'Before we can decide on a plan that includes the two motor yachts, we need to confirm where they are,' Captain Moffatt stated. 'Major Hamilton can you please go and contact the person who is currently monitoring these craft to confirm their latest position. You will find a telephone in the office next to this one?'
I left them to go and phone Willem.
'Willem van Grimbergen hier,' he answered in Dutch.
'It's Vince; I am phoning you from Cyprus.'
'Hi Vince, you get around a bit. How are you?'
'I’m good Willem; I am presently involved in a meeting that is putting together a plan to try and get the luxury yachts back. We need to know where they are.'
'Well, Habibi is still at anchor in the Western end of Marmaris Bay while Golden Spirit is now in the small bay at Lindos on the island of Rhodes.'
'That's perfect for us as they are quite close together. Can you please let me know if and when they move?' I gave him the telephone number of the base here in Akrotiri.
'I will do Vince. Please keep in touch and let me know when you propose to grab hold of the boats.'
'I'll try Willem, but I will be involved in the operation and have no idea where I am going to be.'
'I'll leave you a text message on your mobile. Good luck Vince and keep out of the way of flying bullets.'
'I'll try and keep my head down. Thanks for the information.'
I terminated the call and went back into the meeting room to re-join the others.
'What news do you have for us Major?' Captain Moffatt asked.
I gave them an update on the location of the two boats.
'That's great news and solves one of my major problems.' Captain Moffatt looked very relieved. 'I didn't want to bring a boat with naval markings on it into Turkish territorial waters. If it had been spotted, it would have provoked a diplomatic incident. We must seriously consider the possibility of using Golden Spirit as our method of getting from the island of Rhodes to Marmaris.'
Captain Moffatt continued. 'If we can also capture Habibi we will have two unmarked fast vessels to use in the attack.'
'When I observed Habibi at the time it was moored in Lindos bay, the crew used to go ashore to a Bistro in the evening for their dinner,’ I said. ‘They didn't leave anybody on guard and everybody went ashore. If the crew of Golden Spirit follow the same pattern then, we have a time to grab the vessel.'
‘OK, that sounds good, so we have the best time for the attack then,' Captain Moffatt suggested. 'There will be a welcome party waiting for the crew when they return from the Bistro.'
We spent the next half-an-hour developing a plan to capture the two motor yachts. Dasher could be used to take the attack-party to Lindos and also to take any captives back to Cyprus.'
'Is it worthwhile getting someone who knows these motor yachts to assist us in the assault as I take it that none of your men Captain will be familiar with this type of craft?' I asked Captain Moffatt.
'What have you in mind Major?
'I have a guy who is very familiar with these types of vessels, and he has been acting as my eyes in Cannes. If I had some way of getting him here from Nice airport, he would be invaluable in capturing and operating the motor yachts.'
'I will organize for your man to be picked up in Nice airport tomorrow morning. What is his name?' the Wing Commander interjected.
'His name is Nick Knowles and he has worked on these types of motor yachts for the past eight years.' I added. 'Can I please go and phone him now and get him prepared for his adventure.'
'Yes, go ahead Major.' Captain Moffatt nodded his head. ‘I will give you an exact pick-up time later after I have talked with Brize Norton.’
Nick was very surprised to hear from me and even more surprised at my request that he gets to Nice airport early the following morning prepared for a few days away. He sounded excited when he said that he would love to come. I told him that I would send him a text message with the time of his flight.
When I returned to the room, I found them deep in discussion on the details of the raid to capture Golden Spirit.
'Will the group of men who are going to be involved in the raid on the complex also travel on Dasher when it leaves Cyprus?' Captain Thompson asked.
'There won't be room for the whole party, and I don't think that your men would want to spend over twelve hours going flat out on a rough sea,' Captain Moffatt commented. 'They would be fit for nothing by the time they got to Lindos.'
'I will be able to organize to have the main party flown into Maritsa airport on the island of Rhodes,' the Wing Commander suggested. 'You can then join Dasher at the nearby port of Faliraki. From there, you can go to Lindos for the capture of Golden Spirit.'
'Major, you and your guy Nick can travel in the same plane if that is OK.'
'Sounds like an excellent plan to me Captain.'
'So what happens after we have taken control of Golden Spirit?' Captain Thompson asked.
'You all transfer to that boat and spend the night on it. Dasher will travel back to Cyprus taking the captured crew with them. It must at no stage enter Lindos bay and be seen.'
'Are the locals not going to get suspicious in the morning when they see a lot of men dressed in battle fatigues on a boat in Lindos bay?' It was Captain Thompson again.
'Anybody involved in this operation must not be dressed in uniform, you must all wear civilian clothes and look like tourists,' the Wing Commander stressed.
'Major Hamilton, can you suggest a way of getting from Rhodes town to Marmaris first thing on Saturday morning. I feel that you should be the man on the ground in Icmeler on Saturday. You know the place best.'
'I have the phone number of the skipper who took Inspector Baird and me to Marmaris in his Turkish Gulet when we went there a week ago. I'll get hold of him and arrange to hire his boat.'
