An Irsish Affair Ch8

         
         
         
         
CHAPTER 8.

The next morning as usual, I woke before Mac. I began to get washed and dressed, then headed over to the Naafi, for a coffee. The room was empty apart from the staff behind the counter. I ordered a coffee and sat down at a table in the corner. I began contemplating yesterday’s actions. How come I don’t feel as happy about this Op, as I did with the first, and why was Pat acting the way he was. He wanted more than any of us, to get the chance to shoot someone. What the hell was going on.
I went to see Pat, to see if he was all right, and try to fathom out the feelings I was having. Pat was already up, which was unusual for him. He was sat on the edge of his bed staring out the window, with a vacant look on his face.

“Hey, Pat, how’s it going?” I said.

“Not good,”

“What’s up?”

“Yesterday.”

“What about yesterday?”

“It was wrong . . . We were wrong.”

“Why? I thought it was what you wanted.”

He turned to look at me.

“Yes, but not like this. That kid he . . . Well it should never have been him.”

“But we all agreed.”

“We were wrong, alright?”

Pat was getting  angrier by the minute.

“Look I’m not saying. Just, well . . . If it had been that bastard Kieran, then I wouldn’t be having this problem now.”

“What problem, Pat?,” I replied.

He jumped up and turned towards me, his face was full of rage.

“This, guilt, remorse, whatever you want to shagging call it. The whole thing stinks, and it can’t be allowed to happen again. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Right,” I replied, looking at the floor, somewhat stumped.

“I keep seeing that kids sobbing face, and hearing his pleas of mercy. He pissed his pants, for god’s sake, Rob. Fuck, he hadn’t done anything wrong. We made him suffer, for the sake of his father.”

I could see tears beginning to well up in Pats eyes.

“Okay, Pat. Let’s cool it for a while. Take the positives from this. At least we showed we are true to our word. Now they know we are serious. So, there should be no reason for this kind of thing to ever happen, again.”

“And what about how I’m feeling now, hay Rob, what am I suppose to do about that?”

“I ... I don’t know Pat, try and put it out of your mind, do something to take your mind off of it.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Like I said we cool it for a while, and just see what the repercussions of yesterday’s actions are going to be. Okay?”

“Okay,” Pat, replied.

“Now get your shit together, and let’s go to the Naafi for a nice cup of coffee, to try and take our minds off all this.”

“You know, as soon as Mac sees us, he’s going to want to know what happened.”

“You leave Mac to me, okay. Now let’s go.”

We managed to avoid Mac for most of the morning. I knew however, he would be sat in our room waiting, when I got back.

“Hi, Mac,” I said, as I walked through the door.

“Where the hell have you been, all morning?” he asked, just like my mother when I was a child.

“Just having a Naafi break.”

“You seemed a bit shitty last night,” he pointed out. “ I take it, not everything went to plan then?.”

“Actually, it went exactly to plan, all bar a few hiccups along the way, but all in all, very successful.”

“So, why the big downer on it all?”

“Well, Pat and I, feel we chose the wrong target. We decided we can’t go around hurting innocent people anymore, even if they are members of a players family. That  makes us no better than them.”

“Well if you say so. I don’t see the problem myself.”

“Trust me, Mac, you had to be there, to understand, okay. So let’s just leave it at that, and don’t go pestering Pat about it. He just wants to forget it ever happened, alright?.”

“Whatever you say.”

Any time soon. There had to be some word on the grapevine. I figured we would probably hear it from one of the guy’s who had been patrolling in Woodburn, first. Still I went over to the compound, on the off chance. As I entered the ops room, the boss was sat on the edge of a desk, with the platoon sergeant in the watch keeper’s chair.(The person in charge of the ops room for that period of time) Next to him as usual was the signaler. Who was for a change, really busy logging down the information being received over the radio.

“What’s going down boss,” I whispered.

“Oh, haven’t you heard, someone knee capped Kieran Heggarty’s son, Dermott, yesterday. So the coppers are getting ready for some kind of reprisal against the loyalists. As a precaution, we have had to put the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) on standby, with riot gear.”

“Wow, a bit of action at last. I bet that’s pissed Kieran right off.”

“Your right there, I’ll bet you, there’ll be some loyalists son dead before the day is out.”

“You reckon?.”

“Without doubt.”

“Still, it saves us a job, one less Fenian bastard, walking the streets” he said.

“I guess so,” I replied.

“So, you got anything for me today, boss?.”

“Not at the moment, but I have a feeling, things might begin to hot up around here.”

“Okay, boss, I can see you’re all quite busy, so I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, Corporal Williams.”

I headed straight up to the barrack block to let Mac, and Pat, know what was going on.

“Let’s just let this thing run its course,” I said, “and see what the outcome is, before we decide to do anything else.”

They both nodded.

