Firestorm - 29. FS Chapter 29

“Oh, come on Staff, I haven’t eaten for two hours” the man known as Bear said, and we all laughed, one by one, more men of the SAS regiment appeared out of the darkness, and two came down the stairs, once they got themselves untangled. “Sir, who is managing this operation” Eagle asked the CO, “That would be your Cub, he is the one that was in the thick of it this afternoon” the CO replied, and Eagle looked a little shocked, “What have you been up to while you have been away/” I was asked, “Who me? Nothing really” I replied looking as innocent as possible.

“Ok Cub spill it, we have sketchy details” Eagle said to me and I told them a shortened version of Angela’s story, and about what has happened over the past three days, then I went into detail about what happened while we were in the middle of a training exercise. “So, is the MP ok?’ one of the men asked, “Yes, it ended up being just a graze, he was very lucky” I replied. “Rumour has it that you had a pow wow, with the big chief at Command” another SAS regiment man asked, “Yes, I was a bit surprised at first, and during the conversation the Brigadier put together the connection that the courageous Staff Sergeant Benning, and the young and talented SAS trainee, code named Cub are the same person” I said.

Don’t encourage him too much, his head is big enough as it is” Eagle said, and we all laughed, “Ok, anyway, during our game of cat and mouse, with Mike, in a hide to the north east, Amos up there in the nest, and me to the west, we managed to scare them away, but I overheard them say, they are coming back tonight, with special equipment” I reported to everyone present.

“He left out the bit about shooting a hole in one man’s hand, and in another man’s shoulder” Mike added, “they were self-defence, after they started shooting at Mike and me” I said, “But before that, he had authorisation to shoot to kill from the Brigadier, and he did” the CO said, “it was nothing really, they should be about 2 kilometres south west of this location” I commented.

“They? You said they, how many shots, and how many targets” Bear said, catching the slip of the tongue, “Just two targets” I replied, “Not bad for that distance” Eagle said as he patted me on the shoulder, “That was two targets with one shot” the CO said with a big grin on his face’ and the shocked look on all of the SAS men, was a sight to see. “No way, that is virtually impossible” Bear said still shocked at what he heard.

“Sir, we brought some body bags with us, just in case” Eagle said as he turned to face the CO, “Good thinking, get 2 of your men to go with Troy, and collect them, and deposit them in a dry store at the main compound, make sure you lock it tight, and be aware that intruders are do any moment now” the CO said, and Troy jumped into the jeep along with two SAS men, and they headed down the hill.

Two other men headed up the stairs to keep watch for intruders, while Marc, Amos and I continued to work on getting some food prepared, splitting the already prepared meal into two large pots, we added equal portions of extra vegetables, and a can of tomatoes to each pot, and covered them up, to let the vegetable to absorb the flavours.

While that was cooking, we heated up some hot water, and made tea and coffee for everyone, and I found a spare fresh loaf of damper hidden away, which I divided amongst everyone, and saved some for the others. “Bear to CO, sir we have found the bodies, and we can confirm it is two hits with one shot, well done Cub” we all heard in our ears, “Ok, load them up and pack them away for the night, try and clean up the site as well” the CO said.

Half an hour later the jeep returned, and after they had washed up, dinner was served, and delivered to the two on watch upstairs, and we all sat down to a great meal. We had just finished dinner, when the call from upstairs came that we had visitors on the property. “Ok with the extra hands, let’s try and disarm and detain, I have had enough bloodshed for one year” I commented, “Including one kangaroo” the CO added.

“You mean the one he shot in the Northern Territory do you sir” Eagle asked, “no, I mean the one he shot yesterday” the CO replied with a smile, and they all turned to look at me. “Ok where did you shoot from and where did the roo fall” Bear said to me with a frown. I was here, up top actually, and the roo, was close to the front gate” I admitted, and once again the jaws dropped on all the SAS members.

“Ok, so I presume there were witnesses?” Eagle asked, “At the location of the Roo yea, but not here where I fired from, the three corporals heard the shot and appeared soon after, so its unofficial, and I would prefer to keep it quiet” I replied. “That must be close to five clicks away” the CO commented, “actually its very close to 6 clicks, sir” I replied, and the CO gave a loud whistle in amazement., before he gave the order for us to get moving to intercept the intruders, with me and the CO remaining at the tower as a spotter, and backup.

Splitting into 5 teams of four members, and one team of three, including the three corporals being split into separate teams, they set off to intercept these intruders. With the CO and I looking through scopes, we soon spotted the intruders, “Be advised, the intruders have night vision goggles” the CO announced on the Comm’s.

It was a long and slow job, but one by one the intruders were captured, and handcuffed around trees. After 7 ½ long hours, we had a total of 28 men captured, and a total of 24 high-powered rifles with scopes, 4 cross bows, 12 handguns and 26 hunting knives, each intruder was photographed with their weapons.

