'Geordie, see if that wogs still on the back, we havent heard from him for ages, Chalky said, almost helpless with laughter.

'Hey, less of the wog, you swine! came a voice from above us and I looked up to see Spot peering through the opening. 'That was a bit close back there on the bridge, wasnt it?

'Youve been quiet, I thought wed lost you, I said.

'Ive been standing here trying to look like a workman! he replied.

'You stupid sod, youre the one supposed to be looking like an Arab soldier, thats why youve got the beret and the tunic! Chalky said, gasping for air and holding his stomach.

'I could have been standing here looking like a bleedin j.a.panese Kamikaze pilot and these daft sods wouldnt have noticed, old boy.

'Come on, weve got to be serious here, Dynamo said, wiping away tears of laughter. 'Ill have to find somewhere to dump this truck soon, the lights starting to go. Weve got bags of time so lets have a good look around.

He turned right down a narrow side street which, after about fifty yards, opened up into a fairly large square filled with army trucks and civilian vehicles lined up in rows.

'This is a bit of luck! You were right about the square, Chalky, but this is a bonus. Itll be like hiding a tree in the woods, Dynamo said as he drove into the square.

Most of the brightly lit buildings around the square appeared to be cafes and bars with tables and chairs on the pavements in front, that were crowded with civilians and soldiers. Music was playing loudly and there were groups of people everywhere.

About one hundred yards away, two soldiers armed with sub-machine guns were strolling along a row of parked vehicles, talking to one another with their backs to us. As we drove into the square, they stopped and briefly looked back towards us, then carried on walking and continued their conversation. They didnt seem to be interested in us at all.

We drove past the first two trucks in the row then Dynamo noticed a gap between them and stopped.

'We couldnt ask for a better place to leave it, he said. 'It looks as though these two guys are going to take care of it for us until we get back!

Spot jumped off the back of truck, as I got out and began to wave Dynamo into the s.p.a.ce as he reversed. The lighting was very poor where the trucks were parked and it was so dark he could barely see me. I put my hand up to stop him coming further but he didnt notice and reversed a few inches more, nudging the truck behind just hard enough to break its tail lights.

Chalky stuck his head around the corner of one of the parked trucks to see if the two soldiers had noticed but they were still standing talking to one another and obviously hadnt heard a thing, probably due to the loud music.

He came around to the back of our truck. 'Dont worry, Geordie, I dont think well have to pay for them, he said, nodding towards the broken lights.

'Its lucky for us those two didnt hear anything!

'Lucky for them you mean, he replied, smiling. 'Be a shame to die over a couple of tail lights, anyway weve nowhere to dump the bodies!

The confidence and a.s.surance of my pals was astounding. They treated it as though it was just a pleasant day out! And yet there was no hint of boasting, they were simply the very best at what they did and they knew it!

PART 3.

THE OPERATION.

Chalky and I grabbed the bags and led the way back towards the narrow street, which had brought us into the square, then about halfway along it, we turned off right up a smaller alleyway.

'We shouldnt have far to go to the target, Dynamo commented, then suddenly stopped walking. 'h.e.l.l, Ive left the d.a.m.n keys in the ignition, Ill have to go back for them.

'Thats handy, Ill nip back and get them before someone nicks it! Wait here. Spot turned around and headed back towards the square. We waited only a few minutes before he returned.

'Any problems? Dynamo asked.

'No, the two soldiers had gone.

Just at that moment, a door nearby burst open and a stream of light flooded the alley, blinding us. Several men came out of the doorway, jabbering away to one another, and turned our way. Quickly, we pretended to be standing having a conversation, but luckily they took no notice and just pa.s.sed by us without a second glance.

We set off again down the dingy, narrow street; we needed to get back to the main road to get our bearings. Every now and then someone would walk past, often glancing at us as they did, but n.o.body stopped or spoke to us. I supposed that we must really look the part; besides, the street lighting was virtually non-existent so it was pretty dark, which helped. As we walked along we could hear voices from inside the various buildings we pa.s.sed, most of which appeared to be family homes. Strange varieties of strong, spicy cooking smells mingled with other unfamiliar, foreign smells in the streets.

At the end of the lane, we saw a large building, which looked derelict, possibly as the result of bombing.

'I know where we are, we need to turn left here to get back to the main road, Dynamo pointed out.

