AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please be advised that this book contains violent scenes. Brace yourself for a heart-pumping chapter as a terrorist attack unfolds. To be clear, I denounce all acts of terrorism and do not promote them. My love for my country runs deep; as a British patriot, I cherish our traditions and culture. It's just a work of fiction :)
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Three: Terror Strikes London
Wednesday, 10 October, 2007
Stirling Lines
Credenhill
United Kingdom
The clack of Sarah's boots echoed off the walls as she approached the situation room on her base.
She was well into her eighth day as a SAS trooper.
For the past few days, Sarah and the rest of Red Team had been engrossed in rigorous training exercises.
Red Team had been honing their advanced driving skills for hours when the simultaneous buzzing of their pagers brought their training to a halt.
They received word from command about a developing situation, and Red Team quickly made their way to the situation room as one of the two troops stood to.
Upon entering the situation room, Sarah's eyes darted around the space, taking in the various screens and equipment.
Colonel Philip Wood, the Commanding Officer of 22 Regiment, was among the attendees, and every member of her troop was present as well.
As Sarah scanned the room, she saw that the soldiers and officers were all watching a large television and several secondary monitors, the smell of tension filling the air.
The large TV in the room was broadcasting a live BBC News feed, showing what seemed to be London.
As a native of London, she was intimately familiar with the city's nooks and crannies.
Sarah glanced at a soldier from Blue Team inside the situation room. "What's going on?"
The soldier's concern was evident as he paused his activities to glance at Sarah. "There has been a terrorist attack in the Centre of London. Someone has just blown themselves up at Piccadilly Circus tube station."
"Oh my god!" Sarah gasped in horror. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she did, knowing that if the attack was sophisticated, her team may be called upon to deploy and eliminate the threat.
"Yeah. Fucking bastards! Regimental CO has just told us that COBR (The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) is meeting immediately, and the briefing is being chaired by the Home Secretary to plan their response. It looks like a gun battle, and a hostage situation is unfolding at a secondary location at a shopping centre in Hammersmith and Fulham in West London-"
Sarah interrupted, "Yeah. I know the area. I'm from around there," she paused as she breathed a deep, depressive sigh. "Do you have any more information?"
"Not much. It's a real-time situation, and everyone is scrambling to find out what the fuck is going down. All I know is that the location is the Westfield London shopping centre, and it looks like an unknown number of terrorists have stormed the shopping centre and begun shooting. We're still waiting for confirmation that they're wearing explosive vests, but we're pretty sure they are," the soldier said.
Sarah's eyes felt moist with tears as she learned about the attack on her country, her heart sinking with each word. "Are the attacks linked to each other?"
The soldier furiously nodded. "Oh, undoubtedly. It seems to be a coordinated set of attacks. We'll probably deploy to the scene. You've only been in the Reg for a few days, and you're already getting something big. I hope you're ready. It's OK if you're-"
Sarah interrupted, "I'm ready. Tonight's attack is why I volunteered. Our country is under attack. I'm here to stop bastards like these," she stated with absolute conviction.
The soldier smiled in approval. "That's good to hear! Good luck tonight if I don't see you again. Joe Lewis, by the way," the soldier said, offering out his hand.
Sarah moved to shake his hand. "Sarah Walker. And good luck to you too," she said.
As her comrade turned and walked away, she settled in to study and listen to the large television inside the situation room.
The anchor hosting the special live report on the news channel soon came on the air.
"This is BBC News at 9pm. From the heart of the capital, we are witnessing a highly complex terrorist attack on the United Kingdom unfolding right before our eyes. Ever since the London Bombings two years ago, the country has been on high alert, and now it appears we are facing yet another tragic mass casualty event. There is limited information available on who might be responsible for this. All that is certain is that, within the last half hour, an alleged suicide bomber attacked Piccadilly Circus tube station. Eyewitnesses at the scene have confirmed to us that a massive explosion occurred at the scene, and eyewitnesses have reported that there are many casualties and almost certainly fatalities. We don't have any numbers to bring you right now. There have also been reports of loud bursts of gunfire at a separate location at the Westfield London shopping centre. As you will probably already know, the shopping centre is one of the most frequently visited shopping centres in the country. Armed Police are responding to both locations and will undoubtedly be stretched thin, with a distance of five miles between the incidents. Our next guest is Emma Bunting, who is currently at Piccadilly Circus station and will share her eyewitness account."
