
Dave was in Cardiff at 16:30, Taff was waiting for him, he was in a minibus, inside were a driver and five others, their kit was piled up at the back. “The van can’t be traced back to us, I borrowed it from someone who owes me a favour, it’s taxed and insured.” He waited until they were on the motorway, using Taff’s drawing, Dave explained what he wanted to happen, the placing of the mobile phone jammers was first, these were to be activated just before the operation started. The arrival of the Range Rover would be the signal to start jamming. One man was to take out the guard at the gate and then block the entrance with the car, eliminate anyone trying to leave in a car. The first shots were to take out the two outside the farmhouse door once the occupants of the Range Rover were out the car. They were next, whether armed or not, Dave knew if he was kept alive, his lawyers would get him off. “If anyone comes out the farmhouse door with a weapon, take them out, same at the back, if they have their hands up, don’t kill them.” Dave asked if he had any smoke grenades, he nodded, “if they won’t come out, smoke them out.”
He left Taff to delegate who did what, and change round Dave’s plan to work better. When he had finished, Dave passed over the money. Taff gave him a pair of black overalls, gloves and a mask. “When we get out, help unload the kit from the back. The driver will go into Ormskirk, wait in MacDonalds until it is time to pick up your drivers, head back there until he gets a call. Dave called Trevor to make sure he would be there on time. He was due at 20:45, he gave the registration number of the van, “get in and wait, he will take you to MacDonalds, get some food, we won’t be stopping once we set off.”
At 20:30, Taff moved to sit behind the driver, he told him where to stop, there was very little light, just enough to make out shapes. Everyone was out the van and unloading the kit, it was put in the ruined barn used earlier in the week. The van was gone as soon as the doors were closed. There was cursing and swearing as some tripped over fallen debris. Everyone was soon changed and ready to go. Taff handed round military headsets for communication, he had tested them to make sure the jamming equipment didn’t interfere. There was a radio check by each person. Other than Taff, the only other person he could have identified was Colin. He didn’t need to know names. “If we take any prisoners, no talking in front of them. Radio use to a minimum. Any questions?” There was no reply. Six set off towards the farm house, one made for the gate to wait. Dave carried his rifle and the two Glocks, he and Taff stopped, they stayed near to where he had spent the time watching, it gave him a commanding view of the farmyard. Taff handed him a pair of night vision goggles. He could see the others moving into position. It was 21:45, they were ready. 22:00 came and went, Taff wondered if it had been a one off visit or possibly the day had been changed. At 22:10 there was a message, ‘Range Rover pulled into drive, thirty seconds away.’ Taff radioed to switch on the jammers. “Wait until they are out the vehicle. Happy hunting.” Dave had his rifle lined up on one of the guards, he was standing, his rifle at the ready. He heard three shots, he fired on the guard who was looking round startled. He fell back as the shot hit him. The other guard was also down. Shots were coming from the back of the farmhouse. Someone ran out the front door firing blindly as he ran, he only made it a few steps. There was the sound of breaking glass, Dave wondered if someone would be shooting from a window, he looked at the upstairs and downstairs, nothing, then he saw smoke coming out the door, there were shouts of ‘don’t shoot, we’re coming out.’ Five people came out the house, their arms up in the air. Two of Taff’s men came out from where they were hiding, there rifles pointing at the five. The one from the gate came up the drive, Taff spoke quietly into his headset, the two were about to search the house, Dave had done it in training and hated it, it was nerve wracking. He took over guarding the five, one went to search each person, once they were clean, their hands were secured with cable ties. He indicated for them to move to the farmhouse wall and sit down. He then did the same with their ankles. Taff came out the door, he indicated the farmhouse was clear. Those who were shot were checked to see if any had been wounded. They were all dead. The three from the car were pulled out the way, Dave took wallets, mobile phones and anything else in their pockets. Taff had said