AUTHOR'S NOTE: As of August 2024, Who Dares Wins is presently undergoing an early retelling of Chuck and Sarah's relationship. When I first devised the idea of this story, it was created to be an angst-filled story from start to end. However, very early into the story's life, I completely shelved that idea and replaced it with what most of you reading this will have read. The angst was shelved in favour of Sarah being fearful of taking the leap in apprehension of what people thought of her, as well as their teammates' meddling which was another intended device to help smash through Sarah's reservations so that she stopped giving a damn what others thought about her. While I am happy with most of this, I decided three months ago that I wanted to change Charah's relationship and make it more in line with a much more free-flowing reciprocal attraction early on without fear of what others think, at least until what Bryce causes in Ch23 (but even after Ch23 much of it will be now mitigated by the new early retelling).
In the final scene of Ch1, this new change is already on full display because everything is new and will be the true representation of the new Charah in Who Dares Wins, culminating in Ch9, where instead of Chuck turning down Sarah's proposal, this time he won't be turning down squat. Please do keep checking in on the first ten chapters in the coming days because I will be retelling each of them in line with the new Charah. I will also be composing a new standalone mature piece of their new first time at the conclusion of Ch9. Finally, there will be other mild changes to facilitate this new change in all of the other chapters too, but the main and biggest changes will take place in the first ten chapters.
The ultimate goal of all of this is a better reading introduction to Who Dares Wins (and for my main characters) where a story is told without regret from the two main characters because without the angst approach that I shelved very early on, I feel this new approach is much more in line with the Who Dares Wins story I have been telling for almost five years now :)
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Close Shave
Stirling Lines
Monday, 3 December, 2007
Red Team entered the changing room for the showers in their barracks, sharing a spirited exchange from a joke, still in high spirits from their skirmish with Blue Team in the canteen.
When the exchange wore off, the unit became occupied with the sensation of fabric sliding off their bodies, the anticipation of a refreshing shower taking over before starting their tasking for the day.
Big Dan took his top off, stretched his arms, then glanced at Chris. "I'm disappointed that I didn't get the gold star considering what I did in defence of Speedy, old timer."
The team halted their activities, a symphony of scoffs erupting, with all eyes diverting to Big Dan.
"I wish I could say I'm surprised by Dan's greed, but I'm not!" Cole said, his voice resonating with a deep, hearty chuckle.
Big Dan turned to look at Cole. "When you're as big as I am, your needs are greater, fella. Not that you'd know anything about that with that slender frame of yours."
"Hey!" Cole grumbled, flashing an angry look at Dan before succumbing to additional laughter alongside the team, who found Dan's jab at Cole hilarious.
John Murray glanced at Chuck, who was sharing the laughter at Cole's expense close to Sarah. "Not going to defend your best mate, fella?"
"Nah," Chuck said with a grin. "Because Dan's right. Cole is short and slender."
Big Dan snorted. "It sounds like Cole needs a new best man!"
"Or woman!" Jamie laughed.
The team shared laughter as Cole met Jamie's glance. "Nah, Jamie, I'm washing my hands of both of them!" he said, turning his attention to Chuck and Sarah.
"I haven't even done anything!" Sarah exclaimed, her mouth hanging open in shock.
Cole's sudden deep chuckle echoed through the room. "Guilt by association, lass! I can't keep my former best man's girlfriend around after I've binned him off!"
Chris, Bryce, Dan and Chuck shared the laughter with Cole, causing Sarah to shoot narrowed, belittling daggers at Chuck for a moment, then she eased off and laughed herself.
"Yeah, and I'm finished with her as well!" Jamie laughed, shaking his head. "Whenever I try to be her friend, she shoots me down. Well, now you know how it feels, girl!"
Sarah stopped laughing and glared at Jamie for his cheeky remarks, extending the humour amongst the team.
John Murray looked around at his teammates, eager to get in on the gag. "Aye," he said. "And I'm sick of getting punched by her, so I am, so she isnae my friend, either."
With a swift motion, Sarah pivoted to face the Scot, giving him a piercing, resolute look. "Do you want another punch?"
"She fucking will as well, her!" Big Dan said, snorting.
Sarah's reply, followed by Big Dan's immediate supplement, caused the team to laugh in approval.
"Speaking of which," Big Dan said, glancing around, "I still can't decide whose shove was better. Sarah's, or Chuck's."
"He saw Chuck and Sarah kicking off with them gobshites too!" Jamie shouted with exuberance. "And there was me thinking he was too occupied in his scrap with Kyle!"
Big Dan crossed his arms and turned to look at Jamie. "I'm never one to miss out on any excitement, fella."
