In The Name Of The Mother

by Brian Cain

CHAPTER EIGHT

  Bella had problems with short-term accommodation at Stockholm-Bromma airport, quick thinking was required, travelling to the bulk of available accommodation involved the use of taxis or hire car’s southeast of the airport putting them in harms way. She derived a plan witnessed while working with Stanton. She sent the pilot and co-pilot into the terminal to arrange refuelling and enter a flight plan destination Hawaii, she remained in the aircraft with Sheldon. This covered the request for a small amount of fuel as the plane refuelled prior to leaving Helsinki but would have insufficient fuel to make Hawaii. This also gave cover of a wealthy business holiday by a leading British industrialist minister with security in tow.

  She worked on the facial appearance of not only her own features but those of Sheldon. She planned to land the plane at the small airfield near Foulness called Southend-on-sea, a small commercial airfield servicing the city of Southend. Once on the ground, Sheldon could be transported to Foulness and interrogated.

  Things changed, the pilots returned, Bella could clearly see their uniforms and hats through the passenger window. She opened the door to let them in, she didn’t notice they were different men until one put his satchel down beside the cockpit door and looked up. Bella acted striking him on the solar plexus with a straight punch, the bone holding his ribs together in the centre of his chest. He fell back toward the petition separating the cockpit from the passenger compartment his cap flew off, gasping for breath he slid down the wall landing on his buttocks struggling to breathe.

  The second pilot closed the door behind him turned grappling inside his jacket but Bella caught him by surprise kneeing him in the groin as soon as he faced her and he fell to his knees, his hat fell forwards to the floor. She smashed her pointed boot into his face splitting his upper lip and breaking his nose. She pinned him to the back of the access door with her boot across his throat, drew back and kicked him in the stomach. He bent over falling beside his gasping companion, she kicked the side of his head as he hit the floor then turned him over facing her. She drew a pistol from a body holster under his jacket and thrust it in his bleeding face. She rummaged inside his jacket pulling out a wallet from his inside pocket, she flipped it open and there was photo ID. She turned the gun on the winded man recovering against the cockpit wall. “I don’t know either of you,” she cocked the automatic pistol and touched the barrel between his eyes, “you get one question, answer or I’ll shot. Where were you going to take us?”

  The man still struggled to breathe and answered under duress, a foreign accent but good English. “I don’t know, we were to get in the air and receive further orders.”

  “Which one of you is a pilot?”

  “We both are, what’s happening we were told you were defecting with top secret information.”

  Bella directed a question to the man barely conscious on the floor. “Where did the orders come from, who gave them?”

  “We don’t know they came in code,” mumbled the man.

  “Where are the two elite that tailed me to Helsinki?”

  The man sitting against the cockpit wall began to recover, Bella directed the gun at his head as he spoke. “Would appear the information is correct, we know you were sent to sanction Sheldon and here you are held up with him in a private jet.”

  Bella kicked the man on the floor, “Get up, come on get up, move.” The man gradually got to his feet supporting himself on the closed door, blood trickled down his face and neck. Sheldon coward in a passenger seat three rows back from the cockpit. “Sit down away from the window.” The man sat down slumping back with a groan. She directed Sheldon to take the only shirt he had left from his cabin bag, he threw it towards her and Bella rolled the garment up using it as a rope to secure the sitting pilot to seat headrest tying it behind the seat tight enough that if he moved too much it affected his air supply.

  She held the weapon on the now recovered second pilot sitting up against the cockpit wall. She then had Sheldon take a pair of slacks from her light luggage, she pulled them in half and tied the sitting pilots forearms to the seats arm rests. She looked menacingly at the recovered pilot intermittently, Bella warned him moving his hands would result in his instant death. Once the barely conscious sitting pilot was secured she turned her attention to the second. She held the cocked pistol to his forehead, squatted beside him then carefully put her left hand inside his jacket pulling out a 357 magnum. She walked backwards up the passenger isle when in line with Sheldon she handed him the semi auto she had taken from the first. “If he tries to get out of his seat shot him.”

  “Bella please I’ve never handled a weapon.”

  “Do you want to live Gordon for gods same man.” Gordon took the pistol in his trembling hand pointing it in the general direction of the seated man with his back to him.

  “How do I fire it,” asked Sheldon.

  “Try pulling the trigger, careful its cocked and wont need much pressure on the trigger to discharge.” She returned to the second pilot standing over him pointing his own weapon toward his head. “These are American weapons not standard British issue, who the hell are you?” The man remained silent, Bella cocked the revolver.

  “We had to obtain the weapons here its all we could get.”

  “Rubbish, get up,” she kicked his leg. He rose to his feet now fully recovered. “Get this thing in the air, don’t give me any drivel just get us up and head for the entrance to the Thames Estuary Essex side, small airport called Southend-on-sea.”

  “You want to go back to the UK, you’ll be arrested.”

  Bella presented the weapon until it touched the end of his nose. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

  He opened the door of the cockpit. “Mmm, bit more to this than we know I think, I’ll head for Southend. Whom are we dealing with when we arrive would it be Sta…..”

  “Get us in the air now, no point in dying for nothing.”

