“I was posted at NAVCOM, Sir.”
“What did you do there?”
“Commander Richardson's assistant.”
“Have you served on any ships?”
“No, Sir. I've been at NAVCOM since joining the RAN.”
She was handling the rocking of a warship very well for someone who didn't have their sea legs.
“How are liking being at sea so far, X?”
“I've only been here for four hours, Sir. Ask me again in a day or two.”
Ethan grinned and said, “Fair enough.”
Karleigh looked at him and asked, “Can I ask you something, Sir?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why did Lieutenant Commander Tanner just up and quit?”
He'd been expecting this question and he told her the truth. “He got a job offer from an old mate and he decided to accept it.”
“So nothing happened?”
Ethan frowned and asked, “What would have happened, X?”
“There are rumours circulating around the ship, Sir. Rumours that suggest Lieutenant Commander Tanner was forced out of the Navy.”
He hadn't been aware of that.
“That's not true, X, and I think it's time to tell the crew just what happened.”
“I agree, Sir.”
“Gather everyone on the quarter deck.” He wouldn't have his mate's reputation tainted by a bunch of sailors who didn't know the truth. “And Lieutenant?”
Karleigh stopped and looked at him. “Yes, Sir?”
Ethan smiled and said, “Welcome aboard.”
Her first day aboard the Sydney, Lieutenant Karleigh Greene got to see exactly what the Navy's new Armidale-class Patrol boats could do.
Following co-ordinates given to Chief Petty Officer Steven Leigh – the ships Radio Operator – Karleigh guided the Sydney to a section of the Timor Sea, where refugees were trying to illegally enter Australia.
As the ship's XO, it would normally be her job to lead the boarding party, but Lieutenant Commander Conrad wanted her to stay on board for this one so a reserve officer on board for training purposes could learn the ropes under the ships Buffer.
Karleigh respected that.
She knew how hard it could be to learn the operating procedure of a fully-functioning warship in such a small amount of time. After all, she'd only had three weeks to get refreshed on the SOP of patrol boats like the Sydney before she was shipped out.
She joined her CO on the observation deck of the ship and followed his orders to relay a warning to the boat they intended to board.
“This is Australian warship. Stop or heave to. I intend to board you.”
The boat – barely sea-worthy – continued on it's slow pace south.
“Again.” Ethan ordered.
Karleigh did the warning again, but, as expected, the boat didn't stop.
“Gunner of the watch, close up.” Ethan ordered.
She relayed the order.
“I want one short burst of three to five rounds across the front of the bow.”
“Yes, Sir.” Placing the headset over her ears to relay the message to the gunner, Karleigh ordered, “Gunner, one short burst of three to five rounds across the front of the bow … Engage!”
The shots rang out loud and clear in the calm northern waters as the bullets were fired across the boat to disappear harmlessly into the water on the other side.
“Check, check, check.” Karleigh said, letting the gunner know to cease fire.
“Vessel is stopping.” Ethan commented. Looking at her, he said, “Carry on the sea-boat, X.”
“Aye, Sir.” She grabbed a mic and relayed the order to the boarding party.
The RHIB flew across the water to the boat and the boarding party made the board while Karleigh and Ethan watched with binoculars from the observation desk.
Everything they were doing was so new and exciting to her, she didn't want to miss a second of what happened.
There were a few minutes of nothing but by-the-book action on the boat from the Buffer and the boarding party until Ethan radioed for a sit-rep.
“Bravo Four, this is Charlie Four, what's the situation, over?”
“This is Bravo Four … we have nine POB's … Nationality is still being determined, over.”
They waited for a few minutes.
“Charlie Four, this is Bravo Four, over.”
“Go ahead, Bravo Four.”
“Nationality has been confirmed as Thai. Over.”
“Bravo Four, what's their reason for being in Australian waters, over?”
“They're seeking refugee status. Over.”
“Are there reasons for them to come with us back to base? Any medical conditions that need immediate attention? Over.”
“No, boss. The boat is barely sea-worthy, but it's clean and staying afloat. They have enough food and water for three more days at sea and the ships Master has a working GPS. Everyone is healthy and okay to make the trip home. Over.”
“Alright, Bravo Four. Send 'em on their way. Charlie Four, out.”
Karleigh and Ethan watched as the Buffer and the boarding party did just that before the RHIB came back across.
“That seemed easy.” Karleigh commented.
