Chapter 3

David Melville seemed to deflate as he finished telling his story, the sullen attitude with which he had entered evaporating. He and his four colleagues had been the ones to organise the protests after they were included in the second round of job cuts. All the employees affected by the lay-offs had been given a minimal notice and a loop-hole in company policy meant that most of them had left with only a month's salary despite most of them having over ten years of service. Their protests had been peaceful, consisting of petitions, lobbying local officials and protest marches. There had been no violence yet he and the others had been arrested and charged with disturbing the peace and unlawful assembly. The police had seemed to know exactly who to arrest.

Greg listened intently as David explained. "The whole thing was crazy. There was no valid reason for the job cuts. Business was booming. The outlook was great. Okay there was an operating loss but the marina was full and there was a waiting list for slips. We'd put forward a plan for expanding it, including a new yacht club, restaurant and sailing school. The new cruise terminal was up and running and we're looking at breaking even this coming year. There were also plans for a helipad on port lands most of which are still largely unused as well as a sports complex and luxury hotel. A large portion of land was being sold off to the fuel companies, the monies from which were to fund various projects. Yet the board put a stop to all our plans, said it couldn't afford them and suddenly we were all out of a job." David turned tear-filled eyes to the men listening to him. "It hit a lot of people hard. Good people! One minute we were hard-working employees fighting to save the company and the next we were on the street with criminal records for something we didn't do. It was tough making ends meet. Suddenly we couldn't afford to heat our houses, clothe our kids. Some people lost their homes. One guy even killed himself; he was so ashamed that he could no longer support his family. And then to cap it all the board decided to renovate the building. They're spending thousands of dollars doing up that old building starting with the executive floor, of course. New décor, new furniture, and a fancy new conference room with all the latest gadgets while good men and women were standing outside demanding to know why their jobs were being cut."

"How does your father fit into all this?" asked Greg gently.

"Several months ago just after the others and I were arrested he came round to see me. He was asking all sorts of questions about the board members and the executive officers, and where various meetings were held. I asked him why but he wouldn't tell me but he said that something was going on and he was going to make it right. That's when he got together with Ross Blaine and Bobby Hunt."

"Joshua Blaine and Brian Hunt's fathers?" David nodded. "Could the other men inside be related to Michael Samson and Harrison Brown?"

"It's possible but I don't know."

Greg thought for a moment. "Do you know where your father would get hold of Semtex?"

David's eyes almost fell from his head as he stared at Greg. "Semtex? As in explosives? No! No way!" He stared at the officers. "He wouldn't use explosives. I can't even believe he's got a gun. It has to be one of the others. My dad was an accountant for crying out loud. He worked for the audit commission. He only just retired last month."

Kira's voice crackled in Greg's ear. He thanked David and acknowledged her call. "Okay I reached out to City Hall and mentioned the name Curtis Melville. It's set all sorts of bells ringing. It seems that he was encouraged to take early retirement. Just before his departure, he had been asking a lot of awkward questions. And ruffling a few feathers. Rumour is that he had some damaging material about the harbour management authority's board of directors including financial mismanagement, misconduct and fraud."

"Okay, thanks Kira." An idea was forming in Greg's mind as to what Captain Ahab's intentions were but he needed to get inside that building. "Spike, Lou, how are you doing?"

Spike looked up. "I've got an idea but I'm not sure we'll fit." Greg arched an eyebrow. "According to the plans the main electric, hydro and fibre-optics are laid in an access tunnel that leads from the main road directly under the building. If this is to scale it should be a little under three feet square." Spike's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Check it out?" he asked. Greg nodded. Spike and Lou slipped out as Wordy took Spike's place.

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Ed and Donna looked up as Spike and Lou headed towards them. Spike saw the press gathered behind the police line and the gates and, with a tip of his head, gestured that they should meet him out of earshot by the Portakabins. The four officers huddled together. Spike held out a small tablet computer. It showed a set of blueprints. "There's an access tunnel to the building for electric, hydro and fibre-optics."

Ed grinned. "Nice! Big enough for us to fit?"

Spike nodded. "It might be a bit of a tight squeeze but with any luck ..."

"Okay, where is it?"

Spike grimaced. "Ah? Well. Unfortunately it's not that specific ..." He pointed to the gate where the Channel 24 news team were preparing a report. "...it comes directly in from the gate and then angles in towards the building. There should be an access panel just before the angle. Sort of ..." He pointed towards the circle of squad cars. "...there somewhere but we can't just wander around looking at the ground. It might raise suspicions."

"There somewhere?" Ed asked incredulous as Spike shrugged an apology. "Very helpful. Well, fortunately, we have our own eyes in the sky." He flicked the microphone on his headset. "Sam, you there?"

"Still here."

"I need you to take a close look at the ground in front of the building. We're looking for an access panel to the hydro tunnel roughly half way between the entrance gate and the building. It comes in a straight line from the road and then angles off towards the building but I can't be more specific than that."

"Copy that."

While Sam was looking, Ed turned to Spike. "Where does it come out?"

Spike tapped the screen to bring up the plans of the basement. "In the basement next to the emergency generator and the boiler room. There's a maintenance room with the electrical panels and the switching for the phone lines."

"Ed?"

