Firestorm - 18. FS Chapter 18

“I do have my sniper rifle, locked in the arms locker at the northern compound, do I have permission to retrieve it, and use if required/” I asked, “Yes, staff sergeant you have authorisation to retrieve and use if you are fired on, for self -defence, shoot to maim, not kill understood?” the CO said to me, “Understood clearly sir, what about some assistance? I replied.

“I will send Hays and Masterson to you right away, and a squad of MP’s will be there a few hours later, I will get them to call once they arrive at the front gate” the CO responded, “Very well sir, oh and the front gate was closed and locked at my request, earlier this afternoon” I stated, and moments later the call ended, and I raced down the stairs of the tower.

Amos stepped out of the shower with just a towel around him, as I neared the bottom of the tower, and when he saw my face he raced to the tent to get dressed. “Angela, and Tom, I need you dressed right away, and grab your sleeping bags and a jacket, to stay warm” I said loud enough for them to hear me, and I grabbed the billy of hot water and poured it over the fire, to put it out, before entering the tent that I was sharing.

I found Amos dressed in army camouflage gear, including a jacket, and in his hands, he had his army backpack, that had everything they needed to survive in the bush for a good length of time. Handing him my vehicle keys, “Can you get my hiking backpack and hydration pack, out from the back of my vehicle, and raid the esky, for some extra food, particularly fruit, and maybe that damper, would be handy, stash it into my backpack.

I’m not sure how long we will be roughing it, so we need to be prepared, also I have authorisation to get my sniper rifle, so the north complex will be our first stop” I informed Amos, who dashed out to my vehicle, while I changed into my own camouflage clothes, and I retrieved my Satellite ear piece from my kit bag, and put it into my ear and activated it.

“Cub to base, I am online now, we are preparing to leave the command post, to collect my special item, before we go deep into the bush for cover, over” I said softly, “Received and understood, take care out there, Masterson and Hays are on their way, and will be there in about 1 ½ hours, the MP squad will be an hour behind them” the CO responded, “Very good sir, we will be heading towards the north - east gate, I suggest the Corporal head directly to that location, and leave the MP’s to deal with the front gate” I suggested.

“I will let them know, over and out” the CO said, and the call was ended, just as Angela and Tom appeared, while Amos finished filling the backpack with some food. “We have intruders on the facility, that headed further in, as soon as the caretaker turned on the outer lights, I just happened, that I was doing a scan of the area, when I spotted the intruders, and for all of our safety, we are going to take some precautions” I informed Angela and Tom, as we climbed into the Army jeep and with no lights on, we drove down the hill, relying on the moonlight, for guidance.

Going at a speed a little faster than is safe at night with no lights on, and after a few turns, we were heading in a north - west direction, just north of the airfield, instead of the direct track to the main access road, which would take us too close to the intruders. When we finally reached the main access road, 3 kilometres north of the main complex, I turned the parking lights on, for a little bit of lighting, as I increased the speed up the road, for the 5-km trip to the north complex.

Once I had retrieved the rifle and five boxes of ammunition, with Amos now in the driver seat, he looked at me for directions, let’s take one of the disused tracks east from here, towards the east gate, with the lights on this time, as the terrain is fairly rough” I said to Amos, who nodded his understanding and we set off. After a 45-minute slow and rough journey, we arrived at the least known facility, that is used mainly by the SAS regiment, and we parked inside one of the sheds.

Grabbing our gear, we locked up the shed, and began to hike along a narrow track in a south - west direction, and we stopped about half an hour later when we reached a small creek, in a small valley. “Ok, we will set up camp near here, we have fresh water, and we can put together a good shelter with this thick patch of vegetation” I announced, as I glanced at my watch and it read just before 2100 hours.

“Cub to Masterson and Hays” I said once I activated the ear piece, “Reading you loud and clear, we have passed the gate, and heading to the north-east compound, what is your current location” I heard a reply, “We have gone bush to stay hidden about a kilometre from your destination, the jeep is locked away in the shed, I suggest you do the same, and get hidden outside of that compound, to see if any intruders find it. We will report in every two hours, and I am armed with my sniper rifle, just to let you know” I responded, “Understood, we are armed too, over and out”.

