‘Get him, Caesar,’ Ben commanded, letting him off the leash.
Caesar bounded after Vargas. Launching himself at Vargas’s back, he brought his former jailer to the ground. Moments later, Ben and Lieutenant Peters were on the scene and Vargas was in handcuffs.
‘Well done, Caesar!’ said the lieutenant.
Caesar sat staring at Vargas, his tongue hanging out and a look of satisfaction on his face.
‘Yes, well done, mate,’ said Ben, pulling the brown labrador into a cuddle and giving him a vigorous pat.
Ben and Caesar were once more a team, and all seemed right with the world. Árbol and Estrella had lost their leaders, and Sergeant Juanita Del Ray had been located and freed. And soon the Green Parrot would have his very own cell at Monterrey’s Apodaca Prison.
‘But what happened to the little pink dog?’ Maddie asked from the back seat.
Nan and Maddie had picked up Ben from Sydney Airport on his return to Australia. Ben had arrived back with Amanda, who was getting a ride with them in Nan’s little orange Ford Fiesta. Josh was in Holsworthy, preparing to play with his new band, which was called Sign of Seven.
‘Rosa the pink chihuahua is now living on a farm in Baja California, with the family of Miguel and Maria, the children who helped us track down the Green Parrot,’ said Ben.
‘Good. But I wish Caesar had come back with you, Daddy,’ Maddie responded. ‘Does he have to stay in Mexico for quaramteem?’
‘Afraid so, Maddie,’ her father replied. ‘It was tough parting with him again, but the Mexican Government is looking after him while I came home to see you all, and will only release him to me and no one else. There won’t be a repeat of what happened in Texas.’
‘That sort of mistake doesn’t happen twice,’ Amanda added reassuringly.
‘And the big surprise, Ben, is that Josh has invited us to his band concert tonight,’ said Nan.
‘It’s not a band concert, Nan,’ Maddie corrected her. ‘It’s a gig.’
Nan smiled. ‘Sorry, dear. His gig.’
‘I’m looking forward to it,’ said Ben. He turned to Amanda. ‘I don’t suppose you’d like to come? You could stay the night at our place. Is the spare bed ready, Mum?’
‘Yes, dear,’ Nan replied, ‘but Amanda probably wants to get home.’
‘No, no, I’m in no hurry to go home,’ Amanda quickly responded. ‘After my experience in Mexico, I haven’t enjoyed being on my own at night. And I’d love to see Josh’s band play.’
In the seat beside her, Maddie folded her arms and went quiet.
‘Then it’s settled,’ Ben said with a smile.
A crowd lined up at the door to the Holsworthy Community Hall. Several student bands were playing tonight, and the family and friends of band members were out in force.
Ben hadn’t had time to change, so he was still in his military fatigues as he and his party walked up to the door. Immediately, he was recognised by the new school principal, Mrs Piscari.
‘Sergeant Fulton!’ The principal beamed. ‘How wonderful that you are in the country to see Josh play. I know what a busy man you are.’
‘Really looking forward to it, Mrs Piscari,’ said Ben. ‘From what my mother tells me, Josh has developed a real talent for the drums.’
‘And you’ve brought your entire family along, too.’ Mrs Piscari held out her hand to Amanda. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Fulton.’
Amanda flushed, embarrassed. ‘Er, I’m not –’
‘She’s not my mummy,’ Maddie declared. ‘I’ve already got a mummy.’ Letting go of Nan’s hand, she pushed on ahead.
Amanda looked at Ben, who looked at Nan.
‘We’ve been having some mummy issues while you’ve been away, Ben,’ said Nan. ‘You better go and sort that out before the performance.’
Ben hurried after Maddie and, catching up with her, took her hand. Soon, after a few words, Maddie was cuddling in close to her father.
‘I’m so sorry,’ said a flustered Mrs Piscari to Amanda. ‘You and Maddie look so like mother and daughter.’
