“There was yes…A container which had been off loaded from Rotterdam was found with Ecstasy tablets, not a huge haul but a few grand’s worth…The field officer who dealt with it is new and trod on a few toes… I paid a visit to smooth things over with the C&E officers…It was a storm in a tea cup really…I’m trying to offer guidance as best I can now Jay has…Well, you know, but I have the containers…”
“Yes, I can appreciate the difficulties…It’s the reason we called you in today…We’ve shortlisted you for OC East…”
“Really…? May I ask who else is on the list…? I may be able to help if I’ve worked with them…?”
“Yeah you can ask but it’s a pretty shortlist… You’re it…” “Oh…I see…”
“All I read and hear is good things and Chris raves about you…Robin has already signed off on it…To be candid with you John, you were Chris’s first choice in January but I talked him out of it in favour of Jay…Well, we all make mistakes I suppose…”
“In hindsight sir maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea…It gave us the opportunity to catch him…”
“Yes as you say, maybe, but we lost Starling directly as a result…”
“Well, I’ll have to stop the Missus looking at new bathrooms suites now then…”
“Yeah John you will…I know we need you here very quickly but for now travel to Hull and keep an eye on the Dutch ferry for us…We’ll have to give you an Intel briefing before you leave…ring your wife now, we’ll have a walk through ready for when you’re done…”
“Thank you sir…”
“Your OC East now, you can call me Iain…”
When John emerged from my office he joined our group, I introduced everyone they we got down to business…
“I take it you are aware of certain aspects of the operation…?”
“I’m aware of Catlin and his wife also that there have been a few PIRA movements but nothing else…”
“Yes…Clearly a certain individual was reluctant to share…”
As he looked through the IMINT he paused at two photographs…
“I know this one…I clocked her last November and passed the details over to Box…”
“Angela McQueen…Box eh…? That would have been Catlin at the time…Enough said…”
I thought Chris had done well not to have said it too sarcastically…
“This one too… I’m certain of it, he used to drink in the same pub as Catlin…They sat together a few times and bought each other drinks…Up at the port too on various occasions, I’d say even before Compass…I was always under the impression he worked at the terminal…”
“That’s Robert Morris…He’s one of three at the top of our shopping list…”
Chris picked up a further two photographs before continuing… “We want him along with these two quite badly”
“I heard they were in Holland or Belgium enjoying life…?”
“We believe they are still in Holland, they left a safehouse pretty quickly before the AIVD jumped through the windows…We are under the impression they will travel to the UK quite soon…With Garret now in custody, although not for much longer, they need someone to head the campaign and for all intents and purposes they may have been heading over anyway…We know one of them visited Donna McQueen in Düsseldorf and judging from the INTEL we now have, it must have been to pass information regarding this…”
“Hence the reason I need to be at Hull for the forthcoming…?
“Yes and no…If we had the manpower you’d be here…Manoeuvre yourself, Blackbird and Sparrow as you see fit also have a chat with Raven, OC West…He has Wren heading your way to assist…I would suggest along the M62 corridor, say Heartshead Moor services…?”
Janet brought in concise files she had produced for him to digest which even though they were abridged still ran to four or five hefty tomes…
“I see you have a little light bedtime reading for me too…!”
“John, it’s imperative we have you up to speed rapidly…Yesterday was just the beginning…”
“Right boss…I’m on my way…”
“Good man…Chris…? Has Mark reported from Thames House yet…?
“No but it’s getting on for 1800 so I would expect him…”
My telephone chirped… “Section Chief…”
“Boss, nip upstairs we may have something off the first SD card…”
I replaced the receiver and spoke to Chris as I left… “Chris…I’m heading for the fifth…Norm is being cryptic…”
I swiped in through the first door and stood in the air lock listening for the tell-tale buzz…
“What have you got Norm…?”
“I’d say the Isle of Sheppey Bridge over the Swale was a definite target…We estimate they were to blow each end, severing both road and rail links…Hence the use of liveried Railtrack and Highways Agency vehicles…”
I examined the images, he was right... “Ok…I agree…What else…?”
Norman passed me a selection of eight images depicting motorway off ramps and bridges…
“Judging by the aspects of these images-note how they concentrate on the structure and possible load bearing and stress points…?”
“I do Norm yes…”
“Well, an educated guess on our part would indicate the M25 junction 14 was on their hit list too…”
“The Heathrow turn off…? The other Highways van…? “Yes boss…”
“What about the M4…? Junction 4 isn’t it…? “On preliminary viewing, not so far…”
“Ok…Well done lads…Good work…Can I pass this on yet…?” “Yeah, well only on the fourth floor for now…”
“Understood Norm…Good work fellas…”
PART FOUR
Chapter Twenty Three
Robert Morris had been sitting on the sports yacht for the best part of ten hours now consuming Koenraad Stegen’s scotch and slowly but surely becoming more agitated. He flew to his feet raising a nine millimetre Beretta in a shaky right hand as the saloon doors were opened…
“Christ Stegen…! I’ve been waiting all fucking day…!”
