The FO Officer

Tomorrow brought a familiar face, two in fact. Officer dick and the woman officer were in the admin's office when I knocked and came in. The one thing I did notice instantly was that both ranks had changed back. I was right, she was in charge.

The woman officer smiled. "Don't get too comfortable Staff Sargent Howard. We're going for a walk and you're buying the coffees."

"On my pay, Ma'am?"

We were already out of the admin's office, leaving Officer dick behind when she said. "Oh, trust me Staff Sargent, my wife often tells me I'm a cheap date."

Well, I laughed and was grateful she followed. We grabbed a coffee each as a take away and sat watching the admin building and the Barracks main gate. People passed and saluted the officer. I'm sure we made an odd couple.

"Please forgive the subterfuge, Staff."

An odd way to start a conversation, so I let it be and waited. She took a deeper breath and continued telling me that on the way to see me they had decided between themselves to test my patience. Good cop, bad cop was what they settled on. They switched ranks so that her admin officer could bait me while she could take a step back and watch, assessing me.

"You see I'm looking for a specific person. I already had him but he's retired now. He gave me three names from his time in the army that would fit what I'm looking for, but all three came up wanting. I was coasting until your name came into the frame over the death of your Private Collins."

I was interested in what she was saying. After all she was the only one giving out answers at the moment.

"Forgive me, Ma'am. But who are you?"

She went the cutest shade of pink. "Oh shit, yes of course. Sorry Staff. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Major Joan Carmichael, leader 'for my sins' of the Unit."

I looked for a moment longer, listening to what she had said over and over again in my head. The Major just sat and let me catch up.

"But with all due respect Ma'am, the Unit no longer exists. Even talking about the Unit like this, could get both of us into trouble."

She took a sip from her coffee, returned a salute from a very bewildered Private that passed us and continued. "Oh it does exist, Staff. Myself and my admin officer are living proof. Just as I'm here to ask you to join us." She took another sip of her coffee then smiled and added. "When we got back I found your cousin, he told me what he told you and in return I told him that I was going after you once I could get permission. I got the thumbs up from your cousin, so it's all on you now, Staff Sargent Howard."

*******

A week later I'm walking into a building that has no name attached to it. I had arrived just the previous evening. The home regiment put me up in the Sergeants Mess until I could get sorted out. I had only just put my bags down in my room at the mess, when my cousin walked in and insisted on giving me the grand tour. I suppose I better understood the magnitude of that evening, as my cousin so eloquently put it. 'When the Devil and his minions came to visit'. We walked over to that gate he had guarded that evening, we even stood at the spot that he and the man I now knew at Curtis Woodman decided the fate of so many civilians.

I was told to report to the Unit's building at nine o'clock. Two steps later and with my back to the door, I turned to look at the view. Kenton Barracks looked very normal now, a small part of a burned out vehicle was the reminder of the battle. The plaque attached to it told the story of the devil's visit (along with the exact time and date) and of how the soldiers of Kenton Barracks had dealt with him and his men. These Barracks had a history that was unique in the history of this country, that's for sure.

Another man walked up the steps a few seconds behind me. He's Freddy now rather than officer dick. I still have to fight the urge to salute him. Habit is as habit does I suppose. The civilian with him made me raise an eyebrow. I was still meeting new people here and that didn't feel like it was going to change anytime soon.

Another woman took to the steps as Freddy turned and smiled. "Ah, Ashley. You've actually saved me a job." Freddy then continued to walk up the steps and into the office by the main door waiving at me to follow. He was still talking as he walked. "Rick is taking you and Ashley away with him. I know by your records that you both took sniper school. Jo Jo wants Rick to give you both some advanced lessons. We've cleared it with our cousins across the water, since we'll be using some of their equipment and space. The jet leaves in two hours so I suggest you pack."

He passed around a sheet of paper from his desk. We looked at it and then him. "It's by a lake that belongs to the National Forest Service. They loan it out a few times to some of their own people. Rick asked Constance to see if he could get the loan of the place for a month and they fell over themselves agreeing. They of course know what you're doing up there and assure us that the place and surrounding area will be deserted while you are there."

