Wilco- Lone Wolf 8

by Geoff Wolak

  ‘A few picked up small wounds, no doubt very proud of them now.’

  ‘And you’ll take the police there?’

  ‘Need to, sir, for several reasons. First, an untested copper kicking in a door and facing a gunman may crap himself. Second, the politicians need to know they can do it, and do it well. And before I sign off on that I need to know they can do the job against real people shooting back. And third, we’re wasted sat around London waiting for a terror attack.’

  ‘Yes, I wasted a lot of time on standby; men are best used elsewhere. From what I’ve seen the coppers are fit, and now shoot very well, good in the Killing House, but going toe to toe with an armed man is another matter. How did Robby’s troop do?’

  ‘Fine, no problems, never had to shout at anyone. Hamble and his lads were OK, no incidents, and they followed orders.’

  ‘They had a briefing from Colonel Dean: one word from you about problems and the man would be gone that day.’

  ‘That helps,’ I noted.

  ‘Intel was fucked up?’ the Major asked.

  ‘Intel was light. And they never had the camps listed. A fly-by would have solved that problem, but they flew over on the second day. If those local boys had been awake they could have brought down the choppers and killed a few men.’

  ‘Yes, damn lucky. I spoke to David Finch, he seems OK, a bit reserved compared to Bob.’

  ‘He’ll find his feet soon enough. And he takes advice from me, which is a good sign. He’s learning the ropes.’

  ‘Some problem with a JIC man?’

  I smiled. ‘He slept all the way there, forty hours, then went to bed, and a day later he was so stewed he couldn’t get out of bed. Next night, third day in I think, he was walking around naked, sleepwalking.’

  ‘What a joke. That man was sent there to keep an eye on you, and he’s sleeping with a war going on around him. But I think they roasted his chestnuts.’

  ‘Second guy was much better, alert and with it, and helpful. There was no hassle, and they weren’t trying to interfere.’

  ‘Problems with the Malay soldiers?’

  ‘Not with the soldiers, but we hit a brothel full of gunmen and bad boys. Around those parts, running Filipino girls into Malaysia makes the bad boys money, so I wanted to shut them down where I could. Turns out that when we hit this one brothel, sale of girls in full swing, the local governor was there organising things.’

  ‘Corruption runs deep in the Far East, yes.’

  ‘If you see any of the lads, tell them they have a few days off.’

  ‘If they’re all zombies like you, damn right; keep them away from guns!’

  I went and sat with Crab and Duffy, a long chat about the operation, then a chat about the police training, a look at the score cards.

  Walking back to the house, my phone trilled. ‘Wilco.’

  ‘Colonel Mathews, Pentagon. Are you recovered?’

  ‘From the flight, no. Forty hours sitting down in damn uncomfortable seats.’

  ‘Can be hard, yes. Can you talk?’

  ‘Yes, sir, fire away.’

  ‘We have some analysis and intel from the operation, and I figured you’d want to know. On day one, camp one, you killed forty one. Day one, camp two, that figure was sixty two. Day one, civilian reservists, one hundred and thirty three, plus a great many wounded. Oddly enough, many of those wounded were taken off the island and sent to Mindanao.

  ‘Day one slash two, airfield, one hundred and sixty eight dead, a great many wounded. Day two, high ground forest, eighty four estimated, day three high ground forest, a noted fifty two dead before the fire, after the fire – two hundred and sixty missing presumed dead.’

  ‘Sounds like your people analyse these things in detail, sir.’

  ‘They do, a whole team on it, and they have the aerial photos. The best part of the operation, for some, was that a dozen of the senior leaders were killed, and that their best men went with them, and by that I mean those men that were instrumental in direct attacks on the Filipino Army and police forces – all wanted men.

  ‘We think that their operational front line team is down by sixty-five percent, something that that the Filipino Government was more than happy about, and it has affected their decision making.’

  ‘Meaning, sir?’

  ‘Meaning that, as we speak, Filipino soldiers are landing on that island, with the assistance of Malay soldiers. They aim to disarm the population, but to then try and little hearts and minds, not least because much of the wood was lost, along with crops.’

