‘Well you have never brought us here on a job before, it could have all been different, but here we are today, from now on I am going to get out more.’
‘Indeed, well I would like to toast the best group anybody could ask for, to us’ Lyndon said and raised his glass.
The others replied in unison ‘To us’ and raised their glasses in a toast with Lyndon.
Their starters arrived and after everybody tucked in to their meals.
‘When we return home, do you want to come and work for me?’ Lyndon asked the group.
‘We do work for you’ Mike answered.
‘No, you work with me.’
‘Same thing’ Chris chipped in.
‘My Dad is handing the jewellery stores over to me and I want you three to join me in running them.’
‘How come your Dad is handing the shops over to you?’ Jack asked.
‘He wants to retire and relax.’
‘I am in, it will be good to do some honest work for a change’ Mike said.
‘Me too’ added Chris.
‘Count me in too’ Jack said.
‘Thank you, we will discuss it further when we get back home.’
The four of them continued eating and supping wine, laughing and talking. Surprisingly nobody had mentioned the job at hand the next day, which Lyndon was pleased about. He was doubly pleased as everybody had agreed to work with him when they returned to the UK in the next couple of days. Lyndon wanted to expand the company to be the biggest jewellery retailer in the world and he would have the means to do it in the next few days. R&A Powell Diamond specialists had an edge on its rivals because their quality could not be matched by the other high street jewellers. The more he thought about it the more excited he became about getting started.
Anyway, that can wait for now, more important business to take care of first he said to himself.
The dessert menu came out as the fourth bottle of wine had been finished, all four declined a desert and decided to settle the bill and head back to Hotel Ayre for an early night. That way they would be well rested for the next day. The four of them went in search of a taxi and after five minutes they climbed into a Seat Toledo taxi, which took them back to their hotel. After walking through the lobby and riding up in the lift they said their farewells and each headed to their own rooms for the night.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Whilst Lyndon Powell and his partners were fine dining, James, Lawrence and John were being careful so as not to spill grease on to their clothes from the juicy cheeseburgers they were eating at the hard rock café. The three of them had ordered the same meal, cheeseburger with fries and a pint of Cruzcampo. They were dressed casually, each of them in shorts and a polo shirt, James in yellow, Lawrence green and John white. John was being extra careful not to spill anything as he had white on. The three of them seemed very relaxed about the next day. All had been planned and gone over many times, John would sit in the lobby and text James when Powell and Ramos arrived, in which order they did not know yet. Once both parties had arrived, John would then join James and Lawrence in the courtyard where they would wait for twenty minutes as agreed with Powell the night before, fifteen minutes for them to get things wrapped up and five extra to allow for any questions or issues from Ramos. Lawrence Sharif had been sceptical at first but was assured by Powell that this meeting was just a formality as all the necessary details had been sorted out before hand, this meeting was to officially hand over the permits and money to formally rubber stamp the deal.
Javier Ramos had already met with Mike Williams and Chris Hampshire and he knew what Lyndon Powell looked like, he had not yet met Jack Reuben but he would be attending the meeting, he never usually went to the final meeting, he was always the behind the scenes man. Posing as a member of Powells crew would not be an option for Sharif and the Shaw brothers, as Ramos would know to expect only four people. This was not lost on Lawrence Sharif who had planned for Ramos bringing two of his own people to the meeting, with maybe two more outside of the hotel for security. This is why he would sit in the courtyard with James and John would join them after the others had arrived.
After the agreed twenty minutes they would walk in to the conference room and calmly take away the drilling permits and escort Powell and his partners out of the hotel and to the railway station with nobody getting hurt. Well that was the plan, there is no saying what variables could happen on the day. The three of them were all in agreement with the plan that Lawrence had set out and they finished up their burgers and left the hard rock café. John walked to the tram station just outside of the Alfonso Xiii hotel. James and Lawrence waited with him and after two minutes the tram came around the corner and John got on it towards the Prado de San Sebastian where he would finish his journey back to his hotel by bus. James Shaw and Lawrence Sharif walked over to their hotel, they walked up the stairs in to the lobby.
‘Good night’ they said to the night time receptionist and they stepped into the lift to the top floor, they got out and walked down the corridor, stopping outside of James’s room.
‘Sleep in tomorrow, set your alarm for nine o’clock, we will have breakfast here before we go to Hotel Ayre.’
‘Thanks, you are too kind, good idea, then get back here around twelve’ James replied.
‘Go get some rest, good night.’
‘Good night’ James said.
They walked in to their rooms and locked the door’s behind themselves. James folded his clothes up and placed them over the desk chair and climbed in to his four-poster bed. He shuffled to get comfortable and reached for his phone on the night stand. He had two messages from Delinda, he had his phone on silent and had not checked it whilst he was out. Delinda had asked him how he was and what he was doing, the second text was more concerned asking if he was OK and to message when he could.
Sorry, I left my phone on silent, how are you? I am just getting ready to go to sleep.
