“Yes Sir,” both Dixon and Watts reply.
“Our plan is a simple one in theory, but it heavily depends on what we find when we get to the target as the aerial pictures will only tell us so much. We fly to the target, which is an estimated ten-minute flight time, and we’ll recce the target area and eliminate any x-rays in the target area that may cause a threat, and then fast-rope onto the roof of the building. Josh and Alice will stay onboard the Lynx to provide air cover, so you two work with the two pilots to familiarise yourselves with the door guns, in case you need to use them.
“Once we are on the roof, the first thing is to make sure it is secure, Dan will brief you on the building layout and team areas in a minute.
“The following will stay on the roof to provide cover for the insertion team: Dan, Collins, O'Brien, Downey and Thomas, and again, Dan will give you your positions. That leaves the following as the insertion team to secure the safe: Dixon, Simms, Watts, Kim and me, understood?
“Yes, Sir,”
“Good, as soon as we have secured the contents of the safe, we get out and return to base. If you think this mission sounds easy, you are mistaken; we are going deep behind the enemy’s lines, the enemy is fearless and ferocious, and it will go to any lengths to get its prey and that prey will be us. There will be no backup, we only have a small window of time and this mission cannot fail.
I have full confidence in this team and I’m confident the mission will be a success, so let’s watch each other’s backs and get this done!”
“Yes, Sir!” the whole team replies with determination.
“Dan will now go through the building’s layout, team tasks and positions. All yours, Dan,” I finish.
Dan turns to the flip chart easel standing next to him, with a hand-drawn plan of the building drawn in black marker pinned to the front. He starts to brief the team on the building’s layout, including the roof and inner layout, paying particular attention to the layout of floor seven that the safe is on and Sir Malcolm’s office. He points out on the drawing and explains to each member of the team their required positions both on and in the building in detail, and their tasks. He goes through it again and again; any questions are answered until everyone is certain where they need to be and what they need to be doing.
Dan wraps up his part of the briefing with some words of encouragement before handing back over to me.
“Thanks, Dan. Right, everybody knows where they need to be and what they need to be doing and if all goes to plan, we could be in and out in less than thirty minutes. We all have to be prepared for the unexpected, however; cracking the safe is a major potential bottleneck. If we have to go to plan B and cut the safe out, it is going to extend our time on the ground considerably, but we have to hold our positions until it is done. One way or the other, that safe is coming back with us, understood?” I tell them all.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Okay, let's get moving, I want to be in the air A-SAP.”
The briefing quickly breaks up and everybody moves onto their next task with purpose. The first thing to do is to get the new equipment off the helicopters and the team gets to it, while they introduce themselves to the two pilots as they go.
The first thing I see coming off Buck’s Lynx is an oversized black hard plastic briefcase that I assume has the equipment Sergeant Dixon needs to override the safe’s electronic lock. He brings the case straight into the hangar and places it on top of his table before flicking the latches free and opening it up.
Corporal Watts is next to come away from the Lynx carrying a brand-new boxed plasma cutter, while Lance Corporal Kim brings up his rear carrying a gas bottle, that I take it the plasma cutter requires. They both come inside with their kit and they go over to the far side of the hangar to set it up, out of everybody’s way.
I have a sudden frightful thought when I see the plasma cutter come out of the box and they go to plug it into the wall; does the Orion building have power? It had lost power yesterday, before our retreat.
“Lieutenant,” I say urgently as I rush over to him.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Can we confirm if the Orion building has power, there was a power cut yesterday, because that plasma cutter is going to be a useless dead weight without it?”
“I hadn’t considered that; I’ll see what I can find out, straight away,” the Lieutenant replies, concerned.
“We can’t afford any delays, Boss, the forecast is saying the storm is getting worse by the minute!” Dan tells me from his seat in front of one of the monitors that has the MOD weather forecast on it.
“Is there any good news?” I ask, joking in frustration.
“Looks like it’s going to be fine tomorrow afternoon,” Dan jokes back.
“That’ll be right,” I reply.
While Lieutenant Winters makes some calls to try and get an answer on the state of Orion’s electricity, I ask Dan if we have any drones flying in the area that might give us some insight?
“Let me see,” he says as his hand reaches for the computer mouse. “I don’t know what it would show us; it is broad daylight,
