AN1 Thanks for the feedback last chapter :) I'm pleased a lot of you are enjoying Who Dares Wins. It will take me a few years due to the sheer size of this fiction, but I intend to continue Who Dares Wins through to the very final chapter (which will probably be chapter 200). Your feedback & interaction with the story is what will push me through to that endpoint, so don't go silent!
AN2 Strap into your seats, ladies and gentlemen, because I present:
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Forty-Seven: Lockdown: Part Twenty-Six: Jeffster: Part One
Stirling Lines
Credenhill
Wednesday, 21 November, 2007
13:00 hours
Red Team entered the main briefing room in full strength, including the unit's new loyal canine.
"Your idea to bring Ghost along to the briefing was smart, Chuck," Cole Barker said, grinning at his best friend as Cole joined his team in moving to take their seats ahead of their imminent tasking. "If we need Ghost for the operation, it saves having to go back to get him."
"Exactly, Cole," Chuck replied, returning his best mate's friendly gaze. "This rain hasn't stopped pissing down once all day, and it's not going to for the rest of the day either. I've already taken a few soakings today, and the last thing I want is another!"
"You big baby! A bit of rain won't do you any harm. Any more of that, and I may just change who my best man is because what kind of man is afraid of the rain?" Cole joked, chuckling.
"Any more of that, and you find another best man anyway 'cause I'll leave you to it and then you'll be lost without me, Cole!" Chuck said back while grinning before he shook his head, unamused by Cole's reply. "And you're not the one that's getting soaked in it!"
"You shouldn't have taken on the responsibility at the time, then, should you?" Cole asked back.
Chuck narrowed his eyes in contempt at Cole while Jamie, overhearing the conversation, said, "Cole has a point, mate."
"What, and leave this lovely boy to rot away in the kennels?" Chuck asked back as he leaned down towards Ghost seated between his legs. "How could I do such a terrible thing?" he asked in a funny tone.
Ghost turned as Chuck's face arrived level with his own, and he proceeded to lick away at Chuck's face.
"Who's a good boy?" Chuck asked as he started to rub away at Ghost's neck. "These bastards want you abandoned without an owner and to be left in the kennels, potentially experiencing torture in its most wicked of forms if you had been made to join Blue Team instead. But we could never allow that to happen. You don't like Blue Team, do you, boy?"
Ghost tilted his head from side to side, attempting to interpret Chuck's words without success.
Big Dan, seated next to Chuck, was watching the exchange between Chuck and Ghost in amusement, like the rest of his teammates.
The Geordie soon leaned slightly towards Ghost and said, "Blue Team stinky!"
Red Team erupted in laughter while Ghost immediately turned to look at Big Dan, and he became more alert and less receptive to someone other than his owner entering his territory.
Chuck, detecting the attitude change of the canine, said in a relaxing tone, "Good boy," before he moved to rub away at Ghost's fur again.
Once Big Dan returned to his proper seating position, Ghost relaxed from his alert state and did the same.
The unit soon became aware of Morgan Grimes's arrival, who entered the briefing room and moved to the front.
"Alright, Morgan?!" Big Dan shouted out as Morgan came to a stop at the head of the room.
Morgan suppressed laughter as all of Red Team and Ghost gazed at the funny MI5 employee who had gotten on swimmingly with Red Team in the month they'd been working together. "Hey, guys and Sarah. Oh, it looks like you have another new friend, too," Morgan said, glancing around the room before finishing by looking at Ghost and Chuck.
"A friend of theirs maybe, but not mine. The bastard has bitten me twice already!" Bryce complained.
Bryce's teammates, except for Chris, snorted in approval while Chris warned, "Quit whining, Laddie, or you know what's coming out of my mouth next!"
"Nah, not this time, Chris. I've already decided that John's next on the list to be bitten!" Chuck said back.
"Ya wee bastard!" John Murray shot back again, still wholly offended that Chuck had chosen him as next on Ghost's list to play with.
