John and his team continued hitting Conpens and Stapo patrols. Several banks had been cleaned out and yet John did not feel he was hitting hard enough. His fighting group had grown considerably which meant he had sufficient forces to do much more. He wanted to start hitting Garside where it hurt most, which was his credibility with the business community, especially those from overseas who saw the UK as an easy way to make a fast buck. His dilemma was that in hitting the economy he would also jeopardise jobs. He decided that investment bankers, stock dealers and foreign-owned utilities who just imported what they sold in the UK at inflated prices with little employment involved would be his main targets. His plan was to “lift” some key figures, frighten the life out of them and encourage them to abandon Garside. John called a meeting with Terry and left a signal for Graham to join them. He thought that if his plan worked the best outcome could be a better deal for the people employed, less greed and corruption.
Graham Johns walked his usual route to work and saw the bent nail innocuously placed in the tree just above head height. Essentially, it could have been what remained of a poster or advertising leaflet but Graham knew differently. He made a point of noticing it every time he passed by and it was always in an upright position. It was at right angles on this occasion and meant that he needed to attend an emergency meeting.
‘So, what do you think?’John outlined his plan; Graham and Terry listened intently.
‘You’re serious? You want to kidnap some major captains of industry, scare the shit out of them and hope that they will drop their support for Garside!’ Terry asked incredulously.
‘You got a better idea? Garside is still running the country, we continue to live in a Police State, individuals are disappearing and we see our communities suffering on a daily basis. So I must question whether what we are doing is working. If you can offer an answer Terry, I would be grateful.’ John was indeed serious.
‘You’re right John I don’t have a better answer, but I’m unsure that your plan will have the desired effect.’
‘What about you Graham?’
‘I know Garside would be spitting mad at his meal tickets being frightened off and maybe, just maybe it might force him to consider what he is doing. On the other hand, it could enrage him so much that he over-reacts and does something stupid.’
‘Like what? Terry asked.
‘Call a crisis meeting; declare a state of emergency, dusk till dawn curfew and the worst scenario he could hand over the control of law and order to the army.’
John responded, ‘to a point I think you’re right Graham but handing over to the military and imposing curfews may well scare off his source of income even quicker than we could. That may be just what we want; let him be his own undoing. However, if the military took control it would make our objective virtually impossible.’
They discussed the proposal at length and the trio agreed to establish a set of targets putting forward the outline of a plan.
As Graham was about to leave John said to him, ‘I need the addresses of the five politicians who were removed from the cabinet; I want to contact them. I’m hoping that they have the guts to help us form a new interim government when the time comes. This time it really will be an interim government and we will see to it that they put our democracy back together again.’
Graham was quick to provide the information required by John and they discussed the five ex-Cabinet member’s current individual situations. Alex Carrington had retired to the country and as far as was known he was not active in any sphere. William Boyce had returned to banking and by all accounts was back in favour with Garside. Edward Grainger had left the country and his whereabouts were unknown. Timothy Harcourt was living on his farm in Oxfordshire and finally, Gregory Harper had retreated to his apartment in Kensington Park Gardens and believed to be a virtual recluse. He was very rarely seen, has his shopping delivered and if he does go out it’s at night.
‘I believe we should pay a visit to Mr Harper as our first port of call,’ John announced. ‘I just have a feeling that he may be the most productive. Then to a day on the farm with Mr Harcourt. No point in attempting to contact Grainger unless he decides to return to this country and as far as Boyce is concerned, it would seem likely that he is back in Garside’s pocket. We need Carrington’s address to give us three possible political allies, which just may be enough to generate some political energy against Garside if we can get them on our side.’
The group spent a considerable time debating how they would approach this task. John was in favour of going in under cover of darkness and escorting Mr Harper to the nearest underground station, which would be Notting Hill Gate. There were three routes in the interchange that gave them options for escape in the event they needed it. As the target lived alone, it was probably easier to speak to him at his home but the risk was that he could resist, kick up a fuss and have neighbours alert the authorities. John believed he needed uninterrupted time to tell him what they were about and why they wanted his help. If he were right about how he thought this ex-politician felt about the way he had been treated, then he knew there would be little persuading to do. John decided to take the risk and speak to Gregory Harper at his home. They would get their team together and carry out the task tomorrow night.