Chapter 4 - Fun in the Sun
Somewhere in Afghanistan
The C130 Transport plane was filled with men and equipment. It had been years since Roman had been on one and he had forgotten how noisy it was let alone how that much it made you want to throw up. He supposed that he should be thankful they weren't going to stick him straight on a Chinook when he got there because he could just imagine how it would look to these youngsters to see the old man hurl his guts. He bit down on another wave of nausea as the plane swooped down toward the landing zone. The bump as it hit the runway was nearly his undoing. Since when had he turned soft? Oh yes, that would have been when they started calling him Mister Harris instead of Hardcore.
The back ramp lowered and everyone piled out. He saw a figure in the distance that he vaguely recognised. And soon everyone was sent to their accommodation. He noted that he was given specialist treatment and given a room by himself that even had its own en suite. Great, he thought, the improvements in war zones were amazing he grimaced sarcastically.
A knock sounded at the door and he called a brief "Enter" falling back on parlance he hadn't used since he had come out of the service.
"Hardcore!" Jacko called.
"Mate!" he went over and shook the other mans hand. "How long has it been?" he asked but knew that the answer was when he had disappeared on them.
"Years Lt Harris, Sir!" Jacko said cheekily, grinning.
"So are you the Sgt that is going to whip my ass into shape?" he asked finally.
"Yes I am. And I am also the person who might be able to get you a message out to a mutual friend."
Roman nodded slowly.
"Well there is no time like the present. How about we go for a run?" he suggested.
"Sir, with all due respect you are on a Pomme air base. They have a gym block with…" Jacko sniggered. "Air conditioning!"
Roman laughed.
He emptied his kit bag on the bed and motioned for Jacko to sit down on a nearby chair. He stashed his papers and briefing material in a lock box with an electronic number pad and after memorising the number he tucked the paper inside the lock box and closed the door. Secret Squirrel, he thought, with a dry laugh.
"So tell me what you've been doing all these years?" he asked his old friend.
Jacko shrugged.
"I did some private consulting work. " He told him.
Roman looked at him quickly.
"Black suit, black shades, pansy assed celebs!" he explained then added. "Nothing like jumping out of a plane in some African country and teaching school kids to fight, that was Gardy's territory. Then I re-upped."
He grinned.
"I already know what you've been up to Hardcore, Ella sends me a letter every so often." He explained. "She keeps in touch with all of us." He said meaning the men who were in her brother's unit.
Roman raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't know that." He confessed.
"No, we know. We all decided in Papa Joe's that you had you head stuck up your backside and until you got a whiff of where you were at there was no point us talking to you." Jacko said.
"Papa Joe's?" he questioned.
"Yeah, its this place in the city where we meet up with El sometimes if we are in the neighbourhood." Jacko explained watching a range of emotions go across his old commander's face. "I take it you didn't know?" he said finally.
"No, but then I wouldn't. I don't talk about the past with El." Roman said eventually.
He wondered briefly what other parts of her life he was missing out on because he had turned into someone whose head seemed to be stuck up his own ass?
He grabbed his shorts and a fresh T-shirt and walked into the en suite to get changed. Then he walked back out and found that in the interval Jacko had hung up all his clothes and stashed his gear.
"Are you like my butler too?" he asked grinning.
Jacko gave him a half smile.
"Nope, Sir, " he said his shoulders thrust back and standing to attention. "Just letting the Lieutenant ease in slowly before I whip his soggy ass into shape."
"Well then Sergeant you better show me the way to this fancy Pomme gym." Roman said grinning.
"Just so the Lieutenant is aware, " Jacko began, "He will have to ask this Sergeants permission to puke."
Roman laughed.
"Understood Sergeant." He walked over to the man and stood close, his face up close and personal like. "As long as the Sergeant is aware that if this Lieutenant is not back home with Ella in one piece she may come looking for him, personally. At ease!"
Jacko and Roman laughed together.
"Come on lets go." Roman said and they exited the room and set off at a nice leisurely pace across the compound to the Gym.
Even so between the heat, the flight and the tiredness, Roman was panting by the time he got to the Gym. They walked inside and he saw a bunch of twenty something's on various pieces of gym equipment.
"Alright Jacko where is the OAP section." He joked.
"If you look into that mirror over there you'll see it. " Jacko taunted him mercilessly.
Roman turned around. He held out his hand to the other man and watched while he shook it.
"Just so you are aware Jacko I won't take it personally. As long as when I get pissed off you don't take it personally when I punch your lights out!" he said almost grinning.
"LT." Jacko said, stretching out the initials in a drawl. "You wouldn't hit me, Ella wouldn't like it!" he told him. Jacko moved over to a running machine and set it to a suitable warm up pace and motioned for Roman to get on it.
"Jacko I've a feeling that it would be worth Ella not talking to me for a month." He told him and began running on the machine.
"How are you feeling LT?" Jacko asked 10 minutes later.
"Just about like I want to throw up." Roman answered with a grin.
"Perfect. Now the warm up is complete. Let's get serious." Jacko said and dialled up the machine a notch. Adding in terrain as a setting.
Roman panted as he ran. Now it felt like he was running uphill, he thought grunting.
Jacko leaned in close and said.
"Ella said you needed to increase your stamina."
Roman almost swore, biting back a retort.
"Dear me LT," Once again the initials were drawn out. "Have I touched a nerve already?" Jacko asked.
"No Sgt Thompson. Just catching my breath." Roman said and felt the curl of anger deep in his gut.
"Just wait Hardcore, you ain't seen nothing yet." Jacko warned.
