AN1 Hi. I'm here 24 hours later with another update but first, a quick two comments to guests because I have no other way to reply: Yes, I do believe that command would put up the SAS in a luxurious hotel. The hotel I chose I did a brief Google search of. It costs around £45 per night. Considering command booked just four rooms (an economic decision unquestionably), that's not much at all really for a special forces unit with a high budget. But thanks for the comment and the question :)
Guest two, the story is about the careers of SAS soldiers, split into multiple deployments, with two of them falling in love in the process. I don't believe in a fairytale love story where two SAS soldiers fall in love as soon as they set eyes on each other, and become so consumed by their love towards each other, that they forget how to be great teammates and soldiers. Being soldiers are their careers, which they both love, and, at this precise moment, they can think of doing nothing else with their lives except soldiering. This will change eventually because Who Dares Wins will take place over twenty years, spanning three careers and maybe as many as one-hundred and fifty chapters. If the story turns out to be that long, we're only a fifth of the story complete. But I deleted your review not because I don't want critique as you suggested, but rather because your comment, which asked if my characters are capable of not saying mate is unwelcome, and I have no time for remarks like that because it was rude.
AN2 I understand that most Chuck readers are not interested in this fiction. It's a military story, written in the Queen's English, set in the United Kingdom, and most Chuck readers are from the United States. With all of that said, I know I won't pull outstanding numbers for this fiction. This is why it's important for those who do like the story to remain vocal about it with me.
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Thirty-One: Lockdown: Part Ten: Deserters: Part 3
Friday, 9 November, 2007
A local hotel close to Hinkley Point
"While we're all here nice and cosy and about to enjoy this lovely meal in this fine establishment, Blue Team are stuck in lockdown back on base," Big Dan boasted with glee, glancing around his teammates.
A prolonged period of laughter erupted among Red Team from where they were seated around a large table at the hotel restaurant.
"I'll drink to that, mate," Jamie said with a massive smile, who took his glass of wine, and he raised it into the air.
"Cheers," the whole unit toasted, and they promptly raised their glasses to meet Jamie's, and they took a mouthful from their drinks.
Placing their drinks back down onto the table, Red Team started their food, which caused immediate moans in delight from the whole team.
"This is some proper grub, I have to admit!" Chuck said, closing his eyes in pleasure as he took the first mouthful of his order which was steak and salad.
"It's no less than what all of us deserve, fella!" Big Dan said, "Our time off work was cut short by a day and a half after having raced against the clock in Birmingham, and we had been stuck on base ever since."
Red Team nodded, and they took second bites from their respective dishes.
"This scran is truly top-notch!" Cole said, shaking his head grinning as he gathered some of his own steak and salad.
"Yeah, god, it's so delicious!" Sarah moaned in ecstasy post-bite of a cheeseburger.
"I'd gathered that based on the noises you've been making so far," Chuck declared, grinning at Sarah seated next to him.
Sarah turned to glance at Chuck, and she returned his warm gaze, which they held for an extended moment.
"I'll drink to that," Bryce said, suppressing laughter and grinning at Sarah seated opposite him.
"Steady on, Speedy Gonzales!" John Murray laughed.
Red Team quickly shared the laughter with their teammate, but they too promptly took another mouthful of their alcohol, which made them hypocrites, not that they cared!
"I wonder what Blue Team are doing right now?" Chuck asked, not content with ceasing to revel in the other half of Mobility troop's misfortunes just yet.
"Probably singing gospel choir and trying to find themselves, or they are hunched up crying themselves to sleep in Kyle Rogerson's quarters, fella," Big Dan said back, and he started to chuckle.
Red Team snorted to hold in their laughter, but they failed, and the restaurant turned very loud.
"I know this is a mission from hell, lads, but at least it has its perks," Jamie said once the laughter stopped.
"Yeah. Right now, I'd sooner be here than caked up in that small tin room in Hereford like Blue Team," Sarah said.
"You and me both, mate," Jamie replied, grinning.
Red Team nodded.
"About the mission, do you think they will do it, or is there a chance of it blowing over quietly?" Cole asked, glancing around his teammates.