Freddy became a little more serious after that. "You're there to listen to what Rick is going to teach you. His cutting you both some slack and got the Forest Service people to allow swimming, So a proper costume, not a bikini, please, Ashley." She smirked in response.

His turned to me. "We don't do speedos here so real swimming trunks, please."

We looked at each other and then at the civilian. His smile was infectious. "We'll be gone for two weeks, three if you drag your feet and don't get what I'm trying to teach you."

"OK, dismissed."

I nodded and turned to head back to my accommodation at the Sergeants mess. According to my cousin they were expecting a lot of personnel movement while the Unit grew once again up to strength.

Even as I walked across the grounds of Kenton Barracks, my thoughts wandered back to my conversation with Major Carmichael. My mind of course still reeling from discovering that the Unit was once again an active entity and what she told me about how that came to be.

When the then prime minister held another election and lost, his replacement was brought up to speed on everything. Two days into his briefings, he asked one of his generals why he hadn't met with the leader of the Unit? The room suddenly went really quiet and General Brownlow, who was giving the Prime Minister a briefing on all military regiments and strengths, asked for a private moment. Apparently, those in the room couldn't leave quickly enough.

Even with the thickness of the door between the Prime Minister's office and his secretary, it wasn't enough. The PM exploded. His assistant had never heard him swear at anyone or anything, but he sure made up for it when he lambasted his predecessor.

Then it went very quiet. The intercom buzzing surprised her. "Yes, Prime Minister?"

"Penny, get me Special Branch please."

"Yes, Prime Minister."

General Brownlow had shared that conversation with Major Carmichael. The Prime Minster had Special Branch send two of their people over to Ernest Powel's apartment to arrest him. When asked the charge, he was told it was espionage. They dropped him into a cell at their headquarters and the Prime Minister refused to see him for twenty-four hours.

It took a week of working with Special Branch's tech boys and girls to unravel what he had done to hide all existence of the Unit.

When General Brownlow walked into the Prime Minister's private office later that week the PM asked him to sit down. "General, I'm sorry. That fucking coward of an ex-Prime Minister has possibly destroyed something that this country and this office desperately has a need of. I'm not ordering you to do this, but I'm asking you to find and talk with Major Carmichael and Captain Staunton. Please don't order them, but ask them if they would both agree to meet with me at Checkers on Saturday. That will give them two days to think about it."

Both agreed to meet with the Prime Minister, on condition the General Brownlow was included in the meeting. All four sat in the library as the now Prime Minister lambasted the last PM and assured the people in front of him of his enthusiastic support.

"I took a liberty and asked General Brownlow to check if any of the Unit have left the service. As of yet, none have, although three are already looking into leaving and one has asked for the paperwork to be drawn up."

The conversation between all four went back and forth, with this Prime Minister displaying brutal honesty and sincerity. It had been a dark day at Downing Street when a coward looked out of the window and decided his future was worth more than the Unit.

After two hours of intense discussion the Prime Minister stood. The other three immediately stood as well. "People, I feel I'm both a bad influence here right now and also a distraction. Please wander the gardens, all three of you. I have about an hour of work stacked in my office. I've tried not to pressure any of you but with some of the original Unit on the verge of leaving the forces, the clock is indeed ticking. Please give me your answer in an hour."

And so the Unit got a new lease of life and the three who looked into leaving, instantly changed their minds when coming face to face once again with Jo Jo and Freddy, although it is rumored but hotly denied that the now Prime Minister sent a note to the last PM with only three words: "You fucking coward".

*******

One of the duty drivers from Kenton Barracks drove all three of us to the air force base twenty miles up the road. We boarded the private jet that sat in a quiet corner of the base and were airborne as soon as final checks were completed. Rick obviously was ex-forces. The plane had no sooner left the tarmac than his eyes closed and he slept. That gave Ashley and I a chance to talk.

I leaned over and held out my hand. "I'm the new boy, Brendan."

Thankfully she smiled and met my hand. "That's okay, with you here, I've moved up a place, I was the new girl until they shut the Unit. With it open again that sure makes you the new boy. Ashley by the way."

