Road to Redemption
Chapter Three
Road to Afghan – Eighteen Months Later
Kingy was trying his level best to persuade Georgie to come with 2 section to Afghan as their new medic was still a bit green and the Lieutenant likewise. It was his first tour in that region. This all being done at her sister Marie's wedding to Fingers, and she really wasn't sure that she wanted to go back out there.
She hadn't sort the help after her and Captain James had agreed that they had made a huge mistake in crossing the line in their relationship but moved to Stockport to train the next generation of combat medics. Worked hard to get her promotion to Sergeant and shut away all thoughts of Elvis and Captain James. She knew that Captain James was still in the army and based in Aldershot but with a different section. She had heard he received the help that the army offered him for PTSD and worked hard on both his physical and mental fitness. He had got the all clear for active service. She hadn't seen him or spoken to him since he drove her to Aldershot all that time ago, and she missed their easy going friendship but she understood that it had to stop. He was just another reminder of Elvis.
Fingers also joined in the conversation trying to persuade her to come on tour with them. It would be like old times and 2 section together. Their new Lieutenant was all right, not quite Captain James but an OK bloke. It was clear that he didn't know what had passed between them in Bangladesh.
After much persuading by both Kingy and Fingers she finally agreed that maybe it was time to go back to Afghan and put to bed the feelings she still had for Elvis. When she met up with 2 section she was surprised that Brains, Mansfield and Dangles were back in the team and wasn't sure why they were a little stand offish and hadn't greeted her with open arms like Monk and Fingers had. She was introduced to the new guys; Prof and Throbber as well as a very young and green medic Mimi.
-OG-
It had been so long since she had been here she had forgotten how hot it was in Afghan, as soon as they arrived at the barracks memories of that tour came flooding back and in her mind's eye all she could see was Elvis smiling at her, catching the kiss she had blown to him after showing him she was wearing his engagement ring again. All her feelings and regrets starting up again.
They settled into the routine at the hospital and providing support for the elections as well as her and Mimi helping with a vaccination programme. She had noticed things were afoot, with a number of American intelligence officers who had just flown in, but everyone was being very cagey.
They were arriving at the hospital in their armoured truck, Kingy, Lt Hurst, her and Mimi when there was a disturbance, only a small explosion but it made the crowds start running.
"We need to get out and help" yelled Hurst
"Wait out, there might be more than one bomber in those crowds" replied Kingy after all he had done many tours here and while it was upsetting hearing the screams from women and children it wasn't unheard of that one of them could also be a card carrying insurgent and strapped with enough explosives to kill them all.
Hurst didn't listen, opened the door and got out just as a second incendiary went off. They managed to get to him and carry him through to the hospital as they were only outside. It was difficult to tell whose blood he was covered in, the suicide bombers or his own. It was some hours later that they were told that his injuries were extensive and that he would be flown home to the QEH in Birmingham as soon as he was stable. The Brigadier notified them a replacement CO was being flown in, he reassured them this officer had much more experience of both deployment and Afghan.
-OG-
Charles walked across the grounds to the office of Lt Colonel Beck who had requested a meeting with him. He wasn't sure why, he was positive that he had redeemed himself from his past errors of judgement. His record now impeccable showing how he had adapted to his training role and most of his recruits made it through basic with his tutelage and mentoring. He did miss active service and hoped that one day he would be given the opportunity to go on tour again.
He had worked incredibly hard with the counselling and much as it had gone against the grain for him to talk openly he had managed it, he had fully co-operated and engaged in the counselling. His counsellor Ted, patiently waiting for him to gain confidence, to acknowledge that there was no stigma attached to what he was going through. There was no rhyme or reason why some men got PSTD and some didn't. With Ted's support he even went on the EDMR course at the Priory in Woking. To this day he doesn't know how it worked but it had and every traumatic experience he had from losing Geraint to Elvis, all the injuries and insecurities had been unlocked, processed, sorted and filed away. He doesn't think he will ever understand the science of it but for him it worked and he felt able to continue his career in the army. Had rebuilt his relationships with his parents and son. There was just one person left he wanted to meet, apologise to, show that he was the man he used to be and if possible rebuild his relationship with her. The love of his life.
