Operation Sabre Read online

  An Action-Packed, Spy Adventure with Soul

  Operation Sabre is a fast-paced spy adventure story about three young people who are recruited to the youth division of MI5. Paul and Rachel’s father has been kidnapped and they are drawn into a race against time to uncover the mole and find him before it is too late. The book is filled with thrills, humour, and unexpected twists that will keep the reader enthralled right to the end.

  What the readers say

  ‘I can’t believe how gripping the story is…’ Ben – Aged 13

  ‘There are hilarious moments and cliff hangers that leave you craving for more.’ – Lydia – aged 10

  First Published in Great Britain in 2020

  Copyright © 2020 Glenn Carter

  Kindle Edition

  Cover Design by Pintado www.pintado.weebly.com ©

  The right of Glenn Carter to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, sorted in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Glenn Carter.

  www.glenncarterauthor.com

  To my wife Anna and my three daughters Maria, Eva and Lydia.

  I love you more than I can express.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  About the Book

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  1. The Wheel

  2. Recruits

  3. Christmas

  4. The Call

  5. Taken

  6. The Fall

  7. Dublin

  8. Jacks

  9. The Fight

  10. Leinster House

  11. Road Trip

  12. Enniscorthy

  13. Wet

  14. Ferry

  15. Headquarters

  16. The Tour

  17. The Moonstone

  18. Run

  19. The Stage

  20. Shopping

  21. Accused

  22. Pop

  23. Operation Hinds

  24. Stingray

  25. Nano

  26. Inside

  27. Thumb Screws

  28. Skittles

  29. The Reveal

  30. Goodbye Dad

  31. Restored

  Author’s Note

  1

  The Wheel

  Paul Fox sees things that others don’t, and today was no exception.

  It was Christmas Eve and Paul was walking west against the bitterly cold wind. He was on Princes Street in Edinburgh with his twin sister Rachel and his friend Sharav. Paul and Rachel had expected to meet their Dad at Waverley train station, but after waiting for over an hour they had given up.

  They had been walking for a couple of minutes when Paul suddenly turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

  ‘What is it?’ Rachel called out as she grabbed Sharav, pulling him after her.

  ‘Something’s not right,’ Paul said, pointing at the back of a teenager dressed in black, fifty metres in front of them.

  ‘Oh, not again!’ sighed Rachel.

  A minute earlier Paul had noticed the teenager walking towards them. He couldn’t quite explain it, but something had made him suspicious. Something about how he was walking, the tension in his face and the size of his bag.

  Sharav looked confused, ‘Why are we going this way?’

  ‘Oh, it’s just another of Paul’s delusional fantasies,’ Rachel replied.

  ‘I just want to follow him for a minute,’ said Paul, scanning the horizon.

  They were approaching the big wheel in Princes Street Gardens. A shiny Jaguar car and two Land Rovers were parked nearby, surrounded by several smartly dressed men. Paul felt his heart race. ‘This isn’t good,’ he said and started running towards the security guards.

  The Prime Minister was visiting Scotland and she was taking the opportunity for a photoshoot in Princes Street Gardens. As Paul approached the gates, he noticed the Prime Minister smiling broadly as she got on to the big wheel with a bodyguard. The teenager whom Paul had followed was getting into the pod behind them. At that moment the array of Christmas lights, the heady scents of hot chocolate and gingerbread and the joyful sound of carollers all faded as Paul locked on to the threat. Fuelled by adrenaline, Paul ran up to the kiosk and paid £5 for a ticket. There was a small voice inside Paul warning caution. ‘No’ said Paul out loud, ‘not this time.’ He pushed the caution aside. Paul felt an overwhelming desire to save and protect and although he couldn’t control it, he knew why it was there. It had been there for two years now.

