Author's Note: Another story I forgot to post up. Written last year for my mate Freddie's birthday.
"Whoo hoo! We're going to Australia! First class all the way! How cool is that? IT'S AUSTRALIA, BABY!"
Connor's beaming smile didn't diminish. It didn't even wane in the slightest. His grin was almost as wide as his face and his eyes were sparkling with joy as he played with the remote for his chair.
"It's Australia, baby!" Connor yelled again, frightening the poor stewardess as she walked past. Apologising, he helped her pick up the tray of warm towels.
"I cannot believe that Lester put us up for first class seats!" gasped Abby rubbing her hands lovingly along the arms and stretching out her legs on the rest. "Remind me to send him a big hamper when we get back!"
"AUSTRALIA, BABY!"
"Has anyone got some duct tape to shut him up?" snapped Becker, picking up his sleeping pack and lobbing it at Connor. It bounded off Connor's head and he didn't even react. "We know it's Australia! You've said it enough times!"
"AUSTRALIA, BABY!" Connor laughed back, knowing full well it would annoy the Captain.
"Oh dear gods! We're going there to work not for a holiday!"
"Don't be such an arse, Becker!" said Abby, shaking her head in dismay. "Relax! We've got a long flight and we're going in comfort! Isn't it exciting?"
"We're working, Abby. We're not going to surf, sunbathe or sight-see!"
"Tell that to Jess!" laughed Matt, pointing to the young woman struggling to haul her hand luggage down the aisle.
Jess was wearing a large floppy hat, a very short yellow summer dress and wedged sandals, shockingly large sunglasses with pink frames covered her eyes and in the hand that wasn't dragging the case behind her, was a guide book to Australia. She was too busy reading, when her case caught on one of the chairs causing her to stumble.
Becker got up to help her. Jess' hat flopped down in front of her entire face and when Becker pushed it back up, she grinned.
"Thank you! This is so exciting! I've never been to Australia before. Thank you for bringing me along!"
"IT'S AUSTRALIA, BABY!" Connor yelled. Jess giggled and jiggled with excitement, jumping for joy at the prospect.
Becker, however, snatched the book out of Jess' hand and lobbed it at Connor. This time there was a loud "Ow!" in response and Becker felt much happier.
"Oh, now that was just mean!" Jess said slapping Becker on his arm. "Why are you being such a sourpuss?"
"We are not on holiday, Jess! Doesn't anyone realise that? A very serious situation has arisen and the Australians have asked for our help. We all have briefing files to catch up on and we'd better be prepared when we get there. Can we curb this enthusiasm and be professional?"
There was a low and whiny reply of "Yeah".
He helped put Jess' hand luggage into the compartment above the seat and sat back down into his own chair.
Jess then began to start talking to Abby, her excitement wasn't even in the slightest bit curbed. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but it didn't work.
All he could hear was Abby and Jess talking and the motor of Connor's chair whirring as he wouldn't stop playing with the damned thing. He shouldn't have thrown that sleep pack, for the ear plugs and eye mask could have helped block all of it out.
Frustrated, Becker then grabbed the duffel bag under his seat and picked out the mission file. He started reading about what awaited them when they got to the other side of the world, but his concentration was again interrupted.
A glass of bucks fizz was poked between Becker's face and the file.
"It's Australia, baby!"
Becker slammed the file down into his lap and scowled up at Matt.
"Not you as well."
"What? You really should relax." Matt took a swing from the glass, grinned and held the glass back out to Becker. "Come on! You're like a sulking teenager and you're spoiling the mood! So lighten up! Have a bucks fizz!"
"We're on duty, Matt."
"We're in first class, Becker!" Matt mocked his whining tone. "It's one drink! Do you want me to order you to relax? I could do that you know."
"Don't. Just don't."
"Are you afraid of flying or something?"
Becker rolled his eyes.
"Matt… don't be a complete dick. I've been on combat missions where I've had to jump out of planes… I'm hardly afraid of flying, or heights!"
"Then unclench! Have a drink and stop being a stuck up English toff! We'll have plenty of time to brief ourselves!"
"A toff? Did you just call me a toff?"
"Yeah."
"Do you even know what that means?"
"Do I have to order you to relax, soldier?"
"You utter arse."
Reluctantly, Becker took the glass from Matt and sipped at the beverage. He forced a grin back at his leader and when Matt sat down in his own chair in front, Becker put the glass aside.
He opened the file again and began to read.
"Do you think we'll get to hold a koala bear?" asked Jess behind him. "I've always wanted to. They're so cute!"
"I'd much rather see a Muttaburrasaurus myself, Jess." Abby replied.
"It will be so cool to see some real Australian dinosaurs." Connor eagerly added. "We haven't had a mission like this in ages!"
"So you're not at all worried that your counterpart has improved on your AD designs?"
"It's Australia, Abby!"
"I guess not."
"I'm pleased to be asked along, I don't get out of the ARC much." said Jess happily sipping on her complimentary drink. "Do you reckon we'll get to go to Bondai beach? For some sunbathing?"
"Perhaps."
"I hear the life guards are seriously gorgeous!"
