Red Hawk Rising

by Peter William Hall

  Back in her bedroom, Penny Walmar heard the fading sounds of the fishing boat motors as they headed out to sea and said another prayer for her husband’s safe return before turning over and going back to sleep, as she had done so many nights in the past. Berin joined Walmar in the wheelhouse. They would watch the echo sounder and fish close to the sandbanks to catch the shoals as they came into deeper water with the falling tide. The trick was to drift out with the falling tide. Walmar switched the radio on and Berin tuned it into the wavelength for them to receive the instructions that would come through at 23.00 hours GMT. Berin had brought a flask of hot soup and he poured two cups which they sipped as they waited for the clock hands to reach the appointed time. Walmar decided that it would be better to wait until after the broadcast to start fishing. He steered the boat toward the open sea where they wouldn’t have to worry about depth. The lights of the other boats were moving off in different directions as each went to their preferred fishing spot. Well out into the deeper waters, Walmar cut back the revs to barely having way on the vessel. The tide was at full and there would be no worry about the boat being carried either way by a running tide. There was a slight chop that night with the wind from the east. The waves made a slapping sound on the hull of the boat. There was patchy cloud moving across the sky. While they waited for 23.00 hours, they checked the nets and cables and ensured everything was in order for the fishing. There was the sound of heavy engines and a bow wave being created. Berin saw a freighter coming up from the south-east and indicated to Walmar. He went into the wheelhouse and pulled the cord to sound the boat’s horn, spun the wheel anti-clockwise and turned the bows toward the shore. He realised that they must have gone farther out to the seaway than he had intended. He grumbled to himself about having to adjust his fishing to suit the faceless men in Moscow. He was getting tired of having to live a double life and wanted to be like the others in the village. Walmar thought of his Penny Jane and their two children and decided that they were more important now than loyalty to a communist cause. In the dim light of the wheelhouse instruments, he could make out the photo of his family that he kept on top of the console and felt a surge of emotion.

  Berin looked at his watch and flicked his half-smoked cigarette over the side and headed into the wheelhouse. It was 22.55 hours and nearly time for the broadcast. Walmar decided that they should drop anchor while they listened for instructions and told Berin to take the wheel while he went out and released it. The chain rattled as it ran out of the locker and then it was still. Berin put the vessel into reverse to prevent the anchor from dragging, felt the anchor bite and put the motor into neutral. Walmar came back into the wheelhouse and put the light on. Berin switched a small tape recorder on as the time reached 23.00 hours and got pen and pad ready. The recording would allow him to play the broadcast back at his leisure and identify the instructions in it for himself. The programme was about different sports teams and their scores and tactics in play. Some were real but others were imaginary and they all contained messages for different agents. As the announcer talked, Berin made notes. Walmar also listened to what was being said. He turned to look out of the wheelhouse with his back to Berin and made a grimace. They had to make a delivery on the Friday. Berin had to go and collect it. He would have to take Walmar’s van. Berin’s code mentioned again, remove someone. Further orders to be given. There hadn’t been anything like this before. Walmar didn’t like it. The broadcast ended and music came on. Walmar turned and suggested that they get on with the fishing as the tide had turned. Berin nodded and left the wheelhouse to raise the anchor. Walmar hit the starter button for the engine. It coughed a couple of times and then fired. He increased the revs and signalled Berin to engage the clutch to haul up the anchor. There was a small thud as it engaged and then the rattle of chain being wound in. Walmar engaged the driveshaft and the propeller started to spin and drive the vessel forward. They moved towards the shore, Walmar keeping an eye on the depth sounder. As they neared their fishing location, Walmar reduced the revs and Berin swung the boom out and, at Walmar’s signal, started to let the net run out. Now they would both have to concentrate on the task in hand and put the other instructions out of their minds for the time being. As they worked, others slept.