"Bastards!" Sarah let out a muted curse, her lips forming a barely audible whisper.
Sarah tore her gaze away from the television screen and made her way over to Red Team, huddled together in a corner of the situation room. Upon arrival, she quickly scanned her team, noting their expressions.
Her unit appeared to be in a state of distress, with some holding their heads in their hands and others looking visibly angry.
She felt the same.
"They don't want to fucking negotiate. 7/7, Madrid, and 9/11 proved that. They are just there for mass casualties. Hostage bargaining is a thing of the past. Times are changing!" Cole Barker muttered, his tone heavy with anger.
Most of the team nodded, including Sarah.
"Then what the fuck are we delaying for?" Bryce asked in disbelief, shaking his head. "Why aren't we being sent in?"
Sarah's attention was solely on the response, as she tuned out all other sounds and distractions in the situation room.
"Approval has to come from the Home Secretary. They won't call us in until the Home Secretary has given COBR approval," Chuck said, glancing at both Bryce and Sarah, with them being new to this, providing clarity on their rules of engagement.
"That's fucked up!" Bryce said, becoming increasingly annoyed. "We should be on our way there right now to neutralise the fuckers!"
Sarah gave a resounding nod, joining her full team in agreement.
"That's politics for you, mate!" Trooper Murray said sarcastically, with distaste.
Three minutes later
The Regimental CO's aides started clamouring for attention just as the elite operators of Mobility troop and Mountain troop remained standing ready, transfixed by the footage playing out before their eyes in the situation room.
"Heads up," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said, glancing around his team.
The situation room went from a noisy chaos to a pin-drop silence in a matter of seconds.
"I'm still waiting for the call to come in to deploy. COBR is meeting as we speak. They're planning out their response. Mobility troop, I want you geared up and ready for if the call comes in. If it does, then it's your show. Mountain troop, you're to remain on immediate standby for any secondary attacks," Colonel Wood commanded.
As soon as the Regimental CO gave the order, Sarah and her troop scrambled out of the situation room to gear up for deployment to their nation's capital.
Twenty minutes later
Sarah and her team entered the situation room, dressed in full assault gear, anxiously waiting for the Home Secretary's approval to deploy to London.
Four AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters were on standby, their engines idling, ready to transport Mobility troop at a moment's notice.
With nothing else to occupy her, Sarah found herself fixated on the large television where the BBC news anchor was delivering the latest news.
"We're still live with you in Central London, and in the last few moments, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they are now dealing with an active situation at a third location. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed reports of gunfire at a music concert in Hackney."
Sarah jolted out of her focus on the news report when the Regimental CO started speaking again.
"Right, that's it! Mobility troop, you now have the green light! The Home Secretary wants an end to this. The attack is extremely well-coordinated and sophisticated and occurring in numerous locations. CO19 (Armed Metropolitan Police) is stretched too thin to deal with three active locations and at least seven armed hostiles with explosive vests and assault rifles. They have requested our expertise to nullify the threat. It's over to you now, Captain Wallace," Colonel Wood said to a room filled with almost forty people, but you wouldn't know that because right now, you could hear a pin drop inside the situation room as they listened intently to their CO.
"Sir," Captain Wallace said with an approving nod before addressing the soldiers under his command. "Right then! Let's mount up! We'll be apprised of more in the air and discuss deployments on the way! But I want to be wheels up and, in the air, RIGHT NOW!" the Captain shouted to his soldiers as the entirety of Mobility troop scrambled out of the situation room to embark into the four waiting helicopters provided to them by No. 658 Squadron Army Air Corps...
-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Sarah was inside one of the four mobile AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters transporting the two crack SAS teams to the terrorist attack in London.
