“Do you want me to bring back the camera SD cards for decoding…?”
“Yes laddie, good idea…”
I had another idea too…
“Mark nip up to the fifth and ask Andy for replacements and also sign out a camera. I want you and Snipe to have a nose around, you never know, he may have left a vehicle in the long stay or something…”
“Yes Chief, will do…”
“I’ll walk with you Charlie; I’ve noticed something with the Catlin murder I want Steve’s lads to look into. It seems she was done in by a cyclist with a crossbow… Essex have an eye witness who claims she saw a cyclist dive into a waiting van, they are checking the city centre CCTV now…”
“You want SO12 to search along the A12 corridor…?” “I do yes…”
“Steve’s still at Paddington…”
“Ok, I’ll ring him there. Thanks Charlie…”
Five minutes later a phone call from the RUC changed our investigation somewhat…
“Section Chief...”
“Chief, I have Seamus O’Brien for you…?”
“Yeah, put him through Stuart, thanks… Hello Seamus how can I help…?
“Chief, firstly the telephone number is to an answerphone in an empty house, we’ll keep surveillance on it… Secondly we’ve been sifting through the remains of the oil drum fire at Glenveagh and have found out a couple of things…”
“Hold on, let me get the others in here and put you on speaker...” “Righto…”
I banged on the glass partition which was becoming the Birdcage default alarm for imminent INTEL... As expected they all came running and to my surprise, so did Robin…
“Go Seamus…”
“We have reason to believe that Backpack’s movements are nothing more than a diversion. The whole set up involving her is meant to do nothing more than distract everyone from what is really happening. PIRA were happy to sacrifice her, O’Hanlon and Garvie and possibly a few more of the lilywhites… We have fragments which indicate a huge mainland campaign… We are sending you everything we’ve discovered…”
“Seamus, it’s Robin… What are the indications and how do you interpret them…?”
“Well, I’d say you’re looking at a revamp of an old seventies idea, huge mobile bombs strategically placed for a multiple attack… This was Backpack’s fifth trip so there have been three which were not picked up on. I’d say PIRA are pretty well advanced at this stage sir…”
“Thank you Seamus, I’ll inform the Home Secretary… As always, good job son…”
“Yes sir…!”
*****
O’Keefe didn’t bother with the subterfuge of booking anything; he walked directly to the hotel reception and asked for them to ring McQueen’s room. He noted which room number was dialled, exchanged pleasantries then retreated to his car to wait. Noticing all of this, Traugott spoke to Kuefer…
“Tango one, copy…?” “Go ahead tango two…”
“Target has returned to the subject vehicle, he appears to be waiting…”
“Copy tango two… I believe Backpack has not yet returned to the hotel…”
“Affirmative tango one. This appears to be the positive target we are concerned with… Hold, I will enquire…”
Karolin Traugott walked into the hotel lobby, had a brief look around then headed for the reception desk. After a quick flash of her credentials and an even quicker conversation she headed to a large red sofa sat down and quietly relayed the new information to her partner…
“Tango one, I can confirm the target, I repeat I confirm he is the target…”
“Copy tango two, I am informing Headquarters…”
Within two minutes Sarah’s direct line was ringing. This time the conversation contained none of the previous niceties…
“Sarah we confirm the male is the target. He is waiting in his vehicle for Backpack to return from the JVA… How do you wish us to proceed…?”
“Hold on Niklas…”
Sarah repeated the glass banging; I was first through the door… “What gives…?”
Sarah placed the call on speaker… “Niklas what do you have…?”
“Chief we confirm the target… He entered the hotel and inquired about Backpack’s room… How do you wish us to proceed…?”
Chris was calling Blackbird’s cellphone as Charlie was dialling Backpack’s…
“Nik, I’m instructing Sparrow, one of our officers, to get to reception can a GSG9 officer rendezvous with here…?”
“Of course, tango two is there now…”
Chris relayed the message and confirmed Sparrow was on her way.
Charlie was having no luck…
“Nik, we are relaying our communication to you now…” “Yes we have it… You have tango one and two…?
“Yes we do…”
Then through the first speaker phone we heard…
“This is Sparrow. Have made contact with tango two…”
I thought for a minute then…
“Niklas is the vehicle standing by at the rear fire exit…? We need to get Backpack away from there…”
“Yes ready and waiting…”
“Niklas have your officers pull him now; we’ll use Sparrow and Blackbird as cover while they leave…”
“Ok operation commencing now…”
At that moment Angela McQueen walked across the hotel carpark and entered the lobby. O’Keefe opened the car door and followed…
Through the second speaker phone the German RT crackled into life…
“Tango one; target is moving toward the hotel… Copy…?” “Tango two, copy…”
“Control to Sparrow, intercept Backpack and divert, get her out of there now…! Blackbird move now…! Rear fire exit…! Exfil’…!
