AN1 The last chapter received half the amount of feedback of what was the lowest reviewed chapter in the story, so I'm assuming that something was wrong with the previous chapter, and I don't know what because of how little engagement it received...

Who Dares Wins

Chapter Twenty-Three: Lockdown: Part Two: A Problem

Sunday, 4 November, 2007

Stirling Lines

Hereford

United Kingdom

Sarah arrived alone outside the doors to the canteen on the base. She should have been with Chuck, and she was making her way for breakfast with him until he had announced to her that he had left something behind. Chuck had told her that he would catch up with her in the canteen, and Sarah had offered to order for him, which he gladly accepted.

It was just after zero eight hundred hours (8AM). Sarah had not slept well last night, which is why she was starting her day much later than she usually would have. Before Sarah joined the SAS, nightmares were a scarce occasion for her. But in her first month of being in the Regiment so far, she had experienced many. It would also not be unreasonable to state that in the past month, she had had more unsettling nightmares than over the past five years combined.

Since Sarah had moved into her lovely apartment off base, the nightmares had lessened. She had still experienced them, but not to the same level of intensity as she had while living in the barracks for a few weeks. However, with the loss of her independence from the base once more, the nightmares were back to the same level of ferocity as they had been for her first weeks, which was not a welcome return...

Breathing out a sigh in distress due to her present psychological torment, Sarah pushed herself forward to grab hold of the doors to the canteen. Proceeding to extend the doors outward, she promptly entered inside. Coffee was everything that Sarah needed right now.

Walking deeper into the canteen, Sarah stopped dead in her tracks.

Training her gaze around the cafeteria, most of the room was now glancing in her direction, which was not unusual when a new arrival would enter the canteen as soldiers would often search out their friends. However, the looks she was getting from at least forty of her comrades were not why she had stopped walking.

Instead, the reason why Sarah had stopped walking was that almost every soldier that was present inside the cafeteria was wolf-whistling extremely loudly right at her!

Sarah's gut sank because it could only mean one thing…

Oh god, oh god, oh god! They know about what happened between Chuck and me! How did they find out, though? Somebody on my team had to have told them because I sure as hell didn't!

Sarah shot her gaze towards where most of her teammates were seated. Cole Barker, Big Dan, Chris MacDonald, and John Murray were sitting together on one of the three large benches. They were all glancing at her, but they were the only G Squadron members not presently whistling in a humiliating way towards her.

Bryce was also in the canteen, but he was seated with other members of G Squadron and not with the team.

Sarah needed immediate answers as to why the squadron was behaving this way towards her.

She started to walk towards her teammates, and her gaze lowered in humiliation as she made her way to them in a walk of shame.

Arriving in the vicinity of her team, Big Dan, Cole, Chris, and John were gazing consolingly at her.

Sarah was about to sit down with her team and inquire what the hell was going on, but her thought process was interrupted because sudden loud cheers began to emit around the room.

Sarah turned in the direction of where the cheers were being aimed towards, which was to the canteen entrance, where Chuck and Jamie had just entered.

With Chuck and Jamie now in sight for the whole cafeteria, the wolf whistles soon started once more, only this time, they were being aimed towards Chuck.

Sarah observed Chuck as his gaze sunk to a frown, and he raised a hand up to his chin. He clearly had no answer as to why he was receiving this barrage of grief either, just like her. Sarah also mouthed Jamie asking 'What the fuck?' towards Chuck.

Chuck and Jamie quickly moved towards Sarah and the rest of the team.

Arriving opposite Sarah at one of the three large tables that Red Team were seated around, Jamie asked, "What the fuck's happening here right now, mates?"

"Yeah, why am I getting a barrage of whistling?" Chuck asked, glancing around the team.

"I was just about to find out, but I have a fair idea as to why, Chuck, and so should you..." Sarah said in dread as she moved to sit down with her team, forgetting all about breakfast and coffee. Breakfast and coffee was the last thing now in her thoughts.

"Ask that complete pillock over there," Cole said, nodding towards Bryce with distaste. "He's only gone and told the whole bloody squadron about what happened between you both on Thursday night."

Sarah shot an immediate hostile glare towards Bryce, and Chuck did the same. If looks could kill, then Bryce would be dead now because of the looks he was receiving from both Chuck and Sarah.

Meanwhile, Jamie shook his head, and he put his head in his hands as he breathed out a massive sigh in frustration over Bryce's actions towards Jamie's mates and Bryce's own team...

