by Alan Wade
Alan sat at his usual table with the others who had arrived from Syria the day before. The runner would be informed later of his tasks which might include much driving, therefore sleep was his best option and giving him information only on a need to know basis made him superfluous to the meeting.
Shan had prepared well, three small factories had been found in the local area which fitted the requirements and were for sale for the right price. Also, being privately owned the take over and installation of Onar as factory manager would be simple.
Onar’s task was to choose the best possible site with regard to the factories suitability; such as security, access, privacy, workforce and export licences. Other factors would include how easily the WMD could be transported to the place and the availability of a laboratory suitable enough to mix the created formulas. Money would not be a problem, but speed of exchange and the above factors were critical. He would begin his search on the 26th, a bankers’ draft would be available to be presented to the bank of the seller’s choice and money would be transferred from Switzerland as needed.
Another round of drinks was ordered and the Peugeot arrived as arranged, driven by Tikrit at 20.00. The runner pulled up outside the Pop In and opened the doors for his guests.
Alan observed the street as he paid the bill and watched Tikrit climb back into the car, but as he did so, something silver fell from his pocket.
“What the fuck’s that?” he hissed.
Three seconds later he had the object in his hand, a Nokia mobile phone. He looked at Onar and growled, “I distinctly said no phones, what the hell is he doing with a fucking mobile?”
“I don’t know, I told him no phones,” exclaimed Onar.
“I’ll ride with you to the hotel and he can bring me back,” snapped Alan. “You can ask him why he has one and who he has called since he left Syria. I wish I could speak the fucking language. OK Onar, ask the fucking idiot.”
A heated discussion ensued and finally the car was outside the hotel. Onar turned to Alan and stated, the man is just a fool, he can’t do without his phone, he is in love, he needed to call his girlfriend, but he had only called her once that evening about seven.
“Shit,” hissed Alan and continued, “look we need to meet again as agreed. Onar you assess the three factories and open an account at the KOC and Guarantee banks in the company name of Lolts. Shan will ensure all monies are guaranteed from Switzerland,” he asserted then continued, “meet me again at the White Dolphin Restaurant at 1800 on the 27th. We’ll have a chance of some privacy before the Brits and Germans fill the bloody place.”
As the others left the car Alan opened the window and motioned to both Shan and Onar, “By the way, you will need another runner, please sort that out if you can, Shan,” he whispered as he bade them goodbye saying, “ Iyiaksamlar.”
Alan sat in the back of the Peugeot and as the car turned into a dusty quiet street about 500 yards long he tapped Tikrit on the shoulder.
The runner pulled over stopped the car and pulled on the handbrake. Alan looked ahead, behind and to the sides and thought, “It’s very quiet now, but this will have to be quick.” He leaned forward and slipped his left arm around Tikrit’s neck, while his right arm, at the inner elbow locked his left wrist. He automatically lowered his body and squeezed. Tikrit tried to move, his left foot straightened out hitting the accelerator, his hands grabbed at the encircling arm but ten seconds later his body went limp. Alan observed his surroundings keeping the grip. In a few more seconds life would cease for the runner. Ju jujitsu still had its uses. He pulled the body across the seat, and pushed it into the passenger well. He opened the rear door, slipped out and opened the driver’s door, released the handbrake, looked around and drove off.
“That was a bloody silly thing to do but I had no choice,” he grimaced, “all I need is another dead man on my mind not to mention the bloody body, but he was out of control, he knew the bloody rules, and broke them.”
“You don’t even have to try to moralise the issue,” He argued with himself, “just think of what the hell to do now.”
He concentrated his mind thinking, “What I need is time and space and to remember the basics.” He decided to drive toward the White Dolphin restaurant and a few minutes later the car entered the public car park below the restaurant.
In five minutes the decision was made. The road here climbed steeply for about one thousand feet, then became very narrow with frequent bends. He decided to pick a right hand bend facing the sea and push the car over the cliff, hoping that by doing this it might be believed the driver misread the curve and his right front tyre went over the edge.
“Might work, might not, but it’ll have to do,” he thought and then drove the car as close to the edge as possible, until he found a good hard surface. He stopped the car but kept the ignition running and checked for others who may be watching. He pulled the body behind the steering wheel, shut the driver’s door with the window open, clicked on the seat belt, put the gear stick into third, which stalled the car and as it leapt forward he rushed to the back and pushed it over the cliff. It fell, rolled over, hit a tree, fell further then somersaulted twice.
“Shit,” he thought, “no flames, no explosion.” The car then somersaulted again, hit a large rock and disappeared. It made lots of noise but didn’t explode.
“That didn’t fucking work as planned,” he muttered as he set off to walk back to Sun City. “Don’t go in the White Dolphin, go straight back, it’s still only 21.00,” he argued to himself. “Did you clean the car enough, I think so,” he mumbled, “but why the fuck didn’t it explode, it’s the bloody French engineering I suppose.”
“Still, the links to me and the others will be difficult even if there is suspicion,” he confirmed to himself, “a car and body bouncing one thousand feet down a hill may make identification difficult and cause of death even more so.” I emptied his pockets, the glove compartment, the seat and door pockets, even under the seats and the boot; in fact everything so it’s clean,” he thought as he walked into Sun City and up to the pool bar.
