Z-Hour – 3 Days
We arrived at our tiny hotel on the outskirts of Northern town of Srinagar just as the weather started to break, clouds rolling in from off the surrounding hills that brought with them a rain that soaked everything it touched instantly and left the unforgettable smell of wet soil in the air.
"Perfectly normal," our liaison from the Indian Army said as he held up an umbrella to protect Jenna from the downpour. "We get these small weather problems every now and again."
"It's fine, Major Toor," Jenna replied nodding when she was safely under the canopy of the entrance, waiting for the rest of the team to disembark. "It's actually quite lovely, a nice break from the heat down South."
"We were sorry to hear about your daughter, Mrs Armstrong," the officer said, "let me assure you that we are doing everything we can to ensure her safe return, and a full enquiry is underway to investigate how such an incident occurred in our country."
"Thank you, Major," Jenna replied maintaining her polite formality, her shield against the world.
"Any efforts you make are very much appreciated I assure you. May I introduce the team that have agreed to assist you with the demonstration of our equipment tomorrow?"
The Major nodded and Jenna introduced us all, going from one to another telling him who we were and what we were going to be doing; implanting our cover story on anyone that might be listening. After the perfunctory nods and handshakes, we were escorted inside and shown to the rooms that had been prepared for us so we could get changed and ready for our ride to the demonstration site. We had that cover to keep up, and though I suspected that someone, somewhere in the Indian Army knew what we were up to, no-one was going to let anything out of the bag.
"Blondie," James' voice followed a banging on my door, "you ready? Time's a ticking."
"Coming," I shouted, zipping up my jacket and stuffing my phone into my pocket, "keep your hair on, James."
I found him leaning against the wall opposite to my door, with a wry smile on his face; Andy and Simon flanking him mimicking his pose.
"Ready, Mrs A?" I said as the door opened revealing my travel worn charge.
"As I'll ever be, Freen dear," she said shaking her head, "this is one ride I'm not looking forward to."
"Better than flying," I said with a smile, "give me the back of a four wheeled transport any day."
Half an hour later, I wasn't so sure; the truck we were being transported in being functional, but not a patch on the four-,wheel drive vehicles I'd been used to during my time in the army. Despite the discomfort that the wooden bench seats were causing everyone I was pleased that the army were looking after us. There were two more trucks, both filled with troops, in our little convoy; nothing being taken to chance this time. It allowed me the time to relax a little; ever since the flight over I'd been right on the edge, and it was good to close my eyes and know that we were in no danger.
"Too early for shut eye, Snowy," James said, shaking my shoulder and waking me up from the light doze I'd drifted into, my old habits resurfacing again. "Come on you, we're here."
We were indeed at the testing grounds where India's XV Corps were, in part, being mobilized to test new technology and old. All around us was the sound of mobilized troops; and the sounds of vehicles as they shipped them from place to place. It was a familiar sound, and it made me feel almost relaxed to hear it; it was just like old times, times I understood.
"Sounds good doesn't it, kid?" James' asked as a couple of helicopters flew overhead, the sound of the rotors briefly drowning out the sound of the staging area.
"Sounds good, boss," I said as I watched them vanish over the hills, the sounds fading almost immediately as they dipped below the horizon.
"You ready, Snowy?" he asked clapping his hands onto my shoulders and staring down into my eyes.
"Think so, boss," I replied with a blink, shaking my head to clear it of the mental fog of times gone by. "Let's go do this."
The next hour was spent demonstrating the different types of weaponry, that Armstrong Industries were hoping to sell, to various bigwigs within the Indian brass. Andy and I took the assault rifles, from the familiar M4 variants to the HK417 rifles that I'd specifically requested after my success with the long-barreled version in the US. For the mission, I'd asked for the short barrel 'Assaulter' variant because I thought it would be better for CQB work, and Bonnie and Richie hadn't let me down; a gleaming set of oiled weapons ready for me in the crates. Daylight was fading as we ran through drill after drill with the weapons we were familiar with, and trained the various interested parties on firing, reloading and field stripping the weapons.
I may not have really been trying to make a sale for Armstrong Industries, but my stupid professional pride wouldn't allow me to do a crap job; and by the time the evening rolled around and it was time for us to call it quits, I knew I'd impressed more than a few people.
James was also in his element; for most of the afternoon he'd been about a mile away from the rest of us demonstrating the sniper rifles with Simon. He had some of the finest toys that Bonnie could provide, and when he appeared back at the staging area he had a grin on his face as wide as the Mississippi river he grew up on.