He put his phone face down on the bedside table and turned over to fall asleep, he turned back and checked his phone again and opened a message from Delinda which read.
Wish I was in there with you, I miss you, cannot wait to see you, talk tomorrow’.
James smiled and text back.
Same here, good night, speak to you tomorrow.
Setting his phone back on the bedside table he rested his head down on the pillow and fell asleep within a minute.
THIRTY-EIGHT
The hot Andalusian sun appeared on the horizon to mark the beginning of a new day, the sun lit up the eastern side of the city, this included Javier Ramos’s house. Already dressed, he stood next to his swimming pool feeling pleased with himself as this was to be a day to remember. Ramos decided to leave his long-suffering wife to sleep he wanted an early start so he could be relaxed at the meeting with Lyndon and the others.
West of Javier Ramos’s house at Hotel Ayre, Lyndon Powell had just woken up and groggily stumbled to the bathroom as he could not see properly due to his room having blackout curtains, he sat himself down on the toilet and sent a text to the other three to see if they were awake. Within a few minutes they all replied to Lyndon that they were awake and the four agreed to meet downstairs for breakfast in twenty minutes, this was going to be the day that changed their lives forever and they wanted to get a head start even if it was only half past six.
‘Up and at them’ Lyndon said as they met in the corridor before taking the lift down to the breakfast room.
Also, in Hotel Ayre John Shaw was fast asleep, as was his brother across the city in the Hotel Alfonso Xiii along with Lawrence Sharif, they would not wake for another couple of hours, for them today was about getting the job done, it would make no difference to the rest of their lives. However, it could potentially stop a war between the United Kingdom and Argentina, a war the British had no appetite for, yet they would defend the Falklands if provoked. The Argentines on the other hand had nothing to lose, they had presidential elections coming up in the next few months and
a successful invasion would guarantee the current president another term.
In Malaga, Delinda Saint Germain and Ally Simmons were eating breakfast together and planning their sightseeing for the upcoming day. They had guidebooks, maps and various leaflets spread out on the table as they ate their cereal.
‘So, do you see yourself having a future with James, I know I keep asking?’
‘Yes. Yes, I can, I have already looked at working in the UK, it is complicated but I can make it work, I will speak to James when we get back stateside.’ Delinda replied.
Ally smiled at her friend and was slightly jealous that she had found somebody who made her happy even if they had only just met each other, she may have been slightly jealous but she was also happy for Delinda.
THIRTY-NINE
The Foreign secretary, Barnaby Lockwood walked in to Number 10 Downing Street after being summoned by the Prime Minister, he wondered what was so urgent to be called in at this time of the morning. The Prime Minister showed the foreign secretary in to the cabinet room and they both sat down.
‘You must be wondering why I called you here?’ the PM asked.
‘Well Sir, I was actually’ Lockwood answered.
‘I want you to speak to the Argentine ambassador. Tell him in no uncertain terms will the United Kingdom discuss the issue of the Falklands with the President of Argentina.’
‘Yes Sir, I will get on it right away.’
‘Good, and how are your men getting along in Spain? Any reports yet?’
‘Not yet Sir, I will keep you informed, how did you know about that?’
‘I am the Prime Minister, it is my job to know these things, keep me in the loop.’
‘Yes Sir, I will type a draft up for the Argentine ambassador before heading over to their embassy.’
The Prime Minister stood up and leant over the table with his hands holding his weight up and said to Lockwood. ‘That will be all, thank you for coming over so early.’
‘No problem Sir, I am here to serve.’
‘One more thing, your men in Spain better succeed or you will be on the backbenches, never again do something like that without informing me, now off with you.’
‘Sir’ Lockwood said before leaving the cabinet room and the house and back in to his ministerial car which would take him to the Foreign Office, from there he would then meet with the Argentinian ambassador in Mayfair.
FORTY
Javier Ramos decided that two of his men would proceed ahead of him to the Alfonso Xiii hotel exactly one hour before he was due to arrive, this was to ensure that nobody had any tricks up their sleeve to disrupt the meeting, once Ramos arrived, they would accompany him to the conference room. He was very relaxed, for a man who was about to complete a deal of such magnitude. Cigar lit and in hand, he was relaxing by his swimming pool whilst his long-suffering wife slept and his security detail had been given the morning off as he felt no threat from the British who were in Seville. The clock on his phone read 0758, his wife walked out of the house into the garden in her swimwear, she dived in to the water swam to the surface. Ramos ignored her as he was busy reading the local news on his phone. After finding nothing of interest to read he stood up and said to his wife ‘I will make my own coffee then shall I, stupid bitch.’
His long-suffering wife pretended not to hear him and carried on swimming whilst he went inside to make his coffee.
James Shaw had been awake for ten minutes ‘So much for a sleep in’ he said after looking at the time on his watch. His head was much clearer than it had been the day before, he sent a text to Delinda saying.
Good morning.
He got up and out of bed and walked in to the bathroom and turned the taps on to run the bath, he decided to relax for half an hour before getting ready and going for breakfast. Delinda sent him a message back.