The team shared an additional laugh.
"But in answer to my question, I'm not sure," Big Dan said, gazing around the team. "Sarah got two for one, but Chuck went in like Rambo, which I have to say was very impressive."
Despite their best efforts to hold back, the unit couldn't help but let out snorts in response, trying not to laugh further.
"If Chuck hadn't done it," Cole said after a moment, looking around, "I would have instead."
Jamie glanced at Cole. "I thought you said you've washed your hands of them, Cole?!"
"That is an excellent point, Jamie!" Chuck said, pointing at the scouser.
Cole let out a chuckle. "Jamie can talk! He said he was going to knock out the next person to push anyone on the team, which, to our misfortunes, includes Chuck and Sarah!
"I'll remember that, Cole!" Chuck said, giving his best friend a piercing stare.
"So will I," Sarah said, doing the same.
Cole's deep chuckles resonated through the air, bringing a sense of camaraderie to the team as they each moved one by one to occupy showerheads.
"I can't believe you bastards didn't even save anything for Dan and me to eat!" Bryce complained, his eyes scanning his teammates.
Many scoffs erupted, but Big Dan glanced over his shoulder at Bryce. "Well said, Speedy, fella."
"What about me?!" Chris asked suddenly, glaring at Bryce. "Where's mine, laddie?!"
"Nobody cares about your needs, Chris," Big Dan instantly rebuked. "The quicker you retire, the better for all of us."
Cole's eyes lit up. "Now there's a thought!" he said, knowing he might be the new team leader.
"I'll remember this the next time I think about spending ten minutes in a bust-up with Neil in defence of you lot!" Chris complained, staring out his team.
Big Dan snorted, holding in his amusement. "The idea was yours in the first place, not that I'm surprised you forgot with your old age, fella!"
Jamie's laughter erupted like a volcano. "HE'S RIGHT!"
Chris's complaints, Dan's rebukes and Cole's ambition set off a deep exchange of joy within the showering facility, intensifying after each comment.
"Who Dares Wins," Chuck said a long moment later, once he regained his composure. "John dared to get both breakfast and one over on Blue Team. Bryce and Dan didn't. And as for Chris, he's the biggest sucker of them all!"
Another ripple of laughter spread through the washing facility, but Chris appeared above the racket, glaring at Chuck. "Button it, laddie!"
"Now, you fellas know I'm not one to agree with Chris on much," Big Dan said, glancing mischievously at his teammates. "But I think Chuck should button it because while John may well have dared along with me and Speedy, nobody else did."
"That's what you think!" Cole said, still chuckling as he paused from applying soap to look at Dan. "Because I've been doing it since Sunday!"
"Yeah and I started on Sunday as well, so you've got your eye wiped here, mate!" Jamie said.
"Fucking hell, Jamie!" Big Dan said, snorting. "I thought you'd have started on Saturday as soon you left, what with it being your best mate, Joe and all."
"Fuck off, you gobshite!" Jamie said back, scoffing sharply, jerking his thumb towards Dan's location before chuckling again. "Me friends with that twat? And as for why I wasn't spreading it since Saturday, I was stuck in a daydream playing the content on repeat after Chris sent it to me, that's why!"
Jamie's remarks set off another outpouring of laughter within the team.
"I thought you had no part in spreading it, Jamie?" Chuck joked, fighting off a grin.
Jamie continued laughing. "I admitted that under duress. It won't stand up in court, mate!"
"Be that as it may, Speedy and I have been doing it since Saturday night, if you can believe it," Big Dan said.
Dan's comment elicited scoffs, and just as everyone was about to reply, Sarah got in first. "Of course, we can believe it. We would have called you a liar if you'd said otherwise!"
Sarah's remark hit the spot, with the team sharing another hearty outburst for a long moment.
When the humour calmed, Big Dan paused from washing and turned to look at Chuck. "So then, fella. How does it feel to see your girlfriend in the shower with six other men every day?"
The whole team paused their activities as they turned to look between Big Dan, Chuck, and Sarah, with the latter glaring at Dan, deeming him to be engaging in another wind-up again.
Before Chuck could respond, Jamie spoke up. "Leave Chuck out of it because it has nothing to do with him while we're all clocked on duty on base. And as for Sarah, it's probably easier for her than us because I don't want to shower with a group of men either, especially with it being you ugly gobshites!"
Jamie's humour replaced the tension Big Dan had created instantly, with the team laughing further at his brilliant remark.
"Yeah, fella," John Murray said with a grin as the humour wore off. "I'm not in the habit of looking at a teammate like that, anyway."
