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Chapter 55

The Badge of Courage

Part One

0700

Georgie's Humvee had taken them close to the epicenter. She gathered her gear and quickly exited the armored vehicle along with the other medics. She hoisted her Bergen over a shoulder and looked around, turning slowly, taking in all of the sights and smells of the recent carnage. Her brothers and sisters in arms huddled together awaiting further orders. They looked at each other, sad expressions amongst them all. This was a group of healers and they were bearing witness to the unconscionable cruelty humanity was capable of. Georgie reminded herself that she was well and back to duty and Elvis was okay. She was grateful for these blessings. Surely she could provide some good in the face of such hatred. There were small tents and canopies strewn along the periphery of the damage. The search and rescue workers were in constant motion. Heavy machinery had been brought in to help remove large pieces of debris. If Georgie thought the aftermath at the restaurant was bad, this was a total expression of a war zone.

Georgie and Private Brandon Goodall were directed to tent number five. Again, military and civilians worked in tandem. Georgie's adrenalin was pumping. She was anxious to be back to full duty. She wanted to help and she wondered what Elvis had gotten up to? She walked along with Pvt. Goodall and just about made it to the tent when she heard, "Oi! Medic! You there Lane!" She stopped dead in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. There he was, Rab, barreling towards her. She dropped her Bergen to the ground.

"Rab?" She sputtered.

"Yeah! Good to see ya!" He said with a huge grin.

"Is 2 Section here?" Georgie asked as they hugged briefly.

"We are! Here to support Special Forces!"

"Special Forces?" Georgie asked with some reservation in her voice.

"Yeah! Seems the two captains are hooked up again."

"Two Captains?"

Rab looked at her wide-eyed. Did he just disclose something classified? "Uh, well, Boss was ordered to support Elvis."

Georgie's heart flipped over once and then she wondered if it were beating at all.

"2 Section is supporting Elvis' team?"

"Yeah. A really involved mission!" Rab said, now absolutely wondering if he said too much.

"It is a very important mission." Georgie said trying to elicit as much information as possible. Rab just stood there. "And….?" She prodded further.

"You know about it yeah?" Rab queried.

"I do now. Yeah." Georgie said nodding her head vigorously and swallowing hard.

"We're chasing after Gaani!" Rab impulsively said. Georgie closed her eyes, Rab's voice sounded like an echo down a very deep well.

"When are ya engaging?" She asked, trying desperately to appear as though she was upbeat about the mission.

"Twenty minutes." Rab answered. "I have to go. I'll tell Maisi I saw ya! She's in another section now. We're engaged Georgie!" Rab yelled elated and flustered at the same time, running to get back with 2 Section.

"I'm so happy for you both!" Georgie called out to him smiling. Twenty minutes and counting Georgie thought.

"Oh Elvis!" She whispered as she looked around again, hoping beyond reason she would catch sight of him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Elvis and Charlie had meticulously plotted their pursuit of Gaani. Elvis poured over the blueprints of the surrounding buildings and subterranean access. That's where the bastard was hiding. Charlie looked at his watch. Ten minutes. Elvis and his team were making final checks on their weapons and comms.

"Charlie, ya copy?"

"Affirmative Elvis."

"Ready to move mate."

Charlie rousted his Section together and they gathered in with Elvis' team. Georgie had just finished laying out her medical instruments when she looked up and saw Captain James walking past the tent. Her eyes immediately followed his direction and she suddenly felt warm and numb. There he was ! Elvis! He was standing amidst rubble wearing his black CT kit. The balaclava was pulled back covering his head. The only flesh visible was his handsome face and neck. He appeared ominous and extremely focused. He was barking out orders and nodded at Charlie upon his approach. As he did so his eyes caught sight of something beyond his co-captain. Georgie had unconsciously walked out from the tent and found herself standing face to face with Elvis, although it was from a distance. They gazed at each other, their eyes locking and communicating their love for one another. Elvis had never expected to see her here. His heart began to battle with his mind. He clenched his jaw and tried to shut down his emotions but realized knowing Georgie would be waiting for him gave him the superior edge to survive.

He gestured as if to salute her but then lowered his hand to his mouth, kissing it and then tilting his hand forward in a subtle gesture towards her. Georgie smiled and with one hand reached out to capture his kiss, drawing her fist to her lips at the same time she placed her other hand over her heart. She was thrilled to be able to see him before he commenced with this mission. There were so many times in their past when she had denied him her true feelings for him and that was not going to happen now. She tapped a finger against her temple (be careful). Elvis smiled at her and then took a finger and drew an X over his heart (I promise). Finally, he lifted his arm and tapped his wrist watch indicating it was time for him to go, his eyes staring at her intently and with deep meaning. Georgie nodded her head as tears began to well in her eyes. "I love you" she mouthed to him. He smiled at her, that gorgeous, self-confident Elvis smile that always melted her heart. Then he pulled the balaclava down over his face as Spanner handed him his shielded helmet. The Special Forces captain crouched, lowering his legs down as his feet made contact with the metal rungs of the ladder. He repositioned his MP-5, and then slowly began descending. Georgie's heart was pounding. Eventually he was gone from her sight. She stood there chewing her lower lip, wondering where he went. She watched as Spanner, Jackson and Spunky each followed down to somewhere. She could see that Charlie was receiving some sort of message over his comms. He seemed to be acknowledging someone and then spoke to 2 Section.

