Seven Years (#3 in Military Series)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Three weeks later.

 

The air in the jeep was suffocating.

Nobody spoke but the tension was obvious as Carlos and Jules remained in the back, the General's disappointment was hidden beneath a thick veil of austerity.

Jules felt as if she would collapse to her knees at any moment and beg for him to take her back and forget everything she had said, if only to remove that look from his eyes.

As if she was his daughter and had just told him that she wished she had been adopted but Jules needed to stick to her guns.

He had done something she could never forgive. He had thrown the lives of two good men and excellent soldiers away without a second's pause.

Jules could not serve a man who was so willing to play with their lives. She knew it was what she had signed up for but she could not continue on that path; to serve her country's interests, all it would take was her soul.

Carlos had found her crouching beside the torched remains of Evans and Jackson, their bodies hunkered down for protection behind a burnt out vehicle.

Jules tried not to think about what was going through their mind when they saw those friendly fighter jets. Did they scream? Did they cry?

She could only imagine the feeling of betrayal that had coursed through their veins as those bombs were dropped.

Carlos and Jules had buried their bodies a mile or so away from the town. Their bodies now rested in a foreign land. They did not deserve to be there but it was all they could do.

Jules and Carlos's headsets had been fried, the connection subsequently lost, and they had to hike their way out of the desert.

It took them three days to find their way back to base where they were charged with going AWOL.

The charges were quickly dropped and they whisked away for debriefing where they were constantly reminded that they were forbidden from speaking of anything they had seen through the Official Secrets Act they had signed upon their employment into the Special Task Force.

Jules looked out of the window and saw rolling hills of sand and heard the sound of distant gun fire when Carlos shook her shoulder.

She turned and looked at him, "We're here."

When she looked back out the window she saw a navy base with green hills in the background. They were back in England.

Ridgeway showed the Marine on duty his identification and the gate was quickly opened and they progressed into the base.

Their car passed groups of jogging naval personnel, people walking to their next briefing or class and Jules was struck by how different everything was.

A few weeks ago they were trekking across mountainous ranges to get back to civilisation and now they were about to be dropped off at a base as if they were kids being dropped off at camp for the holidays.

It was both extremes and Jules would be grateful for when everything returned to normal.

The vehicle came to a stop in front of a small, one story building. It looked like an extended bungalow with a white door and windows.

Opening the door, Jules slipped out with her pack, dressed in her uniform, and stood on the pavement with Carlos.

"Welcome to your new home," General Ridgeway was bidding them farewell.