RECAP: Here are a couple of things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot: Red Team are engaged in a flaring dispute with Blue Team, caused when Blue Team sought to provoke a stressed and tired Red Team during a live operation in London, gloating about their newfound personal freedoms and rubbing salt in Red Team's wounds. In reprisal, Red Team carried out revenge on Kyle Rogerson and Joe Lewis. Blue Team, not content with allowing Red Team that retribution, has set out on a path of confrontation with Red Team. Meanwhile, Cole Barker is now the primary marksman on the team, to his teammates' dismay. Oh, and Chuck and Sarah are dating… exclusively!
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Seventy-One: Internal Warfare
Stirling Lines
Monday, 3 December, 2007
Red Team burst into the on-base canteen just after 11am, their laughter filling the air as they greeted familiar faces seated around benches and caught the enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
Since it was off-peak hours and most soldiers were busy with their tasks, only two military personnel stood at the counter, patiently waiting.
Red Team joined the queue, placing their lunch orders a short moment later, or in the case of those who'd already eaten just a few hours ago, ordered some light refreshment.
Once the team finished their orders, they began conversing with one another.
"I still can't figure out why Chris is being so nice to us today," Big Dan joked with a snort, his eyes darting around the team.
Cole chuckled. "He's feeling celebratory because of my excellence in marksmanship!"
The unit scoffed in sync, but Chris's voice pierced through the commotion. "You bloody well finished third, not first, laddie!"
"Get stuck in and tell him how it is, Chris!" Jamie said, nodding with encouragement. "I think it's criminal that our third-best sniper is now the main sniper! Seeing as Cole is shite anyway, wouldn't it be better for Chuck and Sarah to vote for who gets the job?!"
Cole's eyes narrowed into fiery slits as he shot an intense glare at Jamie, the team's laughter fueling his actions. "Hey! Don't even think about poisoning their minds and cheat me out of what's rightfully mine, Jamie!"
"It's not a bad shout, actually, Jamie," Big Dan said, struggling to suppress a smirk. "As long as it's not that Scot in last place or Chris, I'm happy with that."
"Ya wee tosser!" John Murray hissed, glaring at the Geordie.
Chris and Cole joined the Scot in glaring daggers at Big Dan, united in their collective disapproval.
The laughter persisted, shared by a few other military personnel overhearing Red Team's humour.
"Well, how about it?" Jamie asked, his eyes flicking towards Chuck and Sarah.
Chuck and Sarah exchanged mischievous smirks, their eyes twinkling with amusement.
After a moment, Chuck looked at Jamie and said, "You won't be getting my vote, Jamie."
"Hey, you gobshite!" Jamie's shout pierced the air, his eyes burning, locking his gaze on Chuck.
Cole burst into laughter, slapping Chuck's back with a strong pat, showing his immense approval. "I'm proud of my best man!"
"What Cole doesn't realise," Big Dan said, looking around his teammates, "is that Chuck hasn't said he'd be giving his vote to Cole instead."
The laughter from Cole abruptly ceased. His hand froze in mid-air, no longer on Chuck's back. Instead, he fixed a challenging glare at Chuck. "He'd better support me or I need a new best man!"
"Look at him!" Jamie shouted with a deep belly laugh. "He needs to resort to blackmail because he's panicking! Chuck, mate, you're a mug if you give him your vote!"
The laughter reverberated in the unit, escalating to a feverish pitch.
"Cole's not that bad of a shot!" Chuck shouted above the noise.
Cole's laughter in approval erupted again, but it came to an abrupt halt as Chuck's words continued, "But Sarah's better! So my vote is going to her. One of the rest of you can retrain to be the medic instead."
Sarah's joyful giggle echoed through the canteen as Cole shot a contemptuous glare that seemed to pierce Chuck's very soul.
Chuck's remarks substantially increased the amusement from the rest of them as Chris turned to face Cole, his eyes brimming with excitement. "He's abandoning you already, laddie!"
"So, that's one vote for Sarah," Bryce said, taking over proceedings as he glanced at Sarah. "What about your vote?"
Sarah smiled, then said, "My vote is for Chuck."
Chuck's girlfriend's confidence in him elicited a full grin from Chuck while Big Dan muttered loudly, "No surprises there."
"Hey, if it means someone has to train to be the new dog handler, I'm happy with that!" Jamie laughed on. "I'll gladly volunteer to do the job if it means I get to choose who gets bit! And it will be all of you, one after the other! Repeatedly!"
"Ya wee bastard!" John Murray hissed, his frustration evident as everyone's glares turned towards Jamie, their dissatisfaction with their teammate unanimous.
"Well said, John, fella," Big Dan said with a nod.
The team held their piercing glare at Jamie for a moment longer, then relented, erupting in laughter again.
Chris, Bryce, John and Jamie's orders then arrived. The four collected them, then disappeared to park themselves around a bench.
Chuck, Sarah, Cole and Dan paused for a moment when a contingent from the Mountain Troop section of their squadron joined them.
The two contingents shared pleasant nods all around, though Chuck and Ryan Shawcross—comrades from the Grenadier Guards—took it further, moving to shake hands.
"Alright, mate?" Chuck asked with a grin, feeling in much better spirits than when he last conversed with Ryan, the day after Red Team's horror assignment to thwart other former comrades of his from the Grenadier Guards.
"Yeah," Ryan said with a cordial nod, their hands detaching, then he moved to pat Chuck's shoulder. "It's good to see you back to your best. I was worried about you."