  Paul climbed onto the big wheel; his eyes fixed on the teenager four pods above him. Edinburgh’s big wheel stood forty-five metres tall and had twenty-five pods in total. It had a red and white vintage design and each pod, whilst open to the elements, had a roof and white metal barriers surrounding the occupants. Paul kept his eyes on the teenager who had his head down, searching in his bag. The wheel was moving gradually upwards as the operators let more people on at the bottom. Paul’s eyes widened as he saw the teenager pull from his bag what seemed to be a toy gun. He then pointed the gun towards the Prime Minister and her bodyguard. Nothing happened at first, but after fifteen seconds the bodyguard stood up abruptly and looked around. He then started frantically patting himself down as if he was on fire, but there were no flames. The PM stood up and reached towards the bodyguard in alarm. Paul knew that he had to do something. ‘Got to get up there,’ he said as he pulled out his pen knife and forced the lock on the door of the pod. He sensed the danger, but the fear was overridden by the compulsion to protect. All he cared about was saving the Prime Minister. Paul threw himself upwards and slammed against the next pod, just managing to grab onto the middle railing.

  The teenager continued to train the gun on the bodyguard, who was now panicking. He was pulling hard on the door of the pod, frantically trying to escape. Finally, the door opened, and he flung himself towards the pod below, which broke his fall. He then fell a further twenty metres and landed on the roof of the ticket kiosk. As soon as the bodyguard had been neutralised, the teenager put the gun away and started climbing towards the Prime Minister. Paul had to move quickly.

  The big wheel had now stopped, and the Prime Minister was right at the top. Paul looked down. Chaos. Parents gathering children into their arms, people running in different directions, screaming and trampling those who had fallen over. The security detail knew there was a threat to the Prime Minister, and they were radioing for back up. The teenager had reached the Prime Minister and was climbing into her pod. Paul was almost there. He made his final jump to reach the pod. There was a flash of metal as the teenager lunged towards the PM with a weapon. Paul landed heavily against the railing. The teenager, startled by Paul’s appearance, took a step back. Paul grabbed at the legs of the attacker and knocked him off his feet. With one fluid movement Paul pulled himself up and into the pod. The PM was slumped in a seat, breathing heavily. Paul grabbed for the knife, but the teenager swiftly landed a punch to Paul’s right temple, knocking him down. Paul slowly stood up. His head was ringing. He caught sight of the teenager’s legs as he climbed out of the pod and up onto the roof.

  Paul pulled off his jacket and rolled it into a ball. Giving it to the Prime Minister he said, ‘Press this onto your arm.’ With that he turned and started to climb after the attacker. He was soon standing precariously on the roof of the pod. The teenager had his back to Paul and was unfolding a compact eight-foot, black glider that looked like a large kite. He was preparing to jump. As he was holding the glider above his head, Paul rushed forward and gra
bbed him from behind. They toppled off the big wheel together and flew in the direction of the Scott Monument. Paul held on firmly as the wind rushed past them. There was a huge tree between them and the monument. The teenager just about managed to navigate around it. Their descent was fast. This glider was clearly not designed for two.

  Rachel and Sharav had watched all of this from below and were sprinting after the glider. In the commotion some children had left their BMX bikes unattended, so Rachel and Sharav grabbed the bikes and started pedalling furiously in the direction of the glider, past the running bodyguards and towards the monument. They arrived just in time to see the teenager running away from Paul who was lifeless on the ground. Rachel threw the BMX to the side and crouched down beside Paul shaking him to see if he was okay.

  ‘I’m okay, I’m okay. Get him!’ said Paul.

  ‘Okay then,’ said Rachel, sounding unsure.

  Rachel and Sharav pedalled after the assailant who was running fast despite a limp. Rachel passed the teenager and slammed on her front brake. The bike went into a front wheelie and with one quick movement, Rachel swung the back wheel around, hitting the teenager hard on the side of his head and slamming him into the path. He was knocked out cold. Sharav jumped off his bike and sat on the young man.

