Where Are We Now
Chapter 26
Afghanistan – Kabul
Molly was standing near the truck between Prof and Mimi.
"You OK Mimi" asked Molly as she looked across and saw from her eyes she looked close to tears
"Yeah! I …I thought we might never get out of there"
Molly put her hand on her knee and tried to comfort her "We were always going to get out, they knew we were up here. Took longer than I hoped though"
Mimi looked back with a slight frown as if confused at the comment. Molly laughed "Being trapped with that amount of blokes for that long was never going to be pleasant was it?" and both girls laughed heartedly. "Look Mimi make sure if you have any worries you unload when we go for decompression, don't bottle it up. It can screw you up in the future"
Mimi nodded "We all got out of this with no injuries, maybe a little dehydrated but all good"
"Corp, have you been in a situation like this before"
"No Mimi, but I know you need someone to talk to sometimes, you know get the things we've seen straight in our nuts"
"Well at least we get a few days in Cyprus to sit on the beach before heading back to blighty" smiled Prof "Lamb Kofta for me I think after the shit we've been eating the last few days"
"Might join you on that one" laughed Molly in response "With a nice cold glass of wine to go with it"
"Come on lads stop pissing about load up and let's get out of here and back to Kabul before nightfall." Came Kinders dulcet tones. The group smiled at each other and got onto the truck, for the 80 mile bone crunching ride back to Kabul.
They arrived after dark at the hospital where they were met on the steps by a very excited Jackie who ran towards the back of the truck and hugged Dangles before then moving onto Brains and Molly for a warm welcome back.
"Come on. Molly and Mimi you get your own room while the lads all get to go on the main ward for the night" Jackie said beaming with happiness that Dangles and some of her oldest friends were back safe and sound.
There were a few doctors available and Molly recognised Bahil and Antonio as she looked around at the ANA and other members of staff round the hospital she couldn't help but wonder who it was that had let the Taliban know they were due up in the mountains that day. It couldn't have been Dr Bahil could it. She came into the room that Molly and Mimi were in, Jackie following behind with fresh uniforms for them, plus the essentials of soap, shampoo and towels.
"Are you insinuating we're minging?" laughed Molly as Mimi sniffed her armpits and wrinkled her nose
"Here are hospital gowns for you for tonight, if you get showered and changed into these I can give you both a check-up to make sure you are both ok."
"How are the injured civilians and soldiers from the bomb blast" asked Molly looking at her straight in the eye. Dr Bahil was not oblivious to the look and insinuation from Molly
"They are all fine" she said "We will probably never find out who planted the bomb near here"
"How did the vaccination program go did you complete it?"
"There was no one there to vaccinate, only us" said Mimi and she too was wondering if this had been some sort of plan to take them hostage. Molly looked across at her and shook her head. When they gave a debrief it would be to their Captain.
Molly turned to Jackie "Is Captain Hurst or the Brig coming here for the debrief or will it wait till we get back to camp tomorrow?"
"Don't know Molls, do you want me to check with Colour Sergeant Kinders" Molly nodded "OK go get your showers and I'll come back and let you know"
The beauty of this hospital was it seemed to have hot water both Molly and Mimi spent ages getting the sand and dirt of them quietly talking and laughing between themselves
"Corp?"
"Yes Mimi" Molly responded "Look I'm not in uniform" she smiled at the private "you can call me Molly; I never liked all that saluting shit meself. But when we are in uniform we have to conform to army protocols OK?"
"I'm glad you were there too" she said looking tearful again "Don't think I could have got through it without you, I really hate the dark and it was freaking me out a bit to be honest. All those funny noises made it worse".
"It was probably only the lads farting" smiled Molly back at her and they both laughed "Can't say that I like the dark either and it was me that made a tit of meself thinking I had hold of a rat"
"Thanks Molly" she said nodding "Silly really it's only the dark and we were all OK no injuries to treat" this time Molly nodded in agreement glad they didn't have to treat any injuries in there. "Do you think we were eating cockroaches and scorpions Molly?"
Molly threw back her head and laughed, really laughed for the first time in days "No Mimi that was Brains and Dangles winding your mate up. It was combat rations and they never look appetising"
"Really?"
"Yeah! Just vacuum packed shit that don't taste of what it's supposed to be"
"Come on, let's get back and get this bloody medical over with" still laughing at the young medic's gullibility, remembering that she was just like this on her first tour and what the lads convinced her was real.
Apart from them all being told to rehydrate, a few scratches being looked at all of them were passed as fit. The trucks arrived the following morning to take them back to their barracks.
They were all called to the ops room for debrief. Standing in the front of the room was the Brig with his hands behind his back and his normal arrogant expression. Along with him was Captain Hurst and Colour Sergeants King and Kinders.
"Right lads at ease and sit" they all did as ordered waiting for the Captain to speak no one really expected the Brig to address them.
"We only have a week to go before the end of the tour and normalisation in Cyprus" the Captain started "as the sections were split for this op we have decided that all the sections will return at the same time rather than just send you lot home"
They all started looking at each other, they thought after that they would be going home early.
