Thanks for all your fabulous reviews to my last chapter and I'd also like to thank all of you who've gone on to r&r some of my other stories on the back of this one. You have no idea how much it all means to me!
Anyway, the games are nearly upon us so please enjoy and R&R to make me type faster... ;oP
xxx
o0o0o0o
Steph rolled into bed, her head spinning with all the things the team had covered. Ranger's large bed was still sumptuously opulent but cold and uninviting. The sooner the games were done, the sooner she would be back in his arms to chase away the cold. Four days ago they'd agreed he would go back to Trenton until the competition was done and the winners announced. Ten days apart and then it would all be over.
...and they could start their life together... she smiled as she snuggled into his pillow, attempting to savour his linger but fading smell.
A thought flickered through her head and made her sit up with a start. Picking up the phone she quickly dialled Mungo. She mentally snorted at what she was doing. Not many days earlier she would have though him to be the last person she would happily phone, but so much had changed. The whole team had changed…
"Wassup, Sister?" a sleepy voice asked.
"Why do you and the men all wear cargo pants?" she asked slowly as she continued to roll her idea round in her head.
"?!" came the more alert reply.
"When you all go off into the jungle, I mean."
"Because that way we don't have to…" Mungo let out a strangled groan. "Comms Room in 5. We need to run your idea past the team. Call Chase, I'll grab Connor…"
o0o0o0o0o
Lester smiled as he looked round Ranger's lounge at the four grown bad ass mercenaries sprawled across the couches who were currently acting like they were all still at kindergarten.
Goofing about as if they had all the time in the world.
In fact they had just 16 hours.
It was the calm before the storm.
16 hours until the fun began and none of them could wait to play with the men (and women) that would be competing. They all knew the games were going to be interesting and that whatever everyone might have second guessed, no-one and he was convinced no-one would get all the twists and turns they had planned.
Ranger looked over at him, tipping his head slightly as he raised an eyebrow and grinned "Care to share, Bro?" he asked before taking a sip of his black coffee and grabbing an apple from a large nearly flat pewter bowl placed in the middle of his large pale oak coffee table.
"Just that I think we have thrown every single curved ball in. If we ever do this again I don't know what we have left in up our sleeves."
Ranger nodded round the fruit in his mouth before adding, once he'd swallowed. "yeah, but let's hope we never have to do this again! Perhaps next time, it'll be because we want to."
"OK, children." Tank said, trying to bring the room to order. He knew he was failing when Bobby and Hector smugly bumped fists having just finished drawing stick men being hung, shot at and climbing in trees along the edges of their copies of the planned itinerary for the five days of the games. Shaking his head he grinned at his partners – in business and "in crime".
Picking up an orange and starting to peel it as Tank waited for the self-congratulation to calm down. "OK. So is everything in place?" he asked again a few minutes later, picking up his copy of the schedule.
"Weighbridge?"
Lester nodded happily.
"Incendiaries?"
Hector smiled, making the tears under his eyes crease up.
"Water cannons?"
Ranger nodded.
The roll call continued until they were convinced they had everything covered.
Indeed, tomorrow morning at 0430 hours let the games begin.
o0o0o0o0o
Steph grumbled.
Three hours!
Three. Hours. sleep.
Then up before crack of a sparrow's fart (English forces version of butt crack of dawn – what?! My father was a fighter pilot in the RAF!) to roll the eight miles to the rendezvous point from the motel they'd all stayed in to give everyone a chance to get a few hours sleep. The team had wanted to have as clear a head as possible so being close to the starting point made sense.
Light was licking the edges of the sky as the Atlanta convoy rolled up to the designated meeting point, the still air filled with anticipation as the calm scene held its frosty, misty breath. The ground and all low lying shrubbery was covered in a slight coating of white and sleep deprivation clung to everyone, adding its impact to the type of cold that seeped into your bones.
Steph shivered and snuggled into her down filled artic-suitable blue mountaineering jacket, pulling the flaps of her hat down round her ears. The man to her left ruffled the bobble on the top good naturedly "y'ok?" he whispered into her ear, not wanting to break the silence left by the dying engines.
Steph nodded and squeezed his bicep through his thick jacket in reply.
Looking out the window she could see Ranger and rest of the core team and that they were beckoning everyone over to a large hanger.
"Don't eat or drink anything they offer you, remember?" Chase whispered to everyone as they approached the building. Steph and the rest of the team nodded.
