by Chris Harris
Reports were still coming in of shouts and the occasional flurry of shots from inside the building. Paul’s plan was obviously working. Gumin’s former subjects were clearly rising up against him and were trying to either kill or capture him.
At the rear of the building, Sniper Four reported an attempted break out by a number of armed men. He managed to shoot three of them before they made it back to the shelter of the building. The UAV’s camera was concentrating on the front of the building, so when the camera panned to the rear, all we could see were bodies lying on the grass.
Looking up, I saw Jon walking over to us. “Do we know what’s going on?” I asked.
“You’re seeing and hearing everything we are. I think Berry’s plan is working but your guess is as good as mine as to what’s going on inside.”
As the camera zoomed in on the people who were still lying on the ground outside the building, you could see that the majority were women, and had their arms flung protectively across the smaller figures of the children next to them.
“Jon, as most of the people on the ground look like women or children, you have to assume that the men are inside trying to carry out our instructions. But without any weapons, they’re going to get slaughtered in there. Can’t we do anything to help them?” I asked.
Jon stared at the screen and thought for a moment. “Yes, we should, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Captain Berry will have to enter a building with no clear idea of the tactical situation. He won’t be able to tell friend from foe. It’s got disaster written all over it. But then again,” he reasoned, “his men are superbly trained and are used to thinking on their feet and adapting to a changing situation. And those inside are only trying to follow our orders ...” He seemed to come to a decision, “I agree that we should try something.”
Before Jon could radio in, Captain Berry’s voice came over the loud speaker. “Colonel Moore, I think it’s reached a stalemate. I’m going to Plan Two.”
Jon picked up the handset and replied, “Agreed. Proceed with Plan Two.”
Glancing at me and Jerry, he said, “Plan two is the alternative scenario we prepared for. He’ll force entry into the compound and, depending on what’s happening, he’ll proceed with the mission to eliminate Gumin.”
Smiling wryly, he added, “Did you think he spent all that time working on it to come up with only one plan?”
Paul issued orders for one of the lorries to approach. It arrived a minute later and followed him as he drove the lead armoured vehicle through the gate, flattening it in the process.
As his men disembarked from the armoured vehicles and the lorry, we heard him instructing the people on the ground, via the loudspeaker, to lie still. They would be handcuffed, but this was for their own protection, and they were not to panic.
I had watched something like this once, in a programme I had seen about the Special Forces. The standard procedure in any hostage situation was to treat everyone as a suspect and secure them. They couldn’t afford to assume that they were all innocent, and it avoided any risk of being attacked by someone who was posing as one of the hostages.
We watched, fascinated, as his men spread out slowly and approached the building, methodically putting plasticuffs on the people lying on the ground. Paul must have issued an order not to secure any young children because they were left untouched. Touchingly, many of the smaller figures had now draped themselves across the larger ones, as if attempting to protect them in their turn.
As our men neared the building, the camera picked out a man leaving it, holding his hands high above his head. He was ordered to kneel and keep his hands out in the open. We watched as he was roughly thrown to the ground and his hands secured behind his back. He was dragged away from the front of the building to where a group of soldiers had gathered behind some abandoned cars.
At Jon’s request, the camera zoomed in on the group. We could see Captain Berry talking to the man. He then addressed the control room. “Colonel Moore, we have information that Gumin and a few of his men have holed up in the office suite of the warehouse.”
“Captain Berry, we can see you, please continue.”
“As soon as my broadcast went out, the people inside did try to capture him. They caught a lot of them unprepared and managed to get their weapons away from them, but Gumin and an unknown number of his men managed to retreat to the offices. They’ve already fortified them, as it’s where they keep all the weapons and valuables they’ve plundered.”
“What do you propose, Captain Berry?”
“Let me do a recon and then I’ll come up with some options.”
A few minutes later we watched him lead a team of four men into the building.
Another tense few minutes passed as we all waited, powerless to do anything but observe the drama being played out before us in full HD and stereo sound.
Captain Berry’s voice broke the silence. “Get ready. We’re sending some people out to you. They’re all disarmed and will need to be secured.”
Over the next ten minutes we watched as, singly and in pairs, men and women hurried out of the building, arms raised. The waiting soldiers secured their hands behind their backs and made them lie flat on the ground.
“Colonel Moore, the building is clear apart from the men barricaded in the office. They’ve secured a good position and may be tough to dislodge. If it wasn’t for all the supplies in there, I’d suggest that we withdraw and call in an airstrike.”
“Any other options, Captain Berry?” asked Jon. “I agree, I’d prefer to hang on to the supplies but if, in your opinion, it’s too risky to remove him by force, I’ll authorise an airstrike on the building. The supplies would be useful, but it’s not worth risking the lives of your men. You’re in command on the ground, it’s your decision.”
“Thank you, Sir, give me five minutes.”