  Bella watched like a hawk from behind the pilot as the staged the little jet and received permission to depart. He looked back at Bella removing one side of his headset to converse with her. “Our flight plan is Washington.”

  “Get up, set course for Southend as soon as you’re out of Stockholm tower radar.” The little jet powered into the sky Bella watching the tied pilot in the passenger compartment covered by a trembling Sheldon with one eye and the pilots actions especially his bearing with the other. Although Bella busted to relieve herself in the rest room, she showed exemplary discipline standing in the cockpit doorway for the two-hour flight. Once over the British Channel Bella had the pilot drop the jet to less than a hundred metres from the water surface. She instructed the pilot to hand her the co-pilot radio headset and had him change the frequency having him remain on the commercial frequency. She fumbled the headset onto her head and made a call. “South elite this is B E F 03 do you copy.”

  A radio operator, member of the elite way below ground on the island of Foulness heard the call loud and clear. “B E F 03 received loud and clear, code.”

  “Code J7744119900.”

  The radio operator picked up an intercom phone next to him as he answered. “Positive, recovery point.”

  “Southend airport ETA 20 minutes plus 3 small executive jet.”

  The intercom answered and the radio operator recognised Stanton’s voice. “Bella Southend airport plus 3 twenty minutes small executive jet.”

  Stanton threw the intercom phone down, shot to his feet and yelled to Hurst working the other end of his desk in the dull cavern. “Bella plus 3 Southend airport move.”

  They checked weapons put on their jackets and raced up the steps leading to the long tunnel connecting their working quarters to the transport hub. They activated the hydraulic operated door, the mammoth structure making up the length of one wall began to rise and fold above them along the roof. They accessed a grey Jaguar sedan sitting below the wing of a Harrier Jump Jet and as soon as the door was open far enough to accommodate their vehicles exit the Jaguar driven by S
tanton raced from the cavern into the light, the door closed behind them closing with a substantial thud.

  They raced past the security gate located just before the western estuary, there they were joined by another Jaguar summoned by Stanton loaded with the elite. The vehicles raced through Great Wakering pushing the limits of sanity towards their destination. Bridge Road, Shoebury Road, Paynters Road lazy back lanes surrounded by fields, hedges and ditches. Bornes Green Chase to Eastern Avenue among the leafy suburbs of Southend, onto Manners Way past early council settlement and finally the Southend airport. A police patrol attempted to tail the flying pair of vehicles but were instructed to discontinue once identification was confirmed. The information finally filtered through to MI5 and by the time MI6 were contacted Stanton and his entourage were watching the small jet taxi toward the far western end of the hanger aprons well clear of the terminal. The elite scanned the area surrounding the little jet as the engines whined to a dull whistle. The front fuselage door opened and the inner steps dropped from the doorway, Stanton entered the plane his pistol raised to eye height held by both hands, his finger poised on the trigger.

  He found Bella standing in the cockpit door her weapon pointed toward the pilot, Sheldon dropped the gun he was holding and stood up in the isle between the seats. “You okay Bella?”

  “Yes, take this gentleman in the pilots seat, I’m busting for a leak.” Stanton looked into the cockpit with a scowling gaze. He recognised the pilot.

  “Do exactly as we ask or I’ll kill the pair of you. Sheldon get out and into one of the cars, the men out there will direct you.” Sheldon gladly stumbled down the steps onto the tarmac. Stanton released the seated pilot, his face was crusted with congealed blood. He stepped back holding his pistol beside him in view of the pilot who now stood in the cockpit door. “Nasty wounds you have, best make sure they don’t get any worse. Go down the steps head to the rear Jaguar, the one Sheldon’s in.” He turned to the pilot standing in the doorway. “You get in the front one, you’ll be blindfolded and taken on a drive trough town. One move and you’re dead.”

  “John we’re on your side, what the hell is going on.”

  “You will answer every question I ask or you’ll be launching weather balloons over Siberia for the next ten years. Move.”

  Bella came out of the toilet cubicle looking relieved. Stanton looked at her with a puzzled smile, she knew him well. “Don’t ask me I have no idea, that’s why I brought them here.”

  Stanton nodded towards the door and Bella picked up Sheldon’s case handing to Stanton then retrieved her own, she smiled at Stanton and walked down the steps onto the tarmac followed by Stanton.”

  A white van with an orange flashing light pulled up by the Jaguars as Stanton the last of the group to mount up was getting in the front cars drivers seat. “You can’t park that plane here.”

  Stanton smiled up at him through the window. “This would appear to be inconsistent with the truth, we already have.”

  The man climbed from his vehicle putting on a hard hat. “I’ll have to report this to security, you’ll be fined, what you got to say for yourselves,” asked the man.

  Stanton started the car. “Bollocks.” He pulled away in haste second Jag in tow.

  As Stanton crossed the bridge to Foulness Island Hollis received a call from Southend airport made from a terminal pay phone. “Hollis.”

  “Fonteyn, Sheldon and two pilots have no idea who they are, Stanton got em. All we know is he headed east away from London.”

  “Disengage and return.” Hollis put the phone down gently. “Shit.”