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  Lenster, Sneath, Andrews and Kelsey. Tall, fit, dressed in black from head to toe with cam cream covering their faces, necks and hands. They were a scary looking bunch, but to Tyler they were simply her friends.

  “Endex,” she announced simply. “Lenster, you take point, all right?"

  "Yeah boss."

  "Okay, let’s go.”

  She took a position at the back behind Andrews and glanced up at the sky to confirm that the moon was still safely hidden behind a mass of clouds. Even though the Taliban would not be coming tonight, she could not afford to relax just yet. It was an easy walk back to base across a few fields and a couple of dirt tracks, but it was anything but safe.

  Tyler rolled her shoulders a couple of times, her body warming up now that she was on the move, her back no longer aching. She was gazing far ahead, not focusing on anything in particular, her mind and senses on full alert. She used her peripheral vision and a sharp awareness of her surroundings to constantly monitor the area. When she sensed movement on her right, she immediately dropped to the ground.

  "Down," she ordered quietly.

  Immediately the marines melted into the field.

  Tyler's heart rate had just spiked up significantly. She heard Lenster’s voice whispering in her earpiece, confirming what she had only sensed.

  "Got movement up ahead. One o'clock."

  Tyler stared in that direction. For a little while nothing moved. Then she saw them.

  Three figures, dressed in black, moving furtively through the trees on the far side of the field. Tyler had no idea how they could have failed to spot the soldiers crossing it, but it seemed that for now she and her team were still in the clear.

  She narrowed her eyes at them as the three strangers stopped a little way away. She could hear them now.

  Convinced that they had not been spotted, she raised her head a little to get a better look. They were carrying tools. They could have been farmers, but why would they be moving at night looking like they were hiding?

  "Major?" she whispered over her radio.

  The answer from Cox was immediate.

  "Go ahead captain."

  “We have eyes on three guys, real close.”

  "Taliban?"

  Tyler winced in frustration.

  “Not confirmed yet.”

  Kelsey cut in.

  "One of them is carrying an AK, that's confirmed," he whispered.

  From his position, slightly closer to the men than Tyler was, he could see at least one of them was armed. Then again, this was not unusual in itself. The men dropped a heavy bag on to the ground and squatted down next to it. Kelsey leaned forward as much as he dared and watched them through a pair of infrared binoculars. When he saw what they were taking out of the bag he flattened himself against the ground once more.

  “IEDs,” he hissed through his mic. “Bag’s full of em.”

  "Permission to engage, major," Tyler said immediately.

  "Wait out."

  Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she concentrated on breathing calmly and remaining still. Up ahead the men had dropped their weapons on the ground and started digging.

  "Weapons confirmed," Tyler told Cox over the radio.

  How stupid were these guys, she wondered, almost shaking her head in disbelief. They were making every single mistake in the book. If her team were to engage them now, there was no way they would be able to respond. She got impatient as she waited for her green light.

  “Sir,” she murmured. “Now or never…”

  "Understood, captain. You are cleared to engage. Take them alive if

  you can.”

  "Roger," Tyler murmured, wasting no time with his last comment, a completely unnecessary reminder. She was not in the business of killing people for the fun of it, no matter who they were.

  At this point there was not a lot of thinking to be done. The marines were already almost perfectly positioned around the three Taliban fighters.

  "Nice and slow," Tyler whispered over the team radio. "Let's get closer, then hard and fast.”

  It was a well-rehearsed manoeuvre, practised hundreds of times. Hard and fast meant the marines would act so quickly that their targets would be too stunned to react. They would use maximum speed and maximum force, and unleash hell onto their prey. The method was simple, tried and tested. It worked. Still, Tyler could feel the blood pounding in her head as she crawled forward, agonisingly slowly it seemed, but still completely unnoticed by the Taliban. It was the anticipation of battle she was used to, the huge rush of adrenaline that always preceded any action against the enemy.

  When she was close enough to smell their cigarettes, she went still.

  "Ready?" she murmured.

  She got four radio clicks in reply.

  Affirmative. Her guys were ready to pounce.

  Tyler took a deep breath and steadied herself.

  "On three," she said. "One, two..."

  At the count of three the marines jumped up and rushed forward.

  “GET DOWN! NOW! ON YOUR KNEES! COME ON, COME ON!” The Taliban never stood a chance. By the time they realised what was happening the marines had them. Tyler aimed her weapon at one of the guys' face, seeing stunned disbelief in his eyes.

  "Down," she ordered roughly.

  Whether or not he could speak English, he had no problem understanding that command and wisely dropped to his knees.

  Lenster's target decided to play dumb, but a well-aimed kick to the stomach soon got him down on the ground. The third guy tried to run but in his haste to get away only managed to collide with Kelsey, who easily knocked him down. When he looked up he found himself staring into the barrel of the big marine's rifle.

  They were searched and cuffed quickly, and Tyler got back on the radio. Her hands were shaking a little. She tried to keep her voice steady, but adrenaline was literally making her feel out of breath.

  "Sir, we're secure," she reported back to Cox.

  “Casualties?”

  “None.”

  “Well done captain. What have you got?”