  ***

  Eddy Dennis woke from sleep and checked the time. It was 5.25 a.m. (Wednesday 5th). He would have to get up soon as he had a 7.00 a.m. departure from the factory. His overnight bag was already packed to take with him. He was looking forward to the trip. It would be a change from some of his other driving duties. His wife was still sound asleep. He wouldn’t want to disturb her until he was nearly ready to go. Eddy decided to get up anyway and climbed out of bed. There was a nip in the air and he quickly reached for his dressing gown to put on over his pyjamas. He was still wearing his cotton summer pyjamas and he decided that it was time to change to winter pyjamas. Eddy picked up his clothes from the chair and padded out of the bedroom. He headed down the stairs, trying to avoid the creak on the second tread below the landing. They had an old terrace house with the toilet out of the back door. He put his clothes down on a chair and opened the back door and shivered. From the toilet he headed for the laundry sink and filled a basin with hot water for his shave. Eddy had tried an electric razor but decided that you couldn’t beat the old Gillette razor for a close shave. After shaving he washed and then dressed. In the kitchen, Eddy took the whistle off the kettle, filled it with water and lit the gas stove. For quietness, Eddy decided to have corn flakes followed by toast and marmalade. He’d make a flask of tea and a cheese sandwich to have while he was driving. Over the years he had learned how to drive with one hand while pouring a cup of tea from the flask with the other. By the time he had eaten breakfast and got everything ready it was nearly 6.15 a.m. and time to go. He went upstairs and wakened his wife and kissed her goodbye. She responded with a sleepy, “You be careful and come home safe.” He patted her and left the bedroom and headed out of the house. As the front door shut, she felt a chill go up her spine and she sat up in bed and prayed to God to bring him back safe and sound. Two streets away was the Foleshill Road and the bus that would take Eddy near Jennings Engineering. He caught the outward-bound bus that took him past the Courtaulds viscose factories and offices and to the industrial area where he worked. By the time Eddy got to the gates it was 6.45 a.m. He clocked in and headed for the storage area at the back of the factory. When he got there, Eddy found the factory manager and the foreman already there and checking the vehicle over. They greeted Eddy warmly and he joined them in the final checks. The manager gave Eddy the delivery and handover forms that the RAF had to sign and a copy returned to Jennings Industries. Eddy climbed into the cab and flicked the igniter switch down. He waited thirty seconds and then pressed the starter button. The diesel engine fired up with a roar and then settled back to a steady throb. A wave to those standing by and he put the vehicle into gear and headed out of the factory and down to the Foleshill Road. From there he would head for the A46 to Leicester and then north-east to Lincolnshire. As Eddy turned into the Foleshill Road, a small van pulled out from the kerb and followed him.

  At about the same time, a car pulled out of the Russian Consulate grounds in Manchester with a driver and two passengers. One passenger was a staff member of the Consulate. The other was Trade Secretary Kharkov. The car took the road to Glossop and over the Pennines to Sheffield. There it travelled to the business district and parked at the offices of Trans Trade Import and Export Ltd. The time was 8.30 a.m. The two passengers and the driver entered the offices of the company. It was a company that traded with the USSR quite legitimately. Kharkov was introduced to the managing director and they shared tea in the Russian style and talked. The driver was directed to the staff rest room and offered refreshments. Thirty minutes later a delivery van of the company pulled out of the yard and took the road to Chesterfield. At Chesterfield it dropped off a delivery and then took the road to Mansfield. Once in Mansfield it again made a delivery an
d then travelled to Newark. Again, in Newark, it stopped to make a delivery. The time was a little after 11.00 a.m. After making the delivery, the van took the road to Sleaford and it arrived there at 11.50 a.m. and drove into a warehouse that had been empty until very recently. Two men alighted from the van. One of them was Colonel Sergei Kharkov of the KGB. Twenty minutes earlier the consulate car had departed from the offices of the import export company with two passengers and taken the road back to Manchester across the Pennines.

