by John Morris
The weight of the monitor was revealed when unpacked. It was a wooden framed box, which held a large and solid metal frame. This was assembled, the extremely large monitor placed on top, and secured. The unit had four multi-directional trolley type wheels, which could be locked in place.
Once set aside, the lads helped Dan assemble the two flat-pack desks, and then two and three drawer cabinets on wheels that fitted underneath. With the main components assembled, Alison oversaw the restructuring of the room, which finally took on the look of an operations centre. A server, computers and smaller monitors were added, and the job was completed when Dan and the lads put the office chairs together.
Dan said, “Kevin, Neville, please put all the packaging in the nearby, upstairs storeroom. At some point this will all need to be returned. The clock had turned seven by the time they were packing up. The ops room was coming to life, and the mood was happy.
“Mission accomplished,” said Dan, and a cheer went up. He had just paid the lads, when Felicity entered the room. “So this is where you’ve been hiding. Wow! What is this? An operations room.”
“Yes. Alison, our computer expert. May I introduce you to the final member of our team, Inspector Wigglesworth, head of the local Constabulary.”
They shook hands, and Alison enquired, “So, is it true you are Dan’s new girlfriend?”
She chuckled and replied, “That hasn’t been decided, as of yet. How did you know?”
“Ma’am, we aren’t called British Intelligence without good reason.”
Her words elicited laughter, and a mass exodus for dinner. Most people needed to relax after a long day, but Alison returned to work.
Percy said, “I’ll need to return the van tonight. I borrowed it from Alf, a neighbour, and he needs it for first thing in the morning. Also, the wife is under the weather and asked me to spend the night at home.”
“Okay Percy, do that, and ask Ben to pick you up in the morning. Call me if there is a problem. Thanks, and good night.”
Dan and Felicity dined in the lounge. At first talk was of work, but soon changed to their personal lives, what they wished for, and their dreams. Their thinking was broadly aligned: work hard, get promoted to a top job with money, a decent pension, have kids somewhere along the way, and spend retirement travelling the world.
The next morning Percy called early, “Dan, I’ll need to remain at home today, sorry. Maybe for a few days. The wife is not well and I cannot leave her.”
“That’s fine Percy, attend to her. We’ll be fine, and I hope she recovers soon.”
Ben arrived for breakfast, but had little else to do. Dan spent most of the day in the ops room with Alison. With the aid of daylight, he was able to hone positioning of the drones, and got video good enough for facial recognition from the smaller drones. He made a log of each site, noting details of each aeroplane, the numbers and type of people that got off, and identified cargo boxes inwards and outgoing.
Alison had the aircraft movements as a wrap, and spent some of her time unravelling the European aspect. Once she had a handle on it, Dan said, “Can you check the geo-political boundaries of Thetford and nearby Wymondham. I need the political make up down to ward and parish level. Relate this to local council composition, and include the ethnicity and political allegiance of all elected members.
“We begin with just these two. Once that is done, correlate the results with all empty, or recently inhabited dwellings. I presume most will have been registered with the Land Agency within the last year. Before this, most were held in tithe to a factory or farm, which has long since gone––equals no property ownership.”
“Understood. But I need to know the ‘why’, what did you discover?”
“Ah, top down, of course. This is what we found…”
Chapter 17 ~ Lost Property
Dan and Alison worked late on Thursday. Felicity called, “Dan, I need to stay in tonight, do my hair, get my head together, and have time to myself. You don’t mind do you?”
“No, that’s fine … I’ve been wondering about us as well. Alison and I are busy-busy, working late, but making good progress. Enjoy your chill, and I’ll see you tomorrow. We all need our personal space. Sweet dreams.” He made kissy sounds as he rang off.
Felicity stared at the phone, the call dead. She had prepared arguments as of why she needed a quiet night in, but Dan had accepted the fact at face value. She had never met a man like him before, and wondered.
Percy was a no show on Friday also. “Dan, she’s still not well, and her sister is coming over for the weekend. It’s an old problem, but more severe than before, so I need to be with her. Hope that’s all right?”
“Of course, Percy. Let me know when your wife is well again, and we’ll begin something new. Tell me, you deal with the rural west side of Lower Meddlington, so I presume there is another who covers the east?”
“Yes, and we cover for each other when one of us is on holiday, or sick. He’s covering my beat now. Why d’you ask?”
“Just a thought, we’ll talk when you are available again.”
Friday became another long and busy day. Alison stated, “Yesterday I lost so much time to manual searching, it was like waiting for the cows to come home. So, I set up several algorithms, and although they need honing, results are now coming in by the minute, not hours. I should have something for you by lunchtime. I can tell you this though, the majority of rural properties are tithe, and most have no traceable ownership.”
“And so, the houses are filled with Muslims. Can it be that simple?”
“ Curse are like chickens; they always come home to roost.”
“Let me know the soonest you suspect any of your cows have come home to roost.”
Alison chuckled, “I will. It’s going to be fun working here, with you. I’ll also tell you when the chickens come home. I’m that good.”
