“Precisely. Although not quite the fireworks he was expecting.”
Talking into his microphone, John then tried to clarify their objective,
“Control this is Alpha 2, what do you want us to do, infiltrate the tower or deploy at the poison factory?”
Harvey was faced with a tough choice. There seemed to be no uptake in activity at the moment, so he was rather inclined to send them toward River View, until John waded in again,
“Control, this is Alpha 2, I think we should go after the poison production. That is the priority.”
“Hold, Alpha 2.” Said Harvey, “You and Alpha 1 split up again. Alpha 2 is to search for explosives to assault the poison factory; Alpha 1 is to proceed with the tower block. I want the Health Secretary neutralised.”
“Acknowledged control.” Said West.
It only took Jack a few minutes to proceed to the base of River View. Looking up it was a very imposing development, one of those buildings that would dominate the skyline in a triumph of engineering and investment. The exterior, largely made of glass, and surrounded by medium sized cranes stretched across the structure. The base, apart from the attractive glassy entrance foyer at the front sported concrete garage complexes at the rear; it was here that Jack decided to attempt an infiltration,
“Control, Alpha 1 here. I have two contacts guarding the rear entrance of the tower. Need to eliminate them.” Said Jack into his earpiece,
“Proceed Alpha 1.” Was the reply,
Crouched behind a pile of sandbags, he had an excellent view of the garages while keeping concealed. Watching, waiting he carefully studied the patterns of the guards, the way they walked, the points when they turned their backs to each other and so on. Carefully pointing the silenced barrel of his pistol he trained it on the right guard first, waiting for his moment like and eagle waiting to strike its prey. Carefully and with one eye closed he lined up the sight with the head of the guard…still waiting…still waiting…just as the other guard turned away. West pulled the trigger, causing the Walther to shudder in a muffled spasm as it discharged the bullet. Instantly striking home, taking out the head of the guard, instantly causing a small pool of brain matter accompanied by dark red blood to splash over the clean concrete wall from the exit wound. Reactively West trained his gun left onto the other guard who was just beginning to turn back. Spinning round the guard saw the body and went into a state of emergency shock. But there was no time at all to react, West’s second bullet struck him like an express train, piercing and blowing out vital organs. The second guard, not standing a chance, fell to the ground, losing his grip on life before his body hit the floor,
“Control, hostiles taken down. Making way toward the garage entrance, over.”
“Proceed Alpha 1. Remember your target is a government minister; he is to be taken down in a non-lethal way. I repeat a non-lethal way. You have no authorisation to kill him, understood Alpha 1?”
West, running over to the garage entrances, and making his way down some ramps to the doors, heeded the warning from Thames house. The guards were now just corpses lying motionless in large pools of blood,
“Understood.” He said, “Entering now.”
The garage doors themselves were locked tight, but a fire exit that the guards used was still open. Inside was a large underground car park, which was dark, but not pitch black but empty except for some barriers and construction works used for internal refurbishments,
“Control, I’m inside a car park, no sign of life.” He reported,
“Try and gain access to the upper levels Alpha 1.” Harvey said,
Looking around he could see the silver doors indicating a set of lifts. Hesitating at first he proceeded toward it,
“Alpha 1, we have a positive ID on the health secretary in that building. Wait, he’s not alone…I’m reading multiple heat signatures alongside.” Said Aazim from Thames House,
“How many signatures?”
“Two.”
West paused, in the darkness, “Can you say which floor?”
“The second floor, but we can’t get a definite fix.”
It was all West had to go on, “I’m in front of a lift, how to I get up to second?”
“Hold on…you’re in the basement…the lifts there only go up to the main entrance, but there are express lifts from the foyer up to the top floor. You can access second from there.”
He entered the lift, travelling up to the foyer. Things were in such a rush he forgot about one vital thing until the doors closed and he was on his way,
“What if the foyer is guarded?” He thought. It was too late now, he was there. Poising his gun once more the doors opened slowly to the main entrance. Peering out, he couldn’t hide the relief of it being empty; it was tastefully decorated, marble floors, clicking quietly as Jack made his way out across it. Modern paintings and murals adorned the walls, finished off with potted plants and modern sofas surrounding him, but it was of no distraction when he spotted another series of lifts on the opposite side,
“Here we go, express lifts.” He said as he pressed the button to call it. The light whirring sound told him it was on the way as he readied himself by standing back and pointed his gun just in case there was an unexpected occupant. The doors opened to reveal a slightly different lift with a lighter, mirrored interior; it was empty. West stepped in and examined the keypad, pressing “2” to signal his desired destination. By now his alertness was heightened, he must now be close. His orders resonating through his mind as his whole body felt the light upward motion of the lift.
The doors opened to reveal some kind of conference facilities, still half decorated, but perfect for a vantage point. The corridors he emerged in seemed empty, but there were clear muffled voices coming from behind him. It seemed to be coming from a large space to the rear, the side overlooking the docklands. Jack silently made his way toward the sound, his finder itching on the trigger in a state of high tension, the carpet, and he was thankful it was, covering the sounds of his approach perfectly.