Sarah smiled at the endearing exchange between her boyfriend and his long-time friend. "We all were," she said.
The two teams shared nods all around.
"So, what have you been up to?" Luke Woodhouse, a member of Ryan's team, asked, glancing at Red Team's contingent.
A wide grin lit up Cole's face as he chuckled. "I was busily dethroning Chuck as the primary sniper!"
The Mountain Troop posse let out a chuckle as Big Dan pointed the group with his thumb at Cole, snorting as he said, "He finished third but now he thinks he's the business 'cause the other two can't take up the role."
Amusement significantly extended amongst the group as Ryan asked, "I suppose Chuck still won, as usual?"
Ryan's teammates nodded, suspecting he did, as Big Dan said, "Yeah, despite trying to throw."
"Why would he do that?" Ryan asked with a suspicious glare, his teammates mirroring his expression.
Cole and Dan, meanwhile, changed their glance onto Sarah, giving Ryan and his teammates a visual answer rather than a verbal one.
Chuck shot an immediate glare at Cole and Dan. "Fuck off," he warned, his caution meeting the look in his eyes.
However, Sarah, less-than-amused, merely gave Cole and Dan the middle finger.
The Mountain Troop contingent laughed briefly, and then Ryan said, "I have to be honest. I would have done the same as him in that position."
Cole and Dan shared deep chuckles, knowing that's exactly what they said, too.
After a moment, Sarah glanced suspiciously around the Mountain Troop contingent of G Squadron. "How do you know about us?"
Ryan looked at her with a smile that conveyed understanding. "We aren't stupid, Sarah."
"Does everyone know?" Sarah asked after a moment in consideration, her gaze one of caution.
Luke Woodhouse nodded, his glance cordial and matching his teammates concerning the matter. "Everyone who looks at how you both behave around each other whenever we see you together, at least."
"But good luck to you both," Matt Ainsworth, another Mountain Troop member, said with a friendly nod. "There's no issue towards you from any of the lads on our team."
Chuck, trying to keep his relationship private business between them, said, "Anyway, the lads are just chatting shit. Sarah and I are just very close friends."
The Mountain Troop contingent responded with immediate scoffs and headshakes, clearly expressing their disbelief at Chuck's attempt to pull the wool over their eyes.
Sarah, who'd been intensely scrutinising the reactions of their sister team for the whole exchange, felt an immediate level of conviction wash over her, suddenly determined to gauge reactions to the news. "No, Chuck, it's ok. We have nothing to hide," she said with a smile to him, then turned back to Mountain Troop. "Chuck and I are dating off-duty… Just don't spread our private business to others."
"Sarah, it's not anyone's business other than your own to spread that around," Ryan said with a resolute nod. "And anyone who does won't be received well by our lot."
Sarah smiled in reply, her satisfaction with Ryan's reply evident in the curve of her lips.
"Yeah, well said, fella," Big Dan said with a timely nod, appreciating the stance of his comrades.
The gathering then turned their attention to Craig Reynolds, a Mountain Troop member, who said, "Besides, we don't need the status reports about who anyone in this regiment shares their life with once they clock off duty."
"Especially not that lot of gobshites in Blue Team who we all have to consider as our teammates!" Jamie laughed, joining the small group because he'd forgotten to collect some sugar for his brew.
The gathering shared the spirited exchange of laughter with Jamie.
When the laughter calmed, Ryan said, "Yeah, we heard you had a bit of a barny with them."
"That's putting it lightly, fella!" Big Dan said, snorting. "At this point, we all want to shoot or get stuck right into each other!"
Big Dan's remarks set off another ripple of laughter between the two teams.
"Just be careful or else you'll all end up on a charge," Luke Woodhouse warned a moment later.
Chuck nodded, smiling at his comrade. "Cheers. We will."
"But we're not sure if those other gobshites can!" Jamie chuckled. "'cause we've got them all rattled!"
The gathering stifled an additional chuckle as Craig Reynolds turned to face Jamie. "Not least Joe Lewis, ey?"
"Is right, mate!" Jamie's shout resonated with intense emotion.
The two teams shared one last laugh, then exchanged handshakes all round.
"Take care of yourselves," Ryan said with a friendly gaze, mostly at Chuck and Sarah, though he registered Cole, Dan and Jamie, too.
"And you, fella," Big Dan said with a cordial nod.
Sarah smiled in reply. "Thanks. You too."
While Chuck grinned and said, "Catch up with you soon, Ryan. Have a good day, mate."
The two teams then turned away from each other as Chuck, Sarah, Dan, and Cole collected their orders, while Jamie grabbed his sugar, before joining their teammates around the bench.
On arrival, John Murray flashed a glance at Cole. "There's our wee designated shit sniper."
"Says the one who finished last," Big Dan rebuked without delay.
John Murray shot a glare at Big Dan. "Ya wee bastard!"
The team laughed as Jamie got in on the exchange again. "He's right though. I will never accept that he's the sniper, yet only the third-best shot!"
"Bla bla bla!" Cole said mockingly in dismissal, using his free hand to imitate mouth movement, then let out a boisterous chuckle. "Those are just technicalities, Jamie! The fact remains that I'm now the designated sniper and a pretty cracking shot of that I am!"
With a shared sense of amusement, the team made themselves comfortable in their seats.
The humour then died down, with the team focusing on their lunch knowing time was brief before they had to return to training exercises.
After a moment, Chuck and Sarah turned to each other, their hot beverages and sponge cakes with custard in front of them.
The lovers took sips of their drinks, sharing smiles as conversations from their teammates occurred around them.
