Red Hawk Rising

out of the factory and headed towards Hollinlane. About half-way there, a van pulled out of a side road and followed the bus, pulling up a little way past the main gate after the bus had driven into the base. Andy headed for the admin office to pick up his travel warrant and letter of authority to Wensley Electronics. Mike came over with Andy’s documents and Andy signed in the register for them. He also asked Mike to lock up his folders containing all his notes and other material. Mike put them in a filing cabinet, locked it and put the key in the safe. “You go ahead, Andy. I have to wait for the others to leave and then lock up. I’ll see you over at the block.” Andy headed out of the office.
Half-an-hour later, shaved, showered and changed into civilian clothing, the two of them headed for the car park and Mike’s car. As they drove off, Mike said, “Sheila is meeting us at the restaurant. It’s Chinese so I guess you’ll enjoy it. I have to drive Sheila home afterwards so would you mind making your own way back to base?” Andy said that that was fine. They parked a little way from the restaurant and walked back up the street towards it. A van drove past and parked around the corner. Andy saw an attractive brunette with a pageboy hairstyle standing at the door of the restaurant, obviously waiting for someone. As she saw them, a smile broke out and he guessed it must be Sheila. She and Mike gave each other a quick hug and kiss of greeting and they entered the restaurant. At the table, Mike effected a more formal introduction and Andy could see why he was keen on Sheila. Not only was she attractive and stylishly dressed but she had a friendly manner that put a person at ease. He was impressed. The conversation alternated between Mike and Sheila talking about the sort of day they had experienced and Sheila trying to find out more about Andy. He talked of his early background and of his interests. Sheila was good and never asked about their work. As they were ordering their meal, two men walked into the restaurant and took a table on the other side away from them. As the party ate their meal, Sheila tried to probe Andy about girlfriends. Mike jokingly said that all Andy’s girlfriends were Scottish. She raised an enquiring eye and he said that they are mountains. She chuckled disbelievingly and suggested that next time they met she bring a friend to make up a foursome. Courteously, Andy said that he would look forward to it, wondering if he would be back again. The meal over, they paid the bill and left. Andy thanked Sheila for a pleasant evening and left them to head back to the base. Mike and Sheila headed down to his car and Andy headed off in the other direction.
As Mike’s car drove off, the two men emerged from the restaurant, signalled to a van further down the street and then walked in the same direction as Andy. He turned down a side street, taking a short cut. As he did so the van went past the other two and turned down the same street as Andy. It went down the street past Andy and swung across the pavement, braking hard. A man jumped out from the passenger side and leapt toward Andy, drawing a switch-bladed knife from his jacket. Andy paused and realised he didn’t have time to move away. As the man lunged at him, the knife thrust forward, Andy swung sideways on the balls of his feet so that the knife missed. At the same time, he raised his left arm and brought his hand down in a chopping motion on the inside of the elbow of the knife arm — with his right hand he grabbed the forearm and pushed. The man’s arm folded inward and he ran onto his own knife blade — it entering his body just below the sternum. A look of horror appeared on his face. Andy let go and the man staggered forward and fell to the ground. Andy heard pounding feet and turned to see the two men from the Chinese restaurant running to the scene. One of them was drawing a gun as he ran. Andy quickly moved off the pavement and around the back of the van. The driver was getting out and Andy swung and chopped the man in the neck with the edge of his hand. He dropped to the ground without a sound. Suddenly, a car came down the street and pulled up. As the man with the gun was taking aim at Andy there was a noise like a ‘plop’ and the gunman dropped to the ground. The other man froze, a startled look on his face. Two men jumped out of the car and raced across. Both were holding revolvers fitted with silencers. One of them was the man from the compartment on the train. Andy stood still. There was nowhere to go. They handcuffed the companion of the man that had been shot and the one from the train turned to Andy while his companion checked on the knifed man. Pulling an identity card out, he said, “Don’t worry. We’re MI5. Hamilton warned the office of what was going to happen and we were sent to protect you.”
Another vehicle pulled up and Hamilton got out and walked over. “Right. Get the three victims into the back of the van and you two take it back to our base. We’ll take the fourth one with us. Corporal Hill, you come with me. Let’s get this all cleaned up before we get curious onlookers.” The whole action had taken no more than six minutes and the street was clear again. Even the bloodstain on the pavement was wiped up. Hamilton and Andy sat