Don't Underestimate Me! Ch. 05

"Your mum saw it all from very close. Your dad from the chairs they had been made to sit in. I'm sorry!

"Mo was only just through the door when we heard the cars draw up. We told Alice to leave the door to us. They just walked in. Mo knifed the first two. I knifed the third. The commotion alerted the other three. As they came with their guns coming out, the Fusiliers shot them. I finished off the two Mo struck by gutting and twisting so there was even more blood.

"Your mum was right in the heart of it. I'm so sorry.

"You're dad went to her. We moved the bodies and told them they were safe and that John and the others were close to Joanna. She would be safe.

"They wanted to believe us but were understandably scared shitless.

"We calmed them and then the radios went asking where we were.

"Your mum never batted an eyebrow, maybe shocked facial features only during the hall fights but she was deep, deep red as she blushed over what Mo said. He said they had been hiding but we found them and triple teamed her. She probably wanted it again."

Cheryl and Joanna looked totally shocked.

Mo spoke, "In my defence, these guards boasted about raping women. A comment like that was bound to make them laugh and not question the voice. I did apologise to Alice for it but we had to keep them safe.

"I asked Robert for a coat and hat he might wear for a disguise for the one of us who was going to play him to use. He told me what they were going to force him to do to Joanna. He was disgusted with himself. I told him, that's not on him but rest assured that was never going to happen on our watch.

"We left them with the Fusiliers. They had three inside and three outside with support close by. We said we would let them know the moment Joanna was safe but it would be an hour or two at least as the party was just starting. We did that.

"We got to the house and "Robert" was a handful so we requested assistance. The Fusiliers sent six to help us. Each ran into a crossbow bolt. We made more noise and more came. By then we'd told the others with us what they had planned. This time it was knifes and cut throats. At least two had a sex change. Bill used those fancy cloaks to hide in plain view. As two guards came past him he removed their heads in a single blow with his knives.

"We were told you were all in position and that Joanna had been taken to the rec room. It was a matter of waiting for the order to enter.

"When the instruction came to take Robert to the rec room, Ron who had volunteered to be him was dressed appropriately. We walked down with "Robert" struggling and being hit by us in case we were seen. Ron later dealt with the upstairs guards when he was clear.

"We were almost there when we heard Joanna scream. We didn't stop at the door just threw Ron in. His abrupt entrance caught them off guard. They stopped, looked at him and he downed the two guards before they realised what was happening. Johnson and his wife who were just by me, had mistakenly turned to Ron. I saw that strap in her hand, I hit them before they could react. Tim and Junior covered the other two who weren't up for the fight.

"The rest of you came in then.

"We're so sorry Joanna we weren't there a minute earlier."

Joanna walked up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. She went to Junior and did the same.

"You saved my parents lives, you saved me. At worst, I have a war wound to bore you with. I'm alive because of all of you. We are free because of you. You're the heroes. All of you."

She started to cry and John held her tightly.

Cheryl hugged Mo. "Without you all, our nightmare would be ongoing, our hell would have been forever. You never need to apologise because as Joanna says, in the scheme of things it could have been so much worse. We have a future because of you.

"Much more than this beer so get drinking."

She gave Mo a soft, gentle kiss, he blushed.

John remembered Alice's reaction to what Joanna had told her so asked, "Joanna what did you and your mum talk about that had her eyes wide open and hand over open mouth."

"Mum wanted to know how Johnson died. I told her a lot of the screams were his but short story, I cut his cock and balls off and rammed them down his fucking throat!"

More beer was needed then.

It was about midnight, when a man came hobbling in, his leg in a cast.

"Hi Geoff, thank you for everything. We couldn't have done it without you," John said brightly, handing him a beer.

He went up to Iain and said, "Who put you in charge, not letting me have some fun?"

"Geoff, I have two defences. You're bloody good at overall control. You've a bust leg, which one do you want?"

Geoff shook his head, "Always excuses. Mo's got a girl! I can't get one because of John. If I'd been here, maybe I would have been lucky."

Mo went, "Oh, No! Not again, John ruined his life."

John was indignant, "I didn't ruin your life. You moved."

Joanna and Cheryl were laughing. There was a story here, were they going to hear it.

Geoff appealed to the girls, "Look, I'm not saying it was deliberate but I have this white streak because of him. Women think I'm an old man. I'm 31! If I knew when he first saw Joanna, I might think he did it so she wouldn't look at me."

John smiled, "There are some who never let up. I should have let you die. You moved."

Iain, Junior, Ron, Andrew, Bill and several others were laughing waiting for the next exchange.

Mo broke them up, "Look, let's get this into some perspective. We were 250 yards from the Taliban. They were shooting to kill us not welcome us to a party. We couldn't get a shot on them. There was a firefight a mile and a half away, even further up that bloody hill.

"When it went quiet, a spotter came on and said "don't move a fraction of a millimetre" not an inch, or six but a fraction of a millimetre. What the fuck was that about?

"The next Iain shouts, "something just about took my ear off."

"The spotter's voice. One down.

"I heard something pass over my head. I mean, miss my head by no more than a millimetre.

"Two down.

"Five, ten minutes, the count keeps going up. Bullets are passing us, just passing our ears, nicking our gear.

"Then the spotter says, they look like they're getting ready to bolt, they'll run down and try to go through that opening. When he shouts, we can get further down, catch them in front of us and give them our answer to their party invitation. But don't the fuck move until I shout.

"12, 13, then RUN!

"We ran, we caught them in the open and blasted them all to meet their god. Afterwards, we went to where they had been shooting at us from. Thirteen, all dead, everyone right between the eyes.

"Geoff realised he had been hit. He thought he was lucky until the medic said he had been shot from behind. He was raging.

"John and his group caught up with us. John had put those thirteen down at a distance of over 1.75 miles. He never misses, has never missed in all the time we've known him. Never missed last night either.

"Geoff complained. John said he moved; he was told don't move. That fraction was what caused it.

"We'd all be dead without John that day and many days after.

"So Geoff, I'll ask Cheryl if she knows anyone looking for an old man for you, okay. Grab another beer."

Joanna was speaking very softly to Cheryl, "I had no idea, they were just good friends. They never talked about anything like that.

"I'll just have to use my feminine wiles to learn more."

If anything the fact they didn't speak about it, showed how close they were.

John asked Geoff, "When you get the exam to remove your cast, can you take Andrew with you?"

Andrew and Geoff looked at him.

"Andrew seems to have lost his sense of smell. Twice he took me into that sewer. Walking was bad enough but when you're on your hands and knees, your nose is almost in it. I'm surprised the guards didn't sniff us out."

Cheryl and Joanna both let out a scream, "You crawled in through the sewers!"

John pointed at Andrew, "His idea. He can always come up with something which stinks."

Everyone was laughing now.

Tiredness was setting in so they began making their way upstairs to their bedrooms.

Both Joanna and John were too tired for anything other than have a heavenly cuddle though Joanna told him, "When we're ready, I'm going to make up for every bad thing I have ever done to you.

"I love you. It broke my heart doing what I did but I couldn't let them kill you. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Joanna, I love you. We make it up together. Don't take the blame for Evans."

They fell asleep in each other's arms.