Deciding she, too, wanted a conversation, Sarah asked, "How did Ryan and the other lads know about us?"
Chuck's face lit up with a radiant smile, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at his girlfriend. "It wouldn't have been you they have noticed. It's me. I can assure you."
Sarah's laughter bubbled up, but she managed to suppress it, a bright smile lighting up her face. Her boyfriend always went out of his way to make her feel at ease. It was one of the things about him that she was falling deeply for.
He leaned in to whisper, "I'm crazy about you."
Sarah held her joyful smile, her eyes glistening. "I can think of worse people to be crazy about me."
Chuck narrowed his glance straight into her orbs. "In the context of that point, how much worse people can you find? Because that's important."
Sarah fell silent, playing deaf, holding the intense glance of her boyfriend, giving a sly shrug of her shoulder in reply, fighting off a smile.
Chuck grinned, then shook his head at the teasing silence of his girlfriend. "You have to at least give me something."
Sarah held her silence, raising her hands in the air, trying her very best not to smile.
Undeterred, Chuck continued, "A tiny bit worse?"
Sarah, still teasing, remained silent.
"Somewhat worse?" Chuck asked.
Sarah shrugged her shoulder again.
"A lot worse?" Chuck asked, coming again.
Sarah narrowed her eyes briefly, playing along as if she was about to answer, then shrugged again.
Chuck grinned. "A light year and completely different universe worse?"
Sarah shrugged her shoulder again in reply.
Chuck suppressed a laugh, then said, "Oh well, you're stuck with me, regardless of which one it is."
"I could hire a hitman," Sarah teased, breaking her silence and her effort to stop smiling.
Chuck grinned, his eyes locked with Sarah. "Too scared to do it yourself?"
"I would want no evidence left that anyone could pin on me," she said, trying, but failing, to not smile.
Chuck winced sharply. "Good lord! I have fallen into the trap of a femme fatale!"
"It's too late now," Sarah said, her face brimming with joy.
He shook his head. "Oh, but it's not, beautiful… For I have my own skill set thanks to my time here. And don't worry, Sarah, 'cause I'm not afraid to do the job myself!"
Sarah suppressed immediate laughter, shared by Chuck as she shook her head at him. "Shut up and eat your cake."
"It's cake with custard," he teased with a grin.
Her piercing orbs narrowed, fixating on his eyes. "It won't be anything in a minute, because I'll put it over that face of yours!"
Chuck stifled a laugh. "Tsk, tsk, always resorting to violence!"
In reply, Sarah pressed herself up against him.
Chuck grinned, then said, "You wouldn't really put that over my face, would you?" winking his eyebrows at her.
"Yeah," she said with a nod, fighting off her happiness. "I would. Which would be a shame, because it would be a gorgeous face that I ruined."
Chuck's eyes bore into her, his gaze intense and compromised, sending shivers down her spine.
She cast him a yearning look back in kind, their eyes holding and expressing their attraction for each other until Chris disturbed it, saying, "Right, a few minutes more, then we'll be off for exercises."
"Fucking hell, Chris!" Big Dan complained, putting down his burger, and shooting an immediate glare across at his team leader. "Give me a chance to eat my chips (fries) first!"
Red Team shared a fresh wave of immediate laughter in response to Big Dan's complaints.
When it calmed, Chuck turned back to Sarah. "You better eat your cake and custard before you do anything else with it," he said with a wink.
Sarah's laughter bubbled up from deep within her, snorting in reply, her eyes still consumed with desire for the man next to her.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Stirling Lines
Monday, 3 December, 2007
"Now that Cole's our new sniper, which it seems we have no choice but to accept, with him being so shite we better hope he doesn't miss on whatever op we get sent on!" Jamie chuckled.
The team joined Jamie in friendly laughter, but Cole's was more sinister, glancing at Jamie as the team walked. "With that being the case, let's hope I don't shoot one of you lot by mistake!"
Big Dan snorted. "If you're gonna shoot someone by mistake, make sure it's Chris!"
"Now there's a thought!" Cole said instantly, without delay.
The amusement increased significantly, but not for Chris, who stopped walking at the head of the team and turned back to glare at Cole and Dan.
Red Team laughed as Jamie appeared above the laughter. "Actually, if he's gonna blue on blue anyone, I'd rather any gobshite on Blue Team gets it instead!"
The response to Jamie's comment was a wave of roaring laughter shared by Chris as the team started walking again.
Chris composed himself a moment later. "Right, lads, we'll take the vehicles for exercises and head to the Boeing 747 for aircraft assault training."
The team nodded, their focus sharpening as they got back in the game.
Just a few minutes later, as Red Team arrived at their vehicles and prepared to depart for training, the sudden synchronized buzzing of their pagers interrupted their plans.
The team couldn't contain their excitement as the sudden development took hold, their pagers requesting their attendance at a briefing room for an operational announcement.
"Hopefully this op is just us and not those gobshites on Blue Team!" Jamie joked.
The rest of the team laughed on, excitement buzzing and spreading throughout the whole team.
"We'll take the vehicles to the briefing room and then go from there," Chris instructed.
Everyone nodded.
A few minutes later
Red Team departed their two service vehicles outside the briefing room, then linked up, walking at pace to enter the building.
Once inside the building, the team walked along the corridors briefly until stopping outside the briefing room.
With the team of eight standing outside the door, they paused briefly as Big Dan, in the lead and with the clearest view, took in the briefing room.
