Chapter 61

Betts made his exit in the white Ford Transit van that he had picked up from the self-hire van garage on the approach road into Portsmouth.

Fidgeting in his driver’s seat and very aware of the value of the goods contained in the rear of his vehicle, he headed to the rendezvous with Natalia, the leader of the South American supply operation. Together they would meet the UK controller. The time had come. It sent shivers down his spine.

Having pointed a loaded pistol at the pilot of the helicopter back in the Alpine wilderness in order to facilitate his escape from the clutches of Lieutenant Archie Malcolm’s naval squad, Betts needed to ensure that he remained invisible until the end of his own operation.

He only received his entire fee when the crack team set up to hunt them all down was called off. Having disposed of Kevin, James and Nick, he was determined to do what was required to receive the remainder of his money.

The roads were a little icy at this time of night, the weather having been cold over the last few days. It was only a short hop to the small freighter terminal but Betts wanted to ensure that he did not have a tail. He therefore wove the van around the edge of Southsea from the Student Union, carrying out a quick loop into the cobbled streets of Old Portsmouth.

If there was anyone following him, they would not be able to hide away from this manoeuvre. A tail would still have to know which direction he was taking, and have to show himself somewhere within the small cobbled streets of the Old Town. All appeared quiet and Betts relaxed a little.

He turned onto the main dock road which led to the temporarily constructed freighter port. He could not shake off his excitement. It was truly momentous for him. An ordinary Navy man who had been dedicated to his country and his current employers, the Royal Navy, but now to have woken up to an alternative and much larger source of income. Yes, few would be prepared to have carried out what he had done. Murder, yes, he would always have to live with that, but then his morals had left him many moons ago.

Single for most of his adult life, Betts had travelled the world, visiting most of the great sea faring ports and sampling everything that they had to offer. Whilst being single, it did not mean that he had not enjoyed the company of the fairer sex. His life on board meant that he had plenty of time to speculate over his next conquest. Too much time, it had turned out. His appetite for sex had become an obsession, a compulsion to sow his wild oats across the globe, and his own black book grew and grew until he was rarely concentrating on the real work that he undertook.

Even now, his mind wandered back to the much talked about Natalia. She was a phenomenon. Betts had been on a frigate many years ago that had called in at Lima, Peru. He had been given shore leave and what an episode it had been. He vividly recalled the excitement of the bars and nightlife in this South American capital. He also remembered every moment because, in one of the seedier centrally located bars, he had been introduced to the Morales brothers. He had met these young wolves and kept up with their drinking. They had been impressed.

For Betts, it was a routine evening away from work until they asked him for a favour. The favour had seemed fairly innocent and easy at the time. It was to smuggle some of their goods back to the UK and pass them on to be sold at a profit. The Morales gave him the contact to meet up with and to deliver the necessary cut into the Morales bank account.

Over the years, the Morales had helped to keep Petty Officer Betts going, and fuel his expensive taste for women. That one occasion he had met the Morales brothers, had been the only time. The Morales had been careful to distance themselves and contact was always made thereafter using their chain system.

He had dreamt and fantasised about the legendary Natalia, and at last he was to be meeting her. His heart skipped a beat and he instinctively put his right foot further down on the accelerator.