Authors: John Mannion
Ahmed and his attack cell had now been holed up in the workshop with their four hostages for several hours and were getting tired and hungry. Ahmed had received a call from the police commander an hour before but had not answered. He was determined to make the running on his terms and to drag the situation out for as long as possible, as instructed by his masters. He knew this would allow time for maximum publicity. It would also enable the already considerable damage to continue to mount within the national infrastructure and throughout the political establishment. As leader, he was very conscious of the need for his team to remain alert and they now had not eaten a proper meal since the previous evening. Additionally, he now had four hostages to keep ‘happy’, at least for the time being. Ahmed walked across to a small desk and lifted the telephone handset. He was immediately through to the Police Command Centre. Clearing his throat, he announced:
‘My name is Ahmed. I am Commander of the Jihad Commandos. I wish to speak with the officer in charge.’
‘I am Assistant Chief Constable Dunstan of Gloucestershire Police. I am in charge of the police operation,’ came the reply.
Ahmed continued, ‘We have liberated this nuclear facility in the name of Islam. We have accomplished our mission. We will remain here with our hostages in order that the world is given time to reflect on the oppression of our Islamic brothers and sisters the world over by the Zionist and Imperialist western governments. The safety of the four hostages is in your hands. If you attempt any action which threatens our position, they will die, and their blood will be on your hands.’
The ACC was listening attentively at his end of the telephone. He replied:
‘HM Government wishes a peaceful resolution to this matter. Is there anything which can been done to end this situation without further loss of life?’
Ahmed replied, ‘That will be for you to decide. Our aim is to obtain publicity for our cause and this will be achieved through this Holy action.’
The Assistant Chief Constable enquired, ‘The four men you are detaining. What is their condition? Have they sustained any injuries?’
Ahmed responded, ‘All four are well and are being looked after. We do, however, require food and water to ensure their continued wellbeing. We want vegetarian pizzas and bottled water. That’s all for now.’ The line went dead.
Captain Thomas looked at the two senior police officers. ‘This is all a publicity stunt then. Potentially the biggest bloody publicity stunt in human history! They are now going to play a waiting game to gain as much out of this as they can, and only then will it end. It will end on their terms and, unless I am seriously misreading the script, it will be a bloody end.’
On the cordon the SFSG soldiers and the police looked out over the grey landscape towards the silent workshop, lit only by the glow coming from the luminous lighting on the perimeter road.
At 11pm the key figures of COBR were once again in session. The Prime Minister was addressing the senior Government Ministers and officials present:
‘So the situation is this. We are to sit and wait this out until these people decide to bring things to a close. Our military advisors are telling us that the end will be a bloodbath, no matter how we play their game. Am I reading this correctly?’
The PM looked into the eyes of those assembled. Amongst the nods of agreement there was awkward fidgeting from some of the civilian members of the gathering. The PM’s gaze eventually settled on the Chief of Defence Staff. C of DS General Fullerton took his cue.
‘I’m afraid, Prime Minister, that about sums it up. At present we are containing the situation. The shooting has now stopped at all the locations. At least for now! Our available forces have been deployed to the nine locations, with further deployments to reinforce our people on the ground being made as resources become available. However, we must be ever vigilant lest an incident should occur.’
The PM interjected, ‘Foreign Secretary, how is the world reacting to our predicament?’
The Foreign Secretary responded, ‘Well, Prime Minister. A lot of support is coming in from the international community. From the USA, most Commonwealth countries, the European Union nations, etc. Claudette Aubert, the French Foreign Minister, has expressed some concern from across the Channel with regards the contamination situation. Particularly that from Dungeness, which is only a few miles from the French coast. I have assured her that there is nothing to worry about and that we are constantly monitoring the situation in that regard.’
Deep in thought for a moment, the Prime Minister looked across the table at his military chiefs. ‘Gentlemen. How do you think we should proceed?’
General Fullerton looked at the Prime Minister, then around the table before giving his opinion and that of his service chiefs:
‘It is our opinion that it would be wise for us to take the initiative. By that I mean we should, at a time of our choosing and as soon as possible, resolve this situation with simultaneous military assaults at all nine locations. The aim will be to free the hostages and to prevent further damage at the sites. This will limit the impact on the national infrastructure and the wider economy, which further action by the terrorists at the power stations, or a delay in our actions, may incur. It is our belief that the intended ending to this attack envisaged by the terrorists’ high command is a violent one. Further blood will be spilt in their final action. This final action may be pre-planned into a time-table or, it may be that it is ad hoc and will result from a threat, or perceived threat, from us. We must assume that each terrorist attack cell is now aware of activity at the other locations. There is widespread live media coverage. If any unco-ordinated action is initiated by either ourselves or one of the terrorist attack cells, we would anticipate a less favourable outcome. I cannot stress strongly enough how vital it is, therefore, that we take the initiative and control of the situation in the national interest.’
The Prime Minister nodded slowly. He had already been thinking along these lines. He also felt that swift and decisive action on his part would be appreciated and understood by the public. It would also do him no harm in the opinion polls!
The Prime Minister responded, ‘I agree. This stand-off must be ended at the earliest opportunity. The military must now be allowed to plan and organise to bring about a conclusion to this damaging episode. Home Secretary, please inform all Police Commanders that, with immediate effect, the military are now in command of counter terrorist operations at the nine power stations.’
As the meeting broke up, the Home Secretary dashed off to issue the instructions.
At Oldbury, the food requested by Ahmed had been delivered. The Security Service Technical Team had taken the opportunity of this distraction to make their own delivery in the shape of eavesdropping equipment. In the Oldbury Command Centre, the phone rang, breaking the silence. ACC Dustan took the call from the Home Office. He listened and only spoke to acknowledge he understood. Replacing the receiver, he turned to Captain Thomas and simply said,
‘It’s officially now over to you.’