'On Saturday night, as soon as it gets dark, the first step in the attack will be to take control of the Habibi,' Captain Moffatt continued. 'Once captured, we will then transfer half our men to Habibi and then use both the motor yachts for the attack on the complex.'
'Do you want us to take along the inflatables we will use in the attack or will we use the ones already on the two motor yachts?' Captain Thompson asked.
'I think that it might be better to take along the inflatables that you are familiar with,' Captain Moffatt replied. 'I suggest that you and your sergeant develop your plan for the attack and let everybody else know the details when you are together in Lindos.'
'I'll do that as soon as I am finished here Sir,' Captain Thompson added.
The next hour was spent going over every detail of the plan, with the exception of the activities involved in using the two motor yachts to attack the Mafia’s base.
Chapter 35
At a point where the discussions didn't involve me, I slipped out and phoned the skipper of the Gulet in Rhodes. He agreed to pick up me and any others who I had with me from Faliraki harbour at 6.00am on Saturday morning. He would then take us the short distance to Marmaris as he had done before.
I rejoined the meeting and confirmed to them that I had put that particular part of the plan in place. They told me that Corporal Cooper and a four other men would be sent along to give me support and try and find the leader of the syndicate.
The Wing Commander interrupted the planning process. 'Gentlemen, I think that we have enough of a plan in place for me to telephone General Baird in London and get his approval. It's getting quite late, and you need his clearance to proceed before you can issue orders to get your people activated. Can you all leave me and meet back here in an hour.'
We all headed for the Officers Mess where Captain Moffatt ordered a round of beers.
The Superintendent sat down beside me.
'Well Vince, are you happy that we are coming up with a workable plan?'
'Yes it's looking good, but there are still a lot of loose ends. I am confident that the team that has been put together is excellent. I have known Capta
in Thompson for a few years now, and he is the ideal person to make a success of the attack.'
'That's good. By the way, Inspector Baird is recovering well and asked me to tell you to phone him. He says that he has some information that you may be able to use. This is his number at the hospital.'
He handed me a piece of paper with the telephone number on it.
'I'll go and phone him immediately.'
I took my drink with me and found a phone in an office nearby.
I got through surprisingly easily.
'Hi Inspector, how are you?'
'Much better Vince and recovering well.'
'Can you remember what happened to you Inspector?'
'I can't remember much, other than a sniper must have spotted me. I have been racking my brains as to how I gave my position away. The only solution I can come up with is that the sun must have reflected off my binoculars and someone saw the flash of light,' the Inspector explained.
'Superintendent Tedding said that you had something to tell me?'
'Yes, when I was watching the site from the old coastguard station, I saw a black Mercedes 600 arrive on two separate occasions during the day. A very distinguished looking man got out and went inside. Although he didn’t look that old, he was a much better class of person than the others who were manning the complex. Both times he stayed inside for about forty minutes before driving off. He was clearly a big wig as his driver opened the door for him and was very subservient.'
'Have you any idea who it was Inspector?'
'I can only guess that he is the big boss, Vince, and if he is, he probably lives somewhere close by.'
‘I have been allocated the task of watching the road that runs from Icmeler to the site on Saturday so I will keep an eye out for him.'
'That's all I wanted to tell you Vince, but, if he is one of the leaders, it is important you pick him up when you close the net. I hope that it all goes well over the next few days.'
'Thanks Inspector and get well soon.'
I terminated the call and went back to join the Superintendent in the Officers' Mess.
'Did he have anything interesting to tell you?'
'Before he was shot, and had to leave the island where he was observing the complex from, he saw a black Mercedes 600 arrive at the site on two separate occasions carrying a smooth looking man. He reckons that the person he saw could be the top man.'
'With a bit of luck you may spot him again on Saturday when you are keeping an eye on the road to Green Sea Bay. It is important that we grab him when we destroy the operation,' the Superintendent said.
'There is no way that we will find him unless he visits the site again. Marmaris is quite a spread out area, and he could be anywhere,' I added. 'What is going to happen to all the facets of Operation Heist that are not at this end of the Mediterranean?'
'I have a team in place back in London, and they will be co-ordinating the raids on all the other sites such as the garage in Battersea and the property in Ham Green.'
'What about the other operators throughout Europe, such as the art dealer in Paris?' I asked.
'There is a team of over a hundred who are spread out across Europe. They are all set to go into action at midnight on Saturday. The team includes French Gendarmes and the Italian and Greek police. They are all on their starting blocks,' the Superintendent added. 'It is a massive operation which is being controlled by Interpol.'
An orderly walked into the mess.
'The Wing Commander has ordered me to tell you that he is ready to resume the meeting.'
Announcement made; he turned around and left the room.
'Let's go men,' Captain Moffatt said as he stood up. 'Let's hope that the General has signed off on our plan.'
Our small group of officers all filed back into the Wing Commander's office.
'I have good news, gentlemen,' the Wing Commander said after we had all sat down. 'General Baird has agreed in principal to the course of action that we have proposed. There is only one additional item that he wants to be added.'
'I thought that we had covered everything.' Captain Moffatt seemed annoyed that any aspect of the plan had been challenged.
