Chapter 4

I rang the girls and told them I would be back in three days. They were worried but I told them it was all okay. There was other stuff we needed, and we both had it back at the barracks. We needed rucksacks, camouflage clothing boots and stuff.

We chatted over the plan as we drove down the M5. It was risky, we did not normally get searched on the way into the barracks but if we did, we were in the shit.

We used our passes at the gate, I parked up in front of the trooper accommodation.

“Meet back here in half an hour?” I said.

“Gotcha!” Curly said and headed off to his room.

Like most SAS troopers I kept some kit in my room.

I packed up some Cammo gear, first aid kits, my Fairbairn Sykes Knife, and my combat boots.

I also had a decent camera, so I took that as well as a pair of Binoculars. They would help with our cover story. I also packed some civvies into a sports bag.

There was other stuff we needed but that would mean a trip to the stores, and we would need to sign the kit out so we would have to do without. No decent Quartermaster would let us have any kit without us signing it out.

I walked down to the four-by-four and stowed my kit on the back seat.

Curly came down ten minutes later. He threw his kit bag in beside mine.

“Food?” he asked.

“Food!” I agreed.

We headed over to the canteen. As usual, a few lads were eating or just having a brew.

We joined the queue and picked the fish fingers, chips, and beans. We both got some bread and butter and mugs of tea.

We joined some lads that we knew, and we chatted about a mission they had just been on.

After eating we walked back to the car and Curly jumped into the driver’s seat and we headed out of the camp. He said he knew a place where we could zero in the guns without worrying about being caught.

Two hours later we were on the beacons, the sun was about to go down. We put some targets out and filled some of the magazines. Crumble contact had given us plenty of ammo. It did not take long to Zero in the SMGs and sniper rifle.

Well, it is something we do every week...

Once that job was done, we started the journey to the hotel. We got there late. It was an old-world place. We checked in and let our civvies in the room.

Then we went for a beer. I got a round in, and Curly found us a seat in a corner.

“So, the cove is around half an hour from here,” Curly said.

“Yes, I guess we have breakfast and then go and take a look around, get the lay of the land so to speak,” I replied.

“So likes a plan, buddy “Curly said, “Mate, look I will be honest, I am not worried about the ambush, but I am worried about the aftermath,”

“Yeah, I trust Crumble but his mates in the plod might not stick to the plan!” I said and sipped some more beer.

“Yea, so what do we do if that side goes tits up?” Curly said.

“We take all the money and run for it, hideout somewhere like Vietnam or Thailand.” I smiled.

We needed to trust Crumble and his contacts. I had my doubts that he was working with just the police. I was sure there was some government department involved as well.

There had been some rumours flying around that MI5 were using subcontractors to do jobs that left folks with dirty hands, I was sure in my head that Crumble was one of these subcontractors.

Curly went to the bar and came back with two pints and some scratchings.

“So, twenty-plus boys with handguns against us, we should be okay,” Curly said.

We had both been in firefights in the sandpit as well as in other places all over Europe and South America. I had also spent time in Africa and there the odds had been much higher.

“I think we need to hit as many from distance as possible,” I said.

“Now that sounds like a plan,” Curly agreed.

“So, we set up two FOBs and I take the sniper rifle, I keep their heads down,”

“We need to make sure the transport is out of commission,”

“Yes, they will have some vans I am sure, they will be taking possession of a huge amount of drugs,”

“Yes, and they will have other cars to transport the guards,”

We talked more about the ambush and how we should go about it. Four more beers and it was time to go to bed. We agreed to meet for breakfast at eight-thirty the following morning.

I got back to my room. We had left our phones at the barracks, and we both had burners.

I sent a text to Crumble to let him know we were on the ground, and he replied to say he would call at 1200 hundred hours the following day. I would have loved to call the girls, but I did not want to put them in any danger.

I slept well that night and woke around six, I put some running gear on and did a few miles. I got back to the pub, had a shower and was in the dining room before eight-thirty.

Curly came in five minutes later, there were only three other folks down for breakfast. One bloke looked like a sales rep and the other two were a couple that were on a walking holiday.

The waitress took our order, two full English breakfasts which she insisted we call it a full Welsh. The food was good and there was plenty of coffee and toast.

Curly and I returned to my room, and we packed the camera and Binoculars into a day sack I brought.

Then we headed out to walk down to the bay. We used an Ordnance Survey map to review the paths and lanes leading down to the meeting place.

It was nice to walk in the sun. we did not talk much as we walked. Other than discussing sticking points or making marks on the map. When we got to the bay the carpark had four cars in it plus an ice cream van. Three of the cars were SUV types and the beach had three family groups on it.

They had windbreaks and picnic blankets. The kids were splashing around in the shadows.

We spent some time using the Binoculars and the camera to view the birds while scoping out the landscape. Then we walked up the left-hand cliff.

“This is ideal mate, one pathway up and good viewing across the bay,” I said.

“We need to get some fishing line mate,” Curly said.

“Okay, what for mate?” I asked as I scanned the opposite cliff with the binoculars.

“There is only one path up to this viewpoint, we could use the fishing line to create a trip wire with a flash bang,” he said.

“Good idea mate!” I said as I scanned the bay.

The sun was now high in the sky, and it was going to be a warm day. We walked back down to the bay and headed past the ice cream van. The car now had two men sitting in it.

They looked out of place, shirts and ties on a sunny day made them stand out like sore thumbs. Curly and I looked at each other and gave each other a knowing look.

They were plod or MI5.

We walked back to the ice cream van and Curly bought us bottles of water. We stood at the van and chatted with the old boy behind the counter, but we had eyes on the two men in the car.

We would need to speak to Crumble and let him know the score.

Once we had drunk the water, we strolled up the other headland. It was the same, it had one path up to a great viewing point. There was a bench with one of those brass plaques that said that Eve Tudor loved this place.