AN1 The focus of this chapter is Chuck and Sarah, and Red Team's bid to foil the impending terrorist attack.
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Twelve: Guardian Angels: Part Three
Tuesday, 30 October, 2007
Birmingham
United Kingdom
Corporal Bartowski and Trooper Walker exited the rear of the apartment complex facing the East Road Mosque dressed in civilian clothes, and they were each wearing baseball caps. They were preparing to become mobile, and the reason that numerous members of Mobility troop had brought their own cars for the operation, was so that the SAS troop could split into teams of two. Conducting their mobile surveillance in their personal unmarked transports that did not stand out as SAS vehicles would allow them to safely observe as many people as possible that entered or exited the Mosque without risk of detection. It was also for that reason why every member of Mobility troop was wearing civilian attire, and it was also why Chuck and Sarah were just armed with their Sig Sauer P226 personal sidearms, instead of heavier weaponry.
"It's been a while since I last wore a baseball cap," Sarah said, glancing at Chuck as they made their way over to her car, and they prepared to become mobile to shadow their assigned target once he departed from the Mosque.
"You look good in it," Chuck declared, grinning.
She smiled at her teammate. "Thank you."
"What about me? How am I looking in mine?" Chuck asked, winking at her as he began to play with the cap on his head.
She laughed for a short moment. "Like a tennis player," she teased.
He narrowed his eyebrows. "Depending on the player, that's either a compliment or an insult," he stated.
"I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions about that," she said with a smile.
The teammates then moved to enter into her car. "Well considering how many insults you've been firing at me lately, I'll take it as a compliment," he said as he closed the car door after him, and he held his glance onto her.
She smiled at him in response, and they held their gaze on toward each other for a few more seconds, before Sarah averted her glance from Chuck, and she pushed hold of her communications button placed inside the pocket of her jeans, and she said, "Red Four and Red Eight, mobile."
"Affirmative," Captain Wallace replied.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Jeff turned his van onto a street, and he continued to drive his van up the road when Lester became aware of an attractive blonde female wearing a baseball cap exiting an apartment complex with a tall, well-built male who was also wearing a baseball cap following after her.
"Oh, good lord!" Lester murmured in approval as he licked his lips and he focused his glance onto the attractive blonde wearing the baseball cap.
"Jeffrey, pull over!" Lester commanded, and Jeff did as he was instructed, and he pulled over on the sidewalk of the road.
"What is it?" Jeff asked as he began to glance at his friend.
"A super attractive, blonde, Vicki Vale lookalike at five o'clock, Jeffrey!" Lester said in excitement.
Jeff began to glance out of his side mirror, and he observed as the female in the baseball cap shared a laugh and a smile with the guy in her company, before they moved to enter into a car together.
"You said there would be no women," Jeff stated as he glanced accusingly at his friend.
"I was very much mistaken, Jeffrey!" Lester said.
"I wonder how much he is paying her?" Jeff asked as he began to glance out of his mirror at the attractive blonde once more.
"More than he can afford, I'm sure," Lester said.
Jeff nodded as he held his gaze onto the breathtaking blonde now sat inside her car with her male companion. "What I would give to talk to a woman like that," Jeff declared, enviously.
"You and me both, Jeffrey! Let's follow Blondie and her boy toy. If we're lucky, we'll be able to record some footage of Blondie and her stud in action together in her car," Lester said, forgetting all about why they came here in the first place.
Working himself up into a very excited state over Lester's suggestion, Jeff began to sharply nod his head in excitement.
Blondie and her companion then became mobile, and Jeff and Lester began to shadow them in pursuit of some erotic action to film and record.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"So… You're a sniper," Sarah stated, glancing at Chuck sat next to her. He had a scope in his hand that he was using to observe a car just a short distance ahead of them that they now had under surveillance.
"Yeah, which means that I get the best missions," he boasted, grinning at her.
She scoffed, and she began to glance at him again. "Oh, I'm sure you do," she stated in agreement.
"Are you jealous?" he teased.
She shook her head while affording him a brief glance once more. "Nope."
"Not even a little?" he continued in the same teasing tone.
Shaking her head dismissively once more, she said, "No."
He began to shake his own head. "Tsk, tsk! You're no fun," he declared, grinning at her.
"I resent those remarks! I am very fun," she protested as she began to laugh.
"I highly doubt that," he retorted, and he continued in his attempts to wind up his teammate.
Affording him another glance, she smiled at him, and she said, "Watch it!"
He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I'd better. I'd hate to end up with another knee to the nuts!" he complained.
Sarah laughed. "I'm glad we're on the same page."
"Though if you did it again, you'd get one back this time," he added in.
Sarah laughed softly. "That would be hard, considering I don't have any!" she said, smugly.
Chuck frowned his eyebrows. "Are you sure about that? Because I always thought you was a bloke," he teased.
She shot him another brief glare. "Now you really are pushing it!" she said with a wide smile.
He began to laugh in satisfaction while holding onto a wide grin for a long moment.
"Though FYI, while we're talking about snipers, I'm not even the best marksman in my families' history," he stated.
She glanced at him once more. "Oh?"