"Blondie, let me tell you that I'm recommending those ladies back home for a fucking medal, they have come through for us like you would not believe."
"I'd noticed," I replied, tossing one of the 417's over to him; watching with a grin as he automatically checked the 'butter smooth' action of the unloaded weapon.
"Nice, no C-Mag this time?" he asked with a grin.
"No, not this time, boss," I replied winking back, "I thought we'd be better sticking with the old fashioned kit. Besides, I doubt our method of arrival will do something like that any favors."
"It's supposed to be fine, Snowy," he teased, "and you know it was the only thing that let you beat me, do you not think you should reconsider?"
"I think I'd prefer a no risk strategy this time, boss, given the circumstances."
"That I can understand, kid, I surely can. What about the suppressors, did they arrive as well?"
"In the crate next to you, boss," I said with a nod. "We're all sorted, all we have to do now is fit them and test them and we can do that tomorrow. I take it the 'Intervention' meets your needs?"
"Oh, it surely does my friend, and then some. The guys that I was showing it to were practically drooling over it, especially with that nifty little suppressor on the front. At the range I'm planning to be shooting at it's not even fair...no wonder you got so close to my score in that competition; I'm beginning to think that fat fuck was right, it was almost cheating."
"Yeah, well do me a favor this time," I said bristling slightly to his teasing; that allegation still not sitting right with me. "This time when you go inside the building, don't shoot the fucking hostage, ok? I'd probably have to take that quite personally."
"Not a problem, Snowy," he answered seriously. "There's no clock this time, we do things right and by the numbers; no mistakes on this mission."
I smiled at the look on his face knowing that he meant every word and as we met up with Jenna and headed back to the hotel I was feeling pretty good. Everything I'd asked for was either in the crates in our staging area or already on its way to the safe house. All we needed to do now was confirm that the final parts of our plan were falling into place; and we had an entire day tomorrow to arrange them.
-----
Zero Hour – 2 Days
The morning of the next day saw the team sat in a private room tucking into a hearty breakfast and chewing over some facts. The phone lines had been as busy as ever during the evening and we had a lot to catch up on.
"I spoke to Mel first thing, Snowy, she's got rest of the stuff you wanted on the way," James said casually; keeping the actual specifics of what we had planned hidden from Jenna as we'd agreed, our 'need to know' policy still firmly in force.
"All of it?" I asked swallowing my scrambled eggs hurriedly and choking slightly.
"Absolutely everything," he said chewing on some toast. "She's pulled out all the stops and Chris is having it shipped to the staging area, should be there this afternoon."
"Good," I said nodding, that's the last of it then, yeah?"
"Sure is, we're almost ready to go. The rest of the team should be arriving with the gear; so we're good to go."
Jenna was strangely silent during our little interchange, her face looking troubled. I knew she still wasn't happy about the idea of us going in to get Becky, but she wasn't saying anything; the dream of getting her daughter back safely hopefully overriding her concerns.
"Almost good to go," Simon said from opposite me, "we still need to organize the exfil."
"Exfil?" Jenna asked, looking up at me from her barely touched breakfast.
"Our extraction," I said quietly, "or more precisely Becky's; you were trying to arrange a helicopter for us."
"Oh, yes," she said nodding away, "I need to chase Richie about that, but when I last asked, she said it was pretty much sorted. I'll ring her now and make sure."
"No hurry, Mrs A," James said quickly, "we've got all of today to finalize things if we need to. Snowy, I take it you've got the backup plan in place?"
I nodded my mouth full with food; the back up plan was simple and involved nothing more than bundling Becky up and talking her with the rest of us as we headed for home. It wouldn't get her to safety as fast as a helicopter, but it would get her to safety; as long as we weren't intercepted on the way that was, though our intel' told us that wasn't likely to happen.
"James?" Jenna asked, "Can I ask why you have suddenly started calling Freen 'Snowy'?"
I looked at her puzzled; I was convinced that Becky would have told Jenna about my little nickname when she'd learnt it from Chunks.
"It's her nickname, Mrs A, so JJ told me."
"Yes, I know that James," Jenna said confirming my suspicions, "I was wondering why you'd decided to start calling her it now?"
"Well she found out my nickname," he said, blustering a little and making the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
"I know that too, James," she said with a raised eyebrow, "now are you going to answer my question?"
"Well..." he said shyly, not looking at either of us, "I thought it seemed like the right thing to do, you know? Team spirit and all that..."