to switch off the jammers, he called the driver saying to make his way to the farm. Dave searched the car and took anything he thought would be helpful. Taff said which lorries held the weapons and which was the workshop. “Move the two down the track, ready to go, Taff said for Dave to follow him inside. Upstairs there was a room full of drugs, in boxes, in bags and suitcases. “Reverse the lorry with the workshop up here, I need to get this on board.” While Taff was doing that, Dave photographed the room, he did the same downstairs, on a long kitchen table were stacks of money, again he took photographs, he found an old desk and a filing cabinet, he made a mental note to take them with him. The lorry was now in place, Dave wanted Taff to keep the drivers in the minibus, he didn’t want them to see anything. Two of the men who were tied up were cut free, they were used to assist in bringing the drugs downstairs and into the lorry, A gun was kept on them at all times. It was now thirty minutes since the shooting had started. In another fifteen minutes the drugs, money filing cabinet and desk were loaded and the doors shut. He asked how many were dead round at the back, “Two, plus the guards, the one who ran out and the three from the car, eight in total, a lot fewer than Dave had thought. His last job was to photograph the dead. It was never a job he liked doing, but it had to be done. With the two men tied back up again, it was time to go. The lorries were moved further down the track, Trevor and his driver were put in the first two trucks. Dave asked them to check the fuel, both were three quarters full. Taff stopped Dave before he left in the third lorry. They thanked each other, Taff asked Dave if he would do him a favour, “could I have one of the bags out the back of your lorry, it will help pay for my lad through university.” Dave opened the back, Taff took one large bag, he hid it in a coat he had picked up. Suddenly he heard the sound of the old army lorry used to pick up the weapons. Dave took out his Glock and aimed it at the driver, one of Taff’s men lent out of the cab, his gun was put away. “I’ll park this down the drive, through away the keys, it will take the police ages to move it.”
They shook hands, Taff waited until the trucks were on the road before the rest climbed into the minibus to head to the barn, collect their gear and be gone.
Trevor had been told to make for Ormskirk then onto the motorway. Once there, Dave took the lead, Trevor was at the rear, they sat in with other lorries, there was no overtaking unless there was a much slower vehicle in front. Three supermarket lorries in convoy, it looked like any early Saturday morning. He made his phone calls to the Brigadier and then Jane Goodley. She asked how many were dead, there was no response when he said, eight. “You need to make things happen now, let the police know. I have millions of pounds worth of drugs for you to collect.” The Brigadier also wanted to know the casualty figures. “I’ll call you in the morning with the address for the transfer. His next call was to Sally, he could hear her crying, he waited until she had calmed down. She said she couldn’t wait to see him, “Just a couple of hours to go, will you say to Michael that I will be in Leicester around 02:30.”
At 02:45, Michael heard the sound of lorries coming onto the estate, he pressed the button to raise the roller shutter. Dave pulled to one side to let the others go in first, he jumped down out the cab, he was still wearing the black overalls from earlier, the first one was driven in and turned to the right, Trevor pulled in alongside, Dave drove straight in and stopped, his would be used to block the doorway. He handed the money over to Trevor, who asked for the cost of the train fare. Dave called him a tight bastard then gave him another £100. The two disappeared into the darkness. Sally ran over and hugged Dave, “are you OK, you’re not hurt?” “No, I’m fine, starving though, I haven’t eaten since a snack on the train.” “We brought sandwiches and a flask of coffee, just in case.” Michael apologised saying there was nowhere to sit. “We can soon sort that, Michael would you give me a hand please?” Dave went to open one of the trailers. Michael gasped when he saw what was inside, “a few boxes should make a good seat.” They dragged out enough boxes to sit on. When he had eaten Sally asked him what was to happen now, “I will be here all night, I can’t leave this unprotected, apart from the weapons, there are several million pounds worth of drugs in that lorry,” he pointed to the one he had driven in.