He nodded. "Yeah, my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was a sharpshooter in the 95th Rifles back in 1810. Now those were crack shots!" he declared.
"Wow, I'm impressed!" Sarah said with a look of amazement.
He grinned. "Yeah, I thought you would be. With you being a riflewoman yourself. Though I'm not sure about you being a rifle, 'cause you're a medic," he said as his grin changed into a smirk once she shot him another glare.
"Oh, it's so on! Once we get back on base, you can consider yourself challenged for a shooting contest!" she said with a loving smile, caused by her playful exchanges with her teammate.
"Are you sure you want to do that, Sarah? I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself and for you to end up requesting a transfer," he said smugly.
"Yes, I'm sure. And keep talking, because I will just use your words as motivation to beat you," she stated.
He laughed. "You're a talker, Sarah, I'll give you that. But I'm afraid that's all that you are."
Glancing at him with a smile once more, she said, "We'll see."
He nodded. "Yeah, we will. The quicker we get this mission over with, the quicker I can now embarrass you."
"I can't wait to make you eat your words and wipe that smug look off your face, Chuck," she said playfully, glancing at him once more.
He didn't respond to her latest comment. Instead, he extended his smug look further...
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Blondie's stud is holding onto a scope, Jeffrey," Lester informed his friend as he looked through his camera at the Vauxhall Corsa D a short distance in front of the two friends.
"Why does he have a scope?" Jeff asked in confusion.
"An excellent question, Jeffrey! We must investigate this!" Lester stated.
Jeff nodded as the two friends continued on with their surveillance of the hot blonde wearing the baseball cap.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Do you ever regret following and continuing on with the traditions of your family, Chuck?" Sarah asked as she glanced at her comrade once more.
He shook his head. "Not even for a second. I'm not a violent person," he started, but he stopped because Sarah began to laugh sarcastically at him, and he became very agitated by her sudden rudeness with him. "Sarah, I take offence to that!" he stated in a serious tone.
Sarah's playfulness ceased, and she smiled remorsefully at him instead. "Chuck, I'm sorry. I'm just playing with you, ok?" she said.
He nodded, but he remained silent, and she could sense the frustration still present in his body language, so she continued on, "I know you're not a violent person… In fact, you're the nicest guy I've ever met in my whole life. You use a reasonable amount of violence to keep yourself, and your friends safe so we can all come home alive. Nobody can ever hold that against you, Chuck."
"That's exactly what I was going to say before you laughed sarcastically at me," he complained in a continued confrontational tone.
She nodded. "I know," she said. "I was just playing with you, Chuck. I didn't think you would bite my head off about it."
He nodded. "I'm sorry," he said.
She smiled. "Me too," she replied as she continued to tail the target that they had under surveillance.
The two comrades remained in awkward silence for a short moment until Sarah broke the silence once more, "Chuck, please continue with where you were at before I interrupted."
He nodded. "Well, as I was saying, I don't like violence, but I do love the army. It gave me a purpose. It made me a far greater man than I could ever have hoped to be had I not joined, and I doubt that I would have had the friends that I now have if I was in the civilian world instead," he stated.
Sarah glanced at him once more, and she sported him a loving smile. "No, I totally agree, Chuck. Everything you have just said is exactly why I love the army myself," she said.
He smiled at her for the first time since her insensitive playfulness.
"What would it have been if you were in the civilian world instead, though?" she asked.
"Computer engineering," he admitted with a laugh, which she shared. "I'd have probably at best case, ended up in a job like Morgan."
Sarah suppressed a laugh. "Another Male Box 500?" she joked.
Chuck emitted a brief chuckle. "Exactly, and we all know that James Bond and MI6 are far better than their sisters," he declared.
"Granted," Sarah replied as she began to grin at her comrade.
"And you wouldn't have met me," he then added in.
Sarah glanced affectionately at her teammate once more. "That wouldn't have been such a bad thing," she teased.
Grinning at her, he shook his head. "Let me out of this car right now. I'll carry out my own surveillance, on foot!" he said.
Sarah laughed. "Captain Wallace would lynch me if I did that, so no," she retorted.
He laughed. "Oh, so that's the only reason you won't let me out then is it?" he asked.
Glancing at him once more, she said, "Yes, because I want rid of you too."
The two comrades and friends shared laughter with each other.
"I hate you," Chuck declared.
"No, you don't," she replied.
"Uh-huh, yes I do," he fired back.
She glanced at him once more. "You're obsessed with me. You're becoming a stalker," she stated with a loving grin.
He began to laugh slash scoff. "Yeah, in your dreams, Sarah! Who would want to stalk you?" he asked.
"Um, you would?" she laughed as she gazed at him once more, and he laughed along with her.
"You're unbearable!" he declared with a grin.
She glanced at him, and she returned his warm gaze. "I know I am, but so are you. I guess that's what makes us good partners," she declared.
Continuing to hold his grin on toward her, he said, "Oh, so you're calling us partners now? The rest of the team won't be happy about that, Sarah."
She glanced at him once more, and still holding her warm smile, she said, "Our little secret?"