James tailed off, seemingly a little embarrassed at his words. I got it though; I understood exactly why he would want to do it. It made sense to my brain that he'd want to surround the team, and me, with things that were familiar; immerse us in what we knew best, the unspoken closeness of the unit.
"Ah," Jenna said staring at us both, "I see, well dear, if it that's what it's for, I'm all for it. As long as you're not teasing poor Freen here, if I find out that's your motivation James Porter there will be trouble."
"No, Ma'am," James replied apologetically, not spotting the sly wink that Jenna had given me. I fought to stop my lips from twitching in amusement, watching James shuffle uncomfortably under her glare until finally she let out a snigger, her poker face cracking.
"Oh I see," James said reaching for his coffee and waving the cup at us accusingly, "so it's not ok to tease Blondie here, but it is ok to pick on me."
"Feeling victimized, Panda?" I asked as Andy and Simon laughed at his affronted face.
"Fucking right," he replied finally laughing along with the joke; "every day of my life."
-----
"So this weapon, Captain, is slightly different to the INSAS rifle you're used to using; that's loosely based on the AK-47 and is just as rugged, but has the 5.56mm round like the M4. The '417 here is just as rugged, if not more so and uses the larger 7.62mm round just like the AK. She is adesignated marksman rifle rather than an assault weapon, and with three barrel lengths it'll do just about every role you could ask of it."
The morning of the second day saw me totally channelling Becky Armstrong as we continued in our cover role as weapons specialists. The Captain wasn't looking that impressed as I explained the in's and out's of the different toys Jenna had asked me to demonstrate. I wasn't that surprised by his attitude, and I didn't really care, but I did want to look convincing for obvious reasons.
"Look at it this way, Captain," I said as I handed him the weapon, picking up another from the table in front of me. "This isn't a question of keeping things national, and it's not a question of us trying to sell these rifles to the entire Indian Army, hell you probably couldn't afford them even if you wanted them. These are specialist articles that you might want to allow specialist units to use, if you know what I mean. This weapon is guaranteed not to jam, not to fail and is designed to hit the target first time, every time, with the stopping power to put your target down without any problems. Why not take it for a test drive? Just give it an honest review that's all I ask."
Ten minutes later, I'd made a believer out of him, and more importantly test fired another two of the seven weapons we needed for the mission, three more to go and I'd know we were safe. I'd been impressed with the suppressors that Bonnie has sorted for us as well, they weren't small, but they did make a difference to the sound. Not as much as the movies would have you believe, certainly not the whisper quiet hiss that was barely audibly to the human ear. Still as suppressors went they weren't bad, and the noise was a hell of a lot better with them than without.
The only thing that worried me was the ruggedness of the holographic sights that the weapons were fitted with, and the fact that each person would need to tweak them to zero-in the weapon to their own shooting style. Still, we could set them up tomorrow evening at the safe house before we shipped out, and if they didn't survive the entry there were always the iron sights.
Lunch at the site turned out to be an 'fun' event; I met up with Jenna after locking away the hardware and we were driven across the training area to a set of tents where some of the serious bigwigs were waiting, all braid and medals or expensive looking suits. To my relief, I saw the rest of the team sat at a table in the corner and after a brief set of introductions and some slimy looks, I made my excuses and joined them.
"Not sitting with the higher-up then, Sarge?" Simon asked as I dropped my tray full of food on the table and sat down.
"Not really my kind of people, Si," I replied as I tucked in; this morning's antics making me hungrier than ever. "I'm just a simple soldier, I don't really dig sitting with the officer types, you know?"
"You'll offend him, Sarge," Andy said with a smile. "Simon was about to get made up when he blew his knee out."
"Made up?" I asked, my fork pausing halfway to my mouth. "You were an officer?"
"Nearly," Simon said with a shrug, "never quite made it though, like Skids says, I injured my knee training and had to quit."
"Skids?" I said looking at Andy quizzically.
"Don't ask," he said smiling and shaking his head. "Simon and I served together for a while in the Blues, that's how I got the gig at Larkhall."
"I thought it was just that brother-in-law of yours that you got a job Si," I said shaking my head and going back to eating.
"What can I say," he replied with a shrug, "I like to look after my mates."
"Good," I said with my mouth full of food, "I'm glad to hear it."
"James seems happy enough over there," Andy said nodding across at him sat at a table laughing and joking with Jenna and the officers club they were sat with.
