Red Hawk Rising

by Peter William Hall

  “Could you show me?” asked Corporal Hill. “Certainly,” came the reply. The clerk took a sheet out of the top folder and as he did so, Corporal Hill saw his report in the folder. The clerk demonstrated the copier and proudly showed Corporal Hill the end result.

  Hill was impressed. “It’s a pity we couldn’t get one of these for our unit. It would save a lot of wastage on cold mornings.” The clerk nodded knowingly. “Must get back to my desk,” said Andy. He thanked the clerk and headed back to his office.

  Sitting down at his desk, Corporal Hill opened a folder and started writing. After a few minutes he stopped writing and took a sheet of notes to Douglas. As Hill gave Douglas the notes he said, “We need to keep a check on the movements of these.” Douglas quickly read the notes and gave a nod of agreement. At the bottom of the sheet, Hill had lightly written three names. Five minutes later he took an eraser and erased the pencilled names.

  Promptly at 17.00 hours, Douglas cleared his desk and took his tray of folders to be locked in the secure cupboard that was used for the classified files and papers still in use by staff. Corporal Hill delayed and seemingly worked to finish some charts. He was in actual fact keeping an eye on the three suspects. Griffiths left first. He spoke to Miss St John and said that he had to attend a meeting over in the treasury building. She nodded her understanding and said, “Goodnight Mr Griffiths,” then she took two folders over to Emerson’s desk and said that she would be leaving. He nodded and wished her a good evening but the look on his face suggested that he could be giving her a message. The other staff had already left and there was only Corporal Hill and Emerson left. “Time you were leaving, Corporal Hill. That work will keep until tomorrow,” called out Emerson. “Certainly, Mr Emerson,” came the response. Corporal Hill stopped working and put his papers and folder into the tray and carried it over to the secure cupboard. As he turned back, he saw Emerson deftly slide some sheets of paper into an aeronautical magazine and then put the magazine into his briefcase. Emerson then went over to the secure cupboard and locked it. Corporal Hill decided to leave his empty briefcase in the office overnight. As he was walking out of the office, Emerson called security to say the office was cleared and would they check and lock it. At the building exit, Corporal Hill signed out and left the building.

  Following him down, Emerson handed his briefcase to the security officer for checking. Seeing only a magazine and a newspaper, the security officer handed the case back to Emerson with a “Fine. Goodnight, sir.”

  Outside, Corporal Hill had paused in Kingsway as if undecided which way to go and he saw Emerson exit the building. Without looking about, Emerson crossed the road and walked quickly down to the corner of the street. Corporal Hill stayed on the Air Ministry side of the road but walked decidedly in the direction that Emerson had taken. As he reached the corner, he saw Emerson and Miss St John kissing in greeting and then walking arm-in-arm down the street. As Corporal Hill prepared to follow, Douglas emerged from a shop doorway and caught up with him. “Andy, don’t follow them,” he said. “They are already under observation and being followed. We need to head for Trafalgar Square.” Andy nodded his agreement and fell into step with Douglas. Douglas continued, “Griffiths has gone to a meeting at Treasury. He is also being followed. When I left today, I immediately reported in and warned that this may be it.”

  “I think you are right,” said Andy. “I noticed Emerson slide some sheets of typed paper into a magazine which he then put into his briefcase and I’m guessing that it will be a copy of our report.”

  Douglas said, “When we get to Trafalgar Square we will be briefed and this time we will be given small ‘walkie-talkie’ units and weapons so that we can look out for each other. If a drop is made, our job will be to follow the pick-up. Others will deal with whoever makes the drop.” Andy nodded his agreement.

  As they walked into Trafalgar Square, a man detached himself from a van parked in the street and walked across to them. He was recognised by Douglas and they stopped and waited for him to come up to them. When he reached them, Douglas said, “Andy, this is a colleague, Tim Phillips. Tim, Andy Hill.” The two men shook hands and at the same time appraised each other. Both men were about the same height and build and appeared to be a similar age.