  Tyler glanced toward Andrews, who was holding the Taliban bag open for her.

  "Three suspected Taliban, laying IEDs," she confirmed.

  "Excellent."

  She smiled at the excitement she could hear in Cox’s voice.

  "Good job, marines," he repeated. "The night wasn't a complete waste of time, now, was it?"

  They were back inside Cobel less than an hour later, safe and sound, just as dawn was starting to break. Their prisoners were quickly whisked away to a nearby tent, to be flown to Bastion on the first available Chinook.

  Tyler was the last one to enter the safety of the compound, and only then did she allow herself to drop her guard.

  “Thanks, guys,” she said as her team all regrouped around her, grinning and pleased with their work. “Good effort tonight, really good result. Well done.”

  "Wasn't that hard, boss," Kelsey commented with a shrug. "Those dudes obviously had no brains."

  "Begging to get caught," Andrews agreed with a smirk.

  Tyler smiled at them.

  She knew they would have liked a good battle. For soldiers of their calibre, tonight's operation had been almost too easy. They trained to fight hard and they expected to be doing just that.

  She knew better.

  "No casualties is what matters," she reminded them. “Now make sure you get something to eat, and get some sleep, okay?”

  Tyler was due a shower and some downtime herself before she went to bed, and she hurried back to her tent, stopping dead in her tracks when she spotted the other person asleep on the free bed.

  She had forgotten all about the new medic, although she had been briefed on the fact that she would not be enjoying a tent of her own for much longer. Having spent all her life in the military so far, this was not a problem for her.

  She glanced at the still form on the bed, unable to make out much of Kate, hidden as she was deep inside her sleeping
bag. Her rifle was clean and within easy reach, Tyler noticed, and this was good, she thought approvingly.

  Silently, she dropped her gear by the side of her own bed, reached for her wash kit, and chuckled to herself when a contented little snore sounded from somewhere deep inside the sleeping bag.

  There was no need to wake Kate straight away, and so she walked out again silently, leaving her to enjoy some rest while she still could. There was no telling when things might get crazy around Cobel.

  Chapter Two

  Kate woke up with a start a little while later, immediately on the alert. She cast a quick glance toward the still empty bed next to her, blinking as she took in the dusty Bergen now propped up against it. The diving mag had been replaced by a well-worn helmet and a pair of Oakley sunglasses.

  “Shit!” she muttered under her breath.

  She had wanted to make a good first impression on the marines captain when she got back from patrol, and it looked like she had missed her. As it was, she had probably been snoring away.

  "Bloody hell," she exclaimed.

  She jumped up and fished in her rucksack for a clean t-shirt, pulled it on, quickly brushed her teeth using ice cold water from her bottle, and walked out into the early morning sunshine.

  Squinting, she reached for her sunglasses, and aimed for the smell of breakfast that seemed to originate from a tent on the far right. In her experience, following the food trail was always a good idea in any military setting.

  She slowed down a bit as she approached people, looking around her with interest. She did not recognise anyone from the night before. A few marines glanced her way and nodded; a few smiled at her and tossed some friendly hellos. Everybody was busy getting on with something, and the place was buzzing with activity.

  As she looked around, she noticed a woman who stood in front of one of the tents, mug of coffee in hand, deep in conversation with a couple of the guys.

  Kate stopped abruptly and did a quick double take, focusing her eyes on her.

  The woman looked to be a little bit thinner than she was but just as tall, lean and strong looking. She was dressed like most of the men around her in desert boots and combat trousers, and she wore a tight sand-coloured t-shirt with the crest of the USMC on the front and a line underneath it that read: “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” Typical Marines humour.

  The captain's hair was cut short and looked a little messy, a darker shade of blond. She had a youthful and very energetic look about her which immediately made it a little difficult for Kate to take her eyes off her. She laughed out loud and said something that Kate did not catch, and the men around her all burst out laughing as well, before walking off in different directions.

  Tyler spotted the medic at that moment, watching her from a distance, and she raised a hand up in greeting. She jogged her way over, looking light on her feet and comfortable as she greeted a few marines along the way, smiling and joking, looking for all the world like she owned the place and everything and everyone in it.

  “Good morning,” she said when she got near, smiling. “I’m Tyler.”

  No rank, no last name, just a very straight-forward and friendly greeting. She held out her hand to Kate, her clear grey eyes holding her gaze without the slightest trace of hesitation. The woman oozed that very special kind of understated confidence which some people would have called charismatic.

  Kate opted for sexy as hell.

  She shook the woman’s hand and offered a smile of her own.

  “I’m Kate. Sorry I missed you when you came back to the tent,” she added quickly. “I don’t normally oversleep like that.”

  Tyler just shrugged good-naturedly.

  “No problem. You looked like you were enjoying your sleep, so I tried to be quiet. I'm ready for another coffee and a chat, how about you?”

  “That would be great, thanks.”

  A few minutes later, and Tyler had a fresh pot on the go in one of the nearby tents. Kate sat down on a bench next to her and watched her, not bothering to hide her interest.