“I’m staying here with you, I’m not going home. Can we see the drugs, I’ve only ever seen them on TV?” Michael and Olivia were curious as well. He asked for the door to be locked before going to the cab, he took out the two Glocks from his backpack, took off the overalls and put one in his belt, the other went into the shoulder holster. He opened the door to the trailer, piled up were the bags, boxes and suitcases from the farm house, there were pills, solid blocks and white powder. “That’s it, nothing special,” They all looked a bit disappointed. He took out the SA80 and put it near the boxes where they were sitting. Olivia asked Michael if they could stay as well, “it’s up to Dave.” “You can stay if you want, but would you mind getting me more food from MacDonalds or Burger King, I’m sure there must be a twenty four our one near here. When you come back, would you park outside your unit, I don’t want anyone knocking on the door. Give me a video call, once you show me there is no one else with you, I will let you in.” Dave locked the door as they left, Sally hugged and kissed him, she wouldn’t let him go. Dave broke free, “there is something I need to do before they come back.” He took out a box from the truck, “we need to count this quickly, I hope you brought a bag with you.” There was over £200k, he took £30k from the box, “put this in your bag, it will cover our extra expenses.” He put the box in the trailer and closed it. His phone was ringing, Michael gave Dave a complete view of the door area and the rest of outside. He opened the door holding the Glock, Olivia and then Michael entered. There was more coffee, burgers, chips, cold drinks and fruit bags. Dave ate everything, they sat round drinking coffee and talking, Michael had found the switch that turned on the infra-red wall heaters, they moved the boxes to be under one of them.
At 08:00 it was time to make calls. The first one to was Jane Goodley, he said her crew had to be here first. The drugs, cash and paperwork had to be gone before the weapons could be moved, giving her the address and asked her to read it back to him. He sent over images from the farmhouse to let her know how much there was to move. She said the team would arrive before 11:30. The Brigadier was next, Dave said any time after 12:30.
Sally said he needed to sleep, “later, I have to take pictures of the inside of the trailers, and try to count the number of boxes. Michael and Olivia said they had to go, but would be back when needed. Dave asked if they would pick up some more food before going. Fifteen minutes after they left, Michael phoned Dave from outside, he held his phone and turned round to show he was alone. There was enough for Sally and Dave to keep going for the rest of the day, bacon and egg rolls, coffee and bars of chocolate. “When they come for the drugs, I want you to have a gun, I don’t expect you to fire it, I want whoever comes, to think that you are covering me.” Sally reluctantly agreed, Dave handed her a Glock. It was heavy in her hand, he took off his shoulder holster, Sally took off her jacket, Dave fitted the holster, she felt more comfortable with the gun there. “Make sure the jacket is open and the holster visible.” With everything done, they sat and waited, “my heart is thumping and I’m scared.” “It’ll be OK, in a couple of hours, it will all be over.” At 11:15, there was a knock on the door. Sally jumped up, she grabbed hold of Dave. “It’s OK, wait here.” He picked up the SA80, the Glock was tucked into the back of his jeans. There was another louder knock. Dave shouted through the door, asking what they wanted. “We have come to make a collection.” “Password.” “Balmoral Castle.” Dave told them to wait until he said to enter, he unlocked the door and stood back, slightly to one side. “Come in, one at a time.” The door opened, A tall muscular man came in first. “Stand to one side,” Dave was in a position to shoot anyone who tried to pull out a weapon or rush him. The next one through the door was Jane Goodley, without moving his rifle, he said he hadn’t expected her to come in person. “I fancied a day out, I thought I would come and see you.” Sally now appeared, the gun was out the holster, and pointing towards the three other men who had now entered. Dave never lowered the rifle. “A few rules before we start, no one goes behind me, if you are behind me, I will think you are a threat. Nothing leaves here without being logged and signed for. I want everybody to be searched, including you Jane, Sally will do that. If you have any weapons, please take them out, one person at a time. Nobody moved, Dave said for each person to put their hands against the trailer. He swapped the rifle for the Glock, there were no weapons, Sally, having seen what Dave had done, checked the head of MI5, inside the handbag Sally found a small calibre handgun. “Dave, she has a gun,” “put it