Red Team continued snorting like pigs to hold in their laughter, but they failed, and they shared amusement at John Murray's expense, which intensified once Chris said, "Fair enough. The soft bollocks deserves it for his incessant comments about your personal life, so it's as good a reason as any."
Chuck pointed multiple times in endorsement at his team leader while Red Team plus Morgan continued to chuckle until John Murray said, "Maybe Morgan would like a turn at getting bit?"
"No, thank you!" Morgan said instantly as he continued with laughter.
Morgan's instant dismissal of the suggestion intensified Red Team's laughter, while John Murray soon shook his head and said, "I'll get all of you back soon and see how all of you wee tossers like it!"
"Not while you're not the handler, you won't, fella. And as I've every intention of staying in Chuck's good books, he won't be picking me to get bit any time soon," Big Dan said with glee.
The laughter continued while Sarah turned to look at Morgan again and said, "We've not seen you in almost a week, Morgan."
The warm spirits quieted to focus on Morgan's reply, who said, "Heh, I've been working on a lead regarding the lockdown, which you all hate so much."
Everyone suddenly stopped talking as they focused intensely on Morgan.
"I hope it's good news, mate?" Jamie asked.
"If it is, we'll buy him umpteen rounds at Jim's pub this very same day!" Cole said instantly, developing a razor-sharp focus on the funny Box 500 employee in search of good news for him and his teammates.
Loud mutterings in agreement erupted amongst all of Cole's teammates, which continued until they were disturbed by Colonel Wood, who said, "What are you lot so enthusiastically noisy about?"
Red Team turned to look at the CO of 22 SAS's arrival, in addition to their troop commander, Captain Wallace.
"Morgan said he has news for us about the lockdown," Bryce said.
Red Team nodded as they turned silent as the two officers moved to the front.
"Trust in Box 500 to not keep their mouths closed!" Colonel Wood joked. "We'll not hear the end of it from this lot now."
Red Team shared laughter with their two officers and Morgan until the posse turned silent, and the briefing commenced.
"Ok, the good news first," Colonel Wood started the briefing. "After exhaustive efforts, and to the great credit of MI5's ability to get us the intel we need, no matter how complex it is to acquire, we have finally traced the current owners of the black van which was parked outside the base when your team arrived back from a mission well done in Birmingham three weeks ago."
Red Team processed the opening of the briefing as Colonel Wood continued, "The van in question belongs to one Jeffrey Barnes, an employee of News Now Media Corporation, the same news agency which broke the story of your troop's operation in Birmingham. Mr Barnes, in addition to Mr Lester Patel, so happen to be the two journalists solely accredited with acquiring the footage of Corporal Bartowski and Trooper Walker's shootout with the terrorists outside the Prince of Wales Barracks."
Red Team processed the information given to them.
"So, they're the ones who are responsible for the trackers, Boss?" Chuck soon asked. "I said a few weeks ago at one of our briefings on the subject that I was sure we were followed around Birmingham. It would take a tracker to do that, and if they're the ones who put our op all over the news and then turned up outside the base in the hours after the op, they would, without doubt, need a tracker to achieve that."
"It could well be, Corporal. It could well be…." Colonel Wood agreed as the entire room mused over Chuck's comments for a moment.
"Are there any pictures of them, Boss?" Chris asked suddenly, disturbing the considerations widely ongoing inside the room. "Because I have a funny feeling we might know who they are."
Everyone turned to look at Chris to query his comments before they turned back to look at their front in search of an answer.
"Box 500, if you'd like to lead on?" Colonel Wood suggested.
Morgan nodded at the CO of 22 SAS and then collected a remote from the table at the head of the room. "Naturally, because of how elusive Jeffrey Barnes was in his acquisition of the van, which we have now uncovered to be a surveillance van, we decided we want to find out everything about both individuals. So yes, we have acquired pictures of both individuals, as well as additional information which will be appearing on screen; now," he said as he clicked a switch.
