Chapter 3: Arrival

When their helicopter arrived at what Huw had spoken of as RAF Drwsnesaf they were met by an RAF Land Rover driven by a man of about fifty, somewhat incongruously dressed in the uniform of an RAF Corporal. Huw greeted the driver more as an old friend than as a staff member, or even a colleague.

“Hullo John, you managed to find the place then? Meet WPC Bronwen Jones, our new Angel Three. The other two are here to help out if they can.”

“Please to meet you ma’am. If we all go over to the Warrant Officers’ mess we can sort things out there.”

The five minute trip to the mess was like nothing Bronwen had ever experienced before. John appeared to regard the accelerator pedal as having only two positions, pressed firmly to the floor and not under his foot.

Nothing was said until they were almost there, when John piped up, “I didn’t have to find it, sir. The Hercy pilot already knew the way.”

Everyone laughed quietly at this comment, the three police thinking the man must be a little slow-witted to have taken the question seriously.

“Don’t let him fool you, Bronwen. There’s a mind as sharp as yours hidden away in there. He just likes to appear stupid; that way he only gets given easy jobs to do,” said Huw as they arrived at the Warrant Officers’ Mess.

As they went through the door, Huw asked John, “Do they let you in here, Corporal, dressed like that?”

“Oh, they’re very lax. They even let civilians in!” was the smiling riposte.

A quick and quiet word with the armed guard on the door from Huw saw to it that the Sergeant and the driver were gently shepherded away and the other three went into the mess.

“What will happen to them?” asked Bronwen.

“We will have some quarters set up for innocent bystanders who learn too much. They will have food and drink, and access to TV and videos, but no way to talk to the outside world. Their boss will be contacted with a cover story, as will their families,” explained Huw, “Once our visitors have landed the news will get out quickly enough and then they can go home. They, and you, will be paid twenty-four hours a day while the visitors stay here. You, of course, will get Angel Three pay, but I am afraid the other two will only get the police rates for their jobs.”

A fussy looking man rushed up to Huw and tried to prise him away from Bronwen.

“Angel Three, meet my boss, William. William, this is PC Bronwen Jones who is acting for Brenda,” said Huw.

“Oh, OK. But I’m not his boss. I am base control and I have to try to keep up with what is going on and act as intermediary between the Field Team, that’s you two, and the rest of the project. Now Huw, what are the details of these messages we received? And what have the visitors been told?”

“Search me,” said Huw, “I was about to ask you the same. Didn’t Centre tell you?” Seeing Bronwen look bewildered he explained, “It’s like your set up. Centre is like your force headquarters where the big-wigs sit and decide things. William sits in the local control and tries to do what they want. We go out to the field and try to implement the Centre’s policies as interpreted by William. It doesn’t work, so we have to think on our feet.”

“You mean you prefer to ignore policy and all advice,” interjected William.

“Come on, William. How many times have you rehearsed this? And how many times have we guessed right about the visitors’ reactions and intentions?” asked Huw.

“The worst rehearsals were always when you or Brenda were rôle-playing the visitors,” responded William, “That’s why you ended up as first choice contacts.”

“How soon will they be here?” asked Huw, and in an aside to Bronwen he said, “Brenda is who you are standing in for.”

“Has she been recalled?” she asked.

William stared at her, and then said, “You’ve obviously never met her. I daren’t interrupt her honeymoon and she did give explicit orders that even a landing was not to be allowed to interrupt her this week.”

“It won’t take her a whole week to eat her mate,” said Huw impishly.

“Won’t she be angry that you didn’t tell her?” asked Bronwen.

“Incandescent,” said William, “You can tell her if you like. Use the red telephone over there. Her mobile is memory 3 on it.”