"I know something of Rick, little bits to be honest. The Unit, not so much. So I'm going to be leaning on you two all through this trip, hopefully not too much. If it gets old, please let me know."

Ashley smiled and nodded. "Oh, been there done that. Jo Jo helped and the boys just shrugged and helped when asked. No one is going to spin your wheels, so don't be shy about asking."

My face must have projected my confusion.

The giggle came first, then Ashley added. "Jo Jo. Our boss. Sometimes you get a nick name, or call-sign as we tend to call them, sometimes you don't. If you do, then get over it because you're not going to be known or called anything else but that."

Her head tilted towards the sleeping figure. "He got off lucky in my opinion. That's Halo. It was part of his call sign back in the day. He's kept it and even retired, but a lot of us still call him that."

Old training won out after a while and we both fell asleep. The thud of the wheels hitting the runway tarmac woke us. A few minutes later we were parked in a quieter part of the airport. The door opened and a woman flew into the plane and wrapped herself around Rick. Judging by the ease he held her wrapped form to him I figured it would be his wife. If it wasn't, I could see trouble on the horizon.

"I missed you baby. Momma is looking after the girls for the next month so that means I'm joining you at the lake."

His eyebrow went up and a smile graced his lips.

"Constance offered or you asked her too?"

Her smile got just as big as his, more so when she said. "Neither, one of the girls heard me making the arrangements for you three and she held a girls meeting, then phoned Auntie Constance on their cell phone to ask if they could all do a trip to Disney."

"Momma may be able to brow beat the captains of industry, but even she will admit, she's putty in their hands. Daddy is going to join them for the last two weeks."

Ashley leaned into me and whispered. "That's Kitten."

I looked shocked that she would even have a call sign.

*******

We helicoptered into the camp, which even from the air looked very isolated. The lake looked to be about a mile and a half long and about half a mile wide at its widest point. All those were guesses based on the view from the chopper, so I might be a few inches off in my calculations.

The camp (if you could call it that) consisted of two huts' and a brick building with a very impressive steel door. A boat was tied to the dock. Rick and I took one building; the girls took the other. After unpacking, Ashley and I wandered down to look at the lake. Unknown to Rick, Ashley was also giving me the history behind Halo and Kitten, from him rescuing her from the middle of a town square in one of the sand box countries, to her and one of their children being kidnapped. We were on the dock when Rick called us back to the camp.

His wife stood beside him, the conversation between Ashley and I still fresh in my memory. Her call sign was Kitten and over the next few days I was told the full history between them and how they met, in even greater detail, including the Units involvement in rescuing Halo when one of his own missions as a sniper went bad, not to mention the kidnapping that came later. Even knowing what I know now, I'm still not brave enough to tell her that her call sign suits her.

Rick walked us over to the steel door, unlocked it and then turned and said. "I'm not going to re-hash your sniper training, that's not what this is about. Jo Jo has asked me to broaden the sniper perspective within the Unit, the Unit maybe land based, but it's weakness is still anything amphibian. I plan to improve what you have."

He went on to explain. "During the second world war, the Germans took it upon themselves to mine the entrances to the English ports with floating mines. It was down to a small group of people to detonate those mines before they could damage ships. This is a simulation of those days."

He went on to explain that when Jo Jo had come to visit him with her request, he had looked around England and couldn't find a lake or river straight enough or private enough to do this. He asked Constance and she put him in touch with a General who ran logistics on American soil. It still took a while to find what was needed and of course get permission, not only to allow us Brits to train on American soil, or water in this case, but also from the National Forest Service to use their land. It helped that the local army base used the forest on occasions when on exercise.

As he finished his explanation he opened the steel door, leaned in and pulled out a rifle. I looked at it, open mouthed. It was Ashley who said, "You have got to be kidding me."

Rick smiled and, since she was the first to blink, handed her the rifle. ".303 Lee Enfield, bolt action rifle. Welcome to your training."

Ashley looked at him, still examining the rifle. "Does it even have ammunition, or did you have to make it?"

His smile almost split his face. "Oh yes, a rare find. Original nineteen forties ammunition. Twelve thousand rounds of the stuff, and still usable, well according to the armorer at the army base from which we borrowed the helicopter to get here."

