Chapter 24

"Mitchell," he said quietly into his phone. "What happened out there?" Chris Starks always believed in getting straight to the point.

Jake held Angie's hand as he waited for Colonel Starks to pick up, his eyes never leaving hers. "Colonel Starks, G'Day, sir. Mission accomplished...but...it didn't go smoothly. We need to meet as soon as possible. It's something that's best not discussed over the phone. Can you come to our office or do you want us to come to you?" Angie squeezed his hand as he waited for Starks to reply.

"I can be there in thirty minutes," was Starks' crisp reply. There was no point in him asking if it was about Nick. If it were anything else, Nick himself would be calling instead of Mitchell.

Jake and Mike arrived at the office and settled down in the reception area to wait for Starks. It wasn't too long before the Colonel arrived. They stood up to greet him and headed towards the office. Once inside, Jake sat on the edge of the desk and waited until Starks sat down.

"It's not good news, Colonel. For some reason, Nick ordered me to take over as sniper while he and Calvert acted as sentries. Hastings was my spotter. Just seconds before the air cover was due we heard a couple of gun shots from the bottom of the rise. There was nothing we could do about it, the target was about to be taken to safety. I took the shot, then we were able to go down and check on the others...Calvert was dead, head shot. There was no sign of Nick, apart from some blood on a rock.

"When I got back for the debrief, Colonel York informed me that we had no clearance to be in the country, so there was no possibility of a rescue mission. I vowed I would get Nick back, and I promised Hastings the same. That's why we asked you here, Colonel...we need to set a plan in motion, and fast."

Starks had been sitting on the edge of his chair, and now he let out a long breath. "Dammit!" he hissed through his teeth.

He'd been expecting to be told that Nick Cameron was dead, but this was almost worse. Nick was in the hands of Afghan rebels. By the time they were finished with him, he'd be dead and he would have been wishing for death long before that.

He thought of Mackenzie, back at his house waiting for word from Nick. He hadn't said anything to her before he left, just told her that he had to be at a meeting and he wasn't sure how long it would take. What did he tell her now?

Forcing his mind back to the immediate question, he gave Jake and Mike a long look. "Not doubting your abilities, gentleman, but have you ever mounted a rescue mission in Afghanistan? While there was a war going on?" Starks had been on several missions there during his time with the SAS.
"I have, Colonel," Jake replied grimly. "It was hell, but we got the job done. Lost a good man in the process though. He was lucky to die before he could be captured."

"Jake and I do this kind of thing for a living, Colonel. If anyone can get Cameron back safely it's us. Jake is fluent in both Pashto and Dari, and with brown contacts in can pass as a native. We can do this, we just need a plan."

Nick and Jake both looked at Starks in expectation.

"What do you need from me?" Starks asked quietly.

"I think you have more experience in the conditions over there, Colonel, so any insights would be helpful." Mike stated.

"I want Hastings in the team," Jake said looking at Starks. "Do you still have any pull with the unit to make that happen? I made him a promise that I intend to keep."

"We think you may also be able to arrange transport faster than we can," Mike added. "We need to get over there ASAP if we're going to get his thorny ass out of there intact."

Starks was silent, thinking, for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Transport's no problem. You'll have whatever you need there. Col. York, Nick's immediate superior, is a friend of mine from my service days. I can ask him to give Hasting's leave, but the man will have to make his own decision about whether he wants to go. If the SAS decided to do so, they could court-martial him for going on a mission like this, outside his service duties."

After another long pause, he asked, "How many will be on your team?"

"If Hastings can join us without ruining his career it will be five, if not it will be four. The smaller the team the less chance we have of getting caught in the act." Jake said.

"Our men are good, Colonel," Mike added. "They've both had to go in and extract their cargo when negotiations have broken down. We'll get your boy back."

Still thinking about Mackenzie at home and what he was going to have to tell her, Starks said, "I want to be part of your team."

"Are you willing to take orders from a Major, Colonel?" Mike asked Starks.