ETA for the two teams to arrive at their destination in the capital was thirty-five minutes.
The SAS had customised the four helicopters transporting the two teams to facilitate the rappelling from the aircraft if necessary.
The other soldiers on this helicopter with Sarah were Corporal Chuck Bartowski, Trooper Bryce Larkin, and Staff Sergeant MacDonald.
The rest of Sarah's team, comprising Sergeant Cole Barker, Trooper Hughes, Trooper Murray and Trooper Thomas, was being transported on a second AW109 as the AW109 could carry a maximum load of six passengers.
Captain Wallace was also present, and he was in one of the AW109s that was transporting Blue Team to the incidents.
As Sarah and her teammates raced towards the capital in the helicopters, they focused on psyching themselves up for the mission. Sarah occasionally glanced at her teammates, who were doing the same thing.
Suddenly, their OC came on the air.
"I'm liaising with command and control back at Hereford. Staff Sergeant MacDonald, we want your team to take over the incident at the Westfield London shopping centre. Gunfire is still occurring there, and armed police units are presently engaged in a gun battle. They are not attempting to contain or defuse the situation until we arrive, as the terrorists have no intention of doing so. Liaise the location with your pilots. You'll have the location on your GPS."
"Boss," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said in acknowledgement.
The OC soon appeared back on their communications channel once more. "I'll be deploying with Blue Team. I will set up base in the vicinity of the concert venue in Hackney, and I will control the operations on the ground. Gunfire hasn't occurred from the location in a short while. The venue seems to have turned into a hostage situation, so the Armed Police attending this location are attempting to contain the situation until we arrive. Blue Team will have control of the situation as we have already received the green light for both teams to take immediate command and to disperse police units in the immediate area of the attacks however we see fit once we're on the ground."
Captain Wallace then went off the air after finishing apprising his team of the situation.
As they flew towards the unknown, Sarah's body filled with a mix of adrenaline and nerves. "Just how big is this operation?!" she shouted above the noise of the moving helicopter.
"It's the biggest counter-terror operation I have ever been part of. There are three active locations!" Chuck shouted back.
SSgt MacDonald nodded.
"How the fuck did an attack this big go unnoticed by the intelligence agencies?!" Bryce shouted, shaking his head.
"It's not our place to judge, trooper! Our only concern is to save lives and to send the terrorists to an untimely death!" SSgt MacDonald shouted back.
Chuck nodded.
A few minutes later
The four AW109s were still en route to the capital to deal with the terrorist incidents inside London when Captain Wallace came on air again.
"I am receiving information from command back at Hereford," the OC paused briefly. "Armed Police at the incident at Westfield London shopping centre have put an end to it! Tactical armed police units have stormed the centre, shot dead two X-rays, and a third blew himself up!"
"Good riddance!" Chuck said, his tone filled with immense approval and anger into the communications channel.
Bryce and Staff Sergeant MacDonald nodded, matching Chuck's anger.
"Are we still heading to the scene, boss?" Staff Sergeant MacDonald asked.
"No. You're being rerouted. Inform your pilot that you'll be inserted at the concert venue to join up with Blue Team instead."
"Boss," Staff Sergeant MacDonald replied.
A few minutes later
"Heads up," Captain Wallace interrupted the brief silence as he came on the communication channel again.
"Command has just informed me of another active situation," Captain Wallace said, pausing to allow the information to register with his soldiers.
"Fucking hell!" Chuck said aloud, in complete shock. "These scumbags aren't messing around! They want a fight, and they're determined to have one!"
"There have just been around fifty 999 calls near Borough Market, Southwark, London. It's almost certainly another phase of their attack. Staff Sergeant MacDonald, I'm rerouting Red Team to the area to neutralise the threat. Liaise with your pilot," Captain Wallace said.
"Boss," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said before he stood and headed straight into the cockpit.
Sarah shared a glance with Chuck and Bryce, the three teammates mirroring an extreme level of anxiety and tension.
