He quickly walked back to the car and Surge drove off only turning on the headlights when they were some distance away.
“What do you think?” said Surge.
“No problem,” said Collins. “We just need bolt cutters and a lot of luck. We’ll do it tomorrow night. You and I will steal the equipment and then drive back to the house and pick everyone up.”
The next morning at breakfast Collins ran through the plan. He then sent Surge out to buy some bolt cutters, overalls and a new padlock.
When Surge returned he brought with him a newspaper. On the front page was a report of a gang attacking a house in Newcastle. Four people had been killed and the house almost destroyed by heavy machine gun fire. The family involved were apparently ordinary decent people and the police were baffled. What could be seen on the front page photograph was a black Range Rover parked in the drive.
Collins said, “We now know what we are up against so let’s be careful tonight.”
They spent the rest of the day in quiet reflection. The Grey Man slept on the sofa in the front room, Surge and Jonathan worked out in the garage, Collins was up in his loft workspace stripping and cleaning his guns and the doctor found an old book and sat outside on the terrace alternatively reading and enjoying the view.
As soon as it turned dark Collins went to see The Grey Man, Surge and Jonathan. Quietly, without the doctor hearing, he said, “Gather what you need. No matter what happens this evening, we will not be coming back here.”
Just before 9.00 pm Surge and Collins, both dressed in dark clothes, drove to the engineer’s house. The van was parked in the drive and the curtains on the house were drawn.
Collins drove as near as he dared and stopped. He turned off the lights and they sat in darkness to see if they had been noticed. Surge then slipped out and went up to the house window. He could just see the family sitting round the television which was blaring out. He went back to the Range Rover and got the bolt cutters and cut the padlock on the van. The sound, as it broke, caused a crack to reverberate down the street but no one appeared to notice. Collins dropped the tailgate of the Range Rover and he and Surge ran across some long cables, tools, and a large extension lead. Collins tried to lift the surge generator but he could not shift it. He stood back sweating. They had taken far too long and made far too much noise, anyone looking would have seen immediately what they were up to.
Surge in an incredible display of strength lifted the long rectangular box up and staggered to the car. Collins pulled the van doors shut and slipped on the new padlock which was the same make and size as the old one. If they were lucky, the engineer might think there was a problem with the lock when his key would not open it in the morning and they might gain a couple of hours before he contacted the police.
They shut the tailgate as quietly as possible, jumped in and Collins freewheeled a few yards before starting the engine and quietly driving away.
They looked at each other. Both were sweating profusely. “Not exactly professional,” said Surge. “How the hell did we get away with that?”
“Of all the jobs I have been on,” said Collins. “That was by far the most nerve racking. Remind me never to go stealing with you again.”
Then they both started to laugh until the tears rolled down their cheeks. By the time they had got back to the house they had recovered. Surge threw all the bags over the tailgate covering the stolen items. The doctor got in the back and Jonathan helped The Grey Man in before getting in himself. Surge sat in the front with Collins driving. “Are we ready?” said Collins. Everyone nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
They drove back the way they had come in the day before then turned left after Corfe and went down all the country roads and small lanes to avoid being spotted before finally coming to the ancient town of Dorchester famous as the birthplace of novelist Thomas Hardy. They drove down the main street where the old houses stood crookedly on either side of the road complete with yellowing plaster and oak beams and occasionally a thatched roof, all of which told of the long history of the town.
At the bottom of the hill they turned right into the sprawling modern industrial estate. Almost on the other side of the estate was the E&O factory surrounded by a chain wire fence with the car park lit by overhead neon lights. As The Grey Man had said there was no gate and they drove through the gap in the fence into the car park and right up to the front door.
Jonathan slipped out, grabbed the long extension cable and ran round to the side of the building. Here was an external electrical socket used by the gardener. Jonathan flipped up the plastic cover and plugged in. Meanwhile Surge had plugged the surge generator into the other end and turned it on. The whole box made an alarming buzzing noise as the huge capacitors started to charge. Jonathan ran back and jumped onto the tailgate and from here he jumped onto the roof of the Range Rover.
Surge grabbed the power cables which ended in giant crocodile clips and he clipped them to his belt. They had parked directly under the siren. Surge also climbed up onto the roof of the Range Rover, gave Jonathan a screwdriver and then cupped his hands for him to stand on. Surge boosted Jonathan up onto his shoulders and lent his back against the wall. Jonathan was now level with the siren and as quickly as he could he undid the screws and passed the cover down to Surge. Surge passed back up the crocodile clips and Jonathan clipped them on the two main terminals. He jumped down and both he and Surge clambered of the roof which was now quite dented.