Ignoring the question of rank for the moment, Chris Starks said, "Nick didn't know your strengths either, Mitchell. Other than the few days he had to observe you while preparing for the mission, he had to take your abilities on faith and what he knew from your record. Yet he not only took you on as part of his team, he trusted your abilities enough to hand off the final shot of his SAS career to you."

There was a bit of Nick Cameron's haughtiness in Starks' eyes as he looked straight at Mike. "You may not know me well, but my abilities and strengths are all well-documented. I never had any major physical problems or injuries. I've only been out of the service for a year, and I've kept myself in shape despite working at a desk most of the time. I may be 42 years old, but I daresay I'm in better shape than a great number of 25-year-olds, even those in the service."

"It has nothing to do with age, Colonel," Jake said, trying to ease the mounting tension. "Hell, Mike is 40 and has been a civilian for five years. Nick may not have seen me in action before, but we'd met a few times on joint exercise, so he knew where he stood with me, despite my injuries. I've got two of my men en-route from Sydney, I called them as soon as I got back. One is ex-service and one is a civilian. They take their orders from me and will take it badly if you try to take over."

"Especially Darren," Mike chipped in, still not happy with the thought of Starks coming along with them.

"I'm willing to think about you coming along, but I'll tell you now that I'll run it by my boys when they get here tomorrow. One more thing...if you're going to be part of my team, I'll be calling you Chris...if that doesn't rile you too much." Jake smiled slightly as he looked at Starks awaiting his response.

"Not at all," Starks said with a smile. "It's been my name all my life. 'Colonel' has only been with me for the last six years."

"I believe I can be a big advantage to you, Mike. As you pointed out earlier, I've spent more time on the ground in Afghanistan than any of you. I know the conditions and the terrain. Not to mention-" Here, Starks paused for a moment. "I know Nick Cameron better as well."

"They may have taken Nick, but will they hold him?" This time, Chris Starks' smile was broader. "Not the Nick Cameron I know. He can take the smallest mistake by his captors and turn it into an opportunity. What you may run into over there is that Nick is no longer with his captors and it may be a matter of finding him. If he finds a chance like that, he'll take it."

"Nothing would please me more than to get there and find his ugly mug smirking at me," Jake grinned. "Let's hope that if he does manage to get out before we arrive he can somehow let us know where he is. I know someone who may be able to help us once we get there. He's worked with our firm before, but decided he needed to go back home to help get rid of the bad guys. He'll be putting out tentative feelers for us. It will be a bonus to at least know the vague area we need to cover."

"I don't think there's too much more we can do until the boys get here, Col...Chris," Mike said. "Unless you have anything more, I suggest we meet again here tomorrow afternoon, and you can meet the rest of the team."

On top of that, he didn't know if he should tell Jake and Mike about her. He'd promised Nick that he would tell no one about his marriage, but should these two men know that Nick Cameron had a wife with a big stake in how this rescue mission turned out? Would they want to know? Would Nick want them to know, under the circumstances? Funny, Starks thought to himself, how he could make life-and-death decisions in the field and important decisions in business every day, but he didn't have a clue about how to handle personal questions like these.

Jake and Mike watched as Starks got up slowly and made his way to the door. As he opened it, he half turned and raised his hand in a vague farewell.

"What's gotten into him?" Mike asked.

"Damned if I know," Jake replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I may have to think again about letting him come along. Can't have him drifting off like that when we need clear heads."

They were both up early the following morning, heading off to the airport to meet the boys. Using the firm's jet made things easier; it could land at the City Airport rather than Heathrow, making it quicker to get the formalities sorted out. They arrived at the office just after 8:00am and Jake headed off to the staff room to make them all a hot drink.

"Sorry to drag you straight to the office, lads," Mike apologised to the tired looking pair, "But we don't have too much time to get things sorted, and you can head off to the apartment as soon as we've had our morning briefing."

Jake came in with a tray and handed the drinks around. "Good flight?"

