by Ted Tayler
Toby and Zara left the couple with Grace and wondered when they would find the time to grieve for the loss of their daughter. Life was so cruel. Toby asked one of the nurses if there was a way to escape the madness of the media circus at the front of the hospital. They told him to bring his car around to the ambulance bay and ten minutes later he and Zara slipped away unnoticed.
The ACC had been right. The media circus was in full flow. The film of the river rescue was everywhere. Zara spent a few days being driven from studio to studio being interviewed. Her picture appeared on every front page. Her hand sore from shaking hands with people on the street and signing autographs. She and Toby got invites to open fetes, received free theatre tickets and even had their photograph taken with the Bath Rugby team. For a few weeks, she became the nation’s sweetheart.
Her superiors couldn’t resist the public clamour for too long and the Chief Constable presented her with her commendation. The Queen’s Gallantry Medal was the reward she received for her actions. As the Olympics became the major focus of the world at large, Zara Wheeler slipped into the background without a fuss. Her fifteen minutes appeared to be at an end.
In September, she bumped into DS Phil Hounsell at Portishead. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks. “Terrific job, Zara,” he said, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Phil,” she replied.
“Shaun and Tracey yelled at the TV every time you came on ‘Auntie Zara’s on telly again, come and see’. They miss you.”
“I miss them too. I’ve been visiting little Grace at her grandparent’s too. She’s made a full recovery now.”
“Good news on every front, then,” said Phil.
“The ACC warned me my career might stall or come to a full stop because I ignored the guidelines. I’ve just seen him now; I’m off to Larcombe Manor, outside Bath on a fool’s errand. The Charity Commissioner’s reported an odd occurrence when they visited last. A soldier with PTSD collapsed.”
“Shock, horror, what do they expect?” said Phil. “That’s a charity I take it?”
“The Olympus Project run it; this is another pointless exercise I’m due to be sent on ‘going forward’ as they say these days.”
Zara left for Bath and Phil Hounsell watched her walking away. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, someone said. Keeping their distance as they had done for weeks hadn’t dimmed the flame much as far as Phil was concerned. Even with things between him and Erica being great these days; Zara could still get to him.
Phil Hounsell tore his gaze away from the receding figure of the nation’s sweetheart and returned to his office. He buried his head in yet another lengthy set of statistics that covered up that they were losing the big battles out there on the streets. It almost cleared his mind of the memory she stirred of that night in Bristol. Almost cleared; but not altogether.
CHAPTER 15
Wednesday, November 14th, 2012
At Larcombe Manor, the police follow-up to the Charity Commissioner’s concerns, and the elimination of any trace of the Cropredy mission both distant memories.
There had been the occasional flurry of activity since, but Erebus referred to the period they were going through as a ‘phoney war’. He knew that the ice-house continued to gather intelligence in bucket-loads every day. Even if only a small part resulted in Olympus agents getting sent into the field.
Yesterday morning, they sat through Minos’s update on the forthcoming first elections for police and crime commissioners to be held on Thursday. The new commissioners took office in a week’s time replacing the existing police authority framework. Minos had given his report with his renowned attention to detail.
“The core functions of police and crime commissioners are to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force within their area. As well as, to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of the police and crime plan. Police and crime commissioners are charged with holding the police fund (from which policing of the area is financed) and raising the local policing precept from council tax. Police and crime commissioners are to be responsible for the appointment, suspension and dismissal of the Chief Constable.”
Athena decided that enough was enough.
“Have they thought this through? We are forty-eight hours away from the event and I suspect that only a small minority of the public is aware of the fact. Who do they think will bother to turn out to vote? Everything about the tone of the rhetoric used on this only reinforces the status quo. It may be right and proper that the police are held accountable for their actions, but don’t they realise that the British public wants action, not words? Words such as ‘giving the victims a voice’ are just dodging the issue. Tough sentencing and eliminating the loopholes that let career criminals escape justice are the words the public want to hear. When will they get the message?”
