So, he thought, there was a welcoming committee afterall. He pressed the speed dial button on his cellphone…
“Gerry, I count three cars on yer arse, I’ll try and take them as you approach…”
“Where the fucking hell are you…?”
Harraghy’s voice was stressed and high pitched,
“Do you see the bridge approaching…? I’m in the trees to your left… Have a little faith brother. When have I ever fucked off and left you…?”
“I don’t think I’ll make Catthorpe, John… It’ll be the M6 or before…”
“I understand Gerry. I’ll do what I can…”
McCauley twisted his head as he heard the unmistakeable air slap of rotorblades….
“If I don’t make it, you know what to do…?”
“Yes, 0700 dial the number...They’ve got two helicopters clocking you too, police, I think… Good luck Gerry, it’s been an honour…”
He switched off the cellphone, placing it in his inside jacket pocket. Adjusting the scope once again; he aimed the Armalite rifle at the windscreen of the middle vehicle chasing the truck. Then he opened fire…
As he witnessed the windscreen begin to resemble a spider’s web, he turned his attention to the vehicle on the inside. Again the same considered burst of gunfire, again the same result…
*****
“Papa 1, shots fired, repeat, shots fired…We are taking hits…”
Collectively we four stood as one, I snatched at the RT. Robin’s hand clutching my wrist vicelike,
“No…! We listen. we have no authority, remember…? Don’t get involved in an opp’ you can’t possibly assist in. We are nearly 150 miles away…”
I stared at him until my eyes ached. He was right, of course… I released the RT and returned to the desk. Chris gripped my shoulder, looking at him, I could see he felt just as useless.
“Papa 1 is the gunfire from Harvester…?” “Negative… Unknown… Papa 2 now under fire…”
We could hear the dull thud of multiple impacts…Then instantly… “Papa 2, shots fired, we are under attack…”
“Understood Papa 2… Fall back, over…”
“Negative, we are copying Papa 1 and removing the windscreen…”
*****
McCauley watched as both vehicles slowed as their passengers kicked out the useless windscreens. Perfect, he thought… He reloaded another 40 rounds. This time he selected rapid fire… He emptied the magazine into the middle chasing car and then, once again, reloaded, aimed and fired…
The effect was devastating…Papa 1 instantly swerved to the left, colliding with Papa 2 causing both to spin wildly. Papa 2 left the carriageway backwards finally coming to rest on the grass embankment. McCauley began to fire at the stranded car, hitting two of the fleeing men. Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the other vehicle. Papa 1 continued to spin, hitting the central barrier full on and catapulting across two of the three lanes finally rolling to a stop on the hardshoulder.
The PIRA hit man was remorseless. Reloading, he indiscriminately emptied a further two magazines. A door of Papa 1 was flung open and man fell out onto the carriageway, recovering; he began to pull another from the wreckage…
McCauley sighted for both and fired.
At this moment the Mercedes truck and remaining pursuit vehicle passed under the road bridge…
McCauley dumped everything. It was time to leave…
*****
“Papa 1, receiving…?” The RT hissed… “Papa 1…?”
Nothing… Then a shaken voice of an injured officer…
“Papa 2… TACCOM is down, repeat TACCOM is down… We need urgent medical attention…”
“Roger Papa 2, support is imminent…”
“Oscar Hotel 88… Attend and recover, over…” “Roger control… Oscar Hotel 88 returning…”
I turned to the two decoding room men. Quietly and somewhat wearily, I said,
“Contact the Signals Regiment, would you…? Have them get what’s left of those men off the road. Their onsite medical facility will be closest… I also want two search teams all along the B road. If they clock him and he’s armed: Kill him. Then get me X-Ray Zulu. This fiasco ends now…”
Robin was looking at me, searching for words of wisdom, no doubt.
“Don’t… That fucker is going to die, now. I’m just pissed off I won’t be there to see it…”
I’d made my decision… I couldn’t do this anymore… I couldn’t stand in a room and listen as people who had become my friends were just snuffed out. If this ended now, I’d resign today…
*****
A fleet of Army Land Rover ambulances and two assault vehicles dashed out of Gamecock Barracks and headed for the motorway. Their approach would be simple, adjacent to the bridge which McCauley had used to such devastating effect, was an unused track which would give the 4x4 ambulances easy and direct access to the carriageway. They weren’t counting on the added bonus, passing the golf course one of the Assault vehicles skidded to a halt. A man was walking from the direction of the gunfire.
“Sir, stop there please…”
The man turned and focussed on a rather formidable looking individual fully clad in camouflage. There were also two automatic rifles aimed at him from the rear of the Land Rover…
“Bloody hell, you gave me a scare, what’s going on…?”
“Can you identify yourself and explain what you are doing…?”