"Well, it looks like that pillock Jamie has jinxed us!" Big Dan said, his gaze locked on Blue Team already inside the briefing room.
The rest of the team looked on, their gazes on their annoying sister team waiting inside the room.
Other than Blue Team, it appeared that only Morgan Grimes, the MI5 employee attached to the SAS, was in attendance at present.
Red Team shook their heads and drew out sighs at the development their upcoming operation would be in tandem with the unit they were presently in a quarrel with.
With an additional sigh, Chris said, "Let's get this over with."
Everyone nodded as Big Dan stepped forward, opening the briefing room door as Red Team filed into the room.
On Red Team's immediate arrival, Blue Team turned one by one, their glances locking onto them.
Chris soon stepped ahead of Big Dan, leading Red Team on as they started walking again.
However, they soon ceased walking, stopping in place when Chris paused ahead of them when Staff Sergeant Neil Williams fixed a not-so-cordial glare at him.
"What are you looking at?" Staff Sergeant Williams then asked.
"I'm still trying to determine that," Chris said without hesitation, locking eyes with his counterpart. "But I'm leaning towards a complete barrel packed full of shit and ALL OTHER SORTS OF FILTH, LADDIE!"
Big Dan led the immediate snorts as Red Team fought to contain their amusement.
"I had Wallace on my back after your lot left earlier, so don't even look at me!" Staff Sergeant Williams said with a glance right at his counterpart that was anything but friendly.
Chris held a staunch glance in reply. "It's a free country. My eyes go wherever they please, Neil."
Red Team exchanged smirks at the beef brewing between the two team leaders.
"You are very persistent in picking a fight all of a sudden," Staff Sergeant Williams said.
Bryce scoffed. "Says the one who doesn't like someone looking at him."
"Keep out of it, Speedy Gonzales!" Joe Lewis warned in immediate reply, shooting a hostile glance at Bryce, his finger pointing directly at him.
Bryce turned to share a satisfied smirk with Big Dan, who said, "Touchy today, aren't they?"
Jamie, however, took it further and started chuckling over Chris and Dan's shoulders. "Now we know why he's into BDSM! He has a lot of built-up frustration he needs to get out!"
Red Team laughed intensely at Jamie's remarks.
"Says the cunt who got with my ex-girlfriend who turned out to be a groupie!" Joe shouted back, his immediate response visceral, his body trembling with rage as he took a menacing step towards Jamie.
Blue Team, just like Red Team had, laughed at their teammate's remarks.
"FUCK OFF, YOU GOBSHITE!" Jamie roared in anger, ceasing from laughing as he shot a piercing glare at his nemesis.
"No, you fuck off!" Joe shouted back, holding Jamie's menacing glance with equal measure in reply.
Nevertheless, because of the cramped entrance to the narrow briefing room, Joe couldn't get to Jamie, nor Jamie to Joe at this moment.
Staff Sergeant Williams, increasingly irritated by the second and Red Team only arrived less than thirty seconds ago, pointed at Chris in frustration. "You're out of order! Your lot caused this!"
Neil's remarks ignited a surge of fury within Chris, causing the Scotsman to scowl. "There's only one team responsible for this! AND I'M LOOKING AT THEM!"
"What did you just say?!" Neil asked, burning a glare at Chris.
Chris raised his head, fixing a firm stance right at his counterpart. "You heard! Sending your laddies with your pathetic texts towards us while we were locked in the job! I suppose you were the orchestrator?!"
"You had better watch your allegations!" Neil warned, taking a step toward Chris.
Chris, in reply, outstretched his arms, his eyes maniacal. "Or what are you going to do about it, laddie?!"
"Are you sure you want to find out?!" Neil asked back.
Opting for action instead of words, Chris swiftly moved towards Staff Sergeant Williams, the team leaders grappling in an intense physical struggle.
A few seconds later, their actions caused them to tumble to the side into chairs.
The frustration between both teams seemed to explode in an instant with their team leaders now going at it, which seemed to vindicate the rest of the two team's individual disputes, as things turned very sour in the briefing room.
Big Dan smirked as he watched on from the front of Red Team's position, knowing it was kicking off. Locking his glance at Morgan standing at the front of the briefing room, Big Dan shouted, "I'd get your head down again and get out of the way if I were you, fella!"
"Don't worry!" Morgan chuckled back. "I'll hide behind this stand, just like I did at the bar at the Russian mafia wedding with you!"
Big Dan's snort was barely out of his mouth before he stood dumbfounded, witnessing Jamie Hughes surging right past his left to engage with Joe Lewis in an intensely heated physical contest.
After a moment of observing the new incident, Big Dan turned his glance to his right briefly, witnessing Chris and Neil in a war of words as the Blue Team leader shouted near Chris, "Have I ever told you just how annoying your laddie this, laddie that is?!"
"Your thoughts aren't my concern, laddie!" Chris shouted back, shoving Neil to another section of the briefing room, then chased right after him to beat him down some more.
Big Dan shared snorts with Chuck, Sarah, Bryce, John and Cole as the briefing room turned extremely loud from the heated verbal disagreements ongoing between Chris and Neil and Jamie and Joe.
A second later, Jamie started laughing into Joe's face, causing additional anger from Joe, who attempted to shove Jamie, but Jamie's fighting stance was too strong for him.
Dan was enjoying the show, but his immediate gaze turned to his left when Bryce stepped ahead of him, staring out Kyle Rogerson, eager to get involved, his phone in hand.
"Don't even look at me unless you want your face planted on the floor!" Kyle's warning came with a fierce glare, aimed directly at Bryce.
