Week Four Continued
Open up your laptop, we can transfer everything on to yours, you can then add it on to the rest of the information we have. “Who else are the people on the list?” “The most prominent one is the political appointment to the CIA, he is one of the joint deputy directors, the other one is a CIA man. Search on your machine for the names, I’m sure there are more politicians.” Ten minutes later they knew that four more were senators, three were heads of weapons companies, other names they couldn’t find. “This really is serious shit, what are we going to do, what’s the plan you have?” “let me get it right in my head and I will let you know, I don’t think you will be at work for the next couple of weeks, I want to phone Jane, are you all right with that, we will be going to a secure place, you will be OK at work tomorrow, we will go to London as planned, find $20k, Yuri is sending someone for the money. I’m not sure who Jane speaks to at the University about you, I will find out.” It was late, but this was important, “Ruth, it’s David Stretton, can I speak to Jane.” “Do you know what time it is?” “Jane I’m sorry, I need information, your contact at the university, can you trust him?” “Yes, he worked in the Home Office and with me here for a short time many years ago.” “Would he tell anyone else if he was pushed?” “Not if I spoke to him, what’s all this about?” “The end is in sight, I need Sally to write up the report, she needs to spend time doing it, there is a lot to be done.” “David, do you know what all this is about?” “Nearly, I am waiting for more information and I might have to do a little field work. If there is the slightest doubt about your man, then please say so, do you have a file on him, if you do, I might visit him?” “If I tell him, he won’t say anything.” “OK, tell him on Friday late in the afternoon that Sally won’t be in for two weeks, drop it into conversation, she will be working in Germany going over old cases.” “I will drop you off in the morning and pick you up later, I am probably over reacting, twelve hours ago we were unaware of any of this, it’s when you know, worry sets in.” “Don’t be late coming to bed, I’m going now, you must be knackered.” “Before you do, will you copy everything onto a couple of sticks, I will also upload it, tomorrow, I will leave it all with Michael. I will spend my time in the café, going over everything.”
Dave was too tired to look at the rest of the information, he wanted to sleep. Sally woke him in the morning, she put a coffee on his bedside table. He had decided to change his plans for the day, he said nothing to Sally, he came downstairs with his Glock in it’s shoulder holster. He ate twice what he normally would, he felt full as he loaded up Sally’s car with the laptops, he called Michael when he had dropped her off, “can I come and see you, I have the stuff I want you to look after?” “I’ll be in all day.” When he arrived, Michael said he looked rough, “There hasn’t been much time to sleep over the last few days.” In his office Dave said they were going away for a couple of weeks, “would Olivia or you keep an eye on the house, drop in a couple of times to make sure it is OK.” “Are you going on holiday?” “No, it’s work, we have to be somewhere else.” “Can I ask what you have been doing at the base, my father was stationed there?” “Research, we needed somewhere secure.” “And the helicopters, Sally had a bruise on her face, then Olivia said there was a machine gun in a backpack.” “There were two, one each,” Michael looked in disbelief, “Sally with a machine gun?” Dave nodded, “do you mind if I sit in one of your empty offices, I have a call to make and I need to spend a little time thinking. “Help yourself, the food wagon will be round at 10:30.” He phoned the Admiral, they spoke for a time, “I’m not sure, I will speak to the Chief and if he agrees, then the base commander. If the answer is no, then you will have to think of something else.” He phoned Taff, there was no answer, he didn’t leave a message, he would ring the number back. He closed his eyes, his thoughts were everywhere, he concentrated on what was to be done next week. Michael knocked on the door, Dave opened his eyes, Michael had brought him a bacon roll and coffee, putting them down on the desk, he left without saying anything. He ate, then closed his eyes again, it was Taff who disturbed him next. “It’s Dave, I have a little job for next week, can we meet to discuss it, possibly in the morning, you could have breakfast with Sally and I, it needs to be early, I have meetings for the rest of the day, only you, it’s a one man job, less than twenty four hours.” Taff said he would be there in the morning. Banging in the warehouse stopped any further thoughts, he asked Michael if he wanted to go for lunch, he said he couldn’t, Dave thanked him for the food, “We will pick up the laptops again tomorrow, probably from your house, I will phone when we are leaving London.” He sat in a pub having eaten lunch, he was killing time, he couldn’t think properly, there was too much happening. The Admiral calling shook him out his stupor, “It’s all agreed, there will be an escort when you leave here tomorrow, your car is booked in for the carpark.” Dave thanked him, another thing ticked off the list in his head.
Sally was waiting when he arrived, she kissed him as she got in. “It felt strange today, nobody said anything, but I felt different.” In the house he said to pack two suitcases, one to last all of next week, the other just for tonight, I will need a suit, put in the new ID’s I will need them next week.” “Where are we going?” “I wasn’t sure until lunchtime, we will be staying on the base in Hereford, where you did the shooting, we will be able to work freely, and I don’t think there is anywhere more secure. I need dark clothes as well, and the money for Yuri, Taff will be joining us for breakfast.” “It’s going to be a busy day.” “Make sure you have plenty of clothes, we are going down in the car, on the way to Hereford, we will be stopping at Olivia’s to pick up the laptops,” “If we are going to Hereford, why don’t we take them with us?” “I don’t want to have them in London.”