"Even if he did, he'd be dreaming to think she'd look back at him!" Jamie laughed uproariously.
With a quick movement, John Murray snapped his head to fix a glare on Jamie, his neck stiffening with anger. "Ya wee bastard!"
Jamie and John's exchange caused another immediate eruption of laughter, with this exchange being the most substantive of them all.
Chuck turned to face Big Dan once the team calmed. "As for my answer, considering the question was directed at me, I agree with what Jamie said. It's not my place, nor am I entitled to dictate how things go in that department. While we're on this base, Sarah's my teammate before she is anything else. And if we all single her out for being a woman, not just me, she stops becoming an equal part of the team and I think that's wrong 'cos none of the rest of us would ever get the option to shower alone. So, as long as you all view her the same way as I do while we're all on the job, I'll never have a problem with her having to shower with you. Even if we weren't dating, I'd still feel the same way, and I'd pull anyone taking the piss out of her or disrespecting her as a teammate and person."
"He has a point!" Cole said instantly.
Many heads nodded, including Sarah's—who gave her boyfriend an adoring smile for his remarks.
However, Chris's nodding was the most convincing of them all.
The team leader then stoically glanced around at every member of the unit. "Of course, he has a point. And with his revelation in mind, I want no further jokes or remarks from anyone at any point that we single Sarah out or treat her any differently because she's a woman. If none of us are permitted our own shower, why should she be? She's an equal teammate of ours, not an extra hanging around us as a toy. So, until the day command says she showers elsewhere or sleeps elsewhere, which would be a load of bullshit, we treat her the same as the rest of us. This means we all keep our eyes to ourselves intimately, even if we're looking at each other."
"Yeah," Sarah said with a nod, appreciating and in perfect sync with all the remarks from Chuck, Jamie and Chris. "That's the way I want it. So keep your eyes to yourselves and away from Chuck," she joked, lightening the mood.
Sarah's hilarious joke eased the tension as the showers erupted in a fit of laughter again, the fantastic spirit and camaraderie amongst the eight teammates fully restored.
"I say we stay in here all day to recover from last night and do bugger all else," Jamie said, taking an extended moment under the relaxing, hot water. "So, how about it?"
"Now, there's a thought!" Cole said quickly.
The rest of them took an extended moment, soon getting excited by the idea and nodding, but Chris said, "Not bloody likely!"
Instant groans erupted around every corner of the washing facility.
"Always the party pooper, isn't he?!" Jamie said.
The immediate mumbles in reply signalled the team's agreement with Jamie's remarks.
"If Cole was the team leader, he'd let us stay in here all day, unlike Ebenezer Scrooge over there," Chuck joked, nodding over at Chris.
Cole pointed in immediate endorsement at Chuck. "I knew I'd get my best man back! All I had to do was give him a little of the cold shoulder and he came grovelling on his knees!" he chuckled.
Chuck suppressed laughter as he shared a warm glance with Cole.
"That seals it then, Chuck, fella," Big Dan said, nodding at Chuck before he glanced at the rest of his teammates. "We're bumping Chris off on our very next op!"
Excitement spread and took hold of the team at Dan's idea.
"Why wait that long?" Bryce asked, looking around. "We can do it in training today when he sends us to the Killing House."
Chris shot an immediate glare at Bryce. "I'm bloody well regretting giving you the gold star now, laddie!"
A ripple of laughter spread through the team again as Big Dan turned to look at Bryce. "I'm very impressed with you today, Speedy."
Bryce suppressed a laugh.
"So, we'll do it today then. He'll meet his demise in an unfortunate accident in the Killing House, so he will," John Murray said, taking over proceedings.
Chris shot his glare to his compatriot instead. "Now who's joining the English, laddie?!"
"Och!" John Murray said instantly. "I'd rather join these wee tossers in seeing about your end if it means I dinnae have to scale ladders or blow up PE4 (explosives) twelve hours after getting oot my face!"
The team shared additional laughter at the Scot's remarks as Big Dan said, "Well said, fella! I couldn't have put that any better if I tried!"
"Nor could I!" Cole said, his words tumbling out in a deep chuckle.
Chris held a narrowed glance around the washing facility. "Well, it seems I've no choice but to cancel plans to send you lads and ladies to the Killing House today, or else it would see about my untimely demise."
The showering facility turned loud in an instant, with the seven teammates celebrating their jubilant success.
"Thank fuck for that, mate!" Jamie, still laughing, shouted with glee. "He always throws us in the Killing House after a night of drinking, so we've got a proper result here!"
"We'll have to make plans to kill him off more often, fella!" Big Dan said, snorting. "Seeing how successful this one has been, I'll be doing it more often!"
