Diamonds Underground - Chapter 3

Diamonds Underground

 

Chapter 3

 

The Secret Chamber  

 

Laser beam like shafts of light reached out from the setting sun before it disappeared for another day under the horizon . The kiss of a lonely sunset tore the sky apart with steams of colours tinting the clouds .  Blackbirds swept into the shadows of the night and their squawking echoed like a song before the applause of night creatures had begun . The twilight surrendered its fascination of light to the blackness of the night and the chimney tops over Cork spewed out smoke from the turf fires within where open hearths welcomed the stranger in for comfort .

Outside in the town street sweepers were busy at work clearing up what others couldn’t put away . The figure of a lonely busker walked through the town with a guitar under his arm .  The chimes of the town clock rippled along through the streets and into the River Lee that made its way out to the sea and captured the attention of Hyman who shuffled his way on the sidewalk towards the City Hall . It was three in the morning .  Through heavy eyes he watched a seagull glide through the air .

Up ahead of Hyman on the sidewalk a red haired lady approached . When she drew near Hyman looked away but she spoke to him .

 ‘Excuse me sir do you anyplace where I could get a cup of tea at this ungodly hour of the day ?”

He refused to look at her face .

“No , I’m sorry young lady, I can’t help you ”  He replied and kept walking .

The wind blew like an enemy from deaths doorstep into Hymans face and almost cut him in two . He thought to himself , there is no greater fury than that of a woman spurned . Now with his eyes fixed on the City Hall he made his way around the back of that granite stone structure with a wild wind at his back howling each step he took propelled him along the street towards the Irish rail office building . H eonce more found the hole in the wire fence . After making sure no one was around he made his way to the entrance door id the derelict building  . Lifting the door handle up , he  walked inside . Quickly and quietly Hyman scrunched up some newspapers and made a makeshift lantern . He pulled the desk from the corner and made his way up the hole in the ceiling . He took out his cigarette lighter and lit his paper torch and couldn’t believe his eyes .  Up there was a huge area that covered the entire perimeter of the building / There were parcels and cardboard boxes , packing cases and other items stacked up . Then he saw what looked like a trapdoor on a hinge and as  he pushed against it the door swung open revealing a wooden staircase that descended down inti a massive warehouse filled with all kinds of goods in boxes and crates . His senses were right . His curiosity was now electrified into reality and he smiled with satisfaction, He felt like Aladdin in the cave and began to pull through various boxes and discovered artworks and ornaments , antiques , fur coats , wine , whisky , gold coins watched , and suddenly he came across guns and ammunition .

“Sweet Jesus . I knew it ” He said .

He was alerted by the sound of footsteps coming and quickly extinguished the flames from his lantern and rushed to hide behind some crates .

After a few moments five men emerged into the warehouse . They were talking about an operation or a deal in progress .

 

“Well we need more time Sean. ” Said one of the group .

“How much more time do you need Con ?”

 Came the reply .

“Hard to say at this stage Sean . Our connections in France have warned us that the stones are too hot to handle ‘”

“Do we have a buyer for them  yet “

Another of the group spoke .

“ We have three people interested Sean.“

“Are they local Jim ?”

“No Sean . They are in Zurich .“

“So we can’t move the gems there yet  ?”

“Correct , as I said Sean it’s not safe . Interpol are aware and have people checking containers on the ports and freight coming and going everywhere . They’re looking hard  for them . Best to lie low for a while .”

After a moment the question was asked ,

“So do you think the stones are safe enough here with us Jim?”

“They’re better off buried here under the toilet floor . Even if they find the warehouse they’ll never know where the stones are buried .“

‘Ok until we can move the gems they will stay under the floor tiles in the old janitors toilet . Are we all ok with that ? ”

The rest all confirmed they were .

“Ok lads lets get that truck out from the shed . We have a job to do ”

Con said .

“What time did you say that shipment was coming ?”

Jim Asked .

 

 “Six hours from now .“ Replied Con .

“Is that the brandy shipment we’re expecting ? “

 Sean asked .

‘”Yeah Sean , its on its way . We have a driver and a truck to meet there . “

Jim replied

“Excellent action Jim .“ Said Sean .

Another in the group with a Belfast accent asked  .

