Red Hawk Rising

and headed into the cafe. The Brennan’s crew had already gone in to play their part. They saw the black Ford Consul parked well away from the other vehicles but with a clear view of them. The yard was hard-packed cinder and stone. It was full of potholes filled with water from the recent rains. The ground was wet and slippery in places. As had been agreed, Andy got out and walked over to the cafe. He went in and bought a mug of tea, going back outside as though to drink it away from the smoke-laden air in the cafe. From there he could see the van and the Consul. The man from the Commer van came back out of the cafe and went to the back of the Commer van and opened its rear door. The area seemed quiet, apart from a ten-tonner pulling out of the parking area and turning onto the highway, belching black diesel fumes as it went. A man in overalls climbed out and went to the rear of the Brennan’s Transport pantechnicon. He appeared to open the padlock with a key but it would have been a tool for picking the lock. Andy pretended not to be watching. Iain Hamilton had ostensibly gone to the toilet and was walking back to his car without looking at what was happening. Louden had parked out of sight just off the highway and was close by. The man in overalls opened the pantechnicon door and dropped the tailgate. Two others climbed in and started pulling out the crate containing the dummy klystron. Still no action from anyone else. Having got it to the edge, they climbed out and lifted the crate and moved it across to the Commer van. The man in overalls quickly lifted the tailgate up and shut the doors of the pantechnicon. As he started to slide the bolt back, the parking lot erupted into action. Hamilton and Louden suddenly appeared on the scene. Two men sudden appeared out of the Weston’s Removals van. Simmonds and Evan came out at a run. The driver of the Commer van started the engine but before it fired the driver’s door was wrenched open and a hand holding a pistol appeared. It was Iain Hamilton. The two men with the crate turned in surprise, dropped the crate and tried to run. The man in the overalls was Vasiliy. As he was approached by an agent holding a gun, he turned and kicked the gun out of the man’s hand, swung round and chopped him in the neck. The man dropped to the ground and Vasiliy ran for the Ford Consul. Its driver had started the engine once the action started. Seeing what was happening, Andy raced towards Vasiliy and caught up with him before he reached the car. He dived forward and grabbed Vasiliy round the legs, bringing him crashing to the ground. Vasiliy reacted quickly and twisted as he was falling so that he hit the ground sideways. As Andy relaxed his grip to make his next move Vasiliy pulled a leg free and kicked Andy in the head. Andy rolled away, his head ringing, but he was on his feet almost as quickly as Vasiliy. In those moments Vasiliy aimed a kick at Andy’s chest. As it connected Andy grabbed the foot and twisted, throwing Vasiliy off balance. Both men fell to the ground again.
Seeing what was happening, Hamilton called to Louden to take over from him and ran for the car. Intuition said that Vasiliy might get away.
Andy was winded and rebounded slowly enough for Vasiliy to get up and turn toward the Consul. Andy caught up and grabbed Vasiliy’s arm but his foot went into a pothole and he lost his balance and his grip. Vasiliy reached the car door and yanked it open and jumped in. The Consul took off. Hamilton got the car started and moved forward to Andy, who was picking himself up feeling sore and bruised. As Hamilton pulled up beside him, Andy opened the door and climbed in. Then Hamilton let out the clutch and went after the Consul.
Back in the lot, Sean Byrne and his two mates were put under arrest. By now, there were curious bystanders outside the cafe door watching what was happening. A black Wolseley car pulled into the car park and a police inspector in uniform got out. He went across to the bystanders and asked them to go back inside the cafe for safety reasons, explaining that plain clothes police had foiled a theft from the pantechnicon. Simmonds and Evan replaced the crate and locked the pantechnicon’s rear door. Meanwhile, the Weston’s Removals van had its rear doors opened and ramps put in place. The Commer van was driven up into the Weston’s van and the rear shut. Sean Byrne and his mate were handcuffed and put in the police car. One of the men from the Weston’s van squeezed into the back with them and held a gun on them as the car drove off. The Commer driver was put in Louden’s car with the other Weston’s man guarding him. The driver from Weston’s Removals started up the vehicle and followed the police car out of the car park. Louden followed and the convoy headed north as though going to Darlington Police Station.
In the cab of the Brennan’s Transport No.5, Evan was on the radio reporting events. They were told to proceed north on the A1 to their destination but not to exceed forty mph until they were joined by a RAF Regiment Landrover, registration 46AB32. It would travel in convoy with them to Wensley Electronics. They were to radio in when it had joined them. Evan ‘rogered’ out and passed the message on. Simmonds nodded and drove out of the HSV park onto the highway.
When it left the car park, the Consul turned north up the A1. Vasiliy told the driver to get him