  The bodyguards arrived a minute later. One of them nodded towards Sharav and asked Rachel, ‘Is he okay?’ Rachel looked over at Sharav, heard the quiet snoring noises and smiled saying, ‘Yeah, it’s a long story but when he gets overexcited, he sometimes sleeps.’ The bodyguard raised his eyebrows, slowly rolled Sharav to one side, and handcuffed the unconscious teenager.

  2

  Recruits

  Paul, Rachel and Sharav spent the next hour being debriefed on the steps of the Scott monument by two friendly, plain-clothes detectives called Natalie and Rob.

  ‘Tell me about that gun again?’ asked Natalie. Paul described the gun’s features and how the bodyguard had acted when it was pointed at him.

  ‘Sounds like it might be an ADS,’ said Rob, who had a gentle Edinburgh accent.

  ‘Yes, but they are normally mounted on tanks!’ exclaimed Natalie. ‘I’ve never seen technology like that in such a small firearm.’

  ‘ADS?’ asked Rachel.

  ‘Oh sorry,’ said Rob. ‘ADS stands for Active Denial System. It’s a non-lethal weapon designed by the Americans and basically works like a high frequency microwave. It’s also known as the ‘heat ray.’ It heats the surface of the target. Really unpleasant, like being cooked I suppose.’

  ‘Oh, that’s terrible!’ said Sharav.

  ‘How’s the Prime Minister?’ asked Paul.

  ‘They’ve rushed her to the Royal Infirmary, but the last we heard she was trying to organise her next engagement,’ smiled Natalie. ‘Unbelievable really.’

  As Natalie and Rob finished the debrief, Natalie asked them whether they would like a lift home.

  Paul shook his head and said, ‘Thanks, but we’ll make our own way home. We need to pick something up at Sharav’s place anyway.’

  ‘You sure?’ said Natalie fixing Paul with a hard stare.

  Paul shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, ‘Yes, we’ll be fine.’

  ‘Okay then. Listen, if you remember anything else then please contact me. I’ll give you my card.’

  Natalie handed each of them a card. The card felt cold and heavy in Paul’s hand. He looked down and saw that it was made of black metal with a simple ‘MI2’ emblazoned on the front.

  Paul looked up and was about to ask a question, but Natalie and Rob were already ten metres away.

  The teenagers set off and walked across the Old Town to get to their bus stop. They chose to take a short cut down one of Edinburgh’s closes that linked Victoria Street with the Cowgate.

  ‘I hate these closes!’ exclaimed Sharav.

  Paul smiled, ‘I thought it would give you a bit of a thrill.’

  ‘But they are dark, the walls can’t be a metre and a half apart and they smell of pee!’

  Just then Sharav let out a high-pitched scream that was cut short.

  Paul and Rachel swung round to see Rob holding his hand over Sharav’s mouth. Sharav’s eyes were bulging as he tried to look behind him. Rob slowly took his hand away from Sharav’s mouth.

  ‘Natalie, Rob…’ Paul said. ‘You gave us such a fright.’

  ‘I now understand why the closes smell like pee,’ Sharav smiled sheepishly.

  ‘Sorry, you three,’ said Natalie quietly. ‘We wanted to finish our conversation.’

  ‘I thought our conversation was finished,’ said Rachel.

  ‘Well, yes but there was something else we wanted to talk about, and we couldn’t do it in such a public place,’ smiled Rob. ‘Sorry about grabbing you Sharav, I was trying to avoid a scene.’

  ‘It’s fine, apologies for the scream.’

  Natalie’s eyes narrowed, ‘Listen, you all helped to save the Prime Minister’s life today. Rob and I aren’t detectives. We are actually intelligence agents for MI5. We followed you because we wanted to ask you all something. We need young people like you to counter the threat we are facing to our national security.’

  Rachel pulled out the metal card, ‘What is MI2?’ she asked.

  Rob replied, ‘MI2 originally handled Russian and Scandinavian Intelligence after the first world war but it’s functions were absorbed by MI3 in 1941. We have resurrected the name and now it’s basically the youth division of MI5. Its primary purpose is to keep the country safe.’