“Calm down Robert and please put that gun down before you hurt yourself…”
Morris placed the automatic on the glass topped table with a clank…
“Thank you, now why down you avail yourself of another glass of my fine malt whiskey…? While you do that, please remember I am not your employee and there are many aspects to my businesses I must attend to…”
Morris appeared to calm a little, Stegen could see he was on edge and equally very worried…
“Well you at least could have given me an ETA or let me know your plans Koenraad…”
“Really Robert…? How was I to do that, mmm…? Your cellphone is quite dead and, as I said, I am not your employee…This in essence is a favour, I don’t believe I have asked you for payment…?”
“No…No that’s true and I do appreciate it…It’s just, well…I’m under a lot of pressure to fulfil a deadline…”
“Very well… Most of my crew have been relieved for the day, there is just the Captain, First officer, Chef, Engineer and two deck crew on board…Our route is planned and submitted so we are free to leave shortly…”
Morris looked up from his prone position on the sofa; he appeared even more agitated than ever…
“WHAT…! You have submitted our route…?”
“Of course I have…! There is the small problem of “Marinetraffic”…Do you want the British Navy to have an excuse to board us…? No of course you don’t…! Really Robert, there are times that I wonder how you ever progressed in your particular endeavours… Now calm down…!”
As an afterthought Stegen offered…
“Robert do you wish for anything for the trip…? Entertainment perhaps…? I could have a couple of girls brought for you or boys, if that is your wish…? Drugs…?”
“No nothing like that…Thankyou…I just want away…”
Stegen nodded and reache
d for the bulkhead telephone…
“Ok then…Captain…? When we are ready, the Waterside Marina Brightlingsea…”
“Yes sir…”
“Robert, as you know there are excellent facilities on board…You look terrible, why don’t you retire to one of the cabins and rest…? I’ll wake you in the morning when the chef has prepared breakfast…”
Stegen assisted in helping Morris navigate the five steep steps down to where the cabins were located and showed him into one of the port side cabins…
“Thanks Koenraad…”
“Anytime Robert, we go back a long time you and I…I wouldn’t put up with this shit from anyone else…”
Stegen closed the cabin door and let out a long sigh as he shook his head…
The sports yacht “Lady Gulya” was striking. Built by Amels of Holland, Stegen had bought her second hand from a broker based in Malaga and brought her “back home” as he liked to say. She was 923 tonnes and 60 metres long. This was to be her last trip before a re-fit which would take four months and five million dollars; she would then have a new name and a new home in the Cayman Islands.
Stegen was having another built by Amels, the 55 metre Engelberg; her interior would include an owner’s suite with separate balcony. Two separate saloons, one to be called the sky saloon with a panoramic opening glass roof, the other would be home to his Dutch paintings and sculptures.
It was to be Koenraad Stegen’s ultimate gift to himself and would not be used to traffic dubious individuals across the North Sea.
Stegen and his captain had already agreed that if for any circumstance they were heaved to, their passenger would be handed over without question…
Maybe Robert Morris should have ignored his friends and insisted on enjoying their company on the crossing to Newcastle…
*****
On returning to the fourth floor I headed to my office. I felt Normans take on the images needed to be shared with SO12, Steve Case in particular…He knew how Norm worked and would be just as convinced as I was, I felt Norman deserved that kind of backing…As I passed, I pulled Chris and Charlie into my office as well…I placed the image folder on the coffee table…
“Have a look at those you two…Andy and Norm have lifted them from the first SD card found at the Romford house…”
After a minute or two Charlie handed them to Chris…
“So laddie, the use of the vans now makes sense but still no indicator for the second Highways vehicle… Are we assuming the horseboxes were for use on the M25…?”
“For now Charlie yes. They have another four digital cards to process and we also have the girls and boys next door sifting through the paperwork and IMINT we lifted…”
Chris replaced the file on the coffee table then stood to pour coffee…
“Surely the size of one horsebox would be sufficient for the junction…What was it now…? 2,500-3,000lbs in each…? That’s not to mention maybe another 500-1,000lbs in the towing vehicles from the slurry and Semtex that was remaining in the other stable…I think one was earmarked for another destination…”
Chris had said the latter part as a statement of fact… I had to agree, using both VBIED’s on the one junction was overkill…
“Chris, what’s the yield on that kind of device…?”