He shook his head. "You're going to have to do some grovelling to get into my good books after everything you've just said to me before I can keep your secret, Sarah!" he declared with a grin.
"Well, I would offer you the best night of your life because I'm sure that would get me into your good books, but you've already refused it once," she retorted.
He immediately did a double-take, and he began to wince over Sarah's remarks about their close encounter with each other just a few nights ago.
Chuck then started to cough in embarrassment, before he said, "Um, about that."
She glanced at him once more. "Chuck, it's ok. We agreed to forget about it," she said.
He nodded. "I know we did, but you're obviously still hurting about it," he said, and she was about to speak, but she stopped when he continued on, "Look, Sarah..." he said, but he paused briefly. "You are extremely beautiful. And I do mean extremely. Refusing your invitation the other night was a mixture of temporary insanity, but also because I'm not a dirty, no good, rotten, two-timing snake!"
Sarah laughed for a short moment before she glanced at him with a smile, and she said, "And that's why I like you."
He returned her smile, and making complete eye contact with her, he said with confidence, "And I like you too. Actually, I really like you."
Sarah smiled at his declaration. "But you're not a two-timing snake, which I get, but it sucks for me," she complained.
He coughed briefly. "Um, about that," he started.
She glanced briefly at him once more to query his words.
"Jill is actually history, as of Sunday morning. Because we broke up," he admitted.
It was Sarah's turn to do a double-take, and she began to blink as she began to register the implications of his words.
"I can't say I'm sorry. She was a bitch to you, and everybody knew it," she finally said after a prolonged pause.
He nodded. "I know."
"What caused it? Was it because you came to help me, and because we went out?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes and no. Sarah, it had been a long time coming. She had been treating me like crap and showing total discontent towards my chosen career for many, many months before you came along, so please don't blame yourself. You played no part in my relationship with Jill ending," he stressed.
Sarah laughed. "Chuck, I don't blame myself. There's only one person to blame for your relationship ending, and if she doesn't already know it herself, then she truly is a bitch," she stated.
"I am kind of glad it's over. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I can just be myself again," he declared.
She glanced at him once more, and she smiled at him. "I am glad you are feeling happy again. We've only known each other for a few weeks, and every time I saw you off duty, Jill had done something to piss you off. It wasn't fair how she treated you."
Chuck returned her smile. "Thank you," he said.
The two comrades and friends then entered into a brief silence for the next few minutes as they continued to tail their surveillance target.
"Well, I hope this has cleared the air between us. Because when I saw you in the canteen yesterday morning and I smiled at you, you blew me off," Chuck said, breaking the silence.
Sarah glanced at him, and she began to smile. "Yeah, it has."
Chuck returned her warm gaze, and he said, "So, friends then?"
She afforded him another brief glance, and with a nod of her head and a smile, she said, "Yeah. Friends."
The two comrades and friends then concentrated on with their assignment once more.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Blondie and her stud are an odd couple, Jeffrey. They are just driving around in circles with the stud constantly looking out of his scope. I am starting to believe that all is not as it seems!" Lester said as he continued to tail Blondie and her stud in Jeff's surveillance van.
"What do you have in mind?" Jeff asked his friend.
"I am glad that you asked, Jeffrey, because I think that what if Blondie's stud is not actually her stud? What if instead he is her Pimp, and he is using the scope to scour for women to abduct to force them to submit to his sinister ways?" Lester suggested as he began to laugh hysterically while feeling very proud of his sophisticated hypothesis of the situation.
Jeff began to ponder his friend's suggestion for a brief moment before he made his own counterpoint, "Or, what if they are aliens from another world, and they are searching for humans to abduct to enslave and to send back to their colony?"
Lester began to ponder his friend's explanation for a long moment, and his face filled up with puzzlement, and he moved his hand up to rest on his chin as he continued to contemplate Jeff's hypothesis.
"Either way, Jeffrey, this will need investigating!" Lester said, and Jeff nodded in agreement.
Lester then moved to turn on the camera he was holding, and he directed it so that it was in a position to be able to record himself.
"Video diary number one. We have eyes on Blondie and her Pimp," Lester started, but Jeff quickly interjected, "Or alien invader."
Lester nodded. "Thank you, Jeffrey. Correction: We have eyes on Blondie, or the female alien, and her Pimp, or the male alien. The Pimp is holding onto a scope, and we believe that he is scouring for women to abduct to use for his as yet unknown sinister ways. Citizens of Earth rest easy because you can be assured that Jeffster is in pursuit!" Lester finished, and he turned off the camera.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Did you find anything?" Captain Wallace asked.
Sarah shook her head as she closed the door to the apartment that the SAS had commandeered. "Nope, it was a dead end. We observed him pulling up outside his home. And then he began to help a frail and elderly woman that was his neighbour," she said.
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, and then we watched on as who we assume to be his wife, who was a Non-Muslim and Caucasian began to greet him, and two kids quickly joined them at the doorstep. He is evidently a devoted family man, and he is definitely not a jihadist," he said.
Captain Wallace and most of the soldiers and MI5 employees in the room all began to nod in agreement as Chuck and Sarah walked over to a board, and they crossed an X over the picture of the target they had been observing for the past few hours.