Two pictures quickly appeared on the screen of Jeffrey Barnes and Lester Patel when suddenly, the entirety of Red Team—including Chris, but in a more muted fashion—burst into roaring, uncontrolled laughter.
Colonel Wood, Captain Wallace, and Morgan each squinted their eyes in confusion at the actions of the soldiers in front of them, though Morgan was close to laughter himself. However, he just about managed to successfully hold it in as he found Red Team to be great company to be around.
"IT'S THOSE TWO IDIOTS FROM THE LUNATIC ASYLUM AT THE PUB!" Jamie said, howling with laughter.
Jamie's comment increased the laughter amongst the team to much greater heights.
However, his comment caused the two officers and Morgan at the front of the briefing to take a key interest in Jamie Hughes.
"Your team is already personally aware of them, Trooper?" Captain Wallace asked with concern.
Red Team, having received a serious question from their OC, attempted to compose themselves and refocus their concentration on the briefing.
"Yeah," Jamie said, nodding before he shook his head over the revelation that the very same morons from Jim's pub were part of today's assignment. "After the op in Birmingham, we all went out for a warm down at a local pub. Those two idiots came in sometime after us."
"Yeah, Boss, we all found their actions suspicious as soon as they entered the pub. The pillocks were behaving extremely anxious in our presence," Big Dan revealed.
Looking around all of Red Team, Colonel Wood soon said, "I have suddenly developed an extra special interest in those two individuals, which is now much greater than it was before this briefing started, ladies and gentlemen. How far was the pub from the base?"
"About six miles," Cole said.
Red Team all nodded at Cole's assessment.
The two officers, spook, and eight soldiers mused over the implications of where this briefing was now leading for a moment until Colonel Wood asked, "Did the van follow any of your cars once you left the base?"
"Nah, Boss," Chuck said as he took over the task of apprising his officers and Morgan about everything they knew related to the two idiots that had crashed the start of Red Team's R&R after their op when he and Sarah saved the soldier, Matt, outside his barracks. "All of us were on edge in Jamie and Cole's cars as soon as we left the base, and a few of us phoned in the van, so we were all alert about anything tailing us, but nothing did. You can be sure about that."
Colonel Wood and Morgan nodded.
"Sergeant Barker and Trooper Hughes's cars?" Captain Wallace suddenly asked. "In addition to Trooper Walker's car, which was the one involved in the armed intercept, those are the only three vehicles on the entire base which turned up with tracking devices.
"Fucking hell, he's right!" Big Dan said in shock.
Red Team all turned to look at each other.
"So he is," Colonel Wood agreed, moving a hand to rest on his chin as the CO entered thought. "It appears that events are suddenly beginning to make sense. And how was their behaviour in the pub? Did they present a threat to the team?"
The unit mused over the questions for the briefest moment before they each reached an answer, but Chris was first to reply, "To cut a long and needless story short, they're the biggest pair of imbeciles we have ever encountered. The threat they posed to us was non-existent, other than a serious OPSEC breach."
All of Chris's teammates nodded, wholly agreeing with his assertions.
"What if it's a facade?" Morgan suggested as everyone turned to look at him. "They can't be that stupid if they know how to acquire a surveillance van in an illegal purchase, obtain sophisticated trackers with direct links to the IRA, plant them undetected, uncover classified operations, and blend into your own doorstep."
"He has a point," Chuck said.
"Of course, he does, Corporal, which is why we are not taking any chances. Your assignment was already going to be closely surveying these two individuals for as long as necessary to build up an intelligence picture and, if necessary, to intervene and apprehend Mr Barnes and Mr Patel. However, after this latest uncovering of information, your task becomes two-fold: First, to undertake covert surveillance of both individuals in tandem with Box 500. Secondly, if your tasking uncovers information regarding a dissident Irish republican cell still in active operation, we will call on your unit to move on that cell in close cooperation with the security services," Colonel Wood said.
Red Team nodded at their orders.
"I guess that means lockdown still exists, Boss?" Big Dan asked with a sudden loss of spirits.
