Three Faces of West (2013)

by Christian Shakespeare

  An unofficial exclusion zone had been set up around the boundaries of the industrial complex, a kind of unofficial no-man’s land, two streets wide which only authorised persons could enter. West and Hudson, clad in black polyester outfits, armed with their Walther P99’s tucked firmly in their gun holster vests complete with silencers and ammunition fitted tightly across their bodies. Boots and black gloves to reduce their visibility completed the set, making them look more like Special Forces than intelligence agents. Candidly they approached the perimeter wall, being careful to stay in the shadows as best they could to keep out of the sharp orange glow of the street lights. Staying well out of sight, they finally found a place to deploy before making the crucial infiltration.

  Tension and anxiety was not only on the ground, Thames House also buzzed with the nervous uncertainty as the operation codenames “Moonlight” was about to begin. Harvey, along with every member of the section was keeping a very close watch on proceedings from their position. Coordinating the setup and the attack had to go according to plan, for there was too much at stake as the price of failure. Knowing there was two operatives active on the ground, Harvey decided to do one final radio check,

  “Alpha 1, report.” Was the voice that crackled over the radio and into the personal earpiece in Jack’s right ear,

  “Alpha 1, check.” Jack replied subtly,

  “Alpha 2 report.” Said Harvey,

  “Alpha 2, check.” Replied John equally as quiet into his own earpiece,

  “What is your status?” Asked Harvey. Jack responded,

  “Outside the main perimeter fence. Ready to infiltrate.”

  “Standby, Alpha 1 and 2. Armed police snipers on nearby rooftops, special services are also deploying around you.” Reassured that both West and Hudson were responding Harvey gave the order, “You’re clear to commence Alphas 1 and 2.”

  With the whole dockside complex becoming surrounded, West and Hudson began to make their way in. A small wire mesh fence provided the only barrier between the street and the outer areas, which John made short work of. Pulling out from one of the many pouches that both their suits were furnished with, a small wire cutter was used to cut a medium but unnoticeable in the dark sized hole in the fence. The top of the fence was adorned with rolls of sharp razor wire to deter any would be intruders, but nothing had really been done about the fence itself. Each squeeze on the cutters from John’s hands forced the rather flimsy wire, snipping it in a sharp click. The sounds signalled one step closer to getting through. It took only a few seconds for the gap to be created as both men crawled through,

  “We’re in.” Said Jack as both men crouched just on the inside,

  “Standby Alpha 1.” Replied Harvey over the radio.

  Both Jack and John, while still in the shadows pulled their Walther pistols from their holsters, “Acknowledged.” Jack said as they both screwed on their silencers while surveying their surroundings. In the dark it wasn’t easy, then again it wouldn’t be easy in the day, the layout was unfamiliar to those on the ground. Apart from moving blind, their only hope was a fix on a location as instructed from Thames House. There the activity became more frantic, now after conformation that their operatives had penetrated the complex, they had to prioritise and locate their targets. Staff worked furiously at their computers, pouring over maps and intelligence, Harvey needed directions as much as his men on site. By now West and Hudson both stealthily moved against the wall of a small shed just off to the right, having no idea of the strength of resistance inside or where the deployment of the special services would be, any figure in the darkness should be treated with extreme caution. Both men’s eyes scoured through the pitch darkness, looking for any signs of movement, but none came, just a maze of buildings,

  “Alpha 1, Alpha 2 do you copy?”

  “Alpha 2 here, copy over.” Replied John to Harvey over his earpiece,

  “Get over to a building, 600 yards left of your position. There’s activity picked up there, investigate.”

  Without delay, both men moved toward the source of the activity. All part of the APF site, they seemed to be heading into the dockside loading area, close to the water’s edge. The few hundred yards travelled passed without sight or incident,

  “It’s straight ahead of you.” Said a voice in both agents’ earpieces. It was different, not Harvey’s, but another operative back at HQ, guiding them in remotely from his desk, monitoring all the info coming in via his computer. It was reassuring to know they were with them every step of the way,

  “You should see it now.” Said the voice,

  “Confirmed, we have a visual.” Said Jack as both he and John stopped and crouched in cover beside some packing crates. Before them a large brick warehouse dominated the water’s edge,

  “Looks like some kind of loading and storage facility.” Said John,

  “But what is stored?” Replied Jack.

  “We need to get over there Jack.”

  “What about that swing bridge? Can we move it?” Between them and the building lay a canal used for docking barges, spanned by a swing bridge, pivoted in the middle of the water but positioned the wrong way, as if to let ships through,

  “There’s got to be a way to get bridge moving back so we can cross it.” Said John as they moved toward it in the direction of a large cabin as it honed into view out of the darkness. It was vacant as they entered, large control panels, obviously for the bridge sat before them. It was similar in principle but larger to the one used at APF in Southampton, and like the one they encountered previously, it was dead of all power,

  “We need to get this bridge working.” Stated John,

  “It must be powered from a source.” Replied Jack as Thames House crackled over the earpieces once again,

  “Alphas 1 and 2, the power source for that bridge is located in a generator house on the other side of the complex to your left.”

