Tammyverse Book 13     Royal Retreat Part 5 High Flyer Shiraz & Snowfall

 
Please note this is a work of fiction and any references to real people, real institutions or real heavily armed military units are for artistic purposes only!
 

After Thursday morning's triathlon and breakfast Tammy was about to walk into the main hangar when a sound above caught her attention. She looked up and saw what looked like a small craft streaking low across the sky. As it approached, Tammy could see better. It looked like a small hang glider or drone, but was somewhat rigid and had a person attached underneath.

"What on earth is that?" Tammy asked aloud.

"Jet wing."

Tammy spun in surprise and saw Rodrick standing behind her.

"Never heard of it. Who is that?"

Rodrick grinned. "Wifey's having fun."

The wing dipped even lower as it circled back and streaked down the runway no more than twenty feet above it. Tammy almost squealed as the jet-wash blew up her mini skirt.

"That was naughty!" Tammy laughed.

Rodrick laughed. "Funny as hell though."

Tammy watched as Lyssa circled around again. "How fast is she going?"

"Over a hundred miles an hour. And before you ask, she can stay up between twenty and thirty minutes." Rodrick answered.

Tammy watched with a small smile. "Wow! Wait. Twenty to thirty minutes? How does she land?"

Rodrick grinned. "So you noticed no actual landing gear. To answer that; there's three ways. One; a parachute and you land like that. Two; come in on approach and flare hard. It's a bitch to get that right and hurts like hell if you don't. Third; ditch it in the water and release. Jetwing can be equipped with a float to keep it from sinking. It's made of carbonfiber, but the four engines are heavy since they're metal."

"So it's stealth?" Tammy asked.

Rodrick wagged his hand. "Yes and no. It's not invisible, but looks weird on radar."

"Your next question: Can it be used for infiltrations? Yes, it can." Kimberly said behind them.

Lyssa came in on approach again, but to the side of the runway and flared up, then slowly lowered as the engines went to full power. Five feet from touching down, the engines suddenly popped then cut off. Lyssa landed in a heap, falling forward. All three rushed over to help and as they lifted the wing, they could hear her laughing.

Standing up and releasing the harness, she continued to laugh.

Rodrick shook his head. "Dumbass."

Lyssa took off her helmet. "OOPS!"

"Are you hurt?" Tammy asked.

Lyssa shook her head, grinning. "No. I was over the sand just in case."

"Ran out of fuel again?" Kimberly asked.

Rodrick shook his head. "Nope. I see some still in the tank."

"The engines stalled for some reason." Lyssa answered.

"Eddie'll figure it out." Rodrick said.

Tammy looked to the wing then back to Lyssa. "Am I going to be trained for this?"

Rodrick and Lyssa both answered. "NO."

"Thank goodness for that!" Tammy replied.

"Tammy's girls are due back this afternoon when Lonestar picks up Mindy from school. The Advance party is due to arrive the same time." Kimberly informed them.

"Kim." Krystel called out on the radio.

Kimberly answered. "Go."

"Where's Tammy?"

"Right here."

Krystel called back. "Meet me in the main office. You gotta see this!"

"She's laughing. I'm suddenly worried." Tammy commented.

Kimberly, Tammy and Lyssa went inside and were climbing the stairs to the office when Krystel began heading up as well, giggling.

Inside the office, Krystel went to the computer and brought up Youtube.

"Oh god. What now?" Tammy groaned.

"This came up on a facial recognition alert." Krystel stated then played the video.

The video was of a man in a suit made of artificial plants standing beside a building. People walking past in the passageway would be frightened when he moved. Mostly he chose young women for the prank. Shrieks and screams were plentiful. Of the young men, the reactions were even funnier. All four of them found the humour and began to laugh at the reactions. Then it came. What had caught Krystel's attention.

"Good Grief." Tammy groaned recognizing her very own step-sister, Suzie.

Suzie and two other young women that Tammy didn't recognize approached the spot and the bushman simply leaned forward and said 'hello'. The two girls immediately shrieked in surprise, but it was Suzie that was remarkable. For two seconds she simply stood, frozen in confusion, then let out a high-pitched scream and clenched her knees together before hopping out of the way. Krystel stopped the video there. Tammy facepalmed and it didn't go unnoticed.