"Fuck off, you dickhead!" Bryce shouted back, flipping open his phone and showing Kyle his screensaver again. "Look who it is! Oh, it's that freak getting spanked by Dan and the transgender escort again!"
Bryce's actions enraged Kyle, just as they had in the canteen earlier in the day.
Red Team roared in laughter as the fury spilt out of the biggest loudmouth on Blue Team.
"I'm gonna twat you! You scrawny little rat!" Kyle screeched in anger, his glare locked on Bryce.
Bryce outstretched his arms in challenge towards Kyle and the rest of Blue Team stood in front of him. "Come on then! Any time, any place, we'll have ALL OF YOU and whoever else you bring! You bunch of shithouses!"
Big Dan joined in the laughter of Bryce's teammates behind him, smirking deeply at his teammate's taunt, extremely impressed by how good of a teammate Bryce had become. Dan observed as Kyle stepped forward in a fiery rage towards Bryce.
As Kyle advanced, Bryce lunged forward and threw a powerful punch, aiming for Kyle's face.
Kyle parried the attack, knocking the phone out of Bryce's hands as he did so, sending it tumbling to the ground.
With Bryce's initial attack repelled, Kyle prepared an immediate counterpunch.
However, as soon as Dan saw the preparation of what he knew was coming, Dan reacted first, advancing with pace, discharging a ferocious shove into Kyle, sending him flying into Blue Team member Kevin Jones.
The two of them tumbled, but once Kyle and Kevin regained their orientation, they shot back to turn towards Big Dan.
"You fat twat!" they bellowed out in sync.
Big Dan snorted extensively along with his teammates behind him as Kyle came back, unleashing a shove at Bryce, who was more advanced than Dan was and was egging on the Blue Team members in front of him and preparing to punch the first one who came at him.
But Kyle reacted too fast, owed to the speed from his boxing days, catching Bryce off guard, causing him to stumble backwards several paces, inadvertently knocking into Sarah with force, which sent her sprawling onto the deck.
Bryce regained his stance immediately, now enraged and glaring at Blue Team ahead of him with intense fury. "FUCKING COME ON, THEN!" he screamed a war cry, storming back towards the frontline and unleashing a straight jab on Adam Carter into his right chin with extreme force, who was not expecting the hit.
"Fucking hell, Speedy!" Big Dan said, wholly impressed by Bryce's actions as he let out a chuckle.
With Adam Carter now reeling and extremely dazed from the powerful hit from Bryce, in immediate reply, Kevin Jones shoved Bryce with aggression.
Big Dan, having his teammates' back every step, shoved Kevin without delay, sending him crashing with force into George Russell.
However, despite Bryce's impressive smack on Adam, it was Sarah's response that was the most blockbuster of them all. Enraged at being brought into the dispute, Sarah locked her glance up at Kyle, who'd advanced on Big Dan in reply to his latest shove on Kevin and was touching heads with him.
From her position on the deck, her body tensed, and her mind consumed with rage flaring within her. Sarah's eyes narrowed into an intense glare as she aggressively adjusted herself, letting loose a powerful wallop with maximum force straight into the centre of Kyle's groin.
The moment the ferocious punch landed, excruciating pain surged through Kyle, instantly abandoning all action and letting go of Big Dan as he bent over in agony, gasping from losing his breath from the sharp, forceful punch in his nuts.
"Fucking hell!" Big Dan blurted in shock, his face lit up with delight, a series of exuberant snorts escaping his lips in disbelief at what he'd just seen Sarah do.
Chuck, Cole, and John Murray felt the same.
But Jamie and Chris were too busy right now, occupied with their own present disputes.
"FUCKING YES!" Bryce bellowed in extreme encouragement towards Sarah for her actions, his glance down at Kyle Rogerson bent over in tremendous agony as he gasped out, fighting to regain his breath and to overcome the intense stabbing pain from Sarah's attack. "HAVE SOME OF THAT, YOU SMUG BASTARD!"
However, Bryce had no further time to gloat. His words towards Kyle and his actions on Adam Carter caused Gary Wilson to storm towards Bryce, unleashing a straight right at him.
Bryce skillfully and with remarkable agility expertly dodged the incoming attack, his body moving with the exhilaration of a dancer despite the confined space he stood in with the rest of the team.
Gary Wilson then prepared a second rash left hook, which Bryce dodged with ease also.
When Bryce regained his balance, he shouted, "Hahahaha! You're fucking shit! Is that all you've got?! COME ON!"
Big Dan, who'd been snorting at everything Bryce said since the dispute began, continued to, though as soon as Gary Wilson arrived at their proximity and missed the two quickfire hits on Bryce, Dan forcefully shoved him, having Bryce's six every step of the way.
Gary Wilson tumbled back and crashed into a wall of the briefing room with a loud thud close to Jamie Hughes and Joe Lewis, still shouting intensely at each other.
Dan smirked, satisfied with his commanding authority towards Blue Team just by using all of his force to shove them.
An additional moment passed in the briefing room, with the flaring dispute between both teams now in full force, with pushing and shoving and intense words exchanged between Chris and Neil, Jamie and Joe, Bryce and Adam, and Big Dan and Kevin.
When Kyle regained functioning again, he locked eyes with Sarah, now standing, but still filled with fiery rage, her glare locked at Blue Team.
"Fucking bitch!" he snarled with venom, still in pain, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes burning with fury as he prepared to strike her.
Ready to begin his attack, he stepped with purpose toward Sarah, unleashing a straight left at her.