"Oh has he, yeah?" Chuck queried, lifting his head up as he glanced around the team in search of confirmation.

Cole, Big Dan, Chris, and John Murray nodded at Chuck while they each found it hard to look at him out of pity for the grief that he and Sarah were continuing to receive by the forty soldiers inside the canteen.

Chuck abandoned his position at the team, and he walked over to the vicinity of Bryce, who was turned in his seat and looking at him.

"I want a word with you right now!" Chuck shouted with hostility at Bryce while pointing at him as he paced with purpose right towards him.

"Yeah?" Bryce said, raising his head as he stood up to confront Chuck.

"What's this all about then? Why the fuck have you been going around the base blabbing your mouth off about things that don't concern you and embarrassing your mates?" Chuck asked, shaking his head as frustration seeped out from Chuck, and he drew out a sharp sigh to stem that rising frustration.

"You're not my mate!" Bryce shouted at him as the teammates stared each other down.

Many winces soon erupted around the canteen over Bryce's remarks.

Chuck nodded. "Fair enough! I don't particularly want to be your mate either, you scrawny prick! But that doesn't give you the right to be going around behind people's backs about something that has fuck all to do with you!" he shouted, and he edged closer towards Bryce's face as the teammates continued their confrontation.

Most of G Squadron inside the cafeteria watched the exchange with amusement, which they would undoubtedly use as ammunition against Red Team in the future.

While all of Red Team, including Sarah—who was now looking at the confrontation—were grimacing because it didn't look good for the team for Chuck and Bryce to be fighting with each other in front of everyone.

"I only told them what Jamie told me! That he saw you both entering inside your place!" Bryce shouted back as he also edged closer to Chuck's face.

Jamie quickly stood up from his seat, and he screamed, "FUCK OFF!" as he pointed towards Bryce in anger for involving him in a dispute that had nothing to do with him. If Bryce couldn't keep his mouth shut, that was on him, but he should not have gotten Jamie involved in it, nor gone around telling everyone that Jamie said this, or Jamie said that, which Jamie was only just learning because he entered the canteen when Chuck did.

"Jamie, you're best staying out of it, fella. Say what you have to say to him when we're alone later on. Half the fucking squadron have eyes on us right now, fella," Big Dan stressed, waving his hand at Jamie to calm him down, but he knew that Chuck was already beyond intervention, and rightly so, as Bryce had embarrassed him infront of the whole canteen.

"Sarah, it's best if you stay out of it too, we'll deal with it after I can assure you of that," Cole urged as he rotated a calming glance towards Sarah and a disgusted glance towards Bryce for what he had done towards Sarah and his best mate. Cole would be having strong words with Bryce Larkin later, that's for sure, just like Jamie...

"I don't have anything to say to him..." Sarah said as she looked at Bryce in disgust while she now started feeling nauseous in shame because the whole squadron now knew that she had slept together with Chuck, thanks to her teammate…

Chuck grabbed Bryce's hold aggressively, and Bryce returned the favour.

"YOU LITTLE SHITE!" Chuck screamed into Bryce's face, now feeling dangerously close to punching his teammate, and he raised his hand back in preparation to do precisely that.

However, Chuck was suddenly interrupted as John Murray stepped between them.

"Chuck, leave it. He's not worth it, fella," the Scot urged as he pushed Bryce and Chuck away from each other, who were still glaring daggers towards each other.

"Not the right time, nor place," Staff Sergeant MacDonald also intervened and urged towards them both.

"Name the time, and place," Chuck retorted but towards Bryce, not breaking his gaze from him as John Murray continued to pull Chuck away.

Bryce nodded at Chuck.

Turning away from Bryce finally, Chuck stormed to take a seat at the benches, sighing and cursing under his breath the entire distance.

Arriving next to Sarah, who was now gazing at him with a look of concern, he moved to take a seat.

His actions led to prompt wolf whistles amongst the soldiers once more.

Chuck raised his hands up to his face, and he puffed out the most prolonged sigh he had ever done in his life to try and calm and stem his extreme anger towards Bryce Larkin because his team were right. Internal issues amongst the team should be handled and dealt with precisely like that, internally, and not in the cafeteria with forty people.

With the confrontation at an end, for now, Sarah buried her head in her hands once more. "I want to die," Sarah declared in extreme shame. "I knew this would happen. I warned you that it would, Chuck, and you tried to tell me otherwise. But I knew otherwise. I've been on trial for my whole five bloody years in the Army because I'm a woman, and now once more, I'm back at square bloody one!"

