Setting Off

6th June, 1999

Derby, England

The alarm rang at 4 A.M. that morning and Miles and I quickly got up, excitement gripping both of us.

We shared a small two room apartment just above the mechanic shop. Our parents wanted us to be more independent, and we both needed a place to crash out, so we decided to be roommates.
We got ready steadily, thankful for the fact that we had packed the night before. It was about 4:45 A.M. when we, wearing a backpack each, reached the pub. We had told our families that we were going to Blackpool as a part of a group; we were certain that they would not approve of the job we were about to embark upon.

Jose, carrying a small bag, reached the pub at five o clock sharp. It was a very foggy morning and it was quite chilly outside. He was wrapped in a thick jacket and was wearing a woolen hat.

'So, ready for the off, eh?' quipped Jose in a fake British accent, which made Miles and me exchange a smile.

‘We sure are,’ Miles replied.

'Well then, what are you waiting for? Get in the car, we are off now,' said Jose, and motioned us to his car, a white Citroën Zantia.

With a rev of the engine, we set off towards the motorway. Derby was a small city, which meant that it did not have a direct motorway route to Heathrow. This implied that we first had to catch the M1, the M6, the M45, pass through Luton and Milton Keyes before switching back to the M1. From there it was a straight out road to the airport. On the way, Jose told us about everything we needed to know relating the mission. He told us that we wouldn’t be facing any problems here in Heathrow, as the packet would be given to us after we completed the detection tests.

Finally, after a little more than two hours, we reached the airport. It was around seven and the flight was to depart at noon. Jose directed Miles and me to a secluded corner and briefed us again.

‘Now look,’ his tone was very serious, ‘after the checking is over, one of you head straight towards the bathroom in the waiting lounge. Waiting there will be a man in the airport uniform who is a member of the cleaning staff’ explained Jose.

‘And he is your man, genius!’ said Miles, quite thrilled.

‘Right,’ Jose continued, ‘you take the parcel from him, and stuff it into one of your backpacks, am I understood?’

We nodded our understanding. It seemed a safe plan to us, or so it seemed.

‘Can I ask what exactly we would be carrying?’ My nagging conscience wouldn’t rest. I had to know what it was.

‘Two kilograms of pure white Columbian Cocaine,' said Jose

'Right,’ I said feigning nonchalance. I very well knew what I had signed up for but there was definitely nervousness coursing through my veins, ‘and how much is it worth?'

'It’s worth a lot of money, and a lot of respect,' said Jose proudly. ‘Now hurry along will you? And good luck.'

‘It’s all going to go according to plan, is it?’ asked Miles, a bit nervous this time.

'Yeah, so don't worry, have a safe journey and meet you after a week, I guess,' chuckled Jose.

'Cheers then,' I said and Jose rushed out to his car.

‘This is it, then’ I said with a little more enthusiasm, even though I still had my doubts.

We made our way through the security luggage barrier, looking relaxed and trying to behave like two young teenage tourists, rather than two people on a mission.

After the formalities were complete, we made it through to the departure lounge. Now there was just the small matter of getting the precious package from the man Jose was talking about, and it didn’t take that long. As soon as Miles and I entered the airport bathroom, a man dressed in uniform beckoned us to follow him, which we did. He led us into a cubicle, and I entered with him as Miles stayed outside.

‘Here you go, take good care of this,’ he said, handing me a small brown package. It was quite heavy, and knowing what was inside it made my heart pound a little. This was it, I was in possession of illegal drugs, I thought.
I put the package inside my backpack and carefully stuffed it between my waxed jackets and vests. The man told us that we had an hour and a half till we had to board the plane.

After leaving the bathroom, we were quite nervous as the theoretical plan was actually being executed by us. We had an hour or so to kill, but we wanted to board the flight as soon as possible. Miles suggested that we could go and have lunch at the airport’s KFC, to which I whole-heartedly agreed.

'Can't believe we are going away, can you?’ asked Miles, eating his chicken rather slowly.

'Yeah, it’s like a scary yet exciting dream,' I replied, already through with mine 'Hurry up with your food, Miles, it’s almost time.'

'Let me eat the last proper food we are going to get for a whole week. Who bloody knows what we may get there. Grasshopper gravy, fried Ants and don’t know what else,' said Miles and we both shared a good laugh at that. It sure did relax us for then.

After a while, the announcement bell rang twice and a female voice spoke.

'Passengers of British Airways flight BA 555 now boarding at gate 3'

'That’s us Miles, let’s go' I said excitedly, my was heart beating fast, and I was also kind of relieved that we were finally going to board the plane.

'Woo hoo! Colombia, here we come' exclaimed Miles, who was managing his fears quite well.