‘That’s okay,’ Amanda responded, a little embarrassed. ‘It’s an easy mistake to make.’
‘Maddie isn’t ready for another woman in Ben’s life just yet, Amanda,’ said Nan as they continued on together. ‘For that matter, neither is Ben.’
‘We’re just good friends,’ Amanda assured her.
‘Oh, I’ve seen the way you look at Ben, dear,’ said Nan. ‘You are very fond of him. He just hasn’t woken up to that, yet. He’s still in love with Marie, you see.’
‘Ah …’
‘Why don’t you pull back a little? For the kids’ sake. You can still be good friends, without complicating matters. Don’t you agree?’
‘Of course.’ Amanda, doubly embarrassed now, didn’t say any more. She took her seat and waited for the concert to begin.
‘They were terrific,’ said Ben, clapping as he came to his feet after the curtain fell.
‘Can we go backstage to see them?’ Maddie pleaded. ‘Joshie told me we could.’
‘Actually, I have to run,’ said Amanda, giving Ben a quick peck on the cheek. ‘Thanks for inviting me. I’ll grab a cab outside and catch the train back to Sydney.’ She glanced at Nan, and the pair of them shared a nod.
As Amanda hurried through the crowd toward the door, Ben looked a little dazed. ‘That’s strange. I thought she was staying over.’
‘Amanda is a busy woman, dear,’ said Nan. ‘Come on, let’s go see the orchestra members.’
‘They’re a band, Nan,’ Maddie corrected her. ‘Remember? Not an orchestra.’
Nan looked at Ben and winked.
Backstage, they found Josh and his fellow band members packing away their equipment. When Josh saw his father approach, he suddenly looked worried. ‘What did you think, Dad? Sick, huh?’
‘Yes, son,’ said Ben, patting him on the back. ‘Brilliant. Loved it. You and your mates are so talented. Just do me a favour?’
‘What’s that?’
‘Just because you’re in a band, don’t go getting any tattoos.’
‘Tattoos?’ Josh laughed. ‘Nah, they’re so old-fashioned. Old guys like Bendigo Baz have tattoos.’
Ben roared with laughter. His phone began to ring. Taking it out, he saw that the caller was Liberty Lee. ‘Yes, Captain?’ he answered.
‘Hello, Sergeant Fulton. Rice for water.’
‘Already? I’ve only just arrived home.’
‘Can’t be helped, I’m afraid. This operation is in the Caribbean. Briefing will take place on the island of St Thomas. Go via Mexico City and collect Caesar on the way through – the Mexican Government have agreed to release him from quarantine. Your travel details are being emailed to you. Good luck.’
‘An op, dear?’ Nan asked, as Ben slipped the phone back into his pocket.
‘Yes, Mum,’ he said. ‘Sorry, kids.’
‘What are you waiting for, Daddy?’ Maddie pushed him toward the door. ‘You and Caesar have work to do.’
