by Clive Barry
The site was filling up now and it was becoming hard to distinguish between real site workmen and the local constabulary, there seemed to be so many people milling about.
Paul had raised a newspaper that he’d found under the vans seat to cover his face. He being the only one visible in the front that could have possibly been recognised by either Hamiti or one of his goons who were constantly walking past, conspicuous by the fact that they were the only ones not wearing any personal protective clothing. This was brought to their attention by the site foreman and they all returned to their respective vehicles whilst waiting for the container pallets to be unloaded, not wanting to draw any further undue attention to themselves.
The forklift driver began and with each pallet he was required to enter into the back of the compound where each of the pallets were unloaded into the dry storage area to keep the bags from deteriorating in the damp north east atmosphere.
There was a total of twenty pallets, each with twenty bags of dry powdered Portland cement. Wrapped in heavy duty sealing plastic to hold them all secure and restrict any pilfering.
These needed to be unloaded and Hamiti stood by inside the compound while they were unwrapped. The bags were then lifted off the pallets whilst searching for any that might have the red sealing on the top.
When he came across one, Hamiti would call to one of his deputies to carry it into the back of the white transit van, now parked directly outside of the compound alongside the truck. There was one red sealed bag on each of the pallets tucked in the middle of the other nineteen.
All of the arrival and unloading operation was being recorded on a digital camera by one of the specialist plain clothes officers halfway up the top of an electricity pylon over a kilometre away.
The images were relayed back to the station where a full record and inventory of the events could now be viewed as it happened and presented later as evidence in a court of law for the Crown Prosecution Services to scrutinise at their leisure, with the faces of each and every individual who took part crystal clear and in vivid colour.
The truck unloaded, the driver closed the doors of the container, got a signature from the site foreman to say the container was empty and swung the lorry around in a huge arc, facing the opposite direction and driving out of the gates.
Hamiti went over and spoke for a few minutes to the site foreman before handing him an envelope, presumably containing the thousand pounds for his part in the subterfuge. He then went over to the driver of his white transit van and had a few words with him before jumping into the driver seat of the black Range Rover and together with the companion who he’d arrived on site with earlier that morning, drove out of the gates followed by his own white transit van.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
‘Right Timber follow that fuckin’ van,’ said Paul to his driver.
‘Wait!’ Interrupted Dave, ‘let alpha team out first, they have to follow and apprehend.’
As he spoke a dark blue BMW M3 GTS flew out of the gates. Inside were four heavily armed Specialist Firearms Officers looking as though they were the real business and apparently, according to everyone that knew, they were the real business.
‘GO! GO! GO!’ shouted Paul, ‘follow them and please Timber, try not to lose ‘em.’
Timber had his foot hard down on the accelerator and was right behind the SFO car, managing to keep up through the tight turns of the narrow country lane.
As the white transit came into sight off in the distance, everyone eased off and sat well back, trying not to draw any undue attention to themselves. The eye in the sky had been instructed by Turner and was now following from high up, so it seemed as though everyone else was just dawdling along.
They followed the van who in turn was following the Range Rover into a small industrial estate on the outskirts of the city and they stopped to watch from a short distance away, allowing both vehicles to pull up outside the lock up warehouse and unload the bags of cement.
While Hamiti and his crew were inside, the SFO drove their car slowly and quietly to the front of the building. One officer jumped out and heavily armed with a holstered Glock semi automatic pistol, carrying a Heckler and Koch G36 in his hands and wearing his KR1 body armoured vest, ran around to watch the back of the building. His colleague’s equally armed covered the front of the building, slowly edging their way forward to the front door.
Crouched low, the three SFO team slowly turned the handle and finding the door unlocked, swung it wide open and entered, all running and shouting simultaneously, ‘ARMED POLICE DROP YOUR WEAPONS.’ There appeared to be a relay of several bursts of automatic fire, but from Paul’s van nobody could determine who was actually doing the shooting.