"I need a coffee," Sarah declared.
"Me too," Chuck said.
"Help yourselves, it's just boiled," Cole said as he nodded over towards the kettle placed on a worktop in the kitchen.
Chuck and Sarah nodded, and Chuck smiled at his best friend as the two teammates headed to make themselves a warm drink.
"Well, six targets down," Sarah stated.
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, but up to a hundred to go," he stated, anxiously.
Sarah nodded. "I wish we had more intelligence," she said.
"Yeah, but that's just the way that these operations are. We have to make do with what we have, and we have to just hope that we can catch them in time before their attack," he said.
Sarah nodded, and the two teammates proceeded to make themselves a warm beverage before returning to the surveillance equipment, and they began to survey the East Road Mosque once more.
Sometime later
The situation was still unchanged. Mobility troop, along with MI5, were either mobile in their transports with targets under observation or they were stationary and operating the surveillance equipment that was set up overlooking the East Road Mosque. No persons of interest had yet been discovered.
Chuck and Sarah were manning the surveillance cameras when John Murray and Jamie Hughes returned into the apartment that Red Team were using, and most of the MI5 employees and the soldiers in the apartment all began to gaze at the two returning soldiers.
"Any luck?" Staff Sergeant MacDonald asked.
John and Jamie shook their heads, and like Chuck and Sarah just earlier, they made for the board in the room that had surveillance pictures of every person that had been observed entering or exiting the Mosque so far. They then proceeded to cross out two pictures that were placed on the board with a red marker.
Most of the people inside the apartment began to sigh in despondence over the circumstances of the mission, because if MI5 were indeed correct, then time was vastly running out…
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Jeff and Lester departed from Jeff's surveillance van. Lester quickly dashed around to the other side of the van to link up with his friend.
"Do you have it, Jeffrey?" Lester asked, glancing at Jeff's hand.
Jeff nodded. "Yeah, but we're running out of them, Lester. We have been using a lot of trackers with News Now, and for the hot girls we've been following," he stated.
"We can get more, Jeffrey, your guy still has them, right?" Lester asked.
Jeff nodded. "Yeah. Ronald won't tell me where he gets them from because he knows that we would get them from his supplier directly."
"This is important work, Jeffrey! The safety of our civilization rests on this moment, and Jeffster will answer the Call to Arms!" Lester said.
Jeff nodded, and the friends began to stroll over towards Blondie's car. On arrival, they began to glance all around the vicinity in search of any watchful eyes. Feeling satisfied that they weren't being watched, Jeff quickly planted a tracker under the front wheel of Blondie's car.
Laughing and grinning at each other in excitement over their successful operation, the two friends returned into Jeff's surveillance vehicle.
"Blondie and her pimp will never give us the slip now, Jeffrey!" Lester declared.
"We'll show the alien invaders what Jeffster can do," Jeff stated.
Lester nodded, and the best friends moved to high-five.
O-x-O-x-O-x-O
Wednesday, 31 October, 2007
Morning
Blue Team Leader Staff Sergeant Williams, and Blue Team Member Trooper Joe Lewis both entered into Red Team's apartment. Chuck, Dan and Staff Sergeant MacDonald were taking a temporary break, and they moved to greet and engage in conversation with their newly arrived comrades.
"How are you getting on?" Staff Sergeant Williams asked, glancing at Chuck, Dan and Chris.
"Shite, mate," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said in frustration.
Chuck and Dan nodded in agreement with their Team Leader's assessment of the situation.
"How about yourselves?" Cole asked as he came to join in the small gathering.
"Same. We've just had two returning with a dead end. This op is a piss-take, mate!" Staff Sergeant Williams complained, and everyone present in the group began to nod.
"We know that feeling, fellas. We've had nothing but dead ends since we arrived ourselves," Chuck stated.
"I smell a wager," Big Dan stated suddenly, and every soldier in the discussion all began to look at him, including Bryce, who came to join them, and he said, "A wager?" in a loud enough tone to cause Sarah, John, Jamie and several MI5 employees who were all on surveillance tasks to pause what they were doing and to glance at him instead to query his outburst.
The small group of soldiers that were present in the group all began to shake their heads in disapproval of Bryce's loud outburst.
"Could you say that any louder, you pillock? I don't think the jihadists in the Mosque, or Captain Wallace quite heard that!" Big Dan stated as the group continued shaking their heads at Bryce in contempt.
"Where is Wallace anyway?" Trooper Lewis asked.
"He's out on surveillance mate," Chuck said.
Trooper Lewis nodded.
"So, about that wager then?" Staff Sergeant Williams asked, and the members present in the discussion began to get excited once more.
Big Dan looked around briefly before he concentrated his gaze back on Staff Sergeant Williams. "The team that's first to find a jihadi is the winner," he said.
The gathering of soldiers all took a moment to ponder Big Dan's suggestion.
"I'll have some of that. Just to be clear, the winner must either capture or kill the jihadist, rather than just suspect them to be a jihadi, right?" Staff Sergeant Williams asked.
Big Dan nodded.