********

Eventually word came out. From statements given to Special Branch, Witnesses at the scene remember seeing a maroon Ford Orion car speeding from the area of the incident. It had two occupants inside. However, they were unable to give a detailed description, and unable to pick out the number plate of the car.
Further to this, a statement given by Dermott, mentioned that the person who carried out the deed, definitely did not have a southern accent, but spoke with a broad Northern Irish accent.  A source from within the organization revealed that this pointed the finger towards the Loyalist’s.
However, there was an unspoken rule, between republicans, and loyalists. That no matter what, members of an organization’s family, was strictly off limits. This then lead everyone within both organizations, to believe there was a renegade group out there. A group who, either, didn’t know about the unspoken rule. Or, really didn’t give a shit about it. So far, this group had only targeted republican terrorists. So they had to be loyalist related. Even the loyalists agreed with this theory. However, they did assure the republicans, that they had no idea, who was carrying out these actions.

Back at camp, word got round. I quickly spoke to Mac and Pat. “They clocked  the car. Word is they saw a maroon Ford Orion speeding from the scene. Luckily, for us, they never caught the number plate, or, got a decent description of the occupants. We don’t want to come that close again.” “I think next time, we need to go out in one of our cars, park up, and steal a car to carry out the Op. At least then if anyone does clock the number plate, it will just come across as stolen. We can’t afford to come that close again.”

Mac was beginning to get cold feet. “ I think this whole thing is beginning to get out of hand.”

“Look Mac, this is not a health spa. You can’t just join, then find it’s too much like hard work, and give up.”

“We have gone beyond the realms of turning back. We have to see this thing through, or it’s all been for nothing.”

Pat agreed, and so, Mac, reluctantly went along with the decision.

Things were beginning to get really jittery, within both loyalist, and republican organizations. More so for the republicans, as it was them who were receiving the threats. Also, it had been noticed that the level of terrorist related crime, had begun to tail off, for the moment. As for, our organizations. Special branch were eager to get some kind of an angle on this new group. This meant they would begin to pull in all their resources. This included the SAS, along with our platoon, and any informants they would have within the relative loyalist and republican organizations.
We began to feel a mixture of emotions. Although all this hype and attention, did make us feel a little apprehensive. It also gave us a feeling of, importance, and a sense of  infamousness.

Again, I laid back on my bed, staring at the white flaked ceiling, in deep thought. Thinking of all the cards, we were holding. Any information with regards to this group, we would be totally privy to, and would receive first hand, in a full briefing by our own boss, or, by Special Branch themselves. A big smile slowly appeared on my face, and I just couldn’t stop smirking to myself.

“What you so happy about?” Mac asked, looking puzzled.

“Oh, nothing, really. Just a private little joke,” I replied, still smiling to myself.

I don’t know why, but I just wanted to keep these thoughts, and these feelings to myself. Selfish I suppose, but hey, who cares. I don’t think any of this had occurred to Pat, or Mac. At least not yet.

********

The boss called us all in for an update, on what was in the pipeline.

“Okay, boys, the word from Special Branch is, that all existing Op’s are to continue, without disruption. However, all up and coming Op’s have been put on hold. The emphasis now, is being put on trying to discover, who this new renegade group is. There are plans being drawn up as we speak. Unfortunately,  there is no information coming back from any of the informants. It seems who ever this group is, they are not linked in any way to either side’s organizations. So this is making it very difficult, to get a handle on things, at the moment.”

One of the other team commanders piped up.

“Do we know yet, if this group is Loyalist, or Republican?”

“Nobody can say for sure yet. However, as only Republicans, appear to have received threats, it’s a fair bet they lean towards the Loyalists. There again, we must assume that this group has not finished yet. So, there is still the chance that their next threat may be against a Loyalist member. If that were the case, then we would not be looking at a terrorist group at all. We would in fact, be looking at a vigilante group, and that would open up an even bigger can of worms.”

“So what now then boss?” shouted the platoon sergeant.

“Well, we wait for more word from Special Branch. I’m expecting to be called in to their main HQ, for a briefing within the next few days. So as soon as I know more, I will call another meeting. All I can say chap’s, is don’t go making any plans of your own in the very near future. That’s all for now.”

When we got back to the barrack room, I sat on the end of my bed, staring at Mac, and Pat, doing the same on the bed opposite.

“Well, we most certainly upset the apple cart, this time.” I said.

“Your not bloody wrong,” replied Pat.

“That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think.? Jesus, we’ve got every organization in Northern Ireland looking for us.”

I smirked. “Yes, and the good thing is, we get to know exactly what they are planning. Shit, we will probably even be involved in some of the Ops. Out there looking for ourselves.” I said.

“I’m glad you’re finding this funny, cause I sure as hell ain’t.”  Mac, retaliated.