Chris shot a glance over at Big Dan. "Button it, laddie!"
Big Dan smirked in approval, then cast a glance at Sarah. "So, if I can't ask Chuck anything, I'll have to ask Sarah something instead. Do you have any regrets that you and Chuck decided to go public?"
"That you all forced us to go public, you mean?" Sarah said back, an undeniable portion of contempt in her tone because she still didn't agree with the way her teammates forced the concession that she was dating Chuck.
"Same thing," Big Dan said, snorting.
Chuck met Dan's glance. "It's not the same thing at all," he said in instant rebuke, shaking his head, then turned to a teasing mood. "I can't speak for Sarah, but I have a few regrets about Sarah and I going public with our relationship."
Sarah joined the team in snapping to look at Chuck because she detected the mischief in his tone and the look on his face.
"Here we go!" Big Dan said in excitement, catching on to Sarah's focused stare at Chuck.
Chuck held in his amusement, then laughed. "The reason I have regrets is she's making me buy all kinds of dresses and high heels for her already!"
"That is so not true!" Sarah shot back, her stare suddenly intensifying one hundred times over.
Chuck's joke and Sarah's reaction to it set off another exchange of laughter from Cole, Bryce, Jamie, Dan, John and Chris.
After a moment, Jamie said, "As a stunner and complete knockout, high maintenance comes with that for being with her, which you knew already before you even got with her, so I've no sympathy for ye!"
"Neither have I, fella!" Big Dan said in excitement, his eyes locked like a hawk in watch of Sarah burning a piercing glare right at Chuck.
"Take those rotten lies back before I make you, Chuccckkk," Sarah warned, her gaze remaining locked on Chuck.
Chuck continued laughing. "Nope," he said, daringly.
His defiance ignited an immediate fire within Sarah, her gaze laser-focused on him as she plotted her revenge.
Now on a mission to make him pay, in one hand, she held onto a bottle of shampoo.
Opening the bottle with her thumb, she moved to apply it to her free hand, stepping into Chuck's immediate proximity as she did so.
On arrival, she raised her shampoo-covered hand towards Chuck's face, who'd turned and was attempting to dodge her.
"Don't worry, Sarah, if he tries to escape, we'll hold him for you!" Big Dan said in glee.
The team shared intense laughter as Sarah grabbed hold of Chuck with her free hand to hold him in place and used her shampoo hand to rub it all over his face.
"AAH! It's in my eyes!" Chuck complained, jerking his arms violently as he tried to get the shampoo out of his eyes.
Chuck's complaints about Sarah's actions caused the laughter from the rest of the team to intensify, each glued to Chuck and Sarah's exchange and immensely enjoying what they were seeing.
"This is what I have to put up with all the time!" Chuck shouted as he rubbed furiously to get off the excessive shampoo applied to his face, with Sarah continuing to apply fresh loads to the team's great amusement. "She's always trying to kill me every chance she gets!"
"You get what you deserve!" Jamie laughed strongly.
Chris reluctantly broke his glance from Chuck and Sarah's exchange to glance at Jamie. "Well said, laddie!"
The team continued to laugh as they watched the show of Chuck trying to remove the shampoo from his face, with Sarah continuing to add more each time he did.
"Ok, you win!" Chuck relented, shouting in search of Sarah—for he could not see her.
Sarah applied a fresh portion of shampoo to Chuck's face. "Take it back, Chuccckk!" she warned.
"I take it back!" Chuck laughed, though his eyes were stinging from having shampoo in them. "She won't let me buy her anything! I have to fight with her just to be able to buy her something even though she deserves that and so much more!"
Chuck's remarks set off another outpouring of laughter from the rest of the team.
Sarah developed a smug look of victory, though she was smiling as she gazed at her boyfriend because of his romantic words, who was fighting to get rid of the shampoo and wasn't looking at her, nor was he able to, owed to the shampoo. "Good boy."
"I can't get it off my face!" Chuck complained after a moment.
His complaints set off another outpouring from the team, whose stomachs now hurt because of Chuck and Sarah's antics.
Sarah merely shook her head towards him, narrowing her glance. "Don't be a baby!"
"You try getting ten tons of shampoo in your eye and see how you like it, Sarah!" Chuck complained.
Chuck's latest complaints set off another outpouring of laughter from the team.
She merely drew out a sigh, discarded the shampoo to the floor, and then dragged Chuck back to a showerhead. "Oh, will you come here? You're not doing it right!"
Sarah then got to work, washing away the excess shampoo on her boyfriend's face until it was gone, with the team in stitches and unable to breathe at what they were seeing.
