Red Hawk Rising

the stairs, trying to avoid the creak on the second tread below the landing. They had an old terrace house with the toilet out of the back door. He put his clothes down on a chair and opened the back door and shivered. From the toilet he headed for the laundry sink and filled a basin with hot water for his shave. Eddy had tried an electric razor but decided that you couldn’t beat the old Gillette razor for a close shave. After shaving he washed and then dressed. In the kitchen, Eddy took the whistle off the kettle, filled it with water and lit the gas stove. For quietness, Eddy decided to have corn flakes followed by toast and marmalade. He’d make a flask of tea and a cheese sandwich to have while he was driving. Over the years he had learned how to drive with one hand while pouring a cup of tea from the flask with the other. By the time he had eaten breakfast and got everything ready it was nearly 6.15 a.m. and time to go. He went upstairs and wakened his wife and kissed her goodbye. She responded with a sleepy, “You be careful and come home safe.” He patted her and left the bedroom and headed out of the house. As the front door shut, she felt a chill go up her spine and she sat up in bed and prayed to God to bring him back safe and sound. Two streets away was the Foleshill Road and the bus that would take Eddy near Jennings Engineering. He caught the outward-bound bus that took him past the Courtaulds viscose factories and offices and to the industrial area where he worked. By the time Eddy got to the gates it was 6.45 a.m. He clocked in and headed for the storage area at the back of the factory. When he got there, Eddy found the factory manager and the foreman already there and checking the vehicle over. They greeted Eddy warmly and he joined them in the final checks. The manager gave Eddy the delivery and handover forms that the RAF had to sign and a copy returned to Jennings Industries. Eddy climbed into the cab and flicked the igniter switch down. He waited thirty seconds and then pressed the starter button. The diesel engine fired up with a roar and then settled back to a steady throb. A wave to those standing by and he put the vehicle into gear and headed out of the factory and down to the Foleshill Road. From there he would head for the A46 to Leicester and then north-east to Lincolnshire. As Eddy turned into the Foleshill Road, a small van pulled out from the kerb and followed him.

At about the same time, a car pulled out of the Russian Consulate grounds in Manchester with a driver and two passengers. One passenger was a staff member of the Consulate. The other was Trade Secretary Kharkov. The car took the road to Glossop and over the Pennines to Sheffield. There it travelled to the business district and parked at the offices of Trans Trade Import and Export Ltd. The time was 8.30 a.m. The two passengers and the driver entered the offices of the company. It was a company that traded with the USSR quite legitimately. Kharkov was introduced to the managing director and they shared tea in the Russian style and talked. The driver was directed to the staff rest room and offered refreshments. Thirty minutes later a delivery van of the company pulled out of the yard and took the road to Chesterfield. At Chesterfield it dropped off a delivery and then took the road to Mansfield. Once in Mansfield it again made a delivery and then travelled to Newark. Again, in Newark, it stopped to make a delivery. The time was a little after 11.00 a.m. After making the delivery, the van took the road to Sleaford and it arrived there at 11.50 a.m. and drove into a warehouse that had been empty until very recently. Two men alighted from the van. One of them was Colonel Sergei Kharkov of the KGB. Twenty minutes earlier the consulate car had departed from the offices of the import export company with two passengers and taken the road back to Manchester across the Pennines.

Eddy Dennis was making good time. He couldn’t exceed thirty mph because they were still running the engine in. About 11.00 a.m. he reached the outskirts of Sleaford and decided to have a break. He pulled into a lay-by where there was a caravan selling food and hot drinks. Several vehicles were already parked there with their drivers taking a break. He stopped behind a lorry loaded with timber, switched off the engine and climbed out of the cab. Eddy walked over to the caravan to buy something to eat. As he waited his turn to be served, a van pulled in behind his vehicle and two men got out. One of the men headed for the food van while the other waited beside their vehicle. Eddy bought a ham sandwich and a cup of tea. As he turned to walk away, a man bumped into him and spilled the tea from the cup. The man apologised and insisted on buying Eddy a replacement. Eddy stood back while the man placed the order. “Sugar?” the man queried of Eddy and received a reply of, “Two, please.” With his back to Eddy, the man sugared the teas and while he stirred them slipped a tablet into Eddy’s cup without being seen. He turned and handed Eddy his tea, apologised again, picked up the other two cups and walked back to the van.

Eddy walked back to his vehicle, sipping the tea. Back at the vehicle he climbed into the cab to eat his sandwiches and drink the tea. Suddenly, he felt fuzzy and his arms felt heavy. He dropped the cup and the sandwich