Chuck nodded. "You did warn me. Maybe I was too naive to listen. I'm so sorry, Sarah," he said, glancing at her, but she refused to lift her head up to look at him.

Chuck was gobsmacked right now that the squadron was behaving this way towards Sarah. Chuck personally could take stick easily enough. He was a grown man, and boy did he possess an abundance of grit and determination to withstand this behaviour. However, the conduct of the squadron was not a way to behave towards the only woman on the bloody base. Sarah being the only woman in the SAS was hard enough, and she didn't deserve a whole room of men on her back for a single moment. Right now, Chuck was ashamed to be of the same gender as everyone who had gotten onto her back in the way they had done so far...

Two minutes later

Sarah remained buried onto the bench, and she had no intentions of taking herself out of this position anytime soon. Right now, Sarah wanted the ground to swallow her whole to take her out of this intensely humiliating situation.

Jamie, Big Dan, Cole, John Murray and Chris were glancing awkwardly at each other and at Chuck, who was still continuing to sigh because his frustration had still not left him, nor would it any time soon.

However, the team were suddenly disturbed, as a paper aeroplane arrived in the vicinity and hit Sarah on her hand.

Sarah instantly darted her glance up to inquire about the intrusion. Connecting her gaze onto the paper aeroplane, she took it into her hand, and she opened it up to read the contents, which read: Hello gorgeous. Do you fancy a good time?

Puffing out a sigh, Sarah slammed the piece of paper onto the bench, and she promptly buried her head in her hands once more.

Once Sarah had discarded the paper aeroplane, Chuck quickly took hold of it. Having read the contents, Chuck closed his eyes in disgust, shaking his head.

Opening his eyes, Chuck rose to stand. Glancing around at every soldier that was present, Chuck said, "Right, I've had enough of this! Sarah doesn't deserve this crap from you lot right now! She's one of the best soldiers on this fucking base! Have you all forgotten what she did in London for the Regiment recently, when she saved dozens of fucking innocent lives, and her team also, because that prick over there who you're all very fond of right now didn't do his job and left us all in the fucking shit!" as he pointed at Bryce to support his remarks.

Big Dan, who had also read the note once Chuck had discarded it himself, had now had enough himself. If there was one thing Big Dan would always do without question, then it was to have his teammate's backs. He promptly rose to stand himself.

"I think they have forgotten, fella!" Big Dan started. "So it's time they were reminded of it. Never mind what she did in Birmingham either when she singlehandedly fucking stopped that lot of crazy jihadists that were hell-bent on killing one of our brothers in arms by chopping his head off! So if anyone here has a problem with Sarah, then they have one with me too!"

Cole rose to stand. "Same here. If your problem is with Sarah, then your problem is with me."

"Yeah, me too. You're bang on out of order, all of you!" Jamie said, who also climbed up off the bench, and he started to burn an intense glance around the canteen.

"Aye," John Murray said as he rose from his own position. "I'm not in the mood for sanctimonious wee gobshites towards something that doesn't concern them right now either."

"Well, how about it then, fellas?" Cole asked as he, Big Dan, Chuck, Jamie, and John Murray continued to shift an unfriendly glance around the room, which had suddenly turned quiet.

Chris leant into Bryce, who was now seated with Red Team. "Now that's how you behave towards your mates," the team leader declared.

A third party soon interrupted the standoff that had ensued between most of Red Team and G Squadron.

"Is there a problem here?" Captain Wallace asked, having just entered the cafeteria.

Big Dan changed his glance towards his OC. "That's what we're waiting to find out, boss," he declared.

Captain Wallace sunk his eyebrows into a frown as the officer shifted his glance between the soldiers present.

"Staff Sergeant, a word," he said finally towards Chris MacDonald.

Chris promptly departed his position at the bench, and he walked into the proximity of his officer commanding.

"What's the problem here, Staff Sergeant?" Captain Wallace asked.

"Nothing that won't fix itself, boss," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said measuredly.

"See to it that it does, and quickly," Captain Wallace ordered.

"Boss," the Staff Sergeant replied, nodding.

End of Chapter

Next Chapter: Red Team deals with Bryce internally over his actions. Get your popcorn ready. It will be intense. And more!

AN2 I'm opting for smaller chapters for now while the review count is low. That way, I won't lose spirits publishing long chapters for little feedback if it's a downward trend.

AN3 Leave a comment, please?