  Moving quietly they made their way under the instruction from their support guiding them toward where they wanted to go. Immediately they made their way off in the instructed direction toward what turned out to be one of the entrances to the docklands. The muffled sounds and hints of movement indicated there were people up ahead; reactively Jack and John paused and took cover awaiting instructions. Their movements tracked by computer back in Thames House gave Harvey and the team the best possible view to the overall situation. Their present location was being monitored avidly by one of the operatives as both men almost ran into trouble,

  “Alphas 1 and 2 stop there! You’ve got movement up ahead, cannot confirm if they are friendly, possible hostiles I repeat possible hostiles. Do not engage!”

  Harvey then stepped in, “Alphas 1 and 2 back off!! Do not engage! Make your way to the generator house, your priority is that bridge.”

  Sensibly and without argument, West and Hudson retreated back the way they came, utterly unnoticed.

  A few minutes later they arrived at what they perceived to be the generator house. Its concrete build and symmetrical shape evidently more distinctive than the others prompted the close attention of both men. With both guns primed and ready, they gingerly opened the steel door which thankfully was not locked to make their way inside. The slight hum of the generators instantly hit them, providing power to the rest of the operation as they shut the door behind them to deter any prowlers outside. The machinery, old but perfectly serviceable ticked over as Jack and John tried to find the correct one for the bridge,

  “These are the generators, but where are the power switches?” Asked John,

  “There may be a basement, see if there are trip switches you can activate. Careful, we have no way of telling if there is anyone about.” Said a voice from Thames House,

  “Careful.” Ordered Harvey, getting his opinion in.

  They looked around the darkened facility, the half-lights inhibiting something that may be easily observable,

  “Over there.” Whispered John, clearly spotting something,

  “I s
ee it.” Replied Jack, “It’s a staircase.”

  They moved toward it, at one side, the steep metallic steps flanked by railings for support, both men went down, firearms fixed, adrenaline running high as ever.

  As they entered the lover compartment, there seemed to be nobody immediately around. With hearts pounding they looked on at the line of 6 foot high metal fuse boxes each locked and containing trip switches along the opposite wall,

  “They’re identical. How the hell are we supposed to find the right one?” Said Jack.

  “Are they marked?”

  “Yes. Look you keep watch at the staircase. I’ll try to locate the correct one.”

  John moved to the foot of the metal stairs, looking up almost in trepidation for any signs of others,

  “They should be marked. Look for one that refers to the bridge, it may either be writing or a symbol.” Radioed Thames House. West began looking for something, anything that referred to the bridge,

  “Why don’t we just shut off the power to the whole complex, then that will stop the plan dead in its tracks?” Asked John,

  “Negative, you’re only authorised to get power to that bridge. The SAS are deploying around you, we can’t afford any mistakes.”

  Jack looked, up and down the panels on the wall,

  “Bridge.” He said, “It has to be this one.”

  “Try it.” Said John as Jack pulled out of his pocket a set of lock picks. Carefully he inserted it into the relatively simple barrel lock and applied pressure through turning. As John kept watch anxiously, Jack turned and twisted inside the mechanism until he felt it suddenly click loose,

  “Got it.” He said to himself as he opened the door. A large electrical panel presented before him, full of lights and switches; only a larger black lever in the “up” position was different. Pressing it down, the panel clicked and hummed against the backdrop of the higher pitched whine of the generators above,

  “Get back to that bridge.” Said Harvey over the radio,

  “Come on.” Said John as they proceeded with as much caution out of the facility, following their orders. In Thames House, the tension was reaching breaking point as everyone, including Harvey could only watch and wait for the drama to unfold.

  A few minutes later West and Hudson both arrived back at the control cab. Their hopes were that the switch they had just operated was indeed the correct one for their purpose,

  “Look, the controls are lit up.” Said John as they entered it, “Alpha 2 to control, we have power.”

  “Proceed.” Said Harvey, but Jack interrupted,

  “Wait, what about the stockpiles of existing poison?”

  John looked puzzled, “They should be in the in that building.”

  “What if they are not? What if they are stockpiled somewhere else. Alpha 1 to control permission to investigate the existing compound to secure existing stockpiles.”

  The team at Thames House could hear everything that was said. Weighing up the options, Harvey knew that his next decision could be crucial,

  “Standby Alpha 1.” He stalled, “Can we detect any activity coming from any other building?”

  “There’s some activity on the far side of the compound…some kind of storage buildings, out houses mainly.” Confirmed one of the operatives. Reasonable suspicion was enough,

  “Alpha 1, affirmative, you are cleared to search the outbuildings 500 yards behind your present position. Alpha 2 proceed with the bridge and investigate the original building.”

