JoJo and the Unit Ch. 01

JoJo stared right back. "Had you been anything other than a member of 12th Intelligence Regiment, then the answer to that would have probably been yes."

She paused; she still desperately needed these people. Joan never forgot where she came from and who she now was, but she still held this regiment so close to her heart. It was then that she felt she had to soften her stance, even at the cost of angering those above her.

"The man who took that picture died while trying to get that one picture out of the country and back home. To her folks, she was kidnapped and killed on holiday; they know differently now. It's up to us to bring her home and back into the arms of her family."

The staring match between them didn't last; in the end the Major simply nodded, waved the others back into the room and back to the task of seizing any morsel of information from a photo.

The local newspaper hanging over the sun lounger gave them a clearer location. The mosque's call to prayer tower in the background also handed them a fistful of clues, more so when they married a map to the mosque, and with the aid of the fat hairy naked guy's timepiece and the shadows in the background, they narrowed down the search to three houses.

Within twelve hours of this much information, a satellite changed orbit slightly and took a set of pictures. Those pictures were sent to the room occupied by Major Sheppard's team. They then figured out at which house the young diplomat had managed to take the picture of Becky Harmsworth and subsequently lost his own life getting that information out.

JoJo thanked everyone in the room, scooped up the photo as well as the memory card and watched as the Major deleted everything in the room.

The people in that room were then placed on a month's leave, effective immediately

*******

They had been in country for a week, watching, making notes and as hour followed hour and soon changed to days, a plan slowly began to come to fruition. Finally, JoJo sent word to her contact at the embassy that she needed a meeting. Both Ashley and JoJo spotted her contact sitting outside the little coffee shop; they also spotted three men that shouldn't have been there.

They had her embassy contact in a box. If she went anywhere near him, both Ashley and she wouldn't leave this town square alive. They continued walking, their Burkha's hiding the sweat and the relief on there faces as they walked passed their contact without being challenged. So much of this operation had put everyone on edge.

They had all seen Becky Harmsworth three times since the Unit had been here. She looked healthy, and due to the fact they were in an Arab country, she dressed to respect the religious beliefs; it also made it impossible to see if the tracker was still attached to her ankle. They also all watched the male bodyguards who kept very close to her.

The Unit had their own way of doing things: with more men than the bodyguards that surrounded Becky, they placed them in their own box and followed them for the afternoon. It also reaffirmed to them that she was still living in the villa that cost Stephen Beckman his life.

Late on the tenth day, JoJo and Freddy sat and talked, they created scenarios and what if's between themselves, and eventually came up with a plan. The scene was set for two night's time; the projected full moon was going to help.

Both JoJo and Freddy were amazed at how few bodyguards were residing at the villa. They seemed to be focused only on looking after Becky, rather than securing the villa. She surmised that's how Stephen Beckman had managed to get the picture of Becky Harmsworth. What security there was were busier looking after her than wondering if other people were sticking their nose into something that didn't concern them.

Whoever owned the villa was so powerful in the country that no one would touch them. The fear of reprisals upon them and their own families would be too great.

Chad had spent the last few hours down the street, ostensibly, holding out his bowl asking for anything to keep his family fed. A few people took pity on him and his bowl rattled with a few coins. He could also watch with relative ease the main gate to the villa. Becky and her three shadows had been back an hour or so; the guards had changed just as it had started to get dark.

Chad was packing up his few coins, his bowl and mat he had been sitting on. A big four by four drove past, the tinted windows throughout giving no clue who was inside. The gate opened, the vehicle slowly drove through, then the gate closed behind it. This was an unexpected hiccup and it also added to the personnel inside the villa grounds. Both JoJo and Freddy looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders almost simultaneously.

The plan was still a go, too much time had now been invested in it. If the vehicle held four others, then that was acceptable odds when added to the guards already inside the compound. JoJo sent a flash code to her contact in the Embassy, minutes later Jackson and Bradley were already climbing over the back wall protecting the compound and the villa.