  Tim Phillips spoke, “Our targets are currently having a belated afternoon tea in a small cafe just off the Embankment. Everyone is in place. Andy, I think you had better go over to the van and get a hat and light overcoat and change those shoes so that you are not so easily recognised. John will do the same. We’ll stay with the van until we get instructions to move.” The three men walked across to the van and got in. It drove off away from Trafalgar Square past the church and then turned into a side street where the driver parked. The move was to avoid suspicion by anyone who could be involved in the drop, if that is what was to happen. John Douglas and Andy Hill changed their shoes for older, worn pairs, got out of the vehicle and put the hats and coats on. Andy had a corduroy cap that pulled down well over his face. Hats and coats were old and stained and well-worn. The two of them would look like a couple of men on hard times. There were plenty of them around London.

  The driver, who introduced himself as Ed Milward, had a large thermos of tea and poured out two cups and passed them to John and Andy. Fifteen minutes went by and then Wilson was talking on the radio. Conversation finished, he turned to them and said, “Emerson and St John have separated. He has headed towards the Embankment and she is heading towards Trafalgar Square. Three others are covering Emerson in case he makes the drop. Tim and I will cover St John. John and Andy are to follow the pick-up and see where they go.” He then leaned over and opened the glove compartment and pulled out two 9 mm handguns fitted with silencers. “You two are to go armed and watch out for a second person protecting the back of the pick-up. We don’t want to lose another operative.” He handed the guns to John and Andy and then gave them three extra clips of ammunition each. “Hopefully you won’t need these,” he said, “but it is better to be prepared. John, here is a small walkie-talkie to keep in touch with us. Try not to be obvious when you use it. Good luck!” John and Andy got out of the van and headed back towards Trafalgar Square.

  The two of them walked along the pavement towards the National Gallery and then crossed the road to the balustrade overlooking the Square. They agreed that John would follow the pick-up person and that Andy would follow at a discreet distance but keeping John in sight. They then separated and acted as though they were scavenging for cigarette butts and anything else a down-and-out might look for. Tim and Ed Milward left the van and walked to the top of the staircase leading down to the Square. They started down the staircase and appeared to be a couple of casual strollers. It was now getting towards 19.00 hours and St John came into view walking across the Square towards one of the fountains. She was carrying a handbag and a magazine was under her arm. There were a number of people in the Square, mainly couples. Some of those were by the fountain. One young woman tossed in a coin. Other people were using the Square as a short-cut on their journey to somewhere. St John walked over to a seat and sat down. She put the magazine on the seat beside her and delved into her handbag, bringing out a compact. St John then opened the compact and started to powder her cheeks. After that she applied lipstick and, with a look of satisfaction, put her compact and lipstick away into her handbag. St John then arose and walked away. Seconds later a man dressed in a business suit walked past, saw the magazine and the departing St John. He picked it up and hurried after her, calling out to her at the same time. St John turned around, as did other people in hearing distance in the Square. She stopped as he hurried up to her, holding out the magazine. “You forgot this, Miss,” he said.

  “Oh, how silly of me,” St John replied. As he handed her the magazine she seemed to fumble and drop it. He bent down and picked it up and seemed to hand it to her awkwardly, dropping his document case in the process. Still holding the magazine, the man bent down again and picked up his doc
ument case, apologising for his clumsiness. This time St. John received the magazine, thanked the man again and carried on her way.

  “Did you see that sleight of hand?” Tim asked Ed Milward.

  “Yes,” he replied. “Cleverly done but not clever enough. All we’ll get is a magazine with nothing between the pages.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” replied Tim. “We’ll pick her up away from the Square but watch her every move before we do.”

  On the other side of the Square, three men watched the scene from different positions. John Douglas, Andy Hill and a man carrying a mackintosh and a newspaper. He wore a business suit and a trilby hat which hid much of his face and was standing looking down on the Square from the National Gallery side. The man with the document case walked towards the steps leading up to the National Gallery and John Douglas moved in the same direction. Miss St John walked across to the Pall Mall exit from Trafalgar Square and then turned into Whitcomb Street. The man with the document case turned into Charing Cross Road.