Dan looked at her quizzically, thinking of the facts, not their banter, when a penny dropped. Realising the connection, he made a call. “Percy, what’s the address of that house you’d like to live in?”
After searching the address, Dan called back twenty minutes later. “Percy, bad news, the house is in tithe to the tanning factory.”
“But that went out of business before the Second World War.”
“Exactly! Get your arse over here pronto. Bring your credit card, and it will be yours in a few minutes.”
“I’ll need to wait until the sister gets here, but will be with you shortly. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Don’t. It’s been derelict for years and will need a lot of work.”
After the call finished, Alison stated, “There is a similar property a few doors down, detached with large gardens, loads of space, and outbuildings. It’s a dream for a city girl. It was also tithe to the same tannery.”
“Put my name on it. The cost is a few hundred pounds, for a manor house. This is all lost property, and I’m making a claim.”
“You’ll need to complete this form, answer some personal questions, pay the fee, and they will decide if you can have title to the property. It’s just up the road from your girlfriend’s house.”
“Thank you Alison, I know that.”
“So, she is your current love then, I knew it.”
“Then why do I feel like a thirteen year old caught snogging behind the bike shed?”
Dan completed the application of ownership, and they got back to work, but something nagged at the back of Dan’s mind. He had just admitted, for the first time in years, that he had a girlfriend. The only way he could get his mind back to the order of the day was to accept the fact.
He stopped being distracted when a cargo plane landed at one of the airfields he was monitoring, and he appended the log. Alison got a call from Sarge. “Yes, Dan’s monitoring it now.”
Dan launched the small drone, and flew it inside the hangar, settling it on a beam to monitor the floor. Seventy militia debarked, and a long box four feet wide was next. Othe
r incoming crates were opened, and as he had expected, were filled with automatic weapons, explosives, and ammunition. He reasoned these were of black market origin.
What was loaded was mainly food, some clothing, and several long thin boxes. Others lay open nearby and, taking a gamble, he flew the drone close to one as it departed the interior. He knew immediately it was a short range missile and presumed the associated nearby boxes contained similar, and warheads. He got the drone out before discovery, and made a copy of the resultant footage.
In the log, he noted that each UK airbase received one cargo plane each week. A larger pattern was beginning to emerge. Just before midday Alison exclaimed, “Got it! Just one more tweak to the main algorithm, and I’ll be able to rattle these off in no time.”
“What have you got, Alison?”
“Okay, Wymondham occurred first, presumably because it was closer to their centre of operations, and smaller. In the country, a ward is composed of parishes. And guess what? Two-thirds are Muslim. I had to dig deep for that, as it is not common knowledge. They vote for an Islamic representative, but the problem is, they vote for any political party. Mainly Labour or Conservative, but other political flavours are also in the mix.”
“I don’t understand. This wasn’t what I was expecting. Are they true to the party?”
“Yes, I checked that out, and the elected Muslims challenge each other in council. They appear to be fully supportive of the party line.”
“Damn. I had been expecting something like a new party, the Jihad of Islam, or similar. But they appear genuine. I don’t get that, with what we are seeing. What about Thetford?”
“One other point regards Wymondham. The local English Defence Force, or EDF, are strong in that town, and determined to expose a Muslim plot. They are getting nowhere, except for scaring the local, Christian population half to death.
“Thetford is more or less the same, two-thirds of elected local politicians being Muslim, and all working for an assortment of political parties. There’s no overt corruption of our political system here, Dan.”
“Yes there is, we’ve just got to decipher it. Later, I’ll need you to work outwards in concentric circles, radiating from here, but first, I need you to tie this down.
“Here’s the thing. In the countryside, and with most properties not being owned, but tithed to long extinct farms and factories, most property is without legal ownership, agreed?”
“Yes, that’s true. I checked, and the properties in Muslim villages have all been recently lodged with the Land Registry. The thing is, this is being done through a property firm, Anglo-Asian Holdings.”
“We’ve already come across that name in Norwich and Newmarket, they’re developing new estates. Cappel Moor for one. I need you to check them out as a matter of priority. Find out everything you can about them, directors, property ownership, sub branches, or child companies. The works.”
“I can tell you now, the one I just discovered is under the title Anglo-Asian Holdings, Wymondham.”
“So, this company is taking over rural villages, filling the houses with migrants, probably for a rent, and in time, the numbers accrue to be enough to take over a Ward, which in turn will only vote for the Muslim candidate.”
“Yes, and they’re breeding like rabbits; eight, ten kids to a family.”
“I need you to relate this to the town and later, city. I believe each Ward of a town is being undermined by an influx of Muslim voters, which alters the balance of power. It does not alter the political divisions of the common people, because they remain the same as before, but now a Muslim elected. Do you follow me?”
“Yes. This is heady stuff, but I got it.”
“Can you show me the religious demographical shift for each ward of Wymondham and Thetford, disregarding party voted for, for say the last five years? Look at Newmarket as well.”
“Sure, this will take a while.”
Dan answered his mobile phone. “Hello, Percy?”
“Hello Dan. The sister has arrived, so could somebody come and collect me, my car is still in the car park.”