There was some discussion at the final briefing on whether they should go in armed or heavily armed. That discussion turned into heavily armed when they had watched the group a few days before. A young boy came out from an alleyway and didn't look where he was going. He collided with Becky, sending her to the ground, her ankle-tag clear to see. Two of the guards set upon the boy and beat him into unconsciousness. JoJo had to hold her surveillance team back from getting involved, that was a close-run thing when you looked at the age of the poor boy.

JoJo gave orders that the gate was to left alone: everyone scaled the walls. Leaving the gate alone meant that no one could see what was going on inside. Silenced handguns were the proffered weapon of use; the MP5's strapped to their backs were back-ups.

The only lights that could be seen on the ground floor came from the kitchen. Jackson took aim from outside. Bradley came in through one of the adjacent windows, walked down the corridor and into the kitchen. Of the six guards that were caught in the crossfire, only two ever got even close the drawing guns out of holsters.

Freddy and JoJo rushed the stairs and then as silently as they could, stuck an ear to each door as they passed it. When Freddy stopped and indicated his door, the damn thing was locked. Both stuck a shoulder to it, and the door couldn't stop the next onslaught from the pair wanting to come in. JoJo grabbed the girl and pulled her naked body from the bed and onto the floor. The cutters dealt with the tracker, a dressing gown covered her body and would do for now.

Freddy had his weapon trained on the guy who had been in bed with Becky; he simply sat and glared at everyone in the room. JoJo helped Becky Harmsworth up off the floor, then threw a hood over her head and pulled the draw string around her neck. Becky sought to loosen the cord, and a hand slapped hers away. Becky never got to see the naked man that was in bed with her ever again. It was Freddy who pulled some clothes together for their guest and threw them into the only bag he could find.

The only thought that made any real impact on JoJo's thought process was. 'You have got to be fucking kidding me.'

JoJo recognized the Prince instantly. It wasn't difficult; his picture was on almost as many buildings as the King himself. Diplomacy was something taught to all officers at the military school of Sandhurst. JoJo diplomatically walked up to the Prince, the masks that each member of the Unit had on disguised them, it also hid the smile JoJo had when her Sig moved with speed and cold-cocked the Prince. He groaned once before he slid off the bed and his naked body dropped onto the floor.

By the time that the three of them came down the stairs, Jackson and Bradley were stepping over the bodies of the four remaining guards. Bradley was even waving a set of keys that came from the shiny four by four.

JoJo tapped on Freddy's shoulder. "Two, (Freddy) organize everyone. I need to make a call.

With one final sweep of the area, JoJo ordered Freddy and the still hooded girl into the Prince's vehicle. The rest of the Unit would follow at a discrete distance.

Her cell rang twice before Martin Tanner answered.

"We have the package and can answer the question of who is the biggest slave trader in this region: the Prince. Grab some clothes and get out of your apartment. They won't be able to find us; knowing what I know now, we need to go dark. That makes you a target; get out and go to the embassy, let London know."

She didn't even wait for Martin to answer; her cell was turned off and the battery out before she even walked the ten feet to the vehicle. JoJo got in and two vehicles left the area and simply disappeared. The burned out and not so shiny big car was found in a very run-down part of the area, bricks were keeping the skeleton of the vehicle off the ground.

*******

Twenty-Four hours later, the British Embassy reported Martin Tanner missing to the local police, as well as the country's government. The British government got involved and diplomacy wheels slowly started to turn. The police contacted the embassy a day later with regards to the remains of Martin Tanner: he had been badly tortured and then killed. When the final report was sent to MI.6 for them to read, they flagged the report to the Prime Minister's office.

The extra worry, though, was that he was the contact man for the Unit. Martin Tanner's body was released very quickly by the country's government, not wanting a repeat of the fiasco with Stephen Beckman, the junior diplomat whose paperwork took so long to complete and caused the King to get involved. They did emphasize that it should be strongly advised that the family have a closed coffin funeral, especially since it took DNA samples to identify the body, since he was so badly beaten.

