Scotland, p.24
Scotland, page 24
The Colonel motioned to the two soldiers, who raised their weapons from pointing at the floor to aiming directly at the two leaders. With weapons held at eye level, they closed the space between them. James was, step by step, backed against the wall; all thought of using his phone forgotten. Isobel scrambled back to join him. Although they had become used to the sight of weapons in recent days, they had merely been inanimate objects. Now, staring into the muzzles of the two assault rifles, gave a whole new perspective, and their true reason to be was deadly clear.
The Colonel said nothing, but merely held out his hand. They handed the phones over.
‘Thank you,’ he said.
The two soldiers went out and took up position either side of the door. ‘Stay here. The General has not decided your fate yet, but the more you co-operate, the safer you will be.’ The Colonel closed the door behind him.
Isobel stood there, stared after him, and then pounded her balled-up fist on her own thigh. Tears of anger finally found release through her screwed shut eyelids. James tried the phone on the desk where only a short while ago they had spoken to the President. It was dead.
He looked at Isobel, ashen-faced, and shook his head.
Chapter 21
Jack IDay
Jack sped along the coast road, heading back towards Glasgow. Kenny was rigid beside him and not saying anything. He clutched two assault rifles upright between his knees. Jack worried a bump in the road might set them off. He was not sure Kenny was fully with it.
‘Safeties on?’
Kenny looked down, checked. ‘They fucking killed us; they shot us like we were dogs and the fucking Army was waiting outside in fucking armoured cars. Did you know? Were you part of this?’
Jack was worried that he would crack completely, so he accepted the tirade then answered slowly and calmly, ‘I did not know. These were my people, my Militia.’ He paused, and at last Kenny turned to look at him.
‘Listen, I suspected something was not right, but not this. We are going to sort it now. Someone is going to pay. Are you with me?’
Kenny nodded. ‘Fuckers.’
‘Put the guns on the back seat and make sure they are safe. I need you to make some calls.’
He handed Kenny the satellite phone and told him to dial James, then Isobel, from the contacts list. There was no answer, but when he tried Maggie, she came on instantly. The Sat phones would not connect to the car, so Kenny put the phone on speaker and held it up so that Jack could speak into it. He told her about what had happened at Faslane and his concerns that Richard had the Army operating to a plan that had not been shared with them. He did not want to mention that Gordon, the Perth team leader, had given him a warning that he had not acted on, especially with Kenny so wound up beside him.
Maggie explained that everything was going fine and that the Army had not turned up at the BBC. All was well. She had not heard from her mother or James.
‘Listen,’ he said. ‘I think Richard has plans of his own, and I think Simon is in it with him. He may have always planned this. It makes sense now. The Militia that he wanted helps keep his Network and the Army intact. The political party gives him credence that it is not a military takeover. We may have done all this for him. I am starting to think that he will not allow James and your mother to lead at the parliament. I’m worried about what Richard may do. I can’t reach either of them. Have you spoken to them recently?’
There was a long pause. James thought for a moment that the connection had failed, but finally he heard her. Maggie’s voice was strained.
‘No, I haven’t, but I don’t understand. Richard is just as committed as us. It can’t be right. Are you worried about what Richard may do? He would not do anything to hurt my mum… would he?’
‘I’m heading to Bute House now. Stay with Stevie and be wary of any Army contact. Warn the Militia team there not to trust them.’
‘I’ll leave Stevie here with the Militia. The broadcasts are taped anyway. I’m going to Edinburgh now.’
‘No, Maggie, stay—’ But she had hung up already. He tried Isobel again, but still no answer.
Jack was still undecided whether to take the bridge directly onto the motorway, which was a longer route, or pick it up further into the city. The city planners had long ago – for some reason – thought it a good idea to ram a motorway straight through the heart of Glasgow. He had not yet made up his mind, but as they approached the Erskine Bridge slip road, it was made up for him.
‘Police,’ said Kenny. ‘Speed check maybe.’