“I can and I’m looking for my dog. I heard a bit of commotion, I assumed it’s made him run off…”
“You need to identify yourself sir… Now…”
McCauley reached into his jacket pocket and cocked the Beretta. He then shot the soldier in the leg. The last thing he would ever set eyes on was the canvas cover at the rear of the Land Rover being flung open…
*****
“ Matt what gives…?”
“They’ve got McCauley; quite by chance too…They found him walking along the main road…”
“What, wandering aimlessly…?”
“No back toward the local golf course, there’s a suspect vehicle there. The Army lads tugged him for a chat and he pulled a gun on them and shot one in the leg…So they returned the favour…”
“Hospital…?”
“No Chief, priest, if one will have him…” “Very good Matt, thanks…”
“They’re moving on the truck now…”
*****
Harraghy lowered the driver’s door window. Prepared on the seat next to him there were two 9mm Berettas and another Armalite AR18, this one was loaded with the smaller 20 round box magazine. At this range, he thought, it would be enough…
As the remaining police car, Papa 3, drew level on his right, he balanced the rifle on the open windows edge and fired. The recoil forced him to swerve to the left. Ok, he thought, Berettas it is then. He snatched one and fired at the retreating pursuit car, the noise telling him he’d hit something at any rate…
“HA…! That’s right… Berettas at breakfast time…!” He shouted out if the window…
Now that the chasing car was missing a wing mirror and had gained new holes in the front grille and wing, the officers began to be a little more prudent. This time they pulled a fake move on him, jinking right and then pulling left, accelerating to draw level. An SO13 officer leaned out of the rear door window and fired four rounds rapidly through the metal of the trucks passenger door…This startled Harraghy.
“Right you bastards, have this…!” He shouted…
His response was to veer the truck into the offside wing of Papa 3, superficial damage, but damage all the same and valuable breathing space. Again the police car backed off but yet again it returned… This time Harraghy slammed on the brakes forcing the police car to overshoot and pass the truck. Harraghy immediately opened the trucks door, leaned out and emptied the Armalite into the rear of the pursuit car…
Again, he shouted…
“Yes…! There’s plenty more of that…
Come on…!”
He began to accelerate once more. Holding the rifle between his legs; he discarded the empty magazine and reloaded…
As he steered the truck around the next left hand bend, the sight he feared the most filled his vision…At 200 yards and hovering at 25 feet was the formidable broadside of the Royal Marine Lynx helicopter. Harraghy noticed that the side door was fully open although the mounted gun was unmanned…
Sergeant Williams was prone, dialling in his sniper sight, as he focused, the truck began to weave to the right and then to the left…
“X-Ray Zulu 731 to Cathouse, “Danger Close”…”
“Roger 731, you are clear to engage the target, over…” “Roger Cathouse…731…”
Williams shot missed… It took Harraghy high and right, the bullet breaking his shoulder blade as it exited. Corporal Evans who was also sighting the target, turned and looked down at Williams and pressed his RT…
“You missed, high and right, shoulder wound…” “Keep on ‘im Evans, I’ll have ‘im…”
Evans fixed the high powered sight on the truck’s cab once again…
“Sir, he’s got something in his hand, in his left hand… It appears to be a mobile phone…”
Williams responded by immediately opening fire, peppering the front of the oncoming VBIED with bullet holes. It was no good, his sniper rounds were too small to penetrate deeply enough. He stood and swung the heavy M3M fuselage mounted machine gun into place. One stray round, he knew, would probably do for them both but, he felt compelled to try…
Harraghy was hurt badly, the last volley of fire had added to his injuries. His left ankle was now screaming in agony and he could now see blood running down his right arm, dripping off the steering wheel and forming a red pool by his feet. He had his cellphone in his left hand and with a great deal of difficulty he was attempting to scroll through the saved numbers to locate the eleven digits which would detonate the device. He wanted it right. He wanted to take the helicopter with him. Yes…! There…! He exulted inwardly…
At that instant the cab of the Mercedes truck erupted in a flying mass of molten metal. A thousand sparks flew as the shells from the M3M machine gun easily penetrated the thin sheet steel of the truck and the thin skin of Harraghy. In slow motion he saw his left hand, still clutching the cellphone disintegrate. A vision of shattered plastic, bone and blood… His scream was high pitched and animalistic as his body jerked rapidly left then right as he felt like a thousand knives were stabbing him. The burst of fire took what little was left of his life…
It was over.
The truck’s engine was dead. It idly continued to travel along the motorway, crossing from the inner lane of the carriageway, losing momentum rapidly as it did so. Finally, on reaching the outer kerb, it swerved gently to the left, traveling back across the lanes and rocked gently to a stop…
It was over.
