Z-Hour – 1 Day
The next day dawned with a watery sun, lost in a cloudy haze that obscured the view despite the evening's rain shower having ended sometime after I dozed off. It wasn't the kind of weather you'd want for a holiday, but I really didn't care; I was actually hoping that the weather would be shitty for the next couple of days. Shitty weather is great cover for the combat soldier, and cover is exactly what we were going to need if we were going to pull this off without any hitches.
I lay on the thin cotton sheets, staring up at the electric fan that was fixed to the ceiling; trying to enjoy the cooling breeze that was passing over my sweating body. This was it, the planning was over, and there was nothing to do now but head off to the border and hope that the bribes that Jenna and Richie had made to Becky's contacts in the Government had got the boys, and our equipment, there unmolested.
For me this was the critical part of the mission; without the equipment, this mission was a non-starter. I would fight my way into the compound with nothing but my teeth if I needed to, but I also knew that we needed more than that to get Becky out alive without casualties of our own.This was the part that I could do absolutely nothing about and I fucking hated it. I had absolutely no control over what might have happened in the last few hours and that didn't sit easily, or help me sleep. One snotty official, one overzealous soldier, and we were scuppered; if the equipment the guys were carrying was discovered it was all over, and Becky was as good as dead...
...and that wasn't something I was prepared to accept.
Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop.
I lay staring at the fan, listening to the rhythmic beat and thinking my way through the mission one more time; it was complex for sure, but I had a good team with me and I knew it would succeed. All we had to do was get there.
Realizing that my mind was just running around in circles, I dragged my protesting body from the bed and into the bathroom, heading straight for the shower. A twist of the faucet and the steam started to build as I allowed the water to flow over my body; soaking away the sweat and the tension and everything that was in my head, pouring it down the drain like the waste it was. With a twist of a handle, I turned the water to as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed away; cleansing myself as best I could from the dirty feeling of last nights nightmare before twisting the handle the opposite way, and standing under the freezing cold water until my lips were blue.
I emerged from my shower rejuvenated and feeling ready to face the day, it was a good feeling, one that I had experienced many times before; that mixture of nerves and adrenaline that told me I was ready, my head was now clear...game on.
There was a knock at the door as I dressed and I pulled my t-shirt over my head quickly and peered through the security lens before opening the door wide.
"Morning, Freen, dear..."
Jenna stepped into my room, her face sombre; the joy I'd seen in it when we first met destroyed by the events of the last few days. I could see it clearly now, how every message that arrived, every barrier that appeared to confound us had taken away another piece of her, added another line to her face. Even now with the end in sight she looked jaded, exhausted, damn near broken.
"Have you slept at all, Jenna?" I asked as I closed the door behind her, looking at the dark circles that had appeared under her baggy, tired looking eyes.
"Not really," she admitted, "too many things to worry about Freen, dear, far too many things. I don't think I've had much more than three or four hours sleep last night, the worry of it all is getting to me I'm afraid. Richie terrified last night and it was really had to stay strong for them."
"Not for much longer," I replied, wishing that I'd managed to get even three hours sleep. "This time tomorrow and it'll all be over and we'll be heading home. In fact, when it's all over, you might want to call Richie and get her to organize a welcome home party for Becky; I think she'd appreciate that."
"You really mean that don't you, Freen? There isn't a doubt in your mind that you'll bring Becky home, is there?"
"Not a single one," I told her, as convincingly as I could. There were a few doubts, of course there were, but I wasn't going to let her know that; and I trusted in my abilities to overcome anything that got in our way.
She stared at me as I quickly got dressed and then started to throw my black fatigues into my stuff sack, making sure that the rest of my personal kit that I would need was in there. James and I had agreed that wearing our civvies until we got to the safe house was the sensible option; there was no sense in alerting anyone that might still be watching by leaving our hotels looking like we were preparing for war, and the disguise of us being a couple of lost tourists might be a useful one.
"Are you still sure about this, Freen?" Jenna asked, sitting on the bed as I packed; a tear present in her eye.
"Never been surer!" I said with a broad smile; trying and failing to make her feel better.
