23 Harpenden Lane Redbourn Village
Hertfordshire UK
Lat = 51 degrees, 48.1 minutes North
Long = 0 degrees, 23.7 minutes West
Friday 30th December 1988.
Twenty-three thirty five hours GMT
Raid on AGB Research centre
Redbourn village is mentioned in The Doomsday Book made for King William the Conqueror in 1086.
Describing a parish little changed from Saxon times, yet then living under Norman rule, a well-established, thriving, and agricultural community.
Ramón and his four men had made good time on their flight into Heathrow, the house they were now in was a property that had been rented; the same one that had been used when he was last here a couple of weeks ago when Professor Hooke had been abducted.
Yesterday they had done some recognisance on the AGB Research Centre in nearby Harpenden and had discovered that it was closed down for the Christmas holidays.
The only security was at the main gate where there were two elderly security guards, it was apparent they took turns doing a mobile patrol around the facility.
Ramón had decided that tonight would be the best time to
enter the research centre, with that all five of them were now travelling in a rental Renault people carrier with Ramón driving.
They had found a lay-by on the B487 Redbourn lane a
quarter of a mile from the research centre, giving them access across a field and through the wooded area to the west of the research centre.
Ramón parked up in the lay-by and they all exited the vehicle and went to the back where Ramón lifted the tailgate.
Inside was a holdall bag containing their weapons.
Ramón did not expect any trouble; they were in England very different from the streets of South America, however he had not stayed alive this long without being extra careful.
Ramón opened the holdall that contained five AR-15 semi-automatic rifles.
The rifles had entered the UK on Ramón’s last visit having come in on a shipping container.
The rifle fires a small calibre 5.56 high velocity round at three thousand two hundred feet per second, with a 20 round staggered-column magazine, each man checked his weapon and inserted a magazine, they pulled the bolt back to engage the first round into the chamber, and a spare magazine was taken as back up.
The night was dry with clear skies, a new moon was
watching over the Earth with a frost beginning to form.
The men were wrapped up well but still could feel the cold biting at their bodies that were more acclimatised to warmer temperatures.
Ramón closed the tailgate and signalled the men to follow him across the open field.
A pair of eyes behind a pair of Zeiss night vision binoculars followed them across the field.
The man watching was Phil Warring one of six MI-5 operatives that had been watching the research centre for the past two days, five had clocked three of Ramón’s gang the previous day but as no attempt to enter the facility had been made, no action had been taken.
Warring reached into his pocket for his radio transmitter, “listen up everyone we have company and it looks like they are heavily armed.
Warring was aware they were heavily outgunned; MI-5 operatives did not carry weapons however in a nearby house a team of specialist firearms officers from the Metropolitan Police were on hand.
Hertfordshire police did not have any designated firearms teams, so it had been decided to utilise the Metropolitan Police force’s operational firearms support unit designated PT-17
Sergeant Paul Fleming was the leader of the six-man team,
he had been listening in on his radio transmitter and
heard Warring’s transmission, he pressed the button on the radio, “Sergeant Fleming to Warring over.”
Warring replied, “go ahead, over.”
“Let them into the facility; we will take them when they exit over.”
“Roger that,” replied Warring.
Fleming and his crew were kitted up with flak jackets, each man carried a Smith & Wesson model 28 revolver and a
Heckler and Koch HK-93 firing the point-223 calibre Remington cartridge from a twenty-five round magazine.
Thirty-one year old Fleming was a good six feet tall with dark close-cropped hair.
Born in Rhodesia he had served two years with the Rhodesian police up until nineteen eighty, when in February of that year general elections were held, that led to the election of Robert Mugabe the first prime minister of the newly formed Zimbabwe.
Fleming had a British passport and had left the country coming to England where he joined the Metropolitan Police the same year.
His radio crackled as a transmission from Warring came through, “Warring to Fleming they have reached the facility our eyes have them going to the South east side
over.”
Fleming replied, “Have your eyes on the security guards
over.”
“Yes both are in the guard station at the main gate, over.”
Fleming paused before replying, “okay Warring withdraw your people, and I don’t want them in the way and have someone disable their vehicle over.”
Warring replied, “roger that out.”