Surge looked at the box. On the top were a number of analogue displays and dials one showing voltage in thousands of volts and one showing kilo joules which he knew was the energy. He turned both dials to the right giving maximum power and the green light that had been flashing now turned red. The device was armed and ready to go. Surge looked around. Everything was quiet and peaceful. He flipped the plastic guard cover and pushed the button. There was a massive bang inside the building as 60,000 volts with a huge ampage hit the 240 volt burglar alarm system and for an instant light shot out of all the second floor windows. Then there was a crash followed by an eerie silence.
“Pull the cables,” said Collins. Jonathan yanked hard so they came away from the siren. “Okay, let’s go inside.”
On the side of the building was a small access door with a simple lock which The Grey Man picked in a few seconds even without his eyesight.
The Grey Man looked back, “Time to see if it has worked” he said. He pushed the door in and walked forward. Nothing happened. There were smiles all round.
“Right,” said Collins. “We will go directly to the laser. Surge you check on the burglar alarm as it may still be working in parts and the police could be on their way.”
Surge immediately charged up the stairs, and the rest of them formed a small convoy as they walked along the narrow corridor into the main reception and then followed the doctor through to the display rooms. The windows here were blacked out so as not to disrupt the laser and the doctor threw a light switch.
Surge came down into the room, a smile across his face.
“What’s up?” said Collins.
“The burglar alarm is definitely not working. In fact, it has blown right off the wall and is in a thousand pieces all along the corridor. Unbelievable.”
“Perfect,” said Collins.
“What about police sweeps,” asked Jonathan. “They probably patrol the estate.”
Collins laughed, “In the car park is an eighty thousand pound Range Rover. Trust me burglars do not normally use that kind of vehicle. If the police do come by they will probably think someone is working late.”
Dr Alding now took charge turning on all the lights and powering up various computers and equipment and started to arrange his instruments.
Collins looked at his old friend and could see The Grey Man was living up to his name. All the colour had drained from his face and his fear was palpable.
In the centre of the room was what looked like a dentist’s chair. Dr Alding sat The Grey Man in it and whe
eled over a box with a chin strap below it. The Grey Man rested his chin on it and looked directly into the box. An image of his eye showed up on the computer screen by the side of it. The doctor called over Collins and showed him exactly where the blockages were and where he was going to cut with the laser. From here the doctor laid the chair down and The Grey Man’s head slotted in between two bars one either side to keep it straight and steady, the eye lids were taped back and antiseptic drops were carefully inserted into each eye. After about a minute the doctor took out two clamps and inserted these around the eye ball inside the socket.
Jonathan’s face went white. “I have to leave,” he said and Surge joined him outside in the corridor before going off to make another sweep of the building.
Collins stood there fascinated. The doctor then brought over the complicated looking machine with ‘Laser’ stenciled on the side. A device was pulled over the right eye that put pressure on it by pushing out a high volume of air and sounded like a vacuum cleaner. He carefully lined the laser up and turned it on. There was a soft hum and the smell of burning.
“I am now cutting a flap in the cornea,” Dr Alding said and after about thirty seconds of the laser humming he gently flipped a section on the top of The Grey Man’s eye out of the way. He pushed the machine back and brought over another smaller laser. Once that was in position he switched it on and it made a slightly different noise, a bit lower and noisier. Five seconds later the doctor switched it off and flipped The Grey Man’s eye flap back into place.
“That will start bonding back to the eye immediately,” he said moving all the equipment over to the left eye.
Collins checked on The Grey Man. He looked okay and Collins squeezed his hand for reassurance.
Once the left eye was done, the doctor removed the clamps and gave The Grey Man what looked like a thick sleeping mask similar to the ones you find in hotel rooms.
“Wear this till tomorrow morning,” he said. “Then spend at least another twelve hours in a dark room. No sun light for twenty four hours. Okay?”
“Understood,” said The Grey Man, obviously greatly relieved the procedure was over.
Collins led him back to the Range Rover. Surge and Jonathan rubbed down all the equipment to get rid of finger prints and lifted out the surge generator and equipment which they stacked carefully in the corner of the car park. They all got in the car with Collins at the wheel.
“Where can I drop you, Doc?” asked Collins driving slowly back up the High Street.
“Would Bournemouth Railway station be okay?” he replied. “I can get a train straight up into central London and from there, home.”
“Right,” said Collins. “And I will ensure the rest of your money is transferred today. However what I would advise is this. Do not go home but disappear for at least three weeks, take a lovely holiday. The guys after us are not nice and you could be in some danger.”
“Don’t worry about me old chap,” said the doctor. “I will be fine.”
“In that case if you do get picked up tell them you were kidnapped by us and made to do the surgery by gun point. Is that clear?” said Collins.