Back to the Bay
Ella was sitting in her lounge her laptop open on the coffee table in front of her. She picked up her emails every few days, usually checking to see if her Publisher or Agent was trying to get in touch with her. She had an answering service that screened most of her calls.
She clicked on the email icon an opened up the page. The inbox had 36 emails, some from teenage photographer wannabees. She moved those to a separate folder that her assistant would deal with, then noticed the one email with the subject heading of 'Catch up'. She clicked it open and almost gagged in reflex.
Gardy. David Gardener. He'd already ruined Roman's life once, had altered the chain of her life and was back playing his sick little games.
She read the message and found herself standing up, one hand on her stomach. Whether she was subconsciously guarding the baby or trying to stop the instinctive wave of nausea she didn't know. But revulsion built up inside of her and she raced upstairs to the bathroom, barely making it in time as the cramps rolled in her stomach and she threw up in the toilet. She wet a flannel with cool water and bathed her face before another bout of sickness knocked her flat. How long she lay by the toilet unable to move she didn't know, but she pulled herself up and eventually was able to stand. She gave her teeth a quick brush and the peppermint taste of her brand of toothpaste settled her stomach just a little. She wiped her face again and then turned around and made herself walk slowly down the stairs.
She picked up her phone and dialled Miles number.
"Hey El." Miles said calmly after answering on the second ring.
"Miles I need help but before you say yes I need you to know that it involves Gardy." She said immediately. She walked into the kitchen a turned on the cold tap letting the water run until it was ice cold before she filled up a glass.
"No problem what do you need?" Miles said after a moment.
She turned off the tap and took a very long drink.
"I need Jai to check out an email that I received. Miles it's a big ask so please think about it. I won't be offended if you say no." She said to him.
"El, its no problem. We'll be over shortly. And Roman asked me to look after you. I didn't tell him that you could probably kick my butt any day of the week he seemed to think I was useful." Miles told her.
Ella laughed.
"That's funny because he asked me to keep an eye on you too!" she said jokingly. Her voice only slightly breaking with pent up emotion. "Miles, you'll need to use your key when you come round I'm locking my doors." She advised.
"See you soon." He said and cleared the connection.
Ella moved around the house checking all the windows and doors were locked, making note of what needed added security. She then called a top-flight security firm and asked for someone to come out the following day to give her a quote for the work. She knew that if Gardy really wanted to get in he could but she wanted to be able to slow him down some. Maybe give her a chance to get away or get to a bazooka or something.
She went back into the kitchen and got herself another glass of water and made a couple slices of toast. She ate them dry letting them settle slowly in her stomach. She avoided going into the lounge where her laptop was. Long minutes later she heard a key in the lock and Miles call out.
"Its just us Ella." He walked through to the living room and saw her in the kitchen.
She was pale and wan looking. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked quickly.
He was unaware of her pregnancy, she suddenly thought and she held out a hand towards him.
Jai wandered in at that moment and the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. The sound of the door slamming reverberated around the eerily quiet house like a gunshot. Her nerves at full breaking point she screamed and fell to the floor in a dead faint.
She woke to find herself lying full length on the sofa. Miles handed her a glass of cool water.
"Aden will be over shortly." He said calmly.
"How long…?" she started to ask.
"Just a couple of minutes. Aden told me." Miles said. He helped her ease into a sitting position and he sat back on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
"Jai?" she asked. Looking past Miles to see that her laptop had been moved.
"He's in the kitchen with it." Miles confirmed. "Seems to think it may have been sent from an cyber café up the coast somewhere. El, what did Gardy mean when he added the postscript?" Miles asked cautiously.
Ella paled and handing the now empty glass to Miles whom placed it on the table behind him.
"I hate secrets Miles, I always have and yet I've kept this one from Roman for a long time. I met Gardy days before I met Roman. And he tried it on with me. My brother caught him feeling me up after he had been drinking. Pulled the SOB off me and punched his lights out. I never went near Gardy again after that; but it was a bit delicate when I hooked up with Roman. I was always on edge. " She said with a shudder. "It never went past him trying it on with me. I never encouraged him and trust me after that I barely spoke to him."
"But?" Miles questioned.
"But he hinted that it was more and wouldn't his LT like to know just how many of his men had already had me before I fancied myself an Officer's woman. After I found out what Gardy had done to Roman previously I didn't feel that I could tell him this story." She said and suddenly she was crying.
Miles moved and sat next to her putting his arm around her letting her cry.
Aden pitched up minutes later and Jai had to open the door for him.
"El?" Aden questioned.
"She had a bit of a fright and this is just reaction." Miles explained.
Ella sniffed and gave Miles a grateful look.
He nodded and wandered into the kitchen to sit with Jai.
Aden called to them moments later and they walked into the lounge. Once again Ella was crying. He was standing by the tv his back to them. Turning around he folded his arms across his chest.
"How far away do you reckon this email was sent?" Aden asked eventually.
"About 100 –150 K." Jai said. "But I can't be sure until I do a reverse look up of the IP hosting address," he told them.
"I think its pretty safe to assume that Gardy will be here at some point." Aden said. "El's got a security firm coming to look at the house and recommend some new locks. I recommend that we all do it."
Ella had calmed down and she half smiled.
"Mike will be safe at his school. It has security. That's why I chose it. I was wondering if you and Kirsty want to think about sending Ollie there next term." She said to Miles.
Miles nodded slowly.
"I'll talk it over." He said, then. "Do you really think that Gardy will be back to the Bay?" he asked.
Aden nodded.
"I think that when he finds out Roman isn't about he will do whatever he can to hurt him, and that puts us all in danger." Ella said.