"He'd fit in anywhere," I replied nodding thoughtfully. "Guess that's why he's so good at what he does. Is everything ready for tonight?"
The guys didn't even blink at the change in subject, assuring me that everything was in order. The plan was a simple one, after the trials ended for the day they were staying behind to transfer our equipment into what we had began to call the 'Trojan Horses', crates of innocuous looking goods with concealed bottoms where the weaponry and other kit would be placed. The evening would be spent filing off serial numbers and other identifying marks on all of our equipment before packing them away. Jenna had told us that cost was no object; I really hoped that she meant it.
"When are you two shipping out then?" I asked finally, assured that everything we'd planned was in hand.
"I think we're going to head off some time before midnight," Simon said, looking to his mate for a nod of agreement, "I think we'll be all sorted by then."
"Great, make sure you're discrete though, yes? We don't know who we can trust here."
"Would you like to teach us to suck eggs as well, Snowy?" Andy said with a broad smile.
"I only teach that to rookies, Skids," I replied smiling back.
"Well, we ain't no rookies, Snowy," Simon said, raising his glass to us both. "We've both seen our fair share of trouble, so there's no worries there."
I felt good as I chinked my glass to theirs, and it wasn't just the fact that everything was going to plan. James had been right to use my nickname around me, and no doubt the guys had done it deliberately as well after this morning's conversation. I felt a real sense of pride that these guys would put themselves in danger for me and my girl; that they'd risk their lives without a second thought. We were now more than colleagues; we were a team, a unit, we were brothers in arms.
'This might just work' I thought to myself as I took a sip of my water, 'this might just fucking work.'
------
The afternoon went well, as far as Armstrong Industries was concerned anyway. Despite India's desire to use home grown weaponry and ammunition, there's always a market for speciality items and the kit we'd been demonstrating was, after all, some of the best on the market.
I hadn't seen much of Jenna and James though, the pair of them off kissing ass and making deals. I had been surprised to hear from James that he'd given up on the shooting for the day and was now concentrating on business, but not as surprised as I was to hear that he'd managed to make a couple of contacts that he was hoping to turn into paying work.
"Man, I need a beer," he said as he stretched out in the back of the truck that was taking us back to our hotel, "that was a tough, tough day."
"Don't know why," I teased, stretching out myself, dropping my boots on the wooden frame opposite. "After all, it's not as if you did any real work this afternoon unlike the rest of us."
"Hey, I'm a businessman, Blondie," James replied with a laugh, "drinking wine and schmoozing is real work for me."
"He does it so well, too," Jenna added, shifting uncomfortably on the hard wooden bench. "James can brown-nose with the best of them."
Jenna was beginning to worry me; all day she'd been like her normal self, all smiles and laughter. But ever since we'd got into the truck, she'd been withdrawn and quiet; about as far from the woman, I knew as she could me.
"I've seen him work a few times now, Jenna," I said nodding, hoping to lift her mood, "and you are so right, he really is an ass-licker."
"I am still sitting here, you know," James said sounding affronted, "I think you should buy me a beer or two to ease the burn ladies. Especially as I've been mixing business with something slightly more important this afternoon."
"Something more important?" Jenna asked shuffling closer to me where she could hear him over the noise of the engine.
"Yeah," James replied sitting forward to get closer to the two of us, "the good news is I got a call from Mel earlier. The rest of the team have arrived on site and getting communications set up as we speak, they're just waiting for Andy and Si to arrive with the weapons and they'll get everything ready for us for when we arrive."
"And the bad news?" Jenna interrupted anxiously.
"The bad news is that according to Mel's contact, the good old 'powers that be' are reaffirming their, 'we don't deal with terrorists' line; in public at least."
"That's not good is it, James?" she said shaking her head and sighing deeply.
"Well, it really depends on what's going on behind the scenes," he replied, as reassuringly as he could. "Chris said that he thinks there's still a lot of negotiations going on right now; he just doesn't think that a release of prisoners is going to happen."
"They must have known that was unrealistic though, boss," I said optimistically, hoping to keep Jenna's deflated spirits afloat. "There was no way in hell they'd have got three Governments to release all their prisoners."
"That's what I'm being told, Freen," Jenna interrupted. "The rumors I heard from the Consulate staff is that they assume the terrorists will negotiate down. I have to say they don't sound very convincing, though."
"That's my hope too, ma'am," James replied reaching forward to pat Jenna on the shoulder, "I still think they were just setting out their negotiating position with those stupid demands; let's hope something good comes of it."