“Of course,” added Phoenix, “that means they can continue to be as ineffective as ever. The only time our Chief Constable will get worried will be if he gets caught giving a young female PC a good seeing-to on the photocopier.”
Erebus chuckled.
“I think it safe to assume that no matter how successful this new set-up proves to be; we will still be required to sweep up the mess. I agree with Athena’s interpretation. This won’t change the criminal agenda one iota. The government is committed to further cuts in funding, so police numbers will be reduced even more. This election is to cost around four million. The new structure will cost a substantial amount more than that to support a year. It appears to be little more than a profligate whim. Something I imagine the Home Secretary dreams will be popular. However, items coming to us from Giles and his people in the ice-house will supply us with a big drain on our own resources. Thank you, Minos for your contribution. I think it’s time for Alastor to come under the spotlight.”
Major Michael Purvis, formerly with the Blues and Royals had come to Olympus after his wife had been killed during a burglary at her parents’ home. The culprit who was stealing to fund his drug habit was never caught. Alastor, the Greek God was the avenger of evil deeds, specifically familial bloodshed.
“I need to bring you up to speed on the growing menace from the Middle East. As Erebus will explain later, we have a heightened risk of a terrorist attack on mainland Britain, this time from jihadists emanating from the IS strongholds themselves.”
Alastor ran through the primary background report.
“In late 2009, ISI transformed significantly. The so-called Islamic State of Iraq planned to seize power in the central and western areas and turn it into a Sunni caliphate. What once was an organisation dominated by foreign individuals, now became more and more dominated by Iraqi citizens. The US military reported in 2010 that eighty per cent of ISI's hierarchy had been killed or captured. Their new leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi beefed up the group's leadership, by appointing former Ba'athist military and intelligence officers who served during Saddam Hussein's rule. Many of these men spent time imprisoned by the US military. One of them a former colonel, Samir al-Khlifawi, known as Hajji Bakr, had become the overall military commander in charge of overseeing the group's operations. He spent time at Abu Ghraib prison. He met al-Baghdadi there. The civil war which erupted in Syria last year allowed them to build a safe base for their operations near a small town north of Aleppo. From there he intends to help organise the capture of parts of Syria by ISI, which, in turn, was to become their base for invading Iraq. A series of assassinations took place within ISI after al-Baghdadi took office, and al-Khlifawi organised these. This purge wasn’t ideological; it was to emphasise power.”
This news was received in total silence. There were no comical quips from Rusty or Phoenix. The message was plain enough but incomplete. What extra information did Erebus have on ISI? How was Al-Khlifawi, or Hajji Bakr, involved in the potential terrorist attacks on these shores?
Phoenix and Rusty didn’t have long to wait to find out. The others were handed a summary report by Erebus. The old man
nodded to his two most trusted agents. He indicated that they were heading for the orangery
When they were seated, a steward delivered refreshments from the Manor house, showing that their stay would be a protracted one. After he left, Erebus began.
“Can you help me, gentlemen? It has come to our attention that migrants camped outside the French port of Cherbourg are now targeting Irish ferries. They plan to stow away there because of the lack of passport control in Ireland. The journey begins at Cherbourg where passengers are asked to show their passport before driving onto the Oscar Wilde ferry bound for Rosslare in the Republic. French port officials look at their documents but do not always ask to look at the boot of a car. Nor are vehicles subjected to any other scrutiny. Sixteen hours later in Rosslare, the Garda make a short passport check before waving the vehicles through. This is the last border stop before these migrants can then take advantage of a short sea crossing to Wales. The Republic and the British Isles are both parts of the Common Travel Area, so travellers crossing borders do not have to show identity documents. There is little or no sign of any immigration control at the ferry terminal in Rosslare where the journey to Fishguard commences. There are often up to forty cars onboard a ferry and a handful of lorries. Once the boat has docked, a marshal waves cars on. There may even be no sign of any police or security presence. Our investigations have shown that officers have more than enough to do with freight checking and anti-terrorism matters. Finding time to check individual passengers is beyond their purview. They appear to rely on ferry staff to alert them to the possible presence of illegals but they themselves aren’t experts at spotting possible offenders.”
