Hellfire Landing

Hughes David

Description

The UK threat of mainland attack, as we stand today, remains at 'substantial'. This means that a terrorist attack remains a strong possibility and could occur without warning. Figures revealed that the number of terror arrests had risen by sixty per cent in the year to September 2012. Hellfire Landing is based on what could happen if real-world terrorists decide to launch a coordinated attack within the UK. A major disaster could happen at any moment, and in just five minutes could affect the lives of thousands of persons in the UK. Could it really happen? Yes, and the consequences could be mind-blowingly catastrophic. And, yes, it could happen in any country in the world which has similar infrastructures to those in the UK.

Sujets

• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 25 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780722343685
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Title Page
HELLFIRE LANDING
by
David Hughes



Publisher Information
First published in Great Britain, 2013 by
Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd
Torrs Park, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8BA
www.ahstockwell.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed in 2013 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© David Hughes, 2013
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
This is an entirely fictional story, and no conscious attempt has been made to accurately record or recreate any real life events.



Hellfire Landing
The UK threat of mainland attack, as we stand today, remains at ‘substantial’. This means that a terrorist attack remains a strong possibility and could occur without warning.
Figures revealed that the number of terror arrests had risen by sixty per cent in the year to September 2012.
Hellfire Landing is based on what could happen if real-world terrorists decide to launch a coordinated attack within the UK. A major disaster could happen at any moment, and in just five minutes could affect the lives of thousands of persons in the UK.
Could it really happen? Yes, and the consequences could be mind-blowingly catastrophic. And, yes, it could happen in any country in the world which has similar infrastructures to those in the UK.



Chapter One
This story begins in an office system located in London’s Downing Street, SW1A 2AA. Downing Street is located in Whitehall in Central London, a few minutes’ walk from the Houses of Parliament and a little farther from Buckingham Palace. The street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing (c.1623-84) on the site of a mansion called Hampden House. The houses on the west side of the street were demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for government offices, now occupied by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Downing Street has for over 200 years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the UK, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Prime Minister’s official residence is 10 Downing Street; the Chancellor’s official residence is next door at Number 11. The government’s Chief Whip has an official residence at Number 12, though the current chief whip’s residence is at Number 9.
The office nicknamed the Cab in Downing Street is the worldwide communication hub, the listening and watching centre of the UK and the world. It monitors events in real time and analyses what happens within the government minute by minute. The office is staffed and maintained twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Cab has five persons working on three shifts with a weekly change-round. Three listeners have headphones and operate complex workstations, which they can access with their own logic key together with their fingerprints via a complex log-in system. A fourth person acts as a replacement to allow stand-down break times. That person, the controller, sits behind and above the listeners, who constantly monitor several screens on the wall. The controller can direct a listener’s viewing to any of the screens; he is in control of the viewing patterns. The controller also looks for any problems that may arise and deals quickly with them. The fifth person sits next to the controller and has direct access through the phone and radio systems to the emergency services. He will inform the controller if a happening on any screen is being dealt with by any of the emergency services.
There are three other persons, intermediaries who control the flow of information to and from the Prime Minister’s office and other government departments. They ensure that data obtained by the office is passed on to the relevant departments. They are in a separate office from the main Cab room, but they can see into the Cab office through a thick, double-glazed, large, one-way window. They also have sound communication with the controller, but this is one-way. The controller cannot hear or see any persons in the room behind him. Also the controller and the listeners have their own workrooms and toilet facilities. When entering or leaving the building, they can only go to their own designated work areas; they cannot bump into or commutate with any other person.
All the information received via television, satellite, phone, Internet and radio is constantly electronically recorded, together with automatic backup on several servers located in different departments. This information is logged and saved as read-only, and cannot be changed, saved or printed without prior clearance. The storage servers are themselves backed up automatically via multiple fireproof cable links in a vast array of fireproof rooms, called the dungeons, located deep underground in a nuclear bunker. This bunker can only be accessed using multiple access codes and secret protocol knowledge. The access method is under constantly review and personnel are frequently changed as a security measure.
The Prime Minister’s principle personal secretary has access to all the offices and can visit at any time to ensure all is well. He is the one who decides whether or not to contact the Prime Minister immediately - which could mean get him out of bed in an emergency. The principle personal secretary is contacted whenever it is felt that a happening might be important. The controller has a red button he can use if necessary to alert the Prime Minister’s secretary in his office. A pulsing sound and flashing light will continue until the Prime Minister’s secretary flicks his cancelling switch. This will also inform the intermediaries’ office that the panic alert had been received. The secretary will then quickly go to the intermediaries’ office rather than spend time responding by phone.
There are three persons designated as the Prime Minister’s secretary, and this is to ensure that there is always one on duty. At times, the Prime Minister’s principle secretary may accompany him when he leaves Downing Street for any function. The principle secretary is in close communication with the duty secretary at Downing Street and is regularly updated and informed of any issues that might need immediate attention by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will immediately change his schedule if a more important issue needs his urgent attention.
In the intermediaries’ office communication with the controller takes place using a speaker system. To ensure that information is not lost by lack of attention, it is automatically recorded and can be instantly repeated. This is particularly useful in an emergency when only one person or no persons are in the office when communication is received..
In the Cab office at 5 p.m. one Tuesday, data was being logged that there had been a plane crash at London’s Heathrow Airport. The information was coming from the emergency services and the media, but as yet there were few details. The controller notified the intermediaries.
The intermediaries discussed the information and decided not to inform the Prime Minister’s secretary. They asked the controller to ensure that the listeners were focused on relaying information as soon as it appeared. They were aware that the facts would become clearer when the media circus arrived at Heathrow with their satellite vans and started transmitting on-scene information.
At five thirty the emergency services reported difficult access to Heathrow because of traffic. There was complete gridlock, and it was requested that media helicopters be allowed airspace over the area. Soon the media circus had a helicopter in the air and film was being relayed showing a scene of total confusion. Ambulances and fire engines were trying in vain to get through. As word got round, the traffic situation became chaotic. The normal rush-hour traffic was increased by sightseers converging on the road system around Heathrow.
The media helicopter was also transmitting pictures of flames and a rising plume of waving black smoke inside the airport, but the helicopter was still too far away to show clearly what had happened.
The Prime Minister’s principle secretary now entered the intermediaries’ office and he said, “I was watching the television in my room. Is any further information available? I am not sure if I should yet bother the Prime Minister.”
The intermediaries switched on the television receiver in their office just in time to watch as a media helicopter moved into the airspace above Heathrow.
“John, what the hell are they doing? They know they are not supposed to enter that area. That is restricted airspace for a very good reason.”
“Well, I don’t know, secretary. I expect they are trying to get closer to the accident scene so as to get the best possible pictures.”
“That may be so, but the downdraft from the rotor blades could fan the flames and make matters even worse. Also they could get in the way of a plane trying to land or take off as well as any emergency personnel trying to get to the scene. John, contact MP [Metropolitan Police Control Centre] at Scotland Yard, and tell them to get those idiots out of that area. Tell them to arrest the paper’s editor if they have to.”
(All 999 phone calls made in the London area go straight to Scotland Yard, which then establishes contact with the control room of the relevant police force. The local police force then takes control using its local radio system. Written details of the incident is faxed from Scotland Yard to the loc