He arrived at the entrance to a conference hall as the voices became ever clearer; it was obvious someone was inside. Peering round with his gun raised, he could see a black suited man, in his late forties flanked at each side by two equally sharp dressed minders. They certainly seemed taller and more bulky than the man they were protecting as the three were in a discussion about something. It didn’t last, West watched on as the three swiftly moved off to leave…this was his chance. Either he tried to catch his target now, or the opportunity would be lost. Gun pointing forward to step out quick, catching the three men completely off guard. All this did was trigger a reaction from both guards who tried to produce weapons from within their jacket pockets, but Jack was too fast. Pointing and pulling the trigger, he shot one first then the other guard both in the chest knocking them back to the ground as blood squirted out of their wounds, splashing through the air on the way down. They both crashed to the floor leaving the third man frozen and stunned in front of West and his smoking gun,
“Who are you?!” Asked the man,
“Who I am is not important Health Secretary. Who I work for, is.”
“How dare you!!! I’m a government minister!!!”
“I also work for the government!”
“Oh do you? What as? Oh wait, of course!! Yes you aren’t you…you’re security services?”
Jack let on some more, “You don’t need to know. We’ve been watching you for some time now Health Secretary. We know all about you. Tell me what was it? Greed? Corruption?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Oh really? So being here is just one big coincidence is it? Since when did docklands and development come under health in the government?”
Sensing that Jack knew all about what was happening here, he wasn’t stupid, he tried to weight up his options rather than try to outwit him,
“I suppose if I try to run you will shoot me yes?”
“I’ve been
asked not to eliminate you.”
This put the minister at some ease, “So you’re not some kind of assassin? Then you cannot shoot me, I’m alright.”
Without replying, but with a slight smile he pointed the Walther down and shot the politician in the foot, sending him to the floor in complete agony. Blood trickled onto the floor, but did not pool as Jack knew exactly where to hit in a non-lethal location. Jack, spinning his gun around, rang over to the slumped minister shouting in agony and hit him over the head with force. Not too much, just enough to render him unconscious in order to quieten him,
“That’s shut you up. You’re a bit out of your depth getting mixed up in all this. Should have stuck to sleaze and spin, that’s what you lot are best at.” He thought as he picked him up. Struggling at first as he had not adjusted to the weight as he hauled his body over his shoulder he carried him out of the conference centre leaving just the two dead men lying in the centre of the floor space,
“Control this is Alpha 1, target taken down but not eliminated. I’m depositing him out of the way for later apprehension.”
“Understood Alpha 1, well done.” Said Harvey.
Back in the underground car park, nothing had changed. The place was still empty; nobody had discovered the two dead guards lying outside nobody was lying in wait as the lift to the foyer whirred louder once more. The doors opened slightly, then fully as Jack walked slowly out; the pain in his shoulders now getting irritating from carrying the still unconscious rogue politician away and down into a dark, secluded corner of the complex. Finding a space behind one of the structural columns he laid his man down on the floor gently, checking to see if he has regained semi consciousness,
“Still out cold, all you’ll get is a bruise and a headache. If it was up to me you’d get a bullet.”
Satisfied his target was safe for now he stood up leaving him there,
“Alpha 1 to control, Target secured in the underground car park of River View.”
Thames House was quick to respond, “Acknowledged Alpha 1, standby for further orders, we’re checking in on Alpha 2.”
Jack had done his bit, now it was up to John.
Chapter 24:
Outside John approached the caravan where the Three Russians had entered. From the outside the sings of occupation were faint but there; it looked like they hadn’t left just yet,
“Alpha 2, report.” Said Harvey,
“Control, I’m outside, on the edge of the docks close to the trailer caravans. Monitoring present activity, no suspicious levels just yet.”
“Standby Alpha 2, SAS men deploying now, approaching your position.”
John understood as Harvey signed off. By now John had made his way silently next to the caravan exterior, the cool metallic wall pressing hard against his shoulder. Crouching down he could distinctly hear the three Russian accents bringing back vivid memories of the mill back in Colchester. It took him back in memory only broken by the sounds of approach from others; so fast that John didn’t have to react as three heavily armoured men approached. Their black masks shrouding their identity, their semi-automatic weapons visible and primed as the lead man crouched beside John with the other two staying slightly behind on the lookout. Without speaking, Hudson pointed upwards in a type of sign language, indicating the presence of hostiles. The masked man nodded and gestured how many, pitting one finger up, then two, John answered by shaking his head and raising three fingers. The SAS man nodded, he knew how many there were inside. Pointing away from the caravan, he instructed John to move away while they took up position there. John nodded and did as instructed as he silently moved forward once more, giving the Special Forces room to work. Silently they locked the caravan door silently imprisoning the occupants inside.
“Alpha 2, some new information. We think explosive devices were brought in by river. Proceed to the dockside, there may be a vessel moored up.” Said Harvey.
