Red Hawk Rising

whole action had taken less than ten minutes and the men moved quickly to clear the road on one side. The cars were started and the drivers executed three-point-turns and the cars were driven back towards Aviemore. A vehicle coming from Inverness was waved through and drove past with curious stares from the occupants. The prisoners were loaded onto the three-tonner and secured. Andy was carried into the ambulance and Murphy put in the cab while four others squeezed into the back of the ambulance. As the vehicles moved off, first aid was applied to Andy’s wound and he was made comfortable on the stretcher. The three-tonner and the ambulance were driven towards Inverness until they came to a forest track. They were reversed onto the track and then were driven out and back towards Aviemore. The three-tonner carried on while the ambulance pulled off the road near the bridge. Five of its occupants got out and then climbed over the fence and worked their way down the slope to the river, looking for Stan and the Russian. After thirty minutes of searching downstream they found no trace of either man. Flight Sergeant Bradley called off the search and the men made their way back to the road and the ambulance.

Driving back to Aviemore, Crombie radioed through to base camp and asked to be patched through to the office. He reported the situation. One of the MI5 men had been in the ambulance, supposedly the patient, and now he took control of the situation, saying that the prisoners were to be taken to the police station and held in the cells until they could be moved south. The other MI5 man had been in the three-tonner and now drove one of the cars back to Aviemore Hospital to report to Hamilton. After he had done that, Hamilton took him in to see Garasov and repeat his report on the situation. After listening to it all, Garasov said, “I know what would have happened to me. I would like to defect and I ask for political asylum.”

“That we can do and we will take care of you. Welcome to a new future,” said Hamilton.

Downstream, near Duthil, a man collecting firewood found two bodies caught on rocks in some shallows of the river, having been swept there by the current. One was dead and the other just alive. He appeared to be injured and suffering from hyperthermia. The man had rushed for help and the two men had been wrapped in blankets, put in a van and rushed to Inverness Hospital. Identification on the one who was alive showed him to be Corporal Stanier of the RAF. He was subsequently transferred to a RAF hospital.

Back at RAF West Sanby, the JSTU settled down to preparation for the spring trials. The media lost interest and the Russian attempts at getting information also seemed to have faded. New members of the unit being posted in, settled into being trained for the task ahead.

EPILOGUE

Corporal Andy Hill had a slow recovery since the thigh had been badly damaged by the bullet. He had sick leave and the rest of his disembarkation leave, much to the delight of one young lady. Once recovered, he was told by Air Vice-Marshal Denby that he was going to OCTU and no arguments. When the Walton twins had their twenty-first birthday, Alice and Officer Cadet William Andrew Hill became engaged.

A prestigious high school in Inverness appointed a new literature teacher with rather high academic qualifications. It was understood that she had come from an English university. Her husband set up a martial arts school and also trained young people in mountaineering. He walked with a limp and spoke with a hard-to-place accent.

Budget cuts by the British government caused the cancellation of the Red Hawk programme in favour of Bloodhound Mk. 2 surface-to-air missile system.

The End