"She belong to you?" Lyssa asked.

Kimberly sighed. "Older step-sister."

Krystel shook her head. "Girl; you need to have a talk with her. She has ZERO survival skills."

"I believe she wet herself, Krystel." Tammy stated.

Lyssa shook it off. "Actually, it's not such a bad thing to find this. Sucks to be her, but this is a good lesson for you."

"How?" Tammy asked.

"Situational Awareness. Being aware of that which is around you. How do you not have that happen to you?" Lyssa asked.

Tammy thought, but nothing was coming to her." I, I have no idea."

"You see the world around you, Tammy. Find that which is not supposed to be. A person with a camera taking video is something to pay attention to. What are they recording, why and how do you not be in it?" Lyssa listed.

Krystel nodded. "No matter where you go, assume you are monitored. Do what you can to be less visible."

"Keep in mind, nobody is perfect and even the best trained personnel can slip up." Lyssa said pointedly. "Even me."

That statement stunned Tammy.

"London: Ballet dancers were being kidnapped by a psycho. It all went south when he grabbed me. However, he did get me. Never forget that." Lyssa warned.

Tammy thought hard about that then asked. "If even you couldn't stop from being taken, what do you do?"

"Prepare for it." Lyssa replied.

Kimberly nodded. "We gave you items to help you in the event of abduction. The hair barrettes, the small survival kits and hand to hand training."

"The combat chemistry, tactics to deceive and the mentality to look at situations and find unusual means to turn them to your advantage." Lyssa added.

Tammy remembered about distractions. "Bottle cap, chewing gum, dental floss; dead baddie. Teaspoon, window, dead terrorists."

"Now you get it." Krystel nodded. "Your enemy will attack on two occasions; when they are ready, when you are not. Reduce your times of not ready."

Kim turned to go back. "And try to stay off youtube."

Krystel waved Tammy to follow Kimberly, taking Tammy down to the conference room to begin a briefing.

Tammy now learned the who's who of high level criminal and terrorist organizations in the western hemisphere that had interests in the UK. Then came same from Eastern Europe and the Middle East with interest in the UK. or passing through it en route to the West. Narcotics, Arms, Human and contraband traffickers were the dominant threats. Political and religious motivated terrorist organizations were then expanded upon. Ideologies, notable figures, confirmed locations, suspected movements and possible actions in the future were given.

Her limited training packages with the Security Service had concentrated on specific individuals, albeit usually after it would have been best for Tammy to learn about those individuals. This was different.

"You should teach a course." Tammy commented.

Kimberly turned from the board. "What do you think this is?"

"I meant at a University." Tammy explained.

Kimberly shook her head. "Not a chance. My methods for dealing with a disruptive class brings lawsuits."

"Was there anyone that did not get that? Yes? Bang! Anyone else? Good, moving on." Tammy laughed.

Kimberly gave a sly grin." Pretty much. Anything else?"

"Actually, yes." Tammy replied. "The gold I sent, what of it?"

Kimberly nodded. "The bar weighed in at just under a kilo. We had to add to it before exchanging for Rounds. Since you're in the U.K. we got Rounds from Australia."

Tammy knew from her banking experience Rounds were basically coins made from precious metals; silver, gold or platinum. Rounds were easier to conceal, store and trade. The part Tammy didn't understand was why the choice of Australian rounds.

"Australian is fine, I suppose, I’m wondering why?" Tammy asked.

Kimberly explained. "Simple reason actually. We got a better deal for those than Swiss Rounds. We avoid using U.S. minted Rounds as much as possible. If we need to use bars, we usually get a good deal on them out of Dubai. Since Switzerland is an all-around neutral country, everybody wants their gold. Nothing new to you. The catch is, they charge more for it, you probably knew that too. Australia is fairly friendly with a lot of countries too, so their gold is desirable. From time to time you can get a better deal on Australian gold. This was one of those times."

"Right. So how am I receiving them?"

Kimberly laughed. "Same way you sent us the bar. We're sending you a replacement part. It'll come to your office. Take out the Rounds and give the part to your guy, Jim. Simple works."

Tammy laughed. "I guess it does."

"Then we're done; go to chow." Kimberly said and waved her out.