Ten minutes later, he was back on the radio. “Sir, we have a plan. We’ve got a sniper into position overlooking the office. He’s got a good view of the inside. He’ll fire through the window and force them to keep their heads down, while we attack them through the front. Let me get the men into position and clear the civilians out of the way and then we’ll give it a go.”
We saw the soldiers starting to gather up the people who’d been lying prone in the yard. They were moved in groups, and then placed together in one location, close to where the gates had been flattened by the armoured cars.
We received no warning of the commencement of the attack. The camera had shown squads of soldiers moving rapidly into the building and the odd voice command could be heard over the speaker, as he got them into position inside the building.
A flurry of commands burst out over the speaker and gunfire could be heard in the background. It was impossible to work out what was going on and there was nothing to see on the screen, as all the action was taking place inside. Jon was quiet, his face expressionless and his eyes closed, as he tried to interpret the calls coming in over the radio, to get an idea what was going on.
As I listened, I imagined the chaos and terror of a close quarter battle, as Paul and his men fought to drive out Gumin and his henchmen.
“Breach the door!” came through very clearly.
A crescendo of gunfire and explosions made you want to duck under the desk. On the screen, smoke began to pour out of the side of the warehouse. More commands and voices could be heard, then silence.
Nothing was heard for a few minutes until a calm “all clear” came over the speaker. As more “all clears” came through, we all stood and cheered as the tension in the room melted away to be replaced by relief and joy.
“That was a bit tense,” said Jon, as he came up and shook both our hands. “I still feel I should have been out there, leading from the front.”
Jerry replied, “Come on Jon, you did that the other day.”
“You’re right!” he acknowledged. “Do you want to get out of here for a while? It’ll take Captain Berry quite some time to sort things
out and report back, I guess.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
We left the operations centre and made our way to the canteen. It was full of people sitting down to breakfast. When we looked at the clock on the wall, we were amazed to see that it was still only eight o’clock in the morning. The whole operation had taken just over an hour.
Jerry and I sat there for several hours, drinking cups of coffee, and not knowing what to do next.
Our main topic of conversation was, of course, the attack and the fact that it had obviously been a success. We still weren’t sure if Gumin had been killed or captured, but came to the conclusion that it probably didn’t make much difference either way. If he’d been captured alive we couldn’t imagine him being allowed to continue his miserable and cruel existence for long.
What had been brought home to us was that without the extra security the army’s presence was currently giving us, then increasingly, our community’s ability to protect itself against a large scale attack would be in doubt.
We talked about the fact that we were now in the depths of winter and were entering the coldest months of January and February. Would there be a mass migration of people back into the cities? Whatever food the countryside might have been able to offer would clearly be exhausted by now, so if you had the strength, wouldn’t you want to get back to the towns and cities, where at least there was the possibility of a roof over your head and warmth from a fire?
A feeling of unease came over me. “We need to get back home right now Jerry,” I said.
“I know, Tom, but Jon did promise he would get us back home once the attack was over. Let’s give it time for the dust to settle and then we’ll ask again.”
A soldier approached and told us that Colonel Moore was ready to hold a debriefing on the results of the attack. We followed him and found ourselves in a room that was set out in conference style, with enough seats for at least three hundred people. Jon and a number of officers were seated at a table at the front of the room. As the room was about half full, Jerry and I managed to find a couple of empty seats close to the front and sat down. Asking for quiet, Jon announced that he would begin soon; he was just waiting for a few more people to arrive. I could see the Prime Minister and most of the people I’d been introduced to the day before, sitting just in front of us.
The noise in the room increased again, as everyone continued their conversations with their neighbours.
“Atten-shun!” a voice boomed, immediately silencing everyone. All the uniformed occupants of the room sprang up and stood as if on parade. Jerry and I, not knowing what we should be doing, followed suit and stood up.
I realised that the Queen and Prince Philip had entered the room and everyone watched as they seated themselves at the front.
“Thank you,” said Jon, “Please sit down, everyone. Captain Berry has sent through his initial report and I thought it would be simpler to brief everyone together.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the attack was successful, in the fact that we eliminated this Gumin character, who was terrorising and controlling quite a large area. The details may change as Captain Berry discovers more, but this is what we know for now.
After a fierce firefight Gumin was killed in the final moments of the attack. He’d barricaded himself into an office suite once Captain Berry had taken control of the warehouse. Up until this point, the attack had gone according to plan. His victims had risen up against him and overpowered most of his men. We now know that over a hundred and fifty men, women and children were living under terrible conditions of abuse and virtual slavery.
I’m sure as the stories come out, they’ll be added to many more shameful tales for years to come about the levels of depravity some humans are prepared to reach.
“Gumin and his men fought viciously, and in the main, without any fear or regard for their own personal safety. They seemed to be impervious to pain too, all of which suggests that they were under the influence of some serious narcotics. Captain Berry was forced to use flashbangs and grenades to make a breach in their defences, and this started a fire. Even though the rooms they were hiding in were burning fiercely, they refused to surrender. Gumin only made a final bid for freedom when his clothes were alight.