Both Ashley and I were still casting sideways glances at each other, even when we had placed the rifle back into the armory.

As we walked back to the huts Rick explained that he needed to take us out our comfort zones. A sniper now has the best kit money can buy from range finders to scopes that are so accurate you can see your target pick his nose from a thousand plus yards.

"Remember this is Unit training. A thousand yards is the max to us because we always have to remain fluid. I could push the bar to two thousand or even three, but the actual odds of a sniper from the Unit being afforded the luxury of getting that shot is nonexistent. We kill up close and to a sniper from the Unit, that's a thousand yards and closer."

We chilled out that evening and after breakfast, we all got onto the boat and went out onto the water. Brooke drove, taking the boat to the top end of the lake where Rick placed a buoy. It was effectively a float, with a steel plate attached and a bell welded to the top of the steel plate. Brooke then steered the boat to its next stop, indicated by Rick raising his arm, I dropped the anchor over the front end.

We stacked a few sandbags at the front, and then Rick sat on the deck and we followed. "Okay, just remember this isn't a pass or fail exam. Take your time and if you feel yourself getting frustrated, then stop, get up and walk around. But I warn both of you now, if you throw this rifle into the lake in your frustration, you're going in after it, with my boot up your arse as an incentive."

Ashley and I both laughed, despite knowing that Rick meant every word. Ashley went first and quickly reached her frustration level. Rick and I could understand. At sniper school we hit targets, be they moving or still, from a stationary position. Hitting a moving buoy bobbing up and down with every wave as you're also bobbing up and down is a very different challenge. Plus, the Enfield, didn't even have a scope attached. Just the rear aperture sights.

Rick was clever enough to break the sessions down into three hour lengths. Ashley was the first to announce that it was impossible. Halo took the rifle, knelt next to Ashley's prone form and fired, his first shot sounding the bell. Ashley and I were already on our two hundredth round and we still hadn't hit the bloody thing. Once again we were humbled by a man I knew by reputation and figuratively speaking, had only just met.

Those folks that did this in the war deserved the medal they received at the end of it.

I was the first to hit the buoy and hear that sweet sound of the bell. I made the fatal mistake of standing, perhaps a little pushing out of my chest was involved as well. Ashley came up to me and held out her hand for the rifle, I handed it to her and she pushed me over the edge of the boat.

Once the laughter had died down and she had handed the rifle to Rick, she did help me out of the water. "You know you had that coming. I do fully expect you to retaliate when I finally hit that damn Buoy."

We hugged and I did re-affirm her opinion. When Ashly was tossed into the lake an hour later, she had finally heard that damn bell and she couldn't have been happier.

Like all challenges, once you manage to do it once, it seems to become easier. The weather had a couple of bad days and the water was a bit choppier. Rick insisted we go out in those conditions as well. Both our percentage rates slowly climbed as our inner confidence grew. We both liked to hear that bell, no matter how often Rick asked Brooke to move the boat a few feet further back.

*******

We were in day twelve and Rick and Brooke were taking us out individually now. The one-to-one sessions were more to fine tune what we were doing. Ashley and I learned a lot from a man we had both come to call friend.

With the float tied to the side of the boat we slowly made it back to the dock. Brooke looked around and frowned.

It was Rick that put it into words. "Where's Ashley?"

Brook shrugged her shoulders, her eyes scanned the compound once again. I could see the silence was worrying him, more so when he said, "Brooke, take a look around, find out if she's okay, we'll put the guns in the armory and fuel up the boat for tomorrow."

She kissed him and then jumped off the boat. We were still pulling bits together when a piercing scream came from the compound.

"HALO!!!"

Rick had already dropped the rope he was rounding up and was off at a full run. I grabbed the sniper rifle I had been using since I knew it still had five rounds in it, leapt from the boat and kicked the boat away from the dock, before giving chase. I was locked and loaded by the time I had caught up with him, standing next to Brooke, both looking into Ashley's room. Her room was a mess. Some blood on the floor made it look like someone was dragged towards the door. The blood stopped just short.