  ‘Seems like a good time to take it back then, sir.’

  ‘Let your men know.’

  ‘I will do, sir, when they wake, few around at the moment. Are there any hostages left?’

  ‘We don’t think so, and all of the westerners are accounted for. The Filipinos got back some Army officers, so they’re happy. As an aside, there are some amongst the separatist’s leadership that are still convinced that Russian mercenaries were involved.’

  ‘Western press got the full story, sir.’

  ‘Yes, but some of the leadership think it propaganda, and when you’re a Moaist you think these things.’

  ‘They live in a bubble, so leave them in that bubble, sir.’

  ‘How did the French do?’

  ‘They’re almost as good as my men.’

  ‘And the Australians?’

  ‘Good lads, but they lack experience.’

  ‘You called in parachute instructors?’

  ‘Yes, sir, because those men lack respect from those they teach HALO, so it was decided by the powers here that I get them some training and action, and I’ll take them on live HALO drops in the future.’

  ‘So that they get the respect of those they teach. Interesting. And a Russian defector..?’

  ‘Sorry, Colonel, but that’s a bit beyond your pay grade.’

  ‘I see. Well, I guess there are some things best left under wraps.’

  ‘Yes, sir, best left alone, especially over the telephone.’

  ‘Not a problem. And we’ve sent the aerial photos to your boys in Intel, so you may get a copy.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’

  ‘One last thing. You didn’t call in our men, but did call in ... odd groups of others.’

  ‘I’m cautious about deaths amongst your men, unless I have very clear and specific orders from within my own chain of command, sir.’

  ‘So noted for the future. Talk soon, Captain.’

  I had halted outside the house, and now stared at the phone for a moment, not sure how I felt about the deaths he listed, or why it was so important to him to even count them.

  Swifty stepped out.

  ‘You look like shit,’ I told him.

  ‘Feel like it too.’

  ‘Monday today,’ I told him.

  ‘Yeah, feels like a Sunday.’

  ‘Get some food in you, you’ll feel better,’ I told him.

  That evening a few of the lads were sat drinking in the pub as I sat with Sasha and some of his team. I had been summoned to London, and would be off in the morning, Sasha’s team also summoned for a debrief. After all, they belonged to Intel and not to Echo.

  The next day I drove up in civvies with MP Peter, a long chat about the operation, but we had set off early to beat the traffic, stopping near the MOD building for a breakfast and leisurely cup of tea. Inside the MOD building we followed a familiar routine, and I met David Finch and his assistant again.

  ‘All recovered?’ David asked.

  ‘Better today than yesterday. Fighting is easy, long flights are not.’

  ‘Yes, quite. And no serious injuries?’

  ‘Lassey was the only one from my team. Any word?’

  ‘He’s in Birmingham, a bit of a touch-up on his ear, they can work wonders these days, so I’m told.’

  ‘I’ll let him grow his hair long.’

  ‘You aim to ... keep him on?’

  ‘Why not? If he can shoot, then what message a
re we sending to the others? How will it affect morale?’

  ‘Yes, I see, and a valid point. The MOD would probably fail him.’

  ‘We’re not quite MOD, are we, so I’ll test him then see. And I’d never pass a medical, neither would Sasha.’

  He nodded. ‘We had a sniff from the Americans, about Sasha and his team, and could they borrow them?’

  ‘Are you ... asking for my opinion on the matter?’

  ‘Yes, because he’s only with us because of you, and I doubt that Sasha would like to work away from you.’

  ‘Then I’d say the Americans ask you, then me, and we look at it operation by operation, and if I say no then it’s no.’

  ‘Seems fair enough. And the Pentagon sent us a detailed analysis of the operation, which is always useful to study, and ... if blame is set somewhere.’

  ‘Has anyone complained about that fire?’

  ‘No more than a hundred separate groups,’ he quipped. ‘UNESCO is debating it, UN is debating the Filipino return to that island, but ... the UN did label the Maoists as terrorists not long ago. A few environmental groups are up in arms of course, half the island burnt down.

