'Oh, no! I groaned. 'Not Lynch and that flamin boat again, I nearly broke my neck last time!

'Never mind, Geordie, itll be worth it for some of Lynchs greasy bacon and eggs! Spot laughed.

Ken finished his tea then continued: 'Theres a railway and main road not far from the sh.o.r.e at that point; the other lads will be waiting for you there. Im sure I dont need to remind you to make sure you are carrying nothing that will identify you in any way! he said pointedly. 'You know the drill, no labels on your clothes, nothing that could indicate who you are or where youre from. Your watches and compa.s.s can be easily obtained anywhere so dont worry about them. Ill be back at the beach to collect you at 0100 hours Thursday.

As usual I was curious to know more about the operation and how things were organised. 'Where does Lynch get the boat from, I asked. 'Where does he keep it when its not being used?

'Forget it, Geordie, you dont need to know that, only that he will be waiting for you where Ive said h.e.l.l be. Ken smiled and winked, tapping an area on the map.

Dynamo, whod been sh.e.l.ling a hard-boiled egg as he listened intently to what Ken was saying, placed it on the corner of the table as he leaned forward to take a closer look at the map. The egg rolled off and across the dusty floor. Dynamo merely bent down, picked it up and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he sat there chewing it, grinding bits of dust between his teeth then spitting these out of the side of his mouth. We all silently watched him in mock horror; he looked just like a hamster.

Spot nudged me. 'Ye knaa wot, hed eat owt, him man, Geordie, he said, in a near perfect imitation of my Geordie accent.

'Oh, very good, I said, giggling, then mimicked him. 'Youre spot on there, Spot, old boy!

Dynamo looked at us indignantly. 'Whats the matter with you lot, waste not want not. Thats my motto, he said with his mouth full. 'Anyway theres more to worry about than me and this b.l.o.o.d.y egg, what about those d.a.m.n Israelis on the borders. It looks like were going to be travelling pretty close to them, according to the route well be taking. You know how trigger happy that lot can be!

'Theres no concern there, weve taken care of that and you wont be anywhere near them, Ken replied, then continued: 'From your meeting point on the beach its about thirty miles inland, he said taking the map back from Dynamo and spreading it out on the table top again. 'Bren will be driving a truck which will take all of you about twenty-eight miles inland, to within roughly two miles of your target area just north of this place here, Jarba, and not too far from the Jordan. Youll have to cross the river at that point then go on to your final destination on foot. Once youre across, youll split up into your teams and meet up again at a pre-arranged rendezvous point up in the hills. Theres the place and those are the coordinates, he said, pointing out another spot on the map, as we each took notes.

'You shouldnt have any problems getting there, but getting back after the targets are taken out and the balloon goes up is when the trouble could start, Ken said calmly and shrugged. 'We cant avoid that. The main thing youve got going for you on the way back is the d.a.m.n river: youll be able to cross it but they wont. That will be the key to you all getting back safely as there isnt a bridge for quite a distance in either direction. As long as you all reach the river before they do, they shouldnt be able to follow you across; as I said before, theres been a lot of heavy rain in the area recently so the river will be really rough and totally impa.s.sable by ordinary methods. Anyway, some of the others will have b.o.o.by-trapped the road, too, so that should slow up any of the b.u.g.g.e.rs who make it that far. He paused, grinning. 'Youll get an update on things at the beach.

'OK. Now, for the targets! There are actually five, and the less you know about them, the better, he said, indifferently. 'As far as I understand three of them are civilians and two are military. Roystons team will be responsible for taking the targets out; the rest of you are there to a.s.sist them and ensure that he and his lads all get back out of the garrison in one piece. Believe me theyre really going to have a problem. The garrison is well guarded and there isnt much cover, just a small wooded area on the hilltop nearby.

'As you can see by the photographs of the place, its going to be a h.e.l.l of a problem for them just to get in, never mind take the targets out. Weve really studied the place and its just not possible for them to eliminate the targets without drawing attention to themselves, but thats not our problem thats for Roystons mob to sort out. He slapped his hands onto his knees. 'And Im really looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

'Should be interesting, Chalky murmured as Ken stood up.