There was a police car parked up in a layby, and a cop was standing on the verge scanning the cars as they approached. On seeing them, he stepped into the road, causing Jack to brake hard, and signalled for them to pull in behind the patrol car. Jack did not have much choice other than running the man over, and he was preparing for another fight when he realised that they had been waiting for him. That would surely be amazing, he thought.
He pressed the switch to lower the window as the cop approached. He was not one of the policemen Jack had warned off earlier.
‘Morning, sir, I’m your escort to Edinburgh. Sergeant Greene.’ He tapped the edge of the window respectfully. ‘This will keep up with us no problem. Keep close enough that no-one can get between us, but not too close. Ready?’
‘Uh yes, Sergeant, thank you. Bute House?’
‘Yes. No problem, sir.’
Seconds later, they were off, blue lights flashing up ahead. The patrol car took it easy at first but soon realised that Jack was able to keep up no matter what, and they increased the speed. Jack smiled to himself. Mostly he had always expected lights to be coming for him from behind not leading him. Hope you are seeing this, Jake.
The street outside Bute House looked like a scene from a war movie. There were several military vehicles, some of which were obviously primarily for communications, with satellite dishes and long, slender antennae on their roofs, all guarded by armed soldiers in full combat gear. The police escort that had whisked them along the motorway at high speed proved a boon here as well, as whatever Sergeant Greene said to the checkpoint guard had him let them through immediately.
Jack drove up to the main entrance and parked. He gave a wave to the patrol car as they turned and left.
He turned to Kenny. ‘I don’t know what to expect here, but I want to find James and Isobel. Something is seriously wrong if they don’t have access to their phones.’
Kenny had called them both several times on the journey but with no response. He had also phoned all the team leaders and held the phone so that Jack could speak to them as their Commander. As most of the leaders were ex-Army, he was careful what he said and did not expect to discover much, but he did get a good overview of how the operation was going and it seemed to be to plan. There were, however, the team leaders who were not ex-Army, and with them Jack was more open and explained the developing situation to them. He knew that Colonel Hardie would be with Richard, and he was the commander for the Central region, so he arranged with the team leaders to send a squad of four militiamen in a private car to the location of each of the commanders for Argyll, Highlands, Glasgow and South, with orders just to travel to the vicinity and await orders.
‘I want you ready to shoot if you have to – are you OK with that?’ said Jack, as they got out of the car.
Kenny nodded. ‘Fucking right I am.’ They picked up the rifles from the rear seat. Jack slung his across his shoulder while Kenny held his in front, pointing down but ready for instant use, as he had been taught.
Jack strode purposefully up the short flight of steps and Kenny followed.
‘The General?’ he said to the soldier guarding the door.
‘Identify yourself, please.’
‘Militia Commander. Where’s the General?’ The armbands and Kenny’s soiled and blood-spattered non-regulation combats gave weight to the claim, and the guard needed no further convincing.
‘Sorry, sir, you missed him. He and the Colonel left a few minutes ago.’
‘Shit! I wanted a word before he left. Thanks, soldier. I’m going in to see the leaders before I catch him up. Know where they are?’
The guard looked blank. ‘Sorry, sir, who? I don’t know.’
‘The leaders, the politicians; they should be here.’
‘Oh, you mean the civilians? I don’t know, sorry, sir. They have not come out this way yet.’
Jack pushed past the guard as though he had every right to be there, and Kenny followed. Inside there were soldiers everywhere, and Jack stopped a passing sergeant with insignia that identified him as a member of the Signal Regiment, asking him where the politicians were being held.
‘First floor office, sir.’
‘Can you show my man the way and help bring them down? The General wants them over at Holyrood.’ He turned to Kenny, caught his eye briefly. ‘You go with the Sergeant and bring them down. Tie their hands first.’
‘Yes, sir!’ Kenny understood, and he followed the man up the grand staircase.
Jack did not want to hang around in the hallway looking lost, so he stuck his head into the cabinet room, identified himself, and asked the nearest operator for an update on Faslane and Lossiemouth. He half listened while keeping an eye on the staircase.