"What the hell is going on, Chuck?!" she asked, searching for guidance from her seasoned teammate as she started to worry and fear for the safety of her fellow compatriots on the ground in London.
He shrugged his shoulders, despondence visible in his body language and expressions. "Beats me."
"Dozens of people are going to be killed!" Sarah fumed, and in a sudden fit of rage, she punched her fist into the helicopter seat as anger built up inside her, knowing that her country was now under a sustained terrorist attack.
"Motherfuckers!" Bryce exclaimed shortly after Sarah's reaction, emulating her actions as he punched his fist into another part of the helicopter.
A minute later
The Staff Sergeant had returned to his helicopter seat when Sergeant Cole Barker appeared on their communications channel. "How are we getting down there, Chris? Are we landing the birds?"
"No bloody chance! We can't risk the birds. We're rappelling. Start setting up your harnesses. ETA, ten minutes!" Staff Sergeant MacDonald said.
-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Two minutes later
The soldiers aboard the four AW109 helicopters were nervously fidgeting with their gear, trying to calm their nerves before entering combat when their commanding officer's voice crackled over the communications channel.
"I'm receiving information from Hereford that five armed X-rays are still in the vicinity of Borough Market. Armed Police are responding."
"Save the bastards for us!" Bryce shouted, his voice dripped with hostility.
"Calm down, Trooper! Keep your emotions in check, or it will cloud and impair your judgement," the extremely experienced Staff Sergeant MacDonald ordered.
Two minutes later
"Five minutes to location, fellas!" the pilot shouted to Sarah and the rest of her team.
"ETA, five minutes till overhead, boss," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said into the com channel.
"Affirmative. Good luck," Captain Wallace said.
Two minutes later
Captain Wallace came on air once more. "Hereford has relayed that the five X-rays from Borough Market are involved in a heavy firefight with Police. They've fled north toward London Bridge. Numerous armed police units are on the scene, attempting to set up a cordon to lock them in place until we arrive."
"Affirmative," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said.
"Staff?" Sarah called out suddenly to her team leader after registering the information from her OC.
"Yes, Walker?" the SSgt retorted, glancing at her.
"I know this area. There's a junction just south of the bridge, about two hundred metres. It's between Southwark Street and Borough High Street and is a perfect location to insert!" she suggested.
Chuck and Bryce started pondering her suggestion whilst the Staff Sergeant studied his GPS.
"Good shout, Walker!" Staff Sergeant MacDonald said, completing his actions, and he nodded at her. "Cole, we're fast-roping two hundred metres south of the bridge at the junction between Southwark Street and Borough High Street, and we will advance north to confront X-rays. Apprise your pilot of our final insertion location," he said on comms.
"Affirmative," Cole said.
One minute later
With just two minutes to go, Red Team braced themselves for the high-pressure situation they were about to face in their mission to kill the terrorists rampaging through the streets of London.
Sarah and her team stood at attention on the helicopter, the only sound coming from the steady thump of the rotor blades as they approached the area of operations.
Staff Sergeant MacDonald grabbed hold of both Sarah and Bryce, which caused Sarah and Bryce to startle.
"Remember! Speed, Aggression, Surprise! Check your corners! Treat anyone on that fucking ground as a potential hostile! The bastards are all over London tonight!" their team leader guided them.
Sarah and Bryce nodded.
Sarah spent her last moments psyching herself up one last time as she double-checked that her harness was in place before she verified that all of her pouches remained in position and that all of her gear was stuck in place as her teammates did the same.
Satisfied with her preparations, she took a deep breath and counted down the time until she would enter combat.
Ninety seconds later
The sound of the AW109s hovering announced Red Team's arrival over the target location, and as the helicopter doors opened, the team wasted no time in making their move to insert and kill the enemy.
Sarah and her teammates descended from their helicopters onto the chaotic streets of London, ready to confront the rampaging terrorists.
Sarah's fingers tightened around the rope as she heard the sporadic bursts of sustained automatic gunfire below.
