Andy McNab - Payback

‘And remember,’ he added, as he finished his briefing. ‘Whoever detonates the PAD needs to take a quick look round to see that everyone has taken cover, then keep your head down and your mouth open, hit the switch and hope for the best.’

Joey’s mouth was already open. It was gaping like a goldfish frozen in ice. ‘Mouth open?’ he managed to gasp.

‘With such a big explosion, so close, the pressure wave can break your jaw if you clench it tight. Better to keep it loose and your mouth open.’

Joey’s mouth dropped open again. He glanced nervously over at the disguised PAD and then edged his way cautiously across the room, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the device.

It was time to move on – Fergus knew that keeping everyone busy was the best way of countering their nervousness. ‘So let’s look at the footage of the CTR.’

They gathered around the camcorder to view Danny’s filming of Northwood. The edges of the screen were a little blurred and the picture was jerky, but the target could be seen clearly and Fergus seemed pleased. ‘I’ve seen worse.’

Danny smiled. Coming from his grandfather, that was a compliment. He kept the sound low – it consisted mainly of rustling noises as the bag moved and the roar of passing vehicles.

Fergus froze the picture at a point where it showed the fence line at the front of the camp. ‘See those signs on the fence? They’re warning that dogs patrol the perimeter along that gravel pathway there – look, between the fence and the line of trees.’

Danny knew all about the dogs; his mind went back to his encounter with Rover.

Fergus let the film run again and gave a running commentary on what he was seeing. ‘That’s a four-metre fence and it isn’t barbed wire at the top. It’s something far worse: razor wire. If you look above the fence there are CCTV cameras covering the whole length of the gravel path and the top of the fence. The minute anyone tries to get over the fence, the guards will be out with the dogs let loose in front of them.’

The film showed the MoD police car passing and the MP5s on the two officers in the vehicle. Fergus was worried. ‘Those guys will shoot first if you get caught climbing over that fence, Danny.’

The flags came into view above the tree line, masking most of the buildings. ‘Those flags, Danny – the building they’re on is the one you have to get into. That’s the one.’

Danny’s hunch had been correct; he had recognized the most important building. He kept his eyes on the camcorder as the jerky picture moved on. ‘There’s a better view of it soon.’

The pond and guardroom came into view, and then the female guard and the dog handler with his friend Rover. The sound of Danny’s shout to the dog was just audible and he held his breath as he waited for his grandfather’s bollocking.

‘You can’t resist it, can you? Always got something to say.’

‘I was using my initiative,’ said Danny quickly. ‘If I’d just kept my head down and hurried away they might have been suspicious.’

Fergus let it go; there was too much more to worry about without dwelling on one mistake. And besides, he didn’t want to put Danny down for using his initiative, even if it had been misplaced.

They got a better view of the main building, and as the film moved on, Fergus pointed out the few possible places for an attempt at getting over the fence. One was at a corner on the fence line, where two CCTV cameras were mounted back to back, with a gap of less than half a metre between them. ‘There’s a blind spot in the camera coverage – you have to go for that. The best way is to lay a folded blanket on top of the razor wire and roll over it. The trouble is, it takes ages to pull it off. You’ll have to leave it there and that could compromise you once you’re inside.’

The film stopped suddenly, and then picked up instantly at a point soon after Elena had joined Danny for the second part of the CTR at the rear of the complex.

‘There,’ said Fergus, pointing at the tiny screen. ‘Those buildings are the married quarters and the gate in front of them is your way out, Danny. There’s a simple tube handle that only works from the inside. Just stick your hand in and turn it. They never bother about people getting out; it’s stopping them getting in they’re interested in.’

When the film ended, Joey took out one of his small cigars and lit it. The blue smoke curled around the room. ‘Looks bad to me – maybe impossible.’

‘No, not impossible,’ said Fergus, ‘but I’m not happy with it. We need more time to properly recce the camp and check out those possible climbing points. There’s too many things that could go wrong right now.’

Danny had been afraid that his grandfather might attempt to delay the operation. ‘But we don’t have time. It’s got to be tonight. Look at the state of you – you should be in hospital.’

He was right, of course, but Fergus wasn’t thinking of himself. ‘Time spent in recce is seldom wasted.’

‘I’ve heard all that a hundred times,’ snapped Danny. ‘All your clever SAS sayings don’t mean a thing now. We have to go for it tonight. I know how bad that wound is – I’ve seen it.’

There was a stunned silence. For the first time since Fergus had met his grandson he suddenly felt he was no longer in sole and total control of proceedings. He sighed. ‘But getting you over the fence is only part of it. What about phase two? That isn’t sorted.’ He glared at Joey. ‘Or is it?’

Joey took a final puff of his cigar, dropped it onto the floor and ground it out with his foot. There was a growing collection of butts strewn across the room. ‘Everyone chill – you’ll give yourself headaches. I can get you a pass.’

While Danny and Elena had been doing the CTR of Northwood, Joey’s recce had been in a pub, but he had been following Fergus’s instructions. He blew out the last of the smoke and nodded. ‘You were right, there were RAF guys from the camp in there. Should be even busier tonight, and that’s what I need: a crowded pub with everyone having a good time.’

Phase two of the operation involved getting hold of a Northwood security pass for just a few minutes, so that a duplicate could be made. If Danny did, somehow, make it over the fence, there was no way that he could then just walk into a secure building, or even attempt to break in. He would need a security swipe pass for the main door and any internal doors he might encounter. And Fergus had devised a possible way of getting one.

Elena had bought a card swipe reader when purchasing the camcorder. And she’d learned how to use it by linking the reader up to her computer via a USB.

The grey plastic box was about 10cm long, with a groove running along it for swiping the card and reading the magnetic strip on the back. The readers are cheap to buy and are sometimes used by unscrupulous restaurant waiters, who copy the card details from unsuspecting customers and then sell them on to crooks, who make duplicate cards.

All Elena had to do was swipe the security pass through the reader and the details would appear on her computer screen. Then she could burn those details onto the magnetic strip on the back of her own Halifax card.

Originally Fergus had intended to go into the pub close to Northwood Hills tube station, which he knew was popular with RAF personnel from the camp. His plan had been to get chatting with some of the RAF guys and then lift one of their passes, which would then go out to Elena, who would swipe the details. It was risky and dangerous, but no more so than every other element of the hastily conceived operation.

But once Fergus realized that he could no more fly to the moon than walk casually into the pub and stand chatting as he waited for exactly the right moment, he’d had no option but to turn to Joey for help once again. He didn’t like it, but there was no other way, and he felt slightly better when Joey laughed and told him that it wouldn’t be the first time he’d picked a pocket. Not by a long shot.