More troops suddenly appeared, all aiming their rifles at Doris. Seeing this, Marks sighed. ‘I guess we had better do as he says, gentlemen, I don’t think we have a choice, do we?’ He unbuckled his seat belt, grabbed his flight documents and walked towards the port exit.
Rowse hesitated, glancing discreetly at his chosen hiding place for one last time. Carrying the briefcase close to his chest, he hoped there were still enough effects inside it to not raise any suspicions. The two remaining crewmen followed behind Rowse as Marks opened the door and smiled at the stern-faced bearded soldier waiting outside.
Following lengthy interrogation, standing next to the aircraft in the intense heat, the crew gave their names, ranks and serial numbers, and the reason for their flight. Then, under armed guard, their hands above their heads, they were marched into the terminal building to join all of the civilians and airport staff that had been rounded up by the invading force.
An RAF driver, who had been sent to collect his man from the Foreign Office, was also there and on seeing the familiar sand-coloured tropical uniforms, went over to them. It would be another few hours before the people were allowed to board buses and take them out of the airport.
In that time, overhead, a sky battle ensued as Greek fighter jets had flown over, strafing Turkish positions. Also in the firing line, had been the main terminal building, and the parked Trident airliner. Finally, following a series of phone calls from Akrotiri, the RAF personnel were released.
Later, safe in their soft-top Land Rover and under escort by commandeered airport vehicles, they headed out for the UN post situated a few miles south to the island’s capital city. The Shackleton’s aircrew and Jack Rowse sat despondently. Distant explosions and gunfire could be seen and heard in every direction around them as Turkish Air Force helicopters began landing, offloading more troops.
George Marks scanned the airport. Beyond the perimeter, he could see billowing black smoke and heard heavy gunfire. Suddenly, he had a terrible feeling that this beautiful Mediterranean island, which he had enjoyed each time he had been posted here, would never be the same again. In his eyes, it had now become a war zone.
The jeep neared the airport perimeter and on the other side of the wire fence, resting on her tricycle undercarriage forlorn and abandoned, sat Doris. Thoughts and then questions entered the heads of her final crew. Would the Turks fly her now that they had taken over this part of the island? Or, would she just be left to rot in the blazing Cyprus sunshine?
Jack Rowse also stared out at the twenty-three-year-old, British-manufactured aircraft. He was still in a state of shock from discovering the contents of the document — and there was something more pressing on his mind. He hoped to God that the envelope would be safe in his chosen hiding place.
Chapter 4
The following morning, the shuffling of papers indicated that this latest emergency board meeting of the special action group for the Cyprus crisis was drawing to a close; being a Sunday, the seriousness of the situation was more than evident.
The eight suited men in the long room, situated in the east wing of the Capitol Building in Washington DC, listened as the secretary of state gave them his final brief. Then, with a notice to reconvene the next day, they all rose to leave the room.
Sitting opposite the secretary, Senator Donovan Tremaine thrust his documents inside his hand-held leather case and was also about to leave, when the secretary suddenly called him back. ‘Oh, Don, please could you remain behind for a few moments, if you don’t mind?’
Tremaine nodded. ‘Of course, mister secretary. No problem.’
The secretary waited for the others to leave the room, and through his thick black rimmed glasses, studied his notes while he puffed on a Panama cigar. Then, assured no one but the two of them were left in the room, he prompted Tremaine to close the door.
As soon as the senator sat back down, the secretary leant back on his chair and glanced over to him. ‘Don, off the record. From what we’ve just heard, do you think we will be able to pull this off?’
Tremaine smiled. ‘Mister secretary, my only concern is the British. My fear throughout the last few days has been that they could take the side of the Greeks over this, and help to oppose the invasion.’
The secretary agreed. He explained that, according to his intel, the British forces were concentrating on rescuing their own citizens, by either airlifting them off Cyprus, or taking them to the safe haven of the sovereign base areas. ‘They even have a small task force, including a Commando carrier, which is supplying most of the helicopters. Yesterday, I also heard that their prime minister has reinforced Akrotiri airbase with a squadron of Phantoms. If this all gets out of hand, we can be looking at a major war breaking out in the eastern Mediterranean. Not to mention a threat to NATO’s southern flank.’
Tremaine was sceptical. ‘What about deploying our sixth fleet to the region?’
The Secretary gave the senator a killing stare. ‘Don, you know as well as I do, if we start to move towards the island, the Soviets will send all they have from the Black Sea.’
‘Well, mister secretary, we can’t just sit on our butts and wait for the British to mess things up. I think we need to somehow act on this, and do it fast.’
The secretary shrugged. ‘What can we do? I think things have maybe gone too far as it is. What with the Turks rounding up all the Greek Cypriots in Kyrenia. All we needed from this invasion, and as agreed, was for them to secure a bridgehead on the island, then wait for the planned ceasefire. There could still be a Greek and Turkish war over this.’ The secretary shook his head. ‘Jesus, two NATO countries fighting over a god-dammed vacation resort. I’m beginning to wish this all never started. I’m thinking that maybe the Turks have sold us down the river on this deal, from the start.’
Tremaine studied the frustration on the man, noticing how agitated he was becoming, the more he talked about it. He felt for him, watching him try to light another cigar. He could also see the pressure of knowing that any day, his president could be impeached over the Watergate enquiry.
‘Mister secretary, may I make a suggestion? I have a good contact in London. I could contact him and ask him to prompt his boss not to take the side of the Greeks. Sort of say, that we have things in hand, and are about to take some action. It will at least give us a few more days to negotiate with both sides, and maybe, see if we can rush that ceasefire.’
The secretary began to relax. He nodded his appreciation. ‘I kind of like that idea, Don. Let’s do that. Can you give your guy a call now? Let’s get the Brits to do the running around for a change.’
Tremaine rose from his chair, clutching his case tightly under his arm. ‘Don’t worry, mister secretary, I’ll soon have this situation just where we need it to be.’
Leaving the man to his harrowing set of thoughts, he walked out of the room.
Across at the west wing, Tremaine slumped in the chair at his desk, looked at his watch and reached across for the telephone He asked his secretary to get hold of his man in London.
Receiving confirmation he was now connected with him, he spoke to his contact. ‘It’s Don. I saw the papers this morning about the murder in the London hotel. Good work, looks like you chose the right person. Our secretary of state was hoping that you had some more insider information about the incident.’
He listened carefully as he was told that the services investigations department of the MOD had been assigned to the case. Suddenly, Tremaine became more alert when hearing who was leading up the investigation. ‘I heard this guy is good,’ he remarked, referring to the chief investigating officer of SID, Alex Swan. ‘Okay, keep me posted on his progress.’