Ethan smiled and said, “It was. But they'll be back.”
He went inside to the bridge and Karleigh watched the boat make it's turn and head for international waters. As she watched it sail away, she suspected the CO was right.
Two
Two days later and the action was continuing as the Sydney was sent on an extraction assignment to the Samaru Islands.
Four Australians who'd been arrested in Samaru on suspicion of drug trafficking were being extradited back to Australia to stand trial and it was their job to get the prisoners back without any dramas.
Ethan didn't like it.
He didn't think his crew should have to play cop because the AFP were too damn lazy to fetch the criminals themselves.
But, orders were orders.
Standing on the pier, Ethan watched the men board the Sydney in single file as Karleigh stood next to him, marking them off on the list she held. The last to board was a giant of a man with obvious Aboriginal background. He towered over everyone around him and was muttering in the native language of the Samaru Islands. He was also looking around, as though he was contemplating trying to get away from a warship and it's armed personnel, and Ethan braced himself for what was coming.
Next to him, Karleigh suddenly snapped her fingers, getting the criminal's attention, and she spoke to him in the native language with such fluency, it sounded like she was a native.
The man gave a short nod of his head and followed his mates onto the ship, where the Buffer led them below decks.
Ethan looked down at her and asked, “What did you say to him?”
“I told him he'd be restrained and confined to quarantine if he didn't behave and do exactly as we told him.”
He smiled and told her, “Well done, X.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
They headed to Osteer, where the ships Swain informed Ethan all four men were in perfect medical condition and okayed to be transferred.
“Take us home, X.”
“Copy that, Sir.”
Karleigh headed up to the bridge and Ethan followed. He wanted to talk to her, and not just about the RAN or anything involving what they did for a living. He was intrigued by her and he wanted to know everything about her.
An Armidale Patrol ship filled with personnel and four criminals wasn't the place to start that conversation, but when they made port …
A dark storm was gathering over Cairns when the Sydney returned to the Naval base later that night, thanks to a tropical cyclone that had barely missed the north Queensland city.
Karleigh stood with the CO while Buffer and two junior sailors escorted the criminals off the ship and into AFP custody. As they waited, an agent in a blue blazer came up to them and handed her a letter.
H
er heart jumped into her throat when she saw the AFP's federal insignia on the front of the envelope and it almost stopped beating when she opened it and saw who the letter was from.
Agent-In-Charge Doug Scott was the agent assigned to her sisters case.
As she read the letter, Ethan asked her, “X? Are you okay?”
“Uh … no.” She replied at length, still reading. “No, I'm not.”
“What's wrong?”
“I have to go.” She told him.
Without thinking, she began to walk as quickly as she could to the main gate when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
It was Ethan. “I'm coming with you, X.”
“With all due respect, Sir, this doesn't concern you.”
“Maybe not. But the last time one of the crew from the Sydney left to get involved with an AFP matter, things got out of control.” Ethan said. “Let me help you.”
Karleigh wanted to reject his offer, but when it came to her sister, she could use all the help she could get. So she nodded and said, “Thank you.”
They headed to the main road, where they hailed a cab.
Karleigh gave the driver the address of the house where her sister was being held and, when they arrived, two black Mitsubishi Outlanders were parked in the driveway while men and women in blue AFP blazers were milling around the front.
Doug Jones met them at the door.
“Where's my sister?” Karleigh asked, not standing on preliminaries.
“Out the back.” Doug held up a hand and asked, “Who is this?”
“My CO. And, before you say anything, he stays.”
Doug obviously wasn't happy about this, but he didn't say anything.
She left both men standing in the living room as she headed outside to speak with her sister.
Three
Heavy rain was falling as Ethan stood in the living room of the house where the AFP were holding Karleigh's sister, the dark clouds making it appear as though it was later then the 1400 hours time.
Francine Greene looked nothing like her little sister.
Sure, they had a similar resemblance in their blue eyes and medium height, but that's all. Karleigh was slim, brunette and looked like a model. Francine was bottle-blonde with black tips at the end of her short hair and was a size twenty at least.
But it was obvious Karleigh loved her big sister.
As he watched them through the windows that overlooked the back patio, Ethan wondered what the eldest Greene sister had done to warrant such attention from the federal police.
“Two different peas from the same pod, eh?”
Ethan looked at the man standing next to him briefly before looking back at his XO.
