Red Hawk Rising

that they had a person seeking to pick up an envelope from the Dept. of Defence person, Mr Hamilton. He took the call and asked to speak to the person. The ensuing conversation identified and verified the person was from MI5 and Hamilton said that he would go down to meet him. At security, he handed over the envelope and indicated for the visitor to go outside with him so they could talk. Hamilton briefed him on the situation and told him to keep in touch. The men shook hands and parted, Hamilton heading back to the office.
***
The 5 o’clock hooter went and men packed up work and headed for the time clocks to punch their cards before heading out. Similarly, the RAF personnel packed up their equipment and tools and headed out to the bus. Outside the main gate a ‘tail’ waited for Sam Wilson. As Wilson left the building and passed through security, Hamilton followed him across the yard to the main gate. As Wilson went out, Hamilton nodded to the man waiting outside and the ‘tail’ was on. Wilson headed towards Shields Road and went into the bar of the Blacksmiths Arms. He ordered himself a ‘half’ of ‘Exhibition’ beer and retired to a table in a corner. The ‘tail’ followed him in and ordered a ‘half’ of ‘Scotch’ beer and moved to another table nearby. Soon, other men from Wensley Electronics walked in and ordered beers. Two of them went across and joined Sam Wilson. They were his companions from the previous evening. After preliminary talk, Sam bent his head and lowered his voice. The ‘tail’ pulled a device out of his pocket and quietly slid it under the table, flicked a switch and pressed. The suction cup held it place under the table. Pointed in the direction of Sam Wilson and friends, it was a powerful miniature microphone. In his pocket, the conversation was recorded on a miniature tape recorder. Sam told Sean Byrne and his companion how he had blown the klystron and a new one had been ordered from Argonaut Industries in Manchester. It would be sent over in the morning by a truck. Sean Byrne told Sam that he had done well and that he would take the next step. The other two asked him what that would be. “I’m not sure,” was Sean’s reply, “but I’ll be giving it a lot of thought.” They all grinned at that reply. “Sam,” said Sean, “don’t do anything more for the time being. You’ve done a good job at holding things up but let it be for the time being.”
 “Okay, Sean, you’re the boss,” replied Sam.
 “I’d better be going,” said Sean. At that, they all drained their glasses and headed for the door. The ‘tail’ watched them go, retrieving the microphone at the same time. It was clear from watching the three that the leader was the Irishman and the ‘tail’ decided to follow him instead of Wilson. He finished his beer and casually left the bar. Outside he saw the three men separate and followed Sean Byrne down the street. Sean headed towards a telephone box and went inside. The tail followed and stood back, ostensibly fiddling with change. Sean took no notice as he put money into the slot for a local call. The tail stood where he could watch Sean dial the number. He counted the number of holes above Sean’s finger and was able to work out the number as Sean dialled and then the ‘tail’ committed it to memory. Sean’s voice was muffled and the ‘tail’ couldn’t hear it all but worked out that Sean was reporting the conversation with Sam Wilson. Sean hung up and came out of the ‘phone box with barely a glance at the ‘tail’. A bus came down the street and Sean sprinted to the bus stop to catch it. The tail let him go. It would be too obvious to follow and also catch the bus. He went into the telephone box and dialled the operator, asking for a London number. While he waited, he played back the recording he had made of the conversation in the pub. The call went through to MI5 and he asked for an extension. When it answered he gave a report, including the telephone number that Sean Byrne had dialled and a description of Sean. He was told to head for his home but to stay near the ‘phone. Coupled with Hamilton’s conversation earlier, the duty officer contacted the section head and gave a report. He said to trace the telephone number and come back with it. Then the section head telephoned Air Ministry.
While all this had been going on, the RAF bus was taking the team to RAF Ouston. Sarge and the team discussed the matters that Corporal Andy Hill had raised. Comparing their memories of events, it appeared that Sam Wilson had been around the areas of problems in the majority of cases. Sarge said that he would report it to Flying Officer Goodhew in the morning. When they got back to the base, Andy said he would catch up with the others and headed for the telephone to call Lutterworth. When he got through, he asked about Hamilton from MI5 and explained what Hamilton had said. Andy was told that it was correct and that the instruction had come from ‘very high up’ and to work with him. Andy then gave a report of events and his concerns. He was told that it would be followed up and he hung up and headed for the barracks to freshen up before going to the mess for dinner.
Hamilton had booked into the ‘Station Hotel’ next to the Central Railway Station and was preparing to go down to the dining room for dinner when the telephone rang. He answered it and found himself talking to Air Vice-Marshal Denby. “I want to discuss the situation at Wensley Electronics,” he said to Hamilton.