"Until we're sure Mr Barnes and Mr Patel are not directly connected to dissident republicans, yes," Colonel Wood said commandingly with no room for negotiation in his tone.
Groans erupted amongst all of Red Team except for Chris, who remained composed.
"Less of that, soldiers," Captain Wallace ordered, glancing in scorn at his complaining soldiers. "Your team is departing imminently on assignment anyway, so even if the lockdown were to be over, you could not make use of the change of situation."
"No, we couldn't, Boss, but Blue Team could!" Jamie said back.
Red Team erupted in laughter once they saw Colonel Wood laugh at Jamie's comment.
After a moment, the Colonel soon said, "Don't worry. If it makes you feel better, we'll ensure to keep Blue Team locked on the base until the situation is clear for both teams."
"It does make us feel better, Boss," Big Dan said with glee.
Big Dan's teammates quickly voiced their agreement.
"Right, that's all. Draw your necessary gear, and your team's surveillance van, and then be on your way. Oh, and Box 500 will be accompanying you and will be with you in the van for your assignment," Colonel Wood said, nodding at Morgan.
Morgan and Red Team nodded before Staff Sergeant MacDonald took over the briefing, "Right, you heard what the Colonel said. Half of us, let's head to the armoury to draw the required equipment we'll need. After, we'll head to the barracks to change into civvies. Jamie, you take the other half to give Chuck a lift to the kennels to drop off Ghost and then head back to the barracks to change into your civvies. Morgan, collect your own gear and meet us outside our barracks in thirty minutes. And make sure to bring your coats and jackets!"
Chris's team members and Morgan all nodded.
"Dismissed," Colonel Wood said, closing the briefing.
Red Team all stood and hastily departed the briefing room to undertake their preparations for their assignment.
O-x-O-x-O-x-O
Jamie pulled one of Red Team's two service vehicles to a stop outside the kennels.
"I won't be long," Chuck said.
Jamie turned to look at Chuck and said, "Take your time, mate. It's no big deal. Chris will only have our heads if we're a minute late."
"I'll be as quick as I can, but I can't throw him in the cage and rush off without saying goodbye," Chuck protested.
"He knows," Cole said, grinning at his best friend. "He was pulling your leg."
"Of course, I was!" Jamie chuckled, feeling satisfied with himself for winding Chuck up. "If we are late, I'll just say the car broke down, mate! Fuck it!"
Chuck, Sarah and Cole shared the laughter with him until Sarah said, "I'll take the bite jacket back to the kennel master while Chuck takes Ghost to his kennels."
Everyone nodded.
"Come on, boy!" Chuck said to Ghost as he departed the vehicle with him, and Sarah joined him from the other side of the rear as they dashed into the kennels to avoid as much of the ongoing rain storm as possible.
Once the teammates, lovers, and canine entered the kennels, Sarah moved to hand over the bite jacket to Steve, the Kennel Master, while Chuck continued ahead towards the cages, with Ghost at his side.
Sarah quickly caught up to Chuck as they walked with Ghost towards his cage.
"So, Chuck, why did you choose John Murray as Ghost's next playmate?" Sarah asked.
Chuck suppressed laughter as he looked at his lover and said, "You already know why I did. Because he's always on your back about us and I can assure you that anyone else who behaves like a prick will hastily be getting themselves volunteered after him as well!"
Sarah smiled as the lovers and loyal canine approached Ghost's cage. "I hope that won't include me," she teased.
"Now, now, Sarah," he said, grinning. "Preferential treatment could potentially land us in some serious shit."
Sarah nodded. "I know. I was joking."
"So was I," Chuck said as the lovers and Ghost stopped walking outside his cage. "However, what I said is probably true now that I've started to think about it."
Sarah nodded. "It was, so I'm going to have to volunteer to be the decoy from time to time because I know you won't willingly choose me unless we planned it prior."
"Now, how do you know I would never do a terrible thing such as that?" he asked playfully.
"Because you wouldn't be getting sex from me for at least a month if you did, and maybe never, ever again," she warned matter of factly, her tone deadly serious, her expressions stern.