Fleming and his team moved out of the house in Flowton grove turning right immediately onto Hatching green.
Ramón and his men had reached the research centre rounding the facility on the Southeast side through another wooded area and were now fifty yards from the security main gate building off Hatching green.
Two of his men crept up on the guards, quickly entering the building and knocking both guards out.
One of them went over to the main control system and found the shutdown control; he flicked the switch and all the CCTV’s and the main alarm system were disabled, the other one snatched one of the unconscious guards security passes then both men hurried back to join Ramón.
The group headed for the main door, the security pass gained them access into the building.
Ramón pulled out a piece of paper with a diagram drawn by
Professor Hooke showing the direction to his office.
Ramón went up the main corridor turned first left and then second right finding the professor’s office second door down on the left.
The security key card accessed the office; Ramón switched on the lights he was now on his own at this point, two of the men had stationed themselves at the front door the other two just around the corner from the Professor’s office.
On the piece of paper was the combination to the office safe, Ramón dialled the combination in turned the lever and the door opened.
There were several documents in the safe but Ramón knew exactly what he was looking for and found it amongst the others; in a black folder with the words Project Reaper stencilled on it.
He quickly opened it scanning the pages, it looked a lot of gibberish to him but it appeared to be the documents he had come for.
He quickly slid the folder into one of his large coat pockets he closed the safe turned out the light and exited the door back into the corridor; re-joining his two men and they walked back to the main door where the remaining two men were waiting.
As Ramón approached the door one of the doormen
signalled with his finger to his lips to be quiet.
Warring and his team had pulled back a good distance however Warring was still able to see clearly with the binoculars.
He had seen the guards being disabled and the five men enter the main door to the building, at this moment two of the MI5 team were currently letting the air out of the tyres of the Renault people carrier.
Warring had communicated this information to Fleming over the radio.
Fleming and his team had reached the gatehouse about five minutes after Ramón’s men had disabled the two guards, they were now tactfully fanning out across the front of the main entrance using whatever cover they could find.
Ramón moved to the main door and spoke to the one whom had given the hand signal, “what is it Bernardo?”
“Señor I saw some movement over by the security gatehouse,” the man replied.
Ramón asked, “one of the guard’s maybe?”
“I don’t think so señor, there were several of them.”
Ramón reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a small set of binoculars the sort you would use at a sports meeting, with the clear night and the moon in its first quarter there was adequate light for him to see
reasonably well.
He scanned the area several times but was unable to
detect anything.
He spoke to Bernardo, “you and Chico go out and take a look we will cover you from here.”
Bernardo and Chico opened the door and moved cautiously outside.
As soon as they were outside with the door behind them still open a voice bellowed out, “armed police lay down your weapons and lie down on the ground now...”
Bernardo and Chico panicked they raised their AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and began to fire in the direction of the voice.
Fleming who had bellowed out the order was knelt down behind a car near the security gatehouse when several of the AR-15 rounds hit the vehicle shattering the side glass.
Fleming spoke into his radio, “open fire.”
The police firearms team opened up with their HK-93’s.
Both Bernardo and Chico took fatal hits the HK-93 Remington rounds knocking them both backwards of their feet.
Ramón and the remaining two had flung themselves to the floor as the glass in the door exploded inwards on top of them.
Ramón looked at the two men lying by him, “what I have
here is vitally important to sénior Verdugo, I am going to find another way out of here; cover me for five minutes and then make your own way out.”
Both men nodded their agreement.
Ramón assumed a crouching posture and scurried down the corridor, his two men Emilio and Felipe stood up and each let loose a hail of fire towards where they thought the Police were none of the rounds found any targets.
There was a moment’s silence as sergeant Fleming shouted to the two men, “You have exactly one minute to throw out your weapons and come out.”
Emilio looked at Felipe, “Senior Ramón did say give him five minutes; I think we are close to that Felipe, let’s get out of here.”
Both men scampered down the same corridor as Ramón had, leading to the rear of the facility.
Fleming looked at his watch and spoke into his radio, “all units move forward with extreme caution.”
With that, Fleming began moving between the surrounding cover, in his peripheral vision, he could see his team were also duplicating his moves.
No more shots were fired as the team came to within five yards of the door.