He knocked on Lt Colonel Beck's door and waited for the response of enter.
"Ah good to see you again James" smiled Beck "please, sit"
"Thank you sir"
"How are you doing these days, I hear you have been declared fit for active service" asked Beck
Charles grinned "Yes sir, it's taken a while but I've got there"
"You should be proud of yourself Charles to have come through the injuries and PTSD" he smiled again "Maybe you could start looking at a promotion in the not too distant future"
"I'd like to think I was ready for the next step sir"
"Good" he gave a small cough "I don't know if you are aware but there has been a resurgence of trouble back in Afghan, it seems that Omar may be active again"
Charles felt that his heart was already starting to race, that was the man behind their last mission when Elvis was killed. He felt his mouth dry and couldn't speak other than to shake his head that he wasn't aware.
"Lt Hurst was maybe a bit too green to have sent with 2 section, and has been injured" Beck looked down fiddling with the pen in his hand "He is certainly going to require many operations and physio" he looked up and at Charles "We need a replacement and we thought of you, you have 5 tours of Afghan under your belt, you have the experience…I know there are bad memories for you there Charles, but we would like you to go"
"Thank you sir" he took a large intake of breath "I would relish the opportunity to prove myself once again sir"
Beck nodded and smiled "I feel I should tell you a few things before you give your final answer" and started fiddling with his pen again "firstly it is 2 section that is out there currently. Hurst was their CO so you would be replacing him" again he paused and looked at Charles straight in the eye, while it wasn't common knowledge he had worked out why his marriage to Molly had failed, that rules had been broken and covered up so that Charles could continue his career "Sergeant Lane is the Medic with that team, will that be an issue?"
A flash of both shock and horror swept across his face before he masked it and shook his head, pinking up slightly at the inference of a relationship between him and Lane.
"Good, glad to hear it Charles" he smiled "This could be your opportunity to put the past behind you, look forward and go for a promotion to Major, after all it is about time" he grinned.
"Thank you for your faith sir"
"We have served together many times in Afghan Charles and I do have faith in you" again he looked directly at Charles "There is one other thing SF are out there too looking for Omar, should Lane find out it could be disastrous to their mission, you will need to make sure that she is kept in line, there can be no letting her get distracted or distract others from the task in hand"
He could almost feel himself paling under the scrutiny of Beck's look, did he know. His first tour of duty since Bangladesh and it had to be with her and the shadow of Elvis' death.
After his meeting with Beck finished he walked back across the parade ground towards the car park and his car. Walking in the opposite direction and coming towards him was someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Her head down and striding towards him.
"Hello Jackie"
"Well if it isn't Captain James, long time no see" she stood straight no hint of a smile "Hello Sir" she said in a stilted tone
"How are you and Dangles?"
"All good Sir, he is away in Afghan at the moment"
"So, I hear with 2 section"
"Yes Sir"
"It would appear that I am replacing Lt Hurst, would you like me to pass on a message or take a letter to him" He noticed that her eyes seemed to widen and a look of shock on her face before she started to stutter something.
"Spit it out Jackie" he stood a little straighter and frowned.
"Nothing Sir…when you leaving its kind of you to offer to take a letter"
"Tomorrow morning from Brize" he replied narrowing his eyes he knew there was something else "Do you still live in the same place, drop it off tonight and I'll take it with me tomorrow"
"Thanks Captain James" she gave a small smile in thanks, he seemed his old self, how she remembered him from Afghan and the meet ups they had when he was still married to Molly. Oh god Molly, she was out there too. Perhaps she would write a letter to Dangles and pop it round tonight for him to take out there.
-OG-
He had forgotten how long the flight was and how boring, the section flying with him seemed terribly young and inexperienced but he knew a number of the old 2 section were there so hopefully they would take these green privates under their wing and guide them through.
Finally, they got there and he was shown to his quarters and Sergeant King came to meet him. They shook hands it had been a long time since they had served together and he was looking forward to it, he had been a good Sergeant, loyal and experienced, noticed everything and kept the troops in check and him updated.