LIST OF MILITARY TERMS
Apache AH-64
American attack helicopter with twin engines and a crew of two
Bell 412
transport helicopter that can carry up to thirteen passengers and has a crew of one or two
Bell Jet Ranger
civilian helicopter sometimes used by police and military
C-4
plastic explosive frequently used by military
clicks
kilometres
comms
communications
copy that
‘I have received’ or ‘I understand’
CS gas
tear gas
EC-130
electronic surveillance version of C-130 Hercules aircraft
EDD
explosive detection dog
EITS (Eye in the Sky)
specialised surveillance aircraft equipped with standard and infrared video cameras and sensors, capable of remain
ing over targets for extended periods
flash-bang
stun grenade; incorporating bright light and sound effects
French Foreign Legion
French Army unit used for special operations; traditionally accepts foreigners without asking questions
Glock 17
Austrian 9mm semi-automatic pistol, widely used by law enforcement agencies and military around the world
HALO
high altitude low opening; parachute jump from high altitude followed by freefall, with the parachute opening at low altitude
HE
high explosive
heelo
helicopter, also written as ‘helo’
Hercules, C-130
four-engine, propeller-driven military transport aircraft; pronounced ‘Her-kew-leez’ and often referred to as a ‘Herc’
HF radio
high-frequency radio
hostiles
enemy fighters
Hunter Corps
special forces unit of the Royal Danish Army
ID
identification
IED
improvised explosive device or homemade bomb insertion secret landing of troops behind enemy lines
intel
intelligence information
LALO
low altitude, low opening; parachute jump from a low altitude
loadmaster
crew member in charge of cargo and passengers in military cargo aircraft and helicopters
M-8 Helicopter
Mil, Russian-made military helicopter – one of the most widely used helicopters in the world
M-16
American-made 5.56mm assault rifle
M-84
standard stun grenade used by US military
M&P40
Smith & Wesson .40 inch American semi-automatic pistol
MD 500 Defender
McDonnell Douglas helicopter, can carry up to five personnel
Mounties
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
MP5
Heckler & Koch 9mm German compact submachine gun, widely used by Special Forces and anti-terrorist units around the world
operator
Australian SAS Regiment soldier
op(s)
military operation(s)
Presidential Unit Citation
award presented by the President of the United States to US military units for outstanding performance. Also occasionally awarded to foreign units
RAAF
Royal Australian Air Force
reconnaissance
inspection of land or sea, usually abbreviated to ‘recon’
roger
‘yes’ or ‘I acknowledge’
round
bullet
Royal Marine Commandos
commando unit of the British Navy’s Royal Marines
RP
rendezvous point or meeting place
SEALs (sea, air, land)
US Navy’s Special Forces unit
seek on
a handler’s instruction to an EDD to find explosives
SF-100
respirator/breathing device used by Special Forces as protection against nuclear, biological and chemical threats
SIG Sauer
German 9mm semi-automatic pistol; the P226 model is used by the US Navy SEALs
SOCOM
Special Operations Command
Special Air Service Regiment (SASR)
elite Special Forces unit in the Australian Army
Special Boat Service (SBS)
special operations unit of Britain’s Royal Navy, specialising in small boat ops
Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER)
Australian Special Forces unit that specialises in military engineering and that trains and operates EDDs
special ops
special operations or secret missions
squadron
a small unit of Special Forces soldiers in the SAS; in the armies, air forces and navies of the world, the primary operational aircraft unit, often made up of a dozen aircraft or helicopters
Texas Rangers
formed in 1835 as a Texas police force, it is now a small law enforcement agency which focuses on major criminal cases
trooper
lowest rank in the SASR, the equivalent of a private in other army units
U-2
high altitude US surveillance aircraft with a crew of one
USAF
United States Air Force
USP
Heckler & Koch semi-automatic pistol, available in a variety of gauges
VC
Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest-ranking Australian military medal for gallantry
yomp
forced march with full equipment
zero hour
the time set down by military for an operation to begin
FACT FILE
Notes from the Author
If you have read the first book in this series, Caesar the War Dog, you will know that a real war dog named Caesar served with Anzac troops during the First World War (1914–18). That Caesar, a New Zealand bulldog, searched for wounded men and carried water to them. Another war dog named Caesar, a black labrador–kelpie cross, served with Australian forces during the Vietnam War as an Australian Army tracker dog.
A war dog named Caesar also served with US forces on the island of Bougainville during the Second World War, as the US President points out in this book.
The fictional Caesar in this book is based on several real dogs of modern times – Sarbi, Endal and Cairo – and their exploits. Here are a few more facts about the real dogs, people, military units, places and equipment that appear in this book and inspired the stories in this series.
EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DOGS (EDDs)
The Australian Imperial Force used dogs during the First World War, primarily to carry messages. Sarbi was preceded by a long line of sniffer dogs used by the Australian Army to detect land mines during the Korean War (1950–53) and, later, in the Vietnam War. In 1981, the current explosive detection dog program was introduced by the army’s Royal Australian Engineer Corps, whose base is adjacent to Holsworthy Army Barracks in New South Wales. In 2005, Australian EDDs were sent to Afghanistan for the first time. A number have served there since and several have been killed or wounded in action.
SARBI
Sarbi, whose service number is EDD 436, is a black female labrador serving with the Australian Army. She began the EDD training program in June 2005 and graduated from the nineteen-week training course with Corporal D, joining the Australian Army’s top-secret Incident Response Regiment (IRR) – now the Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER) – whose main job was to counter terrorist threats. In 2006, Sarbi and Corporal D were part of the security team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. In April 2007, the pair was sent to Afghanistan for a seven-month deployment, returning to Afghanistan for their second tour of duty the following year.
On 2 September 2008, Sarbi and Corporal D were members of a Special Forces operation launched from a forward operating base a hundred kilometres northeast of Tarin Kowt. The operation went terribly wrong when five Humvees carrying Australian, American and Afghan troops were ambushed by a much larger Taliban force. In the ensuing battle, Corporal D was seriously wounded and became separated from Sarbi, who was also injured. Nine of the twelve Australians involved were wounded, as was their Afghan interpreter. Several American soldiers were also wounded in the battle. So began Sarbi’s time lost in Taliban territory, a saga imagined in the first book of the Caesar the War Dog series.
After being ‘missing in action’ for thirteen months, Sarbi was wrangled back into friendly hands by a US Special Forces soldier. A month later, Sarbi and Corporal D were reunited at Tarin Kowt, in front of the Australian Prime Minister and the commanding US general in Afghanistan. Sarbi is the most decorated dog in the history of the Australian military, having been awarde
d all the medals that Caesar receives in Caesar the War Dog.
ENDAL
Endal was a sandy-coloured male labrador who was trained by the UK charity Canine Partners. He went on to qualify as a service dog and, in the late 1990s, was partnered with Allen Parton, a former Chief Petty Officer with Britain’s Royal Navy. Confined to a wheelchair from injuries sustained during the Gulf War, initially Allen couldn’t speak, so he taught Endal more than a hundred commands using hand signals.
In 2009, Endal suffered a stroke and had to be put down. During his lifetime, Endal became famous in Britain, receiving much media coverage and many awards for his dedicated and loyal service to his master. A young labrador named EJ (Endal Junior) took Endal’s place as Allen Parton’s care dog.
CAIRO
Cairo is a long-nosed Belgian Malinois shepherd with the United States Navy SEALs (Sea, Air and Land teams), a unit within the US Special Operations Command. He was trained for insertion by helicopter, and by parachute, strapped to his handler, just like Caesar is in this book. In 2011, Cairo was part of SEAL Team 6, which landed by helicopter in a compound in Pakistan to deal with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda. Cairo’s job was to go in first to locate explosives in the compound. Cairo and all members of his team returned safely from the successful mission.
SPECIAL AIR SERVICE REGIMENT (SASR)
The original Special Air Service was created by the British Army during the Second World War for special operations behind enemy lines, with the motto of ‘Who Dares Wins’. In 1957, the Australian Army created its own Special Air Service Regiment, commonly referred to as the Australian SAS, two years after the New Zealand Army founded its Special Air Service.
Australia’s SAS is considered by many to be the finest Special Forces unit in the world, and its members help train Special Forces of other countries, including those of the United States of America.
The top-secret regiment is based at Campbell Barracks at Swanbourne, in Perth, Western Australia. Because its men are often involved in covert anti-terrorist work, their names and faces cannot be revealed. The only exceptions to this rule are SAS members who receive the Victoria Cross. The unit is divided into three squadrons, with one squadron always on anti-terrorist duty and the others deployed on specific missions.
During the war in Afghanistan, Australian EDDs and their handlers have frequently worked with Australian SAS and commando units on special operations.
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