“Sure, sure,” said the doctor. “You worry too much.”
“One last thing,” said Collins. “If they do get you, tell them this to look at Deuteronomy 32:35. Can you remember that?”
“I think so,” said the doctor and he repeated it to himself.
They drove for an hour back to Bournemouth and Collins stopped about a quarter of a mile from the station. It was now just turning 2.00 am and everything was dark and quiet.
“The trains will not start running for a couple of hours. Will you be okay?” said The Grey Man.
“Fine,” said the doctor obviously pleased to be leaving them. He shook hands with all of them, wished them luck, grabbed his Gladstone bag and walked out into the night.
Collins swung the car round and gunned the engine. “We cannot go back to Swanage,” he said. “Anyone have any ideas? Also we need to ditch this car quickly.”
“I have a place,” said The Grey Man and gave the address to Collins who punched it into the sat nav. “About an hour away tops,” he said.
Chapter 22
Consequences
Dr Alding walked slowly to the station down the deserted streets thinking about what he was going to do with the money. Just as he got to the main entrance a man stepped out of the shadows and walked up to him.
“Dr Alding I presume,” he said with a friendly smile.
The doctor smiled back and extended a hand, “Do I know you?” he said.
“No. But you will,” said the man as the doctor was grabbed from behind and bundled into the back of a waiting van.
There were three of them, all big men. Two of them patted the doctor down roughly, found the envelope with the ten thousand pounds in it and threw that into the Gladstone bag. Then they sat Dr Alding between them on a bench in the back and the other man started the engine. No one spoke.
They drove north for nearly three hours until the sun started to come up and flood the van with light and then they stopped. The driver jumped out and opened the door to a large industrial unit. He got back in and drove the van inside, before locking the big door and then opening the van to let them all out.
They grabbed the doctor by the arm and frog marched him to a small set of offices by the far wall. Waiting for them inside was The Enforcer.
Dr Alding was roughly pushed down onto a wooden seat. “What happened?” said The Enforcer coming forward.
“I was in my office,” started Dr Alding trying to hide his fear. “Two men came in and kidnapped me. I was taken away to a house where they kept me for a while, I am not sure how long. Then at gun point I had to perform an operation on one of them to ease an eye complaint. They gave me an envelope full of money and let me out by the station. I was trying to find a policeman to report the whole thing.”
The Enforcer lent forward. He took the doctor’s right wrist in his left hand and pulled it towards him holding it tight. He then bent back two of the fingers with his right hand until they snapped with an ugly sounding crack. He did it slowly and deliberately trying to produce the maximum level of pain. The doctor screamed and slumped forward holding his hand.
“You are a surgeon,” said Keith. “If you keep on with this crap I will ensure that you never have the ability to work again. Now, let’s start at the beginning. You were called by one of them as you have done work for them before possibly when they were with the Secret Service. You agreed to see this patient for let’s say, ten grand. You tell them you can make him see again and they offer you alot more money to go with them. Have I got everything correct so far? We have talked to your housekeeper and your secretary. Both assure us that you were under no duress when you left. Am I on the right track?”
Dr Alding sat up and nodded. Tears were starting to run down his cheeks from the pain.
“Right,” said Keith unmoved. “Where did they take you?”
“A large white house in Swanage, I think, overlooking the sea,” said the doctor.
“Good, good,” said Keith. “Carry on.”
Over the next two hours Dr Alding told them everything he could remember in as much detail as possible, every scrap of information about the house, the operation, the roads in and out of Swanage and everything that had been said with particular emphasis on anything about their future plans. Keith got on the phone and by the time the doctor had finished they had located the house, ascertained it was empty and were putting together a squad to break in.
Keith phoned John Sea. “Not good news. The Grey Man will have his sight back by tomorrow. We have found out where they were hiding but I am sure they will not go back there. One strange thing - they left us a message.”
“What’s message?” said John Sea.
“That we should look at Deuteronomy 32:35.”
“Give me a second,” said John Sea pulling down a bible from the book shelf. He found the right page and
read it out to Keith.
“To me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand.”
“Okay,” continued John Sea. “We know their next move. They are coming after me. Let’s call off everyone from looking and get back here.”
“What do you want done with the doctor?” asked Keith.
“I for one don’t want him walking around flapping his mouth.”
Keith put down the phone, and walked over to Dr Alding, who was still sitting in the chair nursing his broken fingers. The Enforcer stepped behind him wrapped his arms around his neck and then pulled up and to the right nearly taking the doctor’s head off. His neck broke instantly. “Get rid of this idiot,” he said to the two minders.
. . . . . .
John Sea called up Sir Thomas, “We have twenty four hours before they come for us he said. What are you going to do?”
To Kill a Grey Man Page 13