by M G Leslie
Reaching inside the camper, the leader pushed a button and watched the box slide out of the back on extendable rails. Pushing another one, he was able to lower it to the ground, at which point the other three men took hold of handles on the sides and pulled, what was clearly a very heavy box, away from the camper and over to one side of the building.
As they did so, the bare concrete floor, walls and metal ceiling amplified every noise they made.
“Get the other device prepared and get the kettle on,” said the leader as he walked over to the box and said, “And for god’s sake, let’s try and keep the noise down. Nobody is supposed to know we’re here – but this place is like a bloody echo chamber!”
Lifting the steel lid, the leader revealed the true purpose of the box. Inside, it contained almost a metric ton of high explosive, linked to a computerised detonator and a control panel on the front that sprung to life as he inserted and turned a key. After a couple more button presses, the leader was satisfied that it was functioning correctly, so he removed the key and walked over to the camper, accepting a cup of tea from one of the other men.
Once inside the camper, the leader sat down at a computer keyboard and sent an email that simply said:
PHASE ONE IS COMPLETE – PACKAGE IN PLACE – AM WAITING INSTRUCTION TO PROCEED WITH PHASE TWO.
Then he looked over to the other men who had moved another box of a similar size, to the back of the camper, mounting it on the rails that had been used to remove the first one.
As they all sat and started to drink their tea, one said, “What happens now?”
“We wait,” replied the leader, “Until we get the signal to go,” then he switched on the camper’s TV.
“And then what?” the same man asked.
“And then, we split in to two teams – you know the plan” said the leader. “One team remains here to keep an eye on this, whilst the other two deliver the other package just up the coast to Saunton Sands. Once the timer is set on the other package, they come back here, pick up the other two, and we vanish back home and enjoy the large cash deposits that will be in our bank accounts. That’s it – it’s as simple as that! Now relax – watch the TV or something.”
Back in Hong Kong, the Caucasian man who had checked out of the Grand Tower Hotel some hours before, was back in the underground room at Stanley Bay.
As he stood watching the men work at their computer terminals, one turned to him and said, “They are in position in the UK Sir. They just signalled that the first package is in place and they’re ready to proceed with the second as soon as we give the go ahead.”
“Good,” replied the Caucasian man. “Tell them to stay there and wait for further instructions,” then he walked out of the room.
The man typed a reply and hit send, and then a minute later the leader in the UK heard a reassuring beep on the computer. As he looked over and read the message, he turned back to the team and said, “OK, so they’ve acknowledged we’re here. But there’s no further instructions yet.”
CHAPTER 7 – Mary
It was late afternoon in Hong Kong. Price had enjoyed his lunch and was now walking around the streets of Wan Chai – paying close attention to everyone around him. He was very aware that, whilst he was there to track someone down, all he had was a high level description that seemed to implicate Mike – so he actually knew very little. However, the mama-san of Club One almost certainly had his photo – and in all likelihood, she had shared that with her contacts in Hong Kong.
Added to that, he was pretty sure the Chinese authorities would have seen him arrive. He wasn't certain, but he thought he saw someone at the airport look at him in a slightly odd way as he emerged and met Lee. So it was entirely possible that he was being tailed – if only to keep tabs on a foreign spy, which, from their point of view, is what he represented. And, he thought to himself, that's not entirely unreasonable – it's inconvenient – but it's what MI5 do in the UK, so, to complain would be a little hypercritical.
Price did, however, want to escape his ‘Cloak and Dagger’ world for a few hours – so if he was being tailed, he needed to lose them.
To start with, he wanted to stop anyone from tracking him – he knew SIS, and other security services, traced mobile phone cell logins as a matter of course, so he switched off his mobile and removed the battery then carried on walking – this time taking turns that didn’t lead anywhere and occasionally doubling-back – this would make it difficult for someone to follow him discreetly.
He thought he’d spotted one person following him, but as he walked around the streets, that person turned away from him and headed off in a different direction – so either they realised they’d been seen, or it was a coincidence and he wasn’t really being tailed at all. As always, he hoped for the coincidence, but assumed the worst. Coincidence or not though, after another hour or so of walking around, Price finally decided he was on his own.
Having stopped at the side of a quiet road, he quickly looked around, and couldn't see anyone. So he sprinted round the corner and down a dark, and quite dirty, alleyway between the backs of two buildings. It was a leftover from Hong Kong’s, or more specifically, Wan Chai’s, less developed and less reputable past – the road surface was poorly made up and iron fire exit stairways were bolted to the back of brick buildings, reminiscent, Price thought, of the old tenement blocks in New York City.
Half way down the alleyway he looked behind again. It was OK – nobody had followed him. So he ducked in to a corner between a fire exit and a wall and saw what he was looking for – it was a small rather tatty wooden door that probably started its life painted a dark green. However, the years of tropical humidity and rain had worn away most of the paint, so now it was just another hardly noticeable door.
After another quick look around to check he was alone, Price knocked twice and waited. A few seconds later, the peephole in the door opened and then a few seconds after that, the door itself was opened wide and he stepped inside. Without so much as a word, the Chinese lady who’d opened the door looked outside to make sure Price was alone, before closing it again.
