlie, Cormorant is heading to Swansea to reload the cams’, he won’t make the other ports…Raven is to be TACCOM based at Bristol, I need you to task Snipe and Wren south to Hull and Harwich.”
“That makes sense… I favour Harwich… Airlift…? Colonel March has helped before…?”
“Yeah, that’s my play… Bring Chris upto speed…?” “Aye laddie, will do…”
I re-entered Robin’s office, this time observing the formalities… I then repeated what I’d said to Charlie…
“Right… I’ll speak to Alex now also the Home Sec’ will be in on the update this afternoon. There is also a COBRA meeting scheduled for 2000, so all the INTEL will need to be drafted by 1900…”
“It’ll be done sir, one more thing…?” “Yes…?”
“I’d like the Foreign Sec’ here too if poss
ible, particularly in light of what the Colonel gave us…”
“I’ll speak to him personally…” “Thank you sir…”
I stood to leave and reached the door…
“Oh, don’t go thinking that I’ve forgotten… The desk…? It will be deducted from your pay, you vandal…”
“Surely it will be on expenses sir…? It was a required tool of the trade…”
*****
Harraghy was just placing the last of their diagrams and paperwork into the burning oil drum when the police helicopter passed overhead, circled then returned. After slowing for a few seconds, the pilot increased power and headed off in an easterly direction.
McCauley joined him.
“Time we were away Gerry. He’s been up there for some time now, definitely flying a grid search pattern…”
“Ok, start the vehicles; I’m just about done here… Tell the other two it’s time to bugger off too… Make sure they know their revised route Jimmy…”
McCauley nodded then walked to the disused milking shed. “Lads, time to move… Now you know the route, yes…?”
It was O’Brien who answered.
“The A491 to the M5 junction 4 then head north to Frankley Services then call in. On your signal head north, come off at junction one, left onto the A41 then first right onto the A4031… We then park the truck under the M5; I then drive us both to Newcastle.”
“That’s right son… If you think Newcastle is iffy, then choose your own route. Good luck to yer both.”
Harraghy climbed into the cab of the Mercedes truck allowing McCauley to hand him his rucksack.
“I’ve set the wires in the house, front and back doors plus a little something on the ground floor windows. Leave the ones for the sheds, the doors are that loose the wind will probably trigger them…Right, let’s go…”
The convoy of four left the disused dairy at 1327, at the junction, two turned left and two turned right. It would be a further two hours before the police search teams arrived… The dairy was third on their list…
*****
“Chief, I have Colonel March for you…” “Thanks Abby… Good afternoon Colonel…”
“A busy day for you all, no doubt. I won’t linger. Have your operatives Snipe and Wren en route to Newcastle airport; air transport will be there from Arbroath plus there is a Lynx airborne now en route to Cardiff for your man Cormorant…They are both anti-piracy configured plus there is also a very capable three man team on board each aircraft to assist and protect… Understood…?”
Having two Royal Navy Lynx helicopters equipped with M3M machine guns plus each carrying a three man team, one undoubtedly a sniper, was really raising our game in terms of response and firepower.
“Understood Colonel, your support is most welcome…”
“All I ask in return is a look at your INTEL to see where we are correlating.”
“It will be done…”
“Righto… Usual channels if you need further assets…”
I dialled Raven’s number… “Yes Chief…?”
“Have Cormorant head to Cardiff airport. A chopper will be waiting there for him…”
“Ok, wait one…”
I could hear the tell-tale sounds of another telephone being used followed by muffled voices…
“That’s done…”
“Now, head for Bristol police headquarters. You’re now TACCOM WEST. Everyone will be liaising with you, SO12, 13 plus Box, EOD, the police and BTP and no doubt Rail Track too… Also get eyes on the blast scene and speak to Sergeant Mortimer personally… Understood…?”
“Bloody Hell…! Yes sir…”
I left my office to give Charlie the good news regarding the airlift.