  Eddy Dennis was making good time. He couldn’t exceed thirty mph because they were still running the engine in. About 11.00 a.m. he reached the outskirts of Sleaford and decided to have a break. He pulled into a lay-by where there was a caravan selling food and hot drinks. Several vehicles were already parked there with their drivers taking a break. He stopped behind a lorry loaded with timber, switched off the engine and climbed out of the cab. Eddy walked over to the caravan to buy something to eat. As he waited his turn to be served, a van pulled in behind his vehicle and two men got out. One of the men headed for the food van while the other waited beside their vehicle. Eddy bought a ham sandwich and a cup of tea. As he turned to walk away, a man bumped into him and spilled the tea from the cup. The man apologised and insisted on buying Eddy a replacement. Eddy stood back while the man placed the order. “Sugar?” the man queried of Eddy and received a reply of, “Two, please.” With his back to Eddy, the man sugared the teas and while he stirred them slipped a tablet into Eddy’s cup without being seen. He turned and handed Eddy his tea, apologised again, picked up the other two cups and walked back to the van.

  Eddy walked back to his vehicle, sipping the tea. Back at the vehicle he climbed into the cab to eat his sandwiches and drink the tea. Suddenly, he felt fuzzy and his arms felt heavy. He dropped the cup and the sandwich he was eating and his head fell back as he drifted into unconsciousness. Looking at his watch, the one who had got the tea went forward and looked into the cab of Eddy’s vehicle. He looked back with a nod to his companion who came forward and they got Eddy out of the cab and took him back to the van and put him in the passenger seat. A driver of a lorry asked what was wrong and was told that the driver had taken ill and they would take him in to see a doctor. The lorry driver nodded and went about his business. The man who had got the tea pulled out of the line and drove towards Sleaford. The other of the two men climbed into the cab of the tractor/loader and hit the starter button. The starter motor spun a few times before the engine fired. He then put the vehicle into gear and followed the van towards Sleaford. Ten minutes later the van, followed by the tractor/loader, turned into the same warehouse that Colonel Kharkov had been driven into. The warehouse doors were closed behind them and locked.

  At Davis Aviation, the MI5 man, Hamilton, was finishing his security checks on personnel and the security measures taken to protect the launcher. Fortunately, there were no sub-contractors involved with supplying any of the parts except for the command module. This was supplied by Argonaut Industries and he was confident that there would be no problems there. Hamilton had picked up on a couple of weak spots in the system and these were in the stores area. He had also had discussions with the RAF team from 28 JSTU and heard their views on security there. After a discussion with management the necessary changes were being implemented. He would travel up to Coventry that afternoon, driving on the new M1 Motorway and then the A46 into Coventry. By doing so he felt that he would be able to have an early start in the morning. It was now 1.00 p.m. and he should be able to get away before 3.00 p.m. Hamilton headed for the boardroom where the senior management were served lunch. He had been invited to join them. This would be an opportunity to discuss the approved security changes with them and deal with any queries.

  At RAF West Sanby, the JSTU personnel were walking back to their hangar after the lunch break. They were keenly expecting the arrival of the tractor/loader that afternoon. Andy was heading down to the radar unit. Initial runs using the generator were causing problems. The radar was using the recently invented transistors instead of valves and the power surges were causing banks of them to blow. This problem had not been experienced at the factory. Andy needed to get the details and feed them into the defect analysis system. It was a long walk from the barrack block to the radar site and he felt that it was good exercise. After that he would have to head back to the office and pick up his travel warrant to go down to Luton. Accommodation had been booked for him at a guesthouse near to the Davis Aviation factory. By 2.30 p.m. he was climbing into the JSTU Landrover to be driven to the railway station in Grimsby. Flight Lieutenant Gaskin wanted Corporal Hill to get this side of the work completed before the whole unit assembled at RAF West Sanby the following week. Corporal ‘Andy Hill had already talked to the team on the MLT that morning and set up the defect analysis cards for it. The journey into Grimsby was uneventful and Andy headed to the ticket office to change his travel warrant for a ticket to Luton. The diesel railcar pulled in to the platform and he found a seat toward the rear of the carriage so that he could watch the passengers. At Retford, Andy changed trains for a ‘stopping’ train down the main line. It was nearly two hours to Luton. When he alighted from the train there was a RAF corporal standing on the platform looking at the alighting passengers. He saw Andy and walked towards him. “Corporal Hill?” he asked of Andy. Andy nodded and gave an affirmative. “Good. I’ll give you a lift up to the guest house. My name is Jim Payne.”

