John Judge
Page 39
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Mason was angry with the two officers who killed the prisoner. They had deprived him of his opportunity to interrogate the man who could have given him a lot of information about the insurgents and so achieve a major blow against John Judge and his organisation. They were mindless idiots in his view but nevertheless, he pulled the necessary strings to protect them and the process to move them out of harm’s way had already started. He would find a use for them at some time in the future especially as they were now indebted to him. Graham Johns was completely unaware that this was happening. He was busy preparing for a major cleansing job that would go some way to demonstrating that the police were a responsible force who could deal swiftly with lawbreakers even from within their own ranks. He was soon to find that the perpetrators had been moved to special duties and he was duly warned off his pursuit of them. It depressed him greatly to have to admit that John was right.
The following weeks and months saw an increasing number of actions against the Stapo and selected targets such as ministerial and government offices. There were several unintentional engagements with military units. These latter actions were often costly for both sides. Several of John’s men were captured. Marie and her team had to deal with many more severe injuries and some men were to die as a result of wounds that were too serious for her to deal with.
The capture of his men had increased the exposure of John and his team. He knew it would be only a matter of time before he and his lieutenants were identified and, therefore, vulnerable. There was now no longer need to hide their faces. But John insisted that everyone should wear a black combat hat commonly known as a beanie, not that it would offer any protection but merely as a measure of uniformity. Their long since developed contingency plan swung into action. Marie, Alex and Jason moved into the deep shelter at Goodge Street. Derek Farson moved his family into Stockwell deep shelter, which was now habitable. Terry Bayliss, a single man, took up residence in an old storeroom in Bank underground station. Mal and Paul had long been living underground and had got quite used to the idea. All of those with families now concentrated on making a home in the underground network. No one could risk their loved ones being taken as hostage above ground. So there was a frantic level of activity and soon there would be a city beneath a city.
John had always known that this time would come and he wasn’t surprised that his picture now appeared on wanted posters all over London. Much to the chagrin of the authorities, they were torn down as fast as they were put up. The widely held belief amongst the general public was that John Judge would deliver them from this dictatorship.
Stapo was now regularly stopping and searching people. Each day it looked and felt more like a police state, with heavily armed police patrols on every street, in railway stations and surrounding important government offices. Those that were stopped and searched were not handled gently. Even more severe treatment was dealt out if anyone dared complain. The complaints stopped but resentment grew more intense and John knew that it would not be long before Garside would feel the wrath of the people. Meanwhile, the London skyline was constantly interrupted by palls of smoke from buildings that had been attacked. John Judge and his men were making themselves more overt as a fighting force. Garside meanwhile, insisted that Major General Keatson deploy more of his men in support of the police in the capital and provincial cities.