Alex and Jason waited for their father to arrive at Goodge Street deep shelter. Jason hated the way he and his brother were protected by their dad. Most of the missions they were sent on were relatively safe and if they weren’t dad saw to it that Terry watched over them. ‘I just want to be a soldier like all of the others, not treated specially and mollycoddled.’ Jason would often say. Of course, he knew why his father was overprotective having lost his wife and their mother. He was determined not to lose any of his sons.
John entered the tunnel and warmly greeted his two sons. ‘Let’s go and grab a cup of coffee and we can have a chat.’ John seemed buoyant. The three men walked on to where a group of men were standing around a warming coffee pot ‘ok if we join you?’ John asked.
‘Of course Sir, you know you’re always welcome, grab a stool. We’re about to leave now to join up with the rest of the section.’ One of them replied.
‘Good luck and keep safe guys’ John said as they left. Terry Bayliss, JD and Mal then joined the group.
John suddenly looked sullen and addressed his sons, ‘I need to warn you both that things are going to get extremely difficult for us all over the next few months. I believe we will take many casualties and may even lose this war. I think you should think carefully about getting away, perhaps to France or Germany before the exit points get blocked.’
‘Why Dad? What’s brought this on?’ Jason asked.
‘I was led to believe that there was a chance that the Police were withdrawing their support for the establishment under Mr Slattery. He is now dead; shot by one of his own men. It would appear that his temporary successor has stopped any policy changes and so they remain in their current role, that is to say, loyal and at the beck and call of Garside.’
‘But that’s not a problem dad. You’ve fought the Stapo and all it stands for for years, what’s different?’ Jason argued.
‘Yes I know we have taken on the Stapo and have been for the most part, successful but now there is a new threat. A new Army Commander is in control and by all accounts is ruthless. He is determined to stop further desertions and has demonstrated his intentions by executing a young soldier for trying to join us. He has vowed to use all of his power and resources to find us and wipe us out. He particularly wants to get hold of JD. Garside is so worried by our success and anti-government murmurings coming from the general public that he has virtually given this General a blank cheque to seek us out and destroy us.’
Alex spoke for the first time ‘If we got out would you be coming with us?’
‘No Alex, my place is here to try and finish what I started.’
‘Then you are unfair to ask us to run away just because it’s going to get tougher. I’m not going to do that dad and I don’t need to ask Jason; I know what he will say.’
Terry interrupted ‘Listen, boys, you’ve already lost your ma; your father does not want to take the chance of losing either of you. Get out now while there is an opening. If we fail here then at least, you two will be a bit older and can carry on the fight.’
Jason responded ‘Terry if you fail here it is likely that you will all be dead, including my father. Yes, you’re right we lost our mother so you can bet your arse we are not going to lose our father, not as long as we have an ounce of strength left in us. He stays and fights then so do we. And just one other thing dad, we do not want any special treatment. We’re in this just like anyone else.’
Terry looked at John with a knowing glint in his eye and said ‘they are their father’s son’s right enough!’
‘Ok you two have it your way but promise me this, you will be careful and obey your section commander. Do not do anything foolhardy or get involved in any John Wayne antics.’
‘Who’s John Wayne?’ Alex asked innocently. The group with the exception of Jason and Alex laughed heartily.
‘Mal, I’d like you to show the boys some of your tricks of getting into vehicles and hotwiring them. It’s should be part of their training and the skill will be useful later.’
‘Ok boss. Let’s go guys. I’ve got a car just outside the station and hidden above ground; I think we should be ok.’
‘Terry, JD, I want to discuss with you a particular operation I want to complete before the heat gets turned up, but before then I think a visit to Belsize Park would be in order. Let’s find out how our Interim Government is getting on.’
For security reasons all of the trip was underground and took about two hours but it enabled John and his senior commanders’ opportunity to speak to guards and resting sections they met along the way. Moral was high and John was surprised given the losses they had suffered recently. He put it down to the increasing number of professional soldiers joining their ranks. JD now had slightly more than a Platoon of men under his command.
Belsize Park deep shelter was a blaze of lights and frenetic activity. People were seen hurrying from one desk to another giving out papers and taking papers in return. Many civil servants had joined the ranks and so mini-ministerial departments had been formed. Treasury, Health and Education departments busied themselves formulating operating procedures. There was even a Foreign Office department headed by Edward Grainger. He was keeping a watchful eye on international developments through his contacts in France.