Chuck narrowed his eyes as he studied his lover's expressions, then quickly said, "You're not playing, are you?"
She shook her head, holding her formed glance.
"Good to know where we stand!" he said instantly as soon as he detected she was being serious because of how she was looking at him. "Not that I would ever volunteer you to be roughed up or harmed in any way, anyway."
"I know," she said as her stern expressions eased, and a smile lit up her features.
Chuck nodded, then turned his attention toward Ghost. "Well, little buddy, it's time to say goodbye for a few days," he said as his lips creased in sadness.
Sarah observed the exchange between her lover and his companion. Her heartstrings suddenly started pulling at the sad moment in front of her eyes because she knew it was never an enjoyable experience to separate from somebody you had a great bond with.
After a moment, Chuck opened Ghost's cage, who moved to enter inside.
Once Ghost was back inside his den, he moved to do multiple looped circles in excitement, which caused both lovers to suppress laughter at the warm sight in front of their eyes.
Chuck promptly entered the cage and moved to undress Ghost from his working equipment.
Sarah decided to help her lover out as she moved to collect Ghost's equipment from Chuck, who detected her arrival and recognized why she'd entered his proximity.
Sarah moved to hang up Ghost's accessories while Chuck petted Ghost with a final few rubs, and then kissed his fur.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, but the trainers and Kennel Master will take care of you until I come back," Chuck said softly as he gazed down at and grinned at his four-legged friend.
Ghost moved to lick Chuck's face in reply.
Chuck looked down at Ghost for a final second until he turned, departed the cage, and secured Ghost's living quarters shut.
"Bye, Buddy," Chuck said with a final gaze at Ghost.
Sarah, meanwhile, smiled at Ghost a final time until the lovers and teammates turned and started to walk back the way they came.
"When you left to get me coffee at breakfast this morning, I uncovered something Jamie did towards Bryce yesterday," Sarah said.
"Yeah?" Chuck asked as he paused from walking because they were almost at Steve's position, and he didn't want anybody to overhear a private conversation.
Sarah stopped with him and said, "He had a word in private with Bryce and warned him to stop behaving like an ass towards me. He wouldn't tell me what was said, nor do I want you to find out. But it didn't sound too friendly, and I just wanted you to know that."
Chuck suppressed laughter before he nodded. "That sounds like Jamie," he said, grinning. "Jamie won't hesitate to tell you how it is. He is also extremely passionate in defence of his mates, so I totally buy and believe him having a word in Bryce's ear over his conduct. And I hope Bryce heeds the warning of whatever was said to him because only the biggest idiot gets on the wrong side of Jamie's temper."
Sarah nodded before she smiled at Chuck and said, "You're so cheerful today, and your performance in the Killing House was amazing. How are you able to perform much better in the job than the rest of us right now? What's your secret, Chuccckkk?"
"That's easy," Chuck said with a loving gaze. "The reason why I'm feeling as good as I am is that I'm dating a supermodel who happens to be the best-looking woman in the whole world, so how can I ever not be happy?" he asked, staring straight into her alluring sapphire orbs.
Sarah started to blush immensely at his declaration, to the point she broke eye contact and looked down at the floor as she felt her cheeks turning crimson.
"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly.
Sarah returned her glance to connect with his orbs. "It's ok," she said as a sudden smile enveloped her face. "I seem to be always happy myself. So, the guy I'm dating can't be so bad himself."
"Please, I'm fantastic," he said, grinning, with his tone filled with humour.
"Yeah," she said, nodding, her tone without humour, wholly serious. "You are."
Chuck smiled at his lover, but he soon developed an onset of nerves. "Actually, I may have been a little over-zealous in my remarks. Because I'm so fantastic, all of my relationships have ended," he said, gazing nervously at Sarah because he didn't want Sarah and him to end up the same way as all of his other relationships did.
Detecting her lover's nerves and that he needed intervention from her, she gave him a reassuring smile, then said, "This one won't. Unless you want it to?"