Pausing, Jon picked up a sheet of paper and looked around the room. “I’ll now read from the report Captain Berry sent through, to prove that I am not dramatizing Gumin’s last moments.
“Gumin ran from the room with most of his clothes on fire. Holding a gun in each hand, and shooting wildly, he managed to get virtually to the warehouse door before being brought down by sustained fire from most of us”.”
Jon explained that once all of Gumin’s men had been eliminated, the fire had consumed most of the inflammable items in the room, and Captain Berry had been able to bring it under control and extinguish it. He was currently organising the survivors, and the volunteers from our own community were helping them to understand that their ordeal was over. It was obviously too early to have itemised all the supplies that remained in the warehouse, but initial reports indicated that these were substantial. Looking around the room again, Jon continued,
“Once we’ve had time to assess all the facts, I’m sure the survivors will have a big part to play in the recovery programme. They’re now effectively the owners of a large, well-stocked food warehouse, and I’m sure that they’ll want to help move things forward. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure it doesn’t fall under the control of a madman again. Thank you. That’s all for now. We’ll keep you all updated on any changes. Now if you could return to your duties, I’m sure we all have a lot to do.”
We all stood up as the Queen left and then the buzz of conversation started again. Jon made his way over to us.
“Jerry, I’ve arranged for you to meet the psychologist we were talking about yesterday. He’ll be in the medical centre and is expecting you to drop by shortly.”
Jerry nodded. “Thanks, Jon, I’ll head over now.”
Before he left, Jon spoke to both of us. “While I’ve got you together, I just wanted to let you know that we’re planning to get you home tomorrow. We still think travelling through the night is the best option, so you’ll be leaving with the convoy tomorrow night and if all goes to plan, you’ll arrive early on the 31st.”
“News Year’s Eve!” I exclaimed. “That’s great! Thanks, Jon. You’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment and I really appreciate that you haven’t forgotten about us.”
He grinned, “As I’ve said before, how could I forget about you? You’re the ones who have landed me with all this work! Now Tom, if you could follow my aide, I have a few people who want to meet you. Jerry, once you’re finished with Dr King, if you want to join Tom, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting as well.”
As Jerry set off, Jon led me into a smaller room and asked me to wait. A few minutes later he returned and introduced me to a man called Chris. He was dressed in civilian clothes and looked about the same age as me.
“Tom, Chris has requested a meeting as he has a proposition he wants to put to you. Chris, why don’t you start by giving Tom your background and why you happen to be here.”
We shook hands and sat down together. “Tom, thanks for meeting me,” he said. “My name is Chris Garland and I’m a Bushcraft Instructor. I’ve been here for about a month now.
When the power went out, I knew straight away what had probably happened. I don’t have any ties, so I decided that my best course of action would be to get away from everyone and try to survive in the wild. It worked well at first and I travelled around the countryside, avoiding people whenever I could.
It wasn’t always easy though, as before long, the countryside started to fill up with people escaping from the cities. After seeing some terrible things, I decided to cut myself off from all the violence and settle in the remotest and least populated area possible.
Unfortunately, and rather embarrassingly, I was passing close by on my way to an area of Wales I knew would be i
deal, when I tripped over a rabbit hole and fell and broke my ankle.” He pointed down at his foot, which was in an air cast boot.
“I was now in a bit of trouble, and seeing a farm in the distance I had no choice but to try and make my way there and seek help. Fortunately for me, it turned out to be this place. I was picked up by one of the patrols and I’ve been here ever since. My ankle’s almost better now and, not wanting to be a burden, I was thinking about continuing on my way when all the excitement of making contact with you happened. And now I’m hearing stories and rumours about a recovery plan, so I approached Colonel Moore to see if I could offer my services.”
“Sorry about your ankle,” I said. “Look, please don’t take this the wrong way but, how do you envisage helping us? Bushcraft is all very well, but I’m not sure the ability to whittle a spoon is going to be much help to our survival.”
He laughed good-humouredly, “I don’t think I explained myself properly; I’m a Bushcraft AND Survival Instructor. Before I broke my ankle I was living entirely off what was around me. I could teach you that you don’t have to rely on stored food, and that there’s more than enough food to be found just from foraging and trapping.”
With another grin, he added, “Bushcraft isn’t just about spoon whittling. It’s about living in the natural environment, and using your ingenuity and what nature can provide, to find food, shelter and tools. I can teach you to make a great spoon as well if you want, but personally I still prefer my trusty metal spoon for eating.”
Apologising for my flippant comment, I immediately saw the benefit of what he was offering. Before the event, Becky and I had created a file containing information on edible wild plants, and how to trap and catch wild game in the countryside. But apart from gathering and harvesting berries, and well known plants such as dandelions and nettles, we’d been far too busy amassing supplies to concentrate on wild food.