I wasn't too sure about that, not anymore. Before that video arrived, with the body to support it, I might have thought that; now I was convinced that these fuckers were serious about killing Becky, and they didn't really care if they got their money and prisoners or not. These guys wanted the publicity and the glory, and either way they couldn't lose.
"I got some good news before as well," Jenna said suddenly, "I got a message from Richie, you can stop worrying about this 'exfil' of yours. We have someone that's willing to make an unauthorized flight into Pakistan with no questions asked."
"How did she manage that," I asked breathing a sigh of relief at that revelation.
"Let's just say we have friends in high places, Freen dear," she said with a wry smile that didn't reach past her lips, "and those high places don't seem too bothered about borders if you know what I mean. I think asking too many questions is unwise, but suffice to say there is a small helicopter ready for your call."
"How soon can it be ready?" James asked, suddenly all business, "and how can we get in touch with it to get Becky out?"
"How many people can it carry?" I asked at almost the same time causing Jenna to shake her head at us both.
"Oh, you two," she said, her voice sounding tired as she reached out and ruffled our heads. "I don't have those answers for you right now. I thought it best that we all talk to Richie when we get some privacy at the hotel. After all, you do keep telling me that walls have ears."
"Absolutely right, Mrs A," James said sitting back and putting his hands behind his head, "and thank you; that really is excellent news."
"No need for you to thank me, James," Jenna said shaking her head sadly. "No need at all."
------
The evening went by in a blur of planning, James and I sat in my room going over every aspect of the mission in intricate detail; maps and hastily drawn sketches all over the floor of the room. The only thing that interrupted us was Jenna appearing and demanding that we "come and eatsomething before you collapse" at about half eight; her voice was sounding strained, and her attempts at mothering us were obviously a way of making her feel better.
I could see a hint of red around her eyes as we sat eating, a ring of red that she'd clearly tried to hide. The strain was starting to get to Jenna and I wondered what it was that was on her mind at the moment; and what it was she wasn't telling us. The dining room was practically empty by the time our food arrived, and we ate in relative silence until the last of the guests got up and left.
"Do you think anyone suspects what we have planned?" James asked quietly, taking a bite out of a flatbread he'd just dragged through his sauce.
"I'm not sure, James," Jenna replied, "I don't know if you have seen this, but I've noticed someone hanging around who doesn't seem to be part of the official observer team."
"Tall guy? Wearing a dark suit and glasses?" I asked suddenly interested, getting a nod from Jenna. "Yeah, I spotted him too; he's been hanging around since New Delhi."
"Is he a problem?" James asked, I shrugged and shook my head. "I think he's just keeping an eye on us, boss, probably checking out our cover; don't forget no-one believe that we were really coming here to work. We've done nothing suspicious so far, and there's a legitimate reason for the boys to stay back at the site before leaving. As far as anyone knows they're driving the specialist equipment back to the airport."
"We still need to be careful, though," he said stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You and I have to be able to slip away without arousing anyone's suspicions and we're going to have to do it early enough that we can get to the safe house, how far is it again?"
"The maps say it's about a six hour drive from here boss, but we still need to arrange transportation, though."
"We've got a jeep hired already, kid," James said with a nod. "Chris has it all arranged. All we have to do is pick it up and then we can head off; we just need to decide when."
"So you're both still adamant about doing this mission," Jenna said, interrupting our planning. "You aren't prepared to wait until it's a bit closer to the deadline, see if the negotiations go anywhere?"
"I'm not willing to risk it, Jenna," I said shaking my head. "Not after what they did last time; besides, we don't have to go if the negotiations work. There's more than twenty four hours left before we have to go live."
"Are you sure you won't change your mind and let me come with you?" she asked, pushing away her plate.
"No," James replied flatly, "I'm sorry, Mrs A, but I really don't think that's a good idea. I think it would be safer for you if you stayed this side of the border."
I nodded at that, but had an idea that would hopefully make her happy, or at least happier that she seemed.
"Jenna, don't you think it would be better if you waited wherever the helicopter will be landing? That way, you'll be there for Becky when she arrives."
"If she arrives," Jenna replied, a lonely tear escaping from her eye as her shield slipped once more.
"We've been here before, Jenna," I said reaching out to grasp her hands tightly. "It's not if, it's when. She's coming home one way or another, hopefully by diplomacy, but if not then I'm going in; alone if necessary. There is no fucking way I'm going to let those barbarians put her on tape again; for any reason."