Kyle's punch flew towards Sarah, everyone watching on in wait for the next move.
Sarah raised her guard to defend herself, though she was expecting a heavy blow because she knew Kyle was a shrewd fighter.
However, just before Kyle finished the shot, Chuck appeared, smashing into Kyle with a thunderous thud, rugby-tackling him with a shoulder-first approach, straight into his torso, driving both of them with forward momentum several yards and crashing them flying into the stand Morgan stood behind.
Big Dan led the immediate loud winces towards the latest action that had just occurred, including Sarah, who stood in shock at Chuck's actions. Nevertheless, she had to admit, they filled her with immediate warmth and emotional connection towards her boyfriend for watching over her and having her back.
"That's my best man!" Cole shouted with a hearty chuckle, his eyes locked with immense pride towards his best friend's figure now over Kyle.
Chuck's actions in eliminating Kyle's attack also caused Morgan to tumble to the deck with them, chuckling away as he did so because he found the altercation now occurring extremely exciting.
Now on the deck, Chuck and Kyle aggressively tussled as Kevin turned away from Bryce and Dan and locked his glance at the back of Chuck.
"Come on then! You posh twat!" Kevin shouted, his glare locked on the back of Chuck as he stepped towards him in anger.
Just as Kevin was about to strike Chuck in the back of the head from behind with a sucker punch, his fist halted mid-air as a firm grip seized his arm.
Kevin shot his gaze behind him, his jaw clenched in anger as he locked eyes with Big Dan, an intensity burning in his eyes.
"If you want to still be breathing tonight, don't even move that fist any further, fella!" Big Dan cautioned, his chilling warning matching the menacing look in his eyes.
In reply, George Russell grabbed hold of Dan's free arm. "Is that a fact?!"
Big Dan turned to look at George Russell, unfazed by his threat.
"Dan was just putting it nicely," Cole Barker said, announcing his presence in the flaring dispute as he stepped into George Russell, closing the distance between their faces as he squared up to him, forehead to forehead. "Because if any of you touch my best man while he's down…then by the end of tonight I'll be in handcuffs getting frogmarched into a prison cell with no regrets."
"Aye," John Murray said with a nod as he joined the frontline. "I won't be far behind, even if he isnae down."
Gary Wilson scoffed, locking eyes with John Murray. "Well, aren't you a bunch of queers?!"
"No," Big Dan bellowed, his voice booming with anger as he forcefully tore himself away from George Russell's grasp, then gripped firm hold of Kevin like a ragdoll with both hands and shoved him straight into Gary Wilson. "We just look out for our mates!"
Kevin Jones's scream erupted violently, his face turning red with rage as veins bulged in his forehead, his fists clenched tightly. "THAT'S THE LAST TIME YOU SHOVE ANY OF US YOU FUCKING FAT BASTARD!"
"FUCKING COME ON THEN!" Bryce's immediate war cry in reply to Kevin's towards Big Dan echoed through every corner of the briefing room, his face contorted with rage, caught in the moment as his fists clenched tightly and he charged towards his adversary, eager to fight someone alongside his teammates.
In fact, all sixteen soldiers in the briefing room were now at the same level of anger as each other.
Aided by Bryce and Kevin's extreme aggression, everyone was psyched up as every soldier stepped towards the nearest rival in sight.
Bryce, about to trade blows with Kevin, screamed, "COME ON! WE'LL HAVE ALL OF-"
"HEADS UP!"
In response to the sudden emergence of a commanding voice from behind them, Bryce joined every soldier in the room in pausing all action.
With a methodical precision, those with a hold of members on a different team let go of each other, while those on the ground picked themselves up.
From there, they each turned one by one to face the entrance, only to find themselves confronted by Colonel Wood, who stood at the entrance with a raging glance towards the soldiers.
"I don't give a damn what caused this! This internal warfare ends here and now in this room!" the Colonel warned, with fire and fury in his eyes. "The first one to continue this dispute will be kicked out of the regiment and returned to their former unit, on the spot! While the rest of you will be court-martialled!"
The anger immediately subsided within Mobility Troop as they each took and heeded the warning of the CO very seriously, knowing he meant every word.
"I am disgusted with all of you!" the Colonel shouted, shooting a contemptuous glance around all sixteen soldiers. "That it came from you, after how professional both your teams have been towards the job, not least with every assignment you have faced over the past few months!"
The Colonel drew an irate sigh, still staring out Mobility Troop for their behaviour. "You are lucky it's not your O.C., for were it Richard, heads would roll!"
The CO of 22 SAS shook his head in scorn at the soldiers in front of him. "I am more sympathetic, to an extent, after everything that has happened to your troop, starting with the deaths of Ben White, Neil Reynolds and Reaper a few months ago and everything since! But my leniency will only go so far, and it is already at boiling point! So, gentlemen, take your seats, and then let us get on with what we are paying you for!"
Mobility Troop obeyed the order without delay, putting grievances aside to focus on being soldiers again.
They all moved to take seats. However, they froze instantly again when Colonel Wood took a step forward; the room hearing an instant scrunching sound when he did.
One by one, Mobility Troop's gazes finished at Colonel Wood's feet.
Colonel Wood, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow and shot an inquisitive glance at the unknown item beneath his foot.
"Oh, fucking hell!" Bryce complained a moment later.
Suddenly, the room erupted in immediate boisterous laughter on witnessing Bryce's phone now squashed under the CO's right foot.
"It's not funny! That's my fucking phone!" Bryce complained, glaring at everyone laughing.