"Then I'm in," Staff Sergeant Williams stated.
"I'll have some of that," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said.
"Me too," Chuck said as he glanced at his best friend and Cole nodded affirmatively.
"Same here," Joe Lewis said, and Bryce nodded.
"What's the wager then?" Bryce then asked.
"Twenty?" Cole suggested.
Most of the soldiers present in the discussion all began to nod.
"I'll ask the lads if they're up for it. Keep it to yourselves though," Staff Sergeant Williams said, glancing at Bryce, the culprit of the earlier outburst.
The soldiers nodded once more before they then began to split off to do their own things.
"I'm looking forward to beating them already," Chuck boasted to Cole.
Cole suppressed a laugh and nodded in agreement. "You and me both, Chuck," he declared.
Chuck began to walk over towards his three teammates on surveillance duty, and they all glanced at him as he arrived in their vicinity.
"What was that all about?" Sarah asked.
Grinning as he glanced at Sarah, John and Jamie, who were all looking at him, he admitted, "A wager with Blue Team. The first team to capture or kill a jihadist is the winner."
Jamie and John immediately began suppressing laughter in approval, while Sarah shook her head in disapproval.
Having noted his teammate's disapproval, he asked, "What?" playfully.
"Men," she said, as she continued shaking her head.
"It was Dan's idea," Chuck protested with a smirk, and Jamie and John suppressed approving laughter once more.
"And you're just as bad as him for going along with it," she stated.
Smirking, he said, "So does that mean you're not in on the wager?"
She shook her head. "Oh, I have to be in on it, because I don't like being the odd one out. So thanks for that. This better not land me in any kind of trouble with Wallace," she protested.
"Don't say that to me, say it to Dan," Chuck said as he nodded over at Big Dan, and he began to suppress a laugh.
"I will!" she said with a smile.
"Women, ey?" Bryce complained as he arrived in the vicinity of the teammates.
Chuck nodded while fighting off the urge to laugh once more.
"What about you two? Are you both in on it?" Bryce asked, glancing at John Murray and Jamie Hughes.
"Of course, we are, fella. If you knew us well enough, you'd know that you'd never even need to ask us if we were up for that. How could we resist taking their money?" John Murray said.
"Exactly, mate, I can't wait," Bryce boasted.
"Same here, mate. Joe Lewis has been pissing me off over something for a while. It will be a pleasure to take his money," Jamie Hughes said.
The teammates all shared laughter, while Sarah concentrated on her tasking while listening in to the conversation of her comrades at the same time.
"Remember how the last one went?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, they got spanked!" Chuck boasted as the comrades and friends shared laughter once more.
"Amen to that, mate," John Murray finished, as the soldiers continued on with their tasking...
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Wednesday, 31 October, 2007
Evening
Chuck and Sarah were stood on the pavement on the mosque side of the street, and they were idle just a few yards away from the entrance gate that led into the grounds of the Mosque. They were paused idle, and they had been engaged in light chatter with each other for several minutes as they awaited their two surveillance targets that had arrived at the Mosque on foot. The two subjects in question were middle eastern young adult males. Because they had arrived on foot, mobile surveillance was deemed too risky, because it would be easier to note if a car was following you, than it would be for a man and a woman to be walking together. Before Sarah had joined Mobility troop, the team did not possess the ability to have members of both sexes on a live operation, but now they did, and it was absolutely a tool that the SAS team would use and play to their advantage. However, there was also a mobile SAS team involved in tonight's surveillance operation. Jamie Hughes and Big Dan were on standby inside Jamie's car. It would be Jamie and Dan that would take the lead if Chuck and Sarah became compromised and had to abandon their pursuit.
Chuck and Sarah continued to remain in pause for a few minutes more when they both heard activity on their communications channel.
"Standby," Staff Sergeant MacDonald stated, and Chuck and Sarah became alert. "Your targets in question have exited the mosque, and the ETA for them to exit the grounds is thirty seconds."
Chuck immediately pushed his communications device two times to transmit that he had received and understood the information provided to him from his team leader.
Sure enough, the two subjects in question soon began to depart from the grounds of the East Road Mosque, and Chuck and Sarah remained idle in the spot they stood as they continued to gaze and smile at each other as if they were close acquaintances. Sarah's back was presently turned to the Mosque, while Chuck had a clear sight on the two subjects in question as they departed the gates, and they began to walk towards Chuck and Sarah.
"So, what are you doing tonight? Are you busy?" Chuck asked her in a tone loud enough for the two subjects in question to overhear the chatter.
"No, why?" Sarah asked, holding her gaze onto Chuck.
Chuck continued his glance on toward Sarah as he asked, "I was thinking we could do something if you wanted?"
Sarah held her smile. "Sure. I'd like that," she replied softly.
"Great. What time best suits you then?" he asked as he continued to gaze both at Sarah, and at the two males under surveillance.
"About eight?" Sarah suggested.
Chuck nodded. "Eight sounds good," he said.
The two middle eastern males then passed the back of Sarah, and Chuck observed as they strolled at a slow pace on past where Chuck and Sarah were stood.