“When are we going to deliver that order of weapons across the border Sean ?”

“At the weekend Martin .‘ Said Sean .

“About time . Our client is eager to use them . “

Martin replied .

“Sure enough but they need to practice some patience.“

“The only patience they understand , are those who end up in the hospital. “

They all laughed .

“All for one “ Sean said and everyone else replied .

“And one for all .“

Then Sean continued ,

“ Then we’ll take their all and give them none . Right Jack , open up that shed and get the truck . We best be on our way now . “

Shortly after they all left the warehouse .

Hyman came out from his hiding spot and walked around the warehouse for a while thinking over what he should do .

He started searching through some more boxes . Pulling out the contents of each one . Then he saw a door in the corner . On the door was a sign that that said ,

“Janitors Toilet”

Hyman went inside and on the floor was a crazy paved tiled floor . He noticed that a few of the tiles were loose  . Without any effort he lifted the tiles and underneath was a layer of fine sand that he scraped up with his hands . Then he saw a plastic bag and inside that was a green velvet box , When Hyman opened the box it contained a large amount of diamonds that glittered like stars in the sky . He placed a few of them in his hands and said .

‘ Jackpot ! Jesus these must be worth millions .“

Then he jumped up and down singing

“I’m taking care of business , oh yeah taking care of business.”

“Just keep your hands where they are.,: A harsh voice said .

Then he felt a gun at the back of his head .

“When I smelt paper burning I knew we had a rat in here “

Said the voice ,

‘Don’t be stupid Sean. Don’t kill him in here. We have no time to get rid of the body’.

“You’re right Con , after we exchange the cognac at the border we’ll hand him over to the boys in Belfast. They’ll take care of him .”

Hyman was fooled to think they had left the warehouse and now he was in a big mess . He stood there like a mouse in the lions den as one of the group started searching him .  Sean held the gun to his head . Hyman though to himself , lucky I’ve  no ID on me .

Sean took the diamonds from Hyman  and said .

“So you thought you had hit the jackpot, well think again . Your luck’s run out boyo “

“He’s not carrying anything . He’s clean Sean .”

‘Who are you ?” One of them asked .

“Just a homeless man looking for shelter .“

Hyman replied .

“You’re an undercover copper .“

“No I an tourist on holiday here but I was robbed .“

Hyman said  .

“You’re in our hands now .“

Said Sean .

‘Time we were moving Sean.” Said Jack . 

“Ok , we’ll put him in the back of the car between Jim and Con . Jack we’ll follow you in the truck . Grab some gear boys. “ Sean said .

They all took semi automatic weapons from a crate and loaded them with a magazine . Then Hyman was escorted by his right arm out to a car parked in the spare ground outside where the truck was sitting .

The car and truck hit the tarmac at speed and never stopped until they reached Rosslare , The car parked on a hill overlooking the sea and the truck further along the road in a field . 

    

“Good timing . The ships on its way now .“

“Everything still the same as we planned “ Jim said .

“Except for him here between us ” Said Con .  

Sean turned around in the front seat and pointed a gun to Hymns head .

“You’re with us now .; Like it or not . So don’t try anything stupid . Ok ?”

Hyman nodded . The handgun at his ribcage was pushed harder .

“I never heard your answer “ Jim said .” 

“I’m not going to do anything silly’“ Hyman replied .

Right boys the trucks coming off the ferry now .You know the plan but just to refresh you , We’ll follow the truck as it passes and just before it gets to the bend at field of barley we’ll overtake it and stop in front . Let the driver see the guns and show him the way to the field where the truck is . It will all happen quickly . There won’t be time for him to radio for help “.

They all gave the thumbs up except for Hyman . They all looked at him and he just smiled and said .

‘Has anyone got a cigarette ?”

Con took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and said .

“So you’re an English man on holiday in Ireland ?”

“I am “  Hyman replied.

“Well we can’t have a visitor to our country think we’re not friendly .“

He handed over a cigarette to Hyman and went through his pockets looking for a lighter . Hyman caught a glimpse of a small plastic bag with some diamonds inside that Con had removed to get his lighter  After lighting the cigarette for Hyman Con quickly put  the bag of stones back in his pocket .