"Settle down lads" admonished Kingy "You will get an extra phone allowance so you can call your relatives, let them know you are OK"
"If any of you have any issues, need to talk there are people here who can help before you get to Cyprus" continued the Captain "Come and see me and I will arrange it for you"
"Looks like we are stuck with his idea of Reveille for another bloody week then" whispered Molly to Prof who was sitting next to her and he had to put his hand over his mouth to cover up his smirking.
"One final thing" started Captain Hurst "Keep what happened to yourselves you will be debriefed but we think there may have been a leak within the hospital and outside forces knew you would be there."
"Sir" asked Kingy "Could SF have led them to us"
"We are dismissing that as there were no personnel in the cave and there should have been which means they had prior knowledge and warned to leave"
"Do you think that Dr Bahil was involved Sir" asked Molly "She was due to be on the mission and was called away at the last minute?"
"At this stage Dawes we don't think so, there are bombs going off all over the city so that could just have been a coincidence, however if there is a leak at the hospital and information was passed on we don't want to alert them," Molly and the group nodded in agreement
"Is there anything else" Captain Hurst asked and looked around the room "Go and make your phone calls to your families. Dismissed"
Molly walked off on her own to find a quiet spot to phone Charles. He picked up within 2 rings
"Molly? Are you OK, are they looking after you?"
"Stop panicking Charlie, we're all fine. Bit shit in the board and lodgings department and the food was questionable but we're all good"
"When will you be home?" he asked quietly noting she seemed in good spirits and not too concerned about her predicament but he knew only too well that her fears can come later.
"Seems we are all leaving together at the end of the week and then 4 days in Cyprus for normalisation so should be in Brize in about 10 days"
"I've missed you so much" he blurted out
"Missed you too" she replied. She had missed him and while she was having doubts about their relationship while she was here she now wondered if that was because she was wondering what he was up to, had he seen Georgie or been in contact with her. She obviously wasn't ready to trust him again, she had never had these thoughts before, and she'd just missed his company before never once thinking he was shagging anyone else let alone one of her so called friends. Mind you she knew that Jackie would never do anything like that neither would Katy or Lauren for that matter. Proud Mary was her only mate that had done something like that.
"Molly? Are you still there?
"Sorry just thinking" she smirked "and don't say it's dangerous"
"I wouldn't dream of it" he laughed back
"So, what you been up to while I've been gone?"
"Well I have moved into a new flat, looking forward to you seeing it" he said "I've been to see Ted quite a few times too, you know since you went missing"
"You OK, you talk it all out and that"
"Yes" he snorted a laugh down his nose "Trust you, worrying about me when it's you that's been missing. I was so frightened I'd lost you Molls" and she could hear the hoarseness of his voice down the phone "That you wouldn't be coming back"
"Bad penny me" she laughed with no real humour "Always come back"
He sighed "I hope so. Love you" Molly didn't answer, she couldn't, she knows she has told him before that she did but she just felt she couldn't at the moment.
"I contacted your Nan let her know" Charles continued knowing she wasn't going to say it back and he hoped that one day she would feel she could tell him like she used to.
"What did she say?"
"She was really worried of course and will let Belinda and Dave know" he pinched the bridge of his nose "You didn't tell her what I did, why you left"
"Nah! Couldn't really believe it meself what you and she did" she sniffed "I think there would be bits of you scattered all over Essex if I had" she cackled
"I think you might be right there, she threatened me with all sorts of unspeakable things if I did it again"
"WHAT you told her"
"Yes. We met for a coffee. She wanted to know why we split you wouldn't tell her so I told her about the PTSD, what it made me feel like and what I did" he spoke quietly reminiscing on that meeting with her Nan "she actually surprised me at how supportive she was, hoped I got better and sorted it out with you" he laughed "then threatened me not to hurt you again or I'll be lobbed onto the M25"
"Sounds like her"
"I had a card from Marie the other week, came to barracks for both of us"
"What she want, has she had the baby"
"Apparently baby Frankie is doing well, she had it the week after you all went on tour and she has organised the christening Friday 4th December in Stockport"
"Right"
"Shall we go for Fingers; I believe everyone has been invited. You should be on your post deployment leave and I can take a couple of days off"
"OK we'll go. Will be nice to see the lads anyway"
"Apparently the wetting of the baby's head after is at the Bradbury Hall Hotel, shall I book us a room for a couple of nights"
"OK" she sighed "Look I better go; I'm using up all me minutes and I won't be able to phone again if I do"
"Right" he really didn't want her to go, wanted to keep hearing her voice and know that she was OK
"I'll text you when we leave for Cyprus"
"Can I pick you up from Brize or will you get your Nan to do it"
"Nah" she said smiling "You can come but don't put the uniform on"
"Why's that Corporal Dawes" he said smiling back down the phone
"Stop being a perv" she laughed "I ain't saluting you if you come dressed up as a Major"
"Fair point" he laughed back "See you at Brize in 10 days Dawes"