“Terrific,” snorted Rusty, “so the Welsh coast is leaking like a sieve too then? It’s Liberty Hall right across the UK these days.”
“We have uncovered intelligence on four potential travellers. That leads us to believe they are potentially more dangerous than a few kitchen helpers on their way to a handful of restaurants Rusty,” said Erebus sternly.
“Seek and destroy, Sir?” asked Phoenix. He was itching to get into the action.
“You are correct Phoenix. These four need to be dispatched with extreme prejudice, or whatever our American friends used to say.”
“Understood,” said Phoenix.
Rusty grunted to show he was now on the same page.
“In the file in front of you, are photographs, histories, and everything pertinent we have on your targets. I must stress that these four must not leave Wales under any circumstance. Indeed, I should sleep easier if they made it no further than Haverford West.”
“Can I take it that these four have connections to Hajji Bakr?” asked Rusty.
“They are believed to be from an extreme faction of ISI and that makes them ultra-dangerous. Fanatics will go the extra mile to achieve their goals. Whatever target they have selected for their attack, we can rest assured it will be designed to strike terror into the hearts and minds of everyone living in the UK. That’s why they have to be taken out as soon as they land on British soil.”
“Are we likely to meet any security forces on the same trail, Sir?” asked Phoenix.
“I doubt it; Giles is monitoring ports and airports as per usual. The authorities have got it in their heads that the threat comes from Calais. They may well uncover unfriendly traffic from that source, but our intelligence points to Fishguard as being the ‘hot spot’ over the next couple of days.”
“I haven’t spent much time in West Wales,” said Phoenix, “but I believe the transport systems are better than average. There are important industrial centres nearby; Milford Haven and Port Talbot. The roads may be more rustic near the coast. If these guys manage to get onto the M4 though, we’d be up the proverbial without a paddle. We have to come up with a plan that traps them inside a steel ring around the Fishguard terminal and then we can arrest them. How many agents do we have available sir?”
“Apart from you two do you mean? Only two I’m afraid. We can’t spare anyone else. Dexter and Vincent are standing by awaiting your call.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” said Phoenix. “I feel more comfortable now I know they’re on board. The four of us should be able to cope without too much sweat.”
Kelly Dexter and Hayden Vincent had worked with Phoenix earlier this year on the Swindon mission. He had heard they had been in on the Weymouth beach job too and in both cases, they proved themselves to be excellent agents. The couple lived together in Shrivenham and were one of many teams that doubled-up as clean-up crew or agents for use on missions with the Olympus Project.
“I’ll be leaving you now chaps; you have plenty of reading material to plough through and then the planning stage to tackle. Just be aware that Giles will contact you as soon as the four devils we’re hunting board a ferry at Rosslare.”
“Does that mean we know they’ve left Cherbourg and are en route to the Republic, Sir?” asked Phoenix.
“We are trying to track their movements from Belgium to France and then to Ireland Phoenix; they are somewhere in that region. Pinpointing where is proving tricky. Rest assured we will do our utmost to find them.”
Erebus paused as he made to leave and return to the main building.
“Good luck lads; come back safe and sound.”
CHAPTER 16
Rusty gave Phoenix an old-fashioned look after the door closed behind their leader.
“Blimey, the old man’s getting soft, isn’t he? Either that or we’re up against seriously bad dudes, this time, mate.”
“Let’s have a look at these reports then Rusty. Then we can prepare for whatever they throw at us.”
“It’s difficult to know where the next threat is going to be isn’t it, mate?” said Rusty.
“It doesn’t get any easier, does it? Right, let’s see what intelligence Giles and his team have gathered on these terrorists,” said Phoenix.
Over in the ice-house, Olympus had the best equipment available for intelligence-gathering; allied with the extraordinary skills of people such as Giles. They were more likely to spot a potential threat to national security than any of the official UK authorities.