"Go ahead Sam."

"You're standing virtually on top of it. It's about thirty feet to your two, partly obscured by the front of the command truck."

"Copy that. Thanks Sam. You okay up there?"

"You mean apart from freezing my nuts off?"

The four members of Team One grinned at the kid's humour. "Hang tight Sam. We're going in."

"Copy that."

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Veronica Pelham did a short introductory piece to camera and then allowed Nick, her cameraman, to get a few general shots. As he did so she watched Ed Lane and his colleagues gather in a group their heads close together. Veronica narrowed her eyes. Something was going down. She watched them carefully as they all turned to look at the command truck. She wondered what they were planning. If only she could get closer. Suddenly they turned and walked towards the large black truck which was parked at an angle obscuring her view. She walked a way to her right to see round the edge of the truck but she couldn't see what they were looking at so she headed back in the opposite direction, the uniformed cops watching her every move. She tried to keep it casual. She followed the perimeter fence stumbling in her high heels as she crossed the rough grass. She was forced to look down to see where to step but when she looked back up she was surprised to see that the four officers were no longer in view. She was sure they had gone round the front of the truck but there was no one other than several uniformed officers who had retreated to the relative warmth of their squad cars. Veronica stared in amazement. "Where the hell have they gone?"

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"Oh man, it stinks down here!" Lou whispered under his breath clinging to the short ladder as he pulled the access panel closed above him. Ed shone a torch along the concrete tunnel. Spike peered over his shoulder and wrinkled his nose in the dank stale air.

"What can you see?" asked Donna.

"Not a lot," admitted Ed as he slung his weapon over his shoulder. The tunnel which was made out of concrete square sections was smaller than Spike had made out and at least half of it was filled with a series of pipes and bundles of wires that ran along the left hand wall. Some were protected by a fine mesh grill. Alongside was a narrow crawlspace. Ed looked back at Donna. "Ladies first?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement. She glared at him arching an eyebrow. He grinned and ducked his head down.

Spike dropped to his knees and watched Ed for a few seconds before following him into the space. "I don't have a good feeling about this," he muttered as he stared at Ed's rear a few feet ahead of him. "I hope there aren't any rats."

"Don't tell me your people have a thing about tunnels too?" Lou shook his head in amusement as Spike glared at him. "Look on the bright side Spike. At least we're not out in the freezing cold like Sam."

"More action. Less chat people." Greg's voice echoed over their comm's unit. "Is this going to work?"

"I sure as hell hope so," grunted Ed as he tried not to bump his head. His shoulders barely fit between the rough concrete to his right and the electrical cables to his left. "Because there is no way in hell I'm gonna be able to turn around."

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Carmen clattered around the kitchen dragging pans and dishes out of Jules cupboards.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" asked Jules somewhat aghast at her friend's determination to turn her kitchen into something resembling a culinary war zone. Sam would freak. He was the tidiest cook Jules had ever come across. Her stomach clenched at the thought of him. She had worked so hard to get onto Team One and she couldn't give that up, could she?

Carmen hauled a huge pot out of the cupboard causing Jules to wonder exactly how many people she thought she was cooking for. "No! Absolutely not! You need to rest. Have you had your medication?" Carmen fussed. Jules assured her that she was fine and she didn't need any. She sipped at her tea trying not to cringe at the strange herbal brew Carmen had brought her. Her stomach rumbled and Jules was surprised to find that she had quite an appetite. She hoped that Carmen's latest gastronomic adventure would turn out to be edible. Jules cringed as a pan clattered to the floor.

Jules grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels. She paused on a news channel and scanned the breaking news headlines. The news anchor spoke in a deep reassuring tone informing viewers that they were going live to the port lands. A handsome man with fine features and high cheekbones appeared. The tag line said his name was Sean Peters. Jules was about to change channels when she spotted the familiar cars in the background. Only half-listening to the reporter she focused her attention on the background. She spotted Spike and Lou emerging from the truck and walking away to a set of low buildings to converse with Ed and Donna. She felt a small spark of envy on seeing her replacement. Temporary replacement she reminded herself. Six weeks of physio and she'd be back. She wondered where the others were. The cameraman obliged her by panning across the scene slowly to a building where the word 'justice' was emblazoned across its façade in large red letters. The reporter was saying : "...where an unknown number of gunmen have taken hostages in what is believed to be the executive suite. This latest event follows a series of protests about job cuts during which several former employees of the authority were arrested and charged with a variety of offences under the public order act."

Jules scanned the scene with a critical eye. If Ed and the others were outside that meant they were Alpha and Beta teams so Greg would probably be in the command truck with either Sam or Wordy. There was little or no cover and the only vantage point would be the crane that stood in the background. Jules reckoned that Greg would have someone positioned up there. She shuddered thinking whoever it was would be frozen.

"Okay!" Carmen appeared by Jules. "What shall we watch while I cook? Knocked-up or Juno?" she asked.

Jules tried not to grimace. Neither, she thought. "You choose," she said. She watched as Carmen changed the channel and put in the DVD. Jules wished she could have followed the news report to see how Team One were faring. She hoped Sam was alright.

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A/N : Next update Monday. Hope it's okay so far. Thanks for reading.