We did as he suggested and immediately saw the main road directly ahead of us as we walked along the side of the derelict building. Chalky was slightly in the lead and turned the corner of the building first before we reached it. Instantly he ducked back to prevent us following him.

'I think weve found it, lads! Theres a place about thirty yards away surrounded by a huge fence with barbed wire on the top. Im sure this is the building were looking for. Have a look, Dynamo, do you think this is it? he said quietly.

Dynamo stuck his head around the corner, and then quickly came back to us. 'Stay here. Ill go and have a closer look to make sure.

He went around the corner and we waited for several minutes but there was no sign of him.

'Where the h.e.l.l has he gone? Chalky said. 'It wouldnt surprise me if hes gone and done the job on his own, it would be just like him!

He and I peered around the corner, while Spot watched our backs. Dynamo was nowhere to be seen.

Then Spot nudged me and looking round we saw him come dashing around the corner behind us from the rear of the building hed obviously walked right around the place we were standing next to.

'Thats it alright! he exclaimed. 'I didnt think we were so close, but its definitely the right place.

'How do you know? Spot asked.

'Well, its hard to say but the Russian flag flying, and the staff car with Russian pennants and insignia on it, and Russian troops guarding the place sort of gave me a clue that this was it! Dynamo laughed. 'This dump is directly opposite the main garrison building. I had a good look at it as I walked around and it looks as though its been bombed some time ago but most of its still intact. The main thing is, its only a few yards away from the perimeter fence around the garrison compound. So all we have to do is find a way through it.

'The compound and building are exactly as we saw in the photographs, he continued. 'Two thirteen-foot fences about fifteen feet apart surrounding a three-storey building and only one way in that I could see. There are four armed guards, two at the entrance to the building, two at the main gate and theres a dog patrol in between the two fences. So, apart from that it should be a piece of cake!

'So, what you mean...? Chalky began to say slowly.

'What I mean, Chalky, Dynamo went on, 'is theres only one way in and thats going to be over the top. Its a good job this place here is empty. I cant understand how theyve left it standing, its a h.e.l.luva security risk. It looks to be boarded up and I think that part of the roof is missing.

'Right then, lets find a way in, Chalky said, indicating the derelict building behind us.

'We need to get in round the back, the front of the compound is lit up like Blackpool Illuminations. Come round this way, I dont think its overlooked and I think well be able to get in through one of the boarded-up windows, Dynamo said, leading the way.

We made our way to the rear of the building, making sure we werent being watched and found a window, now roughly nailed up with a few wooden planks, only yards away from the wire compound fence. But just as we were easing the planks off, the dog patrol inside the two perimeter fences came to the corner of the building and began to walk past.

The four of us pressed our backs into the wall as the soldier walked slowly by with the dog on a leash. The dog seemed to sense something and kept looking back over its shoulder towards us but the guy just kept yanking it along.

'Can you believe it? Chalky whispered in disbelief. 'What an idiot! I mean just what is the point of having a dog if youre not going to take any notice of it!

'Its just as well he didnt, Spot commented dryly. 'The dopey beggar!

We started to pull off the boards, but two of them snapped with a loud crack, which I felt certain the guard must have heard. I held my breath but nothing happened and we continued to pull the planks away until we had a hole large enough for us to climb through. Once inside we split up and began searching around, trying to find a way up to the roof.

Opening a door, I discovered a ma.s.sive pile of masonry and looking up saw that there was a huge hole right through all of the floors. It looked as though a bomb had come right through the roof into the middle of the building. A few beams of light from the neighbouring compound penetrated the broken windows and cracks in the walls but despite this, and being able to see right through the building to the sky and stars above, it was very dark inside.

Stumbling around, I discovered the rickety remains of a wooden staircase and began to carefully make my way up it. By the sounds coming from above, I realised that the others had already reached the upper floor. Most of the stair treads were missing and getting up was difficult, there was a large gap near the top and the only way across it was to jump. I landed awkwardly and gripped at the tubular metal banister to steady myself, but it instantly came away from the wall and I swung out over into the building over a two-storey drop. Peering through the darkness, it looked as though the banister was hanging on by only one bracket fastened to the crumbling masonry.

I began to pull myself up the banister, hoping that the bracket would hold until I reached the top. Spots face suddenly appeared above me.

'What are hanging around for, Geordie? he joked, offering me his hand.

'How the h.e.l.l did you manage to get up there without this happening?

'We came up by another staircase. I thought you were behind us.