Let the games begin indeed.
o0o0o0o0o
"Gonna whoop your ass, girly!" Rees said, his hands round an army issue metal mug from which steam was rising as he grinned at Steph. She smiled back carefully, after all he was 'the enemy' for the next five days.
"Not a chance!" she replied through cloudy breaths. Spotting Vera she rushed over to look at the ring she would be sporting only to be disappointed at the space on her finger.
"Took it off, just in case." Vera replied as she pulled her friend into a hug. "Got a picture though she added happily as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.
"Put it back!" Rees hissed softly pushing Vera's filled hand back into her pocket. Quickly the phone was gone.
"Sorry, 'bout that, but we're not sure whether non-standard comms units are strictly OK right now and we wouldn't want to get caught out." Rees explained.
"Gah!" Steph said quietly, trying to sound sincere. "Didn't think of that."
A small commotion pulled her from their conversation as Ranger, Tank, Lester and Hector walked purposefully into the large hangar and headed to the front where a raised area allowed them to see everyone's faces. Bobby lagged behind so that he could shut the main doors before going to join the others at the front.
Steph sidled over to join Connor and the rest of the team who were standing to attention. Guess old habits die hard, Steph thought as she mimicked their pose and gazed at their beautiful leader.
Lester and Hector were holding clip boards and scribbling furiously but stopped once Bobby joined them.
"At ease." Ranger said quietly and calmly as expectation, excitement and anticipation swirled round him like a blanket. The only noise filling the room was that of 132 people breathing.
"Ok. Thank you all for putting so much time and effort into these games, it hasn't gone unnoticed. Just a few things before we start processing each team. I can't stress how important this competition is. It has been designed to test your unique talents and help you hone your day to day business skills - whether it be a mental or physical deficiency you perceive your office to have - chasing a skip through to anticipating the needs of a security detail - what we have planned will help you back in civvy street."
Pausing, Ranger looked around the sea of faces before him. All eyes intent, all minds focused. Yeah, this was going to be a fight that would really push everyone here to their limits and beyond and he couldn't wait to see how much each team learned and what the eventual outcome would be. Patience was a virtue he had in spades, but even he was eager to get on with it.
"Marks will be awarded for planning, implementation, results, your ability to think on your feet and team cohesion. We expect the competition to be fierce as you are the best of the best otherwise we would not have employed you and your managers would not have included you. The games will finish on Sunday with a cook up at which we will announce the winning team. Our decision is final."
A soft rumble of excitement rolled round the enclosed space.
"Miami. You will be processed first. The rest of you will stay here until you are called. No one is to leave the hanger until called. Good luck, everyone."
As he stepped down from the raised area, Ranger locked eyes with Steph and nodded imperceptively. She smiled in response before they lost contact and for once her own ESP kicked in. He expected her to win her individual events, not because she had inside knowledge, but because he knew she could do it. If Atlanta won the overall thing was irrelevant to him, but would be the icing on the cake.
Steph knew that any tiny smatterings of doubt she may still hold onto about their relationship were blown away by his sheer belief in her.
A warm, happy feeling filled her body as she mentally promised herself she would everything in her power not let him down.
o0o0o0o0o
"Last, but not least, Atlanta team!" Bobby yelled out and everyone still left in the hangar headed quickly for the door.
Connor chuckled as he looked at the equipment that lay in neat piles around the blacktop. Duffles, boxes and even what looked like a tent were all stacked in haphazard groups. Clearly there had been some sort of restriction as Steph had guessed two days earlier. He just hoped they'd come up with a way round whatever had been planned.
"OK, none of you had any refreshments so that can't be held against you." Bobby said, happily as he winked at Steph, pleased that they couldn't be 'fined' for that one. Tank was standing next to him, clipboard in hand, and was writing and ticking boxes.
"Right, please roll each of your vehicles onto the weighbridge when requested."
Steph climbed into the first one and fired up the engine. Steph's lightbulb moment the day before made Chase strip out whatever he could from the vehicles and add it to the pockets of the team, all but three of whom now stood round watching as the other two vehicles roared gently to life. Choosing the smallest and lightest members of the group for this task seemed like the next logical step, after all if there was to be any limiting or removing of equipment then the core team would start with stripping vehicles. Plus the likes of Mungo and Jed had bigger clothes ... and therefore bigger pockets.