The Unit's boss was advised of the condition of the Martin Tanner. It had to be assumed that he gave up the Unit; his injuries were too severe for him not to have, which added another reason why Captain Carmichael had gone dark.

The King was furious that another incident involving the British Embassy was once again tainting his country's image, and demanded a meeting with the British Ambassador. A lot of very highly classified messages were going back and forth between the British Embassy and London. The King threatened sanctions; he was going to pull the plug on the new oil deal that had taken two years to negotiate. Feeling that the Prime Minister had nothing to lose, told the Ambassador to give him everything they have, including the name of the leader of the slave ring.

It took an hour to calm the King down. He turned on the Ambassador and demanded that he and his staff leave his country within thirty days. He even placed his own palace guards outside the embassy to prevent anyone going in. Those who left had better have a diplomatic job and identity on them, or they never got back into the Embassy. His own point was proven correct: when people saw the palace guards outside the Embassy, they turned and walked away.

Rumor was rife within the country, the King ordered Prince Ahmed bin-Oman to come to the palace. When the Palace Guards went to get him, he along with his own people had left, not only from their homes, but also the country.

*******

I was working on the boat, with a coffee in hand, I paused for a moment, sat and listened to the sweet song of nature, then my phone rang. I checked the screen and answered it instantly.

"Hello?"

"Curtis, I need you on point."

For some reason, my cheeks warmed, my first thought quickly got dropped from my mind. "Retired boss, you came to the party, remember?"

"Curtis, four days ago the Unit snatched back Charles Harmsworth's daughter from the leader of the slave trade in that area. JoJo sent word just before she and the Unit went dark, which said the slave trade leader is none other than Prince Ahmed bin-Oman himself.

For a second my mind simply stopped working; it couldn't seem to find a way around the words, 'Oh Fuck'.

"Where is the Unit right now?"

"Due to the sensitivity of the operation, they went dark as soon as they snatched her back and got the message to the embassy about who the ringleader was. At first, the King was furious, then he was told the truth about everything concerning his nephew's activities. He's already executed two of his own generals for them allowing his grandson to use his influence in such a way. The King is turning his own country upside down looking for the Prince."

"Curtis, it just got worse. Last night, the office in Whitehall that deals with pay and pensions of all armed forces personnel was cyber attacked. There was nothing subtle about this attack, Curtis, they may have well used a tank on the front door. They were hunting down one specific piece of information. They now have the names and addresses of every member of the Unit, and that includes wives and children."

I rose from my seat, my body already doing a three-sixty as my eyes and instincts went into threat assessment mode. "God-dammit, this shit isn't supposed to able to happen."

"Like I said, Curtis, they didn't care who knew what they were doing, they simply tore through every firewall that was built to prevent this."

"Do you have God's Brother's authorization for what needs to happen next?"

That's when the Prime Minister made his presents known.

"Just tell me what you need, Curtis. I already have the Chiefs of staff standing next to me."

"Sir, you're going to need to order three police cars to each address, one to take the wives and children from that address and the other two to protect that car. They have to be informed that if it turns into a standing battle, they must get those civilians safely to our barracks."

I only paused just long enough to draw breath.

"Sir, they need to be told in plain English that these people are more loyal and afraid of Prince Ahmed bin-Oman than they are of the police. They will not think twice of killing anything in a blue uniform if that person is trying to get between them and their intended targets."

"You also need to give General Brownlow the ability to order Colonel Franklyn to stand to every solder he has at Kenton Barracks, as well as arm them and order them to defend Kenton Barracks. By my best guess, sir, he has less than an hour to do all that and he's going to need God's Brother screaming at him to shift his ass, sir, because the second one family sets foot on barrack grounds, then they become a target, as well."

I paused, I hadn't intended to, but I could see things, almost as they were about to unravel, and decided that God's Brother needed to know the truth.