Once the shampoo was all gone, she let go of Chuck and turned to face the rest of Red Team. "This is what I have to put up with all the time! He can't look after himself!"
"Sophie and I often thought that when he was our third wheel!" Cole Barker joked, then succumbed to a rowdy chuckle.
"Oh, shut up, Cole!" Chuck shouted, his eyes squinting as he tried to ascertain his best friend's position. "The only third wheel in that relationship was you because Sophie and I had to do everything for you because you were incapable!"
Cole stopped laughing, then scanned his glance around the facility. "Where's the shampoo?! Because I suddenly feel the need to have a turn!"
"Don't even think about it, Cole, because that's the first and last time someone is getting away with putting shampoo in my face!" Chuck warned.
Cole quickly succumbed to laughter, shared by everyone else on the team except Chuck, who was still recovering from his ordeal.
When the laughter ceased, Big Dan cast a glance around the showers. "As I said at the pool on Saturday, fellas, I'm never getting with a SAS soldier because they terrify the life out of me! I thought my missus was bad enough, but Sarah's on a different level!"
The big Geordie's remarks set off another outpouring of laughter.
"You've had a lot more than shampoo rubbed in your eyes, mate!" Jamie chuckled.
Big Dan snorted. "Yeah, shower gel bottles thrown at me head are a common occurrence in my household, but it's the way Sarah goes about it that terrifies me. She's like a demon-possessed!"
"Don't give Sarah any more ideas!" Chuck shouted, glaring over at Big Dan in case Sarah did something else to him. The last thing he wanted was for Sarah to perform any ideas originating from Big Dan!
Chuck and Dan's comments increased the amusement, which the team shared for a final moment, then finished their washing activities, departing one by one until they regathered in the changing room.
Cole collected his towel, dried himself down a little, then turned to look at Chuck and Sarah, who were doing the same.
"How do you both fancy double dating one night this week with Sophie and I, schedules permitting?" Cole asked with a grin.
Chuck and Sarah met Cole's glance, with Chuck entering thought.
Sarah, however, had an immediate reply, smiling as she said, "That sounds nice."
With Sarah signalling her approval of the idea, Chuck nodded, suppressing a laugh as he found no fault with the suggestion.
Cole held his grin.
"I'll leave it for you to arrange because I still don't know the area," Sarah said with a smile.
Cole chuckled. "I'm sure we can manage that!" he said, moving to give Chuck a warm pat.
"Here we go. We'll never hear the end of this now," Big Dan joked. "It was bad enough with Chuck and Cole's loved-up friendship, but now there's three of them."
Sarah turned to look at Big Dan. "Are you jealous?"
"Of course he is!" Cole said with a rowdy chuckle. "Chuck and I came to that conclusion a long time ago!"
Chuck suppressed a laugh in reply, while Sarah giggled.
"It's not a bad shout, actually," Bryce said as he paused from drying. "Instead of them just double dating all the time as we know they will, why don't we all go out as a group?"
The team turned to look at Bryce.
Cole was first to reply, "No offence to you personally, Speedy, but sod that! I would rather be single than go anywhere with your woman again! Sophie and I have only just got away from her!"
The changing area suddenly erupted with a mixture of snorts, sharp winces, and outright laughter.
Sarah, however, shot Cole a withering glance, clearly unamused by his remark. "That was harsh."
"But the truth though, mate!" Jamie said, chuckling away.
Sarah turned to look at Jamie. "He didn't need to put it in such a hurtful way."
"Would you go on double dates and team dates with Jill, then?" Jamie asked.
Sarah's eyes shifted away from Jamie, feeling the expectant gazes of her seven teammates fixed upon her.
Looking around at her teammates, Sarah hesitated before finally starting, "Well, no, but-"
"Then why are you blaming Cole for speaking his mind about it when you wouldn't do it, either?" Jamie interrupted her, shutting any complaints down. "Because I certainly won't be going anywhere with Jill after how she behaved with Chuck. I'll do anything with Speedy Gonzales. But her?… Fuck that, mate!"
Sarah looked at Jamie. "We don't need to be so cruel in our teasing to each other, though. You could have just said to Bryce that you don't like Jill, and that could have been the end of it."
"Where would the fun be in that?" Big Dan asked.
Sarah drew out an irate sigh. "Why does everything always have to be about fun? What about being nice to each other always for a change?"
"I always knew she wasn't one of us!" Big Dan said, snorting.
Most of the team laughed at Dan's joke, but Sarah remained unimpressed.
Bryce started a glance around the showers. "Jill's not so bad."