  ‘The one useful thing, in hindsight, was you leaking the full story, because that got it all in context before anyone started slinging mud. Still, I’d prefer some input on you calling the press.’

  I held my hands wide. ‘If you say no press contact, then there’ll be no press contact. I used to ask Bob if I could take a reporter, not tell him after the fact.’

  ‘Good to know, but in this case it did some good, Army very happy, recruitment still up, Prime Minister happy. He got a thank you from the Filipinos – who may move on Jolo now that there are fewer armed men to stop them.’

  ‘They would feel the heat in the long term,’ I suggested.

  ‘Any ... issues from the operation?’

  ‘I would have preferred that the island didn’t burn down, but apart from that it went off well enough.’

  ‘All the teams working together?’

  ‘First time we met the Aussies, but now we’re all best buddies. Why don’t you nudge the MOD to invite them up; I have no wish to fly all the way there.’

  He made a note. ‘New Zealanders as well.’

  ‘We have a Mouri with us, so yeah, they have some good lads.’

  ‘And was there any American ... interference?’

  ‘They were most helpful. As for the objectives ... they had been outlined before we went, and all sides cared more about reducing the separatists than getting back any hostages.’

  ‘You were OK with that aspect?’

  ‘Not 100%, I like rescuing hostages, but I also like shooting the world’s terrorists. Problem was ... we killed a great many dentists and doctors who picked up a rifle when told to. That could have best been avoided.’

  ‘The militia, yes, part time soldiers. Still, they formed up and attacked, you didn’t shoot them in their beds. And your men, morale is good?’

  ‘Same as ever, they all need their heads examined.’

  ‘And the teams worked well together, and the international groups?’

  ‘Fine, no issues. Although ... Sasha did teach the Aussies how to swear in Russian.’

  Bob’s assistant laughed, getting a look from David.

  David continued, ‘So apart from cultural linguistics, it all went off well then.’

  ‘It did. Only downside was that lady medic getting a stray round in the leg.’

  ‘She’s back here, and well, so it was reported. And the Americans, they provided supplies?’

  ‘One batch of water, food and grenades, much left behind when we left,’ I reported.

  ‘They have a big budget, so I doubt they’ll miss it. And how are the police doing?’

  ‘Very well. A few more steps and I’ll tell the Cabinet Office they’re ready.’

  ‘You think they could replace the SAS?’

  ‘For most jobs, yes. They need extra training in explosives, but they’ll storm a building well enough. For a simple situation, husband taking his ex-wife hostage, they’ll do fine.’

  ‘And Colonel Dean seems happy ... to relinquish that role.’

  ‘It’s a waste of time for the SAS, to be sat around.’

  ‘A shift from former policy, but the PM and Home Secretary can see the sense.’ He eased back. ‘If you don’t mind answering, any thoughts about working for the Americans?’

  ‘For them, or with them?’

  ‘For them, should they offer you a job?’

  ‘I’d say no, unless I was kicked out of Echo and on the dole, and even then ... not sure.’

  ‘You dislike them?’

  ‘Not at all, and they have lots of toys to play with, but I wonder about their policy making. Besides, with them I’d be a small cog in a giant wheel, whereas now I chat to the Prime Minister. I doubt the President of the day would have time for me.’

  ‘No, quite. And the older men of “E” Squadron?’

  ‘They did well, yes.’

  ‘And their ... readiness for operations?’

  ‘I’d send them off, the inner group.’

  He made a note.

  After half an hour of idle chat he thanked me, and I was soon heading back, a spot of lunch in a motorway service station.

  The next day, a few lads wandering around in civvy clothes, some jogging, I was invited up to Credenhill.

  The Major began, ‘You should be summoned, not invited!’

  ‘I’m sure they meant that,’ I teased.

  I changed into uniform, put my clean boots on, a green cap for my head – no idea where my original beret went, and MP Peter drove me up. We passed a great many familiar pubs in Hereford centre, soon on the A460 northwest and a mile on to the turn right for the new base, which I had avoided up to now.

