THIS IS BOOK TWO! PLEASE READ SILENCE FIRST AS THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THE SYNOPSIS
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updated regularly
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Nearly a year later and [now] Sergeant Major Abigail Laurens has managed to do the seemingly impossible. But most importantly, she has managed to...
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IRAQ two and a half years ago
Abby hauled the medical pack onto the small stretcher like bed in the centre of her tent. She squinted her eyes, trying to avoid staring directly at the blinding sun that was gleaming in from the small plastic window in her tent.
"Laurens. Ops tent, now."
"Everything okay, Serg?" She was too tired to hide the confused look on her face, it was only midday and they were not due on patrol until 15:00 hours and they had no plans going off base for the foreseeable future.
"Not really. We've lost comms with the checkpoint."
"Green on green?"
"Looks like it. Let's go."
Abby followed Sergeant Major Tom Lawrence into the stuffy tent. There was only herself and Lawrence, Moore and a couple of other CO's from the accompanying sections on the base.
"Good." Moore spoke firmly, acknowledging their arrival. "Sergeant Laurens, you remember Captain Woodbridge, from British SF?"
Abby quickly stood to attention, her hands clasped behind her back. She was the lowest ranking officer in this room, and the only woman, and there was an eerie, unanonymous acknowledgment of that fact. And that terrified Abby.
"Yes, Sir."
They hadn't seen or even heard from the other since Abby's first tour but she remembered him, now that she'd been reminded. And he clearly remembered her.
"At ease." Captain Woodbridge reassured her. He still looked kind. She always seemed to notice that first out here. To others, to the local people out here at least, they didn't always see them as kind.
"We haven't had word from the checkpoint since yesterday morning. And, no, it's not green on green."
Abby snuck a glance at Lawrence, the brief glare of uncertainty didn't reassure Abby; neither did Lawrence's subtle anger at Moore - who had clearly not disclosed this information to him beforehand.
Captain Woodbridge sighed and rested his hands on the small table the soldiers were circling.
"British SF have been tracking an insurgent known to us as 'Hall' for quite some time now. We know your duties here have meant you haven't had the pleasure of dealing with or meeting him, but the lack of communication from your checkpoint has reason to worry us - and worry us enough that we need your help."
