Tweet of the Day: Strings of Retaliation – 11a – Poker
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Season 1 & 2 – Dispatch 7 – Dispatch 9
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Army Air Corps Middle Wallop, Middle Wallop, Hampshire, 17 March, 02:09 hrs GMT
The hangar doors were wide open. I concentrated on every step, suppressing the vibrations underneath my feet and shifting the air around muffle sound. This was my “final exam”. Captain Winters called it a “Red Cell” op. This was a test of the air base defenses and of my new skills. I carried two alarm clocks on my trouser pockets, the old round ones with the metal bells. If I managed to put them on target without being detected I passed. All part of my training to integrate my abilities with the Winter’s SAS unit.
No Excalibur to amplify my powers.
None of Owen’s mind tricks.
Just my face painted dark green, whatever skills I could muster and loads of patience.
And the base guards had live rounds on their weapons while I could not use lethal force to defend myself.
The Apache helicopter looked like a predatory shadow. Something ready pounce on its prey. I climbed the airframe and undid the latch to the turbine engine compartment. The whine of door hinges pierced the darkness. A second later someone turned the lights on. I shut my eyes against the glare and pressed myself against contours of the machine.
“Are you sure you left it here, Dexter?” asked someone asked.
The only thing that stood between me and whoever came in was the body of the Apache.
“I’m sure mate, where is could it be?” said Dexter.
“Are you sure about all this, you just met her?”
“Yeah, I’m as sure about it as anything,” tools clanged on metal, “I mean the whole world is going to hell, I’m not going to wait, twiddling my thumbs,” said Dexter.
I tugged at the air around me so that it would carry any sound or scent away from whoever was in the hangar. It also muffled the conversation.
“Sure, I guess, but still….”
“Just make sure you get to the church on time, and no crazy stag party business. I wanna be awake for my own wedding, you know?”
“Right, no worries, mate, everything taken care off.”
“Found it, lets go. I hate for the leftnenant to find us here at this bloody hour.”
The lights went out, the door closed. I counted down from one hundred just to be sure. I opened the hatch, hid the clock the fold of the turbine, closed the hatch and jumped off the helicopter. Waited ten seconds, then made my way out of the hangar. Two simulated explosives set, now to get back to Winter’s observation post beyond the base perimeter. It took me all of forty-five minutes to avoid the patrol dogs with their handlers. A good push of Air vaulted me over the outer fence.
Again, I waited.
Nothing but the distance sound of turbine engines.
The last five minutes were the longest until I reached Winter’s position.
“The witch has left the building,” I whispered to Captain Winters.
“Well done, ma’am. Now we wait until morning and report to the base commander,” he said.
Come morning we stood in the base commander’s office, clad head to toe in camo gear. He handed Winter’s the two alarm clocks and dismissed us.
“Well, seventy-hours leave until we get our orders, ma’am. Make the best of it,” said Captain Winters with salute.
The easy part was over.
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Neither Here nor There.... 