He was starting to think Kenny would never re-appear when he saw the party come down the staircase. Two soldiers were leading, with James and Isobel behind. They both looked angry, and Isobel was twisting her hands against the cable ties that bound her wrists. Kenny and the Signal Sergeant followed at the rear. Jack was wondering how to avoid them treating him as a friendly when Isobel looked up, saw him, and solved the problem for him.
‘You fucking arsehole! You were always in it with Richard, weren’t you? Bastard! Jake would turn in his fucking grave,’ she spat the words at him. James was shaking his head but did not add to the invective.
Jack ignored them and turned to Kenny. ‘Get them in the back of the Rover and tie them together. You ride shotgun and keep a gun on them.’
Kenny and the Sergeant ushered them out the front door, while Jack turned to the soldiers who had been guarding the room. ‘Thanks, gentlemen, I’ll take it from here.’ Isobel’s outburst had quelled any lingering doubts the two guarding the room had, and they turned and left.
Jack drove off with Isobel trying to convince Kenny to shoot the traitorous bastard. He pulled into a side street a few blocks away and stopped.
He indicated for Kenny to cut the cable ties. The militiaman found a knife in one of his pouches and leaned over from the front seat to free their hands. This at least made Isobel quiet down and allowed Jack to speak. He told them that he had come to get them, and that he and Kenny were not with Richard. He explained briefly what had happened at Faslane and how the Army had used the Militia as cannon fodder. He explained carefully that he had had some prior warning from a team leader that there was some hidden agenda among their military colleagues, and when he had spoken to Samantha yesterday she had told him about the regional commanders renaming themselves governors.
‘You knew?’ said Isobel. ‘Why didn’t you do something to stop him? It’s a fucking disaster.’
‘No!’ said Jack. ‘I didn’t know. I had some snippets of information, but I was not sure what it meant. I couldn’t go against him on a guess. On the plus side, it did allow me to put things together quickly today and come rescue you.’
Isobel was not mollified. ‘You should have done more, sooner.’
‘Think about it,’ said Jack. ‘What could I have done? Challenged Richard? Take on the Army? Raised the alarm?’
‘Perhaps telling us would have been a start,’ said James.
‘I considered it, but I could not see the benefit. There was nothing you could have done either. I could have gone public, but independence would have been gone for ever. The movement would have all been dismantled, and we would all be in prison awaiting trial on terrorist and treason charges. Scottish Independence would never be possible. They would always have had a remit to squash any hint of freedom on the basis of an armed uprising.’ He paused, but Isobel still looked angry.
‘I didn’t have much time to decide, but I decided to do nothing. What would you have done?’ He glanced at Kenny. ‘But I did not know that the Militia, my Militia, would be so badly used.’
‘So,’ said James, ‘we are sitting in a car here while Richard is at Holyrood. Do you have a plan?’
‘We contacted the team leaders as we travelled. Just to sound them out, but as you know most of them were Army appointees. We were a little more forthcoming with the team leaders who were not ex-Army. Unfortunately, they are in Oban, Perth, or further afield, so not much immediate help, but they are with us. I’ve arranged for four armed sections to be ready to arrest the regional military commanders, and they are heading for the correct areas but with orders not to do anything yet. Another team is heading to Edinburgh. These teams are in the north, so it will be a few hours before they are all in position.’
‘Do you know these commanders?’ asked Isobel. She had still not quite accepted that Jack was sincere and on their side.
‘Yes, they were there at some of the meetings about the Militia with Richard, but I didn’t think they were anything other than that. Samantha says he calls them Regional Governors.’
Isobel was still suspicious. ‘And how come you know Samantha so well? So well that you can phone her for information concerning Richard?’
‘We, uh, sort of got on. Hard to say, actually.’
‘You had a relationship with Samantha?’
‘No. No, nothing like that. I thought she needed help as she was completely under his control. I was pleased for her when she left him, but I hadn’t heard from her for a while until the phone call yesterday.’