Tammy went to Krystel's and met her for lunch. She then had to take all her luggage back to the trailer. An hour later she was called to the hangar and met Lyssa in the conference room.

"Okay. Now we get down to the 'business'." Lyssa announced and set a box on the table, pulling a large envelope off the top.

Tammy looked confused a moment then understood. "Oh. The TT race thing."

Lyssa nodded then slid some printed sheets out of the envelope. "Correct. These papers are about you being a sponsor to our team; in our case it’s a mutual co-operation scheme so effectively there’s no money involved so that keeps the tax simple. It also tells you which businesses are selected, what logos used, placement of the logos, how many people you can have in the team area and which personnel."

Tammy read them over and either initialled or signed the highlighted areas. Tamara Smart Properties and KT Flight were the businesses sponsoring Butterfly Racing Innovations at the Isle of Man bike. races. A pair of page sized samples of the business posters were shown, including the logo, business name, contact information and so on. Tammy approved both.

Lyssa carefully slid everything back after extracting duplicates of the promotional sheets for Tammy then opened the box.

"You get goodies." Lyssa said then began handing the girl the items.

The items came out one by one; Tammy first saw polo shirts, slim-strapped tank shirts and logo hats in the team colours. Then came the really good stuff; two perfume bottles, a selection of hair care products and two make-up kits that had her and Maisie’s names embossed on them.

"Wow! This is great. Maisie and I really get these for free?" Tammy asked.

Lyssa nodded. "Sure. But keep this case at home, travel with the one we gave you."

"Oh. Right. This is just a regular make-up kit. The other is for me specifically and has, extras." Tammy remembered.

Lyssa nodded. "Exactly."

The alarm siren went off and an announcement went out. "Inbound helo, clear the flight line."

"There's your girls." Lyssa said. "Take all this with you. Toodles."

Tammy smiled then suddenly hugged Lyssa.

"That was out of the blue." Lyssa remarked.

Tammy smiled. "I might not get to really thank you later and didn't want to miss this chance. Thank you Lyssa."

"You're welcome. Now scoot. I have to go back to being a hostess and wife of a pirate." Lyssa winked and went out.

A moment later the sound of heels came from outside then Maisie and Lizzie entered the conference room, very excitedly.

Tammy smiled and began putting things back into the box.

"TAMMY! You won't believe it! I met all these wonderful people that taught me so much! You should have been with us!" Lizzie gushed.

Tammy grinned. "Lizzie, I've been before."

“You never said?”

“There’s plenty I’ve never said, and never will!”

Maisie went straight over and hung herself on Tammy before kissing her. Her face betrayed her with her tired visage.

"Miss Falconi put you through the wringer?" Tammy asked.

Maisie nodded. "Definitely, that Chloe woman was on my back as well. When one wasn't torturing my body, the other was turning my brain inside out."

The clearing of a throat called their attention to the doorway.

Maisie reluctantly released herself. "Yes Ma'am?" Tammy answered.

"Good news, bad news." Kimberly stated.

Lizzie answered quickly. "Bad first, Ma'am."

"The advance team due today are having mechanical issues and are going to overnight in Miami. They plan to arrive mid-morning tomorrow." Kimberly informed them.

Maisie looked confused. "What is the good news?"

Kimberly turned to go. "You get the rest of the afternoon and evening off. Enjoy the beach. Same morning schedule for you Tammy."

"Yes Ma'am."

"What does that mean?" Lizzie asked.

Tammy picked up the box and led them out. "My morning PT training."

"She means torture session." Maisie commented. "I can't believe that woman does it everyday."

Lizzie looked puzzled. "It can't be that bad. Can it?"

"It’s a bloody triathalon. Biking for miles then running the same distance then into the ocean for miles of swimming. She's a sadist." Maisie answered.

They turned into the space between hangars where the trailers were. Maisie's and Lizzie's luggage stood in front of the respective trailers to be taken in.

"I'm up to eight miles and five miles." Tammy said proudly. "That's tomorrow. Right now, let's get our stuff stowed then changed for the beach. We might not get another day like this."

They coated each-other in sun lotion then spent the rest of the afternoon was on the golden sands, finally heading back to their accomodation at six so Tammy could cook their dinner. As the ingredients had been provided neither Maisie nor Lizzie realized the menu was from the diet plan. Lizzie stayed as the empty plates were removed from the table.