He went outside and returned a few minutes later carrying a couple of sacks, which he dropped onto the floor.

'Heres your gear, he said, opening the sacks and pulling out four pairs of denim-type trousers together with four jerkin-style khaki tunics and a couple of Arab-style headdresses. 'This is what youll be wearing.

'Youll need to take the usual stuff with you, set of ropes, crossbow, pulley wheels, lines and dog-clips, etc. and dont forget the veg. grease, lads, you dont know what itll be like near to the river. Theres a new set of CTCs each in that wooden box, over there, he said, pointing towards it, 'and the heavier firepower will be waiting at the beach for you.

'Right then, my job starts now, so Ill see you lot tomorrow night at 2300 hours. Oh and by the way, make sure you have plenty to eat before we leave, its likely to be all youll get for a couple of days, apart from water and a few "dog biscuits", and try to get plenty of rest tomorrow afternoon as well, youre going to need it, lads! See you tomorrow night. And with that, he left as abruptly as hed arrived.

We continued with our training for the remainder of the day and turned in early. Tuesday pa.s.sed uneventfully. We trained in the morning then we checked and prepared our gear in the afternoon, before eating and resting as Ken had suggested. By 2200, we were ready, dressed to look as much like the locals as possible with our skin and hair darkened as on previous operations. We wore our sashes and boot-knives and stashed our MK1s with the rest of the gear in our holdalls, together with a new CTC each.

Ken arrived with the hack promptly at 2300 hours and, as before, the helicopter created a huge cloud of suffocating dust when it landed. The four of us dashed forward and scrambled on board and he immediately took off. The noise was just as bad as I remembered it!

We swiftly flew out to sea and travelled uneventfully for roughly an hour before Ken indicated that we should look out for the boat. I couldnt see the actual sh.o.r.eline but knew it couldnt be too far away as I could clearly make out the tiny lights of villages in the distance. Dynamo was sitting in the front; he spotted the boat and nudged Ken who immediately turned the helicopter, dropped down low and headed towards it, then hovered overhead as we abseiled down on to its deck.

This time we all made it into the boat without any mistakes or mishaps. As before, once we were in the boat, Ken immediately took off, ropes still hanging, and the hack disappeared into the night.

Once the helicopter had gone and the noise from its engine and rotor blades faded, everything was quiet. The sea was flat calm and it was a warm still night, with a sky that was full of stars. There were no sounds other than the engine of the little boat as it sped through the millpond sea.

Lynch organised mugs of tea for us and as we sat drinking these, chatting, I looked around. It was pitch black and if it hadnt been for those few tiny lights on the mainland, I dont think I would have known what direction we were travelling in. Just as we finished our tea Lynch pointed ahead.

'Right lads, grab your gear weve got less than half a mile to go.

How the h.e.l.l he knew that was beyond me. I peered into the blackness, but still couldnt see the sh.o.r.e; it was just so dark. Minutes later he spoke again.

'This is it, lads! he said and once more pointed towards the sh.o.r.e.

Just ahead of us, I could see a tiny pinp.r.i.c.k red light flashing on and off. Lynch returned the signal then cut the engine and we drifted in the rest of the way until the bottom of the boat suddenly grated on the beach. Immediately two figures appeared out of nowhere and held on to it as Chalky and I jumped out of one side, Dynamo and Spot out of the other, landing up to our knees in water. We threw our bags ahead of us on to the beach and helped shove the boat back off the sh.o.r.e. It drifted slowly backwards disappearing into the darkness, then we heard its engine start and quickly fade again as Lynch sped off.

Picking up our holdalls, we began to make our way up the beach when we saw lights moving and flashing in the sky, like search-lights; vehicles were coming along the road.

'This way lads, quick! one of the guys said, and led the way.

We followed him for about a hundred yards to the base of a railway embankment where I saw the huddled outlines of the others. There was a small, and very smelly, stream nearby but nothing else was visible in the dark.