On receipt of the order transferring command and control of operations to the military, Captain Thomas addressed the two Police Commanders and his SAS team who were present in the Command Centre:
‘Gentlemen. I request a withdrawal of all police personnel from the cordon around the immediate vicinity of the X-ray’s bunker. My SFSG personnel will continue mounting the cordon and observations until further instruction. Your officers will continue to secure the perimeter of the power station and its approaches. I anticipate receiving an order to “go” in the early hours of tomorrow morning; probably around 4am! There are six X-rays holed up in their bunker and four Yankees, the hostages. As you know, electronic surveillance is enabling us to listen into their conversation and assess their state of mind. They have drawn the blinds in the building, but we are still able to monitor activity by other means.’
The Joint Force Command Centre at Northwood, on the outskirts of London – the military command centre for the nationwide operation – was now fully staffed as commanders set about planning the military action. Emphasis was on a speedy resolution – it was considered opinion that the longer the situation was allowed to continue, the greater the risk to hostages and to a successful outcome. Planned zero hour was to be 0400hrs, Wednesday, 22
nd
December. SAS assault teams were to be used at the nine power stations.
In constant contact with Northwood, Captain Thomas kept the Police Commanders in the loop throughout the planning stage of the operation. Following his last more lengthy call, he was once more updating them and his team:
‘At 0400hrs tomorrow morning, 22
nd
December, SAS teams will assault the X-ray bunker here at Oldbury, as part of a nationwide coordinated operation. SAS units will ‘’Go Noisy” at this time. Using stun grenades, they will unleash so much sound and fury no effective resistance is likely to be offered. At least that is the plan! The alternative, a co-ordinated sniper assault, would not be effective in this situation. SFSG personnel deployed on the cordon will offer fire support to the assault team.’
Tuesday, 21
st
December was a freezing blustery day, with a cold wind blowing in from the estuary. Security Service personnel continued to monitor the situation using electronic eavesdropping equipment to listen into conversation inside the terrorists’ bunker. There was no visible activity as the SFSG snipers continued to watch over the terrorist stronghold. The SAS assault team spent the day resting, preparing their weapons and equipment, and going over their plans. They memorised the faces of the hostages from photographs provided. There was many a silent prayer that no unexpected event would occur to pre-empt the planned resolution.
In a quiet moment, sitting alone with his mug of hot black coffee, Steve found his mind drifting. He realised it was just a week since he’d flown into London Heathrow, and made the long train journey from London to Hereford. He thought about his vacation in the States – about Col and Tia’s wedding. That had been a fantastic day. They’d now be in Hawaii, soaking up the sun, and here he was. Worlds apart! He pulled himself sharply out of his reverie. Looking around, he wondered what was going through the minds of his colleagues. He knew them all well; had trained regularly over the past year with them. They had all seen action in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and his thoughts now went back to his time in those theatres of operation. He thought to himself:
‘At least here we know who our enemy is; where he is. In Iraq and Afghanistan, he could be anybody, anywhere. Then there was the hidden danger. The IEDs! The Improvised Explosive Devices, that saw off so many good buddies!’
Inside the terrorist bunker Ahmed and his cell kept themselves busy observing what was going on outside from behind the closed blinds. More food and bottled water had been delivered. The hostages remained quiet but had to be watched all the time. The terrorists chatted animatedly amongst themselves as they watched the news reports on the hand-held portable TV they had brought with them. At times they prayed for the success of the operation and their deliverance at its conclusion. Ahmed looked around the room at his compatriots and at the four traumatised male hostages:
‘Brothers! Our operation has been a great success and, as we can witness from the media reports, our success has been replicated by other teams of Islamic freedom fighters around this cesspit of a nation. We have struck a severe blow at the very heart of the British nation. They will now be aware that we can strike anywhere. This message will also have been received loud and clear in other western nations and will strike fear into their soulless hearts also. We will play the waiting game, thus generating as much publicity as possible before our final action and our entry into paradise.’
This chilling statement, which was being monitored in the Command Centre, confirmed the analysis made by Captain Thomas and his superiors.
Ed, Stuart, Lisa and Theo decamped from their unmarked police vehicle at the now empty warehouse on the desolate and windswept industrial estate on the outskirts of Slough. Behind the police cordon, the scene was one of urgent, but thorough, investigation as local police counter terrorism detectives and forensics officers went over the premises with a fine toothcomb and interviewed people in nearby premises. Ed approached the senior investigating officer at the scene, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Bill Day, of the South East Counter Terrorism Unit. DCI Day was a tall, gangling figure, whom Ed reckoned to be in his early forties.
‘Anything useful come to light yet?’ Ed asked the DCI.
‘Nothing yet, I’m afraid,’ came the reply.
Ed and his team accompanied the DCI into the warehouse. They came to halt just inside the entrance. DCI Day continued:
‘The forensic people are going over the place, and my people are making enquiries around the estate. As you can see, the warehouse has been completely cleared out. There is evidence that this lot were forensically savvy but, as they say, there is no such thing as the perfect crime and I’m hopeful they may have left some trace. Something to give us a lead. Anything could prove useful.’
Ed looked at the man and exclaimed. ‘It would be helpful if we could get hold of something that would give us the jump on these bastards. They’ve always been one step ahead of us all the way! It would be good if we got something that allowed us to be waiting for them at some point. It appears a number of them have escaped abroad, but I’m confident somebody must still be in the country.’
The officers turned and walked back through the entrance. Ed looked at the DCI and spoke:
‘Well. We’ll get out of your way and let you and your people get on with things here. Let me know if anything comes up. You know how to get hold of me!’
‘Yeah, sure Ed. Be in touch,’ came the reply.