“That was great, Tammy. If you have a few minutes then I’ve been cleared to tell you what I’ve been doing.”

“By who, Lizzie?”

“Kimberly, she said I could tell you now I’ve evaluated the kit.”

“Okay?”

“I told you a week, or was it two weeks ago, that I did six months at GCHQ? Some of that was on encrypted radio systems.”

Tammy knew the training Lizzie was describing but it wasn’t appropriate for anyone to know what Tammy knew or what she could do. “Sounds interesting.”

“Damn complicated and I hadn’t put it to use until this week. It’s an interesting arrangement, with a set of broad spectrum receiver modules that plug into a top of the range iPad, where the tablet does the signal processing in software. From what I saw it’ll handle almost any signal, but stores anything it can’t decipher straight away. I was told to use the module covering 100Mhz to 500Mhz and to look for odd signals that could be of interest.”

“And?”

“My Spanish is lousy so I tended to ignore anyone not talking English but most of the local chatter was on the maritime channels. I told the iPad to look for encrypted digital channels and to listen all day to learn the coding, that’s while I was in classes.”

“Good idea.”

“So some of the digital channels were the local police and customs agents but I also heard this Australian voice calling.”

“Australian?”

“Pretty sure he was Australian.”

“What were they saying?”

“Mostly testing, they were setting up a relay station on a high point then going around checking it was working.”

“No other voices?”

“No, not yet. I’ve given Kimberly the frequency of the relay but I think the tablet sends the data back to her anyway.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me at all. Does she want you to continue using it here?”

“No, I think the evaluation is done, at least my part in it.”

“Good, well done Lizzie.”

“Yeah, but, that course – do I really have a job with that Alliance back in London? I mean, I’m still in the military, Tammy?”

“It was a cover story, Lizzie, that’s all.”

“Well, I thought someone might have decided to re-allocate me or even discharge me?”

Maisie held back a giggle as Tammy chose her words.

“But you weren’t asked or told anything like that?”

“Yeah, but that’s how the RAF worked.”

“Except it’s not how I operate.”

“So am I going back to Scotland with you, when we’re done here?”

“That remains to be decided but I promise you won’t be forced to do anything?”

“Oh, great, I think. I mean I don’t know what I want but for the first time, like ever, I have a life and it’s all down to you.”

Tammy groaned. “I see.”

“You’ve shown me more care and understanding than anyone other than my mum, may she rest in peace.”

“Lizzie, I did as I was asked and that’s how I handle most people – there are a few exceptions of course.”

“Captain Wade?”

“Yes Lizzie, but he’s not all bad, he just doesn’t understand me the way I understand him. That puts him at a disadvantage so, unfortunately, he defaults to being another misogynistic army officer.”

“You were quite rude to him, back at that NATO place?”

Tammy noted that Maisie wasn’t saying anything in support. “It works both ways but he thought he could just order me to be someone I’m not. Can we drop it please?”

“Sure, but am I going back with you?”

“I don’t know, Lizzie, I really don’t know. I could be out of line and give you false hope … or Sean might have another plan for you. He really would get quite upset if I stole his thunder or told you the opposite of what he is thinking. I really don’t want to have to supply half a case of Single Malt every time I annoy him.”

“The military doesn’t work like that?”

“My little corner doesn’t play by the rules, Lizzie, and regardless of where you end up working you are now a part of this little corner.”

“With you?”

Tammy looked at her partner. “Maisie, if I agree to take a house guest in the future, tell me I’m mad and remind me why this is a bad idea of the highest order?”

“Sure, maybe, Tammy dear.”

-o-

Saturday morning Tammy bolted from the bed just before five, dressed quickly and was out the door before Maisie could even get her bearings. She took a couple of minutes to stretch then jogged to the front of the hangars to meet Krystel. Moments later they were racing down the runway. When Tammy crossed the line from the swim, she saw Maisie and Lizzie exercising on their own.

"You are evil. Nine miles? How far in the water?" Tammy asked.

Krystel grinned. "Six."

They conducted cool down exercises then put the bikes away. Tammy went into the hangar to come out with a cup of coffee and watched Maisie and Lizzie exercise. Until she sipped the cup and gagged.