on the boxes, I thought she would.” “Nothing personal Jane, I need to be in control, you will see in a minute. Will one of you lock the door please and bring me the key.” Sally took the key, “you can open up the trailer. In a little over an hour from now, the army will be here, so you need to get a move on.” There were gasps, when the doors were opened. Jane moved to look inside, “take everything out, lay it on the floor by type, we will count, log and photograph everything before we load it into our vans.” She sat with Dave and Sally while the trailer was unloaded. She asked about last night, “you will have a full report by Monday morning, I expect you will have questions to answer.” “The Home Secretary has already been on the phone, he has had the Chief Constable of Merseyside complaining about operations in his area happening without his knowledge. I think the shit will hit the fan on Monday.” They watched as the drugs were laid out on the floor, “the desk and filing cabinet are for you as well. I hope there will be information as to who has bought the weapons and drugs.” When the trailer was emptied, Dave asked where they were going, “there is a secure Home Office lab, they will be tested, weighed and a value put on them, samples will be kept to try to analyse where they came from.” “When will you know the value?” “I may have a rough estimate tomorrow, they will make a start this afternoon.” Dave asked if they had searched the offices and home of Peter Farrell, “Yes, teams went in this morning, our men assisted by the local police, we obtained warrants last night.” Everything was out the trailer, photographs were being taken. Dave was taking his own. As they were counting, he moved the lorry forward to allow the vans to come into the warehouse. Sally gave him the key, he unlocked the door and dropped down, he opened the door, and looked under the vans to make sure there was nobody waiting for him. Satisfied, he closed and locked the door. The roller shutter was opened, the vans reversed in, and then closed. The drugs were put into large plastic containers, as each one was filled, a lid was put on and it was slid into the van. In all there were almost fifty containers, one van had the desk, the other had the filing cabinet. Dave was given a copy of the manifest, Jane gave orders for the desk and filing cabinet to be taken to London once the drugs had been dropped off. “Aren’t you going with them?” “No, I will be going back with the Brigadier.” Dave had no idea he would be here, nothing had been said, but then he hadn’t expected to see the head of MI5. At 12:30, there was knocking on the door again. Dave went through the same routine with the Military Police and the drivers, this time there were no searches. He said for Sally to ring Olivia and say they were ready. The Brigadier was shocked when he saw how large the haul was, “there is a workbench in the third lorry where the numbers are ground off, the haul from last Wednesday is still in there. The jamming kit is also in there, I will give you the SA80 when you leave. I have had a rough count of the number of boxes and photographed the inside of each trailer. They all are about half full of fuel. The Brigadier congratulated him on doing a good job, he asked for a report, “it will be with you on Monday morning.” Dave felt himself going, he sat down on the boxes for a minute, only Sally noticed. “Are you OK,” she whispered, “yes, I suddenly felt weak, I’m OK now.” The lorries were ready to go, “don’t forget these ones,” Dave indicated the boxes they had used to sit on. They were quickly put in one of the trailers, the Brigadier pulled Dave to one side. “Have you or your friends, taken anything?” He wasn’t accusing, he wanted to know. “No sir, everything is old and dangerous, there is no way I would like my life to depend on one of them working.” The three lorries left in convoy, a Military Police car at the front and rear, blue lights flashing. Dave stood outside in the milky sunshine, he blinked his eyes several times. He and Sally shook hands with the Brigadier and Jane Goodley, they climbed into the back of a staff car and were gone. Sally put her Glock back into the holster, Dave’s was tucked into the back of his jeans. They returned into the warehouse, this time the door was closed but not locked. Dave sat on the floor, his eyes were closed. Sally wondered how he had managed to stay awake for so long, it was now over thirty hours since he woke. It wasn’t long before he opened his eyes and stood up, “there here,” Sally opened the door to see Michael walking towards her. She went to sit in the car with Olivia. Dave and Michael walked round to make sure nothing had been left behind, the rubbish had been put in Dave’s backpack. The door was locked, Michael took the key, Dave sat in the back of the car, his eyes closed.
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