To the background sound of heavy feet running along a corridor a breathless voice said…
“Roger control, Blackbird moving… Exfil’…”
“Asset acquired, we are moving to the rear fire exit…!”
After the clarity of the cellphones, the crackle of the German RT sounded faint…
“Tango one and two, take the target…” “Tango one copy…”
“Tango two copy…”
O’Keefe saw the woman approach his target, as they hurriedly spoke; he drew his supressed Walther 9mm and fired two quick rounds… The hotel plastered wall exploded fragments of debris to the right of McQueen’s face covering her and turning her hair white with dust; her scream was muffled by Sparrow pulling her away…
Sparrow drew her Glock and fired loosely toward the man, the discharge was deafening in the enclosed space, she then dragged McQueen sideways and pushed her violently through the rear lobby door toward the fire exit as another two bullets from O’Keefe’s Walther splintered the door frame and shattered the glazed door… Blackbird fired blindly through the newly made opening to offer covering fire before pushing the two women through the exit… Two GSG9 officers unceremoniously bundled all three through the side door of a waiting police Mercedes Sprinter van…
Kuefer and Traugott drew simultaneously and both fired two close rounds into the target…
O’Keefe felt a burning sensation in the back of his left leg and was instantly aware of its heaviness as he tried to move, Kuefer’s second bullet entered close to the first shattering his femur. He fell sideways directly into the path of Traugott’s discharge, her first bullet caught him in the right shoulder and travelled straight through, breaking his shoulder blade as it exited… Causing him to spin, her second shot, penetrated deep into his right lung. The silenced Walther 9mm clattered and span across the hotel lobby…
Brendan O’Keefe hit the floor backwards onto his right side; he listened to a strange sound of escaping air as he rolled onto his back… He saw a man and a woman who he vaguely remembered from the hotel carpark standing over him each pointing a gun closely at his face…
Then the lights went out…
Traugott then ran to the fire exit in time to see the p
olice van speed away to safety…
“Tango two; the three assets are safe… Copy…?” “Control tango two we copy…”
“Tango one, the target is down, medevac needed…”
“Received tango one, they are en route to transport him to Uniklinik…”
“Roger control, tango one and two cleaning up then returning to Headquarters…Out…”
I like the others in the room had been listening intently to the unfolding operation… It was now imperative to retrieve our three assets and have them back in the UK… We had planned for Blackbird and Sparrow to do an initial search of the Belgian property but due to recent events and Seamus’s INTEL it now seemed superfluous…
The Exfil’ Op’ required GSG9 to transport the three to RAF Wildenrath which was now the British Army’s Javelin Barracks, the fifty two kilometre drive would take thirty minutes even in a Bundespolitzei vehicle. I dialled Blackbird’s cellphone…
“Blackbird what is your status…?”
“All three of us are in one piece sir; the asset is shaken but well…”
“Ok, as planned there is a Hercules warmed up and ready at Wildenrath to bring you to Brize…”
“Got that Chief, where then…?”
“Get Backpack to Marylebone, get her settled then you all need a little decompression time… We shall see you there later…”
“Understood Chief, we’ll check in when we’re airborne…” “Ok, good job you two…”
“Yes Chief, thank you…”
During this Sarah had been speaking with Niklas Meier, her German was fluent and rapid. She took a breath and a gulp of water then…
“Right gents, the lilywhite is alive although he has been shot four times… He’s taken two in the left leg, breaking it, one to the right shoulder, breaking that too and one in the right lung. He is on his way straight to surgery then with a good deal of luck, straight to the JVA which has excellent medical facilities… We’ll get the reports when Niklas has concluded the debriefing... I, of course, said we’d do the same…”
Sarah, come on it’s time to brief Robin…”
PART THREE
Chapter Seventeen
Mark Ward checked in from Harwich at 1545, Snipe wasn’t too far behind. There wouldn’t be a Box review as such, there couldn’t be, we weren’t Box however we were eager to view the CCTV particularly as we now had the lilywhites image and name, even if it was probably false... Sure, Dillon Garvie had travelled on his own passport but our assumption was that as he was Belfast based, he wasn’t originally planning any overseas trips.