Steph gave a quick fingers crossed sign from behind the glass and rolled the SUV onto the large metal plates that made up the weigh bridge.
She quickly applied the handbrake then waited patiently for the beep that signalled that she'd been weighed.
"Next!" Yelled Tank as they all heard a large beeping sound.
o0o0o0o0o
Two hours later they'd set their camp up, four 4-man sleeping tents and one mess tent, under some scubby, stunted trees immediately at the edge of a large waterlogged area. It was not the most hospitable position but they figured it was more defendable than some of the other spots they'd looked at. They had no idea where the other teams were situated, but Connor had sent a couple of scouts round who would report back what they found. He figured they'd be under the same scrutiny so had set up guards and made sure that all the equipment was secured within the sleeping tents with at leasty two of the team covering each one. The remaining team members would be sleeping in the mess tent along with the rations and comms equipment. Nothing was left in the vehicles – they figured it was too tempting for any potential thieves…
Ink had started a small cooking stove and reconstituted some dried food at the edge of the mess tent. Coffee and donuts were added to the feast and everyone who was not on security or scouting detail was eagerly tucking in.
Mungo, who was sat next to Steph in the cramped space, nudged her gently and motioned for her to look around the room.
"Thank you." He said softly.
Steph looked puzzled and took a large chug on her coffee.
"For bringing us together."
Steph said nothing but looked into his face. It showed nothing but warmth and friendship.
Shuffling her chair a little closer so that they were practically sitting on each other's lap she replied "…and thank you…" then rested her head against the corner of his broad shoulder. "For working out that taking any refreshments would lead to a fine!"
Mungo sniggered gently.
The team continued to eat their breakfast in silence. Consuming their food and drinks as quickly as possible so they could go relieve the others. They'd been given no itinerary but suspected it wouldn't be long until the fun began.
o0o0o0o0o
"Well, I'll be!" Lester grinned as he sat at a small square metal table in the hangar, looking over the dockets in front of him. He'd taken off his puffa jacket and mittens but kept his hat on, much like the rest of the men around him.
"Looks like Atlanta are currently leading. Can't believe they anticipated our tricks so well. Didn't help a certain blue-eyed whirlwind, did ya, Carlos?" He added, grinning up at Ranger as he sat down.
"You know as well as I do, that Steph kicked me out BEFORE I could reveal any secrets…" Ranger smirked out with a knowing look on his face as he extended his arm so that Les could pass him the clip boards he'd been comparing. Les pushed them across the table, spinning them so that they were the right way round for Ranger to peruse.
"Everything we've confiscated has been stowed, hasn't it?" he added, looking up at Hector and Tank who were sat along another side of the table at right angles to him, coffees and bagels in hand. A grin and a nod were his only replies.
"It's well hidden, no-one will find it, much less even 'borrow' from it." Bobby added, walking closer to the group, dusting his hands together. Leaning over he grabbed a large porcelain mug and filled it with steaming coffee before adding cream and stirring it and sitting down on the one remaining padded chair.
"Oh this is sooo much fun!" Les gushed out. Now I can see why we had to do so much combat training in Black ops! I bet the top brass couldn't wait to pull the stunts they did! Maybe I should volunteer to do some of the training…the things I could do…"
"Focus, Santos!" Tank growled out, a smirk on his face. "We need to head out in 10 and you're already too eager. You're so not right…"
"Yeah, well, just admit you're having the time of your life with this too 'cause it might not be the same guys that fucked with us but … paybacks a bitch!" he said with a smirk.
o0o0o0o0o
Rees looked at Matt and Tom and grinned as they finished setting up their mess tent. They might not have gotten the best camp position and they'd been fined for taking refreshments but luckily that had been minimal. They'd given up a couple of sleeping rolls as they figured they'd probably only get to sleep in shifts anyway.
Hopefully the other teams wouldn't have legislated for the weighbridge but as they had, they'd kept to just over the maximum allowed weight. Good job they'd had big pockets in their clothing too, he thought as he emptied out a washing line, swiss army knife and compass from his left pant leg pocket.
They could survive with a couple less tents and sleeping bags, they'd done much worse, and the loss of their kit bags was no biggie - they'd just stuffed everything into plastic bags they'd thrown on board at the last minute.
Bring.
It.
On…!
o0o0o0o
So, what should they start with, eh?! Needless to say we'll not be getting blow by blow on each set of games, just the highlights, but which one would you most like to see first... please let me know!