Chapter 5

Once we got to the bay, we spent thirty minutes hunkered down making sure there was no one moving around, we kept our eyes and ears open. Once we were sure that no one was watching the bay but us.

There was no movement apart from owls and animals. There was little noise apart from the sound of waves crashing onto the beach.

Once we were sure that we were alone we bumped fists and wished each other good luck.

I headed up the right-hand cliff and Curly headed up the left cliff.

I got to my viewpoint and got my weapons ready. I used the scope in the sniper rifle to have a good recce of the bay. I would have loved some Night Vision Goggles, but those sorts of things need to be signed out of the stores and any good quartermaster would have a fit if you tried to get them out without a signature.

Then I headed down the track a few yards and set up my trip wire. I tied a flash bang to a tree and then pushed tent pegs into the ground on either side of the track. Then I tied the line to one of the pegs and ran it through the eye of the other before and then to the trigger handle on the flashbang.

Once I was happy with the trip wire, I returned to my viewpoint. I glanced around. I had the spare mags to hand. I had my first aid kit out of my rucksack. I had water and some energy bars. It might be a long night.

Once I had double-checked and treble-checked my kit I sat back and used the burner phone to call Curly. He was set up and ready to go.

Then I sent a text to Crumble. I told him we were at the party but no one else had turned up.

Then we waited. I glanced at my watch a few times. The world seemed to have slowed down. Then two vans and two cars came down the lane and parked in the carpark. Their headlights lit up the beach. Four guys got out of each vehicle. They used high-power torches to scope out the beach and the carpark.

I glanced at my watch. It was 01.30 hours.

Then men poured out of the vans. We saw fags being lit and more torches being used to search the area. I used the scope on the sniper rifle to have a closer view and as I was doing that more vehicles came down the lane leading to the beach.

More men poured out of a minibus. Some of the men walked onto the beach. A good thirty feet of sand was between the car park and the waves crashing onto the beach. I tried to count bodies, but they were moving around, and the lights of the torches made it hard to see the men who did not have torches.

We had been told the boat would be coming in at 02.00 hours. A glance at my watch told me it was late. I wondered which of the cars had the bag of cash in.

I made sure that my limbs were not asleep. I sent a text to Curly to make sure he was okay. And I got a reply straight back. Another glance at my watch told me the trawler was an hour late. I wondered how long the lads on the beach would hand around before they called it a day. So many things could have gone wrong.

Bad weather.

Coastal patrols.

Engine failure.

I had another energy bar and a swig of water. Then a noise out to sea made me look at my watch again. It was the sound of an engine. I glanced at my watch; it was 03.30.

Something lit up on the beach. It was the screen of a smartphone. Perhaps the trawler captain was calling in or perhaps the spotters.

The noise of the engine out at sea got closer and closer. Then I saw the trawler coming around the headland. The main man on the beach called the other lads down. They left one man on guard in the car park.

The men were lined up and all the torches were switched off apart from one. They used it to flash a signal to the trawler. The trawler flashed a message back. It was not Morse code, so it had to be some pre-determined code.

Again, I used the sniper rifle’s scope to view the trawler. There was one man in the cabin and two men in the bows. I could see they both had AK47s or some sort of AK variable.

They were not taking any chances. Ten minutes later the trawler ground to a halt. One of the gunmen jumped off the boat and one of the druggies walked down to meet him.

They talked for ten minutes or so and then the gunman turned back to the trawler and the druggy called his men down toward him. The seemed to be some sort of winch on the boat, I think they are called derricks,

One of the guys started to bring parcels up from the trawler’s hold and swing them out onto the deck.

Curly sent me a text it was just the word when.

I replied when the guys were carrying the gear to the vans.

I watched as the druggies started to unpack the parcels. Two men stood back. I guessed this was the infamous Burhaam and his second in command.

I had my finger on the trigger of the sniper rifle, I sent a text to Curly. I will fire the first shot, just follow my lead.