"Ripper, Jake," Darren answered. "It was like sitting by a buzz saw most of the time."

Davey laughed, "I do NOT snore, mate."

"Yeah, right. And Roos don't jump either," Darren grinned at his friend.

"Dazza and Dave, the well known double act," Jake laughed. "Seriously though, was it a calm flight?"

"Yes, boss," Davey replied. "Despite what this Galah says, we both slept for most of the journey."

"So, you're both raring to go then?" Jake asked. The two men nodded in agreement.

"Okie dokie then. We just need to wait for one more bloke and then we can start the briefing. The sooner we get finished, the sooner you can sleep in a real bed."

"When do we deploy?" Darren asked.

"It will be a couple of days at the most. There's a sixth bloke I'd like to have in the team, but I won't know until number 5 arrives."

Jake looked at his watch...8:29am. He looked towards the door in anticipation, just as there was a quiet knock and the door opened. The security officer from the foyer stuck his head round the door.

"Your visitor is here, Mr. Mitchell."

"Thanks, Steve. Show him in please."

The door opened wider and Starks walked in. The four men stood up to greet him.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Chris Starks' greeting was quiet and reserved, his military bearing apparent this morning. He was wide awake and anxious to get things started, despite his lack of sleep the night before. He'd tossed and turned, the same questions he'd had yesterday and a few more turning in his mind.

Taking a coffee and downing half the cup in one drink. Then, looking at Mike, he asked, tongue in cheek, "Are we ready to go, Captain." His smile and his slight emphasis on the word 'captain' made obvious reference to their questions from yesterday about him being comfortable taking orders from a lower rank.

"Morning,Chris," Mike smiled, realising that Starks had silently answered his question from the previous day.

"Chris is ex-SAS, lads, and a friend of the cargo," Mike stated, noticing the slight frown on Starks' face when he called Nick 'cargo'."

"It's nothing personal, Chris," Jake said. "It's K&R speak, just like we'd use in the service."

"So, have you had any luck regarding Hastings? As soon as we know just who's in the team, we can get our arses in gear and get the hell outta here."

"Hastings is on his way here," Chris said, taking a seat. "He should arrive at any minute. Do you have any ideas about what kind of transport you'll be wanting? I could make some calls-get started on that-while we wait for him."

"Yep, just need to pop some contacts in. You'd be surprised how fast I can go native with the right clothes. I'm fluent in both languages. You got a plan going there, Chris?"

Starks grinned at him. "I've pulled off passing as a citizen twice." His eyes rolled upward toward his head. "The advantage of having no hair, olive skin and brown eyes."

"I wouldn't exactly say I'm fluent in both languages, but I know enough to get by," he went on, after seeing Jake grin in return. "I'm thinking we might be able to pass as one of their patrols, with you and I doing any talking necessary."

Starks was pleased to see Hastings, stopping to speak with him. "So, Hastings- You're willing to risk your career for Nick Cameron?" he asked with a grin.

Hastings snapped off a salute and then grinned at Starks. "Well, he grows on you, Colonel. Sort of like a fungus that you might not like very much, but you learn to be resigned to it."

With a chuckle, Starks turned to Mike, "Do you have an office where I can use the phone? I'd prefer to use a landline for these particular arrangements."

"Sure, this way, Chris." Mike led him down to Kiri's office. She wouldn't be around as Jake had asked Jason to close the office until after lunch so that the team wouldn't be spotted, but Mike was interested to see if Chris realised who's office he was in. "I'll leave you in peace, we'll be in the staff rest room when you're done, it's the blue door at the end of the corridor."

Starks sat behind the desk in the neatly appointed office as he called a charter company to arrange for a jet. He thought it prudent not to use his own company's jet for this particular outing. Better to get something unmarked.

He waited on hold for a few moments as the representative checked schedules. This was a woman's office. He could tell by the scent of perfume and the bright warm colours that decorated it. The perfume he recognized as the same scent worn by the woman who'd seen him out last time he was here. Kiri, that was her name. Chris smiled briefly at the memory.