'What other stairs? You could have told me! Show me the way to the roof, then, you clever sod!

In the darkness, I could barely see the faces of my mates, even though the sky was clear and the stars were so bright I felt I could reach up and touch them. The only lighting in the area came from a string of bulbs hanging from a wire over the compound, together with two large floodlights, which lit up the front of the garrison building and the main entrance.

From the roof of the building, we could make out the flat rooftop of the garrison building opposite. Below us a number of guards where mainly positioned around the front of the entrance. We knew our target was there as we could see his parked limousine, with its insignia and pennant, a larger version of which was raised on the side of the building alongside the Egyptian flag.

In our briefing, wed been given full details of the layout of the building the only thing we werent sure about was exactly which office our target would be working from, although we did know it was on the third floor.

We were lucky that the building we were in was now derelict. It was a G.o.dsend. Obviously, wed been informed that the building was there next to the compound, but we hadnt been aware that it was empty, nor of the state it was in. It was going to make our operation considerably easier, as we could work from the roof undetected. All we had to do now was to get a rope from the roof across two fences, which were about thirty feet below us, and on to the adjacent building, approximately forty-five feet away. It wouldnt have been an impossible task if this building had been occupied, but obviously it would have been that much more difficult.

Below us, we saw that the perimeter fences had barbed wire running along the top of them and were roughly thirteen feet high and fifteen feet apart. One of these looked as though it might be electrified or alarmed in some way, as we could see small white bobbins on its main struts. We needed to ensure that our ropes didnt touch these fences and there was no room for error if anything dropped on to them, it would immediately give our cover away.

A low parapet approximately two feet high ran around the opposite rooftop, a telegraph pole was fastened to this and the side of the building roughly ten feet in from the edge nearest to us, with roughly eight feet of it sticking up above roof level. It had a large bobbin on the top, which appeared to be carrying the main electric supply and below this was a crosspiece carrying dozens of telephone wires, which ran across to a similar pole attached to the building we were on. About four feet beneath the crosspiece we could just make out what appeared to be a further metal bar about fifteen inches long that stuck out at a right angle on the roof side of the pole. We would be able to utilise this, if it proved to be strong enough.

The low parapet was capped with concrete slabs, which we worked out were roughly three feet long by one-and-a-half inches thick. By using the rough sizing of these concrete slabs as a guide, we were able to make an estimate of the distance up to the telegraph pole along the side of the building. This gave us a pretty good idea what length of light line we would need to attach to the arrow wed use in order to eventually get a rope over from one rooftop to the other.

Spot selected a crossbow and arrow from one of the canvas bags. The arrow had three small fins and one large one, in order to stop it twisting in the air, and carried with it two very strong thin light lines, which were different colours so that we could differentiate between the two. We needed the arrow from the crossbow to drop over the metal bar and stop before it hit the roof: this we called a single-shot pick-up, and it would enable us to get the light line over the metal bar. Then when we attached the heavy rope to this, it would also take it over the metal bar and bring it back to us, thus forming a loop.

Spot took a three-inch, side-casting reel and attached this to his waist. He would normally leave the line on the reel so that when he fired the crossbow it wouldnt become entangled. But, in this instance, because he didnt want the arrow to hit the roof when it went over the metal bar so that we could retrieve it, he had to work out the distance between himself and the telegraph pole. He tied up the remaining line so that it wouldnt travel any further than the distance hed measured. If he were accurate, this would enable the arrow to stop just before it hit the roof, which would allow the pick-up on the end of the arrow to be manipulated in order to recover the light line and bring it back to us.

I held my breath as Spot took aim at the crosspiece of the telegraph pole. It was festooned with wires and I knew that the success of his shot was absolutely critical. It was much darker now, making it difficult to even see the small target; if the arrow fell short it would dangle over the street, possibly making a noise by clattering against something and alert the guards below. If it pa.s.sed too far over the target and hit the roof it could also make a noise or become snagged.

He took aim, and steadied himself but just as he was about to fire, Chalky tapped him on the shoulder and pointed below. The soldier with the guard dog had suddenly appeared around the corner of the building and was pa.s.sing beneath us.

Spot quietly waited until the pair of them had walked by, before rapidly taking aim once again and firing. As usual, he lived up to his name and scored a direct hit first time. The flying arrow was silently checked by its securing lines and dropped just over the crosspiece. With the arrow now dangling down from one line, Spot pulled the lower line, which allowed the pick-up to collect the upper line, bringing the arrow and upper line back to him and, by making the light line go around the metal bar and return to him, it formed a loop.

