Читать книгу Once A Pilgrim - James Deegan - Страница 24

12.

AT 18:00HRS, THE PARAS had conducted the shift change for the RUC crew, and now they were sitting in Springfield Road police station, drinking yet another round of Tetley teas.

Second lieutenant Guy de Vere reckoned he’d drunk half a dozen cups already that day, and not out of the dainty little Royal Doulton china teacups that his mother liked, but out of big black plastic Army mugs which each held about a pint. It was playing hell with his bladder.

Around him, the men were relaxing in the smoky warmth.

Mick Parry, an unlit B&H fag in one corner of his mouth, was telling one of the older Toms a filthy story about a girl he knew back in Wavertree.

Keogh and Morris were sucking Fox’s Glacier Mints and bickering good-naturedly over who was the better driver.

John Carr had his head buried deep in a dog-eared book.

‘What are you reading?’ said de Vere.

Carr held it up. ‘Chickenhawk,’ he said. ‘Robert Mason.’

‘The Vietnam book?’ said de Vere, unable to keep the note of surprise out of his voice.

Carr looked at him. ‘I might never have went to Eton, boss,’ he said. ‘But they do teach us to read, you know.’

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ said de Vere. ‘And I didn’t go to Eton myself, either.’

‘Not posh enough?’ said Carr, with a grin. ‘The OC won’t let you in the Mess if he finds out.’

‘You read a lot of military history?’

‘A fair bit, aye.’

Pte Keogh leaned over. ‘Guess his favourite song, boss,’ he said.

‘No idea,’ said de Vere.

‘Dancing Queen,’ said Keogh, with a cackle. ‘By Abba.’

Carr grinned. ‘That’s a fucking good track, right enough,’ he said. ‘But let’s get one thing straight. My favourite song is actually Love Will Tear Us Apart.’

‘Joy Division?’ shouted one of the Toms, from across the room. ‘Bunch of poofs.’

‘Bollocks,’ said Carr. ‘It’s a fucking classic. Ian Curtis, a man gone too early. Brilliant band.’

‘I don’t think I…’ de Vere started to say, but Carr was away, singing the first few lines of the song.

‘Jesus,’ said Scouse. ‘Cover your ears, lads, what the fuck is that? Sounds like a ladyboy in distress.’

‘Get to fuck, Scouse,’ said Carr. ‘You know the birds love my singing. Gagging for it, once I start.’

‘Maybe that fat NAAFI bird up in Whiterock, mate, but no-one else,’ said Parry. ‘Oh yeah, that other fat bird in Palace Barracks.’

‘They all need loving, Scouse,’ said Carr. ‘And don’t get jealous. I’ve got a Readers’ Wives you can borrow later.’

‘Fuck off, you jock bastard!’ said Mick Parry, and the rest of the room fell apart.

De Vere smiled to himself: this was evidently a tight-knit bunch of blokes, high on morale and led by a pair of excellent NCOs. He’d begun the day feeling like the proverbial fish out of water but, to his amazement, he was already starting to feel accepted. In turn that felt like an enormous privilege.

He looked at his watch: 18:15hrs.

They were done for the day, bar the drive back to Whiterock, and he was just starting to think about getting back to his room, and writing that letter to his father to let him know how his first day had gone, when an RUC inspector stuck his head in and beckoned Parry outside.

A minute or two later, the Liverpudlian corporal returned.

‘Okay, guys, listen in,’ he said, looking at the blokes. ‘Get your kit on, and let’s get out to the vehicles. We’re not done yet after all.’

He came over to Carr and de Vere.

‘John, boss, they want us to do some extra VCPs in the Clonards,’ he said, with the air of a man who was entirely used to being fucked about by the Army, and could take more of it than they could ever dish out. ‘Down in the Lower Falls area. We’re gonna be out a bit later than we thought.’

‘Right-ho, Corp’l Parry,’ said the young officer, standing up. ‘Any specific reason?’

‘There’s something big going on, but they don’t share shit like that with the likes of us, do they? The RUC crew don’t know, neither.’

‘Thanks, Parry,’ said de Vere. He hesitated for a moment, and then dropped his voice and leaned in slightly. ‘It’s been a good day. You’ve been a great support.’

‘It’s not over yet, boss,’ said the corporal, with a broad smile. ‘Trust me, this bollocks can go on all night.’

Outside, the Toms were already waiting patiently next to the vehicles.

‘Listen in,’ barked Parry, and proceeded to give them a quick brief, pointing on his map to where they would set up the first VCP.

They would leave the RUC station and head along the Springfield Road into Kashmir Road, then right into Clonard Gardens, and finally into Clonard Street, facing towards the Falls Road.

They’d put the VCP in at the junction with Ross Mill Avenue and Clonard Street – a chokepoint that everyone had to pass through, if they were trying to cut out the Falls so as to avoid the nearby RUC station.

At 18:35hrs the vehicles rolled out of Springfield Road.

Five minutes later they were set up in the Clonards, and the VCP was operating.