Once Bryce's protest registered with the team, and what he'd said, most of them, except for Sarah and Chris, started laughing again.
"Speedy's softer than I thought!" Big Dan said, snorting.
Chris locked eyes with Big Dan, a flicker of annoyance clear in his gaze. "His mistake to make."
"Aren't you gonna come to her defence, fella?" John Murray asked, looking at Chuck.
The team turned to face the Scot in query of his question, and who he was speaking to.
Once all eyes were on him, John Murray continued, "Being your ex-girlfriend."
Chuck scoffed. "Is she? Because she seems to have suddenly ceased to exist as far as I'm concerned."
"Fucking hell!" Big Dan said, snorting as he pointed everyone with his thumb towards Chuck. "He moves on quick!"
"Wouldn't you?!" Jamie said, turning to look at Big Dan. "He's landed a ten out of ten instead, which no one on this planet would even dream of disputing."
"Fair point Jamie!" Cole said quickly.
"She's not just a ten, she's beyond perfect, so a twenty," Chuck gushed, completely infatuated with his flawless girlfriend.
Sarah shot her glance at Chuck, registering each word. Once she did, she beamed at him with the most radiant smile she had ever worn.
He grinned in reply.
Red Team, witnessing the exchange of their two teammates and friends, broke out in approving laughter with some of them voicing their agreement.
Sarah merely emitted a lesser smile at the rest of her teammates in reply, collected her things, then departed for her room in the barracks to change.
Jamie gave Sarah a few seconds until she was safely departed, then he turned back to look at Chuck. "Mate, you're one lucky bastard! She's perfect! Inside and out!"
"I know…" Chuck said, infatuated with a wide grin.
Big Dan snorted, then said, "Until she squirts shampoo in his eyes, then he's lining up his next girl after her already!"
"He'd be a brain-dead pillock if he ever contemplated that!" Cole said with a chuckle.
"Well said, laddie!" Chris said. "I'm expecting and will settle for no less than their relationship ending only one way."
Big Dan turned to face Chris. "And what way is that, fella? With Chuck six feet under once Sarah's bumped him off?"
Dan's remark elicited further laughter.
Chris looked at Dan. "No. With them both at the altar because now that the soft bollocks' are together, it would do irreparable damage to the team if they broke up."
"No pressure there, fella," John Murray said, turning to glance at Chuck. "I dinnae envy you having to make a wee stunner fall for you."
"Maybe we'll have to help him out with that, fella," Big Dan said with a smirk.
"No!" Chuck said awkwardly, shooting his glance at Big Dan, anxious at the prospect of Dan and the team meddling in his relationship with Sarah any further. "You bastards meddling in what Sarah and I did for a month was enough to last a lifetime!"
"Besides, we all saw the look she gave my best man! She's already fallen for him!" Cole said with pride.
The team quickly agreed with that remark, shared one last laugh, and then departed the changing room one by one.
Chuck was the first to depart and was about to make his way to his room when Sarah appeared in view and dragged him into hers.
Once they were inside, she shoved the door closed, then locked it.
"Uh, Sarah, might I inquire as to your thought process?" Chuck asked, turning exceedingly anxious.
Sarah stepped the remaining distance to Chuck, then planted a soft kiss on his lips.
When the soft clicking sound of their lips parting signalled the end of the kiss, Sarah said, "That's my thought process."
Chuck's eyes narrowed into slits. "Uh, not that I don't want to, but it's risky, and we are on duty now."
"Not until we get changed and Chris gives us our tasking," Sarah said with a sultry smile. "We're just delaying the changing by a few minutes, so long as you're quick."
Chuck suppressed laughter as a grin lit up his face. "Are you asking me to blow my load quickly?"
"No," Sarah said, her face lighting up with an amused smirk.
She then stepped back to him and kissed him again.
"I'm just telling you I need you right now and I don't care how long it takes," she breathed into his mouth.
Chuck arched himself back post-kiss, narrowing his glance with a grin as he teased, "That's totally asking me to finish quickly."
"Shut up and kiss me," Sarah commanded simply, in no mood for his teasing right now.
Chuck suppressed a laugh, grinning as he took hold of Sarah, dropping her towel from around her.
In immediate reply, Sarah's hand darted forward, swiftly snatching the towel away from Chuck, briefly interrupting the lovers' passionate embrace.
Becoming lost in the throes of passion, they melted together again, their desires consuming them.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Chuck departed Sarah's room with their steamy but risky encounter at an end.
He was about to swiftly rush to his room when he paused in place because he caught Cole's glance down the hallway, who'd seen him depart Sarah's room.
Cole let out an immediate chuckle, knowing what was up.