"This is a massive risk," she said tears falling openly now, "not just for Becky; this is a massive risk for all of you, I've been worrying about that as well; you're all risking so much forher."
"It's a risk I'm prepared to take, that we're all prepared to take," I told her, pulling a tissue from the box by the bed and handing it to her with a confident smile.
"But you know you could die attempting this. You all could; I'm not sure I want that on my conscience." Jenna said sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with the tissue.
"In the end, everyone dies, Mrs A," I said, dropping my bag by the door and sitting down next to her. "That's one of life's great certainties. I can't speak for the others, but I think if it came down to that then I'd rather die doing something worthwhile, like rescuing the woman I love, than living until I'm old, all alone and dying full of regrets. I think I want my life to have meaning again, like it used to, you know?"
"You sound like you've thought about this a lot," she said shaking her head at me. "I'm not sure I like the idea of that. I don't want anything to happen to you, Freen, you've become like a member of my family, you do know that, don't you?"
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Mrs A,"I said remembering my best mate's favorite phrase. "I'm indestructible, and besides, this'll be the third time I've had to save Becky, and they do say that the third time's a charm."
"I still don't like the idea of all this, Freen dear," she said placing her hand on my leg, and ignoring my attempts at humor, "you'll all be in terrible danger."
"What would you prefer, Jenna, we try and succeed, or we do nothing and sit here and wait until the bastards give up and kill Becky anyway?"
"I'd prefer it if neither of those were options," she replied crying again. I slipped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly; astounded at how natural this simple motion felt, like it had once, or perhaps twice before.
"So would I," I said as I handed her another tissue from the box, "but you have to understand, these bastards have had no intention of real negotiation from the start, I'm positive of that. Look, it's time to be straight with each other; I'm convinced that what we told you was wrong. We've never really thought that this was a simple hostage deal; and I'm sure you thought the same. In fact, I'm positive that these fuckers are the real deal, or at least they'd like to think they are. They now want something that you and Armstrong Industries simply can't give them. Becky's just a pawn in all of this, an easy target that they're using for extra publicity. You can give them the money but you can't give them the prisoners they want, and the authorities have already said they don't negotiate with terrorists. The killed Brian before the deadline because they wanted to, because they wanted to send out a message; if we don't try to get Becky out soon, she's a dead woman."
"You know our Consulate is still negotiating behind the scenes though, Freen," Jenna insisted earnestly, her eyes begging me not to go through with my plan, "something may still come from that."
"I know they are," I told her, "and yes it might, but the deadline is pretty much on us already and we need to act soon or we might lose her. You know I'm right; if the negotiations work and they release her then great, but if not, we've got to be in position and ready to go in."
More tears fell from Jenna's eyes as she nodded sadly, knowing at some level that I was right. Trying to be comforting, I squeezed her shoulders one last time. We sat together in silence for a while; until my room's phone rang, startling the two of us I grabbed the handset from the receiver, stretching the old fashioned curly cable as far as I could to lift it to my ear.
"Snowy," he said loudly down the phone. "Tell me you're ready, kid, because we need to get moving if we're going to do everything we wanted to do today."
"Jesus, James," I answered, following his lead and keeping up our cover in case anyone was listening in to the line, taking no chances at all. "It's not even eight o'clock yet and I haven't had breakfast."
"Breakfast is for wimps, kiddo, but we'll grab something while we're out if it means that much to you," he said nonchalantly. "The car's here and I'm in reception waiting on you; get a move on,Blondie. The sooner you're down, the sooner you can indulge that swimming fetish of yours in the lake."
"I thought today was about rest and relaxation, James," I said getting a raised eyebrow from Jenna. I mouthed the word 'cover' at her as he blathered away, getting a nod in reply. "Not about getting me up stupidly early and making me race around like an idiot; because I can tell you that's not very fucking relaxing."
"Yeah, well, you're awake now aren't you, kid? Now haul ass, I'll give you five minutes or I'm going without you. I ain't had a day off for weeks and I need me some relaxation and some culture."
"Ok, ok, boss, I give in," I said sighing dramatically. "Let me grab some things to take with me and I'll be right down."