"Oh for the love of God, who did this?" Tammy choked.

Krystel took the cup, tasted then handed it back. "LoneStar."

"What is this perverse competition the men have here with the coffee?" Tammy asked.

"Say again." A muffled voice said behind them.

Tammy immediately spun around and snapped to attention with a salute. "Morning Colonel."

Krystel was smirking as she greeted Lonestar. "Sir."

"The DEA will be here shortly after zero-seven. Dress as civilians and don't interact with them, Smart. The British advance party should be here some time after zero-nine. They'll probably expect you three in uniform. Get with Carl about where they can set up their equipment." Lonestar informed her.

"Yes, Sir." Tammy replied. "Anything else, Sir?"

"Help yourselves to coffee in the hangar." Lonestar replied and left.

After he was sufficiently far away Tammy glared at Krystel. "Help ourselves to coffee? That's just cheeky."

"Did someone say coffee?" Lizzie asked.

Krystel smiled. "In the hangar, next to the conference room. Can't miss it."

"I could do with a cup, too." Maisie said as they went inside.

Tammy said quietly. "Truly, Krystel; you are evil."

"Look on the bright side. Eddie didn't make it." Krystel said then drawled. "Wait for it."

A minute later both women looked outside at the pair and yelled. "TAMMY!"

Tammy and Krystel began laughing and split up to get ready for the day. During breakfast Tammy had to explain to her compatriots the risks of drinking the coffee in the hangar.
She kept a safe distance away, but with line of sight so she could observe during the DEA's visit, amusing herself at the reaction of the agents, once the pallets had been checked. Both sipped then immediately spat it out and threw the cups in disgust, yelling at Carl, who simply gave them the finger and continued to load the pallets onto the plane. A song was being played loudly that she had heard before while talking to Carl. Tammy understood the lyrics now but filed that under the ‘save until not needed’ section of her brain.

Mindy walked by giggling and confirmed to Tammy. "Boy were those guys mad at uncle Carl getting them with Daddy's coffee! Want to go diving?"

"Sorry, We have to start working in a while. In fact, we should go change for it." Tammy answered.

Mindy shrugged and wandered off.

"Who is she?" Maisie asked.

"Mindy. She is Blackstar and Captain Lando's daughter. You flew with her to Freeport." Tammy replied then clarified. "Her mum is Captain Kimberly Lando, who runs logistics here."

"I'm surprised she's allowed to fly the helicopter. She's absolutely fearless." Lizzie remarked.

The DEA’s flight was taxiing as they walked and it was barely a few seconds later that it took off, heading Northwest until out of sight.

"Tammy? Who were those men and what were those pallets?" Lizzie asked.

"You really don't want to know. Trust me." Tammy shook her head and encouraged them to move away, then sang along to herself. "It's a losing proposition; but one you can't refuse. It's the politics of contraband; it's the smuggler's blues."

Lizzie looked at Maisie in confusion, but only got a shrug of equal confusion.

Ten minutes later they met after changing into uniforms before heading into the hangar to meet with Carl to discuss where things would be set up. Carl had a drawing to illustrate where the tents and other things would located.

"What about the aircraft and maintenance?" Lizzie asked.

Carl shook his head. "Eddie's in charge of the flightline and he'll get with them when they get here."

"When are that crew due?" Tammy asked.

"Tomorrow. The fuel is due tomorrow too." Carl answered then pointed to his drawing. "Three collapsible bladders for JP-8 will be laid out here for your aircraft. A barge is bringing the fuel and hoses run from it to fill the bladder."

"Your tanks aren't big enough?" Tammy asked.

Carl shook his head. "No way. And there will be three fuel drops while you're here. Last time only two were scheduled and we had to fly in more. We already got an extra bladder for gas for the boats."

"I think I saw that. That big grey bubble thing by the dock?" Tammy asked.

Carl nodded. "Yep, so don't shoot it or put cigarettes out on it. Anything else?"

"Except I don't smoke. How mad were those people?" Tammy quipped.

Carl grinned. "They're DEA; screw 'em."

Tammy shook her head. "You are so not nice."

Carl picked up his notebook to leave. "Yeah, but you laughed about it."

Announcement went out over the loudspeakers. "Inbound flight, thirty mikes."