When he'd finished his call , he emerged from the office to find Mike Taylor still in the hallway, waiting for him. "Everything's set," he said. Then, "Does your office smell this good, Taylor?"

Mike grinned, "Well, I don't have an office here in London so I would have to say no. As far as I know there's only one lady in the company who wears that perfume. Her sister in law runs the New Zealand version of Bath and Bodyworks, or I guess over here it would be The Body Shop. She always sends a 'care package' over when she invents a new fragrance. It's Kiri's office, by the way, you met her when she was doing a stint at reception for us. My office back in Chicago doesn't smell half as good, unfortunately...maybe I should take Kiri back with me when our little mission is over."

"Don't you have a wife who might object to that?" Starks returned his grin.

"That I do, Chris. We've not been married all that long either. I'd only take Kiri away from here if she wanted to do a short exchange. We like our people to see all the other offices. I lost a wonderful girl that way, she went to Sydney for a couple of months and fell in love with the place. Jake told her she could stay as long as she wanted. I don't think Kiri is interested though, she was recruited in Sydney so knows the office there, but just recently she's made it pretty clear that she's more than happy here in London. I think something, or someone has caught her attention. She's a damned fine operative, so if she's that happy here, I'm not going to drag her off to the Windy City. I'll get her sister to send me some fragrances over for Tori instead."

He headed down the corridor to where voices could be heard. "Well, everyone's waiting to hear what you've managed to acquire for us. Hopefully they haven't eaten all the cookies before we get in there."

He'd thought about Kiri several times since he'd met her anyway, but that perfume had dragged Chris Starks' mind back to the previous night. Following the meeting between he, Mike and Jake the day before, Chris had spent the afternoon at his office. At the end of the day, though, he'd found himself with nothing accomplished.

He'd gotten home as the sun was going down, still with his mind not made up about what to tell Mackenzie Cameron regarding Nick's situation. Walking into the den, he'd found Mackenzie sitting on the end of a sofa, poring over the newspapers. She'd been doing that all week, looking to see what kind of jobs might be available to her in London.

There was not a light on in the room. She must have begun reading while there was still plenty of daylight. Chris had gone over to turn on the lamp next to her. As he bent and switched it on, he'd found his eyes right on the nape of her neck and, suddenly, he'd felt an insane urge to run the tips of his fingers over that soft, pale skin, then follow that with his lips.

That urge startled him so much he'd almost lost his balance jumping back from her. He was insane. Nick Cameron's wife? Chris and his own wife were in the process of a divorce. She'd moved out of the house only two weeks before. Still, though, he'd thought to himself, as he forced himself to calm down, they'd really been separated for months as far as sleeping in separate bedrooms.

Maybe it was time for him to go out with someone. That had to be what was behind that sudden physical attraction to Mackenzie Cameron, his friend's wife. Just that there hadn't been a woman in his life in awhile. That had been the point when his thoughts went back to Kiri. He hadn't thought about asking anyone out until then but, then and there, he promised himself that, as soon as this mission was over and they had Nick back in London, he'd ask Kiri for dinner.

All this went through Chris Starks' mind in that short walk down the hall. As he reached out to open the office door, he grinned at Mike now. "Cookies? Hadn't you best lay off the sweets and keep yourself sharp for what we've got coming?"

"A couple of double chocolate chip never hurt anyone," Mike replied as they both walked into the room.

"Good job I kept the lads away from them then," Jake grinned, offering a plate to Mike and a coffee to Chris. "Don't worry about him, Chris. The sugar rush helps him to concentrate."

"Yeah, it's about the only thing that does," Darren chipped in.

"Okie dokie then, I think it's time we got down to business. Dazza, Davey, let's bring you both up to speed. I was recently put on active status and was put 'on loan' to the British SAS. A quick in and out job. Piece of cake. Unfortunately, it didn't all go to plan. Four of us went out...Hastings and I came back, along with one fatality."

"What about the fourth, Jake?" Davey asked.