'OK lads, get under here! one of them said and they lifted over their heads a type of groundsheet, indicating for us to crouch underneath it too, as we heard a couple of trucks roll by along the road on the other side of the railway lines.

'Thats been going on all night while weve been waiting here, its the main road, the guy nearest to me said.

One of them produced a torch and switched it on, as another laid out a map on the ground. Seeing their faces for the first time came as quite a shock. They all looked so realistic, just like a bunch of dark and swarthy Arabs.

I sn.i.g.g.e.red, nudging Dynamo, saying, 'Are you sure weve come to the right place?

The first guy spoke again: 'OK, chaps, weve got ten minutes before the truck arrives. It was weird to hear such a cultured and very English accent coming out of such a desperate looking bunch. 'Theres a sewer running underneath the railway and unfortunately were going to have to pa.s.s through that rather than go across the top. We dont know when another vehicle might come along that road and we dont want to be seen crossing the railway lines, he went on, pointing to the map in front of him. 'Now, were here, theres the railway and theres the road, this is a bit of a dust track which is where our truck will be waiting. Oh by the way, lads, meet Geordie, Sixteen.

I didnt know what he meant by that and nudged Chalky raising my eyebrows.

'He means youre the last one in, Geordie, he explained. 'You know, number sixteen.

Still crouched under the canvas they all began to introduce themselves to me; it was a bizarre experience and I was dying to laugh. There they all were dressed up like locals speaking perfect Queens English, politely telling me the names they were known by in the group, as though we were at some vicarage tea party or something.

'Pleased to meet you, Geordie, lad.

'Glad to have you on board, old chap.

I felt a light kick on my backside and a voice behind us.

'Hey, Dynamos bunch, grab this lot will you!

There was a rattle of metal and, as we came out from under the canvas cover, a Sten was pushed into my hands, plus five magazines and some loose bullets. Dynamo and Spot were given .303 rifles, Chalky another Sten, it also looked as though theyd been given several grenades. Quite a variety of weapons were being used, with each man having something slightly different from the others.

The guy who handed them to us spoke again. 'Dont forget, we want these back, make sure you leave them in the truck when you return.

Shoving the ammo into my bag, I slung the strap of the Sten over my shoulder and followed the others as they began to move off towards the large sewer pipe underneath the railway line. The pipe was about thirty yards long and roughly six feet in diameter; the stench inside was horrendous, and nauseated, I felt my stomach heave. We stumbled and slid our way through, arms outstretched touching either side of the slime-covered walls as we followed the tiny red signal light of the guy at the front.

'Jeesus, what a stink! I said, revolted by the feel of what my hands were now covered in.

'Hey! Dont use that name around here, someone said, sn.i.g.g.e.ring. 'You could start another b.l.o.o.d.y war.

'What the h.e.l.l do these wogs eat, it smells more like sheep dung?

'Oh, youve tried the local speciality have you?

There was a ripple of barely suppressed snorts and giggles from down the tunnel.

'OK, belt up, you lot! someone said as we emerged from the pipe and gratefully filled our lungs with clean air before scrambling up the embankment to the road on the top.

About two hundred yards away I could just make out the tiny dots of vehicle sidelights and followed the others towards the waiting truck, tripping over loose stones and rubble on the rocky, uneven ground. Despite the fact that we now had the benefit of moonlight, it was still difficult to see.

At the back of the old army truck, which Bren had waiting for us, I threw my bag inside and was about to climb in when I felt a pair of strong hands grab me by the collar and hoist me up. I straightened up and I found myself face to face with a well-built, strong-looking guy of about my own height, who leaned towards me to get a better look.

'Ah, you must be, Geordie, he said shaking my hand. 'Ive heard all about you.

'I hope I got a good report, I replied.

'That Cairo stuff, very clever, eh! he said with a wink. 'My names Royston, by the way, Ill talk to you later.