Paul waited several minutes and nothing more happened, he then told everyone to stay where they were as he clambered over Dave who was sat next to the van door, to stand on the lockups forecourt.
Slowly Paul edged his way forward, drawing his own Glock 17 from a holster under his jacket at the back of his waistband and cautiously under cover of the police BMW, approached the front door. As he was about to open the door, it swung wide hitting him in the face, trapping him behind. He was slammed against the wall and Hamiti, blood running down his left arm holding an Israeli Uzi submachine gun in his right, fired towards the van with all the lads still inside.
Dave who was now stood out in the open by the side of the van, having followed Paul, took a direct hit to the chest standing stunned for a second then his eyes glazed over as he crumbled to the floor, blood flowing copiously from the large wound on the right side of his chest. There was another burst of automatic fire and everyone hit the floor inside the van again.
The Timber crawled across through the inside of the van making his way to Dave, trying his hardest to staunch the bleeding with field dressings he’d grabbed from Jockie who’d lifted them out from one of the holdalls in the back. Hamiti then jumped into the Range Rover and drove off.
Paul made his way inside the warehouse building and found it looking like the inside of an abattoir. Bodies and blood everywhere. The SFO officer who had gone to cover the back had now made his way around to the front and was on his radio asking for assistance and ambulances. His colleagues were starting to come around, their body armour having taken the brunt of the bullets, all other injuries being superficial.
First inspection indicated that all of Hamiti’s men were dead, with several bullets in each. The SFO group appeared to be okay but they were advised that there had been a major incident out on the motorway and ambulances would be delayed in coming.
Paul took charge and told them to bring down the helicopter and get Dave straight to the hospital. The officer with the radio immediately transmitted the request and within a few minutes the chopper had landed out on the roadside, with rotors still turning. Timber picked Dave up unconscious in his arms, as though he were but a small child and bundled him into the helicopter, crouching low to the side as it instantly lifted off again.
While the SFO team now fully conscious and functional started to dissect what had happened inside the small warehouse, Paul checked that everyone outside was okay. There were no other injuries although there were several bullet holes in the side of the van, for whatever reason, they’d all managed to miss everyone inside.
Paul took Mike to one side.
‘We gotta let our Sal know about Dave mate, watcha reckon, we go pick her up or phone her?’
‘We gotta pick her up bro, she’s gonna be fuckin’ heart broken, Sal’s gonna need us, what with Mam and Dad less than a week ago, she needs us mate.’
‘Aye yer right, away, let’s go.’
With that they all jumped back into the van and headed for the Westernside housing estate.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Sally was just changing the bedding when there was a loud knock at the door and Paul’s voice booming up the stairs.
‘Are yeh there Sal?’
‘Aye, I’m upstairs our Paul, hang on I�
�ll come down.’
Sally was barefoot, wearing her shorts and the t-shirt that Dave had taken off earlier. She had hardly any make up on and there were beads of sweat on her forehead.
‘I’m knackered our Paul, I’ve never stopped since Dave went out early this mornin’. Just tryin’ to keep busy, where is he by the way? I thought he was workin’ with you lot today.’
‘Listen sweetheart, he was with us, but he’s been hurt and quite bad. They’ve flown him by helicopter to the hospital, but maybe you need to be there too.’
‘Well, how bad?’
‘Sal, he got shot in the chest sweetheart. We came straight here to get you, so we don’t actually know how bad he is.’
Sally grabbed her hoody and slipped her pink flip flops on, grabbing her phone and purse.
‘Away then, take us to wherever they got him.’
The drive to the hospital took forty minutes in the van and when they got there Dave had only just been properly admitted and was being seen in the emergency ward by a team of trauma specialists.
The two squaddies Jockie and Timber waited outside by the van while Paul and Mike went inside with their sister.
‘I need to let his mam know and his sister. They’d wanna know, wouldn’t they?’
‘Ya Sal, do yeh have their numbers?’
