The Sixteen Page 13

  Dynamo smiled. ‘The moves you are about to learn will give you the ability to cover the whole area of your body which is vulnerable to his attack, at one and the same time. It will also give you the ability to turn his attack to your advantage, disarming and disabling him and then using his weapon against him. Judging by what we have seen so far you have the ability to learn the moves so quickly that it’s only going to take a matter of weeks rather than months for you to get to grips with this, which is just as well as we need you to be up to scratch as soon as possible.’

  ‘Chalky!’ he called out. ‘Take that bayonet and attack me with it in a slashing movement to the left-hand side of my body, either to my face or wherever you want. So that I can demonstrate to Geordie the exact move that stops it.’

  Chalky picked up the bayonet and swiftly did just as Dynamo asked. Dynamo’s reactions were unbelievable, he appeared to anticipate Chalky’s move before it was made. Dynamo’s movements seemed almost robotic, yet were carried out with the most incredible speed and precision. He stopped the attack Chalky had aimed at his stomach not his face, with a move that enabled him to block the knife blow from Chalky’s right hand in such an unusual way that he ended up standing behind Chalky, who by now he had disarmed.

  ‘That is how it is done!’ he said. ‘The reason I did it in this way was to show you how it then becomes possible to use the disarmed person as a shield if there is more than one attacker. In time, we will show you how it is possible to use The Machine to take out other attackers at the same time before they have realised exactly what has happened. Of course, I knew what Chalky was going to do, because I asked him to do it, but I didn’t know where he was going to attack me, or exactly when. But even if he had changed his mind and attacked in a totally different manner, I, or rather The Machine, would have stopped it.’

  ‘There are ten to fifteen different ways to stop that particular move,’ Chalky said. ‘Which would enable Dynamo to be in the position he would want to be in if for some reason he was surrounded. It would make no difference whether the attacker was using a gun or a knife. But the really clever stuff is in knowing how to keep your enemy from shooting you straight away, getting him to come close enough to you without alarming him, which then enables you to take him and any others out.’

  Dynamo’s actions had really impressed me, what he’d done was brilliant and I was itching to get started.

  ‘One final thing to remember, Geordie,’ he said. ‘We go in and do the jobs that others cannot be seen to be doing. We succeed where the regular army have failed, or we help them to achieve their objectives without them actually being aware of it, but we do it in such a way that no one country is seen to be responsible for any outcome. When we eliminate someone we have to be able to get back out, so, rather than drawing attention to ourselves and having the whole country chasing after us, we try, wherever possible, to make our jobs look like accidents or suicides. We work in total and utter secrecy. Think about it, that is the whole definition of the word covert!

  ‘Right, I can see by your face that you understand what I’ve been talking about and I know that you want to get on with it, so let’s get cracking.’

  Chalky took me over to a nearby table on which stood one of the canvas bags. He took out two boot-knives, a sash and an MK1.

  ‘This is it, Geordie. You’re going to have to get used to wearing these so you must train with them on all the time. You’ll find that all of these weapons coincide with the movements of The Machine. Now you’re dressed to kill, let’s teach you to kill!’

  The training was incredibly intense. From first thing in the morning to last thing at night we would spend about four to five hours solidly going over something then have a short break, followed by another four to five hours. Although it was stiflingly hot and uncomfortable in the old hut, I just didn’t want to stop. That was the strange thing about it: the more I learned the more I wanted to know, it was addictive. At last, I was really beginning to understand what they meant by The Machine; it was already in me and was raring to go.

  No matter which of them I was actively training with at any one time, their moves were always precisely the same, completely identical. It was uncanny! Although by this time I had only learnt about seventy moves, I could feel something happening to me as we repeated things over and over, not only to get them right but also to ensure that they became like second nature. Following one particularly long session with Spot, I stopped for a moment to wipe the sweat pouring from my brow.

  I was doing exactly what they were doing, it was weird! Even though I knew they had planted The Machine moves into me, it felt like I had been born with this. I could feel something happening to me as we repeated things over and over.

  ‘Had enough?’ Spot asked. ‘Do you want a break?’

  ‘No way!’ I replied.

  Spot grinned. ‘You’ve got the bug, I remember when it first hit me I didn’t want to stop either. It’s a strange feeling, isn’t it? Powerful, as though you could walk over anyone? Yeah, I remember it well, Geordie. You feel good now, but wait until you know everything, you’ll feel incredible. You’ll probably end up like Dynamo and we’ll have to tie you down for a few days!’ He laughed.

  ‘It gets as bad as that, does it?’ I said, laughing back at him.

  ‘You’d better believe it, you don’t know what you’ve let yourself in for!’

  ‘What exactly do you mean?’

  ‘Well, I don’t want to put you off—’

  ‘—I don’t think you’ll be able to do that,’ I interrupted him.