Good morning to you too, we have a busy day today, I will call you later if that is ok?
Of course, it is, have a nice day. James replied before stepping in to his bath.
After a long bath James put on fresh underwear along with the clothes that he had worn the previous night.
It is only breakfast he said to himself.
Closing the door behind himself and checking that it was locked, he walked over to Lawrence's room and knocked loudly. Lawrence Sharif answered after about three seconds already dressed.
‘Did you sleep in too’ Lawrence said with a laugh.
‘Not enough booze last night, I feel fresh today and my stitches feel good too.’
‘Glad to hear it, what do you want for breakfast, shall we eat in here or go out?’
‘Let’s eat here shall we, I feel like some goodness, a croissant, fruit juice and some fresh fruit’ James said.
‘What is wrong with you? Oh, I know you are trying to look after yourself for your new love.’ Lawrence said answering his own question.
‘Don’t start me’ James whispered under his breath.
They walked towards the lift which would take them to the dining room on the ground floor.
‘Do you still think Delinda is working for Ramos? Or have you realised what an idiot you were being?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Well which is it?’
‘That, my friend is for you to decide isn’t it’ James answered as the lift doors opened and they stepped out towards the breakfast room. They could smell the freshly baked pastries before they set foot in the room. It was a self-service breakfast but staff came to the tables with tea and coffee. They sat at a table for four and straight away a waiter came over with the hot drinks, they both chose tea, the waiter explained the rules of the buffet and what was on offer, they thanked him and he was on his way to another table. James walked over to the fruit and picked a selection of melon, grapefruit and pineapple, he poured a glass of orange juice and returned to the table, Lawrence opted for the same and joined James at the table.
‘A pink grapefruit, winner’ James said as he cut the fruit in half, he ate the bitter flesh with a spoon.
‘I hate waiting for these things, why can’t they have a nine o'clock meeting like normal people, what are we supposed to do for the morning, doss around the pool?’ James said.
‘I know, I have a deck of cards upstairs, I will bring them down to the pool after breakfast.’
‘Why are you only just telling me this now, good idea though, somebody who knows how to play blackjack and if John comes over we can play some poker, we better set an alarm otherwise we will miss the meeting’ James said with a laugh.
He enjoyed playing cards, especially when he made Lawrence pick up a load of cards at blackjack, he was actually a feared poker player at RAF Akrotiri. On many occasions he had cleaned up with poor hands but he never let anything show on his face, his expression remained the same if he had a royal flush or a pair of fours. Lawrence was almost as good as him. Lawrence left the table and returned with two croissants, one each for him and James along with some strawberry jam and butter.
’How do you feel then?’
‘About what?’ James answered.
‘Well this, the last time we will work together on something like this.’
‘There is always one last time.’
‘Maybe you are right, but I do not think there will be after this, what with me becoming deputy director of operations and you a Group Captain, our faces will be in the public domain. As soon as somebody goes on to the RAF Waddington website there will be a picture of you on there all smart in your blue uniform standing in front of the ensign, same with me, if you log on to MI6, I will be there front and centre with a nice suit on smiling for the camera.’
‘I don’t understand that, MI6 is a secret organisation, yet the big cheeses names and pictures are in the public domain, so anybody that knows you but they don’t know what it is you actually do, will all of sudden know. You will have all those meetings with the Foreign Secretary and any other clown poking their nose in to look forward to’ James said.
‘Please
don’t remind me, every job has it’s downsides.’
‘You are not wrong’ James finished.
Two more cups of tea later and James Shaw and Lawrence Sharif finished up and headed back upstairs to get changed into their swimwear. They wanted to go to the pool to relax before they had to get down to business.
FORTY-ONE
In a few months' time, RAF Waddington would be under the command of Group Captain James Shaw, but at present an E-3D Sentry powered down the runway, the wheels lifted off the ground and the pilot made a left-hand turn before keying in a heading of 210 degrees towards Ascension Island. The E-3D Sentry is a surveillance and airborne early warning and control aircraft, it is a custom-built Boeing 707 with a big circular disc on top of the fuselage which is the main radar.
One and a half hours earlier the night staff in the operations room of 8 Squadron had received a secret transmission, stating that an E-3D was to get airborne immediately and that further instructions would be given once the aircraft arrived at Ascension Island. After receiving the orders, a young SAC arranged for an aircraft to be fully fuelled and he went about informing his officer in command, who in turn contacted the crew for the assigned aircraft and arranging Air Traffic Control to open the tower before departure. Ten minutes after getting airborne the night shift was relieved by the incoming day shift who had been told what had happened, they asked what was going on but since nobody knew exactly what was going on, no answer could be given.
Foreign Secretary Barnaby Lockwood stepped out of his ministerial car and walked into the Argentinian Embassy in Mayfair, London, he was shown to the Ambassadors office by the secretary. The Ambassador shook Lockwood's hand and motioned for him to have a seat as he walked back to his own chair behind a big mahogany desk.
One Last Time Page 18