'Unfortunately, I had mentioned to him previously that we were thinking of a Trojan Horse as a means of getting inside the caves. In our discussions, we forgot to cover this item, and the General thinks that this could be an essential ingredient if the operation is to be successful.'
'The reason that we didn't include it in our plan is because we couldn't come up with any workable solution,' Captain Thompson said in a petulant tone.
'Let's give it one last try. We will split up into two groups and brainstorm the problem to see if we can come up with something. The General will not sign the plan off until we have this aspect covered,' the Wing Commander ordered leaving no room for argument.
Captain Moffatt joined the Superintendent while I was grouped with Captain Thompson. We considered a number of options with the biggest problem being that we had so little time to prepare anything and put it into place.'
'Have you any ideas Vince as you are the only one of our team who has seen the whole scene in the flesh,' Chris Thompson asked me. 'Can you recall anything that might give us a way in or any weakness in their defences?'
The only thing I can think of is that the occupants of the complex have demonstrated that they are not very disciplined. They have frequent breaks to smoke cigarettes, and usually come outside in a group of two or three. Both times I have been there I have seen men come out and smoke. They also leave the door open and unlocked when they come outside.'
'I wonder if there is any way to encourage them to take more smoke breaks?' the Captain scratched his head.
'When I was a member of the smoking brigade, the one thing that never failed in making me increase my rate of smoking was alcohol,' I suggested. 'I wonder if our Trojan Horse could be a hamper of booze and cigarettes?'
‘I like the idea,’ Chris Thompson commented. ‘If we could deliver a substantial amount of liquor and cigarettes to the guard house at the police checkpoint and then make sure that it is delivered to the men on duty in the complex, by the time that we arrived they would be even more ill-disciplined.’
‘It might work. If there was a liberal supply of alcohol and fags then, there would be a good chance that the inhabitants of the base would get drunk and would be pretty incapable by the time that we attacked,' I added.
'Sounds like a good plan Vince, I think that we have cracked it,' Chris Thompson said.
‘Let’s put it to the others and see what they think,' I said.
I went over to the Wing Commander and told him that we had come up with a possible solution.
It turned out that the other group had not been able to think of anything, and, when I outlined our idea they all were full of enthusiasm.
'To make it even more authentic I can organize that the order for the alcohol delivery is placed with a local Icmeler supplier from an Italian source,' the Superintendent suggested. 'I will organize that it is delivered on Saturday afternoon with a suitable note and instructions to the policeman on duty that all hell will break lose if he doesn't tell the men in the complex to come up and collect it. A substantial bribe to the guard might also help.'
'This crazy idea of yours just could be the key to the whole operation,' the Wing Commander said, smiling for the first time. 'I will phone the General and tell him what we have decided to do.'
'I will have to get going as I need to prepare Dasher for the trip,’ Captain Moffatt stated. ‘We will have to set off for the island of Rhodes early tomorrow morning. All being well, I will meet you at Faliraki tomorrow evening.'
The meeting broke up, and Captain Thompson and I headed for the conference room where Sergeant Jones, Corporal Patterson and Corporal Cooper were waiting to be briefed on the plan. There were still a lot of minor details to be worked out. Fortunately, we weren’t flying out until fourteen hundred hours tomorrow. I would be able to get a go
od night's sleep for a change.
The success of the next two days would depend on a lot of people executing an extremely detailed plan. There was no room for error.
We spent the next two hours preparing the strategy for the attack on the base. I was allocated four more men, in addition to Corporal Cooper, and my task would be to try and find the leader's villa and capture him. I would then have to make my way to the pier in Icmeler harbour where my prisoner or prisoners would be picked up by one of the motor yachts.
In theory the plan appeared to be perfectly feasible, the only problem being that I had no idea where the leader was and what I was up against. I would have the element of surprise, which would help; however, I could end up being heavily outnumbered.
'You don't look too happy Major, is something wrong?' Stuart Moffatt asked me.
'I feel that my team of six may not be adequate for what we will face. If there is just the leader plus his wife and a couple of servants, I should be fine; however, if he has a lot of bodyguards, I will be at a great disadvantage,' I replied. 'At this point in time I don't have any idea what I am up against or how well the property will be protected.'
'I would like to be able to give you another four men but, at the moment, I have the maximum number that can be accommodated on Dasher, the patrol boat. It has to be fully operational until we capture Golden Spirit that limits my total compliment,' the captain added.
'I wonder is there any way that Wing Commander Forrest could transfer some more men by helicopter on Saturday morning. We could fit quite a few more on the Gulet I have already booked, without any problem. The helicopter would have to leave the extra men at Faliraki in Rhodes by 6.00am.'
'Let's go and ask him Major.'
We located the Wing Commander and put our proposition to him.
‘I am sorry but I am at my limit guys. I can’t ask for any more men or another helicopter. You will have to make do with what you have.’
‘Thank you for considering it, and I fully appreciate your position,’ I said.
'Will you please contact the owners of Habibi and Golden Spirit and get them to Rhodes for next Monday. I want them around for after the operation so as we can hand over their vessels to them,' the Wing Commander asked as I was about to leave.
Curse of Thieves: Another Major Vince Hamilton Investigation Page 23
