by Fiona Field
So now they were trudging through the bush again, the thorns scratching them, the heat beating down on them and the bugs eating them alive.
Luke was ahead of her as they pushed their way through the bush. Now and again they were distracted by a colony of bee-eaters and their wonderfully complex nests, or on other occasions there were termite mounds to skirt and twice they crossed soldier ant trails and they stopped briefly to watch in amazement at the single-minded determination of the tiny critters, which took no prisoners as they stomped through the bush, killing and eating everything in their path.
Sam needed more than the occasional glimpse of some local fauna to take her mind off the discomfort, the worry and the heat. Besides, she was being eaten up by curiosity about Luke’s background. The throw-away remark about not shopping his father had fired her imagination with loads and loads of possibilities about what he might have done to his son – and each idea seemed to be more preposterous and lurid than its predecessor. There was nothing she could do about the heat and the flies but at least she might be able to get her curiosity satisfied. Besides, there was bugger-all else to talk about.
Casually, she said, ‘My dad was in the army – like yours.’
Luke gave her a sideways glance as they pushed their way through the scrub. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah. So we’re both army brats.’
‘And your point is?’
‘I dunno. We probably have a lot in common.’
Luke snorted. ‘Yeah, with you being an officer and me being a grunt.’
‘But we both got dragged about the world, lived in quarters.’ She paused. ‘Did you go to a lot of schools?’
‘No, I got shipped off to boarding school when I was eight.’
‘Me too.’ Sam slapped at a mossie biting her forearm and muttered, ‘Got you, you little bastard.’ Then she added, ‘So what rank was your dad?’ she asked.
‘You mean, when I last saw him?’
‘Yeah.’
‘He was a colonel.’
Sam stopped dead. ‘A colonel.’
‘Why the surprise? If you’ve got a commission and stay in long enough, lots of people get to that rank.’
Which wasn’t totally true, as Sam well knew, because her own father was a colonel. Lots of officers got as far as getting their majority if they made a career out of the army. To reach that rank all you pretty much had to do was keep breathing, but to get any higher… well, the competition got pretty intense. For a start it was essential to have gone to Staff College and only the very best got selected for that. Somehow, the fact that his dad had had such a successful career made it all the more bizarre that Luke hadn’t tried to get a commission. Sam started walking again.
‘You said when you last saw him. Don’t you have anything to do with him nowadays?’ she probed.
‘No. And I never will if I can help it.’
‘Don’t you miss him?’
‘No.’
‘What about your mother?’
There was a beat before Luke said, ‘No.’ Then, ‘What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?’
‘Just interested. I lost my mother, she died when I was born.’
‘I’m sorry.’ They tramped on in silence.
It was some time and they’d covered several hundred yards before Luke said, ‘So, do you miss your mother?’
‘I never knew her so I can’t – I don’t – miss her, per se. But I miss having a mother. Dad tries, but…’ she paused, not wanting to sound disloyal ‘… he’s British and a bloke. Showing any sort of emotion doesn’t come naturally to him.’
‘Hmm. Mine’s a cold-hearted bastard, full stop. No excuses, he just is. I hate him, I hate everything he stands for.’
Sam felt a bit taken aback. ‘So did you join as an other rank to piss him off?’
Luke stopped walking and looked at her. ‘I joined as an other rank because I don’t want my path to cross my father’s, and I thought that if being an officer turned you into the sort of human that my father seems to be, then I didn’t want to be a part of it.’
‘Is that what you think of me? That I’m some sort of bad person for having a commission?’
Luke stared at her before lowering his eyes. ‘No, not you.’
‘I’m glad,’ she said, meaning it. ‘Although I’m sorry about your relationship with your father.’
‘Don’t be.’
Sam gazed at him, willing him to confide in her, now less out of curiosity, more because she felt that if he spoke about his past it might be like lancing a boil – get all the poison and badness out of his system.
‘Still, water under the bridge,’ he said. He trudged on and Sam followed.
Eventually, as the sky to the east began to change colour to an opalescent blue, she glanced to her left and saw the sun was now touching the horizon. At last the heat would leach out of the day. The thought that it was about to get cooler almost made her want to cry with relief.
‘It’s time for a break,’ she said. She took her day sack off her back and pulled out one of their remaining bottles of water. She squatted down on the ground before carefully undoing the cap and passing it to Luke. He handed it back.
‘Ladies first.’
Sam was feeling too shit to argue. She took a sip and swilled the water around her mouth. It was warm but it was wet and she could almost feel her body absorbing it – like blotting paper. Just one sip, although she was desperate to glug the whole bottle. She passed it back to Luke quickly in case her willpower gave up the struggle and she necked the lot.
