Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and warmth towards this story - your reviews have been really awesome!
Anyway, without further ado, let's get on with the show!
"Ok, so let's do a recap." Chase said as he smoothed the map out on the folding table now positioned at the rear of the heavy dark green canvas of the mess tent.
"Miami are here. Boston here. Trenton… here and New York are just there." Ian stated, pointing to various points on the map. "The hangar is here and the confiscated items are… just… here. I think… it's only a gut feeling but the area around it has been disturbed, but the tracks were covered up well. Hopefully we won't get desperate enough to really try and find it all!"
Several heads nodded in agreement. They'd not lost any equipment or supplies so far and figured the best thing to do was steer clear of the mystery of where it was all stored.
"AT EASE!" a familiar voice boomed out and the mess tent fell silent as Ranger and Tank strode into camp. All eyes turned towards the intruders as they ducked under the canvas. In his hand Ranger was carrying a small black plastic wallet.
"Connor, well done so far. Currently you are leading after points were deducted for poor planning but as you know there is a long way to go." Ranger explained as he handed him the parcel. "This piece of equipment is our way of reaching you and your way of reaching us. We can contact you at any time, but should you choose to ask questions or request clarification then be advised, you will be marked accordingly. Make your comments count, gentlemen… and lady." Ranger said. "Dismissed." He added as he and Tank turned and left.
All eyes turned to Connor as he opened up the waterproof cover and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Ok, so this looks straight forward enough." He said, just as it crackled to life in his hand.
o0o0o0o
Steph sat nervously, watching the rest of her team who were as agitated and fired up as she was. The camp had been set up for six hours and yet, for some reason, no instructions had been received on the walkie talkie.
Mungo walked over and sat down next to her.
"Whatcha thinking, Steph?" he asked, rubbing his hands together to keep the circulation going. The day had warmed up slightly, getting to roughly 10 degrees, but sleep deprivation was starting to make itself known and everyone was feeling chilled, despite their warm clothing.
"Nothing really, just keen to get started. Part of me is excited and part of me is worried and… part of me just wants to get home to my nice warm bed… complete with human radiator."
Mungo chuckled "Yeah, any military op tends to go like this. Plans are made, battle lines drawn, intel collected, then we wait. Wait for the signal to go…" He turned and smiled gently "so, this human radiator of yours… did he give you any hints as to what to expect?"
"Who says it's a him?" Steph replied, keeping her blank face on and watching confusion spread across Mungo's face.
"Er…! I mean to say, I just… assumed!" he stuttered, blushing slightly.
Steph giggled "Had you!" she added, breaking into a big smile. "…and no. My human radiator didn't give me any clues as to what he had planned. I think some of it's based on my ability to make him think outside the box though." She added, hugging her arms round herself tightly.
"?!" Mungo replied eloquently.
"Well, I met Ranger through the Bonds Agency my cousin owns. I was down on my luck and decided to try my luck at being a BEA. My first job was trying to track down a cop wanted for murder and I wasn't being too successful. I think Ranger thought I would stay in the job for 2 minutes and quit when I broke a nail so I guess he decided to tag along for the ride." She smiled as she remembered his face when she'd turned up at the diner so very long ago. "But I think he realised I was serious when I phoned him in the middle of the night asking for his help. I was cuffed to my shower rail…"
"Why didn't you just pull it off the wall or use a hair clip to unlock yourself?"
"weeeelllll, I didn't have the strength or the skills aaaaannnnndddd it wouldn't have helped anyway as I was er …naked….?"
If Mungo had been drinking anything at that moment, Steph reckoned she'd have been showered with it as he did a double take at her confession. Once his brain had computed what she'd just said he burst into laughter and doubled over, slapping his thighs in delight.
"It wasn't funny!" she pouted, trying to look pissed. "Anyway, Ranger was a perfect gentleman and it was then I realised I could trust him, really trust him. I guess from then on I knew he had my back."
"Yeah, and your sides and your…. front." He added, swallowing as he thought about what she'd look like with clothes on.