Confidence returned to Chuck as he gazed much easier at her again. "That's the last thing I want, Sarah," he said with more conviction attached to his words than he had ever done before.
"Me too," she said, holding her loving smile.
The lovers paused for a final second after their conversation, and Chuck soon put his game face back on and said, "We should head back."
"Yes, we should," Sarah agreed, who also composed herself as the lovers promptly departed the kennels and rushed back to their service vehicle with Jamie and Cole in wait.
O-x-O-x-O-x-O
Red Team and Morgan climbed into the surveillance van they would be using for their covert surveillance assignment of Jeffrey Barnes and Lester Patel.
The surveillance equipment required for the operation was substantive. In addition to the technology pieces, the unit had also brought blankets and warm clothing due to the extreme weather period occurring in the U.K.
Because the assignment was covert, none of the team had their tactical gear with them, nor were they armed with their main assault weapons of choice.
However, because the assignment tasked the elite SAS unit with armed surveillance, all of Red Team were armed with their sidearms, a few flashbangs, and several additional pistol magazines.
"Right, let's be on our way and get this over with," Chris said from the front of the van in the driver's seat as he turned to look at the rest of Red Team and Morgan in the back of the van minus John Murray, who was in the passenger front seat.
The unit and Morgan all nodded.
"Where to then?" Chris asked, glancing at Morgan.
"An MI5 surveillance team is presently shadowing their surveillance van through London. I'll keep you updated in real-time on where we need to be," Morgan said.
Chris nodded before he fired up the vehicle.
Chuck, Sarah, Morgan, Cole, Jamie, Dan and Bryce moved to make themselves as comfortable as possible in their selected positions in the rear.
Once everybody was comfortable, Chris set the vehicle in motion, and the team plus Morgan soon cleared their base of operations to begin the three-hour drive to the nation's capital.
"Stick that heating on out front there, fellas!" Bryce called towards Chris and John Murray.
"Cold, are we?" John Murray asked back. "I sure hope you wee bastards are comfortable back there," he said smugly as he turned to glance behind him at the rear compartment of the van.
"Much more comfortable than you will be as soon as Ghost sinks his teeth into you just as soon as we get back," Sarah said back just as smugly as she wrapped a blanket around her to keep warm.
"You tell him, Sarah!" Big Dan said in immense approval.
Laughter erupted amongst the whole team and Morgan as Chris complied with the request and turned the heating on full blast: they would need it over the coming days, that was for sure….
"Cold, tired and bored, that's how we'll be for the next few days," Jamie soon complained.
"Quit your whining, Laddie!" Chris shot back.
Additional laughter broke out until Chuck suddenly stopped laughing and said, "Shit!"
Everyone turned from their positions in the van to look at Chuck in query of his sudden outburst.
"What's up?" Sarah asked from where she was seated back next to Chuck.
"I suddenly just remembered that we all missed Halloween and Bonfire night, what with all the shit we've faced pretty much ever since we all met," Chuck declared.
Red Team instantly considered Chuck's remarks until Big Dan said, "You're right. We did miss both of them, fella. Halloween fell while we were on operations in Birmingham, while Guy Fawkes Night fell during lockdown."
"Dan's right," Cole agreed. "But what made you think of it so suddenly several weeks later?"
Chuckling away, Chuck said, "Well, having to share a van with all of you for the next few days is my worst nightmare, so it made me think of a slasher film, which reminded me of Halloween!"
"You cheeky bastard!" Chris said in scorn from the front of the van. "Someone give him a good beasting for me!"
"With pleasure," Cole said as he moved into Chuck from his position next to Chuck.
The best friends started to play fight which caused laughter amongst the team and Morgan until they ceased their actions.
Once the playing stopped, Sarah said, "it's easy to lose track of the actual date and time while on ops because each day is just another part of whatever assignment we're faced with."
Everyone muttered prompt agreement while Jamie opted for a cohesive reply and said, "Spot on, mate. You're learning fast."