She stretched her legs out in front of her. Ten minutes. She dragged her day sack around in front of her and in the dying light of the sun rummaged in it to find the last bits of their twenty-four-hour ration pack. A tube of fruit concentrate, a couple of biscuits and the last of the boiled sweets. Not exactly a feast, she thought morosely. On the other hand, there was a fighting chance they might reach the river and the road by daybreak and then… rescue. She had to hold onto that thought. It was the one thing that was keeping her going. Failure to reach the road wasn’t an option. She spread the fruit gloop on the biscuits and handed one to Luke. Then she divided up the boiled sweets. At least it would give them a bit of energy.
The sun dipped below the horizon and the western sky lit up like it was on fire and then, with startling rapidity, the spectacle was over. To the east the sky was already black and the stars were appearing. Sam peered to what she thought was the north and was reassured to see the Plough, roughly where she expected it to be.
She leaned back against her day sack and in the gathering gloom she munched on her biscuit. It was dry and the fruit concentrate was sticky and cloying but it was food and she forced herself to swallow it down. A sip of water would have made it easier but she’d had her ration.
‘Where did you go to school?’ she asked.
‘Hampshire.’
‘Where hurricanes hardly ever happen,’ said Sam. ‘It’s a quote… from My Fair Lady.’
‘Really?’ He sounded supremely unimpressed.
‘Did you like your school?’
‘Not really.’
‘Is that why you didn’t stay to do A levels?’
‘No.’
‘So why not?’
‘I got expelled.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘So was I,’ said Luke dryly.
‘What happened?’
‘I got accused of doing something I hadn’t. It was a stitch-up by a gang of boys from another house, but my dad refused to believe me. He took the school’s side against me.’
‘So that’s why you’ve fallen out with your father.’ She reached across and put her hand over Luke’s. He didn’t shake her off.
‘Wouldn’t you? You’d think he might have listened to my side before siding with the head.’
She thought about the things her father had done in the past which had ended up with her feeling hurt or ignored and yet she still loved him, but maybe the things he’d done w
hich had hurt her weren’t in the same league as Luke’s. She gave Luke’s hand a squeeze. ‘I don’t think I’d have had the courage to burn my boats like you’ve done.’
‘Courage wasn’t involved. It was impossible to stay at home.’
‘But you could have only been – what – sixteen? Seventeen?’
‘Yeah, well, shit happens.’ Luke pulled his hand away from hers. ‘Anyway, time to move.’
He stood up and hefted the Bergen onto his shoulders. Sam followed suit, picking up her daysack off the ground. She opened a side pouch and took out the head torch.
‘Here you go,’ she said, offering it to Luke.
‘Thanks.’ He switched it on but nothing happened. He fiddled with the switch, he removed the back, took out the battery and put it back in and tried again. Nothing.
Sam sighed. ‘Looks like it’s dead.’
‘Well, that’s bleeding obvious.’
Sam felt nettled.
‘Did you switch it off before you put it away?’ said Luke.
‘Of course I did. I’m not stupid.’
Luke stared at her. He clearly didn’t believe her.
Sam slammed her day sack onto her back and stormed off into the darkness. After a few seconds she heard his boots pounding on the hard earth, coming after her. The she felt his hand grab her arm and swing her round.
His face was right in hers. ‘Don’t be stupider than even you can help,’ he said. ‘This place is dangerous and storming off like that, on your own, is asking for trouble. Although, seeing as how you are a rupert and a woman, maybe it isn’t so surprising you’re behaving like a mong.’
‘Don’t you dare talk to me like that, Corporal Blake.’
‘Ha. I wondered how long this chummy-chummy stuff would last. So much for being equals when we’re out here in the bush.’
Sam glared at him. ‘You’ve overstepped the mark and you know it.’
‘How? Trying to stop you from getting hurt – or worse? It’s pitch dark. In another ten yards I wouldn’t have been able to see you but there’s things out here that can see in the dark very well. And you know it. And frankly, I’ve got enough on my plate trying to get out of here in one piece without having to fight off the wildlife on your behalf.’
‘Oh, yeah? As I recall, that’s not what happened the last time. I’m the one with the gun, remember. I’m the one who scared off the lion.’
They stood toe to toe, eyeballing each other, both of them simmering with rage. Under the circumstances it was beyond ridiculous and Sam suddenly began to giggle. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said as she pulled herself together.
‘Jeez,’ Luke muttered to himself, ‘as if things aren’t bad enough and now I’m stuck with a hysterical woman.’
‘I’m not hysterical… well, not very.’
‘So what the hell are you finding so funny?’
‘Nothing, not really. You and me. The way we’re bickering like a couple of kids.’
‘I’m glad you can see the funny side.’
‘Honestly, Luke, we might as well lighten up. Being as miserable as sin isn’t going to help any.’ She smiled. ‘Want to kiss and make up?’
‘Yes.’
And that was when the world seemed to shift for both of them.
