The small convoy of truck and trailer and the last of the useful Toyota vans from the fleet they had inherited at the site began to move out of the compound. Lead units had already left and were located at strategic points along their proposed route to Higashimachi. The giant engine of the Volvo truck powerfully growled in tune with the driver as he quickly worked his way up through the gears, picking up speed as the machine led off in the direction of their ultimate destination that night.
The crane had already been dispatched a few days earlier, using a legitimate haulier to transport the unit to the port side, where it had been unloaded and parked at a prearranged area away from general view. The unit was now making its way under its own power down to the dock side in readiness for its next vital role. Its task, to remove the boat and its precious cargo and place it into the waters of the port.
Nam had been concerned about the disappearance of the covert team sent to the Mill, but nothing would be allowed to interfere with the mission. The order from control was to proceed with the plan as previously arranged. This meant that no changes were deemed necessary to timelines or any of the many specific elements needed to complete this final phase. The only change was Control’s insistence that security would be increased. Additional covert personnel would be put in place along the route to add further layers of protection for them and their uniquely valuable asset.
The mission’s general security was now fully under his command, but he readily agreed with their suggestion and the extra teams were already moving into place. Despite the concerns, his confidence had been buoyed by how well the plan had worked so far. He was sure that within the next few hours they would have successfully launched their precious ward. However, that held conviction started to be challenged when they had travelled half the distance to their objective. As they followed a long bend in the highway, they were confronted by a neat row of decapitated heads laid out across the road in front of them. It was a gruesome sight; some of the men still wearing dark woolly hats with balaclavas beneath and one still had his headset clamped to his ears.
On being confronted by this human speed bump, the driver began to change down through the gearbox, slowing the vehicle and its precious cargo down, accompanied by a crescendo from the revving diesel engine and sharp blasts from the air brakes being applied.
Nam screamed at him to speed back up immediately. The driver duly complied. Putting his foot down on the accelerator he rolled the truck over the heads with a series of sickening crunching splats. He then started to hit a pile of decapitated bodies, that had been left in a heap.
As they watched in horror, the front of the truck hit them with a sickening meaty smack. They were so engrossed in the ghastly spectacle before them, neither of them noticed in the rear view mirror a squat man with a large sword tucked into his belt, narrowly missing to gain a foothold on the rear of the trailer.
Takada swore loudly as the truck disappeared around the bend without him. A complete lower jawbone that belonged to one of the heads, had come to rest with its chin on the floor and a perfect set of white teeth pointed upwards. It seemed to be taunting him with its half grin.
‘Your yanking my chain, you little fucker,’ he said, launching it skywards with a kick.
He jogged back to where he had hidden his noodle van as the trailing HiAce went by in the Semi’s wake, followed by the screeching of tyres as it too tried to manoeuvre around the now compressed bodies of their comrades.
‘How many of those fucking vans are there!’ Takada exclaimed as he wedged his sword down the side of the passenger seat. Firing up the compact three-cylinder engine, he sped out onto the road, the miniature van slewing from side to side as it accelerated in pursuit. The large transporter maybe restricted to the wide main highways, but he was not in his considerably more compact vehicle. He pulled off the highway onto the network of narrow lanes used by local farmers to service their fields. If he could remember all the routes, he may just beat them to the port.
As he watched the large unit followed by the HiAce scream across the junction in front of him, Takada realised that his recollection of the farm lanes had not been as reliable as he had hoped. He pulled back in behind them, the fishing boat towering over the surrounding buildings as it sped through the streets of Higashimachi.
He now had no choice but to let the convoy run its course to its destination, then come up with a new plan from there. However, with all elements of surprise now lost it was going to be a challenge to work out how he could stop the launch on his own.
He pulled back out of sight and let the convoy roll on. There was no danger that he was going to lose it now.