“I'll bet you're wondering what Francine Greene did to be in our custody, Lieutenant Commander Conrad.”
He wasn't surprised the Feds had run a background on him, and all he said was, “It crossed my mind.”
“She's a murderer.”
Now that was a surprise.
“Who did she kill?”
“Phillip Schofield.”
“Did she have a reason for killing him?”
Doug crossed his arms and kept his eyes on the two sisters as he said, “He's a serial rapist who always manages to slip through our fingers. He was at the head of our suspect list when Miss Greene there was raped, but we didn't have enough evidence to pin the crime on him.”
“And you think that's why Francine killed him.”
“I know that's why she did.”
“Why isn't she in jail?”
“She's the key to nabbing one of the biggest criminals in the north.”
“Who?”
“Ian Morton. He's wanted in connection with terrorist-based crimes that have been happening all over the Pacific.”
Ethan looked at Karleigh and asked, “How is Lieutenant Greene involved in all this?”
“She used her position with RAN to get Miss Greene the best treatment and now, I can't move her unless she or Commander Richardson sign off on it.”
Ethan could tell the Senior agent didn't like this, but, like him, Doug had no choice. Orders were orders.
Karleigh and her sister came inside then and his XO began questioning Doug.
“When do you want to move her?”
“Tonight.”
“What reason do you have for doing this?”
“Miss Greene recently gave us some information about Morton that could lead to his arrest, and now he's been spotted in Bungalow.”
Karleigh looked at her sister and stated, “You think he's on his way here.”
“I do.”
She looked back at Doug and asked, “Where are you taking her?”
“I can't give you the exact location, Lieutenant Greene, but I can tell you that she's going to be placed into the WPP unit and put near Samford Valley.”
Ethan smiled to himself and thought; How many times are the RAN and WPP going to cross paths?
Doug looked at her and said, “If I have your approval, Lieutenant, I'd like to move my witness now before this storm gets any worse or before Morton has a chance to find us.”
Karleigh nodded and said, “Fine. But I'd like you to relay all updates to this case through NAVCOM. I don't want to be kept in the dark, Agent Jones.”
He nodded and ordered his men to move out.
Ethan followed and waited on the curb as Karleigh hugged her sister goodbye. The eldest Greene was whisked away as they stood there, getting soaked by the rain.
In the past, he'd liked to keep himself isolated from emotions.
But seeing Karleigh so upset did him and he had to know … “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“C'mon, then. I'll take you home.”
They hailed another cab and she gave the driver her address before leaning into him. Her slender body was shaking slightly and he knew she was crying, so he did what he could and slipped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as the cab took them to her apartment.
By the time they reached the fifth floor of her apartment building, Karleigh was shaking too bad to even get the key into her lock, so Ethan did it for her.
When he had her inside, he stated, “I don't think you should be alone tonight.”
The digital clock next to her bed read 4:15 when Karleigh woke early the next morning. Her shades were closed, but the rain and thunder could easily be heard on an otherwise quiet morning.
Rolling over onto her side, Karleigh reached over and turned on her lamp before grabbing the photo that was sitting next to her lamp. In the photo, she and Francine had their arm around the others neck and were grinning broadly at the person taking the photo. Karleigh couldn't remember who that was, but she and her sister looked so happy.
Francine Greene might have horrible taste when it came to men, but she didn't deserve to be in the situation she was in now just because one of those creeps hadn't been able to accept no as no.
Putting the photo back on the nightstand, Karleigh threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, only to have them connect with bare skin.
Gasping in surprise, she jumped up onto her knees on the mattress and grabbed the Beretta 9mm she always kept hanging at the back of the headboard in a leather holster, ready to protect herself.
But it wasn't a villain or home intruder that her weapon was pointed at.
It was Ethan Conrad, her CO.
“Boss?”
Ethan sat on a red sleeping bag – her red sleeping bag – his hands raised in a typical surrender position as he looked up at her with an amused expression in his eyes.
Lowering her weapon, Karleigh asked, “What are you doing here, Sir?”
The presence of the sleeping bag, not to mention his sleep-mused hair and naked torso answered that question, but she needed to ask to keep herself distracted so she wouldn't stare at that wide expanse of pure, fat-free muscle.
“I spent the night.”
“That's obvious, Sir. What isn't obvio
us is the why?”
“Relax, X. Nothing happened.” Ethan told her with a grin.
A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series Page 15