"Good to see you again Boss" he smiled
"You too Kingy" and returned the smile "anything I need to be updated on before I meet the Brig" King broke out into a big grin
"I'll leave you to make your own opinion Sir" and Charles raised one of his eyebrows "Shall I show you to his office"
"Thanks, Kingy"
After meeting with Brigadier Hart, he now had an understanding of why Sergeant King didn't want to cloud his judgement. He was probably one of the most pompous idiots he had ever come across in the British Army and he had met quite a few at regimental dinners.
They were just finishing their meeting, him Kingy and the Brig when Sergeant Georgie Lane came bursting into the room demanding to know what was going on and why was Omar going to be handed to the Americans if he was captured.
Crickey! He had only landed in the country a couple of hours ago and it was evident she was causing problems within the chain of command and was no doubt already going to make things more difficult for him. Before he had any opportunity to say anything the Brigadier took control
"Lane do not try and take the moral high ground with me" he spoke with clipped tones "Whatever decisions are made will be made at a much higher pay grade than yours and what's more your approval will not be sought."
"But Sir" she kept on not knowing when to shut up, "He killed Elvis!" she wailed
"Ah yes" and looking out the corner of his eyes towards Charles who inwardly cringed that all his hard work was going to come crashing round his ankles. The Brigadier continued "Colour Sergeant King" he huffed "I'm not sure Sergeant Lane is necessarily fit for active service, confine her to barracks and ensure she has a psychologist evaluate her" Charles breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't him that had to do that.
"Sir" answered King immediately turning to grab Georgie by the elbow he led her from the room
"That girl's professionalism is more than questionable, no sense of the chain of command" Brig. Hart said in a quiet almost menacing voice "What the hell makes her think she can tell me what to do"
"You worked with her before didn't you Captain James"
"Yes Sir"
"I've seen her file….seems you had no better luck in getting her to follow orders than I have"
He sighed and thought before speaking "I think she's a very dedicated and capable medic but maybe sometimes gets emotionally involved"
"Well there is no place for it here" he humphed "You know most of the sections, I think you can go and re-acquaint yourself with them….dismissed" Charles stood to attention and left the Brigadier thinking what a pompous twat and grinning to himself as he could hear Molly calling him just that in her unmistakable cockney tones that he missed so much.
-OG-
He saw Dangles in the distance laughing with Fingers and Brains and walked towards them with Jackie's letter in his pocket.
"Hello Boss" smiled Fingers "Nice to see you back at last"
"Thanks Fingers" he smiled as he looked towards Brains and Dangles immediately noticing that although they were both respectful didn't give him that same warm greeting that Fingers had.
"I saw Jackie as I was leaving and she gave me this for you" he said handing the letter to Dangles
"You jammy git" laughed Fingers "the rest of us have to wait for the mail run"
"Thanks Boss" replied Dangles with a small smile as he put the letter in his pocket to read later.
Out the corner of his eye Charles could see Kingy and Lane arguing and felt he needed to step in and bring this under control, maybe Lane would listen to him.
"Right lads, we'll catch up in the ops room later" and started to walk away joining Kingy and Lane. Catching the tail end of her conversation as he reached them, stating that she didn't have PTSD and was fit for service and the Brig was an idiot if he thought she wasn't.
"Hardly appropriate or professional Sergeant Lane" he said with his legs slightly apart and his hands under his armpits.
Georgie swung round and he could see the rage in her face before it was masked. Kingy nodded at Charles and walked away leaving them together for the first time since that dreadful day when Nan had turned up and taken the last of Molly's things.
He still didn't like to think of it, that he had been forced to sign the papers and within six months as he was just leaving Headley the absolute came through and he was a single man again.
"Sorry Charlie" she said and he raised his eyebrow and she grinned "Sorry Charles force of habit"
"Still not appropriate or professional Lane, you will address me as Captain James, Sir or even Boss," he snorted a laugh and raised an eyebrow "Look he wasn't saying you were unfit, but you didn't exactly help yourself in there did you" getting more serious "Trying to give the Brig orders on what he had to do. You may have got away with that before and I will take partial responsibility for that but no more, do you understand?"