Charlie had observed Elvis and Georgie's exchange. He knew they had used hand signals during their dating days to keep the relationship suppressed. Leave it to Elvis to find a way around the code of conduct. "Special Forces Charlie, we use hand signals all the time" Charlie looked towards Georgie. She was focused on the ground where Elvis had disappeared. He watched Pvt. Goodall standing at the open tent flap who was now approaching Georgie. It was obvious Elvis was not resurfacing any time soon and her eyes drifted to Charlie. He gave her a tight smile and nod. Everyone was under orders. They had specific jobs to do. He could offer little else. They were on mission. Georgie returned the smile as …

"Corporal" Pvt. Goodall said. Georgie turned to look at him. "What's going on?" He asked, studying 2 Section's actions.

"A very important mission Pvt." She said rubbing the back of her neck.

"How do you know?"

"I know the soldiers involved. One of them is my husband." With that said she walked away and headed back to the tent. Goodall watched her leave and then looked back at 2 Section again. Charlie was communicating over his comms and walking around the open man hole.

Georgie stepped inside the tent and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was certain Elvis was ordered to neutralize Gaani and nothing would stop him from achieving that result. She was scared shitless for him and decided the best course of action on her part would be to crack on and do her job. Pvt. Goodall came back inside a bit unnerved about the whole situation. He admired Georgie for being stoic, knowing her husband had just embarked on a dangerous mission. He felt awkward but asked, "Are you okay then?" Georgie was folding a blanket and stopped momentarily, then continued.

"Yes and no." She shrugged.

"Meaning exactly?"

She sighed, "Yes, because I have a job to do and no, because my husband is out there, or down there," She said with her hand gesturing towards the ground. Goodall felt inadequate.

"This is my first tour." He said, busying his hands by straightening a row of bandages on the table. That gave Georgie pause. This had to appear like a nightmare to this kid. He'll learn though, that she was certain of.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

It was dark and cold. Their equipment was heavy and the passageway was long. Elvis had done a cursory inspection of their surroundings and reported back to Charlie. Included in the dispatches were Central Command and of course, top military could view whatever was sent over the SF team's cameras. Elvis had gained access to what appeared to be an abandoned London Underground tunnel. That made perfect sense. There were so many places the enemy could hide within the labyrinth. That was the odd sound Elvis had heard on Gaani's latest video, the distant background clamoring of a tube train.

Water drops could be heard plunking down as the SFCT team moved along, occasionally stepping into a modest puddle. There was piping overhead, some mangled by the explosion. Suddenly a weak flash of light could be seen up ahead and Elvis waved for his men to halt. The light appeared to be from a torch light because it was static, as if someone were walking and looking around. Elvis was keen to notice that the beam was crossing horizontal to their field of vision. It appeared as if it was becoming brighter, indicating whoever it happened to be was getting closer to them.

"We got company boys!" Elvis said. "This is zero alpha. We 'ave imminent contact from the west. Preparing to engage. Over."

"Copy zero alpha." Charlie said, his brows creasing. Everyone on mission heard the call and became acutely alert. The SF team moved in closer to the wall, minimizing their visibility to the enemy. Elvis motioned for Spanner to advance. His Lt. crept to the bifurcation in the passageway. The approaching footfalls sounded as though it was only one person. The torch light was growing ever brighter and as the adversary was within inches, Spanner was upon him instantly and ended the encounter swiftly with a well-placed knife blade. There was silence. There were no reinforcements. The team now knew which way they were to be heading. Elvis' adrenalin peaked. One step closer to the bastard.

"Hello this is zero alpha. Contact complete. Over."

"Copy Elvis." Charlie said with a sigh of relief.

"Movin west. There is a cross passageway from initial breach." Elvis proceeded to relay their coordinates to Charlie and Command.

Xxxxxxxx

Georgie was tying off the end of a suture as Goodall said, "How long have you been married?"

Georgie looked up at him and smiled,

"Our first anniversary is in November." She said as she cleaned around the wound and began to dress it.

"Jeez! Newly weds then."

"Yeah," She said. Her smile became broader and she nodded her head.

"Have you known each other long?"