“Yes of course, I’ll send Ben to you, about twenty minutes?”
“Yes, ideal. These women will talk themselves to death.”
Dan went down to speak to Ben, and found him helping Stella in the shop. After greetings, Ben was bullish. “Dan, I loved the action, but today, yesterday, I have done almost nothing. I feel wasted, there’s no point in me being here. It’s time I went home.”
Dan was slightly taken aback, but realised the reason. “Sorry Ben, but with Alison here, well, she’s doing all our jobs, and she’s much better at it. Okay, one last job, and then we’re done, but may I call on you in future?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Great. I need you to pick Percy up from home, and bring him here. He needs his car back. Thanks Ben, for everything. Here, a small consideration, then we are done.”
Time passed and Percy arrived, and was soon the prospective owner of his desired house. Stella called them for lunch, and they sat around the buffet table catching up. Percy mentioned ownership of his new house, and Stella said, “What? You registered it and they gave you the deeds.”
“Yes, effectively. They call it a title to property nowadays. I had to answer some questions, but it proved to be simple enough. Paid a few hundred pounds for the registration, and my application has been provisionally approved.”
“My, oh my. I pay no rent, my home is ex farm labourer, but nobody seems to own it. You mean I can register it as my own?”
“Yes. That seems to be the case.”
“What about this house, Stella?”
“The same I shouldn’t wonder. I still can’t reach the owners, they may be dead, or living it up in Spain. The rest of this village will likely be the similar. How do I register my home?”
Dan was quiet for a moment. “Don’t act yet. This could become rather big, quite quickly. I’ll need to speak to Her Majesty’s Land Registry, probably in person, and put a fast-track application process in place for all concerned hereabouts.
“Percy, when are you likely to return to duty?”
“It depends on the misses, but if she strengthens over the weekend, I can return on Monday morning. Regardless, with her sister staying over, there should be no problem either way.”
“Okay. I think we need to understand the size of the problem, so return to normal duty, but try to identify who lives in a registered property, and who does not. We’ll need your opposite number to do likewise on the east.”
“That’s a lot of work, every single house or small farm.”
“Yes. The name of occupant and official address, and who held the tithe, dated if possible.”
Alison said, “It may not make much difference, but I can log all registered properties, and compare this to the electoral roll.”
“That would be a great help. Okay, let’s pick this up on Monday morning. I’m sure I’ll be speaking with the Inspector before then.”
Percy departed, and Stella began clearing up. Alison went upstairs, and Dan returned to his room to speak with his Director. He had to wait until she picked up. “Yes Dan, what is it?”
Dan explained the problem, relating a summary of what they had discovered so far that day. “It is my intention to visit the Land Registry as soon as possible. Your thoughts.”
“Hmmm. Bureaucrats. I think I should go with you. This may require someone of my leverage. I’ll call you back in a moment.”
Dan waited, working on his log until the call came. “Dan, we have an appointment with the director for nine a.m. Monday morning. Drive down on Sunday and we’ll dine at my club. It’ll give us a chance to catch up fully on where this is going. My driver will collect you from your apartment a seven-thirty on Monday morning. It’s only ten miles to Croydon, but the traffic will be a nightmare.
“You are on your secure phone? … Good, I’ll send the encryption key for the pen drive now. Pleasant reading, for your eyes only
.”
“Till Sunday, Ma’am.”
Using the encryption key, Dan read the files. They were the latest, current terrorist threat assessments of UK, USA, and Europe, regarding ISIL. One part struck a chord: organised human trafficking via air and sea.
Dan returned to the office, and picked up monitoring the drones. Alison was preoccupied for much of the afternoon, but spoke in time. “Dan, Anglo-Asian Holdings has property all over the place. They are incredibly big, but always out of the public eye, it’s most odd.”
“Show me what you got.”
“The directors of the main company are…”
“ Mohammad, Ali, and Hussein. The Inspector told me. I needed you to verify, thank you. What else?”
“These names are on the Cappel Moor estate.”
“They are also the owners of the local trading estate here, airfield, and flying club, to save you checking.”
“Thanks Dan. In Wymondham the directors are the same three, plus Shah. Likewise in Newmarket, the old estate is owned by those three, and somebody called Ibrahim. Thetford the same plus Al Fridi. It sounds like the latter is a local director of operations.”
“That makes sense. Run checks on the extra directors.”
“Already done. Ibrahim is from Syria, has British citizenship, and has worked for the company for many years. Same for Shah, except he has dual Pakistani-British citizenship, and again has worked for the company since coming here. Similar with Al Fridi.”
“The new inhabitants of the old Newmarket housing estate are Syrian. A police contact there told Percy that local government, charities, and even national government are all involved, viewing this as a refugee crisis alleviation project. I’ll see if Percy can get names of people from his contact. Even institutions would help.”
“I’ll begin with the council representative for that ward, who …” She madly clicked keys. “Got it. Just happens to be Pakistani.”
Work continued in a similar vein, until Dan’s mobile phone rang. It was after seven. “Felicity, sorry, I got distracted with work. Are we on for tonight?”