She nodded as she looked down at her dusty boots "I don't think I should have come back here Charles" and he raised his eyebrows.
"Everywhere I look I see him, feel him here" and Charles nodded without even having to ask who she was talking about.
"Omar didn't just kill Elvis, he organised the deaths of a number of American soldiers too" he said gently starting to put his hand out to her in comfort before remembering where they were and withdrawing it. "They have a right to want him captured and questioned too."
"Yes, I know" she said quietly.
"Having been through all those evaluations, they're not that bad…..take it on board…..maybe you do need a bit of help…..about Elvis" he sighed and she moved a little closer to him and put her hand on his arm
"I just can't seem to forget him….what we should have had if I had only forgiven him in Kenya"
"No one says you have to forget him Lane….I know I haven't" he looked down at her hand on his arm and sighed as he shrugged it off "maybe just accept he has gone and we can't change anything"
At that moment there was a commotion at the barrack gates and weapons were being fired as Charles swung round to see a truck with three men dressed as locals driving fast to the barrier and being fired upon by Throbber, Prof and two other men, he started to remove his pistol from its holster. The truck slid to a halt as the Brigadier came out of his office shouting at the men to cease fire. All guns still pointing towards to truck and the driver shouting at the Brigadier.
"You knew we were fucking coming" he yelled "Did you think we were going to turn up in uniform…..we told you we were coming as locals".
Charles was watching transfixed as the man got out the truck and shook hands with the Brig. He would never know why but he looked to the back of the truck to see what he assumed was a woman dressed head to foot in black with only her green eyes showing. He could tell the eyes were smiling; he'd know them anywhere.
"Good job they're shit shots ain't it boss?" and a muffled chuckle from the niqab. The man turned to her and laughed back "Ain't it just Dawes" and put his arms up to lift her down from the back of the truck.
The other two men had got out of the truck with the woman in black looking very small against them. Charles knew that his jaw had dropped and he was staring open mouthed at the new group. Even completely covered he knew – that voice, those eyes. It was Molly, his Molly.
It was as if she knew she was being watched, she looked around and saw Charles standing with Georgie bloody Lane. What the bleedin hell where they doing here. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her back on them, whispering to the man standing next to her, his face also covered. He removed the covering looking across and Spanner nodded in acknowledgement of seeing both Charles and Georgie.
-OG-
She removed her coverings to reveal her British Army uniform. Their arrival had attracted a lot of attention.
"Dawesy" she heard and was enveloped into a bear hug from Brains, Dangles and Fingers.
"Our first medic from our first tour in this shithole" said Brains to the rest of 2 section.
"Well, well, well Dawes" said the Brigadier "I haven't seen you since basic, nice to see that you have done so well"
"Sir, thank you Sir" she said tentatively standing straight and to attention.
"One Sir will suffice Dawes, we still aren't American yet" he chortled remembering the raw young recruit he met must be seven years ago now. She certainly looked like she had come on in leaps and bounds during her career in the army and not the frightened rabbit that looked like it had been caught in headlights.
Molly and the third man had removed their head scarfs and Charles could see that she was with Spanner, Jackson and Blue.
"Right my office Blue" commanded the Brig leaving the rest behind.
Spanner walked across to Charles and Georgie leaving Molly and Jackson by the truck and with 2 section "Nice to see you both after all this time, how you doing?"
"It's been such a long time" answered Georgie giving him a hug which he reciprocated and a peck on the cheek.
"Can I have a word in private Charles" he asked and looked him straight in the eye as if he meant business and Charles could only nod still shocked that Molly had just reappeared in his life after all this time.
They walked off together and Charles didn't say anything but waited for Spanner to say what he had to say.
"We are on a mission Charles, we didn't know you were here"
"I was a battle replacement, Lt Hurst was injured, so they sent me in to replace him"
"You and I became friends because of Elvis so I am speaking to you as a friend….Are you and Georgie back together?"