Before Steph had a chance to say anymore there was a large clunk followed by the sound of water smashing against the canvas they were sitting under. The power of the spray pushed through the fabric and began to cover the sensitive equipment located all around the room.
"What the fu….!" Someone shouted then all hell broke loose.
"INCOMING HOSTILE!" Steph heard as people scrambled to get the equipment secured and covered and deal with the attackers.
o0o0o0o0o
Every. thing.
Absolutely. every. thing.
Ached...
Steph tried to warm herself in front of the small heater that glowed hopefully but futilely in the recently rebuilt mess tent but gave up and started flapping her arms around instead as she stared out at the brightening morning sky.
Jed was stirring a pot over the stove, quickly creating a warming meal of porridge on his pretend campfire. By his side was a generous portion of dried fruit and nuts which he threw in at the last minute before piling it into metal bowls.
"Come and get it!" he yelled stoically and immediately several cold, hungry tired men dashed in to pick up their portion and inhale it before heading out to continue guarding or rebuilding the broken camp.
One of the poles of the mess tent had snapped under the sheer weight and pressure of the water and two more needed emergency repairs.
But that had not been the worst of it. They'd lost vital equipment including food and supplies. Two of the tents had rips in them that had not been fixable so they'd cobbled them into one as bet they could, doubling up beds and sleeping arrangements as best they could.
Grabbing three extra bowls, Steph wandered off to the back of the tent where Connor, Ink and Leo were deep in conversation.
"Here you go, Boys." She said as she handed them their breakfast. "So, how bad is it?" she added through a thin smile, trying to sound optimistic.
"Well we certainly didn't see THAT one coming." Connor said with an equally tight smile. "On the positive side, the shelter provided by the surrounding bushes and trees did absorb some of the impact so part of the camp is damage-free..." He looked up at the canvas they were under "somehow though, I doubt we've seen the last of the cannons…"
Grimly, they all agreed.
As they all continued to survey the list in front of them a cheer went up as "they're back!" could be heard.
Stepping out from under the canvas they could see Chase, Tibbs, Ian and Frank driving back in one of the SUVs. Once a beautiful, pristine shiny black Ford 150, now a mud splattered, dented old truck.
The optimism of the camp slowly evaporated the closer it got.
Steph looked at the faces of the men that surrounded her. They'd been on site for just under 24 hours and already some of the team looked broken. They had four more days of hell and if they didn't get themselves together right now then they might as well give up any ideas of winning.
o0o0o0o0o
Hector grinned and gave Lester and high five as they walked into the hangar. The sun had now risen high enough in the sky that colour was returning to the landscape around them
"Report!" said Ranger as they neared the table.
"Miami won the shooting. They had Archie on their team so no great shock there." Les replied.
Tank chuckled but was not surprised, after all Archie was a legend with any ballistics related weapon. Hell, he'd even been known to shoot blind folded and win. It was as if he had a sixth sense that allowed him to see invisible targets.
"Who came second?" Ranger asked stretching out his hand for the paperwork.
"Trenton put up a good fight, coming second, Boston then Atlanta with New York following up at the rear."
"Good and pretty much as expected though I would have thought Tibbs might have been stronger" he added offhandedly as he continued to study the list.
"So, the driving then. Did New York sweep everyone off the table, Bobby?" he asked, turning to his dusky skinned colleague.
"Yep – no great surprise there. Even in the final, half light round they were the fastest. Though they did manage to knock over a 'pedestrian' in the racing section." He added. Using air quotes round the word pedestrian.
Ranger nodded.
"Then Atlanta. Frank was like a man possessed. I think he must have been talking with the shooters and found out how they did - I've never seen him so focused… or determined."
"Good to see" Ranger added.
"Then Miami, Trenton and Boston.
"sooo." Bobby said, looking at the results so far. "Atlanta were ahead as we went into last night, but it looks now as if Miami are in the lead after these two events."
"Great!" said Tank, looking over his shoulder. "Knew my boys were gonna win" he added, looking smug.
"Your guys?! Since when have we been routing for particular teams?" asked Lester, looking surprised.
"Since Boss man elected to keep Bomber at Atlanta" Tank replied, adjusting a pair of recently purchased, wire framed half-moon glasses on his nose and looking over them at Les with a superior look on his face.