With a loud thud, her team of eight hit the ground, their synchronised movements showing rigorous military training and precision as they entered a parallel formation.
Now on the ground, Sarah and the rest of the team observed dozens of civilians running and screaming around their vicinity to escape the terrorists.
The chaos of the streets was overwhelming, with dozens of emergency sirens blaring and rapid gunfire accompanying the screams of the terrified British public.
-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Red Team on the ground. Advancing to London Bridge," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said calmly into the communications channel as his team advanced north to meet the gunfire head-on.
"Affirmative. Red Team on the ground and advancing to London Bridge," Captain Wallace replied as he continued to take control of the operation.
"BRITISH ARMY! KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP!" Big Dan's warning tone echoed through the street as the team kept their sights trained on the unknown bodies running past them from every direction.
Red Team continued to advance in formation for a few moments more when an unknown body ran towards Chuck.
"BACK THE FUCK AWAY! WE DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Chuck screamed as he took a step forward and lined up his rifle at the unidentified.
The unknown obeyed the instructions and backtracked away from the soldier, his heart pounding with fear. He scurried off to the side, his eyes looking back fixed on the team as they advanced up the street toward the enemy.
Red Team continued to advance meter by meter when the OC came on air once more. "Police are actively exchanging fire with them on the bridge. They've cordoned off the bridge's northern end and have them sandwiched, but have taken numerous casualties."
"We can hear it," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said as they continued to advance.
"Fuck me! There are so many fucking angles and potential X-rays running right past us!" Bryce exclaimed as Red Team headed under an underpass with train tracks above them and scores of civilians running all around them.
The team felt excessively uneasy as they observed the flurry of activity surrounding them.
Red Team was trying to keep and maintain trigger discipline until they encountered the confirmed terrorists, which was not a straightforward task.
Still, it exemplified the highest degree of training they had each received.
"BRITISH ARMY! KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!" Cole Barker suddenly screamed out in the same tone as his comrade just earlier as the team continued to advance.
The soldier's terrifying demeanour made everyone in the area comply with his commands instantly.
"Are we clearing the Market, Staff Sergeant?" Trooper Murray asked.
Sarah's eyes flicked to the left, where the entrance to the market stood. The sight of her fallen countrymen on the ground near the market hit her like a ton of bricks and intensified her anger and desire to engage and kill the barbaric terrorists to no end.
"No. The last reported contact of the terrorists was them at the bridge, so we're confronting the fuckers head-on, on that fucking bridge!" MacDonald said as the team continued to advance.
"There are casualties all around us," Sarah said into the communication channel in horror and dread.
"No time to stop for them, trooper," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said.
"I know," Sarah said as she trained her sights on anything that moved and continued to advance in close formation.
The bridge was now beginning to come into view for the team.
Because Sarah was the furthest to the left, she would be the last to have a full view of the bridge.
Cole would be the first to see it as he was the furthest right, followed by Chuck, then Trooper Hughes, then Trooper Murray, then Staff Sergeant MacDonald, then Bryce, then Trooper Thomas, and finally, Sarah.
In Sarah's view, she could now see two marked BMW X5 police cars about sixty metres away.
They were unattended, and they were the police cars that the Metropolitan Police were phasing into their Armed Response Vehicle units.
Sarah and the team moved forward, as more and more of the bridge came into view, with the smell of gunpowder all around them when Cole's voice broke through their communication channel, "THREE X-RAYS NINE O CLOCK!" he barked out as he discharged a burst from his long barrel C8 carbine, followed by Chuck engaging the same target, armed with the same rifle as his teammate.
In a swift and seamless display of their exceptional skills, the crack unit clicked and took off in a sprint towards strategic positions to engage with the enemy.
The crack SAS unit's gunfire echoed through the narrow street as they fired bursts at the terrorists, who scrambled for cover.
"Red Team contact! London Bridge! Three X-rays at the southernmost entrance to the bridge are in position behind multiple vehicles!" Staff Sergeant MacDonald barked into comms as he let off a burst from his rifle in the enemy's vicinity to keep them suppressed.