The unit mused over the question for a long moment until they each reached their own conclusions.
"I think they'll do it," Chuck said, glancing around the team, and his lips creased in sadness, "But if there's a chance of me talking them down without it all kicking off, then I'm going to take it. I'm just informing you all of that now."
Red Team nodded in acceptance.
"Fair enough, fella, and as for whether they're going to do it or not, you know them better than all of us, so I'll take your word for it. And in which case, we're going to have no choice but to fight these lads, and all of you should start mentally preparing yourselves for it 'cause things are going to kick off big time," Big Dan cautioned.
Red Team nodded, and the comments caused the mood to turn a little sombre amongst the unit.
"Once it's over, we will need to support each other because it's not like this lot are the usual people we get sent to fight. We once fought side by side in the same army as them, but they've now reached their boiling points and snapped, even though I will never agree with their decisions," Cole said.
Cole's teammates nodded once more.
"Hopefully, we can keep Chuck out of it as well," Jamie said.
The team changed their glances between Chuck and Jamie, and most of Red Team nodded with Jamie's remarks.
"Don't worry about me," Chuck said, glancing around the table, "If they proceed with confrontation, then I'll do what needs to be done. We're the good ones here. Let's not let any of us forget that."
Sarah shook her head, and she paused from her burger to turn to face Chuck instead. "It's our job to worry about you, Chuck. You're our teammate."
"Amen to that, Sarah," Big Dan said.
Cole, Jamie, Bryce, Chris, and John Murray nodded.
"So, about the convoy," Bryce started, changing the topic to a better one, "What will the vehicular layout of the convoy be?"
"We should tail both escort cars. It's best to keep the both of them in front of us," Chuck said.
"Plod vehicle takes convoy lead, then one of ours, then the first transport, then the second, then plod, and us at the back," Chris said.
Red Team nodded at the layout.
"Sounds good," Jamie said.
"Right, let's continue with this scran before it gets cold," Big Dan said.
Red Team quickly voiced their agreements, and they continued with their food.
A few hours later
Red Team returned to the floor of their hotel rooms. The unit was merry after the alcohol they had consumed over the past few hours, but none of them had gone overboard.
"Well, goodnight!" Chuck said, grinning, as he glanced around the team.
"Goodnight, fellas, don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Bryce joked.
Glancing between Big Dan and Bryce, Cole said, "Why? What are you and Dan going to do?"
"We're gonna do fuck all, fella!" Big Dan said, shaking his head, "He's sleeping in the bathtub!"
The team shared intense laughter for a very long moment.
"I'd best not hear Flower of Scotland from your room either," Jamie said almost a minute later, nodding at Chris and John Murray.
"Don't give the bastards any ideas!" Chuck said, holding in his laughter.
Red Team instantly snorted to hold in their latest burst of laughter at the comments of Jamie and Chuck, but they were unsuccessful.
"Well, goodnight," Sarah said once the warm spirits of the team calmed.
"Goodnight, mates," Jamie said in reply.
Red Team shared final warm gazes towards each other for a brief period before they all turned, and they went their separate ways to enter their rooms.
Chuck and Sarah entered their room, and Chuck closed the door to the room after them.
"Well, Sarah," Chuck started, turning to face Sarah, "The lads will all be stripping down to sleeping in their underwear tonight. I guess that's the downside of a woman and a man sharing a room because we'll have to sleep in our clothes."
Sarah shook her head. "On the contrary, how the lads are sleeping are exactly how I intend to sleep as well."
Chuck instantly narrowed his eyes, and he bore an inquisitive stare straight into Sarah's orbs.
Sarah snorted at his glance before she instantly kicked off her heels, and she moved to unfasten her jeans.
Chuck's gaze darted to Sarah's midriff. "You weren't kidding!" he said, stunned, his mouth open wide.
"Of course, I wasn't," she laughed, as she continued to unfasten her jeans, "Chuck, I've had to shower naked with you and six other men for the past month. Sleeping in the same bed as you in just my underwear is nothing for me anymore, and I'm doing it right now without a second thought."