‘No, I don’t even know where they live. Oh God Paul, I’m no good at this am I? We only got engaged yesterday. Shit I love ‘im so much.’
Sally began to cry, she curled up into a little foetal ball on a chair in the waiting room and her heart broke yet again. It was while Sally was crying that DCI Turner came striding into the hospital and saw Paul and Mike.
‘Right lads, what’s the score? Have they said anything yet?’
‘No, nothing yet Inspector. You wouldn’t happen to know how to get in touch with his mam would yeh?’ asked Mike.
‘Well they should have that information at the station why?’
‘This is Sally you remember, our sister and Dave’s fiancée. They only just got engaged yesterday, anyway Sal’s concerned that his mam should be here.’
‘Quite right too. I’ll get straight onto it. A pleasure to meet you again miss. I can see young David is not only very brave but also has an excellent taste in beautiful women.’
Inspector Turner shook Sally’s hand gently then turned and got straight onto his phone to the station.
‘Right, the station will sort out David’s mother. Do we have any update from anybody here?’
‘No the trauma team were with him, but no one’s spoken to us yet.’
‘Right, let’s find out who’s in charge then shall we?’
Inspector Turner walked over to the main desk and pulled rank on a senior doctor. Talking for quite a while before returning back and sitting next to Sally.
‘Okay Sally my dear. They’re saying that the bullet went straight through David. Entered in the front, exited out the back. It managed to crack a rib or two and double puncture a lung. He will require surgery to repair the lung, but whoever had administered the first aid apparently knew exactly what they were doing and excuse my medical jargon, managed to bung up the holes. He’s going to require staying in for a small while but should be fine. Apparently, he’s super fit and strong, but keeps asking for you. So young lady, are you up to seeing him before they knock him back out?’
‘Yes please and thank you Inspector.’
‘Come on then my dear. Let’s go and find your brave young man.’
A nurse took them to a cubicle with a screen across, pulling the curtain back to let Sally through. Dave was sat up with tubes and blood connected to his arms and another sticking out of his chest, he had on an oxygen mask and his eyes were shut, but when Sally walked in his eyes opened and a huge smile covered his face.
‘Here she is, here’s my beautiful Sal,’ Dave whispered weakly
‘What the bloody hell have you been doin’ David Riley? goin off and getting’ yeh self shot at like that.’
Sally ran to him and threw herself across his chest crying and making him gasp with the pain.
‘Oh sorry babe, did I hurt yeh?’
‘No sweetheart. It only hurts when you’re not here.’
Dave put his arm around Sally’s shoulder so she could climb up onto his good side of the bed and snuggle into him.
‘Oh Dave, I was so frightened when the lads told me yeh’d been shot. I couldn’t bear the thought of owt ‘appenin’ to yeh.’
‘Well it was all stupid the way it happened. But that’s a story for another day sweetheart.’
‘I got the inspector to call yeh mam. I didn’t ‘ave her phone number or her address, or I’d ‘ave done it meself.’
‘That’s alright sweetheart. Mams got built in radar, she’d ‘ave found out anyway, one way or another.’
Just then a nurse came in and asked Sally if she wouldn’t mind stepping outside while the surgeon had a quick word with Dave. Dave on the other hand asked if Sally could stay. She needed to hear whatever was going to be said.
The surgeon entered the cubical.
‘Mr Riley? My name is Donald Simpson and I will be operating on you this afternoon. Looking at your pictures we shouldn’t be down there too long, it’s a relatively simple repair job and we should have you back on your feet very soon. So, if you’re ready then I’m going to go down and start to scrub up. We should have you back in the recovery room in a couple of hours from now.’
Dave and Sally thanked the surgeon. Dave’s mam and sister had arrived and wanted to see him. Sally stood to one side to let mam Riley in with his sister Kate standing back out of the way as there was so very little space remaining in the cubicle.
The nurses then ushered everyone out and Sally kissed Dave before she left saying she would be here when he came out of surgery and then she told him how much she loved him and that he must behave and do everything he was told. They then all went over to the lounge area to make themselves comfortable and wait.