  ‘OK, then. I remember the first job I did,’ he went on. ‘Afterwards, when we got back, I felt really strange for a while, sort of guilty, knowing that I’d killed someone – but at the same time totally thrilled that I’d done it, and done it well. I think we’ve all experienced the same thing, but by the time I’d done my second job, something else seemed to have taken over. It’s a bit difficult to explain but I guess it’s got something to do with the excitement that builds up inside of you when you have to go into a hostile country where you know they hate your guts and would have absolutely no qualms about blowing your brains out. You get this huge rush of adrenalin through your body. Going in disguise into a heavily guarded area under their very noses and carrying out the operation, assassination or whatever, knowing the serious consequences of what you’re doing and coming out again without a scratch, it’s unbelievable!’

  Spot looked thoughtful for a brief moment then continued: ‘The bit I really enjoy is the unknown, the element of surprise, especially when they think it’s impossible to break their security, you know? To get to our destination and find that it’s not exactly like the photos we’ve seen, having to change our plans there and then. It’s having the ability to work out any problems we may encounter, right under their very noses, to make what seems impossible, possible – that’s what gives me a kick! The things you’ll learn will never fail you. Do you see?’

  I nodded. His enthusiasm was totally infectious.

  ‘You see, we come from the place they least expect, somewhere they’d never dream anyone would even attempt, and because of that it sometimes feels as though we’re almost cheating in some way. You could almost feel sorry for the bastards. It’s having that edge that gives you a buzz, that and the fact that usually we’re already on our way home before they even discover what’s happened. There was this one job we did, I can’t say where, but we got word back that they were suspicious about the sudden death of a guard and some valuable documents going missing. They weren’t certain exactly what had taken place but the word came back via intelligence that someone thought they’d seen something but couldn’t be sure. That’s when Ken came up with that little saying of his, “There was a man who wasn’t there, he wasn’t there again today, I wish that man would go away”.’

  ‘He said that to me when I first came here,’ I said, remembering.

  ‘Well, Geordie, it sort of sums us up, if you know what I mean. It�
�s a bit like the feeling when someone has been in your room, they may not have touched anything but you just know someone has been there, don’t you? Or when someone has left the house ten minutes before you get home, you can tell that they haven’t been gone very long.’

  I nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

  Suddenly he nudged me. ‘Hey, Geordie, you know that break you didn’t want, well I’ve just spent half an hour explaining things to you so you’ve had it whether you wanted it or not. Come on, let’s get on with it!’

  And so, my training continued with them. It was great, I was learning how to move and think and be completely different. Sometimes I spent a complete week with them, returning to camp only for the weekend, then I’d be back with them again the following week. Other times I would only train for a couple of days then spend the next two weeks back at camp. They never gave me specific times or dates when I could expect to be picked up and it appeared that nobody in my unit suspected a thing.

  Whoever was covering my back was doing a first-class job, but they were undoubtedly helped by the apparent lack of organisation that was prevalent in the army system. Once you were given your orders and instructed to report to another camp, nobody seemed to care much as long as you got back when you were supposed to and that any paperwork you had was all in order.

  In the beginning, they would often ask me to do something, watch me then smile or laugh and walk away shaking their heads and I thought that I must be doing it all wrong, or that they were taking the Mickey. Puzzled, I collared Chalky.

  ‘What are you all laughing at?’ I asked him, looking down at my trousers to see if something was wrong. ‘What’s so funny?’

  ‘Nothing, Geordie! Slow down a bit that’s all, you’re putting us to shame!’ he said. ‘No, honestly, I’m only joking, but you’re learning this a hell of a lot quicker than we did!’

  ‘Yes, you’ll soon be ready,’ Dynamo added.

  ‘Ready for what?’ I wanted to know.

  ‘You’ll find out soon enough, a job could pop up at any time and you are ready for that. At the speed you’re going, you’ll be ready to do some initiative tests pretty soon!’

  ‘Initiative test? I thought I’d already done that?’

  ‘No, these tests are used to see how quick you’re going to be at picking things up, assessing situations, learning river crossings and the like,’ he told me.

  I was relieved to know that they were merely laughing with genuine surprise at the speed with which I was learning and how quickly I cottoned on to complex things that others would possibly find difficult to fathom. They didn’t have to encourage me but nevertheless it was great to be praised for once in my life. I was totally surprised at how quickly I was learning and could remember with comparative ease what they showed me. Not for the first time, I wondered how anyone could have possibly known that I would have this kind of ability when I hadn’t even known it myself!

  Although the implant of The Machine made it relatively easy, it was only after a couple of days that there came a moment when it just all clicked into place. Until then, my actions hadn’t seemed to have any real power to them at first, but then I just felt everything come together, the moves and combinations, the weapons, the boot-knives and the sash.

  The aim was to turn me into some kind of fighting machine, but at first, I just couldn’t understand how these actions could possibly achieve that; they were the most unorthodox movements I had ever seen. I even thought for a while that perhaps they were exaggerating.

