JoJo and the Unit Ch. 01

Both broke their kiss with a gasp. Becky held JoJo just a little tighter and her head nestled into JoJo's neck. "I fucking knew you were gay; you're mine now and I'm not letting you go."

JoJo had to pull air into her lungs. Becky sensed bad news and placed some space between them so she could look at JoJo.

JoJo in turn grasped Becky's hands and pulled her toward the bed so they could sit down and talk. She explained that once they came out of their 'no communications' ban, she now understood how bad things had become.

"I knew my first instinct was the correct one when we snuck into the bedroom where you and Prince Ahmed bin-Oman were sleeping. He's gone mad, Becky. He's brought a swathe of destruction to our country looking for you and seeking revenge on my Unit. He's gone after the families of every man in the Unit. I have to join my boss and stop him, I can't do that and get you home, there isn't enough time."

JoJo hugged Becky once again and whispered in her ear. "I should have killed him right there and then. Instead, he's plunged my country and his own into what could well be a war."

Becky pulled her head off of JoJo's shoulder, her tears streaked her face. JoJo leaned in and kissed them away, both blushed at each other. "You've shown me your gay card now, you can't take it back, it belongs to me. I will go with whoever they send to take me home and I will wait for you." The sob that she desperately tried to hold back, almost broke JoJo's heart. "Please don't die."

JoJo thought it best to try one last time. "Becky, I'm a career officer in the Army."

Becky shook her head, refusing to listen to what she thought was nothing more than a weak excuse. "Soldiers fuck, I know they do; soldiers are allowed to fuck, you can't use that as an excuse and if you even try that lame reasoning you tried on the trip back here that 'you don't operate in the same sphere as I do,' so help me, JoJo, I will burn your gay card for you. You gave me that card; you can't take it back. You came out and it's mine now. Find a way, JoJo, because if you don't, I will."

Becky stood up and took a couple of paces back, wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the door.

"You need to go and kill someone. Fix this, JoJo. Remember, you gave me your gay card. Fix this, or I'm coming after you."

JoJo stood and took a step towards Becky, who then shook her head and also took a step back herself, then pointed to the door. JoJo's shoulders slumped slightly, but she left Becky alone. She thanked Officer Sarah Marshall as she handed her back her keys and left the police station, along with Ashley.

The helicopter carrying the Unit left the impromptu landing pad of Pullman school

six minutes later.

*******

Becky Harmsworth was removed from the police station ten minutes after the noise of the helicopter was but a memory. The police escort took care of the minor roads and the motorway police took over when they reached the faster roads. The blue lights of the police car leading the way, with Becky and an SAS team in the back of a souped up people carrier, along with two van loads of SAS who stayed further back, but close enough to count if needed. When a car refused to move out of the fast lane, a police car would appear from nowhere causing the stubborn driver to realize that there are other lanes he can use.

The Prime Minister was kept up to date on the progress of the speeding convoy now headed towards his country residence. By complete coincidence, Charles and Lucy Harmsworth were the guests of the Prime Minister at Chequers when the Unit surfaced once again on British soil. They were having breakfast when the gates to the residence opened and the motorcade came to a standstill. From that moment, security around the second home of the Prime Minister trebled.

Both Charles and Lucy Harmsworth watched the commotion in the courtyard, Lucy fainted when the back-doors of the vehicle opened and their daughter Becky stepped out. It was left to the Prime Minister to meet his new guest and bring her into the dining room. He also thought it prudent to leave them in peace for a while.

Within the hour, one of the staff brought a message from Becky Harmsworth, with a request to see him in private.

Becky was patted down and escorted into a side room.

"Welcome home, my dear."

All hope drained from Becky's face when she looked directly at the Prime Minister. She felt she had to at least try though.

"Sir, please remove the Unit from the firing line, they have done enough."

The smile may have remained on his lips, but Becky could see his eyes and they told such a different story. The Prime Minister pointed to a seat. Becky sat the same time he did.

For a while he just sat and stared at Becky. As he went to speak, there was a knock at the door, a pause and then Charles Harmsworth came in, followed by one of the Chequers security people. The Prime Minister recognized him instantly and asked that he find Major Finnegan. The security man nodded his head and left, closing the door behind him. It was only moments later that there was another knock and the Major walked in.