"Affirmative," Captain Wallace said, who relayed the information to Hereford, who was liaising with the Metropolitan Police over the SAS's current movements and positions to avoid a friendly fire incident.
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Staff Sergeant MacDonald screamed battle instructions as the elite SAS operators all continued to sprint forward to take positions wherever they could find them.
Half of the elite team rained down an intense barrage of gunfire onto the location of two cars at the westernmost side of the southern entrance of the bridge.
Sarah came to a stop behind a red double-decker bus, her muscles burning from the sprint. From her position on the left, she squinted into the distance in search of the enemy, but her line of sight was obstructed.
Staff Sergeant MacDonald had taken up position on the opposite side of her and was peeking out from behind the bus on the right side, discharging a burst toward the bridge.
"One X-ray down!" Chuck suddenly came on comms.
Sarah darted back into cover to glance over to where Chuck and Cole took up a forward stance behind a Ford Focus GHIA about twenty yards away.
Chuck and Cole were exchanging heavy rapid-fire at a target that was out of her line of sight.
The SAS unit and terrorists were locked in a fierce gun battle to the death, with the sound of their brutal exchanges of automatic gunfire reverberating all around the area as more and more emergency sirens blared away, creating a deafening cacophony.
"Fuck! I need a better vantage!" Sarah cursed, so desperately wanting to help her teammates engage with the terrorists.
She broke cover, dashing to her left to take up position behind an abandoned Audi A4.
"One X-ray down!" Cole shouted into comms.
Sarah took this as a sign to come out of hiding and zeroed in on the contact's location with her sights.
From this vantage point, she had a clearer view and could make out a figure in the distance holding a rifle.
She meticulously aligned herself and her weapon before unleashing a burst on her target, who was standing sixty metres away. Her eyes stayed locked on her target as she pulled the trigger, sending a burst that hit him and caused him to collapse onto the ground behind the vehicle.
"One X-ray down!" she shouted immediately, but she didn't even have time to think as her team leader was on comms once more.
"ADVANCE!" he commanded as the crack SAS team broke cover and dashed towards where they had just engaged the terrorists to ensure they had neutralised them and they were no further threat to the team or the members of the public.
Sarah's eyes widened in horror as she advanced, taking in the sight of bodies strewn motionless all around on the ground.
She arrived at the BMW X5 police car in a hurry, and her eyes met the lifeless stares of two armed officers.
With her gut sinking—but no time to mourn the loss of her countrymen falling in the line of duty in service of their country—she continued past the vehicle, a newfound determination raging within her to kill the enemy.
The first to arrive at the position of the three terrorists, Staff Sergeant MacDonald and Bryce, wasted no time in unleashing a hail of bullets on their bodies.
-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"One of them was still alive," Bryce told the entire team, now linking up again.
"Good riddance," Trooper Murray said, surveying the surrounding situation; and seeing multiple fatalities, just like Sarah had.
"Two X-rays still unaccounted for," Captain Wallace said on comms.
"What are we doing, Staff? Are we advancing onto the bridge to hunt them out?" Cole asked.
"I'm worried about being flanked or stabbed in the back. I'll fortify and secure this location with Jamie, Dan, and John. You take Chuck, Bryce and Sarah and advance onto the bridge and root out those two X-rays on the bridge."
"Affirmative," Cole said. "Let's move!"
Receiving the instruction, Sarah advanced as she tightened her formation with Chuck, Bryce, and Cole.
Dozens of deserted cars littered the bridge, catching the attention of the small squad of four as they advanced.
As Sarah scanned her surroundings, her brain worked overtime to detect any potential dangers.
Without warning, a mysterious figure materialised, their fingers gripping something.
As soon as she saw him, Sarah's aim was laser-focused, but Chuck beat her to the punch and aimed and fired at the terrorist.
Discharging a burst, Chuck engaged the X-ray, causing the body to crumple and disappear behind a nearby car.
"X-ray down! Continuing to advance!" Chuck said into comms.
"Affirmative. X-ray down. Continuing advance," Captain Wallace said.