Chuck and Sarah waited for a short moment longer to allow the middle eastern males to put enough distance between themselves before they began to walk in pursuit and to start their surveillance operation.
"You're clear to begin your surveillance," Staff Sergeant MacDonald said, who was posted up in one of the apartments and he had eyes on his teammates and the males under surveillance.
Chuck and Sarah immediately began walking at a slow pace, and they followed on behind the two males at a distance of just over twenty yards for a few minutes when the middle eastern men suddenly began to stop walking. Chuck and Sarah promptly came to a stop along with them, and Chuck turned his back on their targets to glance at Sarah instead.
Sarah then observed on as the middle eastern men began to walk back towards Chuck and Sarah, and she became instantly anxious and concerned as to the sudden change in direction from the males. She glanced at her teammate, who also was looking at her with concern.
Sarah shifted her gaze onto the two males once more, and they were quickly approaching the vicinity of Chuck and Sarah, and the two teammates were about to be made and have their operation compromised.
"Chuck, kiss me!" Sarah commanded suddenly in a powerful whisper, gazing at him.
Chuck sank his eyebrows into a frown, and he returned her gaze in complete shock over her sudden command.
"Sarah, what the hell!?" he whispered back as he held his gaze at her in utter shock.
"Chuck, kiss me now!" Sarah murmured in a much more commanding tone, and she gazed briefly at their two targets that were now just a few steps away from the back of Chuck, before glancing back at him and doing as best she could to tell her teammate that they were about to be made if he didn't kiss her this instant.
Luckily for them both, Chuck finally seemed to get the message, and he moved into Sarah's proximity, and he grabbed hold of her upper back in a forceful way, and he pushed her into him as the two teammates moved to connect their lips together.
Sarah no longer had any vision of the targets in question, due to Chuck's height blocking her view, so she closed her eyes, and she gripped tight hold of her teammate's shirt to help sell the act to their targets under surveillance.
And as Chuck and Sarah began to kiss each other for the first time, they both began to hear their two surveillance targets conversing with each other as they arrived in the immediate proximity of where Chuck and Sarah were stood making out with each other. Their dialogue was in Arabic, and neither Chuck nor Sarah could interpret what was being said.
Chuck then began to note out of his vision the two men appearing in his line of view, and he observed on as they continued walking as himself and Sarah continued to kiss.
Glancing briefly at Sarah, he noted her eyes closed, and he murmured, "They're moving on," into her lips.
She opened her eyes to look at him from where they stood, their faces an inch apart when suddenly, the two males paused from walking once more, and they then turned back as they began to walk in the direction that they had just come from once more.
It was now clear beyond all doubt that these two males in question had advanced counter-surveillance techniques, and Chuck was now convinced that these two individuals in question may likely be the jihadists that the SAS had been sent to capture or kill in the first place.
"They've turned and are coming right back at us. ETA ten seconds," Chuck murmured as he provided his teammate with another immediate status report.
Sarah began to glance at him with concern from where they stood making out with each other, only breaking the contact of their lips to regain air or to report in statuses.
Chuck and Sarah quickly once more began to hear dialogue being exchanged in Arabic, and the dialogue started to turn muter and muter until Chuck and Sarah could no longer hear their chatter.
"They've cleared off. I don't know what the fuck that was about, but they have advanced counter-surveillance techniques. I would be seriously fucking surprised if they haven't made either of you two," Big Dan stated with concern.
"What the fuck was that!?" Jamie Hughes asked in total disbelief.
"Status?" Captain Wallace asked.
"We're not sure," Chuck stated as he finally broke to put some distance from the kiss with Sarah, and they began to look awkwardly at each other because of what they had just had to do together to avoid detection.
"Are you compromised?" Staff Sergeant MacDonald asked.
"We don't know, Chris," Sarah admitted.
"Proceed as though you aren't compromised, but if they double back again, then continue on ahead of them and abandon the pursuit," Captain Wallace ordered.
Chuck pushed his communications device two times once more to confirm acceptance of the message, and Chuck and Sarah continued to follow the middle eastern males at a slow pace.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
"Lester, please tell me that you got that!" Jeff stated as he finally broke his gaze from Blondie and her bit of rough to look at his friend instead.
The excitement was evident on Lester's face, and he put his camera down to rest, and he began to glance at Jeff.
"Every single second, Jeffrey! That was the hottest kiss I have ever seen! And we got all of it on video!" Lester exclaimed in extreme excitement.
"We need to make a montage of that with the best moments," Jeff declared.
Lester began to furiously nod. "An excellent suggestion, Jeffrey! Let's get started on it straight away!" he said in excitement.
Jeff nodded in extreme excitement, and they quickly fought with each other to be the one to get into the back of the van first so they could replay the footage of Blondie in a heated makeout session with her Pimp.
"I told you he was her Pimp, Jeffrey! Look at the way he grabs her! No girlfriend would allow her stud to grab her like that!" Lester stated as they replayed Blondie making out with her Pimp on video.
Jeff nodded. "I think you're right, Lester," he said as the two-minute video came to an end.
"Let's watch it again," Lester said.
