Nick Rowan was finding the driving on the return journey easier in the sense that he was in the second car this time so could only match the pace set by Anson in the lead car. His main task was just lying up close enough to make sure no cars could swing in between his vehicle and the one in front.
Reynolds looking behind him nodded approvingly. "Rowan seems to know what he's doing," he said.
"He's sitting pretty close on our tail, sir," Jamieson said.
"Yes but this way no one can cut in between us," Reynolds pointed out.
In the third car Johnson was doing exactly the same thing. It was imperative the convoy was not split.
They made pretty good time and by 8:30pm were only about fifteen miles from Scarborough. Of course it was very dark by then. Jamieson had been, Reynolds noted, increasingly agitated, sweating and looking at his hands. Whatever was going on, Reynolds thought grimly, he would have it out of Jamieson when they safely got back to the station. But as they drove along Jamieson suddenly burst out, "I'm sorry sir!"
Reynolds turned to look at him. "Sorry about – what?"
"Matthews is going to be sprung. I've leaked the details about the operation. I don't know where or when but its got to be soon."
Anson, startled, took his foot off the accelerator slowing the convoy much to the puzzlement of the two drivers behind.
"Pull over!" snapped Reynolds.
Behind them Phil said to Nick, "They're pulling in."
Nick was barely listening he was looking for an indication. If they were having car trouble they probably wanted him to go on. But no, Reynolds was waving him down. He pulled in behind and then behind them Johnson also pulled in.
"Wait a moment." Rutherford got out of the car and approached the lead car. Reynolds and Jamieson were out of their car. Jamieson was hanging his head and Reynolds was white and trembling.
"Back in your car Rutherford. That's a bloody order!" rasped Reynolds.
Startled Rutherford returned to his car. "Something's going on," he told the other two constables, "just been told to get back in the car. No idea what's going on."
In the second car Matthews sat back in his seat with a smirk. Nick had put the internal car light on; he glanced at Matthews in the rear view mirror and then suddenly he knew. He didn't quite know how but somehow they had been compromised. Some sort of spring operation had been planned.
Phil saw Nick's hands tense on the steering wheel. "Nick?"
But Nick shook his head tersely. He glanced at Hodges in the rear view mirror and saw Hodges' mind was also racing to the same conclusion.
In the meantime Reynolds had hold of Jamieson by his collar and was pinning him against the car. "Talk or I'll knock it out of you!"
In the car, Anson sat back in his seat. He wasn't getting involved. In fact he was still too stunned by what he had heard to react to anything else.
Meantime Jamieson gasped, "All right! I'm in a mess. I'm in debt up to my ears – gambling debt. Got in too deep. I owe money to the wrong people Jim!"
"Matthews' people."
"I'm sorry. They said that telling them about the operation would wipe the slate clean. If I helped get Matthews out the debt's written off. But I don't know how they're going to do it or when."
Reynolds shook his head. "You've put all of us in the firing line. You know that? They're not going to just take Matthews and walk away."
"They told me no one would get hurt!" Jamieson looked down at the floor. "But I can't do it, I couldn't I lost my nerve.."
"When? When did you tell them?"
"You gave me the details before the briefing. I left the station to make a call.."
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Reynold reached into the car. "We're in range for Scarborough aren't we?" he said to Anson.
"Just about sir."
Reynolds radioed through. "Control this is DI Reynolds needing contact with DCI Bailey as priority using password HMS Endeavour. Closed channel please."
Nick and Phil exchanged glances.
"Something's gone wrong hasn't it?" Phil said to Nick quietly.
Nick nodded briefly.
"Reynolds'll sort it," Hodges told them but he wasn't reassuring anyone.
Back at the lead car, Reynolds listened as Bailey's voice came through the radio in clipped tones. "I'll get armed officers out to meet you," he said. "It may take a little time. Can you hide out somewhere?"
"More of a risk to do that sir. We could go back on ourselves but we're exposed on this road. We could be picked off from anywhere," pointed out Reynolds. "And if we leave the road we could end up trapped down some country lane. Our best tactic is to press on sir, and meet your boys coming up towards us to escort us in."
"All right. Good luck - and remember I want you all back safe. No heroics Jim."
Reynolds turned back to Jamieson. "Get in the car," he snapped. "You can consider yourself nicked by the way." He looked over at Anson. "Get the others out here. Tell Hodges to cuff Matthews to the inside of the car. I need him here as well. Come on, we need to move."
As the other lads gathered round by the roadside, Reynolds spoke sharply. "No time to waste. Jamieson has sold us all down the river. Leaked details of the operation to Matthews boys. I've got armed back up coming out to meet us, its not going to arrive any time soon. We need to press on and hopefully they'll meet us and escort us in. We've no other option. I'm sorry, all of you. This was never meant to happen." He looked at Nick Rowan, Bellamy and Hodges. "You three – you've got the target with you. You do what you have to but I don't want to lose any of you – no risks all right?"
They all got back in the cars silent and stunned. Hodges re-cuffed Matthews to himself. "Where and when Matthews?" he suddenly snapped.
"I'm not going to tell you that. But you want to watch yourselves. My boys don't take prisoners."
"And just how far do you think you'll get?"
"Far enough," Matthews replied mockingly.
It is hard to look out for danger when you don't know what form its going to take. The expectancy was something on the road to puncture a tyre. A rifle shot aimed at the car tyres would be possible except for the blanket darkness. The three drivers concentrated on moderating speed with looking out for any obstacles.
Reynolds began to breathe again as they covered ground without any trouble. Maybe they would do it after all. They rounded a tight bend …..and Anson found himself having to brake hard, very hard to avoid the tractor and trailer pulled across the road. It was a near thing, the rear of the car spinning and impacting with the trailer.
That left Nick Rowan with hardly anywhere to go. He swerved hard right and although he braked he could not stop the powerful car plunging into a ditch with considerably more force than Ashfordly's police panda car.
Behind them Johnson managed to avoid the carnage by braking hard and swerving left running the car up the banking on that side of the road. Desperately he tried to reverse but the wheels spun in the muddy ruts at the side of the road and he could not get leverage to reverse it.
In the first car, Anson sweating hard, had no time to even try starting his engine as on his side of the car two armed men appeared wearing balaclavas and began smashing out the windows…
In the second car, Phil Bellamy sat back in his seat a little dazed. The car was sloping downwards nose embedded in the ditch. He looked round slowly. Nick was slumped over the steering wheel.
"Oh God Nick are you all right?" Phil shook his colleague's shoulder hard.
Nick slowly opened his eyes and sat up raising a hand to indicate he was in one piece. "Yeah," he said putting a hand to his head. He had an egg sized lump coming up just above his eye. "Sarge?" He looked back at Hodges.
"I'm okay," Hodges then swore as two armed men appeared at the side of their vehicle and began to smash out the glass. Helplessly the three police officers put their arms up trying to protect themselves from the flying glass.
"Out of the car, out now!" one of the men screamed.
"Nick what the hell do we do?" Phil gasped.
"Do as we're bloody told," Hodges snapped. "This scum," he nodded at Matthews, "isn't worth dying for."