‘So, what happened Sally love? How’s our Dave managed to go off and get hiself shot like that?’
‘I really don’t know the ins and outs of it Mrs Riley. All I know is he went out early this morning with me brothers over there. They were all on some sort of police operation and that’s about it really.’
‘Is that Paul Vickers over there then?’ asked Kate.
‘Ya, the big bonny one with the beard, that’s our Paul.’
‘I’ll just go over and ask him what happened then Sally, leave you and our mam to have a chat for a while.’
Kate made her way over to where Paul, Mike and DCI Turner were busy talking, making a direct bee-line to stand directly in front of Paul.
Paul stared at her for a second or two, then asked.
‘Excuse me love, can I help yeh?’
‘Yeh don’t remember us, do yeh Paul Vickers?’
‘Sorry love, no I don’t.’
‘Kate, Kate Riley?’
‘Oh my God, so it is, how yeh keepin’?’
‘I’m in a bit better nick than me baby brother. What did yeh’s do to ‘im like?’
‘Sorry love, we can’t go inta any of the details, but we’ve been told he’s gonna be alright, so that’s a relief.’
‘Aye, anyway just thought I’d say hello, give us a call sometime if yeh get a chance eh?’
‘Definitely will Kate. It’s great to see yeh again though.’
Detective Chief Inspector Turner turned to Paul.
‘Okay gentlemen, I’m going to leave you all now, just to let you know Paul, we recovered all the heroin thanks to you. It’s now just a matter of picking up Hamiti. He seems to have gone to ground, we lost him when the helicopter landed, but he’ll surface again sooner or later. We can’t touch Demaci at the moment, he’ll just deny any knowledge and call his solicitor, but there again we’ll get him one day. Thanks for all your help lads, we’ll be in touch.’
Turner waved goodbye then walked over to where Sally, mam Riley and Kate we
re sat and said goodbye to them all before leaving.
‘Right Mike, let’s get the lads together. There’s no fuckin’ way we’re finished and those Albanian bastards are not gonna walk. We know where Demaci is, so he’s no problem. We need to find that fuckin’ Hamiti and there’s only one person I know who can do that.’
‘Yeh mean Jacko?’
‘Aye, that’s the very lad, I’ll give ‘im a call. You go say bye to Sal, tell her we’ll be in touch later, we have unfinished business to attend to.’
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Paul and Mike walked out into the hospital carpark while Paul took out his mobile from the breast pocket of his fatigues and dialled a number. It rang for a few seconds before being answered.
‘Jacko speakin’, who the fuck’s this?’
‘Hi Jacko, Paul Vickers here, we need a big favour mate.’
‘Hya! Paul, what the fuck can I do for yeh?’
‘We need to find Hamiti now, like as in fuckin’ yesterday. He’s gone to ground but I have every faith in your devious capabilities. listen Jacko lad, this is really very fuckin’ personal and we’re prepared to pay. Just fuckin’ find him for us as quick as yeh can and let us know where he is, okay?’
‘Right mate, give us a little while and I’ll get back to yeh as soon as I can. Promise mate, I’ll do me very best.’
Paul and Mike then walked to the van where Jockie and the Timber were sat in the front seats reading old newspapers and waiting patiently.
‘So lads, how’s the wee bobby? He gonna be alright?’
‘Ya thanks Jockie. They’ve taken him down to theatre to patch ‘im up and they seem to think he’ll make a full recovery. I gotta commend you’s two though, they reckon it was your patchwork skills that saved him Timber.’
‘My pleasure gentlemen, that’s what friends are for, besides, it’s not like we haven’t done it all on numerous occasions is it?’
‘Right now lads, we have some decisions to make and they need to be unanimous. I’ve put out feelers to try and find Hamiti, whereas Demaci is probably sat upstairs in his penthouse. Well pissed off because he’s just lost a considerable amount of money and drugs. Who do we go after first?’
