Once bitten, Die twice

Once bitten, Die twice #6

"Where are the others? I thought two cars went off base?"

Abbott found it hard to meet his scowl. "Err, we got separated sir. I thought they should be back already."

"Separated?" Denny was incredulous. "How on earth did that happen?"

"It was Campos sir. His parents live close to where we were looking for supplies, so we just popped by to check if anybody was there. We only took a moment and Sinna was supposed to come and join us but he never showed up..." Abbott trailed off as the Station Commander threw his hands in the air.

Overreacting again, Bannister thought. Finally Denny took a deep breath, heaving his shoulders up and forcing himself to calm down. He turned away from the two soldiers and rubbed his head frantically for a moment.

"Look, this is really unacceptable," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "I thought we had introduced procedures to avoid this kind of event. Totally unacceptable. But that can all wait. The important thing now is the whereabouts of Sinna and Rohith. I need you to show me exactly where you left them and where you arranged to rendezvous. Then drop the Land Rover at MT, go and sort yourself out with a drink of water, but I'll need you in my office later for a debrief."

Bannister stood fidgeting awkwardly. His gelled, brown hair made his naturally impish features seem decidedly more boyish and mischievous than his twenty-eight years would imply. His dark eyes, ever alert and restless, darted about anxiously. As Abbott drove away Denny did not even acknowledge him at first but stood swaying slightly with his head bowed. A light moan escaped him. He had never looked as tired and defeated as at that moment. His ginger hair was greying and slightly unkempt and smudges under his eyes indicated how badly he was sleeping, yet his uniform was still immaculately pressed and his army boots were black and gleaming.

"How long has he been back?" Denny finally asked.

"He just arrived that minute sir."

"He looked terrible."

"Yes sir." So do you, Bannister thought. In truth they all looked haggard nowadays and the stresses were beginning to tell on Denny more than most.

"Radio Captain Lewis and tell him to meet me in my office in five minutes."

Denny turned and stalked away from the guardroom. Bannister was left feeling vulnerable and alone as he searched up and down the road for any sign of Sergeant Sinna, before going to recheck the padlock. He sank back into his chair, lit another cigarette and nervously picked up his weapon. He looked out at the setting sun, half veiled by clouds. He often thought that the most beautiful sunsets he had ever seen were in England, the frequently overcast sky lending itself to dramatics. The red shafts of light poked through and illuminated the cloud from beneath, as though the roof of the heavens was aflame, although tonight it felt to Bannister more like hell itself was boiling over, spewing forth its contents unto the earth. He was morbidly becoming a little more resigned to the prospect of his own fatality with the passing of each day and every death. He sat staring at the outside world beyond the safety of the fence as the shadows lengthened and gathered around him.

"Bugger!" Captain Lewis cursed as he left Denny's office. The news was bad - really bad. Another soldier killed and the whereabouts of two more unknown. As well as that, the thought of going out now as twilight shrouded the station was not one that he relished, and the nonchalant way Denny had mentioned it made his mood even worse. Still, he would have it no other way; as second in command on the base, if two of his men were missing then he would damn well go and find them. He was certainly not going to go out alone though; he wanted three of his best soldiers with him. They would most likely go unmolested but you never knew...

In less than five minutes they were driving away from the station with Corporal Bamburac from the supply and logistics section hastily locking the gates behind them. Lewis turned to look back, as he always did, as the protection of RAF Headley Court receded out of reach. He was from the Royal Artillery and had been at Headley Court for only six months. However he had served in the army for ten years and like many of his colleagues a lot of that time had been spent in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan and thus he had a fair amount of frontline experience.