  Up close and personal the woman looked young, she noticed. Yet the relaxed and confident way she addressed the older marines around her, men who were lower in rank but who looked way harder and tougher than she did, hinted at combat experience of the highest calibre. Kate was reminded that people tended to grow up fast in the military. And talent also tended to be spotted quickly and rewarded accordingly.

  Tyler's face was lightly tanned, her features sharp and precise. She looked like an athlete, and everything about her screamed military excellence. For all that, she still had a little bit of cam cream stuck to the underside of her jaw. It looked almost like chocolate ice cream, and Kate had a sudden crazy urge to lean forward and rub it off with her finger.

  Feeling herself start to blush, she cleared her throat and mentally shook herself.

  “So, busy night?” she enquired.

  “Yes. Productive night,” Tyler replied with a quick smile and a friendly glance toward her. “We waited for a bunch of Taliban who never showed up, but then we bumped into another group of them placing IEDs into the ground. Got three prisoners."

  She poured thick black coffee into a tin mug and hesitated.

  "I'm afraid we're out of milk and sugar.”

  "Black is great, thank you," Kate replied.

  "Are you hungry?”

  Kate's stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

  "I'll take that as a yes," Tyler commented, smiling. "Good."

  “I’m starving actually… I think the last meal I had was in Kandahar. Feels like years ago.”

  “What did you have?”

  “I went to the steak house.”

  Tyler licked her lips and stopped moving, her eyes on Kate and her gaze intense.

  “I've been there a couple of times,” she said. "It's the one next to the hospital, right?"

  “That's right.”

  “So what did you have?”

  “Mexican burger. Double cheddar, chilli sauce, guacamole. Side order of fries with mayo. And a Coke.” Kate did her best not to grin, but her chocolate brown eyes were sparkling with amusement. “It was ok,” she said modestly.

  Tyler stared at her in silence for a second, and then she burst out laughing.

  “Oh, are you kidding me?" she exclaimed. "You’ve just described my dream meal. What I wouldn’t give for one of those Kandahar feasts right now!”

  Kate chuckled quietly.

  “Sorry. You did ask…”

  “I certainly did,” Tyler admitted, still laughing. “And I'm glad you enjoyed it. But it’s ration packs only out here I’m afraid.”

  “Oh, come on, really? This is an American outpost, right? Where are the Starbucks and the McDonalds?”

  Tyler shook her head, amused at the gentle teasing.

  She squatted next to a wooden crate and started rummaging inside.

  “I guess they reserve that for you Brits at glitzy Kandahar. It’s back to basics here."

  "Bugger."

  "You got that right. I think. You do speak English, right?"

  "I'll try my best not to confuse you too much with my lingo, captain."

  "Awesome, dude," Tyler said in an exaggerated drawl.

  Her voice was warm, husky, and it was obvious that she was enjoying the easy banter between them. Kate relaxed. Smiling, she took a sip of her coffee.

  “Nice," she said. "So you like pancakes?"

  “Yep. I see you spotted my secret stash, right? I think it's good for morale sometimes.”

  “I would imagine you need it often in this sort of place,” Kate commented.

  “Oh, I don‘t know about that… I guess the marines are pretty good at focusing on the positive stuff and ignoring all the rest. ”

  Tyler passed the crate over to Kate and she sat on the ground across from her. She bit into a Powerbar and took a sip of her coffee. She chewed in silence for a few seconds, thinking about what Kate had just said.

  She did not have a lot of time t
o think about her surroundings or living conditions very often. She was an officer, and her job pretty much demanded and absorbed every single drop of energy she had to give out here on the frontline. It was relentless, and in truth she relished the single-mindedness of that lifestyle. No time to think about herself or her personal needs, no time to be alone with any unwanted thoughts, just the punishing schedule of planning patrols, looking after her men, and making sure that they all stayed alive. Just the way she wanted it.

  She stole a few glances at Kate as the medic opted for a packet of instant porridge, smiling a little at the look of utter concentration on her face as she got her meal ready. When Kate looked up and caught her staring, captivating brown eyes locking onto her own and holding her gaze, it was Tyler’s turn to find it quite difficult to look away. The medic was good looking, to say the least, and it was not lost on Tyler that she had been doing a fair amount of staring herself.

  Kate sat back and licked her spoon clean, a gesture which again made Tyler want to laugh.

  "Porridge, uh," she said. "Very healthy of you, doc."

  “Yes. My kind of comfort food," Kate explained. "Reminds me of home.”

  “And where is that?”

  “I'm from Yorkshire."

  "I've never been to England," Tyler reflected. "And the past few years I've spent more time in Iraq and Afghanistan than I have at home."

  "Where are you from originally?”

  “I grew up just outside of San Francisco.”

  Kate's eyes sparkled.

  “That‘s nice," she said. "I’ve been there. Been to Alcatraz.”

  “Yeah.” Tyler laughed. “It‘s an amazing place to visit, as long as you get to go home at the end of the day."

  She was glad to find that the new medic was so friendly and easy going. Life at Cobel was not easy, to say the least, and a sense of humour was essential. She suspected that Kate would settle down quickly and get on well with all the guys.

  "So, what do you miss most about home?” she asked.

  Kate gave her a knowing smile, as if the answer was obvious.