Once we had determined that we had all of them, we used the truck to pick them up, and handcuff them to the side railing of the back of the truck, all the weapons were stored away in one of the jeeps. and when we arrived at the main compound, another truck had arrived to pick up all of the SAS unit., and together we travelled south back to the city.

Just over 1 ½ hours later, we arrived at the Australian Federal Police – Perth office in the city, just as it clocked 5am. The city streets were quiet and virtually empty, with the exception of council workers, collect rubbish and washing down the streets, and the CO asked me and Mike Owens to come with him, while the prisoners were being heavily guarded. As we approached the front door to the building, a man in a smart suit approached from the inside and unlocked the door.

“So, James, what is so important, that dragged me out of bed at 4.30 in the morning” the man said to the Lt Colonel, “Sorry about that Tim, but you will understand in a moment, may I introduce one of my most talented young soldiers, Staff Sergeant Mitchell Benning, OM, SG…”, “Steady on with the official stuff sir” I interrupted the CO, “as I was saying, OM, SG, DSC, AFSM, Mitchell, this is Commander Tim Turner of the AFP” the CO said, before he gave me a cheeky grin.

“What on earth are all of those letters?” the Commander asked, and the CO chuckled before looking at me, and I sighed loudly, “Order of Merit, Star of Gallantry, Distinguished Service Cross and Australian Fire Service Medal” I responded to the commander. “Right, if you will follow me to the jeep, I will show you the reason I called you out” the CO said, as he turned and headed down the stairs to street level.

“Holy cow, where did this get this lot from” the Commander said when he saw all of the weapons, “If you care to take a look inside the back of the truck, you will have your answer” the CO said with a smile, as two of the soldiers flipped up the rear cover flap of the truck. ‘What the…, I think you need to explain, and… wait a moment, lift up that man’s left sleeve” the commander asked, and one of the soldiers did as asked.

What we saw on the arm, looked a Chinese marking, and the Commander’s eyes went wide in surprise, as he pulled out his mobile and dialled a number. “Commander Turner here, I want your whole team in the office in less than 30 minutes” he said in the phone before hanging up, then turned to Lt Colonel Harding.

“Can I get your men to deliver all of these prisoners inside, and we better get all those weapons recorded and secured, then I need a statement from you James, and your senior team, on how you captured these me” the Commander said. “By the way two of them have clear through bullet wounds, that are not life threatening, and we have three parcels as well” the CO announce. Ten minutes later, the soldiers had all of the prisoners in holding cells, and secure interview rooms, to separate them as much as possible.

In an office upstairs, the Commander motioned for the CO, Mike Owens and myself to sit down, and for the next hour and a half, we explained the full story of all the events that ended with the capture of the prisoners, once all the cadets and their unit commanders, and a few civilian employees were evacuated, after the first wave of events.

The CO also stated that I was the team leader when the night operation began to capture all of the prisoners, and also the two dead men were the result of a shoot to kill order, given by SAS Command, after a MP at the front gate was shot and injured. Once we had finished telling the commander everything, he stared at the notes that he had made, then looked out the window, where it was now daylight. “I would like to get a statement from this woman – Angela Parker, as it will assist with securing long-term imprisonment of these men.

They will all be charged with possession of illegal firearms, discharging firearms, causing danger, attempted murder, and illegal entry into a federal restricted area, for starters. I will also need the name and phone number of the army officer at SAS Command, who gave the order, shoot to kill, this is just to confirm that all the information connects” the commander said to us.

“Sir, it was me that killed those two men and injured the other two, and the order from SAS Command, was given on a secure satellite communication, so there will be a recording of the order, and me requesting confirmation of the order” I stated. “Oh, by the way Tim, young Mitchell here is the holder of the official Australian record, for long distance sniper kill. It wasn’t a human kill, it was a kangaroo, while he was doing sniper training at the Bradshaw Army Training facility in the Northern Territory, so these men in there chose the wrong place and the wrong person to mess with” the CO said.

“Maybe we can get some of our AFP officers to get some training by your skilled sniper” the commander said with a smile, “I will see what I can arrange” the CO replied, just as a AFP officer knocked and entered the office, “You better come and see this sir” the officer said as he walked back out again, and we all followed him to a large open office area, where a big screen television was turned on, with an advert currently showing.

Moments later, a news presenter appeared on the screen, “Some early morning city council workers had a surprise today, when they witness the arrival of an army truck and two jeeps, which stopped outside the Australian Federal Police Building at 5am this morning. They witnessed a platoon of armed soldiers, escort nearly thirty handcuffed prisoners, and carry two large boxes, believed to be weapons, into the AFP building.

The truck and one jeep left about fifteen minutes later, but we can report that one army jeep is on location. There has been no word from the AFP regarding what happened this morning, and all calls to them have remained unanswered, we hope to bring you some more on this story, as soon as the information comes available”, we heard the television presenter say, and we could see some footage of reporters standing near the jeep outside the AFP building.