No one realised that Hyman saw the diamonds . Sean in the front seat never saw what Con had in his pocket and Jim who was looking the other way was also oblivious to the bag of diamonds in Con’s pocket .’Hyman suspected that Con had helped himself to a sample of the goods in the warehouse and started to ask a few subtle questions with a jag in them .

“ So those diamonds I had in my hands back there “.

Con snarled an immediate  response .

‘What about them ?”

“Have you counted how many you have . Looks like a lot ?”

“So what’s that to you anyway “ Jim asked .

“Just wondering how much they’re worth.” Hyman said .

“They’re worth millions if you really want to know , but you won’t around to see us enjoy it. “ Sean said and everyone laughed .

‘Well not that I’m an expert , but I would have though that they’re worth a lot more “

Hyman said .

Con looked uncomfortable and said .

“‘Shut up with the questions and enjoy your smoke . It could be your last “

He looked at Hyman and laughed .

“In my opinion I don’t think those diamonds are all that safe under the tiles odf the toilet floor . “

Sean turned around from the front seat and said .

“ Well I’m sure they’re safe because nobody knows about them except for the five of us bandits and you . Soon you are not going to be in the equation anymore so  I can’t see any problem about the whereabouts of the gems unless there is something you’re not telling us . ”

Con interrupted ,

‘”The truck’s coming Sean .“

‘”Right boys put the hoods on now and  lets go .“

They quickly put on their black balaclavas and the car found the road and within minutes was following close behind .  Just after the field of barley the truck went round the bend and was overtaken by the car that pulled up to a stop . All the boys jumped out and pointed their weapons at the driver . One of the group opened up the passengers door and got into the truck and said  .

“If you want to see your family again drive where I tell you to go “:

The driver nodded .

The truck was taken to a field and the cognac was loaded into the other truck where Jack sat behind the wheel.

The other driver was handcuffed to the drivers wheel of his truck and one of the hijackers said .

“All we’re after is the cognac. We’re not interested in you , so your boss will be told  what’s happened and where you are . All you have to do is wait . Ok “

The driver nodded . The drivers radio was ripped out and they left the field in their  car , with a truck of rare cognac behind . It was dark and the road back to Cork was a long and winding journey .  The miles went past before them with white lines and cats eyes shinning before the headlights . Suddenly out of nowhere a tractor appeared pulling a trailer of hay bales . The car hit the brakes hard and went into a skid ending up on  hedge while the truck jack knifed in an effort to avoid a collision  and almost rolled over across the road . Before any of the drivers could get out of their veichles the Garda swooped in their cars and completely surrounded the bandits who were told to surrender their weapons  . The road ahead and behind was littered with lines of police cars , there was no way out and Sean realised it was over and ordered everyone to give up .

The farmer sat there in his tractor and the Chief Superintendent  went over and said

“How’s the family Paddy?”

The farmer said

“Sure everyone’s fine Mick and yourself now ?”
“The same :

Came the reply .

“So will we see you for dinner at the weekend “

“You will Mick . Now what is all this mess you’ve made here on the road  .“

The farmer replied ,

“I was just driving me tractor along the road when a rabbit run in front of me and I had to stop in a hurry to avoid running over the poor thing anyway as you see some of the hay bales fell out of the trailer . I hope I haven’t caused any inconvenience.”

The Chief Superintendent replied , 

“Sure now it’s no inconvenience at all Paddy . Let me get some of the lads to get those hay bales back into your trailer for you so you can get on your way and the rest if you we’ll sort out later .”

Shortly after the tractor made it way along the road as Garda veichles allowed it to pass through unhindered .

The Chief Superintendent walked over to Sean and said ,

“Sean Mulligan , you and your outfit are all under arrest for smuggling, hijacking, not to mention driving in a dangerous manner without a license .“

Sean replied ,

“So tell me , who tipped you off”‘

 

“Just some good detective work Mulligan . We’ve had our eyes on your organization for a long time and tonight was the night when operation Brandy Balloon came to an end . You’re all nicked . Cuff them all and take them down to the holding cell until the judge is ready to pass his sentence .“   

 

 

End Of Chapter 3

 

.https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/diamonds-underground-chapter-4

 

Linl to Chapter 4

 

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