  Inside, we turned right and parked, the new HQ building impressive, all modern and clean, a stark difference to the old base, and to the old buildings at GL4. I stood taking in the brick buildings with yellow metal roofs, radio tower in the distance. Pete waited in the car.

  I wandered in, a few men smiling or nodding at me as I passed them, the Admin Major welcoming me and giving me the ten dollar tour downstairs, plenty of room for everyone, then upstairs to ultra modern training rooms, and finally the Colonel’s office.

  ‘Ah, Wilco, come in.’

  I saluted, then took in the view of nearby houses past the hedge, a fence and a hedge trying to keep prying eyes out, the windows also tinted. ‘All very clean and modern this.’

  ‘I never knew the old base, and they’re planning on turning it into an industrial estate. Tea, coffee?’

  ‘Whichever is easiest, sir.’

  He had his own kettle and drinks area, he even had a computer on his desk.’

  ‘You type fast, sir?’

  ‘Hell no, but I’m getting there. I do some of my own letters, spreadsheets of costs and kit. I have a fax machine that Intel says is secure, so it’s all changing with the modern times.’

  I sat in one of two chairs facing his large desk, the Queen on the wall, standards and colours in the corner. ‘That glass bullet proof?’

  ‘Double glazed safety glass, so ... for most weapons yes. For a fifty cal ... maybe not. RPG would mess up the papers on my desk. So, you all recovered?’

  ‘Yes, sir, just jetlagged when we got back.’

  ‘And no serious wounds?’

  ‘Lad lost a finger and an ear, might not make it back to us, but I have asked for him back to assess – good for morale.’

  ‘Yes, but I guess the counter-argument would be that his wounds remind others of their own mortality.’

  I made a face. ‘They see me with my top off.’

  ‘And my lads did OK?’

  ‘Fine, sir, no issues at all this time around.’

  ‘Good to know they’re settling down. And those para instructors?’

  ‘Got some training in, and some confirmed kills.’

  ‘A few lads around
here with no confirmed kills, so those men are ahead. But I know the issues about credibility.’

  I nodded. ‘I’ll be taking the para instructors to Sierra Leone, so more credibility, some live HALO drops, at night, into the jungle.’

  ‘Should make it easier, yes. And when do you think the police will be ready?’

  ‘As I said to David Finch, I want to see them in action first. If they storm a house and come face to face with a man with a gun ... I need to know they’ll not freeze.’

  ‘Yes, a valid point, but the same for soldiers as well. First action is always their worst.’

  ‘I let myself get kidnapped in Northern Ireland, first real action.’

  ‘It turned out well enough. And now look at you; wishing you had less kills on the scorecard.’

  ‘Yes, I do worry about the men I kill sometimes, and on that island we killed many of the local militia, part time soldiers, dentist as a day job.’

  ‘I get questions from many interested parties, but I’m often light on detail.’

  ‘Call more often then,’ I told him, making him smile.

  ‘You got my two PTIs, and a stores chap?’

  ‘Yes, all settled in – and bored stiff so far, nothing to do.’

  ‘Well you’ll be pleased to know how much progress I’ve made. We have a scorecard of men with experience, and as we speak there are patrols out in Sierra Leone, some of our best leading some with no experience at all.

  ‘We also have a fair few going through your three-day, and scores are creeping up, standard 24hr speed march was done down at your place last week, first batch – could have gone better; five out of eight finished. Good thing is that recruitment is way up, so standards can be tightened. We have a full book of men, plus eight, some due to leave.’

  ‘Does sound like it’s going well, sir.’

  ‘And the old timers you took along?’

  ‘They did well, no whinging, small group with good attitudes.’

  He nodded. ‘And the police?’

  ‘A month from now I may tell the government they’re ready, so be ready for questions.’

  ‘We’ve already discussed it, and I’d rather not have the men sat around in London, but I understand the need – should there be a terrorist attack. But no attack since 1981, so ... stretching it a bit.’