The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments of http://www.192.comtwo white powders, tip a few grammes into the pipe and tamp it downwith a wooden dowel. When the tube was full, I gingerly crimped downthe other end - too much violence could cause the mixture to detonateprematurely. Laying out a couple of feet of two-inch masking tape,sticky side uppermost, I carefully sprinkled out a line of theremaining white powder along its length, then rolled it up like a longcigarette. If thin and loosely packed, the fuse would burn slowlyenough to let me reach cover. Rolling up the leg of my jeans, I tapedthe device to my shin with a couple of strips of masking tape,concealed the fuse in my sock and slipped out of the barn.Dusk was falling on the village. Most of the population were indoorseating their evening meal and the road through the settlement was emptyexcept for a few old cars parked at the side. There had been no rainfor many months and the grass verges were parched white. I hurried pastthe small post office, carefully scanning the second-floor windows. Thenet curtains didn't twitch, suggesting that the grumpy postmasterhadn't spotted me.The handful of middle-aged drinkers in the corner bar, probably farmersjudging by their ruddy complexions and outdoor clothing, didn't look upfrom their drinks as I passed the window. Slipping round the side Ihurried down the short hill to the red sandstone bridge across theriver. A man was walking his dog towards me, but they paid noattention. Glancing over the parapet to check the river, I saw thenormally swift, deep waters were slowed to a trickle between a seriesof pools, still except for the occasional trout rising for a fly.Checking once more to ensure no one was watching, I slipped over theparapet and dropped out of sight. There were three arches to thebridge, supported on two small buttressed islands. Under the first archthere was a broad ledge, heavily scoured by the floods which came everywinter. I clambered over the barbed wire fence built to prevent sheepfrom the neighbouring field straying underneath and dropped to my handsand knees to squeeze up to the stonework. I waited for a few minutes,listening - it wasn't too late to abort. Distant wood pigeons cooedgently and a nearby herd of sheep bleated sporadically. A car passedoverhead, but that was the only sound of human activity.Pulling up my trouser leg, I unstrapped the improvised explosive deviceand scraped at the river gravel under the arch with a piece ofdriftwood, creating a hole large enough to bury the pipe-bomb againstthe foundations. A quick tug removed the tape masking the hole in thetube and I inserted the fuse. A last check around confirmed that no onewas watching.With one flick, the Zippo's flame ignited the touchpaper. I watched fora moment, ensuring it was fizzling soundly, and scampered. There wasjust enough time to reach the cover of a fallen elm trunk before thedevice blew with a resounding bang that was much louder than expected.A family of ducks quacked away from the cover of some reeds on themuddy bank and the cooing of the wood pigeons abruptly halted.Gingerly, just as the echo rolled back from the fellsides of thevalley, I emerged from my cover to inspect the damage. The dust wasstill settling, but the bridge was standing. I smiled with excitement.It was easily my best bang of the summer - jolly good fun for a 13-page- 4 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version of this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com