left the courtyard and headed back down the track towards the church. Pressing his walkie-talkie button he blipped Abby. "Big Joe to Little Jo," he said in a soft voice.
"Hey Big Joe, how's it looking?" Abby came back.
"You were right, we do have company. The trucks have parked up at the barn and a gang looks like they are about to steal lead from the church roof."
"Are you kidding? Why would they do that?"
"Money. The thieving bastards will sell the lead to a scrap metal dealer. I'm going in closer to see if I can get the stash or not, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while, this ain't going to be as straight forward as I expected."
"Be careful Big Joe, I'll be here ready."
Mark got to the gate where he and Abby shared their first kiss only a few hours earlier. He stood up onto the gate to get a better view. Adjusting the night vision focus he had a clear view of the church and graveyard. Strange. It all looked clear. He looked over towards the bright green glow of the building site but there was no movement there either. He climbed over the gate into the field and lightly ran across the grass towards the church gate. As soon as he was within twenty yards he stopped and crouched on his knees. Scanning the area it was all clear.
The window-less and door-less buildings had a dark eerie look to them. To Mark this had been open fields with a peaceful and calm feel and now these dark blocks gave the place a sinister feel. He rose and ran towards the church jumping up onto the stone wall that separated the church ground from the farmer's fields and landed softly on the other side, surrounded by headstones.
Mark looked across to the grave that held his stash, but then walked past it, checking out the roof and continuously scanning the area for any sign of the gang or security. He circled the church entirely and came back to the grave. The coast was clear.
Crouching down and sliding off his backpack he reached in and pulled out a canvas bag. He unclipped the plastic catch and took hold of the metal spade, folding it out into position and screwing the lock-hold into place. One last look around and then he started to dig. The soil was soft and made for an easy dig. After eight minutes Mark's spade hit a hard pack giving a welcome thud. It was his plastic wrap. He jabbed the spade to the side cutting into the soil around the edges before reaching down with his hand to dislodge the package from its resting place.
At the precise moment his fingers touched the packet a diesel engine chugged into life and lights shone over to the church casting tall grave stone shadows up the side. Mark jumped back as though the packet was electrified and scrambled to the base of the wall for cover.
Did I just trigger an alarm? Mark thought to himself. Couldn't be. Must be a coincidence. Keep cool.
Despite his cool exterior, Mark's heart was pounding and thoughts were racing. The diesel engine was getting closer, lights flashing up and down the side of the church as the machine bounced its way across the field. Mark laid his body down against the back of the wall, trying to keep his breathing under control but it was hopeless. He couldn't believe he was about to get caught for retrieving his own stuff. It would have been understandable and a little easier to accept if he was getting caught raiding someone else's valuables.
He'd been in plenty of forbidden places before and gotten away with it. Why now? How did they know he was here? His night vision had helped him remain invisible, a shadow in the dark. Did they have night vision too? Couldn't have, his night vision goggles would have picked up their infra-red.
We're they expecting me? How? Abby? Surely not. No way.
The sound of men's voices were close enough to be heard over the chug of the diesel engine. Mark looked across at the grave, his hole fully visible and lit up like bonfire night. The backpack sat precariously next to the freshly dug mound. Mark crawled along the
"Hey Big Joe, how's it looking?" Abby came back.
"You were right, we do have company. The trucks have parked up at the barn and a gang looks like they are about to steal lead from the church roof."
"Are you kidding? Why would they do that?"
"Money. The thieving bastards will sell the lead to a scrap metal dealer. I'm going in closer to see if I can get the stash or not, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while, this ain't going to be as straight forward as I expected."
"Be careful Big Joe, I'll be here ready."
Mark got to the gate where he and Abby shared their first kiss only a few hours earlier. He stood up onto the gate to get a better view. Adjusting the night vision focus he had a clear view of the church and graveyard. Strange. It all looked clear. He looked over towards the bright green glow of the building site but there was no movement there either. He climbed over the gate into the field and lightly ran across the grass towards the church gate. As soon as he was within twenty yards he stopped and crouched on his knees. Scanning the area it was all clear.
The window-less and door-less buildings had a dark eerie look to them. To Mark this had been open fields with a peaceful and calm feel and now these dark blocks gave the place a sinister feel. He rose and ran towards the church jumping up onto the stone wall that separated the church ground from the farmer's fields and landed softly on the other side, surrounded by headstones.
Mark looked across to the grave that held his stash, but then walked past it, checking out the roof and continuously scanning the area for any sign of the gang or security. He circled the church entirely and came back to the grave. The coast was clear.
Crouching down and sliding off his backpack he reached in and pulled out a canvas bag. He unclipped the plastic catch and took hold of the metal spade, folding it out into position and screwing the lock-hold into place. One last look around and then he started to dig. The soil was soft and made for an easy dig. After eight minutes Mark's spade hit a hard pack giving a welcome thud. It was his plastic wrap. He jabbed the spade to the side cutting into the soil around the edges before reaching down with his hand to dislodge the package from its resting place.
At the precise moment his fingers touched the packet a diesel engine chugged into life and lights shone over to the church casting tall grave stone shadows up the side. Mark jumped back as though the packet was electrified and scrambled to the base of the wall for cover.
Did I just trigger an alarm? Mark thought to himself. Couldn't be. Must be a coincidence. Keep cool.
Despite his cool exterior, Mark's heart was pounding and thoughts were racing. The diesel engine was getting closer, lights flashing up and down the side of the church as the machine bounced its way across the field. Mark laid his body down against the back of the wall, trying to keep his breathing under control but it was hopeless. He couldn't believe he was about to get caught for retrieving his own stuff. It would have been understandable and a little easier to accept if he was getting caught raiding someone else's valuables.
He'd been in plenty of forbidden places before and gotten away with it. Why now? How did they know he was here? His night vision had helped him remain invisible, a shadow in the dark. Did they have night vision too? Couldn't have, his night vision goggles would have picked up their infra-red.
We're they expecting me? How? Abby? Surely not. No way.
The sound of men's voices were close enough to be heard over the chug of the diesel engine. Mark looked across at the grave, his hole fully visible and lit up like bonfire night. The backpack sat precariously next to the freshly dug mound. Mark crawled along the
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