  Paul looked directly at Rachel as he felt the excitement build inside him. He saw her eyebrows furrow and the faintest movement of her head from left to right. He knew what she was thinking and then she said it.

  ‘No Paul. Don’t you dare.’

  ‘Let’s just hear what they have to say,’ responded Paul.

  Natalie continued, ‘There are increasing numbers of teenagers being radicalised in the UK and as you saw today, they are extremely dangerous. They have access to the latest technology and sophisticated weapons systems. We are recruiting teenagers like you to combat this threat and, if required, to infiltrate these cells. You would receive excellent training and development at our HQ in London. We try to fit most of the training within school holidays, although there is some time off school required.’

  Paul and Sharav’s eyes lit up at the thought of time off school.

  ‘But you will be required to do additional school studies at headquarters.’ Rob said grinning.

  Rachel shook her head, ‘That all sounds very worthwhile, but we have a lot going on at the moment and we have school to think about.’

  Sharav said, ‘Yeah, and I’ve got this medical condition called narcolepsy. I’ve had it since I was 10. It basically means I can fall asleep suddenly during the day. I get hallucinations and just fall down randomly. I don’t think I would be much use to a spy agency.’

  ‘Yes, I noticed your condition,’ said Natalie, ‘but you did a fine job today despite all that.’ She turned to Paul, ‘What are you thinking Paul?’

  Rachel stared at Paul, nervously holding her breath.

  Paul sighed, letting go of the opportunity and said, ‘Eh, I think Rachel is right. We have a lot going on at the moment. My Dad is away a lot and we have to look out for our Mum.’

  Natalie nodded, ‘Okay that’s totally fine. If you change your mind you can sign up using that business card I gave you.’

  Rob shook hands with each of them, ‘It was good to meet you three. You have done the country a great service today.’

  3

  Christmas

  Paul, Rachel and Sharav travelled on the bus in silence. Paul’s thoughts turned to Christmas. He recalled last Christmas and how he had spent the majority of the day in his room. His chest tightened as a sense of sadness began to take hold. The memory was only softened by the fact that Sharav needed somewhere to stay this year. They had only known each other for four months since starting secondary school, but it felt like m
uch longer. Paul glanced at Sharav and was instantly put at ease.

  Rachel went on ahead, as Paul and Sharav took a detour to pick up Sharav’s suitcase at his Auntie’s.

  ‘So, how far away is your house?’ asked Sharav.

  ‘Couple of miles away.’

  ‘Oh,’ Sharav said, looking down at his huge suitcase. ‘Are we walking?’

  ‘Yep!’

  ‘Better get started then.’

  The boys took turns to drag the enormous suitcase the two miles, mostly uphill, to Paul’s house. As they neared the house several snowflakes fell in front of them. The boys smiled at each other.

  ‘That’s my house,’ said Paul, pointing at the only house in the cul-de-sac without Christmas lights. The Fox’s house was dark and the garden looked wild and unkempt. Paul noticed Sharav staring at the house and thought he better say something. ‘Listen Sharav, there’s something you probably need to know.’

  Sharav raised his eyebrows, ‘What’s that?’

  Paul stopped walking and rubbed his hands together trying to muster the courage to speak, ‘Well… I’ve been meaning to tell you, it’s just… well, it hasn’t really come up.’

  ‘You’re actually a girl?’ smiled Sharav.

  Paul laughed and then looked down, ‘No, a couple of years ago my sister died in a car accident. The brakes in the car failed. Her name was Kate and she was six at the time.’ He paused, struggling to get the next sentence out. He coughed and then said, ‘The reason you need to know is that my Mum and Dad are really different now… sadder. You know, since she died.’

  Sharav said, ‘I’m so sorry, that’s terrible.’

  ‘Yeah it is,’ said Paul, rubbing his eyes. Paul stood up straight in an attempt to ward off the sadness, ‘It’s not so bad, Dad buys me lots of technology because he feels guilty for spending so much time away from home’. Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out the latest iPhone.