"That's because I'm with the best," Sarah replied with a smile, glancing around her teammates with a loving gaze.
Approving laughter broke out as the team plus Morgan continued to share warm spirits while Chris drove them to their assignment, and he said from the front, "Pat her on the leg for me."
"With pleasure!" Chuck and Jamie said, proceeding to pat Sarah on her leg.
Sarah smiled at their actions.
Once the moment ceased, Cole said, "Chuck has a point. Because we did miss Bonfire Night, we'll have to have our own as soon as the assignment is done and dusted."
"Yeah, fella, and put Speedy Gonzales on top of it!" John Murray said, chuckling.
Instant snorts erupted amongst the entire unit, which quickly transcended into full laughter.
While Bryce quickly said back, "Oh, for fuck's sake! Why is it always me? If I'm not getting thrown on a fucking bonfire, I'm getting bit! I've had enough of it!"
Bryce's remarks only further intensified the laughter amongst the unit while Chris said while he continued to laugh, "Stop the whining, Laddie!"
Chris's latest rebuke of Bryce's complaints only further intensified the laughter among the team.
"He does have a point, though," Big Dan said. "Plus, Speedy ordered us all breakfast, fella. I appreciated that 'cause when has anyone else done that for us?" he asked as he raised his thumb to point at Bryce as he finished.
Bryce nodded, suppressing laughter from his position opposite Big Dan up against the side of the vehicle.
"Hang on a minute!" Cole said suddenly. "He never ordered breakfast for me!"
Chuck, Sarah, Jamie and Big Dan instantly snorted like pigs to hold in additional laughter once they learned that Bryce hadn't ordered breakfast for everyone.
"Nor did he for me!" Chris said quickly. "What's this then, Laddie?"
Bryce laughed and said, "I couldn't order for everyone because it was too much to carry. So I ordered for Chuck, Sarah, Dan and Jamie."
"Ya wee bastard!" John Murray said instantly as he turned to shoot his gaze directly at Bryce.
Chuck, Sarah, Jamie and Big Dan joined Bryce in laughter as Big Dan said gleefully, "You didn't order for Chris? Speedy, you're my new favourite friend!"
The laughter continued as Chris said, "I heard that!"
The unit shared great spirits and camaraderie for a few seconds until Big Dan said, "Turn the radio on, fellas."
John Murray nodded before he turned to his front and turned on the radio, tuning into BBC Radio One.
The unit and Morgan entered silence as they tuned into the radio for a few minutes until the presenter came back on the air.
This is BBC Radio One at 2pm. Today's forecast is a record-breaking one because we can confirm that temperatures throughout the nation have indeed plummeted to minus fifteen degrees across most of the country and will remain so for as many as the next five days. I sure hope that you're tucking in warm from wherever you're tuning in from and staying safe amidst the rain storm the country is experiencing in addition to the extreme cold…
"Fucking hell!" Jamie said in shock.
Red Team shared additional glances as they took in and registered the gloomy forecast the team would be faced with for the next few days on assignment.
"It's a good job I brought a blanket and me willy warmers, fella," Big Dan said to Jamie.
Snorts erupted amongst the team as most of them started to shake their heads.
Chuck soon nudged Sarah, then said, "The things we do for Queen and country..."
"I know," Sarah agreed, smiling at her lover before she tucked herself back into her blanket, and the journey to London continued….
End of Chapter
AN3 I hope you enjoyed the chapter today :) My chapters, as always, become much bigger once I get to work on them so I couldn't include the full mission without this being a 20k worded chapter. I would love to see a similar level of interaction towards this chapter as the last chapter because I appreciate it a lot when you choose to leave a comment concerning what you read today :)
I will see you all in a few days with Jeffster: Part Two! Expect lots of Jeffster craziness and find out how Red Team responds to everything that will kick off in the next chapter soon! I will leave you with one teaser, though. In the words of Jamie Hughes: "Fucking hell! Just what else can be thrown at us?"
What else, indeed?...