According to Giles, a frantic manhunt was underway for four suspected IS jihadis. The men had been holed up in Belgium and planned to sneak into Britain via Ireland and Wales to launch a terrorist attack. French police scoured the ports for the alleged fanatics. The men left the Middle East towards the end of October and travelled overland to Europe. So far they had evaded capture. The French police dossiers included photographs, descriptions, details of their alleged crimes and instructions to the officers on the ground that indicated that their level of risk was ‘extreme’. They had been advised to approach with caution and to effect arrests as soon as possible.
“We’ve thought for a long time that IS jihadists would try to smuggle themselves into Britain through Calais to launch atrocities,” muttered Rusty.
“Creeping around to the side door and coming in through West Wales is sneaky,” said Phoenix. “According to this intel, the French believe Cherbourg to be their exit point, not straight across the Channel.”
Rusty smiled grimly. “As the old man might say ‘they don’t play with a straight bat old chap’.”
Phoenix continued to read. The French appeared to have up to forty elite-unit officers overseeing the migrant camps near Calais. Their presence designed to prevent infiltration by jihadists. In addition to combating the people-smuggler gangs who stow migrants away on ferries and trains to the UK. Evidently, these officers were part of the Brigade Mobile de Recherche. The BMR had a close liaison with the French intelligence agencies.
“They keep insisting they are successfully stopping suspected terrorists. Since we haven’t had an outrage on British soil perpetrated by terrorists who have popped over on a day-trip possibly that view is correct,” said Phoenix. “The bombers we encountered at the Olympics were homegrown. There are definitely signs of escalation in the overall number of migrants there. As well as the
established camps, loads of so-called refugees from Africa and the Middle East gather along the side of the motorways leading to the ferry port. Every night we’ve seen TV footage of blokes trying to clamber onto lorries, or running to hitch a ride on the Eurostar. Whatever it takes to get across the Channel to get to our streets paved with gold.”
“Paved with benefits you mean,” said Rusty. “I can’t see the attraction mate, can you?”
“The genuine migrants haven’t been living in the lap of luxury Rusty, be fair,” replied Phoenix. “But no, I don’t think I’d be in a rush to get here. Not while things are the way they are. As for the IS threat; they’ve warned for a long time they were going to flood Europe with fighters posing as migrants. The open border policy is an absolute joke. These bastards want to destroy our way of life. We need to wake up, snuff out the threat and get back to controlling our borders effectively. If we don’t grasp the nettle, then, later on, we’re asking for a heap of trouble.”
“So while the government plays the role of an ostrich, we play the role of the British lion, is that it?”
“Par for the course, Rusty,” said Phoenix. “Let’s get cracking on making sure these four don’t reach those streets they believe are paved with gold. I think it’s time they were issued with a one-way ticket to the promised land, don’t you?”
Rusty flicked through the data they had received.
“Let’s just take this into consideration Phoenix. It says here ‘2000 -2500 British ISIS militants are now in the UK and prepared to launch deadly attacks. Security sources say thousands of terror suspects are based on mainland Britain being monitored by MI5 and anti-terror police. The majority live in London, but many are based in Manchester and the West Midlands. Security sources say the number of home-grown jihadists willing to launch attacks in Britain has grown massively in the last couple of years due to the rise of ISIS. Britain faces its most serious terrorist threat since 9/11 and foiled several attempted attacks in the past year. Most people who try to become involved in terrorism were born and brought up here. They have come through our education system and have nonetheless concluded that their country of birth is their enemy. According to this, the number of violent suspects classified as Al-Qaeda supporters being monitored by security services has jumped significantly. In October, just a month ago, we raised our terrorism threat level to ‘substantial’. Oddly there was thought to be more of a threat of terrorist violence in NI from Irish Republican sources. It strikes me that the ISIS threat is being underestimated. We’ve got thousands here already; then this bunch of fanatics is arriving shortly. We have to assume these others know they’re coming, surely?”