  And the power I was developing learning the moves was incredible and the way in which I was now able to move was quite unbelievable. They were right, there was no other way of describing it, I was acting like some kind of machine!

  Everything was gradually becoming clearer to me and I now knew that I had the ability without using my fists, or indeed any punching or kicking actions, to kill or do some serious damage with relative ease, breaking a man’s neck or limbs was simple to do. My actions were so powerful yet required so very little effort and used such small amounts of energy that I was never left exhausted. It was utterly incredible!

  To be able to take a few men out without having to resort to gunfire or explosives it would have to be done like this. I couldn’t imagine any other way of doing it so successfully.

  Whoever had designed and worked out this method of combat really knew what it was all about. The whole system was quite ingenious. All of the equipment became an extension of your body, with everything designed to connect and slot together so smoothly like the pieces of a jigsaw, and the boot-knives and sash were there to fill in any gaps.

  When I started training with the sash, that wonderful piece of equipment, I was utterly amazed at what I could do. Although I hadn’t learnt all of the moves yet and only had turnips in front of me as targets, it was still incredible what I was able to achieve. It fitted in completely with everything I had learned so far and extended my range, thereby enabling me to take out anyone I couldn’t reach with my hands. I could see the total surprise an attacker would get, they wouldn’t stand a chance and I’d be able to rip them to pieces in seconds.

  The whole system was just so unbelievably cleverly worked out, it was obvious why it had to be kept such a secret, why in fact they operated in the way they did. It was just the kind of knowledge that you didn’t want to be made known to just anyone. Although I seriously doubted whether any of the guys I knew would ever be able to pick up anything like these techniques; it had taken most of them weeks just to get to grips with marching up and down!

  I thought taking a handgun, rifle or whatever, from someone who had no qualms about killing you, was pretty clever stuff. But to have the ability to prevent that person from shooting you just by your actions alone, and then to be able to make him do what you wanted him to do by those same actions, that was something else.

  Now I could easily prevent a group of attackers from opening fire on me when I took out one of their pals, by moving in such a way that if they did use their guns they’d actually end up shooting each other. This was just another aspect of my training, learning the art of how to completely control a situation and any action resulting from it.

  It was amazing how the four of us worked together as a group. Having the ability to know where the others were all the time meant that we could each coincide our moves and keep out of the others’ way. And, because I’d mastered moving my head at one with my body as I turned, I now had the ability to constantly look around me so that I was always aware of the direction an attack might come from, which also enabled me to use my peripheral vision to its maximum efficiency.

  I learned how to decide who I should attack first if surrounded. By walking backwards into my chosen victim, I would surprise him and encourage him to attack my back. Thereby controlling the situation, so that I could then move into the position I needed to be in to attack someone else, or to draw another person into attacking me, using the first person as a shield if necessary. And by doing so, I would always remain in complete control of the whole situation. By constantly moving in this way I was able to monitor 360 degrees around me at any one time. Anyone I touched was taken out, or disabled, thus eliminating the risk of having them attack me again. Anyone out of my direct reach could be taken care of by using the sash.

  It was a marvellous system, as skilful and as complex as a chess game.

  CHAPTER 7

  READY FOR ACTION

  Once I became proficient with the combat moves of The Machine they began to instruct me in the specialised ways of retrieving lines, using a variety of different types of arrowheads in order to cross ravines and seemingly impassable rivers. During one of these sessions, Dynamo decided that the time had also come for me to carry out some initiative tests.

  ‘OK. Something has come up, Geordie, and you’ve got to grips with The Machine and the weapon training a lot faster than we expected. It’s just as well, as we’ve said before we never know when we might be called on to do a job an
d we need to be at full strength; there are just a few more things we have to show you. As you know, we always choose difficult crossing areas where we know no one without our skills and knowledge would be able to follow us across. Do you remember when I mentioned to you a while ago that we would be putting you through some initiative tests to see how quick you’re going to be at learning river crossings and the like?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Well, we’re going to do some today. You see, Geordie, it’s one thing to learn the moves of The Machine but we also need to know how you’re thinking, so this is what I want you to do,’ he told me, grinning. ‘But if you don’t do this in less than half an hour, you won’t get any tea for the rest of the day.’

  ‘Come on.’ I laughed, knowing that he was teasing me about the amount of tea that I drank and that I was always ready for a cuppa. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  He pointed to the other end of the building. ‘Look over there. Do you see that egg on top of that piece of wood?’

  ‘Yes, sure!’ About forty feet away from me, a short piece of wood about one to one-and-a-half inches thick and about six feet long, stood on its edge with an egg precariously balanced on top of it. It was obvious that the slightest movement would cause the egg to fall and break.

  ‘OK. Well, wait here for a moment.’

  I did as he asked and stood looking at the egg, wondering just what he had in mind, thinking it must be some kind of a joke.

  Dynamo came back carrying a ball of string together with a dog-clip (as explained earlier, this was a karabiner, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate, used for connecting ropes when mountaineering) and a small piece of wood.