  Hearing his orders, Jack nodded to John before leaving him. John was now faced with the investigation on his own,

  “Right, let’s see if we can get this bridge moving.” Deep down he prayed that it wasn’t noisy enough to attract unwanted attention. Pressing the lit up buttons, the bridge began to shudder into life. Softly humming, it began to rotate slowly toward him, its iron frame gliding through the night air,

  “There are no ships around here. Whoever shut the power off to this bridge wanted to keep whatever is on the other side private.” He thought to himself. Finally it came to rest in position meaning the way was clear to get to the warehouse,

  “Thank god nobody heard that.” John thought as he began to move across head crouched, gun still in hand,

  “Alpha 2, proceeding now.” He whispered along the way. He reached the other side fairly quickly, his alertness on high as he had no idea if there were others around him,

  “Alpha 2 be careful, there is multiple activity in your location.” A voice from Thames House warned. The landscape on this side was different; the ground sloped more steeply to the dockside edge. And this led to John to look around for access points,

  “There’s a silo on the roof of the warehouse.” He said looking at his target,

  “A silo? Must be some kind of apparatus to store something.” Said Harvey, “Alpha 2, proceed to the roof.”

  Looking around there wasn’t a direct way onto the top of the building that he could see, but a small gantry slightly raised off the ground and connected to an adjacent roof provided a decent way in. Checking to see if the coast was clear, he climbed onto it, running across in the night air. By now he was in full view of the police sniper scopes, which by now were deployed in position on top of adjacent buildings, tracking him all the way across the rooftops and onto the warehouse.

  In the middle, the large steel silo dominated the area. It certainly could hold a large quantity of something which fuelled John’s curiosity to investigate further. A small maintenance ladder ran up the side to a small access hatch, presumably to check fluid levels. He grabbed the first rung and started climbing; it wasn’t very far to the hatch, about five feet or so. Luckily it wasn’t locked, and was easy to open, telling john that it wasn’t full; opening it immediately gave off an overwhelmingly pungent smell,

  “There’s definitely been something in here.” He said,

  “Alpha 2, what is the smell?” Asked Harvey,

  “Smells like…garlic.”

  “Garlic?” Asked Harvey to himself. His first thoughts could not connect something like that to the poison plot. However Clive, now entered to monitor things picked up on this straight away,

  “Is it strong?” He asked John over the radio,

  “No not really. Just enough to make it noticeable.”

  That was what Clive wanted to hear, looking back to Samantha, who was also present, the both nodded to each other before turning back,

  “John, that garlic smell indicates the presence of Arsine.”

  “Arsine? The poison?”

  “Yes. Arsine gives off a slight garlic smell when it is oxidised.”

  “All the pieces of the puzzle are fitting into place.” Said Harvey to himself quietly, and worryingly.

  By now John had climbed back down onto the rooftop swiftly and quietly, he could hear the sounds of manufacture inside and the activity of voices within. He had to find out more,

  “I’m moving down the back. Going to try and get a better view of what is going on inside.”

  Harvey thought this was a good enough idea, “Proceed with caution Alpha 2.”

  John had spotted a fire escape at the rear as he was approaching the rooftop. Now he was climbing down it one staircase at a time. Once on the ground at the back and sheltered in complete darkness, he made his way to nearby corner; the sound of voices attracted him to investigate. Peering round ever so slightly, his restricted view showed him people only 25 yards from where he stood, beside white vans waiting to leave. The heart thundering as fast as a freight train in response to the perilous situation he was now in.

  Turning back the yellowish light from a window shone out causing John to creep over to take a look. It was dirty, obviously neglected over its lifetime, but this was an industrial building, cleaning was not a priority. Carefully and trying his upmost to expose as little of himself as possible, he tried to see as much as he could. Inside was nothing all that special at first glance a typical industrial production line was in full f
low. Populated with workers, all bust processing the materials inside, closer inspection revealed something more sinister,

  “Control, inside is an industrial production facility.”

  “Can you make out details Alpha 2?” Asked Harvey,

  “Stand by.” John replied as he looked further. Crates filled with bottles, some empty and discarded lying around looking somewhat familiar,

  “Control, there are bottles laying around…it looks like arsenic!!”

  “Do you have a visual?” Asked Harvey,

  “Yes.”

  This was a revelation at Thames House. Clive tried to step in again but Samantha beat him to it,

  “Arsenic is a slow acting poison. If added to a compound mixture, it would finish it off.”

  “Just perfect for a substance exposed to people, just enough time to make them go mad before dying of poisoning.” Concluded Harvey like a prophet of doom. The reality was that he wasn’t far off the truth,

  “Alpha 2, what else can you see?” He asked returning to the radio link. Watching through the window, he could see the whole operation, the mixing of chemicals, and the loading of them onto some kind of contraptions. Then it hit him,

  “Whatever they are mixing they are loading it onto carts…wait!!”

  “What?…what is it Alpha 2?…come in Alpha 2 report!!” Said Harvey,

  “I’m OK. Those carts, they are for laying tar. They are the ones we saw in Lewisham!!”

  “Can you confirm this?” Asked one of the operators at Thames House,

  “Yes they are the ones, presumably used for distribution of this poison. Although whatever they are putting in them is definitely hazardous. The workers are wearing masks, so not to get it in the air.”

  The team at Thames House wanted to know more, “Can you find out what Alpha 2?” Said Clive. John tried to look around; the silos and containers made it difficult to see, his presence was still unknown as he looked on at all the individuals, all wearing overalls and other suitable industrial equipment. As he looked, he suddenly saw a familiar sight,