We settled on to the hard wood benches fixed down either side of the truck and Bren drove off immediately. Half of the canvas covering the back of the truck was missing and from what I could see and hear, it appeared to be in a fairly dilapidated state. Each time we hit a rut or b.u.mp in the road the whole thing rattled so much that I thought it was going to fall to bits. I couldnt clearly see anyones face in the poor light, but I could make out the shapes of the guys sitting opposite to me and was surprised to see that they all looked to be of about the same height and build.

Bren drove with the lights off, only switching them on every so often to make sure of his bearings. How he managed to see is beyond me. I was sitting next to the cab where a small square had been cut out of the canvas. Peering through this I tried to see through the windscreen, but couldnt make out anything other than a rough dusty track lined with huge rocks and boulders each time Bren switched on the lights.

'How the h.e.l.l does he know where he is? I asked.

'Dont worry, he practically lives here and knows the place like the back of his hand, hes almost one of the locals. Nothing goes on around this area without us knowing about it, you could say hes our inside man, the guy sitting next to me explained.

It was pretty rough going, as we jolted and b.u.mped our way along the potholed track, and after about fifteen minutes, it was obvious that we were climbing through a fairly mountainous area. The engine was straining and I wondered whether the old truck would make it or not. We travelled on slowly for over an hour and then began to descend steeply. Shortly afterwards Bren abruptly stopped the truck and immediately switched off the engine. Everyone jumped out at once.

'Right lads, this is where I leave you, Bren said. 'Try to keep in a straight line from here to the river, dont go too far to the right its a bit marshy over there. You should find whats left of an old bridge only a couple of hundred yards away in that direction over there, he said, pointing. 'Dynamo, Ill be back for you lot early Thursday morning, wait by those old ruins over there. Ill flash the lights twice and youll know its me.

'What about the rest of them? I asked Chalky.

'Everythings taken care of, Geordie, come on! he said and made his way over to the others who were now huddled together near a group of trees on the hillside, checking our position.

'OK, Royston said. 'Lets get on with it. And grabbing our gear, we started down the mountainside into the Huleh Basin below.

What little I could see of the area in the moonlight appeared to be flat open land. It was mainly dark and silent, the only sound being the roar of the nearby river as it ran through the valley below us. Judging by the noise of the rushing water, it appeared that Ken was right, it sounded pretty rough!

It was a cold, clear night; the moonlight seemed to have brightened a bit, which made it a little easier to see by as we headed towards the sound of the river. Gradually we began to see brief flashes of water, silvery in the moonlight and after about twenty minutes walking the firm ground began to soften beneath our feet: wed reached an area of marshland near to the river. It was beginning to get very cold now and I was very glad that Ken had warned us not to forget the veg. grease. As we neared the tree-lined riverbank, the land rose a little and the marsh area gave way to drier, firmer ground.

'There are trees and bushes on this side but theres nothing for us to use on the other side at this point. So we need to find whats left of that old bridge Bren mentioned, it cant be too far away, Royston said. 'Once across we follow an old track on the other side.

Two of the guys immediately headed up river and another two went in the opposite direction to try to find the remains of the bridge, while the rest of us sat down to wait and tried to estimate just how wide the river was it appeared to be about thirty yards across. After about fifteen minutes, the two guys who had gone down river came back.

'Weve found it, its about three hundred yards this way, one of them said.

'Youre right about it being old, Royston, theres virtually nothing left of it, just a couple of posts sticking out of the ground, the other added.

'OK, well lets hope theres something on the other side we can use then. Go and get the other two and well see you down there, Royston told him and we immediately set off south along the riverbank.

After a few minutes we reached the remains of what had been some kind of bridge. The guys were right, there was very little of it left.

'Can you see anything on the other side? Royston asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the noise of the wide, swollen river as it rushed loudly past.

Ken was right, it would be totally impa.s.sable for anyone to get across using conventional methods, except for us. The previously clear sky was beginning to cloud over and the moonlight was now intermittent. Even using our binoculars it was difficult to make anything out so far away in the dark. We waited for a few moments until the moon came out again.

'Look, there seems to be some kind of girder sticking about five or six feet out of the ground with another post just behind it, a guy whod introduced himself to me as Reg pointed out. 'Can the rest of you see it?

'Youre right, Spot said.