While Angela and Tom, huddled together to stay warm, behind a group of boulders, Amos and I did a scout around of the area, and we gathered some large branches and foliage, to start making a shelter, and within half an hour, they had made a low out of sight shelter, big enough for all of them to camp out for some time, and once we had Angela and Tom settled and asleep, I left Amos to stay with them, and I went to find a good spot to be able to see the surrounding area and the shelter.

Once I had found a good spot about 300 metres away, perched high up on a nearby hill, I could see the shelter clearly, and through the scope of the rifle, I could see the north east compound, and after a little searching I spotted one of the corporals, and I sent a text message, “North west corner of building B, which one of you is it” I sent to both corporals, “That would be me staff” came a reply from Corporal Hays, and a second text made my phone vibrate once again, “I am near building F to the south” came a text from Corporal Masterson.

After some searching, I located Masterson, “I see you Masterson, both of you stay in your positions, I have good coverage of most of the complex” I text back to both of them. “Just received word from the caretaker, MP’s have arrived, they found a car hidden in the bush just down from the facility turnoff, they have disabled it, and reported the vehicle details to the police, they will stay at the caretaker’s residence, till we let them know what is happening” Corporal Masterson said in his text.

When I scanned the area around the campsite, I saw Amos sitting on a stone, looking around, occasionally glancing down at the camp site, and I sent a text to Amos, “you look a little bored, are they both asleep?” and moments later I received a response, “Just a little bit, and yes, they are both asleep, although I heard Tom crying a little bit, but he has settle down now” Amos said.

About half an hour later I did another scan of the compound, and I saw some movement, so I sent a text to both corporals, “Are either of you moving about at the moment?” text them both, I received two replies quickly, “Negative, I am still in my same spot” Masterson said, “Not now, I did move further away from the buildings, but I am not moving now” came Hays response.

“Both of you don’t move, you have a visitor, I see you now Hays, he is closest to you, don’t move” I replied, and putting my phone down, I put a bullet into the gun, and switched the safety off. Through the scope, I saw the intruder, looking at each of the buildings, trying to open each door, but finding them all locked. When I saw the intruder pick up a rock, and throw it into a window, I sent a text message to Corporal Hays.

“Hays, don’t move, I saw what he just did, have you had a chance to see the intruders face?” I said, “Yes, dressed in dark clothing, he has a small hand gun, and he looks like he is ex-military, but not from here, I heard him speak into a radio, in a foreign language, possibly German” came a reply. “When I fire, it will be just to injure, move in once he has been disabled” I sent a text back to both of the corporals.

I waited and watched carefully, till the intruder reappeared, and he had something large in his hands. I adjusted the scope, and put some light pressure on the trigger, as the intruders foot came into the cross mark of the scope and I squeezed the trigger, until the rifle fired, and I had a direct hit on the intruder’s foot, making him stumble and fall to the ground. Keeping the scope on the intruder, I saw Hays rapidly approaching, and he kicked the hand gun away from the intruder, and had the intruder lay flat on his stomach, with hands on his head.

Masterson appeared soon afterwards, and he pulled out his phone and called me, “We have him restrained, the other one surrendered, what do we do now Staff?” the Corporal said to me, “Check to see if they have any ID, then call the MP’s, and get them to come up and collect the intruders, and they can take the injured one to hospital for his injured foot, and no mention to them on who it was that shot the intruder” I replied, “Right, understood” he responded before ending the call.

I watched through the scope, as they made a searched, and found no ID, then the Corporal’s sat on the back of the intruders, so they wouldn’t move, which made me chuckle a little. A text came through, which was from Amos, “We heard a shot being fired, I presume it was you” was the message, “Yes, I shot a sly fox in the foot, Masterson and Hays have him, once the MP’s have collected him and taken him to Perth, we can head back to the command camp” I replied.

“Understood, A and T were a little frightened by the shot, I am with them now, to ensure that they are safe, see you when you get back” Amos replied. About fifteen minutes later, I saw the MP vehicle arrive at the compound, and they immediately handcuffed the intruders, and once this was done, attention was then on the injured intruder’s foot, as his boot was removed and the injury was checked. From what I could see, it appeared that I had only nicked the foot, so it was just a minor flesh wound.