For a few moments, they just looked at each other – Price looking at the beautiful slim lady before him – her amazing figure, dark brown hair, captivating eyes and a smile that made his heart melt. Then, as if to break the ice, she said, “This is certainly an unexpected surprise,” and walked forward and embraced Price with a warm hug and then a passionate kiss. “I wish I could see you more often.”
“Me to Mary,” said Price, “Me to.”
“Tea?”
“Yes please,” said Price, “You know how I like it.”
“Of course,” Mary replied, “So what brings you here?”
“I needed to clear my head,” Price replied, and then went on to break every rule ever written about secrecy as he explained his mission to her, whilst she made him a cup of tea in the tiny kitchen.
With tea in their hands, they walked in to the small lounge next to the kitchen and sat down whilst Price continued, this time describing his suspicions about Mike.
After quietly listening to his story, Mary asked, “Do you want me to check with Chinese intelligence to see if they have anything?”
“Yes please,” said Price, “But don’t misunderstand me – that’s not why I’m here.”
“I know that,” she replied with a smile, before kissing him again, “How long have we got?”
“We have enough time,” said Price with a smile.
“In that case, let's shower first,” replied Mary, as she stood up and walked over to the bathroom, to switch on the water heater.
3 hours later, they woke up in each other arms in bed – having fallen asleep after, as Price put it, getting reacquainted.
They continued to chat for another hour or so, then Mary took her laptop and logged in to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) secure website for overseas intelligence employees.
Ironically, even though Hong Kong is part of the People’s Republic of Chin
a, it is still treated as an independent state for many activities – intelligence gathering being one of them.
As Mary worked her way through the menus she gave Price a commentary – and then she laughed, “You're right, they know you're here – in fact, you’re suspected of deliberately setting off the fire alarm in a hotel last night – is that true?”
Price laughed, “It wasn’t me who set it off, but yes, I was most definitely involved – please pass on my apologies for the inconvenience caused.”
Mary smiled, “Of course. Oh hang on – here we go – they just sent me a message to tell me to look out for you. Better late than never I suppose.”
Price just smiled. “Apparently you may get in touch with me,” she said, as she started laughing, “Do you think you will get in touch my dear?”
“Would you like me to?” Price asked.
Mary leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, “Very much darling – very much indeed.”
“Anything on Mike or Lucy?” asked Price.
“Nothing on Mike,” said Mary, “But there’s a girl who arrived from the Philippines some weeks back. Suspected terrorist links and, oh my, that’s not good – possible links to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. We have a photo, take a look at this.”
“That’s her,” said Price, “Do they know where she is?”
“No,” said Mary, “She gave a false address and hasn’t been seen since she arrived. We were alerted too late to follow her.”
“So how did they follow me – because I’m sure they did?” asked Price.
“Blind luck my dear – blind luck,” said Mary. “From the looks of the report, someone was at the airport looking for someone else and they recognised Lee as embassy staff, so they followed you both – then they checked the hotel register and so on. So don’t worry – relax – I have it under control. Although, maybe next time just get a taxi and don’t meet at the airport?” then she leaned over and kissed Price again.
“We were in a hurry,” he replied.
“That wasn’t, isn’t, and never will be, an excuse for failing to follow basic safety rules my dear,” Mary reminded him.
Price smiled, “You’re right, of course – its inexcusable and occurred because I feel so at home here. Point taken though. But Lucy is here somewhere.”
“She is,” replied Mary, “And she is considered very dangerous – I thought you said she was a Working Girl that Mike picked up?”
“Well yes,” said Price, “But I’m not sure what to think anymore. And if she’s considered very dangerous, I’m not expecting to see Mike any time soon, sadly.”
“You realise, if she got to him, she will know your methods, your contacts – potentially everything. You could be in real danger darling,” said Mary in a rather worried tone.
“I know,” said Price, “You don’t need to remind me. Thanks again Mary – I should probably go.”
“What can I pass on? I need to report something because they’ll guess you got in touch as your mobile is switched off.”
“Tell your superiors that we’re investigating the missing money – tell them that I’ve promised to let you know if there’s any hint that it could affect the People’s Republic, and I’ll update you when we find Lucy. But, please don’t find her first as that wouldn’t be helpful,” said Price.
“Don’t worry, we won’t – and if we do, we’ll tell you,” said Mary, “China has no interest in wasting time hunting someone who’s not threatened our country – although we don’t want a terrorist in our country, so if you want to come and get her, we’ll happily stand by and watch – and perhaps even assist in an officially deniable way.”
Price stood up and they embraced again, then he said, “See you soon I hope. Do take care.”
“You to,” Mary replied, “And don’t be such a stranger – I haven’t seen you for months.”
“I know,” said Price, “I’m sorry – it’s difficult to get away,” and then he left, as quietly as he arrived, but with a tear in his eye – Mary was a very special friend and he knew he meant the same to her.
Once outside, Price put some distance between himself and Mary before putting the battery back in his phone and switching it on – it beeped immediately with an SMS from Lee, “Where are you? Call me – private line.”
Price dialled Lee’s mobile phone, which was answered immediately, “Where the hell have you been?”