I hung up and sat back, closing my eyes for a second to compose myself before I spoke again. "Jenna, I need to ask you something very difficult now, I need you to do two things for me, and for the mission."
"What's that?" she replied sniffing and sitting up straight.
"Firstly, I need you to keep yourself safe, don't leave the hotel if you can help it and ideally, don't leave your room. If you can get some of your contacts from the Army to shepherd you around; just to take that worry off my mind, ok?"
"I can do that," she said nodding, "and the other thing?"
"You need to stay strong, be brave, and not give anything away. James and I need you to act as if everything is normal, and act like you're the one that's told us to take a day off before we collapse, ok? It's important we keep that cover for as long as we can, the longer people think that everything is normal, the better chance we have of getting away before anyone's suspicions are raised."
"You think that person we saw is spying on you?"
"I don't know, Jenna," I replied shrugging, "but I was taught never to take any chances; so can you do that for me, too?"
"I can do that for you, too," she said reaching out and taking my hand. "I do have one question though, dear, how will I know what's going on? No one's told me how that will happen yet? How do I stay in touch and be ready?"
"Take my phone," I said reaching into a pocket and handing it to her. "I'll get Mel to call you on it and keep you updated whenever she can; but you have to promise not to call her and not to mention anything that's going on at all, we need to maintain security until we're all safely home and ideally, I mean home in Blighty."
"I will," she promised, "as long as I know what's..." Her voice tailed off as I decided to end the conversation, before it upset me any further, by standing up, resting my hand on her shoulder.
"I need to go, Jenna," I said squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "As James would say, 'daylights a wasting'."
I picked up my bag from the floor and zipped it closed, the sound drawing a line under the conversation. "Next time you see me, you'll have Becky with you, and then we'll take her home safe and sound."
"I hope so, Freen, I hope you all come back safely; please be careful, won't you."
"That's what you pay me for," I said with a wink, slinging the sack over my shoulder and opening the door. "I'll see you soon, Jenna."
"Good lu..."
"Don't say it," I interrupted quickly, holding up a hand to stop her before she could jinx the mission totally. "Just say goodbye, Jenna, say nothing more than goodbye."
"Goodbye, Freen," she said as I closed the door behind me, "goodbye."
-----
I met James in the hotel lobby, throwing my bag next to the garish sports holdall he was standing next to.
"Everything sorted, James?" I asked as he winked a greeting at me.
"Everything's sorted, Blondie, we have transport, time, and strict orders from the boss to do nothing but relax for the rest of the day. The lake is calling my friend, and you know that a good workout in the water will take your mind off things."
"Well, let's go hit the water then, James," I said clapping him on the shoulder, "if it'll stop you nagging me that is."
With that awkward feeling of overly forced casualness, we walked out of the hotel towards a dark blue Jeep. As James began throwing our bags into the back of it we talked about the places we were planning to go, maintaining our cover to the end. As I climbed into the passenger seat, I saw a guy standing in a doorway opposite, cigarette hanging out of his mouth; I didn't know if it was the guy that Jenna had noticed at the trials, but he did look familiar to me, I'd certainly seen him before anyway.
I didn't know who he was working for, our side, theirs or somewhere in between; but it didn't really matter at all. Our cover was sound, James was with me, and we were on our way, one short drive around town to throw off any suspicions, or tails, and then turn towards the rising sun and the border; next stop Pakistan.
------
Noon came and went as James and I drove towards the safe house, the roads we were using varying between excellent and downright awful. Right now the trip was as dull as it could possibly be; James fast asleep in the passenger seat, taking advantage of a stretch of decent road to nap. I didn't mind doing the bulk of the driving, the plan required James having to hit the road not long after we arrived so he could be in position well before we attacked the compound. His outward journey was probably going to be a nervous and uncomfortable one, and he needed all the rest he could get.