Sarah and her small team continued advancing on the bridge.
With precision and efficiency, Cole and Chuck fired further rounds into the X-ray that Chuck had neutralised, their training and standard operating procedure towards a hostile threat clear in their actions.
Moving past the deceased X-ray, they continued the hunt for the final X-ray until they were more than halfway across the bridge.
The northern end of the bridge came into view, and Sarah could see the flashing lights of five police cars. Armed police were on the scene, cordoning off the area with weapons raised.
The bridge was a chaotic scene as people scrambled out of their cars and onto the pavement.
Hidden beneath the cars, Sarah could make out the shapes of people crawling out from their hiding places.
The small team of four meticulously scanned everybody on the bridge, treating each one as a potential fifth X-ray.
It was incredibly hard for them to crowd control right now because of how many people were actually appearing.
They continued to advance in close formation for a second or two more until Cole raised his hand into the air and signalled to stop. "The fifth X-ray will not be any further north. If there is still a fifth terrorist active, then we've gone past them, and they're hiding and blending in somewhere on the bridge."
"Agreed," Chuck said.
Sarah and Bryce nodded.
"Let's head back south and see if we can root them out if they're still alive. We're going to have to vet everyone on this fucking bridge probably," Cole said anxiously, with the implications of his words now clear on the battle-hardened SAS operator's face.
"We're heading back south, Chris. One potential X-ray is outstanding. They could be blending in on the bridge, or we've gone past them in the market," Chuck informed the Staff Sergeant.
"Affirmative. We now have a dozen armed Police at the bridge's southern end. I will have them keep a cordon, and we'll advance north slowly, vet anyone we see, and meet you halfway," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said.
"Copy that," Chuck said.
Sarah and her small team turned to double back, training their sights on every unidentified civilian appearing in great numbers.
The civilians were likely thinking that the area was now safe for them to flee, having encountered the crack special forces team that was not shooting at them.
"EVERYONE, STOP MOVING! DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE!" Cole screamed suddenly to around twenty people moving all around the team as Sarah and the rest of her unit suddenly became very anxious.
"We need to check and clear this group one by one and place them in a secure spot." Cole paused as his glance connected to one section of the bridge. "We'll place them over there," he said as he pointed at the westernmost side of the bridge on the pedestrian sidewalk.
Sarah, Chuck, and Bryce nodded as they followed their teammate's instructions.
"British Army! Don't you move!" Sarah commanded as she trained her sights on the first person she was going to vet. He was a middle-aged European man.
"Ok!" he said with a London accent, and she could tell by his body language and tone that he was petrified. Continuing to train her sights on him, she continued to relay her commands of what she expected from him. "Open your coat and shirt, but slowly!" she commanded.
The male in question nodded as he lowered his arms and opened his coat, followed by his shirt. He appeared to be clean. Sarah then walked up to him, patting him for weapons whilst her teammates were doing the same thing to other civilians in the small team's vicinity.
With that civilian she had vetted now being clear, she commanded, "Stand over there! And don't move!" as she pointed to the agreed, secure location.
"Yes, ok! Thank you for helping us! Oh my god, I thought we were all going to die!" he said, feeling profoundly elated and thankful to be safe.
But Sarah ignored his words.
They didn't even register with her as her gaze had already shifted to the next person needing to be vetted and scrutinised.
"British Army! I need to vet you for weapons!" Sarah commanded as she trained her sights on another middle-aged man.
"Yes, of course!" the man said in a terrified frame of mind as his arms remained raised in the air.
"Open your jacket!" Sarah commanded as she continued to line up the man in her sights with her finger on the trigger, waiting for one wrong move from the man in her sights.
The man did as he was instructed, and he opened up his jacket.
Sarah inspected all around the man's frame for explosives or weapons.
"Now your shirt!" she commanded as she continued to train her sights on her present target.
The man once more did as he was instructed, and only then did Sarah feel safe enough to move into his vicinity, and she patted down his legs in search of a weapon.