“Oh, calm down Mac, your beginning to sound like a broken record. It’s beginning to get boring now.” Pat replied angrily.

“You two think it’s all just a big laugh.”

I could feel the tension building, between all of us. “Okay, Mac, give it a fucking rest now, will you.”

Although in theory, Mac was slightly senior to Pat, and I. He often came across, as somewhat less mature. Not only in age, but in experience too.

“Okay, do we all agree that we cool it for a while? At least, until we find out what everyone has planned, against us. Yes?”

Pat, and Mac nodded in agreement.

“Good, so, for now, no more talk on any of this. Let’s just act as if it never happened.”

Once again, they both agreed.

“Now that is settled, who’s for a Naafi break?”

********

A couple of days later the boss called us all down to the compound for an update, on the situation.

“Okay boys, I’ve been to a meeting with the heads of Special Branch, and, what can I say, they are playing this one very close to their chests. The last time they were this tight lipped, was when they thought they had an informer in their force. So there isn’t a whole lot I can tell you at the moment. Everything is on a need to know basis, and they obviously don’t think I need to know. At least not yet.”

This did not sound good at all. Pat and Mac both looked straight over to me, with a look of horror on their faces. I just looked at them and gestured by giving them a slow shake of my head. Then turned to continue looking at the boss.

“They are looking to mount some kind of operation, but like I said at the moment, we don’t know what shape these Ops are likely to take. It looks as though the SAS are already beginning an investigation of some kind. Again no info there either. So until they let me in to the loop, we are all just mushrooms. Kept in the dark and fed on shit. As soon as I have any really useful info, I will let you know. Are there any questions?”

There was a deafly silence throughout the room.

“I didn’t think there would be somehow. Alright, that’s all for now.”

As everybody got up and made their way towards the door, I whispered into Mac’s ear, “grab Pat, our room in five minutes.” He just nodded and moved off.

I sat on the edge of my bed, contemplating what the boss had just told us. Staring at a dull cloud covered sky through a window mottled with dirt. Just what the hell could the SAS be investigating, surely they can’t have any idea what’s going on. I mean, we’ve been careful, made no mistakes that I can think of.

Just then, Mac and Pat stormed in to the room.
.
“What the fuck was that all about,” Mac said, holding out his arms in front of him.

I stood up and moved to within feet of him, “calm down,” I said quietly. “Do you want the whole barracks to hear you?”

“Well,” he said whispering.

Pat just stood there, his face was pure white, he had his hands in his pockets, with a mixed look of fear and confusion on his face.

“Look, they don’t know shit okay. It’s all just a ploy. They are just shaking a few trees to see what falls out. It’s the oldest trick in the book, tell everyone they are carrying out an investigation, but not what kind of an investigation. Then wait and see if it scares anyone in to making some kind of a move. It’s just scare tactics.”

Pat walked up behind Mac and stuck his mouth to his ear. “Well its sure as hell working on you, isn’t it Mac,” he said, and laughed.

Mac stepped forward and turned to Pat. “Fuck you Pat, how come your so bloody calm anyway?”

“Well, what’s the point in getting all worked up. What the hell can we do about it anyhow. Give ourselves up?”

“Look, like we said before, we just sit tight and see how things pan out. As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t made any mistakes, so they can investigate as much as they like. They’re not going to find anything, are they?”

“That’s right,” said Pat, and turned to Mac, “so, stop blubbering like a baby, will you. Some fucking paratrooper you are.”

“Alright Pat, enough of that. We need to keep our heads together. Do you hear me Mac?... Mac?”

Mac came out of a vacant stare. “Yes I hear you, don’t panic, I’m not going to say or do anything.”

“You better not either.” Pat interrupted.

I let out a big sigh. “Will you give up Pat?”

“Whatever, I’m out a here.,” replied Pat, turned and stormed out.

Mac stood there staring at the ground, like a schoolboy who had just been told off. I walked over  and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Look Mac, forget about Pat, you know what he’s like, always acting the big man. It’s all just a front. So don’t let him get you down. You might try giving it back to him some times, then he might shut up.”

“I know,” he said, “he just piss’s me off sometimes.”

I put my other hand on my chest.

“He piss’s me off sometimes too, but I just don’t let him get to me, that’s all.”

“Look, let’s just go and have a few pints tonight, yes? And forget about all this, at least for a while. What do you say? I’ll tell you what... we won’t invite Pat. Just you and me. How’s that sound?”

“Yes, why not, but like you said no Pat, okay.”

“I patted him on the back.

“Fine whatever you say. Look I’m going out for while, I’ll catch up with you a little later okay.”

“Okay,” he replied.

I decided I would go down to the compound and just sit around in the TV room. At least there might be a chance I may pick up a few snippets of information. Even if it was just listening to the traffic coming over the radio in the Ops room. It’s worth a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I thought.