Major Finnegan stood with his back against the book case, watching and waiting. Becky returned her attention to the Prime Minister; it was then that she felt her father's hand slide into hers. Both their fingers opened and intertwined with one another. She truly loved her father so dearly, she just hoped that what he heard from this meeting wasn't going to change that.

"Sir, JoJo told me that the Unit was to rejoin with her boss. The only reason for that is to go after Prince Ahmed bin-Oman. Please, Sir; give this job to someone else." Her tears flowed down her cheeks, even the firm grip of her father wasn't helping to heal the hole in her heart that she felt if she was going to lose JoJo.

The Prime Minister moved forward in his chair, his elbows now resting on his thighs. He took a breath, not even sure how to start this conversation. "My dear, on paper I'm the most powerful man, not only in this room, but in this country. But I know for a fact that if I ordered the Unit to stand down, they, to a man, would disobey that order."

He even glanced over at the major and a small nod of his head only re-affirmed his reasoning. He told Becky that the prince had already advertised what he intended to do when he tore a hole in every firewall at the pay and pensions building and stole only the information regarding the Unit's families. He went on to explain to Becky that the prince had already tried to kill every family member of the Unit, with the attack on Kenton Barracks.

"It took the bravery of so many men and women at Kenton Barracks to hold back the prince and his men so that almost all the families could get away and permanently out of his reach. The Unit brought you back because he stole you from your family and the life you wanted to live. The madness of the man knows so few bounds. If he willingly wants to take on the Unit so he can kill the last remaining family member that he can get his hands on, then confrontation between he and the Unit is inevitable."

Charles Harmsworth watched his daughter nod her head in acceptance that the Prime Minister wasn't going to change his mind. He helped her up, and together they walked out of the library. The Prime Minister watched as Becky held onto her father to the point that he truly believed, it was Charles that was holding her up. Major Finnegan continued to stand with his back to the book case. He was summoned there for a reason, he just waited for his boss to tell him why.

The Prime Minister watched the Major as he waved to one of the seats his guests had just vacated, and the Major walked over and sat down.

"We have finally caught a break. One of the mercenaries that the prince had hired was arrested at the port of Dover. It appears that the prince's delusions of himself have reached new heights. Those close to him tried to get him to leave England and forget the girl and the retribution he had planned for the Unit. He shot both of them, and that's when the mercenary decided it was time to leave."

When the mercenary was caught, he couldn't talk fast enough. He gave the authorities the location of where the prince was hiding, as well as the dwindling number of men he had left.

"The Unit will get the wife to Kenton Barracks, then I'm giving them the location of where the prince and what's left of his people are hiding. I want you and your people on the ground and already there before I do that."

That was the good news, but Major Finnegan had been in the Army long enough to know that, now came the bad news.

"Major, I've spoken to my generals about you, and they all tell me the same thing, hence this meeting. I'm going to give you an order face to face so you can't refuse it. You're going to hate it and want to refuse it, but me sitting here and telling you personally means you have no choice."

An hour later, the news stations around the country carried the breaking news banner of the rescue of Becky Harmsworth. The news station found a picture of her from a birthday party with her mother and father either side of her and used it, along with the statement from the Prime Minister that she was well and was with her family for now while receiving medical treatment for exhaustion.

*******

JoJo left Freddy to deal with the logistics of getting the Unit fed and moving extra ammo into their webbing. She went to see the pilot; he must have anticipated the meeting because he was already waiting for her with a map in his hands.

"Good morning, Captain, the briefing given to me is that I land at this grid reference," he pointed to the school field where he had picked up the Unit. "Then I'm to drop you at this grid reference." His finger moved up the map and stopped.

He then went on to explain that this was all he was told because the situation was still fluid, and that the leader of the people he would be taking there may wish to change those grid references. All JoJo did was nod her head, then look closely at the map. Her eyes had already found the place the people who used the canal called the Cherry Trees. It didn't show up as that. She then traced back three miles and pointed to a field.

The pilot ringed the field and nodded his head before leaving to join his co-pilot; JoJo was already heading back to talk to Freddy. She sat next to him and pulled her own map out. With the noise inside the helicopter, it was pointless holding a tactical meeting.