With the civilian now being vetted and clear, she nodded, saying, "Over there!"
The man did as he was instructed, and he moved toward where Sarah had commanded him, which was where everybody had been scrutinised by the team so far.
Sarah's next objective was a young boy, and he looked terrified. He had his hands in the air, and Sarah's heart sunk at the sight in front of her eyes. She watched him lift his shirt, and as he did, she felt ready to burst into tears, and she could have if she weren't so focused on protecting everybody on this bridge and her teammates, relying on her to remain composed and vigilant.
So instead of crying her eyes out in the middle of a battle, she replied, "Thank you," in a soothing voice as she nodded her head and said, "Over there," and as she did so, she watched her teammate Bryce commanding a young middle eastern adult female.
She then heard him say over there, and she watched as he nodded to where they'd placed the vetted civilians.
Her teammate hadn't even asked the female in question to open up her coat to check her for explosives that she and her team had already found on the terrorists.
And by now, Sarah's alarm bells were ringing as something just didn't feel right with that woman Bryce had just cleared.
Sarah couldn't explain why, but something just felt very wrong with that woman.
She could just feel and sense some kind of hatred in the woman's eye on noting how the woman had looked at her teammate.
Sarah's focus became razor-sharp on the Middle Eastern woman as she began walking away from her team and towards the vetted group of civilians.
By this point, Sarah was sure beyond all doubt that the woman may have had something to do with the attack.
"YOU! IN THE BLACK COAT! STOP!" Sarah commanded as she trained her sights on the spine of the woman she had just commanded to stop.
There was a brief pause as the woman in question slowly came to a stop.
"TURN AROUND!" Sarah commanded, but the woman ignored her request.
"I SAID TURN AROUND OR SO HELP ME; I'LL PUT ONE THROUGH YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU STAND!" Sarah commanded once more.
By now, her entire team was also training their sights on the woman their teammate Bryce had just let pass.
A few seconds passed, and Sarah was becoming jittery when the woman in question turned around at a snail's pace.
The woman was a few metres away from Sarah, Bryce, Chuck and Cole and a few metres away from the vetted civilians over on the sidewalk in safety.
Turning to face Sarah, the woman's body language and facial expressions made it obvious that she was exceedingly nervous.
Sarah now had her sights trained on the mouth of the woman instead.
This readjustment was special forces' standard operating procedure.
During Sarah's selection, her training had taught her that if she double-tapped an X-ray through the mouth, then if the X-ray was holding onto any kind of device or weapon, a shot to that location would stop any message from being sent to the hand of the X-ray.
The Middle Eastern woman's hands were down against her sides when suddenly, she raised her hand into the air, and she muttered something in Arabic.
As soon as her hand raised, Sarah saw what was in her hand.
She was holding a wire connected to a red trigger in her hand!
"ARMED!" Cole and Chuck screamed as they also noticed the trigger and the wire leading up to the arm the female was holding.
Sarah didn't even hesitate as she fired off a burst from her MP5 into the mouth of the female X-ray, followed by the rest of her team discharging their weapons as they lit up the neck and facial area to be one hundred percent sure that they had neutralised the target and she was no further threat to anybody on the bridge.
The team of four surrounded the neutralised terrorist whilst Staff Sergeant MacDonald and his four-man team had now joined up with Sarah's team.
His troopers started screaming, "GET BACK, GET BACK!" to the civilians on the bridge as they ushered them with urgency with their hands to put some distance from the deceased suicide bomber in case the device exploded…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Next Chapter: The aftermath of the devastating terrorist attack in Central London. I think it's safe to say that Bryce is in for one almighty rollicking at the VERY least, wouldn't you? What did you all think of Sarah's sixth sense? It turned out to be correct, didn't it? I wonder how Sarah will deal and cope with taking at least one and possibly even two lives when she had engaged one terrorist hiding behind the vehicle and exchanging fire with her team? Regardless, even if it was just the female suicide bomber she had killed, I would imagine that would play on her mind too!
FOOTNOTES: Please review. I would love to hear your feedback.