The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 61 Mine host

Boris finally landed the helicopter discretely, in an area of the marshalling yard clear of the entrance, which was devoid of trucks or branches. Spencer stepped out of the helicopter, automatically ducking his head, because the rotors were still spinning, to be greeted by two smart looking guards, well perhaps smart is overstatement, Pawel and Michal, looking aggressive and territorial and smart in their new naval uniforms complete with black berets and insignia for SNS Milosti though the brothers could not agree which way round the head gear went.

For once, Spencer was unsure what language to use because English, of a sort, was widely used in the military, but Michal quickly solved that question.

"Are you crazy peoples?" Michal protested in his heavily accented Slavik brandishing his automatic weapon, "We could have shot you down in instant you bullock."

Spencer was not one to be intimidated by a mere guard. "Are you saying that with your little gun you could shoot down this battle hardened ex-navy war machine?" he asked dubiously. "You would have had to be very lucky to shoot down this helicopter. Sikorsky is completely bullet proof."

"Don't be silly. We have massive air defence capability secretly hidden here." Pawel blustered.

"You not know what danger you were in. Why you not ask permission to land?" Michal said, "What hell you come here for anyway you bullock?"

"Your Lord Admiral invited us. He agreed to look at our helicopter" Spencer said in his best Slavik. "and give us diagnosis of problems for our ailing engines!"

"Oh!" Michal managed. "He forgot to tell us!"

"Sorry abbout our tank firing shells at you!" Spencer said.

"We don't need no apologies." Pawel said, "is OK. We are battle hardened marines. It takes much more than a couple of tiny inaccurate shells to frighten us."

"You kidding Pawel. You Bullock" Michal said unhelpfully. "Simply you nearly need to use really special soap on your underwear."

"I wasn't only one!" Pawel countered.

"Perhaps I ought to speak to your top man?" Spencer ventured as tactfully as he could manage to disengage from what seemed to be escalating into an argument.

"Certainly sir!" Pawel said. Then he turned to his brother, "Michal no-one wants to talk to us today."

Michal shrugged. "Is normal!" he said.

"Lord Admiral Samuel Wellington is somewhere inside talking to his skinny little Kapitán and some friends of yours. I go get him."

Pawel returned with Samuel after a few minutes.

"Hello my name is Lord Admiral Samuel Wellington!" Samuel said in English, emanating self assurance and authority. "So nice of you to join us!"

"We wanted to warn you officially that we were coming," Spencer apologised, "but you're unlisted on my Dudat."

"Oh well at least we knew that you were coming before you started coming!" Samuel said and winked at Eliška mysteriously. "And it would hardly to do have what is supposed to be a clandestine installation publicly listed on Dudats would it?"

"Indeed sir!" Spencer said, "and indeed not respectively."

"Of course we know everything!" Samuel said.

"My name is Spencer Butler and I represent the Zeli corporation for my sins." Spencer said, emanating absolutely no self assurance at all. "And yes we surmised that our presence would be stretching things a tad."

"You want me to fix your helicopter" Samuel said enthusiastically.

"Yes we seem to be having trouble with our helicopter." Spencer said. "And I came to apologise."

"And what exactly would you like to apologise for?" Samuel laughed hearing Spencer's thoughts. "It's funny we seem to be absolutely drowning in apologies today!" Perhaps drowning was a bad choice of words considering what was going on at the reservoir.

"Well one of our levelling tanks started firing at the hillside!" Spencer said.

"Yes I know." Samuel said. "It destroyed a couple of trees and rather upset two of my guards. Is there anything else that you would like to confess other than your obvious regard for the lovely young lady that you have brought here?" Then he turned to Eliška and said, "So nice to finally see you in the flesh as it were."

Eliška shook his hand. "It's nice seeing you too!"

"I have not really got anything to confess!" Spencer said nervously. "should I?"

"Should you what?" Samuel asked.

"Should I apologise for or confess anything else?" Spencer asked.

"I don't know. What have you done?" Samuel replied and then with an inspiration, "Ah! I understand now. You have lots of things that you feel that you should confess, but you don't want to tell me about anything that you suspect that I might not know about yet... and hence give the game away for your more clandestine plans."

Despite himself Spencer said, "Exactly correct. You have summed up what diplomacy is, in one sentence."

"Perhaps!" Samuel chuckled, "You should consult with your two colleagues in the canteen first so that you can all get your cover stories... straight. My..." Samuel extended the last word. He was searching for the most accurate description of what Katka actually was to him but then he thought better of it. "My assistant Kapitán Katka Kratka would be most pleased make you a cup of coffee. I don't suppose that you have brought any cows milk with you?"

"As it happens I have had milk taken from a cow in Switzerland the day before yesterday. It's been refrigerated and is still good. Sir Percy likes to have a glass of it from time to time but I have instructions to destroy it after a day has elapsed. So you would be welcome to it. The cow's name is Bessie." Spencer said. "I'll get some from the helicopter."

"I'll come with you. As I told your Kapitán Karlov, I used to repair Sikorsky helicopters like these in the old days when I joined up. And we carry spares for most failures here." Samuel remarked.

Spencer returned with the milk and Michal showed him the way to the canteen where they met Elektra and Karlov who were chatting away to Katka by candle light, because Samuel had left the mine and the lights had gone out again. Samuel stayed with Boris and the copilot and within a remarkably short time, the helicopter engines had been restarted and sounded sweeter than they ever had done for years even though he had changed no parts.

"You sir are magician!" Boris said in awe.

"You need to get the old girl fully serviced and there are some parts that you should definitely have replaced as soon as possible. But there are limits to even my magic. I do not have the physical strength to change some of the parts that need to be replaced on my own!" Samuel told the two pilots, "but hopefully you aren't going to suddenly plummet out of the sky now... whereas there was a distinct possibility of failure before and you will need the helicopter for the rescues."

"Mr God which rescues?" Boris asked.

"You'll see!" Samuel said enigmatically.