Fighting with Phantoms, A Rainbow six story (Book 2)

Chapter 51 Time Off

Tina's POV, Hereford Base, UK, 11 AM

Yumiko and I were cleared to leave the base for some well-needed time away. It was a beautiful sunny day out with minimal clouds overhead. We brought Whiskey along with us. He was beyond excited to leave the base. Jumping around and practically pulling my arm off as I grip his leash tighter. We laughed seeing him so happy as we walked a short distance into town. The towns folk were so lovely to each other. Plenty of waves and smiles to fill an Olympic swimming pool. Whiskey was very popular with the children with a single close call when a little one pulled his tail unexpectedly. Yumiko suggested we go to the local park in the center of town to talk in the shade. Before we reached the park we stopped at the shop on the corner to grab some snacks and extra water for Whiskey. The pleasant shop owner decided to make small talk with me while we waited for Yumiko to grab her things out of the fridge. 

Shop Owner: "Have you loves looked at the news lately?" He asks me.

Tina: "Not today, what's going on?" I reply curiously.

Shop Owner: "Our local defense force down the road just stopped an attack in America." He says with a grin on his face.

Tina: "Oh yeah I actually saw about that earlier." I say with a smile back at him.

Shop Owner: "Pretty crazy stuff they do." He says pointing up to the tv in the corner behind the counter where it displayed live feed from the attack.

Tina: "It's defiantly crazy, but that's what they were trained to do." I say looking back to see Yumiko walking up behind me.

Shop Owner: "Will that be all for you love." He asks Yumiko.

Yumiko: "Yes sir." She says placing her items on the counter.

A few beeps later I offered to pay for the total and before Yumiko could say anything I hand the gentleman a twenty. Yumiko always insists on paying anytime we go out and I always let her win. I figured that this time we try evening the score. I received my change and not long after we were crossing the street on our way to the park again. Yumiko got a message on her comms from Masaru that the team would be landing in about a half hour and that there would be a big celebration in the mess hall later tonight, all authorized by Harry of course. She read the message with excitement and I laughed as she talked about if she should make something for the party. I told her that the mess hall staff have the food covered. She nodded in agreeance and we made our way into the park. I could tell Whiskey was getting super excited to start running around as he began to tug harder on my arm. I had to command him to heel so he wouldn't pull me away. We found a cute wooden bench underneath a giant cedar tree covered in its pines. The smell was truly beautiful. It took me back to the woods around my parent's house in Canada, surrounded by pine trees forty meters tall. The smells were almost similar but distinctly different. We brushed off the bench and I allowed Whiskey to roam around the tree. I unpacked the snacks and placed them between us on the bench. We sat there for a minute enjoying the scenery around us. A light breeze had come in to help cool us off as the sun beamed down. I called Whiskey over and gave him a big drink of water as he was already panting heavily. 

We began talking about all sorts of things that were on our minds. She talked about how much the base had grown since she's been there and I laughed in agreeance, reminding her that Sebastien and I were the first ones to be added to the original crew. She laughed as well and we started talking about our first memories with each of the new operators. She told a funny one about the first time she met Vicente she was startled but amazed by his eye patch. I laughed and said to her that the first time I met Craig I didn't like his beard. She had a good laugh at that one and I looked over to see Whiskey rolling around in the grass living his best life. We continued going through everyone on base sharing our stories until I could see the time was getting closer for the team to arrive back at the base. Whiskey came over after getting his burst of energy out and lay under the bench while Yumiko and I continued enjoying our time out. Yumiko told me she was planning a trip to her home in Japan and extended an offer for me and Damien to go with her and Eric. My eyes lit up with excitement. The last time I went to Japan the sights were so lovely, and the people were exceptionally nice and polite. I remember staying up late in Tokyo with my family exploring the city with all its wonderful lights. To wrap it all together the breathtaking sight of mount fuji and its beautiful snow-covered summit in the distance. After some more small talk about what kind of adventures we'd go on in Japan, we could hear a convoy of vehicles approaching. The sound of multiple car engines coming down the quiet side street filled the air. Soon coming into sight we could see three blacked-out SUVs passing the park and heading toward the base.