They left just after 16:00, it was 18:30 when he parked in the MOD underground carpark, Yuri had phoned saying he was in London himself, he invited them to join him for dinner, Dave said they would be there at 20:00.
It wasn’t far to walk, they were both smart, but not over dressed, at the door Dave decided they would go in a cab. Yuri stood up when he saw them, he gave Dave a sort of bear hug, Sally was kissed on the cheek, “is this your wife?” “Not yet,” Dave did the introductions, Yuri said he wanted to eat, Sally thought it was plusher than Flemings, but not as friendly. Yuri leaned across the table and asked if he would be taking off his jacket, there was a shake of the head. Yuri laughed, “you’re a wise man,” “Sally has a heavy handbag.” Yuri looked at her, she smiled back at her. “Sally is my work partner as well.” There was general chat as they ate, the food was very good, it was only when they were on the coffees work was mentioned. Sally passed him the envelope from her handbag, it went into Yuri’s jacket. “There are some very important people on the list and one of yours as well, what are you going to do?” “It will be someone else’s problem soon, we will move on to the next job.” “I heard there was some trouble on an island, do you know anything about it?” “Yuri, you should know better than to ask. Now you know how to find out the identity of those using the dark web messaging service, will I be getting a share of your sales?” “I will give you a discount on your next order, both of them laughed. Yuri looked at Sally, “could I tempt you to leave Dave, I would buy you a house, you would have servants, anything you want, we could be gone tonight.” Sally smiling said it was a very good offer, but she would soon get bored, I might wake up one morning and shoot you.” Yuri feigned shock, “maybe you should stay with Dave then.” He offered them more drinks, Dave said he had a breakfast meeting then would be at the MOD all day. He thanked Yuri for helping him with the software, as they left, there was another hug for Dave, Sally had a kiss on both cheeks this time.”
They made love before going to sleep, an alarm call was booked for 07:00. Taff joined them not long after they had sat down, “I have to go to Ireland, more than likely on Sunday, I have to break into an office, I want a distraction, the police need to be tied up in case I set off an alarm.” “Is this a follow up from the island?” “Yes, I need some information, I can’t hack in to the computer, I don’t think it’s on the net all the time.” “What do you want?” “A couple of explosions, nobody to be hurt, A fire would be good if you can, close to where I will be. There is a ferry which leaves just after 01:00, use timers, set them for 01:30, you will be on the way home when they go off, that’s it.” “Cover my expenses, that’s all I’ll need, there will be a few extra targets, payback for what they did to our mates during the troubles, if I tell Colin, he might come along, no extra charge.” “Let me know later when you have decided.”
The MOD was next, the meeting was arranged for 10:30, Dave wasn’t sure who would be there. Both he and Sally put on their shoulder holsters, she checked both the Glocks before handing one to Dave. They checked out the hotel, a taxi took them to the MOD, the guns were surrendered as they entered, Sally found the meeting room, she was the first one there, she poured out two coffees. Jane Goodley was next, she and Sally chatted about holidays and her upcoming wedding to Ruth until Dave arrived, minutes later the Chief of the Defence Staff entered. “Just the four of us, we can call in anyone else we need. I will be briefing the PM later. Right David, let’s hear what you have.” “There are no briefing notes, it is moving too quickly to commit to paper, you may want to take notes, especially if you have to relay the information later. I may go over some parts you already know, I have to repeat it to have it in the right order, here goes. The republican angle is a cover, the operation on the island was a family affair, at the head was Peter Finn, however it was his son Patrick who was the organiser, Sally is in the process of compiling a diagram which will show you the live links between each member of the organisation, it will be ready by the time of the final presentation. The operation has been going on for months, there was no way the family could finance it. There was also the question of where the drugs went once they were produced, how did the raw ingredients get onto the island. Producing the quantities there were and trying to sell it in the UK would reduce the price, there would be much less profit. Everything was being shipped to the US, the Finns were only used to manufacture, they were paid well for what they did. Around 2m Euros every month, there is 17m Euros in an Irish bank account. The operation was financed from the US, the raw ingredients were off loaded onto the Stornoway trawler and brought to the island, it also took away the manufactured drugs, I think they were taken to Northern Ireland, put in a container, transferred to Dublin for onward shipment to America. I have drawn a blank with the shipping agent, I cannot access his systems, I will be going there on Sunday, flying back on Monday, if I find the information I want, I will go to the US, I think by next weekend, we will have all the information and will be ready to give you everything. Sally will be spending the week creating the report, I think we should work on a week on Tuesday being the day.” He sat down, Jane Goodley now spoke, “David there is a lot you aren’t telling us, with all the information you have been through, there should be something tangible, you’ve just given us fluff, there is nothing in there.” “There is a very good reason, I want Sally and I to stay alive.” It was the Chief now, “If this is mostly an American affair, why don’t we hand it all over to them?” “It isn’t, there is something going on in the UK, I don’t know what it is, but hopefully we will find out. There is also Police Scotland, people there are implicated. This is a far reaching investigation, I have worked through the night on occasion to get to where we are. You both must understand the position we are in, say to the PM we are snowed under with the amount of work involved, tell him as little as possible.” “A bit like you are doing to us,” Dave didn’t respond. The Chief decided the meeting was over, see the Admiral afterwards, he will arrange your escort.” Jane asked Dave and Sally to remain, He went to the table and poured three more coffees. “Will you tell me the truth?” “No, we are too close, this isn’t going to turn out well, be prepared.” “David, I want more than that,” “Jane I trust you, but if I don’t tell you, then I don’t have to think you might leak what I have said, in eleven days you will know. Think of it as payback for the beginning of the job when no one would tell us the truth. Jane, I have paid out $20k on software to help on this job, I will give you copies when it is over, it will put you ahead of the Americans, I hope we will be reimbursed.” “Put it on your expenses. Both of you, be careful, I understand you are moving onto the base in Hereford, take care, Sally, watch out for all the men there.” She kissed them both before leaving. They sat there alone, “Dave, tell me the truth, how dangerous is this?” “If no one says anything then maybe a four or five, if word gets out, maybe an eight, that is why we are going to Hereford, I have to make sure you are safe, that is more important than anything, let’s go up to see who the Admiral has arranged to escort us.”