  Partway along Whitcomb Street, Tim and Ed Milward stopped Miss St John and showed her their warrant cards and asked her to accompany them. She protested but realised that they had the authority to do so and agreed to their request. They turned back towards Trafalgar Square. As they turned into East Pall Mall, a black Wolseley saloon car pulled up and a woman got out of the front passenger seat and opened the rear door of the car. Tim asked Miss St John to get in and she did so, reluctantly. The woman operative got into the rear seat with her and Tim got into the front seat of the car. It then drove off. Ed Milward walked back to the van, got in and reported back to base. He was then told to act as back-up to John Douglas and Corporal Hill. Ed started the engine and called John Douglas on the walkie-talkie channel.

  As John Douglas started to tail the man with the document case, Andy Hill was watching other people around the Square. He noticed the man in the trilby hat watching what was going on. The man’s face turned to follow the person with the document case and then John Douglas. Andy wondered if this man was backing up the person who made the pick-up. He decided to keep an eye on him as he pretended to be looking for suitable cast-off cigarettes. John Douglas turned into Charing Cross Road and the man in the trilby moved off in that direction. Andy couldn’t see any other person moving in that direction and decided to follow him. As the man turned into Charing Cross Road Andy caught a glimpse of his face and felt that he knew him.

  John heard the slight buzz of his walkie-talkie and moved to the side of the National Gallery building to answer it. He gave Ed Milward his position, put the instrument away and shambled out into the street again. He noticed the man he was tailing put a quarto-sized envelope into the document case and realised that he must have been holding it against the case since the drop. ‘Document Case’ turned left into Irving Street and John Douglas paused at the corner before walking across the road. As he paused, ‘Trilby Hat’ quickened his pace. Behind him, Andy dropped his pose as a down-and-out and moved quickly after him, keeping close to the walls of buildings so that he couldn’t be seen easily by the man in front. “Document Case” didn’t continue along Irving Street as John had expected but turned left into Orange Street. Slipping into a doorway, John called up Ed Milward and told him to drive up Whitcomb Street and park near Orange Street. At the bend in Orange Street, ‘Document Case’ crossed the road and continued along Orange Street. John Douglas then moved out and tried to reduce the distance between himself and the person he was tailing. ‘Trilby Hat’ also quickened his pace. ‘Document Case’ turned right into Long’s Court — a narrow lane. At the corner, John Douglas paused and watched ‘Document Case’ hurry up the lane and turn left. He then moved out and up Long’s Court. When he was half-way up, ‘Document Case’ re-appeared and walked towards him. At that moment, ‘Trilby’ appeared at the entrance to Long’s Court. Under the cover of his raincoat he drew a handgun from his pocket and slid the raincoat over his hand. Andy Hill noticed this although it seemed to be done surreptitiously. As ‘Trilby Hat’ turned the corner, Andy recognised him and broke into a run and yelled out, “Enderby!” at the top of his voice. ‘Trilby Hat’ turned round at the shout and saw Andy Hill running towards him. John Douglas also heard the shout and turned to see ‘Trilby’ with the gun poking out from under the raincoat over his arm. He also saw the reaction of ‘Trilby Hat’ and pulled out his walkie-talkie and called up Ed Milward.

  “Move up to Long’s Court and drive in. Quickly!” Ed Milward quickly pulled out onto the road and drove up to Long’s Court and turned right into it. He drove towards the bend on the Court and slowly turned at the bend. Meanwhile, ‘Document Case’ closed with John Douglas with the view to trapping him. He stopped about six feet from John Douglas and waited. ‘Trilby Hat’, alias Enderby, moved quickly into the lane, raised the handgun and fired at John Douglas. Douglas dropped to the ground and rolled sideways and the bullet missed him. It zipped past ‘Document Case’, who also flung himself sideways to avoid being hit. Andy came into Long’s Court at a run. He did a rugby tackle dive and caught Enderby around the calves and threw him off balance before he could fire again. The van nosed around the corner and saw the action taking place. Ed pulled up and kept the engine running. He radioed in and asked for back-up to block off the other end of Long’s Court. As he made his call, ‘Document Case’ was rising to his feet and drawing a gun. John Douglas spun on his hip and jumped to his feet, took a step forward and did a flying leap at ‘Document Case’. His feet caught the man squarely in his chest and he fell over backwards but still holding the gun.