"Well, in that case, the New York team belong to me!" he replied indignantly, folding his arms across his chest and pouting.
"Children, children…" Ranger started but was interrupted by Hector who stated "Bobby have Boston. Begin with B, uh? So I take Trenton then" in such a way that everyone stopped and stared.
"Sounds fair to me" said Bobby, shrugging his shoulders. "Now, are we ready for the next coupla rounds? I'm soo looking forward to today's fun and games." He added, rubbing his hands together.
"You know, Bobby? You are sooo not right!" Lester said, shaking his head and everyone joined him in laughing.
o0o0o0o0o
"So what's next, d'ya reckon?" Jed asked to no-one in particular as he walked into the mess tent and sat down on an empty stool placed in a large circle round the stove. It was the nearest the guys could get to re-creating their own blazing, log burning campfires from outdoor childhoods spent under the stars. Anything for a touch of happy.
Jed leant forward and helped himself to a large mug of steaming coffee from the jug hanging over the man-made flame.
Lots of long faces huddled in a similar way sat quietly, wondering what on earth they were all doing. They'd all left their previous lives and joined Rangeman for many different reasons, but those that were ex-military all remembered one of the things they hoped they'd never experience again. Yet here they were in colder than cold shits-ville, hungry and tired and dirty and achy and…
...and then there was the water cannons... and the trashed truck...
"God knows, 'cos I sure as hell don't." said Frank with a wry grin, shaking his head slowly. "I forgot we was up against Fin from the New York office. I did my best, but he is the man behind a wheel. The. Man! D'ja get what I'm sayin'?"
They all nodded dejectedly in agreement, even though most of them had never heard of Fin.
"So you're saying we just mope about feeling sorry for ourselves because we didn't win this round?" asked Steph, incredulously. "Where are the bastards that greeted me on my first day?! The punk-assed arrogant sons of bitches that thought they were superior to the rest of the world?!" she added, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
She glanced over at Connor and gave him a hard stare. "We can win this thing…"
"No, no we can't..." Connor said in a tired voice. The other teams have all been working out since they joined Rangeman. It's part of our contracts … only somewhere down the line we just stopped doing it…" he sighed out in defeat.
Steph stared at him before turning back to the rest of the circle. "Really? You think that this is all about fitness and strength and brute force?!"
Everyone nodded.
"Face it, Steph. We may have planned for everything but most of us rarely hit the gym any more and we all laugh at the idea of getting up at 5.00 am to do so. I think I can speak for everyone here - we're all tired beyond anything most of us have experienced for a long time. ! We're has beens and this tournament will show this to be true, regardless of how much planning we've done." Connor added softly.
"Well I'll be!" she choked out. "We're done before we even start! Ranger and his team have beaten us with their psychological warfare and we've only been here a day!" Turning on her heel she stormed out, waving her arms about Italian style, muttering losers and morons as she went.
"Steph's right, you know." Chase said, looking pointedly at each man in turn. "It might not be a fucking picnic but we knew that coming in. Couple of little set backs and we're done?! It's not a boy scouts tea party but what the hell?! Let's have some fun. So what if we come last?! It's not like we're the model office anyway, so if we lose it will be expected so why the defeatist attitude! Let's show Steph and the rest of Rangeman we're capable of going for it anyway."
"It's not the winning but the taking part? Abso fucking lootley, I say! It's about learning from your mistakes and let's be honest there's been plenty of those haven't there!" he added. "It's about time we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves and manning up. Steph and this tournament were given to us for a reason so let's use them to our best advantage. In the last couple of weeks we've proven we can work and think like a team. Don't let's throw that away now just because we've lost some equipment to a lousy water cannon!"
With that he stood up "I'm gonna go check on Steph, make sure she's ok. We need her in our lives, guys. Let's not fuck that good thing up at least!" and with that he hurried out into the morning leaving a pile of embarrassed men shiftly uneasily in their seats.
Each man cringed at the accusations that lay thickly around them. Chase was right, they needed to grow up and behave like the Rangemen they should have been all along…