Isobel seemed to accept that. ‘Remind me how many of these governors are there?’
‘Six. According to the plan, Richard and Colonel Hardie – the governor for the central region – should be in Edinburgh. Richard retained the capital and Fife for himself. Argyll, Highland, Glasgow, and South, are the other four. The South commander is in Hawick, as he is commanding the Army units that have closed the border, so he will take longest to reach.’
‘Yes,’ said James, ‘there was a Colonel in Bute House with Richard. Good thinking about the teams. Once they are in position, we should hold them back until we know what’s to be done. We don’t want to start a shooting war with the Army.’
‘Richard is against us,’ said Isobel flatly.
James thought for a moment. ‘Nothing else to do but go to Holyrood, arrest Richard and the Colonel, and try to get the plan back on track.’
‘But we have no strength at all now,’ said Isobel, her voice rising.
‘Yes, but Richard does not yet know that we know… uh, if you see what I mean. We have a window of opportunity,’ said James. ‘It may not matter; we did not have much strength before anyway. We take over the MSPs as planned, and then give a general order to stand down the Army and return it to barracks. Or get Richard to do that.’
‘Richard is totally against us!’ shouted Isobel. ‘He imprisoned us, for god’s sake. He was probably going to have us killed.’
‘We don’t know that,’ said James.
‘I fucking do,’ said Isobel. ‘The man has lost it.’
Jack caught Kenny’s disbelieving shake of the head and understood. ‘We may have to do a lot more than ask politely. The only thing we can do is push on, keep the momentum going, and see how it pans out.’
‘Agreed,’ said James. ‘Jack, take us to the Parliament – no more delays. We still have some time before two o’clock; that is if the Army has not frightened the MSPs away.’
‘Let’s go,’ said Jack. ‘Are you two armed? We have two assault guns and a pistol.’
‘No.’
Jack handed his pistol to James. ‘Just in case.’ James stuck it awkwardly into his waistband.
Chapter 22
IDay
Jack drove cautiously up to the Parliament Building. He had not seen it before other than on the TV, and it was just as bad in real life as on the screen. There were ugly, blocky, pixel-shaped panels mixed with intrusive security fencing, and those terrible, uneven, unordered, poles scattered haphazardly across the façade and windows were surely a joke aimed at the Scottish people and, in particular, every Scottish architect.
At least it had not been turned into an Army camp like Bute House. There were no Army trucks or armed soldiers surrounding the building, only the General’s large black staff car with a pennant mounted on one wing showing his commanding general insignia and a St. Andrew’s flag on the other. Richard had been smart enough to ensure it looked as little like a military takeover as possible. There was a gathering of what must be MSPs outside, talking nervously to each other in small groups. Two military policemen in red caps and smartly turned-out dress uniforms kept a watchful eye on the crowd. They were armed only with holstered side-arms; no rifles were to be seen.
Jack parked behind the staff car. As they exited, Jack said, ‘Walk like we belong, like we own the place. We find Richard and we arrest him. Kenny, you’ll act like my driver/bodyguard as we did at Bute House. We’ll leave the other rifle in the car. You ready?’ Kenny understood what he meant and dipped the barrel of the assault rifle in reply.
‘Yes, let’s go, first we stop Richard, and then we follow the plan,’ said James.
Jack led the way to the main entrance. The security desk was empty, but the space behind it was occupied by a mixed group of worried looking security guards and police who had been relieved of their weapons. Two military policemen guarded them. They, like their comrades outside, were also dressed smartly and were armed only with side-arms. These guards ignored them as they entered. A corporal and another military policeman manned the inner door down the corridor. Jack was again impressed that Richard had decided to keep overt military presence to a minimum. But what resistance could there be?
‘MSPs?’ The Corporal asked. ‘Go through with the rest. Be in your seats by two pm.’ And he waved Isobel and James through. The Corporal eyed Kenny’s battle dirty demeanour as though he was going to tell him no weapons were allowed in the building, but Jack intervened.