  Further down Long’s Court there was more action as both Enderby and Andy got to their feet. Before Enderby could bring the gun to bear, Andy spun round and did a high kick as he had been taught by Mr Lee. It caught Enderby’s gun hand and the handgun flew out of Enderby’s hand and landed in the gutter. Andy brought his leg down, pivoted and then kicked again at Enderby’s chest. The double move took only a few seconds. Enderby fell backwards but rebounded to his feet and threw a karate punch at Andy who blocked it. The two men moved around warily blocking each other’s moves, Enderby angling to get near the gun in the gutter and Andy trying to prevent it. While this was going on, the other action in the street continued. John Douglas rolled away from ‘Document Case’ and started to rise to his feet but the other man half-sat and raised his gun and pointed it at John Douglas. He used his other hand to brace his gun arm and as he squeezed the trigger his wrist suddenly blossomed blood and his gun arm swung away, the gun discharging and then falling to the ground. The bullet hit John Douglas in his shoulder instead of his chest and he fell back to the ground again. At the turn of Long’s Court Ed was standing with his gun arm braced against the open door of the van and smoke curling from the barrel of his service revolver. There had been no sound of a gunshot because the gun was fitted with a silencer. Ed switched off the ignition of the vehicle, removed the ignition key and walked towards the two men with his gun at the ready. ‘Document Case’, recovering from the shock of his shattered wrist, leaned over to pick up his gun with his other hand. Both Andy and Enderby were distracted by what had happened a few yards from them. As Andy turned and looked at the situation, Enderby leapt for his gun which was in the gutter. As his hand closed on the gun, a foot came up between his legs with force and collided with his testicles. Enderby gasped and doubled up in agony. A chop by Andy to the nape of Enderby’s neck and the man fell over unconscious. The blow had not been hard enough to kill him. Andy quickly took the gun from the unconscious man and turned to see the other unfolding situation. As ‘Document Case’ was about to take hold of the gun there was a spurt of dust and the gun spun away. Andy had brought up and sighted the gun he had picked up and fired off a shot. He then shouted to the man not to move. Ed ran forward and pushed his gun into the surprised man’s mouth, flicking the safety catch on at the same time. “Quick,” Ed called out, “we have to keep him from closing his mouth and biting on his cyanide capsule.” Andy ran forward,
dropped the gun into John Douglas’ lap and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. He grabbed ‘Document Case’ by the hair and pulled his head back. The man opened his mouth with a yelp of pain. Ed removed the gun and Andy quickly pulled the handkerchief across the man’s open mouth using both hands to prevent him closing his mouth again. He tied the two ends in a knot at the back of the neck.

  “Sorry it’s not a clean hanky, mate,” he said, “but I guess you don’t care anyway.”

  A vehicle turned into the entrance to Long’s Close and stopped. It was the requested back-up. “Quick, bring a first aid kit,” Ed called out.

  Someone came running up with one and Andy pointed to John Douglas. “He has been shot and will need an ambulance. This prisoner also needs treatment to a shattered wrist. That man over there needs to be secured before he fully recovers.” A second person handcuffed Enderby as he stirred and pulled him up into a sitting position. As he was being treated, John Douglas told them to pick up and secure the fallen document case. It contained evidence. Andy went across and picked up the document case. He opened it and took out an envelope. In the envelope was a copy of the report he and John Douglas had prepared.

  He looked at the identifier and called out, “John, it’s Emerson’s copy.”

  John winced as he was being bandaged up and then said, “I wonder what the tie-up is between him and St John.” Turning to Ed, John said, “Thanks for saving my life with that shot. It was good shooting.”

  “You’re welcome,” was the grinned reply. The prisoners were put into separate vehicles. Andy gave the report copy to Tim to take with him. Tim got into the van with Ed and Andy stayed with John Douglas. The two vehicles drove off as the ambulance arrived. Andy was told to return with John for de-briefing. He nodded his agreement as the ambulance men started seeing to John’s shoulder wound.