"Guess they finally got that plane fixed. Go do what you gotta do." Carl said then walked out.

“Come on Maisie, let’s find a mirror and check we’ll meet the standards? I really don’t fancy Wade or Wells putting me on a charge because my lipstick is the wrong shade!”

Thirty minutes later they stood in front of the hangar as a C-17 came in for landing. When it came to stop facing away from the hangar Carl approached with a tractor that had lifting forks to unload. A group of twelve had already disembarked and one headed towards Tammy's position. She guessed he’d ridden in the cockpit instead of joining the rest of the crew in the web seats.

Tammy saluted as Lieutenant Colonel Wells approached her.

"I'm glad to see you're in uniform, Lieutenant?"

"Can I speak freely, Sir?"

He looked around. "Granted."

"I put this uniform on, as did Sgt Staines, for your benefit and for the other personnel who arrived with you. As you may know my relationship with the residents of this facility goes far beyond a military arrangement."

"I see, so you are doing this for show?"

"No Sir, as I said to you a few weeks ago, I will be the professional soldier you require for the duration of this deployment."

"Good, I'd hate to put you on a charge."

"Thank you Sir. Is Captain Wade with you?"

"No, he was redeployed."

Tammy could see Rodrick out of the corner of her eye, she saluted at the Lieutenant Colonel and then to Rodrick. "Sir!"

A Lieutenant approached and saluted Tammy, although this momentarily confused her - she saluted back just in case.

"Captain Smart? I'm Lieutenant Vance, S.A.S."

"That sounds like some kind of mistake, Lieutenant?"

"No, Ma’am, I understand that you're the ranking officer for this deployment and that you'll be leading the S.A.S. team in the absence of Captain Wade."

"Really?"

"This will be my team's first deployment for this duty so we defer to your knowledge of the area, Ma'am."

"Thank you Lieutenant, I look forward to working with your team."

Vance saluted strongly and marched back to the ten remaining khaki-clad personnel. Maisie walked over.

"The Colonel never mention that?"

"I did steal his thunder, so I guess he forgot."

"Captain Wade is so going to be pissed!"

"Quite, but let's keep this quiet. I now need some appropriate epaulettes."

The Colonel returned from his conversation with Rodrick. "I was going to give you the good news, but it seems that has already been done?"

"Yes, Sir, but what does this mean for me?"

"You are to be fully involved in the deployment, no longer just an advisor or liaison. There's a briefing at seventeen hours."

"Sir."

Tammy wasn't impressed. This was not needed and, apart from Maisie, she had never managed any personnel in the military. Now she had nine men and two women soldiers of the advance party under her command, with more on the way. She decided to take this proverbial bull by the horns and walked over to the group whilst the Colonel was otherwise engaged and before the unloading started. She was treated to an immediate show of respect for her temporary rank.

"Stand easy. I'd like to speak to the senior personnel, that's Lieutenant Vance, plus the Sergeants, in fifteen minutes. I will speak to all of you over the next hour. There are restroom facilities in the main hangar. The middle hangar is the main. Carry on."

She hoped she'd got the language right, accepted their grunts of "ma'am" then returned to the hangar and Krystel.

"I am so dropped in it, and it smells real bad!"

"I'm guessing it wasn't Chanel Number 5?"

"Yeah, I don't suppose you keep Captain's shoulder flashes in stock?"

"US ranks only, can't help you with the British ones."

"I could ask why you keep those, but ...."

"You value your life?"

"Yeah."

"Just kidding. I'd have given you my old rank. Navy Lieutenant is the same as Army, Marine and Air Force Captain."

"So now I have to pretend to be someone I despise?"

"Could be worse. Live with it. I guess that's a present from your Colonel?"

"Of the sink-or-swim type."

"Exactly, so swim!"

Tammy watched from afar as all eleven of the team pitched in to unload and sort their kit. Carl had unloaded four steel container boxes, which he’d referred to as Conex boxes. Those containers and several pallets had now been shifted to a spot in front of the third hangar. He handed off the tractor to one of the men and pointed to Tammy. Three of the team, all male, walked over exactly on cue, Tammy had Maisie stay with her. The usual salutes greeted her.

"Please, at ease, this is informal."

