The Range Rover was ready for them, Dave put the holdall with the weapons in the boot, Sally’s heart was thumping. They set off driving through the Saturday night traffic, as they drove east, the roads quietened, Taff had messaged him with a meeting place, a 24hour MacDonalds on the edge of Dagenham. As they pulled in to the carpark, Dave looked for Taff, he couldn’t see him anywhere, he climbed out the car and stood at the front looking round the carpark. “Why don’t you have a flashing blue light on the top and the siren going, this is a bloody police car.” Dave turned to see Taff, they greeted each other and shook hands. “It’s not police, it’s a government car.” “What ever it is, you stand out like a sore thumb.” Sally was now out the car, “is this the third person?” “Yes, I’m Sally,” Taff said hello, “I’ve been to the factory, I spent a couple of hours looking round, it’s not going to be easy. There is a rotten door at the rear, it will give with a little force, however I don’t know how much noise it will make.” Dave said they should continue the conversation in the car. “Any idea where the hostage is?” “No, there are lights on downstairs, every so often, another one will be switched on, just before I came here, one of them drove off, he returned fifteen minutes later with a takeaway. The gate was unlocked and opened by one of the others who stayed outside. The gate was closed but not locked, when the car came back, the gate was padlocked again.” “How many do you think there are?” “Between four and eight. There are two cars outside, for this sort of job, I would have at least four, maybe five, two at a time guarding.” Dave handed over the estate agent’s brochure for the building, Taff took out a torch and looked at the plan, “it shows a basement with access down a flight of stairs from the outside. I didn’t walk all the way round, it must be on the other side, when we go back, I will check it out.” Sally asked how they were to get into the site if the gates were locked, “I cut through the fence earlier, it won’t be a problem.” Dave said the police won’t be within half a mile of the place, there will be no patrols in the area. “We will go in this car, I found a side street to leave mine, once I have parked up, we will transfer everything into yours. If you want anything to eat, this might be your last chance for some time, have a pee, there won’t be any toilets.” Dave and Sally went into MacDonalds, in their boilersuits, they looked like two people either about to start a shift or just finished one. He queued up while Sally went to the toilet, the place was full of kids, he wondered if any of them would try to hassle Sally or himself. He ordered the food, Sally joined him and they left without any trouble. The three of them ate silently. As soon as they had finished, Taff said it was time to move.
Inside the factory Jane Goodley didn’t know whether it was the fumes from the petrol, the hits she had taken to her head or maybe it was the lack of food, she was drifting in and out of consciousness. She was long passed caring about trying to keep herself covered. Downstairs, there were five people, three were relaxing on old sofas and easy chairs. The remains of the Chinese meal was on the table. The other two were sitting ready, handguns on the table in front of them. They were arguing about who would go up to check on their prisoner. “She ain’t going anywhere, how the fuck is she going to untie these knots, get past us and out into the street, her tits are hanging out, fuck her, we’ll look in the morning.” One of the three relaxing said to go and check. Reluctantly one of the two got up and went upstairs. He was complaining as he sat down afterwards, “it fucking stinks of petrol up there, someone else can go up next time.”