The rear of the square bar was always in the shade and quite dark and this is where the Turks often sat.
“Sensible people,” he thought and went to the side and ordered a Tuborg, he then sat down and observed. He needed time and space now, not Jacky’s company or any other for that matter.
“Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it,” he thought.
Another beer was consumed, then a third. “Enough,” he decided, “it’s nine forty five and you need to eat something, so go and see what the restaurant has to offer.
There were Mezes, Dolma, Patlican and Cacik, but he knew he did not have enough time to enjoy them all, so decided that Taskebab would do, with a glass of red wine. Kavaklidere, not bad,” he mused but then his mind wandered back to Tikrit, “Why the hell do I worry,” he argued with himself, “he deserved it, he did deserve it,” but then he reflected, “Jesus, nobody deserves that.” The lamb stew was finished, the empty wine glass refilled and when he returned to the table from the huge serve yourself barrel of wine he saw Jacky seated at his table sipping white wine.
“You’ve been much longer than last time and you didn’t come back to the room where I was waiting,” she scolded.
“So,” he snapped back quickly, because his mind was still on other things.
To which she exploded angrily, “Thanks very much, I was only trying to be polite, I’m not a dog you know, So, to you too.”
He stretched out his hand, stroked the back of her fingers and whispered, “I’m sorry; the business went on longer than I expected and when I returned it was late, about nine fifteen and I thought I’d better grab a bite to eat and then find you. I thought you said you would eat early so I didn’t come back to the room. Sorry Jacky, sorry,”I know you’re not a dog and I really do know I’m not your master, he smiled at her and concluded, “Let’s w
alk into town.”
Already waiters were hovering politely to remove their glasses but more importantly to move the people in order to prepare for the late supper. She begrudgingly agreed to walk into town and stood waiting to be escorted. They walked into town hand in hand, but no words were spoken. Music could be heard coming from hotels and bars and people mingled around as shopkeepers hassled them to come into their shops; to paraglide, to safari, to scuba dive or to buy Rolex watches for ten pounds. A young Turk invited Jacky into the Hell Club for cheap cocktails and the best show in town. “Hayir,” snapped Alan and the boy retreated.
They walked to the beach and sat down in the sand. He put his arm around her shoulder and said, “Enjoy the moment love, enjoy everyday. Enjoy this quiet, this peace, nothing lasts; even the sea out there will not be here forever.” She smiled back at him but said nothing.
July 27th, 1800, The White Dolphin Restaurant.
Looking out to sea the White Dolphin is to the left of the bay and commands a fabulous view over the town of Olu Deniz, the sea and the mountains surrounding the town and because of this view it’s the tourist trap for couples and families who want to take photographs at sunset.
The walk from the car park down a stone drive past a small boutique takes you into the restaurant which is famous for its fish dishes. Down 2 further terraces you come to a small cocktail bar with perhaps the best view of the bay on a sun exposed terrace. To the right of this is a quiet lounge covered by a grape vine where Alan, Onar and Shan now sat drinking; Elfe beer for Alan and sekerli coffee for his companions.
“We only have about one hour before the place gets filled with tourists looking at the sunset, so Onar please inform us of progress,” asked Alan.
Onar sipped his coffee leaving the thick sediment at the bottom of the small cup then replied, “I visited all three sites yesterday and I have picked the ideal one for our purposes. It is the most expensive but also the best in terms of equipment, laboratory, workforce and security. The owner is also prepared to vacate the premises as soon as he receives payment, as long as we are prepared to take the factory, as you might say ‘as is’. He did think it a little strange that we wanted to move so fast but I told him we have the chance of a big UK contract if we can supply quickly and with his export licence operational until 2020 he has all we need. Therefore I told him we were prepared to pay his price. I have also arranged a local solicitor to help us complete the deal,” he paused for breath then continued, “and finally, I have arranged credit with the KOL and Guarantee banks and opened an account in the name of Lolts and one in my name.”
“You’ve been busy,” smiled Alan who then turned to Shan, “is everything in order in Switzerland?”
The banker nodded in approval.
Alan spoke very quietly, “I will need to see Amdarni within the next two days, can we get a message to him in Rhodes to meet here on the 29th at the same time?” Shan nodded, saying, “Usually we would not have a problem, but our runner has disappeared, he has not been back to his room or been seen since we last met.”
Onar looked at Alan, the dark features of his face and eyes showing little emotion, “You told me we would need another runner while he was still driving the car, what happened?”
Alan whispered, “I’m sorry, but he broke the rules, the cardinal sin is not to be trusted, therefore we did need another runner. I argued with him on the way back but he didn’t understand most of what I said. However he did understand, “you stupid bastard you’re fired. He drove off up the mountain road, shouting and gesticulating. He was very angry, driving far too fast. I don’t know what has happened to him, but whatever it is he is still fired from this project and therefore we do need another runner.”
