LITMIR.BIZ

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but marsh and mud flats.’

      Ryan tapped Benny on the shoulder. ‘Off we go, Benny,’ and the big man nodded obediently and reversed.

      Towards the upper end of Eskdale Valley, mountains rearing before them, Benny turned into a broad track and dropped down into a low gear. There were grey stone walls on either hand, sheep huddled together in the rain.

      ‘A desolate sort of place,’ Keogh said.

      Ryan nodded. ‘A hard way to make a living.’

      They came to a wooden signpost that bore the legend Folly’s End. ‘And that just about sums it up,’ Ryan observed.

      A moment later and they came to farm gates wide open and beyond it the farm, two large barns, the farmhouse itself, all built in weathered grey stone. Benny turned off the engine and got out. As they followed, the front door opened and a black and white sheepdog bounded out. A moment later a woman appeared. She wore a heavy knitted sweater, men’s trousers and green Wellington boots. Her hair was iron grey, the face strangely young looking. Ryan went forward as she held her arms open. They embraced warmly and he turned.

      ‘Here you are then, my cousin, Mary Power.’

      The beamed kitchen had a stone-flagged floor, a wood fire burning in an open hearth. She served them herself, ladling lamb and potato stew from a large pot, moving round the table, then sat at the end.

      ‘It’s good to see you, girl,’ she said to Kathleen. ‘When you reach my age relatives are hard to come by.’

      ‘And it’s good to meet you,’ Kathleen told her.

      ‘And you, Mr Keogh, what would your speciality be?’ Mary Power asked.

      ‘Well, I like to think I can turn my hand to most things.’ Keogh spooned some stew to his mouth and smiled. ‘But I’ll never be the cook you are.’

      Ryan pushed his plate away. Mary Power said, ‘More?’

      He shook his head. ‘Tea would be fine.’

      She got up and started to clear the plates and Kathleen helped her. Keogh said, ‘Could we all know where we stand here?’

      ‘You mean where Mary stands?’ Ryan said. ‘Simple. She’s backing me to the hilt on this. If things go well, she gets a hundred thousand pounds. That means she can kiss this place goodbye and go back to County Down.’

      She showed no response at all, simply took plates to the sink then reached for the kettle and made tea. ‘Everything’s in order. The truck is in the back barn. I’ve aired the cottage at Marsh End and there’s a fire in the stove. Somebody will have to stay there.’

      Ryan nodded and accepted a mug of strong tea. ‘Perhaps Kathleen could stay with you and Martin and myself could make out at the cottage.’

      ‘Fine.’ She opened a tin box and took out a cake. ‘Try this. I made it myself,’ and she reached for a knife and cut it into slices.

      There was a motorcycle on its stand just inside the barn, a black leather biker’s jacket draped across it, and there was a helmet. Keogh recognized it at once. ‘Heh, where did you get this beauty, Benny, a Montesa dirt bike?’

      ‘You know this model?’ Ryan asked.

      ‘Of course. Spanish. They’ll do half a mile an hour over very rough ground if you want them to.’

      ‘And is that good?’ Kathleen asked.

      ‘It is if you’re a shepherd operating in hill country,’ Keogh told her. ‘These things will go anywhere.’ He turned to Ryan. ‘You bought this for Benny?’

      ‘Not really. A bit small for him. I thought it might suit our circumstances. I’ll explain later.’ He said to Mary, ‘Let’s have a look at the truck.’

      She turned to Benny. ‘Show us, Benny.’

      He nodded eagerly, almost ran to the back of the barn, tossed some bales of hay to one side then felt for a hidden catch. The wooden wall swung open. Inside in an extension of the barn stood a large truck painted green and white.

      The legend on the side of the truck read SHELBY MEAT IMPORTERS. Keogh said, ‘Is this what I think it is?’

      ‘An exact replica of the truck we’re going to heist.’

      ‘So what’s the point?’

      ‘A decoy, that’s all. Benny will dump this down on the coast road, all doors locked and so on. That should hold the police up nicely while they try to get inside. It’ll give us extra time, if we need it, to get away with the real McCoy.’

      ‘Very ingenious. And Benny can handle this?’

      ‘Benny can handle anything with an engine, like you wouldn’t believe. Benny should be a Formula One driver only he’s too big.’ Benny nodded delightedly.

      ‘Right, let’s go back inside and have a cup of tea and then Benny can take us to the front line, so to speak.’

      The coast road was down below, a secondary road joining it at the side of a wood. The Land Rover pulled in and Ryan got out with Keogh and Kathleen and Benny followed.

      ‘So this is it?’ Keogh asked.

      ‘That’s right,’ Ryan told him. ‘Four o’clock, Friday afternoon, give or take fifteen minutes, and the transporter reaches this junction. Take my word for it, all carefully checked.’

      ‘There’s one thing I don’t understand,’ Keogh said. ‘It’s all right saying the Howler takes out the truck’s security system, but how do you get the damn thing to stop in the first place?’

      ‘A good point, but that’s where Kathleen comes in.’ Ryan put an arm around her. ‘I’ll explain when we get back.’

      The second barn was filled with farm machinery. There was also an old Ford van.

      Ryan said, ‘Now if you were driving along a country road and you saw that van burning and a young girl lying in the road, blood on her face, would you stop?’

      ‘I’d have to say I would,’ Keogh said.

      ‘And so will they.’ Ryan put an arm around Kathleen. ‘A chance to earn your Oscar, girl.’

      ‘I won’t let you down.’

      ‘I know you won’t. Now let’s go in and we’ll take it step-by-step.’

      ‘As I told you, the transporter reaches the junction at approximately four o’clock on Friday.’

      They were all there in the kitchen. Mary and Kathleen at the table with Ryan, Benny at the door and Keogh by the fire.

      Ryan said, ‘Kathleen and I will drive to the scene of the action in the Ford van. You follow on the Montesa. I’ve got a couple of two-way radios in the case. You’ll have one with you. You’ll carry on a couple of miles and wait for the transporter. When you see it you call me. Use Eagle One as a call sign, I’ll use Eagle Two.’

      ‘What do I do then?’

      ‘Overtake the truck and join us. We’ll set fire to the Ford and Kathleen lies down in the road and does her thing. I’ve some of that false blood actors use. She’ll put it on her face.’

      ‘Then they stop, or we hope they do, and you use the Howler to screw up the transporter’s whole security system.’

      ‘They’ll be cut off from the world.’

      ‘And if they fight?’

      ‘No problem. I’ve got two AK rifles in my case, stun grenades and gas grenades. Even Semtex and pencil timers, but the doors will be unlocked anyway thanks to the Howler. Fifteen minutes after we leave the farm, Benny will drive the replica transporter down to the coast road where he’ll dump it and clear off back to the farm on foot.’

      ‘So,

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