"No. Do we know each other well? Yeah." She laughed. "It's takin us a bit to get married, but he's my soulmate and I can't…..live without him." She was obviously affected by the conversation, but again bolstered her courage by focusing on the patient. "Here, these are instructions as to keeping the wound clean and when to have the sutures removed." Goodall stared at Georgie. He regretted bringing up the subject, but felt she needed some sort of comfort. She ordered the Private to finish up the dressing and discharge of the patient, then slowly stood up and walked away. She washed her hands and as she dried them, walked to the tent opening and looked out, 2 Section was still above ground.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Elvis and the lads moved with stealth and caution into the new passageway. The SAS Commander thought about Fife encountering an initial guard after their breach, but this bloke was no guard. He was either back checking something or sent as a courier. He was only carrying a pistol. Elvis looked at his watch. They were fifteen minutes in. He deployed Spanner and Spunky down the east side to assess for any x-ray activity.

"Alpha one to zero alpha over. " Came Spanner's crackling voice over comms.

"Zero alpha copy. Over."

"The east end is blocked boss. Been bricked off ages ago."

"Copy that. We head west boys! Hello, this is zero alpha, commencing west, Charlie do ya copy?"

"Copy. On standby, over." Charlie answered. 2 Section's eyes were locked upon him as they heard the SAS commander's voice in their ears.

"Should prove lively!" Elvis said with sarcastic humor. "Prepare to move. Let's move!"

He was really addressing his team but within the walls of Central Command, Brigadier General Baxter and General Reardon glanced at each other. There was no one quite like Elvis Harte on a mission. Major Ollie Knots was stood in the back of the room, rolling his eyes. Elvis gestured two fingers forward and his team was in motion. The four man unit's movements were so fluid they moved like black ink, blending into the dark environment. Charlie looked at his watch and re-adjusted his comms. He just knew the shit was going to hit the proverbial fan. Elvis had a penchant for stirring things up, but he was so damn good at what he did. Charlie trusted him and would do everything possible to cover his mate's back. There was a certain dedicated medic in a tent close by who was anxiously awaiting her husband's return. Charlie stared at the ground.

"I'm in trouble mate." Elvis said leaning over his pint of Guinness.

"You're in trouble, or you got a girl in trouble mate?" Charlie said, giving him that almost fatherly, weary tone. Elvis shook his head.

"Nah, nah, nah, not that mate. Charlie, I'm not that stupid!" I'm talkin about me." He said drilling a finger into his own chest. Charlie laughed.

"What the fuck did you do this time?"

"I'm in love." Elvis said shrugging and taking a hefty sip. Charlie sputtered his ale down the front of his neatly pressed shirt. The look on his face brought Elvis out of his distress momentarily with unbridled laughter as he threw a fist full of napkins at Charlie. Then he calmly took another sip from his pint and grinned, "you're a mess."

"Thanks!" Charlie said, plucking at his soaked shirt, then dabbing at himself with the napkins.

"You're gonna really smell like beer and Molly will 'ave yer head for this. But of course I'll be blamed." Elvis moaned.

"You bought the round," Charlie said laughing.

"Indeed. And probably the next and the one after that," Elvis said, taking another hefty sip.

"So what happened?"

Elvis looked at him sideways. "She's the most beautiful woman I ever met Charlie. I'm tellin ya, she's the woman of my dreams!" Elvis looked like he could not believe his good fortune.

"And she could care less" Charlie said wanting to play with this for a bit. He never saw Elvis wound up about a woman like this before. Certainly never saying he was in love. There had been a lot of conquests, but his mate never acted like this.

"Well, I was gonna say difficult." Elvis said running a finger around the rim of his pint.

"Difficult?"

"Yeah."

"She said no then?" Charlie chuckled.

"Well. She did at first, but ya know….." Elvis' brows shot up and he grinned, self-satisfied.

"Oh indeed. I know how you are Elvis. No one says no to you!"

"Ha! That's what I told 'er!"

"Well then, no wonder you're scoring points with the young lady."

"Oh piss off!" Elvis said, taking a disgruntled sip.

"Where did you meet her?"

" On tour."

"Are you serious?" Charlie said with eyes growing into saucers.

"Shut yer gob mate! As if you're a model in that department Charlie boy!"

"So she is army."

"Oh yeah! And guess what else?" Elvis said grinning.

"I'm afraid to ask." Charlie said eyes shooting to the ceiling.

"She's a medic!"

Charlie knew then that Elvis loved Georgie and when he finally met her and saw the two of them together, there was absolutely no question that their feelings were mutual. She was just as besotted.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"You're suturing technique is top notch." Goodall said as he sanitized the area after the patient left. Georgie chuckled.

"Well, it takes a steady hand." She said, holding hers up to assess just how steady they really were. She was just about dying inside with worry and looked at her watch. Forty-five minutes since she saw Elvis disappear below. Her hands wanted to hold him. She wanted to hold his hands, his body. She wanted to caress his face and run her fingers through his thick dark hair.

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to just have him next to her, whispering softly in her ear how much he loved her. She craved his velvet voice and laughter and smile…

Tonight. She assured herself that she would have her heart's desire beside her tonight. She peaked out of the tent flap. Charlie was issuing orders. It appeared 2 Section was breaking up. She could see Monk and Rab standing where she had seen Elvis. Fingers and Brains were moving away with some others along with Sgt. King.

Next up the penultimate chapter...….