He then turned to the banker and said, “Please go to Rhodes and see Amdarni, take one of the holiday trips from the beach, you can be there and back by tomorrow evening. Ask the captain to come here on the 29th and also if he has a trusted crew man we can use to replace Tikrit. If he has, then pay both what is needed and ask him to bring our new runner on the 29th.
July 29th, 18.00, The White Dolphin Restaurant, Olu Deniz ,Turkey.
For 20 minutes a motor boat had bobbed in the sea 15 meters from the shore line below the restaurant. Here the sea was shallow for the first few metres but then the sand bank dropped sharply to 20 metres, making it possible for quite large boats and ships to come in very close to the shore line. Two men slid over the side of the boat both dressed in white T shirts, blue shorts and deck sandals. The water came up to their knees but within a few paces toward the shore it lapped around their ankles. Just a few moments on the sandy shore line and they would be dry. Access to the restaurant from here was by climbing 100 steps and the 2 men having climbed the steps appeared on the open terrace of the cocktail bar. Alan seated in the vine covered lounge leaned forward and asked Shan if these were the two expected colleagues. Identification was swift. Coffees, apple teas and Elfe were ordered and the meeting began. Alan leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice, “Welcome Captain Amdarni.”
Captain Amdarni nodded, offered his hand and introduced the second man as Varn. Alan beckoned them to sit, “We have only one hour of privacy here so we must get down to details quickly. Varn, you are to be our new runner, do you speak Arabic, Turkish and English?”
“Yes,” replied Varn, “quite well.”
“That will be a great help, your pay for what we wish you to do will be five thousand pounds per month given to you through Shan, our banker. Your job will be as follows.” Here Alan described the unit’s requirements and the rules and codes of work and especially the consequences to all if they were broken. Alan then moved on to the more important discussions with the captain.
“You have out to sea access to a container brought out of Iraq some time ago?”
“Yes, I have access to three in total and one is on the sea bed about fifteen miles from shore between Rhodes and here.”
“Good, do you know what it contains?”
“I have my suspicions but I am not an expert, I do know it contains banned weapons, WMD I think it is now called, but I do not know what kind.”
“But surely you have some instructions of what to do with it?”
“I was given information before I left Iraq on how to submerge the containers and told to treat them with the utmost care and never take them into any port. But I was given little information as to the contents. There are however, four waterproof packets attached to the containers each with a sealed waterproof satchel. I was informed that I would eventually be approached and the people who approached me would know what to do. I suppose that’s you.”
Alan smiled and looked around to see the lounge was still empty. He leaned to Onar and whispered, “Onar, I’d like you to go back with Amdarni and see what the satchels tell us; Captain, can we get access to them?”
“Twenty four hours a day, I have divers who can retrieve them in 45 minutes. Do you want me to retrieve all four satchels?” enquired Amdarni.
“No, I think we should remove only three. I expect they will say the same but three will definitely tell us,” answered Alan then continued, “Varn, you will stay here with Shan in Olu Deniz, we have booked you a room in the Paradise Hotel. Shan will give you as much information as you require.” He leaned again toward Onar and said, “Onar, when you get access to the documentation and know exactly what WMD we are dealing with, then I would like you to think of ways to transport it ashore.”
He turned to the Captain and asked, “how long to get back to your ship and for Onar to return to shore?”
“That depends on the documentation there is to read, but say about three to four hours.”
“Good, Onar and I will meet later this evening in the Secret Garden Bar,” Alan smiled at his colleagues and concluded, “I will be there from ten o’clock onward, we will all meet there again on the 31st of July at six in the evening.”
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All five stood up, hands were shaken and Alan thanked the captain saying, “it was good to meet you, see you again on the 31st. Keep safe Onar, I’ll see you again soon.”
The Captain and Onar descended the steps. The others watched from the terrace as the two waded out from the shore to the boat, then engines roared into life and the motor boat moved swiftly out to sea.
Shan, Varn and Alan descended the steps, turned left at the bottom and headed towards the town along the sandy beach.
“You know where I will be if you want me, if not then we will meet again as arranged at the Secret Garden Bar,” said Alan before turning right toward Sun City; the others walked on into the brightly lit, noisy town.
July 29th, 19.30, Steam Ship Afyon.
Amdarni and Onar boarded the ship and a meeting was held in the captain’s quarters. Two divers would be sent down to retrieve three satchels which would remain sealed and brought to the captain as soon as possible.
By 20.30 Onar had in his possession three watertight satchels, each about the size of an A4 file. The contents of each were found to be the same. They were instructions on how to enter the first, outer casing of the container and they stated that within the casing there would be two full body suits. The instructions also stated that to gain entry to the second and third casings a six figure code would be required to open the Gurteknik locking system and both six figure codes were available from those who knew. It also stated that the second casing contained a further pouch which would identify the contents of the container. Each of the inner casings was equipped with tamper proof alarm systems, both heat sensitive, and penetration sensitive and each Gurteknik locking system was designed to dead lock if tampered with, or the wrong code was entered for any of the six digits more than three times. At the very heart of the inner skin was a bomb linked to the sensing systems which would propel the WMD into the atmosphere or sea or whatever environment it was in.
Onar turned to the captain, “The Iraqis seemed to know what they were doing here, they have spent a lot of time building this container.”