To pass the time, I was chewing down on a snack bar we'd bought when we'd filled up the massive fuel tank and the jerry cans we were carrying; not wanting to have to stop once we got into Pakistan itself just in case. Personally, I wished that we were doing this journey at night like the rest of the team had done, but our concern was arousing too much suspicion by having the team vanish all at once; and suspicions like that might find their way to the wrong people, and we might find our assault compromised from the outset. Besides, Mel assured me that the route she'd selected was barely patrolled and we'd be able to make it across the border without any unwanted attentions.I fucking hoped that was going to be the case anyway.
About half an hour later, I was sipping at some water when I saw James stretch and yawn from the corner of my eye.
"Fucks sake, Snowy," he said glancing at his watch, "why didn't you wake me an hour ago? It's my turn to take over."
"Wasn't tired," I replied simply, shaking my head as he offered me another of the disgusting local snack bars. "Besides, you need the sleep more than I do, I can probably grab a nap when we get there."
"Nervous?" he asked, stretching out and sticking his bare feet on to the dashboard.
"Little bit, boss," I acknowledged, "be better when we get there and I know everything's sorted, be even better when it's all over."
"Know what you mean, mate," he replied, yawning again. "So, what's your plan for when we get back?"
"I think firstly call Mel and make sure that helicopter Richie arranged has got Becky back ok, and then drive like hell for the border and safety."
"I know that, you twat," he said laughing. "I meant when we get back as in back to the UK."
"Buy everyone a good meal and a load of beer I think boss, at the very least."
"I meant with Becky, mate," he said shoving me playfully causing us to veer slightly across the road.
"As I think you know. You must have plans, that's how your mind works, isn't it?"
"Apologize profusely for being a complete dickhead for starters, I guess," I said shrugging. "After that, I don't have any real plans. I think Becky's going to need quite a bit of time getting herself right in the head after this; if she wants me there, then I guess I'll be there to help her through it all."
"You ok with that?" he asked, making me frown. "You've never seemed comfortable with the whole therapy deal that's all, and you keep telling me how badly you handle emotional women."
"I'll just have to manage," I said smiling wryly, "she's worth it."
"What about after that, kid? You and Becky going to take a long holiday? A nice cruise around the world perhaps, where you can finally switch off?"
"I don't know about taking a holiday," I said laughing at his persistence, "but there is this nice, secluded, luxury cabin in Scotland I know that might be nice to go back to."
"Tell me more," he said twisting in his seat.
"Honestly, I don't like thinking too much about the future, you know? I never have; focus on the present and all that carpe diem stuff. My mum used to tell me that losing sight of the present stopped you from enjoying it."
"Must be something, Freen, something that you've been looking forward to."
"Christmas," I blurted out without thinking, jumping slightly as the Jeep swerved across the rough track we were on. "What?"
"Christmas?" he replied with a laugh, "never pictured you as a big 'tree and fairy lights' kind of girl, that's all."
"I'm not," I said sliding my seat as far back as I could and stretching out. "I used to be though, sort of. Every Christmas, my mum and I used to have a big traditional meal and swap presents, if we could afford them. Some of my best memories were of Christmas; but after she died, I never celebrated it again."
"So what's changed now," he asked seriously, no hint of the teasing tone he'd used earlier. "Becky?"
"In part," I replied explaining about how we'd found the tapes my mum had made for me, and how Becky had them converted onto the computer for me to finally watch; telling him about my mum's wishes for the Christmases after her death.
"We used to talk about Christmas," I said finally, "Becky and I, I think she wanted me to find the magic again, said she was determined to get me enjoying a family Christmas again anyway."
"At the manor?"
"I don't know, mate," I said shrugging, "Bec never said where; she just said that she wanted to make it special for us. I was kind of looking forward to it actually."
"Well, hold onto that thought, kid; one thing I learned in Iraq is that having something to look forward to keeps you motivated when you're in the thick of things."
"I have motivation enough, James," I replied yawning loudly and closing my eyes, "more than enough in fact."
"Well, keep that in mind as well then," he said as I shuffled myself down into the warm seat, trying to find a comfortable spot. I didn't bother to reply, I was already well on my way to a restless sleep.
------
I was still asleep when we snuck across the invisible line that took us from 'friendly' to 'hostile' land. When I woke up, I could feel the change in James' driving as we took the long route around to avoid civilization. We were driving much slower that we had on the paved roads and, as I pulled myself upright, I asked him why.