  “Thanks,” said Andy. “Good to meet you.” They headed out of the station to a RAF Landrover parked nearby, unaware of the problem developing at West Sanby.

  It was 18.00 hours and an alert had been put out for the MLT which had not arrived. At 16.00 hours, Flight Lieutenant Gaskin had checked with the management at Jennings Engineering and had been assured of the time of the vehicle’s departure. They had also given him the route it was expected to travel. At 17.00 hours Gaskin telephoned the unit CO and advised him of the situation. He told Gaskin to get the MLT team to take a Landrover and drive down the route to see if the vehicle was in difficulties. Jennings Engineering also sent a team out to follow the route from Coventry. The RAF team would drive until dark and then return to RAF West Sanby. They drove through Louth and down to Horncastle, checking garages and lay-bys as then went. Before they reached Coningsby, darkness closed in and the sergeant told his driver to turn back. He thought that it would have been good to stay at RAF Coningsby the night and continue in the morning but given the nature of the JSTU it was not appropriate. Similarly, the Jennings team reached Melton Mowbray as darkness fell. They booked into a private hotel for the night, ready to continue the search in the morning. After booking in, the two men headed out to find a cafe and get a meal. Passing a garage on the main road that was still open, the foreman decided to ask if they had noticed the vehicle passing through. The man in his fifties was the owner and said he remembered seeing it passing by at about 9.30 a.m. that morning. He remembered it because of the funny shape of the cab and that it seemed to be a special purpose vehicle. The foreman thanked him and then headed for a telephone box to inform the managing director of Jennings Engineering. Then the two men got their meal and called in to a local pub for a drink before going back to the private hotel.

  In a warehouse in Sleaford, the tractor/loader was being measured, photographed and documented. Its drive wheels were on rollers as its motor was being run in without the vehicle going anywhere. The dummy cover had been removed to reveal the normal outline of the vehicle. Eddy Dennis, under hypnosis and drugged, was watching a film of roads in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire taken from the cab of a vehicle. He was effectively being brainwashed in another part of the warehouse. Colonel Karkhov was pleased with progress. At 19.00 hours the engine was switched off. This allowed an inspection of the drive systems and also avoided the risk of complaints and curiosity from neighbours. On the morrow the loading mechanism would be operated to see what it could do. When the examination was finished, Eddy would be allowed to drive on to West San
by but he would not know what had happened.

  It was Thursday morning (6th) and Group Captain Clarkson was reading a signal from Sqadron Leader Dawson to advise that the Missile Loading Tractor had gone missing en route to RAF West Sanby and that the search would continue that day. He telephoned Air Vice-Marshall Denby and advised him of the situation. Denby picked up the ‘phone to MI5 and passed on the contents of the signal and asked that Hamilton be informed as he would be at Jennings Engineering that day. He then made another call, this time to Lutterworth, to tell them to get instructions to Jamie Rogerson.

  The two-man team from Jennings Industries left Melton Mowbray by 7.30 a.m. and drove towards Grantham. By 8.00 a.m. they were driving through Grantham with no sign of the vehicle. From there they drove towards Sleaford. It was about 8.30 a.m. and as they were approaching Sleaford they noticed the lay-by with the caravan selling food and hot drinks. “I reckon Eddy would have reached here near lunchtime yesterday,” said the driver. “How about we check it out?”

  The other replied, “Why not. I could do with a cuppa.” They turned into the lay-by and pulled up behind a lorry.