Fleming’s radio came alive, Warring to Fleming over.”
“Go ahead Warring!”
“One of the targets has just come out of door on the
South west side and is running across the fields.”
Fleming replied, “don’t approach he is heavily armed, just keep eyes on him.”
Warring was just about to reply when he observed two more of the group exiting from the same door, they stood there for a few moments, “roger that, two more have come out the same door but are not moving.”
Fleming replied, “has their vehicle been disabled over?”
“Yes all four tyres have been let down over.”
“Good work Warring, just make sure your men are well clear this could turn nasty, and get an ambulance down here for the two guards, out.”
Fleming pointed to his two point men and at the door, both men let rip a torrent of fire ripping it to shreds, they could now see clearly past the door and down a corridor.
He gave the order to the two point men to search the building and took the remaining four around the southwest side of the facility passing the gatehouse and across a large car park.
They quickly rounded the building to the southwest corner when they literally bumped into Emilio and Felipe.
All seven men instinctively raised their guns and
squeezed the triggers; bullets left the respective
barrels at high velocity speeds tearing into flesh
muscle and bones, the air was filled with cordite and smoke, when it cleared only three men were standing.
Fleming looked around; two of his men were down along with both Ramón’s men.
He quickly checked the two bad guys and confirmed they were dead he looked at his two own men and could see they were still both alive, albeit wounded, their flak jackets protecting their vital areas.
He spoke to one of his two men whom had survived “stay with them,” to the other one come with me.”
As Fleming moved away from the scene, he spoke into his radio, “Fleming to Warring over.”
Warring came back, “receiving over.”
“The two hostiles are dead; I have two men injured get more medical assistance on site, where’s the other bugger now?”
Warring replied, “I lost sight of him as he entered the wooded area directly in front of you, I don’t think he has come out, over.”
Ramón had not only heard the fire fight but had turned to see it; even at this distance, he could see that both Emilio and Felipe were down.
He was on his own now his mind worked rapidly, his
vehicle would certainly have been found and either
guarded or disabled, never the less the vehicle was
no longer a viable option.
He quickly looked around for his bearings; the road was a hundred yards to his left and ploughed open fields in front of him and to his right.
The road was not an option, presuming the police had deployed at the front and all the indicators so far suggested this; then the fields seemed to be the best bet, he looked over his shoulder and could see two shadowy figures moving in a zigzag pattern towards him two hundred yards away.
He began to run out of the woods into the ploughed fields, the earth was already hard from the frost; his biggest fear was losing his footing and falling to the ground with the risk of injury.
He quickly and carefully covered a three hundred yard stretch that brought him to a low hedge that he leaped over. He could see the road in front of him but he was now a good half a mile from the facility, he ran the fifth yards to the edge of the road and straight into the middle of the roadway as a car was coming along Redbourn lane from the direction of the research facility. He waved his left arm in the air with his rifle pointing at the approaching vehicle.
It was close but the driver stopped a few yards from
him.
Ramón ran around to the passenger side on the left opened
the door jumping into the passenger seat, he looked at
the man driving and pointed his rifle at him and said, “Drive.”
The driver re engaged the gear and moved away along the road towards the village of Redbourn quickly.
Ramón said, “ease up we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”
Warring had seen Ramón running across the open field and had relayed the information to Fleming; however he had lost sight of him after he jumped the hedge, he had moved to another position to get a better view but could not reacquire Ramón.
Fleming spoke into the radio his voice betraying the tell-tale sounds of heavy breathing, “Warring where is he over?”
Warring responded, “lost him after he jumped the hedge directly in front of you, I’ve rechecked but cannot see him over.”
Fleming replied, “standby over.”
Fleming and his team member moved to the hedge and gazed across the hedge all that was in front of them was the road fifty yards away.
Fleming spoke, “Warring have any vehicles passed along
here in the past couple of minutes?”
Warring thought for a moment, racking his memory for the
answer before replying, “yes, came his reply, a car did come past me a few minutes ago heading in that direction, over.”
“Any description,” replied Fleming.
“Negative on that,” responded Warring.
“Okay we will check this area, but I would bet my next month’s pay cheque he’s hijacked that vehicle and is well clear from here, out.”