"With all due respect, sir, you have to chuck everything at this. If one wife dies or a family is lost being transported away to safety, the Special Forces ethos will take a hiding. The men have to know you and this country have their backs. It's why they do the things they do, sir. These guys and girls have to be able to focus on the mission in front of them, knowing that their families are being looked after back home. Prince Bin-Oman plans to destroy that ethos and bring down the Special Forces, and by doing that, bring you down as well."

The Prime Minister didn't even hesitate. "It will be done; how quickly can you get to the barracks?"

"I need to make some arrangements here first; it's going to take me ten minutes before I can leave. Re-instate my rank and make me active again, we can sort out the small print later."

This time my boss spoke; I could already hear God's Brother talking behind him.

"I'll make a couple of calls. Security at the barracks will know you're on your way. Good luck."

*******

I picked my cell up again and used speed dial. She answered at the second ring. "Hey lover."

"Ruth, Becky's temperature is up again, I'm worried it's a migraine returning."

My wife was smart enough to know what I was talking about; on her insistence, we had rehearsed this so many times.

The pause was there, I even heard the sharp intake of breath come down the phone. It was barely a second later that I heard my wife now became very business-like. "What's the temperature?"

"At the moment I'm seeing seventeen."

The irony of this conversation wasn't lost on either of us, since I could clearly hear Becky playing with her sister and they couldn't have been more than ten feet from my wife and their mother.

"I'm going to talk with Doctor Constance about this; she will open a few doors for us, do you need anything from this end, blankets, bottled water, anything?"

My wife was offering to send me some serious kit, and all wrapped up in general words.

"No, I'm fine, just concerned about the numbers is all."

"Well don't be, can you move her?"

"Yes, I can, the neighbors have offered to help so that's a comfort."

"Very well, I'll get things moving from here and will notify you of your doctor's appointment."

To the outside world we had talked of an illness to our daughter. To my wife and I we had just started something that would keep so many people safe. We said our goodbyes and I went in search of Sarah and Gil, both were standing by their boat while deciding between themselves what they were having for tea.

Gil looked at me, and said, "You look like your dog's just died, what's up?"

"I've just got a call from my old job." Even that much pulled Gil's attention. "It's bad, really bad."

I had wondered about involving either of these genuinely nice folks in this. I think the answer to my problem would have been they would have been more upset if I hadn't asked them for help.

Ashley and JoJo still lived on their boat here, as well, so Gil and Sarah knew that any news I gave them from now on would have included them. I did wonder just how much of what was going on out there was going to affect these two nice gentle folks.

"I need my boat filled with fuel and water; just dump the two boxes of canned goods that are in the shed into the boat. I will deal with that later. Can you park it over by the three cherry blossom trees, put it over on the far bank and lock it up?"

Gil just stared at me, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then nodded.

I held out my hand and held onto his arm. "Gil, when you get back I want you two to move into the apartment above the clubhouse. Turn on all the security equipment like Ruth showed you."

I held his stare; he knew I wasn't bluffing.

"It's that bad, is it?"

This time I nodded, and Sarah gasped. "Get my boat out for me please. Remember the three cherry blossom trees, once you have the security system turned on, you and everyone at the club will be safe. Ruth will link this system to her security people; they will watch over you all until this is over."

Gil nodded his head, and said, "Have you got everything you need from the boat?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, I'm sorting that out now. Give me ten minutes and I'll be out of your way."

I shook Gil's hand, held Sarah tightly to me and whispered an apology in her ear. That's when she burst into tears. Gil held his arms out and she nestled into them, her tears becoming desperate. Gil and I nodded to each other and I headed back to the boat.

*******

I was still sorting things out when my cell rang, I checked, and my boss's number flashed back at me.

"What's up?"

"We may already have a problem. Three cars went to two's second's house, her car isn't there and neither is she, I had someone ping her phone, it's switched off."

A cold chill ran down my spine. That's also when my attention bizarrely went to my calendar on the wall.

"I think I may know where she is; get the others to Kenton Barrack's, I will go and get Two's second and be right behind you."