"Dust," he said simply, not taking his eyes from the road.
"Ah," I replied. It might not have seemed like a sensible response to the casual listener, but I wasn't a casual listener. Dust was a terrible giveaway to the mobile soldier, and it has been ever since the days when we fought on horseback. It was a fine balance between driving at pace and not kicking up a dust cloud that could be seen for miles around and risking attracting unwanted attention.
For the second time that day, I was wishing that we were doing this at night.
"Is it my turn to drive, boss?" I asked as I stretched out the kinks that my nap had caused.
"Hardly worth it, kid," he said nodding at the GPS system we'd stuck to the dashboard. "We're pretty much there; sit back and relax my dear, I will get us there safe and sound."
He was true to his word as well, and we pulled up to the small building on the edge of the lake about six and a half hours after we left Srinagar. It was a huge relief to get here safely and as we parked the Jeep in a large barn next to the small truck that Andy and Simon had arrived in, and another four by four that I assumed belonged to the rest of James' team, I allowed myself a brief moment of relaxation.
The first part of the mission was complete, that was one thing off the list. The safe house we were using was a large run down farmhouse, right on the lakeside and about three miles as the crow flies from the secluded location where Becky was being held. It was a great location for us to use as a springboard for the attack; and, as we entered the building, it looked like I was back in Afghanistan, weaponry and equipment scattered in neat piles all around the room.
"Snowy, Panda," Andy said with a nod as I stepped through the doorway. "Welcome to Pakistan."
"Nice to be here, Skids," I said with a smile, "sitrep?"
"Si and the guys are outside getting set up. All the gear is here and we've tested it to make sure it's all working. I think we're pretty much ready to go."
"What about our contact?" James asked as he dumped his kitbag on the floor and shook Andy's hand.
"They're arriving in a couple of hours to take you and Tom away, boss," he replied shrugging. "Will you be ready for that?"
"Not a problem," James replied as I was about to voice my concerns. "Just let me get kitted up and I'll be ready to go."
"Ok then, your gear is over here, boss," Andy said gesturing into the corner. "Yours is over there, Snowy, everything you wanted is there."
I threw my kitbag down next to the pile of equipment and started thumbing through it. I made a mental note to send Richie and Bonnie an invite to the meal and beer party, they'd come through for us in a big way. Everything you could possibly want as an assault team was in front of me, 'Dragon Skin' body armor, helmets, and more ammunition and magazines than I could ever use; and best of all, sat on top of everything, the night vision and communications gear that I'd wanted.
The NV goggles were going to be a key part to our mission; not only were they going to be essential for the main assault, giving us the advantage of sight in and around the dark buildings, but they were also going to be used for the mad dash back to the border once we were back here. The plan being that, wherever possible, we wouldn't use the vehicle's lights until we were safely back across the border and on Indian soil.
"It's all looking good, kid," James said as he stripped to his shorts and pulled on his black fatigues.
"Time we got busy."
"Yeah," I replied, digging through my bag for my gear, "let's do this."
The next hour was spent gearing up and being introduced to the rest of the team. Simon had set up an improvised weapons range out back, and it didn't take long for James and I to get squared away; assault rifles tuned and set up just the way we liked.
Weaponry sorted, we waited for the sun to go down, going over the plan with the new guys, making sure that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do. The plan was for us to hit the target during the early hours of the morning; it was always the best time for this kind of mission, people were either asleep or at least at the lowest part of their attention cycles. It was a natural thing, and if there really were only fifteen or so hostiles at the property then the numbers we would be facing, at least at first, would be minimal. That was the hope anyway, or rather that was the plan.
The compound where Becky was being held was at the end of a narrow inlet off the main lake, not far from a road that led up to the more populated North end of the lake. James and his spotter Tom were going in first, being driven along that road in a regular transport vehicle being operated by our contact. James' plan was that they'd get as close as possible before decamping and heading to their position on foot to be ready for when we started the assault. We'd all meet up for the final assault, but the first thing we needed was intelligence, and cover, from the high ground; and that's what James was going to provide via a nifty little satellite transceiver that connected us to him, and to Mel and Chris back in New Delhi as well.