Becker gritted his teeth when Jess did her excited squeal again, but then the Captain of the plane began his announcement. Becker listened to the safety talk and then went back to reading the file.
When the engines became louder, when the plane began to move, Connor's excitement increased tenfold.
This was going to be a very long trip. Becker didn't think he was going to be able to cope.
"That's them?"
The two members of the Australian ARC waved over the three rather odd-looking Brits as they came out through the departures door.
The young man in shorts, with the trilby hat and the rather loud Hawaiian shirt was a bizarre sight for sure, but he seemed to care little about his appearance, instead he was in awe and ecstatic about being here. He looked around the airport like a child in wonderment.
The tiny brunette woman was just as lavishly dressed and filled with as much excitement as the man was, and she was pushing a trolley with a lot of luggage. A lot. The two men wondered how on earth she was allowed to take so much with her. But then being a part of the ARC, there might have been some allowances.
The blonde at least looked more professional than the others did. She also had this feel about her, a tough military vibe… or at least she gave off a vibe that she was not to be messed with.
"Do they realise it's winter here?" Chris asked his partner shivering and pulling his jacket more tightly around him.
"Nope." Pete shook his head. "Not by the looks of things, but then again our winter will be too hot for the poor bastards. Are you sure it's them?"
"We'll see, mate, but I'm thinkin' so. You gotta be crazy working for the ARC… and well they certainly look it!"
The two men approached the trio and held out their hands in greetings.
"G'day…" said Pete, a tall dark-haired man with a broad frame and heavy stubble. He smiled at the man in the colourful shirt. "Welcome to Australia! Are you Matt Anderson?"
The young man looked astonished at such a prospect and shook his head. The others laughed.
"Me?" he said. "Nah, I'm not him. I'm Connor Temple, genius and tech guy. This is Abby Maitland, zoologist and field operative and Jess Parker, our field co-ordinator. We're here to help with your problem! And also… I need to see what your guy has done to my designs."
"Excellent!" They all shook hands with each other. "I'm Pete Carson and this is Chris Maken, we're field operatives as well. Mr Temple, our 'tech'guy… Felix is beyond excited to meet you. Be warned, when you do… there might be a slight case of hero worship involved."
Connor beamed proudly, but the woman Abby only rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"We were told that Matt Anderson was your guy in charge. Is he here or is it just the three of you?" Pete asked.
There was an awkward silence for a moment. The three Brits looked away, in total opposite directions, trying to suppress smirks or their blushing faces.
"Is there a problem?" asked Chris.
"Oh no!" Abby said, waving her hand. "Matt and Captain Becker are being detained at the moment. They'll be out shortly. There was an unfortunate case of misconduct on the plane."
"There was a fight?"
"You could say that." Jess' voice was pitched a little bit high.
"Oh. We can go and get them released if you like. The ARC authority has quite some leeway around here."
"Don't worry about it." Connor patted Pete on the back. "They have these little tiffs… disagreements from time to time. We're used to it."
"It's hardly the right place to have a fight… on a plane… is it?"
"You'd think that… wouldn't you?"
"Bit unprofessional too, ain't it?"
"Believe me," Connor reassured them. "There is no one more professional than those two, when it comes to this job. They're the best and we trust them with our lives. They have never let us down and they won't ever."
All three of them nodded in agreement.
"They don't let it interfere with what needs to be done, nor when it comes to public safety. There's no need for concern." Connor added, beaming with a fiendish smile.
Pete and Chris nodded in understanding. Their own leader had this tendency to have a lot fights with their team co-ordinator. It would be… strange and worrying, if they didn't.
"It's just their way," Abby said.
"It's kind of sweet really," Jess added.
Pete and Chris didn't need any further explanation when after a few more minutes of waiting, Matt and Becker came through departures, still arguing, and arguing in the way they had expected. But the two men were not what they had expected at all.
"It was your dumb idea, you prat!"
"As usual… you made too much of a commotion!"
"ME? I caused commotion? You were the one who was as subtle and stealthy as a bloody brick!"
"Oh! Captain Becker is a bloke?" Chris gasped, a little taken back.
"You noticed, huh?" Jess said, smirking as she gazed over the tops of her shades.
Chris looked at her and her teammates and they were all smiling and daring him to make an issue of what so clearly obvious to everyone.
"We were told the captain's name is Hilary."
The newcomers all hissed and shook their heads with scrunched up expressions.
"Yeah, don't call him that," suggested Jess. "He doesn't like it. Call him Becker."
"But he's a bloke," Pete stated.
"Very much so!" Jess wiggled her eyebrows. "Is that a problem?"
Chris and Pete grinned and shook their heads.
Not at all.
It didn't matter one bit if those two were in some kind of relationship. It didn't matter what they did during the flight or that they got caught, because the Australians were immediately impressed by both men as they expressed their desires to get straight to work.
"Sure you guys don't want to rest first?" asked Pete as the whole team began to stride—in bizarre yet impressive formation—towards the exit of the airport with all their luggage and equipment. "You might be a bit lagged."
"We'd much rather get to work." Matt Anderson said as he and Becker lead the way, keeping up quite a brisk pace. "You don't mind, right?"
"No worries, mate. No worries at all."
"AUSTRALIA, BABY! Here we come!"