Chapter 7

As the SF support helicopter descended from above the crest of the hill, ready to dispense its passengers, all that could be heard on comms was Charlie bellowing for Georgie to get down on her belt buckle. Elvis glanced in the direction of the irrigation ditch and sure enough, there was Georgie legging it across open ground, obviously trying to get to her fallen comrades, who were with Kingy and currently hunkered down on the west side of the compound. She was doing a good job of weaving and taking cover, where possible but she was under heavy fire from an insurgent on one of the lookout turrets of the compound. "Fuck!" Thought Elvis. Making a mental note to take him out first, upon breaching the compound. As they leapt out of the chopper, one of the insurgents managed to target it with a ground to air rocket launcher. It was badly damaged and Elvis said a silent prayer for the guys inside, to make it back to friendly territory, although he was doubtful.

Breaching the compound, he and his boys started their sweep looking for Omar, although judging by the fact that these guys were obviously aware they were coming, he was pretty sure Omar was long gone. Elvis headed as quickly as he could towards the insurgent who had Georgie in his sights. Elvis whistled to him from behind and as he turned towards the sound Elvis took great delight in blasting the fucker. They managed to neutralise several of the insurgents before Dyno took a bullet to the thigh from a fucker who appeared from nowhere on one of the flat roofs. After promptly dealing with Dyno's shooter, Elvis shouted for Spanner to get Dyno undercover. Dyno was incensed at having been shot and was bellowing at the top of his voice about 'Taliban tossers!' By this point any remaining insurgents had managed to escape the compound and it was clear that Omar was definitely not there. Elvis, taking cover with his guys, decided it was time to call it a day. "This is Tango 1-0 to all stations, we have a man down, man down, no sign of target, We are bugging out. Over."

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Once the compound was secured, a makeshift medical facility was set up under Georgie's direction. She was dealing with a minor gunshot wound on Rab's shoulder as she heard Peanut's voice from behind her say. "We've got a gunshot wound, he's lost a lot of blood." George's own blood felt like it had frozen in her veins until she managed to turn away from Rab to see Elvis and Spanner carrying Dyno in. As great as her concern was for Dyno, the relief she felt at it not being Elvis was intense. She managed to shake herself into action. She had a quick look and told Elvis. "It's a bleeder, I need an ETA on the MERT." As Elvis started to call in the message, there was a commotion from behind as Charlie staggered in with Captain Azizi, who had a gunshot wound to the chest. Elvis and Spanner grabbed Dyno and moved him to make way for Azizi, who was clearly in a very serious condition. Georgie did all she could, inserting a chest seal and giving CPR but it was no use and a distraught Charlie told her to let Azizi go. Elvis was watching this all taking place concerned about Charlie and Georgie. Charlie had been close to Azizi and it was becoming clear that it was Azizi who had betrayed them. Elvis knew that Charlie would find his betrayal particularly difficult. Georgie would struggle with losing a patient, she always took that very personally. He would have to keep a close eye on them both.

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Charlie was staring blankly into space as Elvis approached him. "You alright mate?" Elvis asked him gently.

"What's it all been for, eh Elvis? I've done 5 tours of Afghanistan and what for? Have we really made any difference here?" Charlie said despondently.

"This place is fucked up Charlie, don't drive yourself mad trying to make sense of it." Elvis reasoned.

"Richards tried to warn me. I could have gotten everyone killed." Charlie argued.

"Do you think he acted alone?" Elvis wondered.

"You mean, can we trust his men? How can we know?" Charlie asked. "I'm just glad it's extraction by support helicopter and not a road move."

Georgie was stretching her legs, taking a short break from her medical duties, when Elvis approached her, to let her know they were due to be extracted from the compound in 20 minutes. He could tell she was on the edge emotionally and he didn't want to tip her over but he needed to be sure she was ok. "How's Dyno doing?" He asked her.

"Yeah, he's stable." She replied on the verge of tears.

He rubbed her neck and said "Hey, come on, you're gonna get me going in a minute."

"It's just this fucking place." She replied.

"Try not to let it get to ya." He advised.

"I lost Azizi and Dyno was close, I thought it was..." She gestured to Elvis himself.

He knew it was unprofessional but she needed some comfort, he put his arm around her and hugged her to him. "It wasn't though George, I'm fine and so are you, thank God, after that bloody stunt you pulled earlier, getting to Kingy's squad. What was the last bloody thing I said to you yesterday, huh?" He asked her, trying to sound angry but failing miserably.

She gave him a sheepish look and shrugged. "They needed help Elvis, the injured would have bled out."

He checked that no one was looking at them and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then he reluctantly released her from his hold.

"Fuck! It's so difficult being here with you, I just want to drag you into one of these buildings and have my wicked way with you!" He told her, his eyes smouldering.

Georgie laughed, saying. "OMG! You are bloody weird Elvis Harte. This is the least romantic place I can think of on the entire planet. But hold that thought, cause I'm so up for that when we get back to civilisation." She said winking at him.

"I can't help it, if I can't keep my hands off you. I've got 4 months away to make up for, remember." He told her, with a mischievous grin.

Suddenly Charlie appeared beside them, clearly distressed. They looked at him questioningly.

"All the support helicopters have had a no fly due to a sandstorm 2 miles east." Charlie reported.

Elvis grimaced and mumbled to himself. "Ah, it's shit here." Then, already formulating a plan, he opened his comms. "This is Tango 1-0. All my call signs on me."

Georgie just stared at them both. "How are we going to get out?" She wanted to know.