Colonel Wood shot an immediate glance at Bryce in query.
"It slipped out of his hand, boss!" Big Dan said, snorting.
Cole continued sharing the laughter with everyone else as he said, "And onto the Colonel's boot!"
Big Dan and Cole's remarks enormously increased the laughter amongst Mobility Troop, which they shared for a long moment.
Colonel Wood, in reply, merely shook his head and covered his face with his hand, concerned about what might happen next, for he had seen more than enough already.
When it calmed, the soldiers moved to take seats while Bryce collected his squashed phone, his glance looking on in horror at the smashed-up device now in the palm of his hands.
A few additional chuckles occurred, but they soon calmed as the gathering awaited Captain Wallace's arrival.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"It's like a war zone in here," Captain Wallace said, announcing his presence, his glance on the furniture in places it shouldn't be inside the briefing room.
Colonel Wood shot a glance at his subordinate. "Don't ask, Richard. I'll apprise you regarding what occurred after what let us hope is a successful operation for Mobility Troop."
Captain Wallace nodded in acceptance as he stepped to the front, while Morgan fixed the stand that Chuck had knocked over when he sent Kyle and Morgan flying.
"Ok, let's begin," Colonel Wood said, then ushered Morgan with his hand. "Whenever you're ready, Box 500."
Morgan nodded, then spent a moment with his equipment.
The room entered hushed silence as the soldiers, knowing they couldn't put a further foot wrong, listened attentively.
Once Morgan was ready, he said, "Yesterday afternoon, MI5 was alerted to the fresh arrival of two Russian intelligence officers on British soil. Since then, we've had them under surveillance. In the process, a further two Russian nationals, both with credible links to the GRU intelligence directive, have arrived in the country. We believe they are a cell and are here for assignment. As yet, we do not know their goals, only that they're here and they are already making movement, having visited multiple locations in London and Basingstoke."
"That's where you come in," Colonel Wood took over, his glance fixed on Mobility Troop. "We believe all four individuals to be part of the special operations section of the GRU. Had they not been, we would still task your team with armed covert surveillance because the gentlemen in Whitehall (British seat of government) do not want another Litvinenko to occur on our streets."
Mobility Troop processed the briefing, their focus locked on the upcoming assignment.
"What is the potential for armed engagement, boss?" Staff Sergeant MacDonald asked.
Captain Wallace met Chris's glance. "We're very much hoping to avoid that, Staff Sergeant."
"But if it does kick off and we catch them in the process of them carrying out an attack, do we have authorisation to intervene with force?" Staff Sergeant Williams asked, back on the same page as his counterpart.
The CO of 22 SAS took over, "Not without authorisation from command."
Groans broke out within the entire contingent of Mobility Troop.
"We aspire very much to avoid a diplomatic incident were your teams take down these Russians with the prowess and aggression we know you all to be extremely capable of," Colonel Wood cautioned.
Big Dan's posture straightened as he leaned forward. "That's all well and good, boss. But when we're the ones being shot at, it would be a little bit better if we could shoot back."
Dan's real talk earned numerous voicings of approval from almost everyone on Mobility Troop except the two senior NCOs who kept their composure.
"Point taken, Lance Corporal," Colonel Wood said with a nod. "But be that as it may, it comes as an order to me from the higher-ups, so it is damn well an order from me to you! We very much aspire to avoid an international incident."
Mobility Troop shared additional groans, their discontent clear.
"Our surveillance teams have not yet encountered them with any weapons," Morgan said, hoping to ease the soldiers' concerns.
However, his intervention didn't do the trick, as groans and scoffs erupted further.
Big Dan took it further, proclaiming, "Russian intelligence has more weapons stored in caches here in Britain than old-age pensioners do with their fucking frying pans aplenty, fella!"
In immediate reply, the whole room erupted in a ripple of laughter as Big Dan cracked one of his trademark jokes during a briefing.
When the amusement calmed, Colonel Wood said, "Let us hope for your sakes that it is frying pans stored away just like those esteemed ladies Big Dan spoke of!"
The Colonel's supplement to Dan's humour caused a few stifled chuckles, but the room quickly refocused.
"If it makes you feel better, as soon as I leave this room, I will press as a matter of urgency to the higher-ups the rules of engagement were you to find yourselves in a battle throughout your duties on this assignment," Colonel Wood offered.
Blue Team member Sean Murphy nodded. "It does, boss."
The rest of Mobility Troop shared the nods with their comrade.
The CO continued, "To err on the safe side of caution, full assault gear and weapons are to be issued for the operation."
Mobility Troop processed the instructions.
Captain Wallace took over. "But we hope it will be a last resort and that if necessary, we may take the Russian outfit into custody and send them on a one-way flight to Moscow without them carrying out a hostile act on British soil."
"But if they do carry out another hostile act on British soil?" Chuck asked.
The room turned to look at Chuck in query, then the soldiers turned back to their front in wait for an answer.
"Then with the hope of avoiding an international incident, you might catch them off-guard and take them into custody alive, Corporal Bartowski, for Whitehall is determined to not look red-faced for the second time in just over a year by the Russians," Colonel Wood said.
Mobility Troop nodded at their orders.
"Your assignment is armed surveillance. Shadow their movement and build an intelligence picture of what we have on our hands. If necessary, CONSTRAINED intervention and to bundle them still breathing onto an aircraft before they carry out an act, or into the nearest police cell to answer for whatever might be in the works from our Russian pests if, god forbid, they succeed…" Colonel Wood said.