The CCTV for the passenger terminal showed the subject getting out of a car at the designated passenger drop off and pick up point… The subject vehicle was a red 1993 registered Vauxhall Carlton Estate and we would also have a very presentable image of the driver once Andy and matt had worked their wizardry…
Armed with this IMINT, I instructed Ward and Snipe to return to the Birdcage. As the ETA was 2030 approx., Charlie, Chris and I decided on a visit to the mess. Sarah was busy translating the BND/GSG9 transcripts from the day’s earlier events so chose to stay… not before giving us strict instructions about what she wanted from the menu of course…We had also made arrangements to visit the Marylebone apartment the following morning at 1030…
We were grateful for the couple of hours respite. The past three or four days had been very busy and it was beginning to show. I think the fact our offices were to be fitted with a wardrobe said it all in regard to how the job as a whole was beginning to work out… I’m sure the office runners didn’t think visiting the Battersea apartment complex to collect clothing for us all was strictly part of their job description but they agreed nevertheless…
Andy entered the mess just as Charlie was attacking his second helping of sticky toffee pudding and I was trying to conquer a three inch thick chip butty…
Chris was looking at us shamefaced and shaking his head in despair…
“I swear I don’t know where you two put it… You in particular Haddon…”
“Chris, it’s a gift laddie, some Scots are said to be blessed with the second sight… Me…? I’ve been blessed with multiple stomachs and hollow legs…Anyway, how many donuts have you just destroyed…?”
“That’s different like…”
I stopped chewing and offered him my mock puzzled look… “Chris how is it anyway different mate…?
“Donuts have holes in the middle so a good quarter of what I’m eating is fresh air, man…”
I could see Andy hovering so I decided to put him out of his misery…
“Come on Andy don’t be shy, what gives…?”
“Chief we’ve a positive from Chelmsford; the van driver is the same POI who picked up the Granada from Plymouth… There’s the van too, a white 1992 Fiat Ducato…”
“Good stuff Andy… ‘Ang on… What else…?”
“Well there may be an avenue for you; you see the van and the Vauxhall Carlton aren’t stolen… I’ve had Matt on the database for the past fortyfive minutes. They were bought from a vehicle auction in Hemel Hempstead in November last year… And…Well…”
His voice faded, we could see he was reluctant to share his thoughts… Chris put his coffee down before saying…
“Come on Andy, it’s us your talking to, you know we’ll look into it even if it does sound a bit bonkers.”
He steeled himself, believing he’d be ridiculed then continued… “How well up are you on football…?”
Inevitably it was me, the Scouser, born in the football capitol of the world who answered…
“Charlie knows nothing… He’s a Stirling fan… Chris may think he knows about our beautiful game because he’s a Geordie but me…? Mate, it’s in the blood fella, eight pints and all royal blue…!
“Ok, the lilywhite on the table in Germany…? Passport under the name of Ray Wilson… You know that name surely…?”
I looked at him and nodded as I replied…
“Yeah, Everton left fullback who played for England in the 1966 World Cup Final…”
“Correct… The name of the new POI who bought the Ducato and the Carlton…? Norman Hunter…”
The three of us stared at him but it was Chris who answered…
“Jesus…! England World Cup defender born in Gateshead…! Andy…? You matey are a bloody genius man…!”
I slapped Andy on the shoulder and gave him an appreciative nod as I walked to the mess telephone and asked for a direct call to Paddington Green…
“Inspector Steve Case, please…Compass Section Chief… Thank you…”
I waited what felt like and age but was twenty seconds in reality…
“Steve can you get back here…? Something has come up which I don’t want to discuss on the phone… Believe me… You’ll love this…”
“They’re starting on Garvie again at six but I don’t really need to be here for it… Give me an hour; I’ll be clear by then…”
“Ok, we’ll see you…”
We left the mess and headed back to the fourth floor. The now famous boards were cleared as we began to write down members of the 1966 England World Cup squad… Well the players we could remember anyway… Robin came out just as staff members were beginning to congregate around us shouting out player’s names…
“Are we starting a betting shop Iain…?”
“No sir, Andy has given us a concrete lead… It appears that our German lilywhite and a new POI have PIRA codenames which are based on the England 1966 World Cup Squad…”
“Oh really… Which two…?”
“Ray Wilson and Norman Hunter…”
“Oh dear, if we find one with the name John Charlton, we’ll have to give Chris oxygen…Carry on Chief…”
We were now relying on the new technology that was the internet for the more obscure players. The key would be matching them with photographs and real names…
The comedic aspect of visualising a group of fully clad SO13 boys yomping through Bobby Charl
ton’s back garden trampling all of Mrs C’s prized marigolds had not gone unnoticed in our offices or by the local police…
*****
Morris, Harraghy and Crown were in the kitchen of the alternate safehouse at Talmaweg 117 in the Crabbehof suburb of Dordrecht. The house was chosen for its easy access to either the N3 or E19/A16 Autosnelwegen routes…
The kitchen table was a mass of maps, engineering specs and photographs. The plan had been Donna McQueen’s idea of updating a 1970’s thwarted campaign to destroy some of the UK’s main traffic links... Harraghy had finessed her original idea considerably; it was now hugely elaborate with multiple targets to be destroyed both simultaneously and during the ensuing chaos…
Bearings: The Compass Trilogy Part One Page 16