looking at the floor. ‘How do we get up to the chopper?’ he asked.
‘Same way you came down,’ Binning replied.
‘Then let’s get rigged,’ Stratton ordered.
‘Do you mind if I have a brief word with my troops first?’ Jason asked. ‘Kind of a pep talk, really. You’re welcome to stay.’
Stratton checked his watch. ‘One minute. Let’s not keep the crew hanging around much longer or they may start making calls before we can get up there.’
Jason understood and faced his colleagues with some urgency. ‘You too, Rowena,’ he insisted.
Rowena got to her feet to join them, although a level of reluctance from her was still evident.
‘Up until now we’ve only fantasised about going live, as it were . . . getting stuck into a real operation,’ Jason began. ‘There’s a good chance it will now happen. Granted, it isn’t because of our renowned capabilities but due to a series of unexpected events. Nonetheless, it could put us in the spotlight as a team of operators as well as the boffins we already are. But I want you all to be aware of the risks involved. This may be a surveillance task but it is the nature of this business that when things go wrong it can be costly. I want you all to be completely sure that what it is you’re about to attempt is dangerous and that it could cost lives as well as save them. Frankly, if you’re not prepared to take such a risk for this opportunity you should not be embarking on this task. Am I clear?’
They all nodded.
‘Are you prepared to carry on with this task with the understanding that some of us may not come back?’
They each nodded in turn as Jason looked at them, Rowena last. She made him wait.
‘Good,’ Jason said, straightening up. ‘I’ll take you to the equipment room,’ he said to Stratton who was waiting by the door.
The storeroom was packed with special-forces operational equipment: a rack of hanging dry-suits, fireproof undersuits, a box of harnesses, boots, leather gloves and so on. ‘You guys are well stocked,’ Stratton said.
Jackson, a head taller than Stratton, was beside him, attaching a flare to a diving-knife sheath with a thick rubber band. ‘We trial every piece of equipment we design for special forces and the other clandestine departments in the conditions in which we expect them to get used. That means having similar operational equipment.’ He took his dry-bag and left the room to get rigged.
Stratton searched along another shelf. ‘Do you have any karabiners? ’ he asked the figure in the next row. As he looked between the boxes he realised it was Rowena. She pushed a box towards him through the shelving, gave him a cold look and went out.
Stratton sat alone on a chair. He pulled off his boots, followed by his outer garments, and climbed into the one-piece under-suit. After putting on a pair of rubber-soled climbing boots he got to his feet, ready to go. He picked up the bag containing his dry-bag and harness and looked for somewhere to leave his civvies. He spotted an empty shelf at the top against the far wall.
As he reached up and shoved the bag onto the shelf he heard someone talking softly on the other side of a door. He was about to step away when he recognised Jason and Rowena’s voices. Something about the situation, maybe a defensive suspicion of this crowd, and also the lowered voices, stopped him from leaving. He moved so that he could see through the narrow opening. Rowena and Jason stood close to each other, unaware of Stratton’s presence.
Jason placed his hands on the young woman’s hips and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her against him. She rested her arms on his shoulders, her fingers entwined behind his head. Their lips came together and they kissed passionately, their hold on each other tightening.
It was the point beyond which Stratton felt uncomfortable.
He headed back to the theory room, where he bumped into Smithy.
‘Hi,’ Smithy said fumbling with the fingerprint analyser. ‘I’m excited to be coming along.’
Stratton doubted that very much.
As they went in they saw Binning and Jackson in fireproof suits, looking ready to go. Binning held up a rigid laptop-sized plastic box. ‘This is the G43 overlook device.’
‘How will we block the Chinook’s comms?’ Stratton asked, interested in the more immediate problem.
‘Same device,’ Binning said.
‘You can do that from here?’
‘No. Nothing can transmit from down here except through the secure cabling. It’s already active.