The soldiers confirmed their agreement with nods again.
"Gear up and then we will deploy in convoy. I'll take the lead in my personal vehicle, then take command of the operation on the ground, liaising with command here in Hereford and with Box 500, who will deploy with the team," Captain Wallace said.
Morgan joined Mobility Troop in nodding.
"Right, that's all," Colonel Wood said, glancing around at the soldiers. "But remember, diplomacy is key to this operation! Dismissed."
Chatter erupted, instantly filling the air with a cacophony of voices, accompanied by the sharp sound of chairs scraping across the floor as the soldiers rose to their feet.
Colonel Wood departed a moment later, while Staff Sergeant MacDonald walked off to enter a discussion with Captain Wallace.
Chuck approached Morgan, wanting to apologise for inadvertently knocking him over during the scuffle.
On arrival at Morgan's position, Chuck held out his hand with a smile. "Sorry about knocking you over earlier, mate. I can assure you that you weren't my intended target."
Morgan let out a dismissive chuckle, moving to shake Chuck's hand. "Don't mention it! It was fun!"
Chuck suppressed a laugh and then nodded, always finding the friendly Box 500 employee good company to be around.
"So, I know you're a big gamer from our conversations so far," Morgan said, changing the topic.
Chuck nodded. "Yeah," he said, stifling a chuckle.
"Have you played Mass Effect yet, man?!" Morgan asked, his voice filled with extreme excitement, a wide smile stretching across his face. "It came out two weeks ago. It's so freaking cool!"
Chuck suppressed additional laughter, then shook his head. "Not yet, mate. I know about it because I saw it in a game shop recently and I've been following its development leading up to its release for a while… But I just haven't found the time."
Morgan nodded in understanding. "I guess your career keeps you very busy, Chuck."
"No more than yours, mate," Chuck said with a nod. "I know you work hard at yours as well. But I was more referring to the fact I don't really have time for games when I'm dating someone so breathtaking. My spare time naturally has to go towards her."
Morgan chuckled. "I guess that's why you defend her as you do, like when I just saw you spear him into this stand!"
Chuck joined Morgan in stifling a chuckle, proud of his actions and not regretting them for a second. When he calmed, he said, "To be honest, I detest violence and fighting, unlike many of the lads I've encountered in the army. But if anyone puts their hands on my girlfriend or attempts to…"
"Then you'll turn into John Matrix and take on an army by yourself, and you would probably win, Chuck!" Morgan chuckled heartily. "I've seen in action what you and your teammates do in the SAS!"
Chuck couldn't contain his laughter, which he shared with Morgan, finding Morgan's Commando movie reference hilarious. "It's one of the few times I ever want to fight, mate," Chuck said with a nod. "I can't contain myself when it happens. It's in my instinct to defend her. The lads would disown me and so would my father if I didn't. And I'd do it regardless of how she looks. That's just a bonus."
"I understand, Chuck, heh! Not that I could ever meet someone like you have!" Morgan chuckled in understanding, knowing that Sarah was an enormous catch, and Chuck had to do all he could with that.
Chuck's smile softened, reflecting his empathy for the friendly Box 500 employee. "Don't put yourself down, Morgan. How do you know until you try?"
"Thanks for that, Chuck!" Morgan said, his tone sincere as he let out a soft chuckle.
Chuck then turned in a teasing mood briefly. "But don't worry, 'cos I'll ensure to find the time somewhere to play lots of games again very soon," he said with a wink.
"Maybe you can add me on Xbox?" Morgan asked with a chuckle.
Chuck smiled. "I'd be honoured to."
"Cool, Chuck!" Morgan said with passion.
"Send me your tag, and I'll add you as soon as I get the chance," Chuck said then composed himself. "I have to be off now because Chris doesn't like anyone late and I don't want to take the piss."
Morgan nodded, knowing Chuck's team leader was exactly like that on the operations they'd partook in together already.
"Catch you soon," Chuck said.
Morgan smiled. "Bye, Chuck!"
Chuck turned away, departing the briefing room as he linked up with his teammates outside, who stood close to Blue Team.
He arrived just in time, as Kyle eyed up Sarah, then said out of earshot of Captain Wallace, who finished a discussion with Chris and Neil and walked away, "I'm just wondering if the only place you can punch is my balls?"
"No. The next one will be your face," Sarah said, maintaining and contributing equally to her glare with Kyle.
A few of Sarah's teammates stifled a chuckle, but Bryce replied verbally. "You tell him, Sarah! He'll be getting one from all of us soon. All of them will!"
Most of Blue Team scoffed in immediate reply.
However, any further attempt to continue the dispute stopped dead when Chris said with authority, glancing at his team members in scorn, "Enough! You all heard what the Colonel said! This stops here."
Staff Sergeant Williams nodded, shooting a piercing glare at his own team. "We all lost our cool. But it stops here. I want the issues of the past weeks buried and not brought up again!"
"Agreed!" Chris said, his glance still locked on his team members. "That's the way it will be. So, if we're all finished, let's get on with what we're paid to do and let us all be off to give the Russians a good beasting as one unit!"
Chris's remarks hit the spot as the teams set aside their differences—for now—to focus on the shared enemy of their assignment.
The Russian GRU.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed the chapter today. Please, if you could, leave me a brief review and let me know your thoughts. Your interaction and engagement with my story helps me massively! Thank you.
FOOTNOTES: Next chapter, the assignment starts and things get very tense. I will not offer spoilers other than that, but ensure to stay tuned because so much lies ahead for Who Dares Wins!