“Cathouse, X-Ray Zulu 731… Target is neutralised… We are bingo fuel, returning to base…”
“Roger 731… Cathouse out…”
As before, the Lynx hung predator-like, as if searching for more… Suddenly, the engine pitch rose to a deafening roar as she turned west… She dipped her nose as if bowing, then was gone…Her red flashing rear navigation beacon growing ever smaller as she disappeared in the clear spring sunshine…
Chapter Thirty-eight
I was suddenly very tired. I sat slumped in one of the chairs in the fifth floor comm’s room. Chris sat in the other…
“Chief… It’s done…”
I looked at him and nodded slowly. My mind was now filled with two names, Steve Case and Nergal…
“Matt, speak to signals please, find out about Steve: Also find Frank for me. I don’t really know who to speak to now…? Come on Chris; let’s make sure everyone is where they need to be…”
“Aye, we need to make sure EOD have all they need for a start…”
On entering my office I dialled Niklas Meier, “Niklas, good morning…”
“Ah guten tag Jan, I hear good things… You are close, yes…?
“We are more than close Nik… We have contained them this morning. There will be an official briefing package for you put together over the weekend. I’m ringing to pre-empt that… We have secured information from a third party which is of mutual interest…”
He was cautious, of course, but his voice gave him away… He was as nosey as me…
“I see… How interesting…?”
“It’s as interesting as flowers in the sunshine; you know how things begin to bloom and blossom in the warmer climes south of the equator…?
“Yah, once these flowers bloom they are very difficult to contain…”
“Indeed…”
“Well, I’m away for a long weekend, I return Dienstag, sorry Tuesday… My wife is such a fan of the English high street stores; they are much cheaper than Munchen…”
“Very well Niklas, until Tuesday… Auf Wiedersehen…” “Auf Wiedersehen…”
I walked out to find Chris, who was busy piecing information on the boards with Charlie,
“Niklas Meier will be here sometime over the weekend; apparently his wife has suddenly decided she loves the shopping on Oxford Street…”
“Right… I’ll let Norm’ know on the quiet… I want to know what he’s sussed from the INTEL he’s playing with…”
“I’m off to see Robin…”
*****
I knocked before entering, then stood. I wasn’t sitting until he said so such was the mood I believed him to be in,
“What, you’re not staying…? Sit down for heaven’s sake… Right, where are we…?”
621 EOD are on site… There is a low loader and a tanker also… Once rendered safe and the all clear is given, they’ll transport both to Northolt… Leicestershire Police have the stolen Range Rover used by McCauley, there’s also a stash of gear which he abandoned along the tree line, the Armalite rifle and such…”
“Very well… Steve Case is alive… The chest wound was tricky but he’s stable now. The bad news is he’s lost his right leg below the knee… He took three hits in it when the SO13 officer dragged him from the car. I’m sure in the long term he can return to duty, although his days of running around the countryside will be over…”
I was elated, close to tears even: The man had given us so much…
“Thank Christ…! Well that might not be a bad thing, you’ve seen the mischief he gets upto… I’ll tell the lads, they’ll be well chuffed…”
His face changed, right here it comes, I thought,
“Now Iain… These outbursts you have are fine in this company and within these walls. You keep yourself in check in more serious company so all well and good… However, even though your emotions are a good thing; they keep you motivated, they also stop you being cavalier with the field officers, they also mean that on occasion you may be prone to compromise… It’s an area you need to work on… There are, and will be, times when your actions will be fruitless. When this time comes you must have the fortitude to brush it off and move on…”
“Yes sir…”
“Very well, there endeth the lesson… Is there anything else…?”
“Niklas Meier will be here over the weekend, I mentioned we may have INTEL of mutual interest, he then insisted that his wife needed to shop in London…”
“Yes, strange how that happens isn’t it…? Ok then, let’s make sure the mess has bratwurst and sauerkraut in shall we…?
*****
A group of us had travelled to visit Steve Case on the Friday evening, we had told him of the positive result, we’d also made sure he knew that we had officially communicated the end game had been his plan so effectively his success. To see him in such high spirits buoyed me somewhat: All thoughts of resignation had vanished…
Saturday morning arrived as a bit of an anti-climax… We had spent the best part of four months completely absorbed with and motivated by, one real and immediate threat. For Eightee
n hours, if not longer, of everyday we had been consumed with one purpose. For us now to be supposedly “safe” made me feel a little like a spare part. Maybe Chris was right…? Maybe field work was an area better suited for me…? It was true to say that at many times I’d felt hamstrung. I’d also felt that if Compass, as a division, had been more directly involved operationally, certain obstacles would not have existed… Some of these conclusions had formed part of my closing statement which was now lying on Robin’s desk…
Bearings: The Compass Trilogy Part One Page 41