HOSTILE TAKEOVER

EIGHT

Chapter Six

The Shock of Capture

The Aston Martin Vanquish Volante cruised along the M3 towards Southampton as Bond listened to the Lakmé flower duet on Classic FM and he raised his finger on the steering wheel as an imaginary baton. Brilliant sunlight on his left made him wear his favorite wayfarers, but after about an hour and a half, and having pulled the top down on the luxury vehicle,  he turned onto Fort Road and then spotted the sign on the right for the Gosport & Stokes Bay Golf Club and drove the short distance to where the small club house and the small car park was, but he didn’t stop, he carried on slowly creeping past several members with Golf Bags who waved as he went past and Bond raised his hand as a thank you.

The small road which was called Military Road was more of a dirt track and the name came from when the Golf Club was exclusively for Military personnel who were stationed at Plymouth.

As Bond approached and stopped at a simple barrier, he could see further ahead that the dirt track turned into something more resembling a road and cut through a small building which Bond knew was the real security Lodge.

He had been here a once before and knew that number plate and face recognition software was scanning him and the Aston Martin from the other building, in fact, an array of sophisticated sensors had been monitoring him the instant he turned onto the Golf Club road. A civilian security guard stepped through a small building and approached the car.

“Morning Sir” stated the man “Do you have some ID please?” he asked, but no sooner had he finished speaking than a small buzzer rang behind him.

The barrier instantly lifted and the Guard waved Bond through, knowing that he had been verified and there was no need to keep him delayed any longer than necessary.

The Aston Martin drove on the short distance which was about five hundred yards away and as he drove underneath the building which was the main security lodge, two reinforced steel barriers rose up in front of his car and then he could see that two more where being raised behind him. He was now trapped.

Appearing from out of nowhere, two Royal Marines armed with SA-80 rifles and equipped with AG36 grenade launchers stepped into a strategic position either side of the car and took aim.

“Sir, please turn the engine off.” ordered a third marine. Bond complied and killed the engine but kept his hands on the steering wheel. He certainly didn’t want to make these men nervous.

Another man appeared with mirrors on a long pole and began looking under the car as another Marine stepped from the opposite building with a dog and they began to inspect the car.

Bond sat slightly forward and looked out of the windshield at an array of CCTV domes. He smiled and gave a fake salute.

After a brief moment, the marine stood at the driver’s side.

“Good Morning Sir. Please may I see some ID and may I also ask you to open the boot.” asked the Marine in a pleasant but forceful way.

Bond pressed the button on the dash to start the engine and one of the Marines bent down on one knee with the SA-80 aimed directly at the Aston Martin. Flicking another button, the boot clicked open and then reaching for his official pass, the Marine barely examined it and handed it back with a nod of his head. He walked towards the back of the Aston Martin and in the boot was Bond’s set of Ping Clubs and a small suitcase.

The Marine did not touch anything at all, he just looked and after the sniffer dog found nothing, satisfied, he closed the boot and again approached the Driver’s window.