Die for You

Chapter 69

I woke up to bright sunlight streaming in through the windows of the LT's office, burning through my closed eyelids with a pain that made the feeling that I hadn't had enough sleep even worse. Rubbing my eyes clear of sleep, I looked down at my watch to see it was barely 7 am; not exactly early by my standards, but early enough considering the late night that I'd had. In fact, it was more than early enough. 

Feeling worse than I had in weeks, which was certainly saying something, I blinked and looked around me; the carnage in the office testament to the frantic planning that we done until the very early hours of the morning. I got to my feet and stretched noisily, the aches and pains reminding me of far too many awkward sleeping positions in the army and on the streets. There was, however, no time for grumbling about that; I needed two things immediately, the bathroom and a coffee, the bathroom for obvious reasons, and the coffee to jump start my brain.

"Morning, Blondie," James said as I walked into the kitchenette that served the offices, "Coffee? I've made it fresh."

"Where is everyone, boss?"

"It's still early kid, no-one's in yet," he replied with a happy sigh as he sniffed at his own mug. "Andy and Simon are in the conference room, probably still asleep on the floor."

"Yeah, it was a late one," I replied as I blew over my stingingly hot drink, "but I think we have a half-decent plan."

"We're going to need it, my friend, unless the negotiations work. You know that your people are not going to make an incursion into Pakistan from India, don't you?"

I nodded somberly; he was right and I knew it. If Becky was being held in the mountains of Afghanistan, there was a chance that a rescue mission could have been initiated; after all, it had been done before. You didn't always hear about them, but aid workers, charity representatives and ordinary people trying to rebuild the country had been rescued by allied forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan and rather more secretly across the borders into other countries. They didn't always work, but the victories more than overshadowed the defeats; and more often than not the teams left no one alive to tell the tale, both for secrecy and as a lesson to others that thought to try the same thing.

There was no fucking way that would be happening here though, not unless we did it; it was the wrong place, the wrong time, and the wrong side of the country. The politics of the situation were immense and there was no way the British Government were going to get involved in it. India andPakistan had pretty much been at each other's throats since the Partition, and things had not become any easier over the years, not really.

It was this tension that had led to the threats against Armstrong Industries from 'The Protectors', a group that to all intents and purposes violently opposed to the West and India and anywhere that wasn't a radical state. It was all fucked up and my Becky had been caught up in the middle of it all, targeted because of what she did.

"I had a look at what you're proposing," James said breaking the silence suddenly. "Don't you think your plan is a little overcomplicated?"

"It'll work," I said finally, "the hard part is getting on the ground and close to the buildings, there's not a lot of cover and we think that is the only sensible way in."

"Speaking of cover, kid, you really think splitting up the team like that is a good idea? It's not like we're going in mob-handed, you know?"

"We need someone to take out any patrols or guards while we make our entry, boss, and I can't think of anyone better right now."

"Well, there isn't exactly anyone else around right now is there?" he said with a wink.

"That's true, too," I said smiling, "but still, you're the best I know, and with that toy I used in the States I think it's tactically sound."