I got an answering squeeze as a response, but no words from the dark haired woman who was quite obviously trying to compose herself again. There was a moment of silence before James'stupid ringtone went off and he excused himself and went outside to answer it.
"I think I'll be heading to bed, dear," Jenna said with a sniff and a fake smile. "I promised I'd call Richie before I turned in and right now I think sleep is what I need. Are you going to turn in soon?"
"I need to stay awake a bit longer," I replied shaking my head. "I need to get my system switched over so I can sleep tomorrow evening while James and I are driving to the safe house; that way I'll be awake and ready for the mission."
"You still need to sleep, Freen dear," she replied, leaning down to give me a hug; that mothering instinct showing up again, betraying her nerves.
"Go to bed, Jenna," I told her, patting her on the arm gently. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Ok," she agreed finally, "goodnight, Freen,"
"Goodnight, Jenna," I said; surprised as she bent down to kiss my forehead, "sleep well."
------
"Jenna gone to bed already?" James said when finally he appeared, the slight smell of cigar smoke lingering on his clothes.
"Yeah," I replied, nodding as I sipped at my drink. "She said she wanted to talk to her family before she slept."
"She doesn't seem to be holding up very well right now, you think she'll be ok?"
"I've no idea, boss," I replied seriously. "If I'm honest, I'm a bit concerned about her being here on her own when we go."
"It's not like one of us can stay with her, kid, you're going to have to have a word with her?"
"Why me, James?" I protested loudly, "you know I'm not good with emotionally distraught women, I never have been."
"Because like I've told you before, Freen, you're the closest thing to family she has out here," he said softly. "She treats you like a daughter or a daughter-in-law anyway."
"Funny," I replied sarcastically, tossing down the last of my drink and getting to my feet.
"Not tryin' to be, my friend," he said smoothly. "Look at the way she talks to you, the way she trusts what you say; that looks like a damned close relationship to me, Blondie, more than a employer and employee."
It annoyed me a little to have it pointed out so bluntly, but I had to agree that he was absolutely right. Jenna was more than an employer to me, and I wasn't sure if that was just due to Becky. She had been nothing but lovely to me from the first moment I'd met her, well apart from the whole loaded shotgun being pointed at me. Despite all my misgivings about her at the start, she'd never lost faith in me; and she'd never lost faith in me and Becky either.The best thing I could do for her was to bring her daughter home, and that's where my focus needed to be.
"So what's our cover for tomorrow, boss?" I asked as we walked into my room to finalize our plans, hoping as well to change the subject away from Jenna. "Have you thought of something that will work?"
"Surely have, Blondie," he replied with a wink, "tomorrow we're going to the lake for a bit of R&R and some swimming, and tomorrow afternoon you and I are taking in the 'garden of bliss' because, as I explained to the manager here extremely carefully earlier, we need some serious relaxation."
"You've thought of everything haven't you, boss?" I joked, glad that he'd thought about the extra details, the things that make the difference between success and failure.
"Only way to work, Snowy," he said pulling the papers we'd hidden under my mattress, "speaking of which, shall we?"
------
It was raining outside when finally I turned in, my watch telling me from the side table that it was just after three in the morning. James and I had finally completed our briefing at about one, but after that I had a shower to try and wind down before climbing under the sheets and trying to sleep. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically and yet my brain couldn't stop spinning. Twenty-four short hours from now, it would all be over, but for now all I could do was wait, stuck in that awful nervous time before a mission where you could do nothing but wait.
I wondered for a brief second if James and Jenna were doing the same thing as me, lying in bed and thinking; but then my mind returned to more pressing matters. Six hours drive from where I lay there was a terrified girl; battered, bruised and bound. I wondered if she was awake or asleep, if she was in pain or not; even if she was still alive. I was torturing myself with the thought of her situation and it was what was making my mind spin, and what was stopping me from wanting to sleep; knowing that as soon as I drifted off, my dreams would be filled with familiar faces again.
As the numbers on my watch ticked their way towards four, I knew I was going to have to make an effort and grab some shut-eye, even if it was only for a couple of hours. James and I had already agreed that we'd switch driving on the way to the safe house, each giving the other a chance to nap. But the secret of success in combat was sleeping wherever you could and, despite all my reservations, now was that time.
With a sigh, I pulled a pillow over my head to drown out the sound of the storm, closed my eyes and allowed the nightmares to engulf me once again.