"When we land, I'll fill everyone in, then its time to meet the boss. You take all the evens and cross the canal. We will be forced marching from this point for close to three miles. Freddy, other than cows, sheep and Curtis, we kill anything between us and this grid reference."

All Freddy did was nod his head and stand; he split the team and JoJo went over everything in her head, pulling thoughts around as well as assessing situations that bore fruit in her imagination. JoJo's own decision making meant that she was leaning heavily on the information that was in the file at the police station.

When the Unit took back Becky Harmsworth and she realized who her bed partner was, she had no choice but to go dark so she could get the Unit out as quickly as possible, pausing on that task only to phone her contact at the embassy and reveal who the leader of the slave ring really was. The collateral damage of that was in the file at the police station, and page after excruciating page of carnage that came to her country.

Prince Ahmed bin-Oman was a spoiled little bastard and the Unit had taken his favorite toy away from him. The only man that had even the tiniest control over him was the King, and going on the information in that file, by the time he realized what Ahmed bin-Oman had been up to, his nephew had moved his goons and himself out of the country and set up camp here to continue to pull both countries into a war.

JoJo had her own doubts about Becky; she was out of his sphere of influence now, as the time they spent zig zagging across countries could attest to. The bitch had been digging and digging into JoJo, pulling back the barriers that JoJo had refused to allow anyone to see behind. When Becky figured out that neither JoJo or the Unit were going with her to get her home, JoJo could see her falling to pieces, that's when her own shield slipped and she grabbed Becky and kissed her to calm her down.

*******

The helicopter landed and the back doors opened, the Unit ran out and took up a defensive position around the rear of the helicopter. The downward thrust of the blades now pushed the bird out of the defensive half circle and climbed to her requested cruising height, The pilot took one more look out of the window and mentally wished them luck before his concentration returned to the job in hand.

The Unit once again regrouped, JoJo was the only person standing. The details of the file clearly were in her thoughts as she started from the snatch-back of Becky Harmsworth through to what was happening while the Unit went dark and right up until this point. The deathly silence as she described the all-out war between Prince Ahmed bin-Oman's men and the soldiers at Kenton Barracks, as Curtis and the troops tried to get the families onto the waiting helicopter and away to safety.

"I have to emphasize this to you all. Your wives and children are safe and cannot be harmed by anyone. The downside to this, though, is that Maggie got separated from the wives during the conflict. Curtis made the decision to order the helicopter to leave before more casualties became inevitable."

JoJo's eyes roamed every face in front of her, dimmed by the lateness of the hour, yet the moonlight giving each face enough form so she knew who was who.

"Curtis has Maggie with him; she is safe." She then pointed up the canal and into the darkness. "Curtis has gone to ground; they are three miles up there. It's our turn now. That scumbag wants a war between our two countries and he's using our families to turn it into one. Our job is to join up with Curtis."

She took a deep breath, and for once, felt comfortable that the right decision was being made.

"Our orders changed when all that happened. The priority now is to keep Maggie safe and get her the hell away from that madman. If we have to fight through anything to do so, then so be it. I'm giving you the same order I gave Two (Freddy) not twenty minutes ago." She prayed that she would get the same response from the men of the Unit as she did from Freddy. "Other than cows, sheep and Curtis, we kill anything between us and our target grid reference."

The men stood and a few chuckled. It was Freddy's turn to talk when he said, "Four "Jackson" you take the lead; we cross the canal at the first available point. Six "Lewis" you're with me, as well."

No sooner had he finished talking than Jackson was on his feet and headed up the path alongside the canal, his weapon up and pointing along the canal. The moon once again moved away from the small cloud that had momentarily covered it. Jackson took advantage of the extra light and stepped up his pace. After two hundred yards, Jackson came across a canal lock that lowered or raised the water level in the canal and crossed it. Freddy and Lewis joined him.

The two sticks of soldiers moved with the speed and skill drilled into them. Twice they paused, going to a knee as a foreign sound finally became familiar to them and they moved on again.

Suddenly, there was a 'plop' sound in the middle of the canal. They all froze.