Dave took Taff’s holdall, it was heavy, “what have you got in here?” “Enough to do the job.” As they drove towards the factory, Sally began to realise how serious this was, there may be people shot tonight, she might have to point her gun and fire it. She told herself the training she had been doing was all a build up to this. Right at the very beginning she had been told, if she carried a gun, she must be prepared to use it. Taff indicated where he wanted Dave to park, they were about a hundred yards away, up a side street, “the hole I cut is further down the road.” Dave said to Sally to make sure her gun was ready, he checked his own Glock, he took out the SA80, checked it a final time and laid it on the boot floor. “I have smoke grenades, do you want them?” “No, I will use a flashbang, I have a plan, it depends on whether we can access the basement and find a way upstairs.” Dave was looking through Taff’s kit, “do you have another knife and a small backpack, Sally will need them?” Taff took out a knife in a sheath, the blade was around six inches long, he passed it to Sally, there was also a small backpack he handed over. Dave said for her to put the tracksuit and the knife in the backpack. With all the kit they needed, ready, Taff handed round three headsets, “talk only when you have to,” they checked they could all hear each other. “When we go in, you two wait across from the rear door, I will try out the basement, if you hear a shot, kick the door down and come in.” They followed Taff through the fence, he showed them the back door, Dave and Sally waited opposite, in the darkness, there was some moonlight, but not enough to illuminate the area. Gradually their eyes got used to the dark. Sally had no idea of the time, she pulled Dave’s arm to look at his watch, it was 01:45. It was another twenty five minutes before Taff returned. He picked up the backpack he had left with Dave, they followed him back towards the fence. “There are five downstairs, I don’t know if there are more upstairs. We can enter through the basement. The stairs are near where the men are.” Taff explained the plan, “three are sleeping on chairs, the other two have guns and are sitting on dining chairs, one of them is almost asleep. He gave Dave and Sally their tasks, he explained to Sally she would hear a noise as he threw a flashbang towards the back of the factory to cause a distraction. “Close your eyes tightly and cover your ears, it will only last a few seconds, but will get them out the room they are in. Do not open your eyes until it has gone dark again. We go in five minutes, no conversations unless you have a problem. Dave and Taff had their guns out, Sally did the same. The three crept round the side of the building. One window was illuminated where they were walking, crouching down, they passed below. The stairs were just in front. Sally held onto the back of Dave as they went down. Inside, there was no light until they moved towards the middle, then there was enough from the ground floor to avoid the rubbish on the floor, Sally thought the place stunk. Before they climbed the stairs to the ground floor, there was enough light to see each other. Taff motioned to Dave where he was to go at the top of the stairs, he pulled Sally towards himself, she guessed she was to stick with him. Dave went up first, he moved to the left, he found a place about fifteen feet from the lit room, he stood behind a large metal post, his gun was pointing at the door. Taff stopped Sally on the third from top step, he motioned for her to crouch down shut her eyes and cover her ears. When the noise of the flashbang hitting the floor was heard, the chairs in the lit room scraped back on the concrete floor. The two grabbed their guns and made for the door, the other three stirred. Suddenly there was a blinding light and an explosion. Sally could see it through her closed eyes. Within a couple of seconds, the light was fading, she picked up her gun and was ready. There were two shots, the first two dropped to the floor. Taff tapped Sally, “Go, shoot anything you see in front of you.” Sally ran towards the stairs. She ran up them as fast as she could, there were more shots from down below, she pushed open each door she came to, the gun held out in front of her. In the fourth room was Jane Goodley, Sally checked there was no one else in the room, she left her there while she checked the rest of the offices. Quickly returning to Jane, she took out the knife and cut her free. She hardly moved. Sally stood up looking for a light switch, there were still gunfire downstairs, she heard another loud explosion, followed a few minutes later by three shots and then silence. “Don’t put the light on, petrol.” Jane was talking, but it didn’t sound like her. Sally looked at her in the dark, she was a mess, “can you stand?” Sally helped her to move, she had been trussed up for over twenty four hours. She pulled a chair closer and lifted Jane up on to it. She used the knife again to cut off the dress. Jane sat there in knickers soaked in petrol and urine. Sally cut these off as well, she was now naked but oblivious to what was happening. Taking out the tracksuit, she first put the top on, the bottoms were more difficult. Jane had to stand leaning on Sally to allow them to be pulled up. Dave was now up with them, “Bloody Hell, she looks bad.” “From the smell of everything, they poured petrol over her. I hope they are dead, the fucking bastards.” Stay with her up here. I’ll be back shortly.” He asked Taff if he had found the keys for the gates. “They’re on the table,” “Once you have the phones and wallets and anything else you find, can you open the gates, I am going for the car.” By the time he had driven round, they were open, they were closed as soon as he was in. Before he went to bring Jane down, he photographed the bodies, he took a picture of each of the faces. Taff handed him a bag with the wallets and phones, “I’ve checked to see if there was any money in the wallets, surprisingly, they were all empty.” He was smiling as he said it. Dave looked round, he found several unopened bottles of water, he took them with him, there was also a blanket which he took for Jane. Sally was standing where she had been when he left, Jane was resting against her, she was sobbing. “Time to go,” his voice was soft and calming, “I am going to pick you up and take you away from here, it’s David Stretton and Sally, do you understand?” She nodded, Dave scooped her up off the chair, he carried her carefully down the stairs, Sally was behind, carrying the backpack. As he took her out to the car, he asked Taff to check the room, clear it of everything. Sally sat in the back with Jane, she wrapped the blanket round her, Dave gave her a bottle of water, “only let her have sips, don’t let her gulp it all down, she will be sick.” With the building clear and everything in the boot, Dave set off. It didn’t take long to transfer the kit back into Taff’s car, Dave gave him an envelope from the glovebox. “Thanks for tonight,” they shook hands, he waited for Taff to drive off before leaving for London. Dave switched on the blue lights, he drove quickly but carefully. On the way he rang the Prime Minister’s office, “tell him the operation was successful.” His next call was to the number the Chief Constable had given him, he said the site was clear and the police could now enter.