Securing our heavier rope on to the light line, we pulled this over the bar and back towards us again, so that it now took the place of the light line. By attaching a dog-clip to the end of the rope we were able to form a slipknot around the metal bar. Then we attached the rope to the telegraph pole near to where we stood on the roof, and tightened it by means of small pulley wheels in order to stop it stretching or sagging beneath our weight as we crossed.

Removing our sashes, we took our rope-sitting harnesses from the holdalls and put them on around our legs and waists. Now we could attach a pulley wheel on to the rope for extra safety and start to cross the gap between the two buildings without being seen or heard. The whole operation took about ten to fifteen minutes.

Spot, being the lightest, went over first. He unhooked the line from the metal bar and wrapped it around the telegraph pole in order to make it more secure, then checked behind the building to make sure that no patrols were pa.s.sing before signalling that it was clear for the rest of us to cross. Dynamo followed him over and I went after him.

By the time I arrived on the garrison rooftop, Dynamo had already begun to remove some old bits of canvas and wood from a broken skylight, or possibly a trapdoor, which had been boarded up. He cautiously lifted one corner and we peered through the small opening. Two guards were standing talking to one another by some stairs at the end of a corridor directly below. Silently replacing the cover, Dynamo swiftly went to the edge of the roof and signalled to Chalky that there was a problem, in order to stop him from coming over.

'Two guards! he hissed, holding up two fingers and pointing over to the skylight.

Chalky held up his hand and whispered back: 'Five minutes.

Then he disappeared inside the derelict building. We waited a few minutes before he reappeared on the opposite roof and quickly began to make his way over to us.

'Where have you been? I quietly asked him. 'What have you been up to?

'All in good time, Geordie. Wait a couple of minutes and youll see. Ill show you how to get rid of them, he said, nodding towards the skylight.

We silently waited a few more minutes, then Spot turned to him.

'Well?

'Give it time, old boy. Chalky grinned back.

At that moment, there was a commotion at the front of the building, a lot of shouting and the sound of running feet. Smoke began rising from a small hut in the corner of the compound followed by a series of small explosions. Spot dashed to the edge of the building, looked over briefly, and then strolled back to where we were waiting.

'Your handiwork I presume? he said evenly to Chalky.

'Small store area, full of paint and paraffin came in rather handy. Right then, lets get on with the d.a.m.n job, Chalky calmly replied.

We felt secure leaving the rope in place at this stage. It ran parallel to the numerous telephone cables and wires from the telegraph pole across to the adjacent building and anyone looking up wouldnt have been able to spot it amongst the ma.s.ses of wires already attached to the pole.

Dynamo led the way over the roof to the skylight and peered through the hole hed made earlier again, to see if the guards were still there but by now theyd gone, presumably to see what all the noise was about in the compound.

'It worked, theyve gone! he whispered to Chalky. Squeezing his hand through the hole, he released the bolts holding the skylight in place. Once it was removed, we dropped through the opening and landed on to a large box about seven feet below, before dropping quietly down from this into the corridor. Dynamo immediately took out the small photograph of our target hed hidden in the waistband of his trousers, looked at it briefly, then systematically began to try all the doors leading off the landing. The first couple he tried were locked and as no light shone beneath them, he swiftly moved on. He paused by the following door, listening, and then looked through the keyhole.

'Theres someone in here, he whispered, then turned the handle and took a step into the room. Immediately he backed out again, pulling the door shut behind him, and looked at the photograph in his hand.

'Thats him, in there!

Politely he knocked on the door before re-entering the room with the three of us close behind him and walked straight over to a man sitting behind a large desk. The man looked furious. He stood up and walked towards Dynamo with his hand pointing towards the door, and said something in Arabic, no doubt words to the effect of 'What the h.e.l.l are you all doing in my office?

Dynamo replied, also in Arabic, before adding in English, 'Sorry about this, old boy.

Using the 'Machine moves he knocked the mans outstretched arm out of the way and spun him around, before delivering two instantaneous blows, his left hand to the back of the guys head while the base of his right palm hit the guy on the right side of the chin. But just as he was about to break the mans neck, I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

'Dont kill him!

'b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, Geordie, whats the matter with you? he exclaimed in surprise. 'Thats what were here for isnt it?