It didn't look like they were at ease. "For better or worse, I just found out I'm promoted to Captain for this deployment. This means I'll be relying on you for advice and support. I'd like you to meet Sergeant Staines who is with me and can act as a conduit to me if necessary."

She decided not to mention Lizzie, hoping that the girl could be handled at arm's length. Last seen she was having an update in secure communications, using ciphers that GCHQ and NSA couldn't break.

"I haven't yet been briefed about the deployment as originally that wasn't my role, no doubt I'll need to talk to each of you again once I know what the hell I'm doing! By the way, I like plain talking."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Okay, can you send over the men in groups of three and then the ladies please."

Tammy managed pleasantries with the guys but decided to ensure they knew she was in charge. She opted differently for the girls.

"Lance Corporals Gaynor and Taylor, Ma'am."

"At ease. Ladies, I want to make it very clear that if you have any trouble then please see me or Sergeant Staines - she is very much my right-hand woman. Our doors are open."

"Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?"

"Yes, Gaynor?"

"I heard a rumour, something to do with the Black Watch?"

"Maisie was being transferred to the Black Watch but now works for me. I don't like bullies or Class One Bigots, and I'm prepared to do something about it. Understood?"

"Ma'am."

Tammy waved all the men over then addressed the group.

"Who can drive the loader?"

A Sergeant raised his hand. "I can, Ma'am."

"Very good. I have the plan. If you can bring the gear behind the middle hangar we'll start the set up." Tammy pointed to the equipment.

He snapped to Attention, as did the others. "Yes Ma'am."

Between Tammy and Maisie the equipment was located and positioned. First to go up were the tents. Signage designating the purpose also went up. Sleeping quarters, showers, field kitchen/mess tent were up and ready. Two of the containers turned out to be mobile armouries. The sides extended out to accommodate the storage of various weapons. The weapons in question were crated and were immediately stored in the new armoury. Another container was set up for diving equipment storage, including a compressor and the fourth was for air support and deployment. Parachutes, ropes and other equipment were stored quickly.

"All that's missing is a medical station." Maisie commented.

One of the support grade women looked over. "We were told there is already a facility here, Ma'am. The medical team comes tomorrow along with the air unit, S.A.S and S.B.S. teams."

Now Tammy understood exactly what an advance party did. "Is this everything?"

"All but water, Ma'am." One of the men answered.

A loud whistle called their attention. Carl stood by the hangar and held up rolled water hoses.

"There's two hook ups on the wall." Carl pointed. "One for the Head and one for the Galley."

Tammy shrugged. "That answers those questions. Run the hoses and that's us done."

"That wasn't so bad." Maisie commented.

“Hope for the best and prepare for the worst?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Leave it Maisie!”

“It’s appropriate Ma’am, especially around others.”

Three pallets of food were transferred case by case into the field kitchen and two members began preparing for service.

-o-

That evening Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Wells opened the briefing in the belly of their plane.

“I realise that this may not be comfortable, but this is Top Secret and our hosts need not be made fully aware of the details of our work here.”

Tammy almost laughed at the ignorance. Carl had assisted unloading the plane and Eddie was seen going over post-flight and refuelling with the crew. It was highly likely multiple bugs had been deployed within minutes of the plane landing whilst mayhem ensued with a second set of bugs in the British command centre.

“Firstly I’d like to welcome Captain Tamara Smart who takes an operational lead for this deployment. The Captain’s staff member, Sgt Staines, is a PT instructor so will be commencing PT at 0600 tomorrow. I’m told swimwear will be required, plus shorts and T. The remainder of personnel and equipment will arrive tomorrow. Captain, is there anything that we need to know immediately?”

Tammy nodded. "Certainly, Sir. Firstly, South of the runway are the range facilities. A conventional range and a killhouse. A red flag flying indicates the range is live. Secondly, there are residences here, do not enter without permission. Thirdly, our hosts have a military K-9. He's a black German Shepherd type. Do not engage him, I repeat: Do Not Engage Him. If he growls, you are not allowed in his space and should back away slowly. Lastly; incoming aircraft will be announced, please clear the runway for them."

"Excellent. I'm very glad of the additions made here. Moving on: our Principals arrive next Thursday at fifteen hundred hours locally, and stay-over in the Bahamas. Regrettably this has been announced as a Royal Visit so it is already known that they will be in the region. Understandably this is less than ideal and makes our role more important.”