Chuck narrowed his glance, pointing at Cole in a warning. "Shut up, Cole!"
Cole continued his chuckles, which intensified as he turned and walked back into his room.
Chuck merely shook his head, then returned to his room, knowing Cole wouldn't betray him over what he'd just seen.
Well, at least Chuck hoped he wouldn't.
Now inside his room, Chuck rushed to dress at a rapid pace, knowing he had no more than a few minutes until he had Chris on his back for being late.
Once he was dressed, he departed the barracks, moving to join up with Sarah, Cole, Chris, Dan, Jamie, John and Bryce waiting outside.
"You took your time, laddie. I was about to come and get you!" Chris said. "What kept you so long?!"
Chuck shot an immediate nervous glance between Chris and Sarah, with Sarah returning the awkward glance to him in kind as the lovers became unsettled in the presence of the prying eyes of their teammates.
But before he could say anything, Cole spoke up. "I wanted Chuck for some best man stuff. It took a few minutes, but the rest of it was his slow dressing pace!"
Chuck shot a look at Cole, pointing at him, but his face betrayed him, grinning as the best friends exchanged a silent conversation between themselves with just their eyes.
Chuck knew he owed Cole big for this. However, he also knew that Cole was brushing it off as nothing and that it was merely an act of helping his best friend. Chuck would have done the same thing one hundred times over if the boot were on the other foot.
However, Chris was unimpressed and turned to look at Cole. "Well, do it in your own time, not ours, laddie!"
"So, what are we doing today then, Chris?" Bryce asked, bailing his teammates out and changing the topic.
The team turned to look at Chris in wait for an answer, but most made a mental note of Bryce's timely intervention, each silently impressed with his diversion. He was starting to show his maturity and was becoming a great teammate.
"We'll start with light exercises today," Chris said, glancing around the team.
The team did an immediate double take, entering a stunned state again for the second time in under an hour.
"Come again, fella, because none of us heard that!" Big Dan joked.
The team shared a brief giggle, but Chris appeared over it. "I'm staying in your good books so you laddies and lassies don't kill me off!"
Amusement increased as Jamie asked, "What's the real reason, Chris?"
Red Team hushed in wait for a moment, then Chris admitted, "I'm not feeling too clever myself."
The team leader's admissions triggered an immediate eruption of laughter.
After a moment, Chris asked, "So, does anyone have any suggestions?"
"Yeah," Chuck said with an immediate nod as the team turned to face him. "Sniper training. I'm the new dog handler now, so it's arguable that I won't be able to take up that role much at all anymore, which means we need to find someone else to do the job."
"Good point," Chris said instantly.
The rest of the team quickly agreed with a nod.
"That's light-tasking as well, so I couldn't agree more!" Jamie laughed.
The team shared the laughter with him, and they were about to depart when they saw Blue Team arrive outside the barracks in their vehicles.
Big Dan instantly let out a farting noise, causing Red Team to share laughter as Blue Team departed their vehicles.
Once they were all out, they linked up, then paused as the two quarrelling teams locked eyes.
Jamie, looking at Joe Lewis, said, "Alright, Joe, you naughty boy?"
Joe immediately took a step towards Jamie, causing laughter from everyone on Red Team except Chris.
However, Joe was waved to stand fast by Staff Sergeant Williams, who then turned to Jamie and warned, "Pack it in. You're on duty as a soldier, so act like it."
"Your lot weren't acting like that in the canteen earlier," Cole Barker replied, still annoyed with George and Gary's unwarranted conduct towards Sarah.
Kyle Rogerson scoffed. "Says the dickheads who've gone around the base acting like twats."
"The only people who've been behaving like knobs lately are you lot," Chuck said, scoffing and glancing at Blue Team with distaste. "And by the way, if any of you touch Sarah or anyone on my team who didn't do anything to you again, I'll be showing up to discuss it with you personally."
"As will I alongside you, fella!" Big Dan said.
"Didn't do anything?" Kyle asked, scoffing. "You stupid prick! She's the one who took the video!"
Bryce got involved in the flaring dispute. "If I remember right, she only did that after you called her a slag."
"That is an excellent point, mate!" Chuck said, pointing at Bryce in immense approval, then turning back to stare out the Blue Team loudmouth.
Kyle scoffed, looking at Sarah in disgust. "She is one."
"Fuck off, you fucking gobshite!" Jamie shouted, his anger surging as he glared at Kyle.
Chuck, meanwhile, went to take an immediate step towards Kyle, but Chris held him back.
Sarah, however, was unfazed by Kyle's comment as she scoffed. "I'd rather be a slag than what you are."