"No…Oh god no….this is the first time I have seen her in 18 months" Spanner just nodded "I got the help" continued Charles "Got my nut sorted, just as Molly knew I needed to" he snorted a laugh "I'm fit for active service and was sent here this week"
"Don't mess with her head Charles" he started "We are on a mission and we need her to stay focused" he looked at him "I saw the look…wait till after the mission…..you know to talk with her….if that's what you want to do but don't start nothing until the mission is finished, it could get us killed….or worse her."
"I want her back Spanner" he replied giving him the same eye contact and Spanner nodded.
"Aye! I can see that" He put his arm out and jabbed him in the chest with his finger "Bones wanted to help her after you fucked up, she has worked bloody hard to get where she is, so you make sure it's what you really want and don't mess her up again".
"Were her and Bones together?" he questioned awkwardly.
Spanner broke out into loud laughter, "Don't be a complete tit Charles, she was still with you then and cheating isn't her style" he said suddenly saddened at remembering the loss of Bones "But he was very fond of her" he narrowed his eyes and inhaled not entirely sure he should say what he was about to "There has never been anyone else, to be honest I'm not sure she wanted anyone else…..she is good at what she does"
Charles sucked in his bottom lip part of him wanting to smile but bit down on his lip to stop himself.
"As I said Charles don't mess with her head until our operation is finished" he scowled "This is a gentle warning….. at the moment"
-OG-
Charles went into the mess looking for coffee and a snack, he didn't really feel hungry enough to want dinner. His eyes scanned the room and he could see Fingers and some of the new members of 2 section with Georgie. Brains and Dangles a couple of seats away. He needed to monitor that as he couldn't have members of the team isolating themselves, it could cause problems. He would try and see if he could talk with them separately and see if there were issues with the new team or anyone in it.
He saw Molly sitting with Blue, Spanner and Jackson and he had obviously said something funny because she put her hand on his forearm and threw her head back laughing hysterically. For a moment all he saw was her with micky mouse ears and she had just won their section Olympics which got her R&R on her first tour. She was still incredibly beautiful when she laughed like that and until this moment hadn't realised just how much he had missed her laughter and just how infectious it was as he watched Brains and Dangles join them.
He watched from a distance as Georgie got up and went to join the table, he saw the laughter die from Molly and her face fall. Spanner swung round just in time to spot what was happening and got up.
"Georgie, it's been an absolute age since we have had a catch up" he said in his quiet Scottish tones, taking her arm and guiding her to another table well away from Molly and the SF team.
That was another thing he is obviously going to have to deal with – Georgie. Spanner was right Molly would need to stay focused and alert if her and the team were to stay alive and Georgie needed to stay away from her every bit as much as he did. For the moment.
He collected his coffee and a sandwich deciding he would go back to his quarters to eat. He didn't notice that Blue had followed him out until he was nearly back to his room.
"Captain James, have you got time for a quick word?" and Charles swung round on his heels.
"Of course, Blue" he smiled "It's nice to see you again"
"You too" Blue grinned back "I know Spanner has had a word, but just to let you know we are pulling out again tomorrow" Charles opened the door to his office come quarters and invited Blue in both sitting either side of the small desk.
"We have intel on where Omar is, my team are going up into the mountains to get him and bring him back" Blue continued "You and your section will be supporting us, help get him back here" he looked directly at Charles "Is that going to be a problem for you with Molly being in my team?"
"No of course not Blue" he huffed "Just make sure you keep her safe won't you" Blue laughed "She might not necessarily be the girl you remember Charles, it will probably be her keeping us safe"
Blue stood up ready to leave "Elvis was looking for a way out of SF, wanted to be with Georgie" he started walking to the door before turning and Charles was looking at him intently "I think he and Bones would have thought you were a bit of a fool for letting someone like Molly slip through your fingers" and opened the door to leave. "I know I do"
"Indeed" sighed Charles "I think I am inclined to agree" he stood to show Blue out "Good luck with your mission tomorrow and we will support you where we can"
"One final thing Captain James" Blue continued already outside "Keep Lane in check I know she wants retribution for Elvis but I can't have her going gung ho and wrecking the mission and putting lives at risk" Charles nodded in acknowledgement.
"Night Charles, we'll be out your hair first thing."