The Big Breach - Index of
The Big Breach - Index of
The Big Breach - Index of
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Breach</strong>; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments <strong>of</strong> http://www.192.com`We've decided to post you to Bosnia, as H/BAP,' announced Fowlecrookeat the meeting. `We think that you have the ideal blend <strong>of</strong> experiencefor the job - your time in the Territorial Army will be usefulexperience in a war zone, and you have worked enthusiastically on theconflict for the past six months. You'll be taking over from KennethRoberts in two weeks. It's not a lot <strong>of</strong> time to prepare for the post,but I am sure that you will cope.'FRIDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 1993CENTRAL SARAJEVO9. DEEP WATERI heard the screaming shriek <strong>of</strong> the shell cutting through the air asplit second before the shock wave <strong>of</strong> the detonation crushed me to theground, so I knew I was going to live. Harris, a 12-year-old streeturchin, petty crook and veteran <strong>of</strong> the three-year Serbian siege <strong>of</strong>Sarajevo, gave me the tip only a few days earlier. He made a livinghanging around the Sarajevo Holiday Inn and `guarding' the vehicles <strong>of</strong>the journalists and aid workers - if they chose not to acquire hisservices, windscreen wipers, aerials and anything else removable woulddisappear overnight. Clapping his grubby hands and whistling throughbroken teeth to provide the sound effects, he cheerfully explained inhis pidgin English that if an incoming shell whistled, then it wouldland far enough away to be harmless. His words <strong>of</strong> wisdom were the firstcogent thoughts that entered my mind as my senses returned and theawareness <strong>of</strong> where I was drifted back into my consciousness.Angus, the dour, moustached NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) <strong>of</strong> theBritish army detachment in Sarajevo, had dropped me <strong>of</strong>f on a quietstreet corner in central Sarjevo just a few minutes before theshellburst, promising to return to the RV in three hours time, thenagain the following hour if I failed to show up for the first. Gruffly,he had wished me luck, then drove <strong>of</strong>f into the mist <strong>of</strong> an earlywinter's evening.As the red tail-lights <strong>of</strong> the kevlar-armoured UNPROFOR Land Roverdisappeared into the murk, I slipped into a shadowy doorway to let myeyes adjust to the falling light before beginning the ten-minute walkto the home <strong>of</strong> DONNE, MI6's most important agent in Sarajevo. Unshaven,shabbily dressed and with a woollen hat pulled low over my head, Ilooked like any <strong>of</strong> the other Sarajevans employed by UNPROFOR beingdropped <strong>of</strong>f by a friendly soldier after a day's work. To further thedisguise, in my left hand I lugged a half-full 25-litre polythene jerrycan <strong>of</strong> the sort carried ubiquitously by Sarajevans in their daily toilto fetch water from the public spigots. Over my right shoulder wasslung a canvas bag containing a notebook and pencil, a PETTLE recorderand presents for DONNE - a bottle <strong>of</strong> Johnny Walker Black Label whiskyand 400 Marlboro cigarettes.Despite my innocuous appearance, there was a risk <strong>of</strong> a routine ID checkby one <strong>of</strong> the Bosnian police <strong>of</strong>ficers who lurked on street corners. Ifelt nervously in my breast pocket for my G/REP forged ID card and thegrubby, cellophane-wrapped card bearing the words `Ja sam gluh i nijem'page- 106 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version <strong>of</strong> this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com