"Nick Cameron, team leader. He was taken when Calvert was killed. Seems that the powers that be didn't get the okay for us to go in and take out the target, so they can't set up a rescue for someone who wasn't officially there. Hastings is on post mission leave, it's the only way his CO could think of arranging for him to come with us. Chris Starks here is ex-SAS and is helping us with initial transport out there, he also speaks the language, so he and I can do the talking to get us through any encounters we may have. We'll be meeting up with Abel, who will have everything we need by the time we get over there."

"When do we head out, Sir?" Hastings asked.

"It's Jake, mate, and when we leave is up to Chris. He's in charge of procuring our transport." Jake turned to Starks. "Any joy with that, Chris?"

Starks was sipping his coffee, but at Jake Mitchell's question he lowered his cup. "We leave whenever our commanding officer-" Here he stopped with a slight grin at Mike, "-says we do. There's a 727 waiting whenever we're ready."

At their surprised glances, he looked somewhat embarrassed. "It's the advantage of having been in the shipping business for so many years. Simple bartering. Use of a plane in exchange for some shipping services. My father taught me long ago how much you can accomplish by using available resources."
"Cool," Jake said, taking his mug to the sink and washing it out. He looked at his watch before continuing. "Everyone be back here at 09:30 hours tomorrow and we'll head out for the flight. We're travelling light, gentlemen. We've all done this before, so we know what we need. Dazza and Davey, I suggest you get your heads down. I know you won't admit it, but I guarantee you're still rooted from the trip. Off you go then, and we'll see you in the morning."

"Chris, could you stay for a bit please?" Mike asked.

"Thanks for arranging the ride so quickly, Chris," Jake said. "It's appreciated."

"Think nothing of it." Starks waved his hand. There was something else on his mind, though, and now he frowned. "Shouldn't we be leaving right away?" He gave a quick glance at his watch. "Nick's been in their hands for two days. If he doesn't manage to escape, they'll keep him alive only as long as they think he might be useful. Once they find out they'll get nothing out of him--and believe me, they won't--he's a dead man." Chris was impatient to be off.

"I want him back as fast as you do, Chris, but my boys need to recharge their batteries from the trip up from Oz. They'll be hyped up tomorrow and won't relax on the flight out. We have a much better chance of a good outcome if the team is fresh. I'm banking on the fact that Nick's captors will be like a cat with a mouse...they'll want to play with him for as long as they can before they kill him. If he's not dead yet, I think we can risk resting my blokes up overnight. We'll get him back, Chris, no worries."

Starks did not share Jake Mitchell's optimism that Cameron's captors would want to 'play' that long. He knew Nick Cameron well. If he couldn't find a chance to escape--or found himself physically incapable of escaping--the man was very likely to piss them off deliberately just to make them kill him.

Now, he said slowly, "I'm just afraid that- Since Nick knows there won't be any rescue attempt from the British government, he may think it's hopeless and do something to force their hand. Just to keep them from dragging it out."

He glanced at Mike, who seemed to have gotten the brunt of Nick's sarcasm since he had met him. "You already know what he can be like. And he's asking you for help. What sort of things do you imagine he might say to an enemy?"

Mike frowned for a moment before turning to Jake. "He could be right, Jake. Nick's a stubborn, cantankerous bastard. I wouldn't want to hold him against his will for too long. Maybe we should bring forward our departure."

Jake closed his eyes in deep thought before turning to Starks. "How soon can we get wheels up?" he asked, already hitting speed dial on his phone.

"Whenever you tell me." Chris's hand was already on his own phone.

Jake spoke into his phone, "Dazza? Hope I didn't wake ya. Change of plan, mate. I need you all back at the office, now. Yeah, okie dokie, cya."

He closed up his phone and turned towards Starks. "They'll be here is 10 minutes. We've got a land cruiser in the garage, so we can head out as soon as they get here. Looks like International Rescue are good to go," he grinned.

"F.A.B." Mike said, slapping Jake on the shoulder.

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