*****
John Crown was struggling. The heavily laden Mercedes truck had coped well on the A roads but once on the M5 motorway, the lack of power was evident. He reached for the portable RT to speak to O’Brien who was following in the Ford Sierra:
“It’s no good, the truck is overheating. I’ll have to pull over Francis…”
After a few seconds O’Brien replied,
“Can’t you hold on…? It’s not that far now to the service area…”
“The last thing we need is this piece of clapped out shit pissing its guts out… We need to stop and let it cool a little…”
O’Brien swore quietly to himself, knowing that to stop on the hard shoulder on one of Britain’s busiest motorways would leave them vulnerable and wide open to any patrol vehicle, liveried or otherwise to silently roll up behind them, was a very real and definite possibility. Especially after yesterday’s activities and the Severn Tunnel detonation and he hadn’t even considered the traffic cameras located along the route. This particular stretch north of Bromsgrove and the approaches to Birmingham was heavily populated with them. If he had also known that the cameras were now equipped with the new ANPR technology, which recognised number plates, he would have insisted on Crown continuing…
For Crown it was already too late…
“Ok John, pull in if it’s that desperate…”
O’Brien instantly saw the truck’s brake lights and nearside indicator flash. He allowed the vehicle to increase the space between them to twenty yards before he himself came to a halt; he watched Crown exit the cab and immediately attend to the engine…
Jackie Harper had started work at 1400; the eight hour shift lasting until 2200 was one of the busiest in the Traffic Camera Control room based in Birmingham. She sat at her desk sipping coffee as her bank of six CCTV monitors scrolled through the black and white realtime images transmitted from the cameras allocated to her section. The recently sprayed white Mercedes 208D had flagged almost immediately on joining the motorway at junction four… It was now 1436…
The system had been set up to illustrate congestion, it was not yet fully operational for the use of automatic detection of subject vehicles. She called for her supervisor on her headset…
“Max…? I have a subject vehicle, light coloured Mercedes 208D panel truck, index Juliet one eight five Sierra Bravo Yankee…
“Ok, from where…?”
“Camera 40. I’m scrolling now, wait a mo.’, passing 38, passing 36 and 34… It seems to have stopped somewhere between 34 and 32…”
“Can we rotate 33 on the southbound carriageway…?” “I’m working on that now…”
“Let me know what you find… I’m passing it over now…”
*****
“Mike Papa 14 receiving…?”
Motorway Patrol Officer Steve Headley reached across for the RT receiver as he and partner Andy Thompson approached junction 4a of the M5. The two officers had left their headquarters at Hindip Hall at 1330 after both they and their colleagues had received an updated threat briefing…
“Mike Papa 14…”
“Confirmed sighting of target vehicle Mercedes 208D, index Juliet one eight five Sierra Bravo Yankee… Proceed with caution; treat occupants as armed and dangerous… We have Air Support tasking now, over…”
“Roger control…Out…”
Thompson and Headley exchanged glances as the former increased the speed of the unmarked Vauxhall Lotus Carlton…
*****
O’Brien was becoming impatient; both vehicles had been stationary now for ten minutes. He removed the 9mm Beretta from the glovebox, cocked it then laid it on the seat in readiness… He then reached for his RT…
“John… Get a friggin’ move on… We can’t hang around much longer…”
“You’ll have to… The radiator has overheated…” “Shit…!”
“Franny son, have your weapon ready… Just in case…”
*****
“Alpha Oscar 1, Mike Papa 14…” “Mike Papa 14…”
“Confirming white Mercedes 208D rigid truck, stationary 200 yards south of camera 32… Unconfirmed sighting of one male…”
“Roger Alpha Oscar…ETA five minutes…”
Headley replaced the handset then checked his side
arm… It would be he who approached the vehicle while Thompson would, if necessary, use the police car as a weapon.
O’Brien heard the rotor slap of an approaching helicopter… Being on its blind side, he had no idea that aerial confirmation had already been established however he knew it was time to leave or he probably never would…
“John, we have company… Sorry, I’ll try and return for you…” “Don’t you piss off and leave me…!”
“Play it cool… I’ll be back for you… I’ll pull up half a mile further on up and wait…”
Bearings: The Compass Trilogy Part One Page 33