A number of profanities could be heard.

“Starting Sunday we will establish a perimeter around the Principals’ island with random, incognito, patrols. Captain and Lieutenant, please work together with the S.B.S commander to plan that perimeter security. Dismissed, I believe a welcoming party in the middle hangar for the team is being given in an hour. Captain and Lieutenant please stay.”

Tammy waved for Maisie to leave with the others.

“Tom, Tammy, I realise this is new for both of you and I have thrown you in the deep end.”

“I’ll swim, Sir.”

“Indeed, Captain. Can you come up with a draft plan tomorrow? I have a folder for each of you with the original schedule but I fully expect this to be changed. One change that appears to have happened is that the Principals have been invited to spend the evening with our hosts and have already accepted.”

He reached into his case and presented the pair with the promised material.

“With respect Sir, I guessed that would happen as the hosts have titles.”

“Precisely. Perhaps you can share any gems of wisdom?”

“The PT is likely to be a few miles run and a few miles swam on day one, with a mile being added daily. Lieutenant, you and I are included. Sir, you are welcome to join us.”

“I’ll consider your invitation. Captain, is your relationship with Sgt Staines going to cause any problems?”

“I doubt it Sir, my fiancée is very professional.”

Tom Vance’s eyes showed surprise, but he kept his mouth firmly shut.

“Good. Dismissed, please ensure no-one overdoes the alcohol.”

“Sir.”

As they exited the plane Eddie walked up. "Colonel."

"Yes...er, I seemed to have forgotten your name on the spot." Wells admitted.

"Eddie, Sir, Flightline Ops. You and your officers are invited to the sea dock." Eddie answered and saluted.

Jeremy returned the salute. "Thank you."

As Tammy led the way she was asked. "Have you an idea about this?"

"No prior knowledge Sir, but it should be interesting." Tammy replied.

At the dock they were greeted by a smiling Krystel, in a bikini. "Welcome, Colonel."

"Thank you, Miss?" Jeremy replied.

Krystel held her smile. "Krystie Ellory. I run billing and accounting and also IT consultant for Elegant Executive. Right now though, I get to escort you all for a sunset cruise."

Tammy wanted to laugh out loud at the introduction and alias. The sleek cigarette-class powerboat was one she hadn't seen on her last visit. A long blue and white Donzi 43ZR.

"Ah. Thank you. Permission to come aboard then." Wells asked.

Krystel gestured. "Permission granted. Follow me."

Krystel nimbly stepped on then took her place behind the right console. Tammy stepped on and was waved to take the left console. Krystel put on a headset then indicated for the others to do so and started the engines. Tammy untied the mid-line and the boat gently moved out. Casually Krystel took them around the island and pointed out features of interest.

"During your stay here, Tammy will have access to my boat." Krystel informed them then added. "You hurt my boat and you'll be buying me a new one."

Lieutenant Vance asked. "How much does one of these go for?"

"Three hundred." Krystel answered with a grin. "Thousand. It's a Donzi."

"The Crown won't cover that, Captain. I advise great care." Jeremy said quickly.

Krystel looked over to Tammy. "Hit it!"

Tammy rammed the throttles forward. The engines went from growl to roar and the boat rocketed forward to launch over a wave. The boat was trimmed and all but flew across the water. The fast ride didn't last long but definitely got the hearts of Wells and Vance racing. When they docked, the men had shaking legs, stepping onto the dock.

"I'm glad we did that before dinner!" Vance announced.

Wells seconded. "You aren't alone. Thank you for the tour Miss Ellory, I believe the party is waiting."

"Have fun." Krystel grinned and watched them leave.

{Continues}

	Tammy Spycraft is a full reworking of Moving On and is now available on Kindle. Tammy's increasingly unhappy with the Security Service and Suzie's just plain bored. Tammy needs a change of direction and Suzie needs to get back to a proper job.
	Powered armor with a crew of two works best when the man and woman inside are romantically linked. But Dylan’s last love left him without hope and Alison’s experience with abuse has made her afraid of being touched. Contains strong language and adult situations. Can the Self-contained Powered Armor they wear bring them together, or is even trying going to be a disaster? Love is a combination the two can only dream of in this science fiction romance!.