When I saw the MP vehicle drive off, I called Corporal Hays, “We will be there in about half an hour, then we can go back to the command post, and get some sleep” I said to the Corporal, “Staff the box he carried, contained two laptop computers and a printer” Hays said to me, “Very well return them to the building and secure the building, see you soon” I said and ended the call, as I opened the bolt and checked the barrel, to make sure it was clear, before I walked back to where Amos, Angela and Tom were waiting for me. “Ok, are you all packed up, if so we can walk back to where we left the jeep, and we can go back to the campsite” I announced when I arrived.

“How far was the fox, when you shot it? Tom asked me, and I glanced at Amos for a moment and smiled, “I was 1380 metres away Tom” I responded, “Wow that is amazing, how did you get that good?” Tom asked me, “A lot of practice, and I happen to have a natural talent to long distance accurate shooting, and my longest shot, was a target of about 2980 metres” I replied with a smile.

Once we had arrived back at the compound, Amos took Angela and Tom to the vehicle, and I went with Corporal’s Masterson and Hays, as we stopped at the northern compound, so I could secure my rifle and ammunition again, and filled in a form, stating that I had used one bullet, that was used to disable an armed intruder. Once this was done, we set off down the main access road towards the access track that leads to Tobruk Hill, arriving about twenty minutes after Amos, Angela and Tom.

There was no sign of Angela and Tom, so I presumed that they had gone to bed, and I retrieved my swag from the tent, and set it up under my vehicle awning, to allow room for the other two corporals to set up their beds in the tent, and within twenty minutes, everyone was in bed, and I lay in my swag listening to the light snoring, as well as the sounds of the bush, and I eventually fell asleep.

When I woke in the morning, the sun was well up, and I could hear Angela humming as she was preparing breakfast for everyone, and I quickly dressed and made my way to the shower room to have a nice hot shower, which I missed out on having last night. When I came out refreshed and ready for another day of work, I found the three corporals seated on the bush seats, eating breakfast, and happily chatting about anything that didn’t involve work.

“Good morning everyone” I said happily, just as Tom nearly knocked me over as he dashed towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist, “Good morning Uncle Mitch” Tom said cheerfully, “Good morning young man” I replied with a small laugh, and Angela handed me a plate of cooked breakfast, and I joined the others at the bush seats, to eat, and chat. “One of you in that tent is a good snorer” I commented between mouthfuls.

“Guilty as charged” Corporal Hays admitted with a big smile, and we all laughed. Once breakfast was over, the three corporals and I went up to the top of the tower, so as to let the corporals see how it looks up that high, and get an idea of how it had everything set up. The 6 metres – 20-foot-high tower, is only just above the top tree line, and Corporals Hays and Masterson were amazed at how incredible the views were of the training facility.

“So, what are the distances to the boundaries from here?” Corporal Hays asked, and I turned to Amos to reply, “Well it’s about 3.25 km’s to the east boundary, 5.8 km’s to the west boundary, 6 km’s to the nearest point of the southern boundary, near the main access road, and 8.25 km’s to the northern boundary” Amos replied with a smile. “So, a little east and south of the middle of the property” Corporal Hays commented, and I just smiled and nodded my head yes, to that comment.

“That hill over there, 2 km’s away, known as Wewak Hill is the closest hill to the centre of the property” I said to the three corporals, and I let them take in the amazing views of the tower, and they didn’t see Tom sneak up the stairs, as I did, and he was wearing my army cap on his head. “Attention”, Tom shouted, and immediately all three corporals snapped to attention, and I burst out laughing, as I picked up Tom and gave him a hug, as he too was laughing.

When corporals Hays, Masterson and Gregson realised that they had been tricked, they tried to tickle Tom, who screamed, and wriggling out of my hold he raced down the stairs, with the three men close behind. When Angela heard the noise above her, she saw Tom arrive, and he hid behind his mother, as the three men arrived at the bottom. “Whatever Tom did, he is only a boy, so he is immune to any punishments” Angela announced, and the three men looked very disappointed.

“Get back up here you three” I shouted, and the three corporals groaned as they marched back up the stairs, and for the next hour, we discussed operational processes for the training camp, which were written up on the small whiteboard that was hanging on one side wall. “I think we need to have one wall enclosed, and since the east aide is side that is of less importance, regarding operational matters, that is the one that will need to be covered, by canvas or whatever you three guys can find, I will leave that up to you to sort out” I said.