He made his way toward the river, there were two more guards patrolling, but they were only light. Being careful to stay in the shadows, he watched the patrols carefully; as they did not seem too bothered, more just general chatter, it was clear they weren’t paying attention to anything in particular. Biding his time he slipped behind both onto the concrete dockside,
“Control, I’m on the water’s edge, there is a small fishing vessel moored up.”
“Acknowledged Alpha 2. Are there any other vessels in the vicinity?” Asked Harvey,
“No this is the only one.”
John, taking cover behind a pile of sandbags looked on at the small boat. It looked completely inconspicuous, if not a little old, tied up on the bank which was lined by huge mechanical cranes normally used for lifting heavy cargo off freighters. However the boat did look a little out of place docked here,
“Control, there’s someone on the boat, another guard standing on top of the bridge cabin.”
“Must be there for a reason.” Said Harvey, “Alpha 2, can you see anyone else?”
“Negative.”
“Standby.” John wondered what Harvey meant by that, but he was prepared to wait. Watching, waiting the boat and the guard on top of the structure. He could see that he was armed, like the others, but his weapon was different, somehow more long and slender like some sort of long range rifle. Turning away from John’s direction, and out of the blue, suddenly the guard dropped before his eyes, shot by the bullet from a police sniper,
“Alpha 2 you are clear to proceed.” John heard over his earpiece.
He slowly broke cover and made the hazardous journey to the boat side. For a few fleeting seconds he was totally exposed, but he managed to reach it safely. He climbed on board the light blue hull, treading on its metallic decking,
“Alpha 2, counter intelligence suggests that there is high confidence of explosives on board. They were shipped in via the river.” Said one of the operatives back at Thames House, “It’s possible that the ones used at King’s Cross came in via this route.” Harvey added.
John made his way below deck, using extreme caution as he did so, finding his way into the still empty cargo hold,
“Control, the boat is empty.” Said John, “Seems that this could have been the way that the terrorists entered the site. It’s much more discreet than entering by road where they could be seen, especially the convoy of white vans ready for distribution of the poisons.”
“Agreed. What can you see?” Said Harvey,
“Packing crates, wooden and mostly empty.”
“Do you think the bombs on site could have arrived in them?”
“It’s likely.” Was John’s reply.
There were many crates packed and stacked high all around the small cargo hold, some were inaccessible, but other less so,
“Alpha 2, have all the devices delivered been used?” Asked Harvey,
“I’ve no idea. I can look around but there’s no guarantee of finding anything.”
He proceeded to search through the maze of wooden crates and plastic boxes, all seemed to have similar batch numbers except for those down at the far end. Going over to them, John observed something about one of them,
“Looks like this set are different to the others.” He said, “Looks like a different batch, I’m going to open one of the boxes.”
Trying to open the tightly shut boxes seemed near impossible; they were all impeccably sealed,
“It’s no good I can’t open any of these.” He said frustratingly as he shifted each box aside, trying them as he did so. However moving one box stacked up against one of the main bulkheads also revealed something more than the boats frame, it was enough to stun him for a brief second,
“Alpha 2 to control, I’ve found something.”
“What have you found Alpha 2?” asked Harvey. John did not respond,
“Alpha 2 come in…what have you found?…Report.”
John finally came to his senses,
“Control, there’s something attached to the bulkhead.”
“What’s
attached to the bulkhead? Alpha 2 what have you found?” Asked Harvey,
“…It’s a bomb.”
Everyone at Thames House stood there in silence. For a second they really had no idea what to do next, what if there were other devices around the complex?
“Is it live?” Harvey asked,
“…Yes it’s primed.”
With the tension mounting Harvey made a reassuring decision, “I have requested the police to deploy bomb squads on standby.”
“Yes but what do I do in the meantime?!” Said John, the hint of anxiety obvious in his voice. The honest answer was that Harvey was not sure himself, until one of the other members of his team stepped in,
“Alpha 2, what type of device is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it dynamite?”
John looked, “No it’s plastic explosive.”
This got the operative thinking, “OK…you should see things attached to it. Can you see a timer?”
Observing the mechanism, John just looked on without touching it, “Yes I can see a timer…It’s a clock…the same as the consignment we found in that warehouse in Colchester.”
The operative back at headquarters thought on, “OK…it sounds like it’s activated by a timer only, not by moving or tilting it. That’s good…OK Alpha 2 what else can you see?”
“There’s a battery-‘
“The battery is used to power the timer.” The operative mentioned to Harvey, “OK Alpha 2, anything else? Keep looking, you should see some kind of metallic or brass tube.”
John looked on, “…Yes there’s a brass tube between the timer and the battery.”
“Good…now, you should see two wires coming out of the tube…”
“Yes I can.”
“What colours are they? One should be red and the other one should be either blue or…green.”
John looked, “They’re red and green.”
Harvey, like all there was by now extremely concerned. Wanting to put some of this into context he asked his operative for clarification,
“What does that mean?”
Turning to his superior, the operative was harnessing all his knowledge to keep everyone in the loop and his colleague alive, “The brass tube is the detonator, the wires going into it connect the timer and the battery.”
Three Faces of West (2013) Page 28