Coincidence. Right Place Wrong Time

by Terry Aspinall

  Chapter 13

  Mile End Road Norwich.

  21:35 pm. Sunday 5th April 2015.

  The Gladstone Electronics factory was situated just off the Mile End Road, South West of the city of Norwich. It being a cover for British intelligence gathering throughout the country.

  Secretly it was where all the old Government computers and hardware was stored, so that certain information could be retrieved and store elsewhere. The hard drives would then be removed and replaced with new ones, before finally being checked over, and set up for resale to the public. Making sure all existing data had been erased, before others could use them.

  The front gate had been designed to keep un-welcome visitors out. A small cabin was in the middle of the driveway at the front of the property. With two strong separated barriers blocking both the inn and out lanes. The cabin was about five meters wide with a glass front allowing the twenty-four-hour guard to watch who was arriving, and who he was allowing to leave.

  During the early hours of the morning a car turned into the driveway, but instead of pulling up alongside the sentry box on the driver’s side of the cabin. It under took a sharp right turn just in front of the cabin, and parked with the cabin by the passenger side of the car.

  The passenger side door opened and a young man climbed out and made his way to the guard who was standing inside the cabin, but leaning over towards an open window in his exit door, waiting to see what he wanted.

  As the passenger arrived at the window the sentry asked,

  “Can I help?” He asked.

  “Yes, I hope so.” He responded.

  Explaining they had seen a couple of temporary road signs along the road having pre-warned them of a diversion that was to be expected up ahead. He wanted to know what was the best way to get to an address that they believed was around that area.

  The sentry looked at the piece of paper, and started to explain pointing in a couple of directions, while telling him what roads and features he should look out for. Finally adding that he should take the left then the right. The passenger started to act a little dumb, and responded that he did not understand, especially as he did not know the area. That he would not be able to pass it on to the driver, who he added did know the area a little. He then asked if he could just tell the driver. The guard was only too willing to oblige and exited the cabin. Making his way to the passenger’s door that had been left open, just in front of his cabin. As he leaned down to talk through the door, the passenger moved ahead of him and politely opened the door a little wider to assist him. He then started giving directions to the driver.

  After a few seconds, the passenger hit him on the back of the neck with his fist. Then after pushing him onto the front seat he slammed the door shut.

  The passenger hurriedly made his way back to the cabin that had been left open, and raised both the in and out barriers.

  He then returned to the car and got into the back seat, behind the unconscious guard. Placing his arm around his neck just in case he came around, and ordered the driver to drive on.

  The car then joined the out lane and did a sharp left turn into the main road, and parked in a bus layby a few meters further on. The driver then applied the brakes three times. Allowing the red brake lights to flash. Passing a signal to other members of the team who were parked further back in a truck. This was a signal informing them that it was all clear to drive on and enter the property.

  Within seconds the truck entered the depot, and another member of the team jumped out, and entered the cabin looking for the keys to the main building. Upon finding them hanging on a board just inside the door, he grabbed them and jumped back into truck ordering the driver to drive on.

  The raid had been well planned, as they knew the routine of the guard, where and what the keys looked like, how to turn off the alarm, and finally where to enter the main building. The information had been bought and so far, it looked like it was worth every penny.

  The team of four wasted no time in switching off the alarm and entering the warehouse. They had come prepared for the occasion, wearing gloves, plastic bags over their shoes, hooded camouflage jackets and micky mouse face masks. Knowing that the whole warehouse complex was probably being covered twenty-four hours by CCTV cameras.

  While planning they had suggested that they should try and switch off the cameras. However, this idea was discarded as a waste of precious time. Knowing that they would be on video getting into the warehouse. Better to cover up and get on with the job. As there was also a chance that the system might also be duplicated with a secret back up that their informant did not know about.

  They made their way safely to the locked room the informant had descried to them. Which contained dozens of plastic crates, all full of old computer internal hard drives. It took them a further twenty minutes to load fifty of them into the back of the truck, using two men per crate to lift them. While all the time listening out for a car horn signal that would inform them that there were problems about to develop.

  Once the team were back in the truck, they drove back out onto the street and flashed the car still waiting in the bus layby just a head of them, after over taking them they drove off.

  While the security guard was bundled out of the car onto the pavement. Within seconds the car sped off behind the truck and they were last seen heading for the A11 Old London Road. Better known by the locals who referred to it during peak rush hour, as the A11 car park.

  Although unaware, the truck and its cargo was tracked via CCTV footage, and delivered to a medium size stately home on the south-eastern out skirts of Colchester. Having been unloaded during the early hours of the morning, into a small out house building around the back of the property.

  It turned out that Mr Clive Manning, a very successful businessman, owned the property although not a lot of other information was available of his earlier history.

  Mr Jones of MI5 was pleased with the information passed on to him, and ordered more to be gathered as soon as possible, as to what he was up too.

  The data that might be gained from the hard drives could be of great use to him or a foreign country. Be it cash or security wise.

  Although by then the robbers had long gone. The local Police were ordered to raid the property, and to leave no stone unturned, especially in and around the outhouse area.

  That turned out to resemble a city office complex. With twelve desks spread around the room all set up with two and in a couple of cases three computers. Plus, printers and scanner. It was certainly a professional set up. The information they were checking over seemed to be worth a lot of trouble and money trying to gather it. Whether the property owner Clive Manning was using it or maybe he was selling it, either way they had to find out, and find out fast. As the security of the whole country could be at stake.

  After the outhouse had been thoroughly checked over for information, the Police made an extraordinary decision. Instead of moving all the computers and hard ware. They decided to get a team of MI5 experts in, and to start checking out the information stored on the hard drives in the outhouse.

  Mr Jones was desperate to know what was of interest to Mr Clive Manning, not just its value in money but also its cost to the security of the country.

  A pattern started to develop of the type of information that had carelessly been left on some of the hard drives. It was then established that the drives with sellable data were all coming from the same departments. In other words, many of the drives had not been reformatted, as had been ordered.

  Mr Jones was guessing that the hard drives were probably offered for sale in batches, and that it was up to the buyer. A lucky dip, and a bit of a gamble, knowing that some were of no use to him. While maybe a few were.

  The seller stressing the point that he could not check each one when they were stolen, but the information they were uncovering was well worth the cost of the sale.

  It was also detected that it was the Army ones that revealed a lot of information that wo
uld be of value to a foreign buyer. Who knows maybe they were just on selling it. On the other hand, looking at all the computers in the room, maybe he was storing all the useful information. However, that would depend on what the buyer was after.

  As the information within the room was being gathered the enormous complexity of the set up was being realise. The information that might have been sold during the length of period that this scam had been going on became frightening to all who were there.

  After all, this was only the first report of such a robbery. Knowing government departments as he did, this could have happened a few times during the past, and covered up as was usual. Working on the premise that what the public don’t know, they won’t worry about.

  Mr Jones concluded that the time was right to bring his opposite number MI6 in on their findings.

  Suddenly Jones stopped what he was doing, having realised that he already knew a 'Clive Manning'. Of course, he did, they had been keeping an eye on him a couple of years back. Although he did not have much information on what he was up too. It was looking like he might be setting up some sort of a cell, whether for him or he was helping somebody else they did not know. Too find out he had ordered the 'Slate' to bug his house that same night. Having been concentrating on the hard drive robbery, it had completely slipped his mind.

  However, he was brought back to normality by the ringing of his phone. To be informed by a DCI Eden, that he was holding somebody, who was helping them, concerning the death of a Mr Clive Manning.