Chuck held his narrowed stare at her. "Sarah, you never cease to amaze me," he declared in utter shock, and he suppressed laughter.
Sarah giggled sweetly. "Get undressed then. Don't be shy," she said as she pulled down her now unfastened jeans.
Chuck shook his head as he started to unfasten his shirt. "Be it on your head if anyone comes in here and sees us like this," he said, and he paused from undressing to point at her.
"I'll blame you and say it was your idea," she said, giggling.
Chuck shook his head, and he grinned at her. "You're trouble! Maybe I'll go and sleep in the bathtub like Bryce!" he joked, muting laughter.
Sarah snorted as she took off her pants, and the teammates made short work of removing themselves from their clothing. Now in just their underwear, they climbed into bed together, and they paused in silence, facing each other. The double bed wasn't the largest of double beds, and there were just a few inches of space between the both of them.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Chuck said eventually.
Sarah rolled her eyes towards him. "I'm never hearing the end of this now," she said.
"Seriously though, why are we? Was it just for a laugh?" he asked.
She shook her head, and with a straight face, she said, "No, Chuck, I'm just not sleeping in a hotel whilst I'm wearing my clothes. That's just dumb."
"Yeah, but I somehow doubt that you'd be sleeping like this with Bryce, Sarah," Chuck declared.
Sarah nodded as they held their gaze under the bed covers. "Of course, I wouldn't, Chuck, but me and Bryce haven't already had sex with each other," she said, but she couldn't resist adding on, "nor will we."
"Touché, Sarah, that's a very fair point," he said, grinning at her.
Sarah returned his warm gaze.
"For the record, though, we're not sharing the shower here, Sarah," he joked.
She snorted. "Are you scared?" Sarah asked, lifting her head at him.
"Actually, yes, I am because showering together would seriously test the agreement we made earlier because I'm not sure if I could continue to remain a signatory of it," he said, grinning.
Sarah smiled at him. "That's fair. Me too, so no showering together."
"Thank you," he said, holding his grin.
"Well, goodnight," she said after a few seconds.
"Goodnight, Sarah," Chuck replied.
Sarah soon turned to face away from him, and Chuck emulated that action, and they both soon drifted off to sleep.
Saturday, 10 November, 2007
"Sarah?" Chuck whispered, laying in bed.
"Yeah?" she replied, while also in the bed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally do this," Chuck said.
Chuck and Sarah were in bed together, but there was one problem. They were no longer turned and sleeping away from each other. Instead, Chuck was spooning Sarah with his arm over her, and Sarah had somehow placed her hand over his through the night.
Chuck tried to pull his hand back from Sarah to withdraw from Sarah's proximity, but she held him in place.
"Chuck, it's ok," she said as she pushed her fingers through his hand to grip hold of him, "If I knew I would wake up this perfectly, I would have asked you to spoon me last night."
"What about our agreement last night?" he asked, gazing at the back of her head, her perfect mop of golden bed hair placed close to his face.
"It still stands. It will be an infrequent occasion for us to be on assignment in a hotel together anyway," she said.
"True," Chuck said, as he moved his hand slightly, and Sarah followed his movement as she continued to play away with his hand with her one, "We may as well make the most of it. This is just an extra perk."
"I agree," she replied.
Chuck took her reply as the indicator to move in closer to her, and he repositioned to nuzzle his face in close against Sarah's and he moved his hand to bring her body even closer towards him.
The teammates and lovers remained in bed now spooning for a few minutes.
"I want you right now, Chuck, and I will probably always have these thoughts towards you," Sarah declared, breaking the relaxing silence, and she paused to play with his hand, "But we can't. It's too risky, because any of the lads could walk in on us and catch us in the act."
"Yeah, and once we start, we won't be able to stop," Chuck breathed out into her neck.
"Exactly, which is why I'm not turning right now to kiss you, and I'm using extreme levels of willpower that I didn't even know I possessed," she admitted.