As an assault team, we were going to get a near perfect feed of up-to-date information from the three of them and with any luck it was going to give us yet one more advantage, and one that I knew would make all the difference.
Not for the first time was I grateful for the backing of Armstrong Industries, the communications equipment that Richie and Jenna had provided far surpassing anything that I'd asked for. I had no idea how many favors they'd had to call in, or promise, to get everything here; but somehow they'd managed to get everything we'd needed and then some.
"So, are you all ok with the plan, guys?" I said to the team when James finished speaking. "Any questions?"
"It all sounds good, Snowy," Andy said as he dropped a Glock pistol into a thigh pouch, slipping spare magazines into it for good measure. "Have to say, it feels good to be in action again."
"Amen to that," Jay replied.
He was a tough looking black guy that had flown in from the US with a guy he had introduced as Elliot. They hadn't said much, simply nodding or grunting as James and outlined the plan; I'd taken that as a good thing. Grouch had once told me that a soldier that doesn't ask questions is a soldier that's happy with the mission, and I assumed that they were happy with what we had planned.
It was when I was grabbing something to eat when I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching, seconds later, I was on my feet with my rifle pulled tightly into my shoulder, safety catch released, heading for the door.
"Stay frosty, Snowy," James whispered from his position on my shoulder, his weapon locked and loaded as well. "This is probably just our contact."
"I'm cool, James," I said, peering out from the cracked, dust stained window into the dimming light; "I'm just prepared in case it's not."
My mood lifted slightly as we laughed and I opened the door to see Andy deep in conversation with the taller of the two men. James pointed over at a scruffy looking box van that was covered with adverts, "I'm guessing that's my ride then," he said shaking his head in disgust.
"Looks that way, mate," I replied slinging my rifle over my shoulder and walking outside to meet our guests. "Let's go say hello."
------
It was indeed our contacts from the Kashmiri rebel force that had arrived, both hard faced and serious. Andy introduced them as Mahmood and Rahim and only one of them could speak English; thankfully that was Rahim, the leader of the group and the person assigned to our little group, the person that was going to take us there and back. I was pleased about that because James wouldn't need to talk to Mahmood; wouldn't be able to in fact as they hid in the back of the box wagon he was using to haul produce to the town at the head of the lake for the early morning market.
Introductions over, we all headed inside the building to talk. James and Tom gearing up while we finalized the plans; pulling traditional local robes over the fatigues and body armor they were wearing in an attempt at disguise, their weaponry hidden inside what looked like a bundle of cloth.
Personally, I thought it was overkill, I was sure that they wouldn't really need them for the amount of people that might see them, but James was adamant that he was taking no chances.
"All it takes is one fucker to see us as we get out and our cover might be blown," he said defending his idea; "and besides, don't you think I look good?"
"Height of fashion, boss," I said repeating Jenna's words from the other day, "the absolute height of fashion."
"Time to go, Mr Porter," Rahim said, gesturing at the doorway. "I have told Mahmood where he is to drop you off, do not worry he knows the road well."
"You got your GPS, boss," I asked as the pair of them double checked their equipment."
"Sure have, Snowy," he said nodding. "I do believe we're ready; Tom?"
"Ready, Panda, let's roll."
"Right, we'll speak to you guys in a bit then, once we're in position I'd start sending that intel' along."
"Only if it's safe to do so," I said quickly, "don't risk giving away your position."
"Naturally," he replied handing their equipment to Tom in the back of the truck. As Tom stretched out a hand to haul him in James paused for a second before turning back to me.
"I hope I've got this right, mate; but low and slow, Snowy," he said holding out his fist to me.
"Slow and low, Panda," I replied, bumping fists and smiling.
James winked at me before turning back and grabbing Tom's hand to be hauled into the van. Moments later, Mahmood had closed up the tail and driven off, leaving the rest of us behind to watch until the lights faded out of view.
Part two of the mission was under way; Zero-Hour was less than six hours away and it was time to get ready; the whirlwind was coming for 'The Protectors', and they would finally reap what they had sown.