Red Hawk Rising

but they had learned to restrain their curiosity.
It was about 3.00 a.m. and Andy stirred and awoke as he heard an aircraft coming in to land. It sounded like the Anson returning. Fifteen minutes later, Lance and Sean crept into the barrack room, undressed and climbed into their beds. They wouldn’t have long to sleep. Andy rolled over and went back to sleep.
Reveille was at 6.30 a.m. (Tuesday 27th) and Andy was already up, and in the ablutions, having a shave and shower. Going back into the barrack room, he found Lance and Dan still sound asleep and shook them awake. For them it was not going to be an easy day. Andy dressed in his civilian clothes and then wrote a short letter to Alice while waiting for the other two to get ready. The three of them headed to the mess for breakfast. Nothing was said about the activities of the previous night. They were all aware of the risk of any loose talk.
While they were having breakfast a small pantechnicon from the Brennan Transport Company arrived at the gates of Argonaut Industries in Manchester. The driver presented his papers which showed that he had to pick up a crate and take it to Wensley Electronics in Newcastle upon Tyne. The security officer told them to pull in and wait while he checked the details. The address and telephone number of the transport company were for Crown Point in Leeds and the driver’s name was Jack Simmonds. He found that an authorisation had come in from the RAF on the telex machine during the night. He then dialled the telephone number and got a male voice answering, “Brennan Transport. Can I help you?” The Argonaut security man explained the purpose of the call. “The driver should be Jack Simmonds and his mate should be Evan Lewis,” came the reply. “We often do work for the MoD (Ministry of Defence), like delivering spare parts to the RAF from suppliers.” The security man thanked him and put the ‘phone down. He then went and gave the driver instructions as to where to go to pick up the crate, giving them an internal pass to be handed in when they left. He noted that both were clean-shaven and wore clean dustcoats with the Brennan name on them. Jack Simmonds backed the truck into the loading bay. Evan Lewis jumped out of the cab and went round to the rear of the pantechnicon and opened the rear doors, then Jack backed the vehicle the rest of the way to the loading ramp. The paperwork was checked, the spare klystron unit, in a crate, was loaded and signed for, then the pantechnicon doors closed and locked. Evan climbed back into the cab and they headed back to the main gate. The security guard kept a copy of the Argonaut form and he was given back the internal security pass.
“How long will the trip take you?” he asked Jack Simmonds.
“Four to five hours, I think. We’ve got another pick-up at Leeming, then we’ll break at Scotch Corner. Be in Newcastle for lunch and home for tea,” was the reply. The Brennan Transport truck turned north to eventually head out through the Pennines. The security officer on duty had arranged to exchange a shift so that he could be on that morning. He had received instructions through the cleaning company to do so. As Corporal Andy Hill walked down to the MT section, a cleaner’s van was leaving Argonaut Industries after routine early cleaning. The security officer gave the driver an envelope as he checked the vehicle out. At 8 a.m., a telex message was sent to the Russian Embassy in Manchester. While it appeared to refer to arrangements for a cleaning contract it contained a coded message advising the name and registration number of the Brennan Transport vehicle and the likely driver’s stop. The Russian cipher clerk quickly relayed the information to Major Garasov. He smiled grimly and reached for the telephone.
About this time, Corporal Andy Hill, in civilian clothes, was at the front desk of the Station Hotel asking for a Mr Hamilton. The said person was in his room, receiving a telephone call advising him that the Brennan Transport vehicle was on its way and that a coded telex had been sent from the cleaning company in Manchester to the Russian Consulate. As he put the telephone down, he said to himself, “Next should be news of a telephone call to Rothbury Terrace in Heaton.” The telephone rang again. This time it was the reception advising that a Mr Hill was there to see him. Hamilton locked the door of his room as he left and headed down to the lobby to meet Andy Hill. He greeted Andy warmly and said, “This should be an interesting day. I think the bait has been taken. Let’s walk out to the car.” Once they were outside, Hamilton explained that Air Ministry and MI5 were setting a trap. They had good reason to believe that Russian sympathisers would try to steal the new klystron unit now on its way to Wensley Electronics. The plan was to capture all those involved. “Your colleagues made some major changes to the damaged klystron last night and it will be swopped for the genuine article en route to Newcastle. We expect the attempt will take place when the truck driver stops for a break. That will be at Scotch Corner. Most thefts from trucks take place at truck stops. We will be in the vicinity.” Hamilton unlocked the car and they both got in. Andy noticed that it was equipped with radio. He wondered what other surprises it might contain.
Major Garasov made a telephone call to Rothbury Terrace in Heaton. The party member in Heaton then ‘phoned the driver of the Commer van and told him to call round with his two colleagues. They had stayed the night with the driver. Sean