Chapter 5: Prisoners

It was confusing for the Traffic Sergeant and the Constable who had been driving. They were relieved of their mobile ‘phones and police radios then shown into a large room equipped with a dozen or so bunk beds at one end, a table with half a dozen chairs round it, a large screen television and half a dozen easy chairs. There were already two men in the room, one of whom the Sergeant recognised as Iestyn Williams, a reporter on a Welsh daily newspaper. There were two doors at the far end of the room and the windows looked out onto the bleak hillside behind the building, away from the landing strip.

“Hullo, Iestyn,” the Sergeant said, “What brings you here?”

The little, rat-faced man replied angrily, “Two goons with bloody automatic rifles. What have I done? Why did you have me arrested?”

“Hold on, lad, hold on. I’m as much a prisoner as you. Now what do you know of what is happening?”

“Well, I was inquiring why this old airfield was suddenly in use for some sort of exercise after three years of being more-or-less mothballed. There had been some meetings here and there were a few guards, but nothing much had happened until a few hours ago. Since then three Hercules transports have been in and out and I thought I heard a helicopter in and out a few minutes ago. I asked at the gate to see the Adjutant and showed my press pass. The gate was fully manned by then and I was escorted very politely over here. I thought I was being taken to see an officer, but they pushed me in here and took my mobile ‘phone away.”

“We were on the helicopter,” said the Sergeant, “escorting a man we had collected from a pub on mysterious orders from above. As soon as we arrived we were shown in here and the man we collected and my WPC were taken somewhere else.”

“Didn’t they say why you were here?” asked the reporter.

“I wasn’t given a proper briefing,” he replied, consoling himself with the thought that it was the actual truth.

The Police Sergeant was saved the embarrassment of further half-truths by the entry of two RAF Military Police, one a Sergeant, who said, “Mr. Williams? The Station Commander will see you shortly if you would come with us.”

They quickly hustled him out and the Police Sergeant investigated the other two doors. One led to a toilet and the other to a bathroom, both well equipped.

When he returned the other stranger said, “The windows won’t break; the little bloke tried. I was practising golf shots on the airfield when a Land Rover arrived and I was brought in here.”