“Bloody reporters” Commander Turner commented, “Just as well they didn’t look under the tarpaulin in that jeep, Staff, can you bring that vehicle indoors, I will get Tim have someone open the garage door” the CO said, “Yes sir, is there anything to hide my face from the reporters?” I replied anxiously. The commander opened a drawer and pulled out a ski mask, and threw it to me, here use this and your sunglasses, and that should be enough” the Commander said.

A few minutes later, the front door was unlocked to allow me out, and as I reached the stairs, and started my way down to street level, two film crews came rushing forward and reporters started pounding me with questions, and I ignored them as approached the jeep, pushing my way through the reporters as they tried to block my way. Once I was in the jeep, I quickly started it up and some reporters stepped in front of the jeep, so I put it into reverse and hit the accelerator, and spun the wheel around, to turn around, and I sped off down the street.

Activating the earpiece, “Staff to CO” I said, as I turned down another street, “Receiving you Cub” the CO replied, “Sir, I am being blocked by the reports from getting near the building” I informed the CO, “Very well, head to the state morgue, I will inform them that you are on your way with three packages, and once you have delivered them, make your way over to Irwin barracks, to get some breakfast, and you can resume the cadet training from there.

Corporals Hays, Gregson and Masterson, have got things moving there, the cadets have their kit bags now, and the tents are being collected from Bindoon, to set up camp at Irwin Barracks. There is a little bit of bush there, which isn’t very dense, but it should be enough to continue navigation training, you will find Angela and Tom are there also, and try to get some sleep at some time soon” the CO said to me.

“Very well sir, I will speak to you later. Benning out” I said and I ended the link. Once I had completed the delivery of the three bodies, minus the face disguise, I continued on to nearby Irwin Barracks, and on producing my army ID, I drove into the barracks, and headed to the area where the training camp had been established, and after catching 4 hours sleep first, after the past long night.

For the remainder of the week, Marc, Amos and Troy helped me to complete the training camp at Irwin Barracks, and Angela continued assisting the catering team with producing all the meals for the cadets, unit commanders and other staff, and once the cadets had left the barracks to return to their homes, we began to relax now that the camp was finally over.

With the assistance of a statement from Angela, the 28 men that we had captured, which included Dean Linton, who was the man I shot in the hand, were all charged with over 16 offences, found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in isolation at a maximum-security prison, with no chance of parole. Now that the camp was over and that the threat had been neutralised for Angela and Tom, we returned to Aunty Jean’s home in Nedlands, where I had been given one week’s leave.

During my week off, I stayed at home and spent my time, getting to know Angela and Tom better, and I let Angela know that I now felt that I am Bisexual instead of Gay, as I had strong feelings for her, and moments later with a big smile, “Well in that case, would you do me the honour of being my husband” Angela said to me as we sat in her back yard, watching Tom swimming in the pool, “And be my dad too” Tom added, which made Angela and I laugh.

“Yes, and be my son’s new father” Angela added with a big smile, “Well isn’t it traditional that the man asks the lady that question” I asked, and Angela smiled, “Yes, but I think with this unusual circumstance, I think it best that I take the lead in this matter” Angela replied. “Well I guess I have no choice but to say yes, I will marry you” I replied. “Oh, that is wonderful news” I heard Aunty Jean say from behind us, as she carried a tray of drinks.

Later in the day, when Angela and I had some time on our own, we discussed options for the wedding, and we came to a joint discussion, that it would be a very small wedding, with just my family and a few work colleagues present, and we asked an Army chaplain to perform the duties of marrying us, on the last day of my day off, and that it would take place on the riverside park, near Nedlands Yacht Club, just down the road from home, with lunch to follow at the yacht club.

We had invited Lt Colonel Harding, Mike Owens, and Corporal Hays, Gregson and Masterson, to join us, along with my parents and aunty Jean, and we all had a wonderful day, with Angela wearing a beautiful light blue dress and hat, and I wore a back suite with light blue shirt to match Angela’s dress. The day before our wedding, I moved my belongings over to next door, where Angela and Tom have been living, but I spent my last night as aa single man in my room at Aunty Jean’s place, with just a limited amount of clothes and toiletries.

On the morning of our wedding, I went for an early morning run, along the river foreshore, and when I returned Aunty Jean had a cooked breakfast waiting for me. My parents arrived at 9am, two hours before the ceremony, and my father agreed to give Angela away, while Mum and Aunty Jean would be Brides maids, and I asked Mike Owens to be my best man, and Tom to be the rings bearer.

It was a beautiful clear day, warm, with very light winds and no sign of rain, and with Mike arranging for my vehicle to be brought back to the city, we drove down to the park, just before the ceremony was due to start, where the chaplain and the rest of my guests were waiting, in full dress uniform. What I had not expected was to see two other officers present, and looking at the ranks on their shoulders, I was shocked to see that they are a full Colonel and Brigadier, and Lt Colonel smiled when he saw my shocked expression on my face, as Mike, Tom and I walked towards the front.