Chapter 6: Reconnaissance and the dark before dawn

The two watchers, Jock and Goat had found observation posts overseeing the house from different perspectives. Jock had carefully made his way slowly over country from a mile and a half away, keeping his body low to avoid silhouetting himself against the skyline, using ditches and hedgerows. At one point he realised that the direct path could have exposed him to anyone watching from the house, so he had boxed round to approach from a different direction. He found a good spot, where he could crawl forward under overhanging branches and see the house on two sides from a south westerly direction. Unfortunately he could not get any closer than two hundred yards, as there was no cover. Goat had the more difficult approach having to tab for three miles. At one point he had to freeze, flat face down to the ground underneath a wild rhododendron as two farm workers strolled casually by just six feet away. However he managed to find an observation post slightly closer to the house. He called Jock on the mobile. The phones were set on mute; a ringing tone in the middle of the countryside would appear a little odd; but the vibration alerted Jock. They spoke in hushed tones.

"Where are you?"

"South West of the house, covering two sides on a knoll. Good leafy cover. What about you?"

"I'm east, only got one side. Cover is thick bush. I shall have to go down after dark and recce."

"Ok. Let me know when you go."

The house was large, late Victorian, early Edwardian. Set in a what appeared to be a natural bowl in the land. The immediate area around the house had been cleared and lawn established on all four sides for some one hundred yards, so there was no cover to approach the house. As Jock scanned round he could see that what at first sight was a natural bowl was in fact artificial. The natural petered out to the south and had been expanded by a built up bank. The land to the rear of the bank was hidden from the house. From his position Jock could see a terrace, on the south west wall with a large conservatory. He had been there for an hour, when two figures walked out of the conservatory and sat on boat chairs enjoying the sun. One was a blonde, and the other had dark hair. The dark haired one seemed to him to be a little unsteady, and the blonde helped her to take her seat. The blonde went back inside and returned with a tray. Jock lifted binoculars, safe that with the sun now behind him there would be no flash to alert the two women. The tray had large glasses of presumably wine. He had seen a photo of Matt's wife, and recognised the dark haired woman as Elizabeth.

Goat could only see the north east wall of the house. There was an entrance on this side, which he assumed would be the back door to the property. There were no cars to be seen. The door had a small portico over, and a window to the right. A large soil pipe ran down from the first floor. The windows on the first floor next to where the pipe left the building were frosted, obviously a bathroom. There were windows to the left and right of the bathroom, not frosted, and he watched these carefully for any sign of movement. This side of the house was in shadow, but his position would be sunlit, so he had to be careful. He couldn't move forward or to the side until the sun had set sufficiently to put him in twilight.

Chubb and Spag had rendezvoused at a lay-by on the A44. Much used by truckers, there was a mobile canteen there which provided a brew of tea which would rouse a dead man. They put out the map on the bonnet of the Landcruiser and assessed the position.

"I'd like to know how long that drive is." He had brought three inch to the mile maps with him. What maps he would need was guesswork, but he had been lucky as he had the right one. "The map doesn't show the track, but it would appear that the house is about twelve hundred yards in from the lane." Spag could answer that question.

"I drove past it after dropping Goat. Your right about the length, it winds about a bit, but the crucial thing is that the house is set slightly higher and the drive would be seen from the house all the way. There's a few bushes alongside, so there could be all sorts of alarms hidden. The drive is gravel all the way, and there is a Cattle Grid so little chance of a quiet approach."

"Bugger. That means we will have to approach on foot. Well I hope that Jock or Goat can find us a way in." He pondered a little. "Anything else that you noted?"

"No. I couldn't be seen to be loitering, that's all I could get from a slow drive past. Didn't want to go back." Chubb shook his head.

"Probably the best decision. I would imagine that lane doesn't have much traffic at all, and any strange vehicles will be noticed."

"Right, so we are going in on the hoof. We need all four of us to make the entry, so that means that, once we have the house secured, we will have Gary bring one of the four by fours up. He can then get on with doing whatever he is going to do to the computer." He thought about that a little. "Matt will have to have his car, to take his wife away, so he can follow Gary." His brow creased with concentration. "It's all conjecture until we can get situation report from the other two." With the information at hand they were able to give Gary the map reference, and the house name 'Ecton House' which Spag had noted on his drive past.

Chubb would occasionally get a call from either Jock or Goat, but they kept the calls to a minimum and short, but they gradually got the picture. Chubb called Matt.

"Boss. It looks like we won't be able to go in until the evening. There's a chance that all the birds won't be in the roost until then. From what we have seen so far, little happens during the day."

"Understood. When should I come up?"

"Make it late afternoon, oh and bring Gary with you. We will have to go in on foot, so I need him free to drive one of the four by fours."

"Ok. Anything I should bring?"

"No. I think we are well equipped for what we have to do. Call you later."