It was 04:15 when he pulled up outside Flemings Hotel, he had been thinking how he was going to explain his arrival. Fortunately, he was recognised as he approached the door, “Mr. Stretton? I didn’t recognise you dressed like that, and you’re in a police car.” “Government car actually, we have been to a fancy dress party, one of the ladies has had a bit too much to drink, we are in the suite on the top floor, I will have to carry her in, the car will be here for about twenty minutes, then I will be gone again.” “I’ll open up the big door to make it easier.” Dave went back out, he picked up Jane, Sally was out on the other side, she had the room card ready. The lift doors were open, Sally opened the room, “run a bath, then order coffee and sandwiches for four, I’m starving.” Dave sat Jane on a stool in the bathroom, for the first time he could see the extent of the beating she had taken, the petrol had also affected her skin. When Sally returned he said to squirt shampoo into the water. “She needs to soak in the bath, get some warmth into her body, her muscles will start to ease off from the heat. Her hair and face need to be washed, get the petrol out of it. As soon as I have eaten, I am going for Alison. Sally checked the temperature of the water, “Dave, it’s ready,” “undress her and help her into the bath.” He left the bathroom and took off the boilersuit, he left on the polo shirt he had been wearing, he put on trousers and a pair of shoes, the Glock was in it’s holster. “Dave, come and help me, I can’t move her.” Jane was naked, sitting on the stool, for the third time that night, he picked her up, this time he gently lifted her into the bath. “Stay with her, the last thing we want is for her to drown in a bath after tonight.” There was a knock at the door, the food had arrived. He poured out coffee for the three of them. He took Sally and Jane’s into the bathroom, Sally had her sitting up, she was washing her hair using the shower attachment. “Jane, can you hear me?” She nodded, “Do you want me to bring Alison here?” Sally had stopped while Dave was talking, this time she nodded more vigorously. “There is a coffee for you, do you want it now. In a raspy voice she said no. She lifted her hand out the bath, Dave took hold of it, she squeezed it, at the same time she mouthed a thank you, tears were rolling down her face. Dave ate several of the sandwiches and drank his coffee. He put on a jacket, kissed Sally and left to get Alison. He woke her from a troubled sleep when he called, when he said Jane was safe, she cried, she was still crying when he knocked on the door. He said she needed to pack clothes for them both for a couple of days, “put in her makeup and toiletries, if she has perfume bring that as well.” Alison had it all ready within fifteen minutes. Dave again used the blue lights to speed through London. As they drove, he explained about the injuries Jane had received, “try not to break down when you see her.” He cleared everything out the car, locked it leaving the blue lights on and handed the keys to a porter, “Someone will collect it within thirty minutes.” He guided Alison to the lifts, Sally had managed to help Jane out the bath, she was wearing a tee shirt Sally had given her, a towel was wrapped round her hair. Alison dropped the case and ran to her as soon as she saw her sitting up in bed. There were tears from both of them. Dave said he would leave them alone now, “if you need me, come through this door, our bedroom is on the other side of the lounge.” His last job was to phone to have the Range Rover collected, he told them where it was, when he finished the call he looked at his watch, 06:30. Sally was eating sandwiches mechanically, she was exhausted. “Would you like me to carry you naked into bed?” “Yes please, but not now, later maybe, I want to sleep.” She went into the bathroom, returned naked and climbed into bed. “Are you coming to join me?” “Not yet, I need to do some thinking.”
© 10210ken 2025