“Walking around – shopping – why?” said Price, feigning innocence.
“Where are you now?” asked Lee.
“Just going back to the hotel when I noticed I’d switched off my phone by accident – must have knocked it whilst it was in my jacket pocket,” said Price.
Lee’s tone suggested he was not impressed – he said, “Dinner – I know a place in Stanley Bay that’s very nice – I’ll pick you up in say 30-45 minutes?”
Price hated lying to his friend and he knew that Lee hadn’t believed a word of his story, but Mary was a secret and had to remain as such, so he simply said, “Yes – I’ll be at the lobby in 45, see you there,” then he dropped the call.
On returning to his hotel, Price went through his usual routine on entering the room. Once satisfied he was alone and secure, he showered and changed his clothes.
His mind was racing, because Lee had mentioned Stanley Bay – that suggested he might have found the man they were looking for – and potentially Lucy, now that Price knew she was implicated in some way.
This was always the worst and most dangerous type of work. Assuming Lee had the address in Stanley Bay, he would be walking in to somewhere that could potentially be heavily guarded. He had no intelligence data to go on – he didn’t even know the layout of the building. And to make matters worse, they, whoever they were, almost certainly knew what he looked like, whilst he didn’t know any of them.
Consequently, Price was a little nervous, and that was a rare thing. So he was very careful in his preparations before setting off. Firstly he placed an SIS Tracker in a secret compartment in one of his shoes. Then, just in case that one was discovered, he used gaffer tape to fix another one on the inside of his upper thy, just below his groin. The device was so small, the chances were, even if he was searched, it would be missed.
The only way to detect it would be a metal detector and even then, you would need to be specifically looking for it, because the outside of the device was deliberately made from a polymer material that would not show up on either metal detectors or x-rays. The only metallic parts were a few internal components, and these were so small that they generally did not set off metal detectors that work by measuring the effect of an object as it passes through an electromagnetic field. Provided an object is not particularly dense, it has a limited effect and will be missed – whereas something made of steel or lead, like a gun or a bullet, will be picked up.
The SIS Tracker was designed with all this in mind, and yet, despite that, could be relied upon to send a low power signal on a fixed frequency that GCHQ could detect via a series of strategically located listening posts, almost anywhere in the world. Once activated, the Tracker’s were designed to operate for a minimum of 48 hours – although there had been stories of intelligence officers in the past being recovered using Tracker’s up to a week after their activation.
Within the Firm, they jokingly referred to the Tracker as their ‘Black Box’ – although as Price had been quick to point out on more than one occasion, unlike the aeroplane variety, they didn’t record what was being said – and thank goodness for that.
Having satisfied himself the Tracker was securely fixed in place, Price unloaded, cleaned and reloaded his Smith and Wesson pistol. Price particularly liked their SW990L because of the trigger action. It made it very easy to fire two shots in quick succession. Also, it was fairly small and most significantly, you could release the magazine from either side of the gun – Price was left-handed, so this was an important detail.
The weather in the tropics is not con
ducive to wearing a jacket. Even in the evening, the humidity can be over 90%, so Price had known he would not be able to wear a shoulder strap for his gun. With that in mind, he’d had his chinos modified, so that the left hip pocket on his trouser leg was no longer a pocket – if he reached in, what should have been the material of the trouser, was in fact a hole that enabled him to reach his gun in a holster strapped to his leg. Being a large guy, the trousers were fairly baggy, so it wouldn’t be noticeable at first glance and made for a fairly easy draw action. He kept spare magazines in the pocket on the other leg, so that they were both fairly bulky and matched each other.
Before leaving his room, Price went through his usual routine to ensure he would know if it was searched, then he placed his Swiss army knife in another pocket along with a small pocket survival kit – he knew he was in Hong Kong, but old habits die hard he always told himself.
As he walked out of the front of the hotel, a car pulled up with Lee in the driver’s seat, so Price got in and they headed across the island to Stanley Bay.
“I know a nice quiet bar where we can sit and chat,” said Lee, “Then I’ll drop you off.”
Price just nodded and looked out of the window as they travelled across the island amongst all the evening traffic.
As they arrived outside an old English-styled bar overlooking Stanley Bay, Price realised that he’d missed the sarcasm in Lee’s voice – the place was full to the brim with people. He looked over and Lee just laughed and said, “It’s OK, I know the owner.”
As they walked in, Lee waved to the man behind the bar who showed them upstairs to the restaurant area where a table was waiting for them by the window.
Both men ordered soft drinks and then Lee spoke to the owner in Cantonese, explaining that they didn’t want to be disturbed. So once the drinks were delivered, the waiter left them alone.
Lee started, “Before we discuss the task I have for you, I feel I should tell you, as a friend, that I’ve had to report you as missing for 4 hours. I was told you’ve done it before, but that must have been before I was station head, so I didn’t get informed on those occasions. Anyway, would you care to tell me what really happened or are you sticking to the ‘battery fell out of my mobile phone’ story – or whatever crap it was that you came up with earlier – I’m sure you can’t remember either – I certainly can’t, because I stop listening when it starts to smell that bad?”