The evening wore on. With little excitement at all, Chubb and Spag went over what they knew, and how they intended to deal with the entry. At a quarter to eight, Goat phoned.

"Two cars arrived. The Volvo, and a Merc. One man in each." He gave Chubb the registration of the Mercedes. Chubb called the number into Gary. Fifteen minutes later Gary called Matt.

"Listen mate, A Merc. arrived at the house. Chubb gave me the registration, and you will never believe who it is." He named a very prominent Government minister. Matt was astounded.

"Fucking hell! If he's there tomorrow when we go in, there will be shit hitting fans all over the place." Gary was laughing evilly.

"That's what I thought. The bastard bangs on in the press and on television about morals and standards, and he's involved with these buggers. Matt! This does really mean that the Special Branch has to be involved."

"Yes, you're right. My only concern is to keep Beth out of it all."

"Don't worry mate. I will make sure that her involvement is scrubbed from any files I have to hand over to them." Matt could hear him shuffling papers. Then Gary spoke again. "Got the names of the owners of the house, but doesn't help much. It's a Company, guess where they are based?"

"Caymans?"

"Got it in one. I am trying to do a little more delving, see who pays the Council Tax, but that may take too much time. It will be easier to get the information when I get my hands on their computer files." Matt then explained that Gary should come up with Matt.

"Chubb reckons that they will have to go in on foot, so they want you to drive one of the four by fours in, once they have secured everything."

Chubb and Spag had made use of the mobile canteen until it closed at eight o' clock, then made themselves comfortable in the Range-Rover. They had taken some time during the afternoon to scout round for somewhere they could keep the vehicles covertly for when they infiltrated the house. They found a place, just about a mile from the house, where they could back both four by fours up a track heavily overgrown by trees. The vehicles would be missed by anyone just driving by.

It would be a long night, not something they weren't used to though. Forty-eight hours without sleep was normal on the ops. that the SAS tasked them. The proprietor of the canteen locked up. He left without comment. This close to Hereford he had seen his fair share of strangers, dressed in semi-military overalls, who seemed not to have too much to do. He knew better than to ask about them, or to comment later to anyone.

It had been dark for over an hour, when Goat phoned to say that he and Jock were going down for a closer look. Chubb just acknowledged the message without any advice about being careful. They knew what to do, and they knew what information was required. He didn't expect to hear from them much before four o' clock. It would start to get light then, so they would have to be back in their safe holes by that time.

Around three a.m. it started to get cold, as the heat of the day percolated away from the earth. A heavy dew was the last thing they wanted, as anyone in the house would see their footprints on the grass in the morning light. Just after three-thirty Jock phoned.

"We are back in position. Got lots for you. We will stay until midday, then rendezvous with you. Where?" Chubb thought.

"Yes. About a mile before we got back onto the 'A' road, there was an old barn, falling down. There was a track leading off the lane. We'll be there about twelve-thirty."

"We'll find it. See you there."

Jock and Goat appeared out of no-where at one forty-five, and climbed in the back of the Land Cruiser. They were dirty, smelly, and both wore big grins on their faces. Especially as they were handed sausage and tomato sandwiches.

"They're cold now, but that's your fault." Spag chided them. "Almost two hours to cover about three miles! You're losing your touch."

"Bollocks!" replied Goat.

"Never thought I would be doing that again." Said Jock with his mouth full of sausage. "Quite enjoyed it." There was quiet for a moment as the sandwiches were gulped down. Spag turned right on the A44, not wishing to go back to the mobile café again. He soon found a Truck stop where their appearance in overalls would not excite attention. Jock and Goat disappeared off to the Toilet, where they were able to clean up a little and get rid of their worst body odours. They came back to join Chubb and Spag at the table where two very large English breakfasts awaited them.

Just as they finished eating Spag went to the counter and returned with mugs of sweet tea. Pushing the plates to once side, Jock got out a grubby piece of paper, on which he had drawn a rough plan of the house in it's terrain. Goat checked it first, then added details from his side of the house.

"The house is in what appears to be a natural bowl. It is facing South East. There is no cover at all for a hundred yards, it's all grass. The South west side has a large terrace, and a conservatory built on to what appears to be used as the main living room. The South face is just windows, presumably onto the main room, and upper storey windows, presumably bedrooms. Entry from that side would be very dodgy." Chubb nodded and looked to Goat.

"The Drive comes up to the South East. There is a large circle to the front door, but no-one used that whilst I was there. The North East side has a ground floor door, with a parking area just outside. The cars I saw all used that parking area. Just to the left of the door is a soil pipe running from what must be a bathroom or toilet. I suspect bathroom, as the light went on for about half an hour on two occasions it was used. On the South East the rising ground creating the natural bowl is man-made, so there is dead ground behind it a bit like a Berm."