Chuck suppressed laughter. "Yeah, I'm impressed with your self-control. But it's easier for me, Sarah. Because I'm honouring my respect to you. Though if you did turn, I wouldn't be able to stop myself, but I will always leave the first move in your court."
"Oh gee, thanks," Sarah laughed softly.
Chuck shared the laughter with her. "Maybe we should take ourselves out of the position and get up and start the day?"
Sarah nodded into the pillow. "Yeah, I think it's best that we do..."
Two hours later
The full complement of Red Team entered the hotel's gym facilities together.
"Och, you lot should have heard Chris snoring last night," John Murray complained, shaking his head as he glanced around his teammates.
Red Team minus Chris suppressed laughter.
"You cheeky bastard!" Chris said, and he lunged at John Murray, but John Murray dodged the lunge.
"There was no snoring in our room," Bryce said.
"How much is Dan paying you to say that?" Cole asked, holding in laughter.
Big Dan pointed in contempt at Cole.
"It must be a lot, Cole, mate, 'cause Dan always snores," Chuck added in.
Big Dan narrowed his eyes at Chuck. "Oh, it's like that then, is it, fella?" Big Dan asked, "I may snore, but I'm now suddenly very inquisitive to know all about what you and Sarah were up to last night."
Sarah darted a glare at Big Dan while Chuck shook his head, and he puffed out a sigh.
"They got up to nothing, mate. Trust me, we were listening and had our ears to the wall," Jamie laughed.
"Aye, so were we," John Murray said.
"Don't start!" Sarah chastised Jamie and John Murray, changing her glance between them while also pointing at both of them.
Big Dan, Cole, Jamie, John Murray, Bryce and Chris suppressed laughter, while Chuck remained unamused, but he knew he had brought it on himself by poking at Big Dan.
"Right, we'll do an hour here, and then we'll head for the briefing," Chris said.
Red Team nodded.
Hinkley Point
Nuclear Power Station
Somerset
"I'm astonished to see a full complement of sober faces amongst you, ladies and gentlemen," Colonel Wood joked to Red Team.
"That's more than I can say for you lot, Boss," Chuck joked back.
The entire control room laughed softly for a long moment.
"I hope the accommodations are to your satisfaction?" Colonel Wood asked.
Red Team glanced amongst themselves to query the question before they all nodded.
"Yeah, they weren't bad at all, Boss, you outdid yourselves," Big Dan said, turning to face his CO.
The room chuckled once more.
"How's the shooting going, mate?" Jamie asked, glancing at Morgan.
"Pretty well! I'll be a marksman like you lot in no time!" Morgan chuckled.
Red Team suppressed brief laughter.
"At the end of his training, we'll have a shooting competition. If he bypasses any of you, we'll bring him into the Regiment," Colonel Wood joked.
Morgan nodded and the room laughed as the control room kept their warm spirits.
"We'll keep the briefing brief," Colonel Wood said, as he continued on…
A few minutes later
"That concludes the intelligence briefing," Captain Wallace finished, "Is there anything else requiring our attention that we did not discuss yesterday?"
"Yeah," Chuck started, and he nodded, "All of us failed to ask yesterday if the police presence here know of our arrival and what we are doing here?"
Red Team all glanced at Chuck because his question was a good one.
"Chief Superintendent?" Colonel Wood asked, looking at the police commanding officer.
"Half of the power plant knows of your arrival at this point. They're not soft, and naturally, many questions are being asked," the Chief Super said.
The control room nodded.
"But they don't know of our mission, yeah?" Chuck asked.
Red Team glanced to their front in search of an answer.
"We've been spreading the rumour that you're here for security checks to test our defences and for training that is supposed to begin on Tuesday. I'm led to believe the rumour is holding up well," Chief Superintendent Smith said.
"It needs to hold," Chuck said, "If we can keep the element of surprise, it will be big. Come Monday, and the instant the escort finds out that we'll be going on it, make sure to have them hand in their phones as well."
Colonel Wood's face lit up. "An excellent idea, Corporal!"
"Boss," Chuck said, nodding, as the briefing concluded, and Red Team soon retired to their hotel...
Next chapter, threats are made, and more!