“Well… If my memory is correct, the lethal blast range is probably upwards of two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet… Both sides of the carriageway would be destroyed and the overpass of course…You would ideally evac to half a mile, may be even three quarters due to the falling hazard range…”
It was fair to say that I was stunned; particularly as I’d been in such close proximity to all five of the devices…Chris had been looking at me while I digested this staggering information…
“Don’t worry gaffer, if they’d detonated, you wouldn’t have felt a thing…”
“Oh right… There I am thinking I’d only have to re comb my hair… I have to agree with you Chris, there was at least one other target… Charlie…?”
“Yeah and judging by the size, probably another bridge or maybe a tunnel…Let’s get them working overtime on the IMINT…”
As an afterthought he added…
How far back does the CCTV for that section of motorway go…?” “You think we may be able to pull images of the photographer…?” “I do aye… I bet that’s what they originally used the vans for…” “Ok, I’ll get Mark on it when he returns…”
I lifted my phone and leaned back in my chair…
“Abby, could you get Steve Case for me please…? Oh and as soon as Mark appears, send him in too please…”
The other two looked at me enquiringly…
“I think we need to fill him in…I also want to know if anything is happening with the three vehicles the DVLA flagged this afternoon…”
My desk phone rang… “Yes Abby…?”
“Inspector Case is on his way up now Chief…”
“Thanks Abby…Hang on lads, Steve is on his way up…”
Two minutes later a rather dishevelled and worn out looking SO12 Inspector walked in… Charlie immediately poured him a coffee and took his coat; Chris finished the job by ensuring he was prone on the sofa…
“Steve, man, you look done in…This could have waited ‘til morning…”
“I thought I’d nip in on my way home and see what’s happening. Anything from the safehouse…?”
We showed Steve the IMINT file and shared our thoughts, together we came up with realistic logistical targets we believed to be significant. None of us stopped at the M25, with target vehicles being bought at auction in Birmingham, we had every reason to believe PIRAs objectives were far reaching: we also looked at the M4, M5 and M6…
It would be up to Norman, Andy and Matt on the fifth together with the manpower on the opposite side of this floor to see if any digital or photographical images matched…
“How are you getting on with the DVLA flag…?”
“Slowly…Knowing the vehicles are out there and knowing where to look Chief are not the same things I’m afraid…We have local officers searching a twenty mile radius of Birmingham, this is including spot checks on the petrol filling stations…They are viewing their CCTV and checking currency to see if it matches any of the batches found under the bath in Romford…”
“That’s clever…Do the uniformed officers know what this is all about..?”
“They do Chris…All the teams have been briefed, we will be doing the same with West Mercia and Staffordshire constabularies in the morning…We also have a list of rural dwellings either bought or leased within the last two years…West and East Midlands have started investigating them today…”
“What’s the count Steve, five or six…?”
“You’re joking Chief…Fifteen so far and that’s not including the list which the Yard are collating for West Mercia and Staffs…”
“Bloody hell…! I wouldn’t have imagined there was that much activity in that sector…”
“Believe me, neither did we. The manpower isn’t the issue it’s the lack of transportation, we are beginning to ask assistance from Avon & Somerset, Nottinghamshire and Greater Manchester…We’ll be knocking on Gloucestershire’s door next…The CMPG have their eyes and ears wide open too…”
Charlie looked a little puzzled… “CMPG…?”
“Sorry Charlie, I’d forgot you’ve been away a while…It’s the Central Motorway Policing Group…They have headquarters in Birmingham, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. They also share the Highways Agency regional control centre too and after what we discovered yesterday, they are more than happy to help…”
We could see that Steve was mentally ticking off a list in his head…
“Land and sea…We have every available resource working their socks off…”
“We all agree here that there is nothing more anyone or any department can do Steve…We just have to be patient now and hope for a positive. A lilywhite will make a mistake, they’re
just not seasoned enough…It has consistently been their weakest link…”
Chris picked up Steve’s coat and handed it to him…
“Get yourself home Stevie lad…You’ve worked your knackers off…”
“Yes…I’ll see you gents in the morning…”
*****
Francis O’Brien drove the navy blue Ford Scorpio carefully along the A1, knowing the ferry wasn’t due to dock until 0900 Tuesday morning, he could afford to take his time… O’Brien’s ultimate destination was the NCP multi story carpark on Deane Street Newcastle. Once there, he would leave the vehicle with the keys on the off side front wheel then he would return to Peterborough, collect the newly acquired Ford Sierra and drive to the farm in Kinver Staffordshire…
Bearings: The Compass Trilogy Part One Page 24