An hour later, they were down in the carpark waiting, their guns had been returned. Two cars pulled into the carpark and stopped blocking any vehicles leaving, four huge men were out of each car, all in black overalls, all wearing balaclavas. One had a sheet of paper with both their images. “David Stretton, Sally Fellowes, we are your escort, two men will be in with you, a car in front, one behind, we won’t be stopping.” Dave said they had to make a detour to pick up equipment, the leader was given the address, he passed it over to one of the others. “Have you driven in a convoy like this before?” “Dave said he had undergone the training many years ago. “There are two police cars outside, they will clear our way through London, before we leave, I will give them the new way out we have to take, they will stay with us until we are on the motorway.” The two who would be with Dave and Sally checked the rear doors could be opened from the inside. Five minutes later they were ready to leave. Sirens and blue flashing lights could be seen and heard as they drove out, Sally was worried Dave was too close to the leading car. More traffic cars could be heard, they drove through red lights, the traffic cars blocking other vehicles, Dave had never driven out the centre of London so quickly, not even early on a Sunday morning. The police cars left them as they drove onto the M1, Sally hadn’t noticed the flashing lights on the car in front, as they sped up, she could hear the siren, Dave was less than six feet from the bumper, looking behind, the following car was right there. The speed increased to 100mph, it went higher when the road was quieter. She looked at Dave, he was concentrating hard, maintaining the speed, watching both the car in front and the road ahead. Near Lutterworth, he said for Sally to phone Olivia and make sure everything was ready. Leaving at Junction 22, they headed down country roads, the speed slowed, within ten minutes they were outside Olivia and Michael’s, the siren had been going all through the village, they parked in the road, the two sitting in the rear seats got out, as did two each from the other cars. Sally stayed in the passenger seat, Dave walked to the door, Michael had already opened it, “sorry about the noise, you might have a bit of explaining to do to your neighbours,” Olivia pushed past them, she ran towards the car, one of the men stood blocking her way, Sally wound down the window and said it was OK. Olivia hugged her through the open window, “what the fuck is happening?” “We are being looked after, I’ll call you tonight, everything is OK.” Dave was putting the laptops in the boot. He said to the leader, he needed to fuel up. “Stay in the car, one of us will do it.” The satnav said it was just over 100miles, normally it would take around two and a half hours, he wondered how quickly it would be today. It took ninety minutes, the gates opened as they arrived, the cars were lined up outside the base commander’s offices. Dave thanked each of the men, Sally waited, they went into the offices, saying who they were to a receptionist, they were told to wait. A few minutes later they were shown into an office. Colonel George Strachan stood up and greeted them, coffee was brought in, Dave could see his military record on the desk, “You’re not in the forces now, it doesn’t say you are on recall, what are you doing here?” “Sir, we are working on a sensitive case, our roles are investigators, we work for MI5 and the MOD, you won’t find us on any lists. Officially we don’t exist, we work clandestinely, our names never appear in any reports. We need a secure place to work where we will be safe and undisturbed, we should be here for around a week, all we will need is a secure office, and the use of someone from IT for the first day. We won’t interfere with the day to day running of the camp.” “You have been assigned a four man officers unit to stay in, it is self contained and has basic facilities. You can eat in the canteen, however, you cannot use the Officers Mess, Miss Fellowes may, but unfortunately as you were a member of the ranks, you are excluded.” “It’s OK, we will use the canteen and the Sergeants Mess if we want a drink or better food. We will start in the morning, will you arrange for someone to meet us in our accommodation around 09:00 and show us where our office will be.” Notes were made, “an orderly will take you to your accommodation, if you require anything, contact my office, I have been told to give you every assistance.”
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