Jeff nodded in extreme excitement once more as Lester hit replay.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-
Chuck, Sarah, Dan and Jamie returned into one of the apartments that the SAS had commandeered, and every member of Mobility troop was present inside of the room, in addition to all of the MI5 employees on the task force.
"We followed them into a store where they purchased ceramic knives," Chuck stated, and Sarah nodded as Sarah and Chuck glanced at everybody stood in front of them.
"In addition to their purchases, their counter-surveillance techniques and how slippery those fuckers were to follow now has me convinced that we've found our jihadists," Big Dan declared, and almost everybody in the room began to nod.
"Right, I want to find out everything about those two individuals. I want to know how many of them there are in this attack, I want to know who their friends are, and I want to know who they visit, and how long they spend there. As of this moment, these two individuals are under twenty-four-hour surveillance" Captain Wallace ordered.
"What about the rest of them?" Staff Sergeant Williams asked, glancing at the board with many pictures placed onto it.
"We are now out of time. We just have to hope that these individuals are the ones that we are searching for," Captain Wallace stated.
Most of Mobility troop and the MI5 contingent all began to nod.
"Let's get on with it!" Captain Wallace ordered, as the soldiers and MI5 personnel immediately got to work on their tasking.
Sometime later
Since they had arrived back from their surveillance mission, Chuck and Sarah had avoided each other. They both found it awkward to be around each other right now, after what had happened out on the street some hours ago. They had never had to kiss somebody in the line of duty before, and for both of them, it was an uncomfortable experience, and it was one that neither of them had been trained for. While there was an undeniable attraction between the two of them, they were both also the consummate professionals, and their primary and only focus was to prevent a brother in arms from being beheaded by a group of jihadists that were out on a determined crusade to kill him. They couldn't allow anything to compromise or to cloud their judgment, so they needed to clear the air with each other over what had happened.
Sensing it was the ideal time to clear the air because Sarah was alone in a corner of the room, Chuck approached her, and she met his gaze as they began to glance awkwardly at each other, and they found it hard to make eye contact beyond an anxious glance.
"Hi," he said.
"Hey," she replied.
"Um, Sarah, about earlier," Chuck started.
Sarah met his gaze. "Chuck now isn't the time," she said.
He nodded. "I know… But," he started, but Sarah quickly cut in.
"Chuck, we did what we had to do. If we hadn't have kissed, we would have been compromised, and if these really are the jihadists, then we may have likely blown the operation."
"Sarah, I get that, and I totally agree with you. But don't you just feel a little bit awkward about the fact that we have just kissed the face off of each other for a good few minutes, in a public place, with our teammates and hell even jihadis watching on?"
Sarah blinked, and she met his gaze once more. "Chuck, I have never felt more awkward in my entire life than how I am feeling around you right now. I'm finding it hard to even look at you in embarrassment over what we did. But we need to get on with our jobs. If we are distracted by this, then our heads aren't in the game, and I won't be able to handle the torment if we somehow screw up this mission all because of what happened between us," she admitted.
"Nor will I. So, what do we do to stop that from happening?" he asked.
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know..." she admitted, and they paused for an extended moment as they continued to gaze awkwardly at each other.
He sighed for a long moment. "I don't know either," he said before he paused as he attempted to get his brain aligned with a course of action for them both. "Look, I don't think we can act like it didn't happen, because it has. But we need to focus on the mission. Maybe if we can agree to talk about what happened when we're back in Hereford, then maybe we'll be able to concentrate and look at each other without thinking about what happened because we can compartmentalize it and set it aside until we get back?"
Sarah gazed at Chuck for a brief moment as she began to contemplate his words.
"I think that's all that we can do, Chuck," Sarah admitted.
Chuck nodded. "Ok, so let's do exactly that and let's have no more awkwardness or talk about it starting from now," he said.
Sarah nodded. "Ok."
They then smiled at each other, and they proceeded on with their tasks.
O-x-O-x-O-x-O
The next day
Thursday, 1 November, 2007
Chuck and Sarah were inside Sarah's car, and they were tailing the suspected jihadists, and they had been doing so for the past thirty minutes. The two suspected jihadists that Chuck and Sarah had had under surveillance yesterday had stopped once, and they had picked up a third middle eastern male.
"Suspects have entered onto Baker Street," Sarah reported as the two teammates continued on with their surveillance.
"They have now entered Riley Street," Sarah stated.
Captain Wallace suddenly came onto comms. "Be advised, based on map information we have looked at, persons of interest are getting closer and closer to The Prince of Wales Barracks."
Chuck and Sarah began to glance at each other with a look of concern, and their adrenalin began to build.
"You may need to intercept at a moment's notice," Captain Wallace stated.
"If you call it, we'll do it, boss," Chuck said.
"I'm dispatching reinforcements because I have a funny feeling about this," Captain Wallace said.
"So do I," Sarah retorted.
Sarah and Chuck continued to tail the vehicle in question for another two minutes until it turned into another road, and Chuck and Sarah quickly followed into the road. Once they had turned onto the street, their eyes connected onto a barracks to the left of them.
"The suspects are now on Williams Street," Sarah stated.