"What is he, Sarah?" Big Dan encouraged her to speak her mind, fighting back a smirk because confrontation always did excite him. "It's only fair we hear her out, seeing as that knob has had his opinion about her."
Sarah held her belittling glance at Kyle, in sheer contempt and disdain at someone she loathed. "He's trash. He thinks he can bully and intimidate others with his mouth to show off to everybody that he is something, but it's all a ruse. Because he's nothing, he's a nobody. And he doesn't scare me one bit."
Kyle took an immediate step towards Sarah, who returned the actions as soon as he took the first step, ready and capable of trading fists with him.
However, Staff Sergeant Neil Williams stepped between them, playing peacemaker.
"It's about time you done that, Neil. You should have done it a long time ago while we were in London and this wouldn't have happened!" Chris said, angry that both teams were now fighting each other over something completely avoidable had Blue Team not sought to wind up a pissed-off Red Team for a full day while his team were locked on an intense job in the capital.
Staff Sergeant Williams shot an immediate glance at Chris. "What did you just say?"
"You heard!" Chris replied, holding a stoic glance at his counterpart.
Neil paused his peacemaking actions immediately and moved towards Chris, who stood steadfast and was waiting to square up to his counterpart.
With Neil and Chris about to go at it, the tension ratcheted up instantaneously as Bryce and Joe locked eyes again, while a few other glares and exchanges of words occurred between the teams simultaneously.
However, before anything further could occur—and it was about to—Chuck interrupted the flaring dispute between the teams, shouting, "Heads up!"
All actions amongst the fighting teams paused instantly as they turned to face Chuck, then followed his glance towards an arriving jeep containing their OC, Captain Wallace.
The quarrelling teams stopped their dispute as Captain Wallace departed the jeep, his glance locked on the two teams.
"What's going on here?" the OC asked.
"Just the usual exchanges, boss, nothing serious," Cole said with a dismissive nod.
Captain Wallace took in Cole's comment and continued his glance around the sixteen soldiers, detecting more to it than what Cole had said.
He soon looked at Staff Sergeant MacDonald. "Do you have tasking, Staff Sergeant?"
"Sniper training to select a new sniper with Corporal Bartowski now our dog handler, boss," Chris apprised the officer.
Captain Wallace nodded. "See about it then, Staff Sergeant."
"Boss," Chris said with a nod.
The Red Team leader then turned his attention to his team. "Right lads, let's be off!"
The team reacted immediately, following Chris as they started to depart while Captain Wallace moved to enter a discussion with Staff Sergeant Williams out of earshot.
As Sarah walked past Kyle, he said, "Be seeing you soon."
Sarah scoffed in reply as Big Dan, walking closely behind her, said, "Not before we see you first, fella."
Bryce and Joe exchanged another less-than-pleasant glance, and then Jamie merely laughed at his nemesis, following Bryce closely behind.
Once Red Team was alone again, they all shared laughter, except for Chris, deeming them the victors in the latest exchange with Blue Team.
"What a bunch of gobshites they are!" Jamie laughed, looking all around his teammates.
The team continued to share laughter as John Murray said, "Aye, fella, and tossers!"
"If they don't shut their mouths, it will only end up with us doing it for them," Cole said.
Further laughter was exchanged amongst the team as Bryce said, "When it kicks off, we'll smash them all over Hereford easily! They'll be sorry they messed with us!"
"And then we'll all be RTU'd," Chris warned, glancing around the team.
Scoffs erupted as Jamie laughed, "Always the party pooper, isn't he?!"
"Why do you want to knock Joe out that much anyway, mate, having got your revenge on Saturday?" Chuck asked.
Jamie laughed and said, "I can't help it. Just seeing his face makes me want to! He knows how to push all of my buttons just by looking at me and besides, I'd rather have knocked out Kyle instead in that moment!"
"On that point, fella, I can agree because I wanted to knock him out as well," Big Dan said, snorting.
Chuck suppressed a laugh. "Yeah, and me."
"Me too," Sarah said with a giggle.
The full team this time shared laughter as John Murray said, "Aye, I think we were united in wanting to see that tosser hit the deck."
"Whoever wins the sniper training gets to be the one to knock him out!" Jamie joked uproariously. "And I'll be imagining it's that other twat Joe Lewis I'm shooting as I pull the trigger!"
The team shared immense laughter with Jamie for a long moment as Red Team departed for marksmanship training together.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Next chapter, the brewing conflict between Mobility troop explodes, with the soldiers then receiving their dangerous mission. With each traded remark, glare and step to each other, it's becoming harder for them to put those differences aside!