The stubby remains of an 'H girder stood out of the ground a few feet away from the edge of the embankment with another, smaller, wooden post sticking up a few feet behind it. Royston scanned the opposite bank through his binoculars.

'Well, there doesnt appear to be anything else around, he said. 'Well just have to use that, Reg. Watch out for those bushes in the background. Well get Spot to do this end of it.

Reg and another guy named Den moved off about twenty to thirty yards further down the river until they were at cross-angles to the steel girder. Once there, they took out their light lines, crossbow and a snub-end bolt. Reg, the guy with the crossbow, fastened a light line to the bolt, the other end of which was coiled around a side spool fastened on to Dens belt. Den then positioned himself in the direction the bolt would take as Reg scanned the opposite bank through his binoculars in order to line up between the two obstacles on the other side: the steel girder and the wooden post. The object of the exercise was to fire the bolt between the two posts and a few yards beyond them.

All he needed now was a little bit of light from the moon and he waited until it came out from behind a cloud, then fired the crossbow and the line went screaming across the river and between the two posts as hed planned. Den stood where he was while Reg came back to let us know that they had succeeded. Although wed all been watching through our binoculars, it was still difficult to see the line lying there.

'OK, Spot, youre the man for the job, get yourself here, Royston ordered.

Spot also had a fixed side spool attached to his belt and immediately began to pull line off it, measuring out what he estimated to be the width of the river (his speciality) and allowing for a couple of yards past where we believed the line to be lying. We couldnt afford for his line to go any further than that due to a number of small bushes directly behind the posts, in case his pick-up arrow became entangled. When hed measured off the distance of line he required, he tied up the remainder of it on the fixed spool so no more would reel off. Then, picking up his crossbow, he dropped to one knee, and carefully placed the pick-up arrow in it before firing across the river. He aimed just to the left of the steel girder and slightly beyond, where he believed Regs line to now be lying on the ground.

Spots line also went screaming past the post on the other side then suddenly tightened and came to an abrupt stop before dropping to the ground. We couldnt see if it had in fact crossed the other line but Spot-on wasnt called that for nothing!

Slowly he began to pull the line towards him. If everything went to plan, the pick-up would collect Regs line lying on the ground as Spot pulled it backwards. As he continued pulling, Reg came rushing back to us.

'Its on, its on, its picked up! he exclaimed.

Spot grinned and winked at me.

The line attached to the spool on Dens belt had begun to tighten as Spot pulled on his line, so Reg had immediately known theyd been successful! Now Den began to release more of his line, as Spot pulled Regs arrow over towards us. As it reached us, Den came back along the riverbank; his light line was now looped around the girder on the opposite bank and coming back to us. Spot removed the snub-nosed arrow, which Reg had fired across the river, and tied our heavy abseil rope to Dens light line.

Now Den began to reel in his light line, bringing with it the attached heavy line, which looped around the girder on the opposite bank and came back to him. All we had to do was to tighten the heavy line using our pulley wheels and fasten ourselves on to the rope with our harnesses.

The whole exercise took merely minutes to execute and enabled all of us to cross the swollen, fast-flowing river in absolute safety, without getting wet. By using this method, it was impossible for any of us to fall into the river.

Once the last man was across, a couple of the guys released the tension on the main line allowing it to sink beneath the river, then they scrambled down the embankment, pegged down the main line and hid the coiled remainder of rope in some bushes, thereby ensuring our method of escape.

The whole process was carried out quietly and efficiently, hardly a word was spoken, no one gave any direct orders, it was unnecessary. We all knew exactly what to do and how to do it, and we all had the same capabilities.

On the other side of the river, a narrow track led away from the remains of the bridge, which we followed for about five or six hundred yards to where it made a 'T junction with a much broader, and by the look of it, fairly well-used, dusty road. This road we knew led up into the hills and eventually to our objective, no more than half a mile away, with the town of Jarba itself further south of this position.

In order to avoid detection, we now broke up into our groups and fanned out, all heading in the same direction, to our pre-arranged rendezvous point in the hills.

PART 2.