"Proceed ahead with armed intercept. Reinforcements are on route," Captain Wallace stated into comms.
Chuck and Sarah darted their glance onto each other, and their already building adrenalin quickly exploded through the roof.
"Ram the fuckers!" Chuck commanded, glancing at her.
"No!" Sarah complained in a troubled frame of mind over the prospect of her personal vehicle being significantly damaged.
Chuck shot her a look of frustration. "Sarah, this is it! The fucking bastards are about to get what they came for! You can see the fucking soldier walking on the sidewalk over there!" Chuck shouted at his teammate as he pointed at a lone soldier that was walking along the pavement outside of his barracks and they observed as the car they had been tasked with intercepting began to pick up the pace.
Sarah also began to pick up the pace of her vehicle to match with the suspects' car, but she was still hesitant with moving in to ramming the vehicle.
"If you don't ram them motherfuckers right this instant, then I'll stop them with other ways! What the fuck are you playing at?" Chuck shouted at her as he drew out his pistol, and he began to line up his sidearm at the rear tires of the vehicle.
Sighing to herself and knowing that now was the time for immediate action, Sarah put her foot on the gas, and she accelerated at a rapid pace. She then performed a ramming manoeuvre onto the right-side rear of the suspects' vehicle. The two teammates instantly jolted forward, caused by the high-speed crash, but their seatbelts saved them from any significant harm beyond a crushing feeling from the belts locking. Chuck quickly threw off his seatbelt, and he was out of Sarah's now smashed up car in an instant, with Sarah immediately following him out of the vehicle.
"BRITISH ARMY! DON'T YOU MOVE OR I'LL FIRE!" Chuck warned as he lined up his pistol at two middle eastern men that had departed from the suspect vehicle.
One of them turned to look at Chuck. At the same time, the second took no notice when suddenly, the two males began to scream out, "ALLAHU AKBAR", while the one that had turned to Chuck then began to charge towards him with a ceramic knife drawn in his hand. At the same time, the second x-ray began to charge over to the soldier that Chuck and Sarah had spotted over on the sidewalk when they first entered onto the road.
Chuck took no time in hesitating, with his training having afforded him that ability, and having already given a verbal warning, in addition to the x-ray turning hostile, Chuck discharged two rounds from his Sig Sauer P226 at point-blank range into the mouth of the first x-ray. He then immediately shifted his attention towards the second x-ray that was barreling towards the unarmed soldier that was preparing to defend himself to receive an enemy combatant.
Chuck proceeded to line up the shot, and he discharged a double tap directed towards the back of the head of the terrorist that was charging at his Brother in Arms. The terrorist quickly dropped, and he slumped forward onto the floor, and the innocent soldier that was the intended target ran to the body. He then proceeded to kick away the knife with one foot, and he began to stamp with his other foot onto the back of the terrorist on the floor to keep him in place.
With the regular soldier disarming one of the terrorists, Chuck was about to change his attention back onto the first terrorist that he had neutralized when suddenly, he heard his teammate scream out, "ARMED!", and he quickly shot his glance behind himself. He then observed as Sarah discharged a significant number of rounds from her sidearm into the car that they had just intercepted. Chuck's attention changed entirely into the driver's seat as he also began to discharge rounds into the vehicle with his partner having confirmed that a terrorist was armed inside of that vehicle.
The three soldiers were quickly joined as numerous soldiers, and military police began to storm out of the barracks, with a significant portion of them also being armed.
Chuck's glance was now looking inside the vehicle, and the driver of the vehicle was now deceased, but he had a pistol within his immediate proximity.
"BRITISH ARMY!" several soldiers suddenly began to scream at Chuck and Sarah, and they raised their weapons towards them due to gunfire occurring outside of the barracks. The soldiers were obviously treating the incident as a hostile threat to themselves and to the public.
"BLUE ON BLUE! SAS! ARMED SURVEILLANCE—TERRORIST ATTACK!" Chuck screamed back at his Brothers in Arms without making any sudden hand movements, and the first responder soldiers shifted their glances onto the deceased terrorists. They quickly ascertained the presence of knives within their proximity, and they promptly lowered their weapons from being raised at their comrades.
"How can we help?" An armed soldier asked Chuck.
Chuck changed his glance onto his Brother in Arms, and he said, "I'm fearful of secondary attackers! We have reinforcements on route! I need you to secure the area!"
The numerous soldiers in Chuck and Sarah's vicinity all nodded, and they proceeded to spread out as they prepared to receive further armed hostiles…
End of Chapter
Next Chapter: The aftermath of the foiled terrorist attack and things start to get very hot for Charah. Don't take my word for it, take Big Dan's word for it!
"So how long do you reckon it will be before those two are taking each other's clothes off?" Big Dan asked his teammates.
"From the looks they were giving each other when I dropped them both off at Chuck's, I'd say they have already done so," Jamie Hughes said with an approving smirk.
The five drunken teammates all suddenly burst into approving laughter, except for Bryce, whose gaze hit the floor.
AN2 This was a really long chapter. Please leave your thoughts and feedback with a review. It is most appreciated. Thank you