Greg Harper rose from his desk and warmly greeted John and his colleagues, ‘Thanks for dropping by John. We have lots to tell you.’ The group sat around a large makeshift table made up of several smaller tables.
John asked ‘what’s your progress, Greg, how close are we to producing a workable constitution?’
To John’s surprise, Greg Harper wheeled out an overhead projector and proceeded to brief John, Terry and JD on what they called their 21st century Magna Carta. ‘It’s still not complete’ Greg said ‘but we’re nearly there. The main point of it is that as soon as the organisation is in place then democratic elections will begin. When a new government is properly elected by the public then we, the Interim Government, will step aside. The Constitution will never again allow a single party or individual to have power over the citizens of this nation. We have been in touch covertly with the King in Antigua and he has pledged his full support. By the way, he is aware of what is going on here and wanted to return but his request was refused because it was too dangerous.’
Greg went on to explain other elements of “Magna Carta 21”. The NHS would be re-invigorated, corrupt business owners would be banned. Their assets confiscated, empty or partially used factories would open as co-operatives with Government financial assistance, any individual would be allowed to rent a machine and space around it to produce goods. Containment Pens will be dismantled and never allowed again. The judiciary will only be appointed when they commit to the charter; any that do not commit to it will not be allowed anywhere near a court. A major rebuild of schools and hospitals will take place and...’
John interrupted ‘hang on a minute guys, this country is currently bankrupt where is all the finance for this coming from?’
‘Yes, we understand that all of this cannot happen overnight. But we do believe that when the International community becomes aware of our intentions and Garside and his cronies are ejected they will come to our aid, we’re sure. Edward has already put out some feelers regarding IMF loans and he’s getting some positive feedback.’ Gregory Harper spoke with an infectious enthusiasm. ‘There is much more to do John and even with International aid, assuming that was forthcoming, there will be hard work and hard times ahead for everyone I guess for many years to come. But we believe there will be renewed hope and enthusiasm and an energy that will be the engine that drives success.’
‘Greg, from what I have heard so far I am really optimistic that the framework you have outlined is a fantastic way forward. I just hope we can achieve the platform for you to implement it. We have to make sure nothing stands in your way. Please continue the good work.’
John and his team left and he thou
ght, ‘I just hope that all of their efforts will not be in vain. With the Police and Army still supporting Garside, it’s not going to be easy.’
Back at Goodge Street, John, JD and Terry sat in the small command centre. Reports were coming in of frequent engagements with the military and the police. The Army had limited Judge’s units’ activity by covering the entrance and exit points to many of the underground stations. Every time a unit emerged from a jump off point, the Army was waiting, opening fire and driving the rebels back underground. There were invariably casualties. John asked Paul Cobb, his explosives man, to provide alternative exits to those that had been established. This gave the units the ability to go above ground and outflank the Army or Stapo. General Carsforth was reasonably pleased; he was limiting the insurgents’ activity and at the same time reducing their numbers. He was unconcerned that some civilians were killed in the crossfire. He was more worried that despite his showcase execution of Rifleman Woodbridge, there were still some desertions. He needed another demonstration to reinforce his point.
He didn’t have to wait very long.Late one evening, three infantrymen were stopped attempting to leave the camp. They had learned from the incident with Rifleman Woodbridge that they should leave their weapons and equipment behind. They wore their civilian clothes and for all intents and purposes were skipping out for an unofficial night out on the town. After their capture, they were confident that all they would get was a minor slap on the wrist. Carsforth held his tribunal in their absence and declared them guilty of desertion. Their fate was sealed. They were to face a firing squad in front of their peers in two weeks. They were given no leave to appeal. The men’s’ Battalion Commander Jock Fraser was incensed and by keeping his true thoughts to himself he ostensibly was seen to support Carsforth’s court ruling. Secretly he could not condone this grave injustice and unnecessarily punitive punishment. He visited his men in prison and was shocked by their condition. He knew that they were about to desert on the night of their capture but still felt the firing squad was not the way to punish them. They didn’t beg for their lives or make excuses to him, but he could see that sleep had abandoned them for the days and nights since their trial. He scoffed at himself for calling it a trial; it wasn’t a trial it was a travesty. This relatively young Colonel vowed to try to delay the macabre carnival that was to be enacted in one week’s time.