31
Michelle smoothed down the skirt of her best uniform and knocked on the door of the commandant’s office. She could feel her knees shaking and hoped that they weren’t making the hem of her skirt vibrate. For some reason she didn’t want the commandant to know how nervous she felt.
‘Come!’ barked the colonel’s voice.
Michelle opened the door and entered, snapping a salute when she came to attention in front of his desk. Behind her the duty officer shut the door again.
‘Lieutenant Flowers, the OiC rear party for 1 Herts rang this unit earlier today and lodged a complaint against one of my officers. Looking at what he told me and various other bits of circumstantial evidence, I think the allegations might be well founded. I take a dim view of any inappropriate behaviour from any of the personnel in this training establishment and I take an especially dim view if that behaviour comes from one of the permanent staff here. I do not expect, however, to receive complaints about the behaviour of my officers. Ever.’ He glared at her.
Michelle swallowed before saying, ‘No, sir.’
‘So when a Major Milward rings up and alleges that one of my officers visited another officer’s wife and got involved in a fight I am forced to take it seriously.’ The commandant steepled his fingers and looked at her across them. ‘What have you got to say for yourself?’
Michelle could feel her heart hammering and she could feel the blood in her veins pounding through her body. She swallowed again but she was at a loss as to how to reply.
‘You’re not denying the allegation. So is it true?’
Michelle nodded. ‘Sir,’ she croaked.
The commandant gazed at her. ‘Thank you. Your honesty spares me the trouble of getting the SIB in to investigate the case.’
Michelle felt herself sway. If the Special Investigation Branch had been involved God knows how much other shit would have hit the fan.
‘Your father is a serving officer, isn’t he?’
Michelle nodded.
‘So you haven’t just let down your own corps but you’ve let down me, this training regiment and your father. You are a disgrace to your uniform.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she mumbled, barely audibly.
‘I shall have to consider what action to take. What you have done cannot go unpunished.’
‘No, sir,’ she whispered.
‘You are, of course, confined to barracks for the foreseeable future.’
Oh, dear God. She’d have to tell her father that dinner out at a nearby restaurant was off. He’d want to know why – what the hell was she going to tell him? Her stomach was churning and she felt herself go hot and cold.
There was a pause. The commandant sighed. ‘Why?’ he said after a few seconds. ‘Why did you do it? What on earth possessed you?’
‘I… I don’t know.’
‘Fighting! That is the sort of behaviour I barely tolerate from the recruits but an officer! Dear God, woman.’
There was nothing she could say to that.
The commandant shook his head, seemingly appalled and disbelieving, in equal measure, at what he’d found out about her. ‘Dismissed.’
Michelle saluted, about-turned and marched to the door. Once she was through it she let the tears of fear and humiliation fall as she slumped against the wall in the corridor.
Alan Milward locked the door to battalion HQ and wondered what else was going to happen. Talk about the day from hell. First young Maddy had gone into labour and he’d had to send a signal to Kenya, then there had been that allegation made by Jenna about Maddy’s husband. He’d dismissed the idea that Seb had had an affair as poppycock but the story about the fight had seemed genuine enough. Why would Jenna make that up? Then, to cap it all, he’d been called out to find out who the next of kin were for Corporal Blake and Captain Lewis. He sighed. And he’d been hoping for a quiet time with the battalion away. Huh!
As he walked down the front steps of the office block the duty driver appeared with the car. Luke Blake’s NOK, who lived in Andover, was close enough for Alan to break the news to personally. Sam Lewis’s dad, on the other hand, was stationed in Colchester so he’d organised someone from the local brigade HQ over in that neck of the woods to visit him tell him his daughter was missing. The MOD had been put in the picture and, since there was an airtrooping flight leaving from Brize the next morning, a couple of seats had been made available on the plane if the next of kin wanted to travel out. Although what good it would do them to be there, Milward didn’t know, except it would be easier to keep them informed of any developments.
He sank into the back seat of the black staff car and gave the driver the address. He hated doing things like this – being the bearer of bad news – but at least
it was only ‘missing’ and not worse.
Yet.
He looked at the details of Luke’s next of kin. A friend. Was that a euphemism for something else? He didn’t think Luke looked gay but who knew these days. Anyway, even if Blake was, it was none of his business.
The driver zoomed along the main road to Andover, driving smoothly and expertly and soon they were turning off the A303 and heading into Andover itself. The driver followed the sat nav on the windscreen and pulled up outside a bike shop in a side street close to the town centre.
‘Are you sure this is it?’ asked Milward.
The driver looked at the address. ‘It’s the address you gave me, sir.’ He sounded defensive.
‘Fine.’ Milward stepped out of the car and stared at the bike shop, then he noticed a door to the side with several doorbells. He checked the name plates and found one with the name of Blake’s next of kin. He pressed it.
‘Who is it?’ asked a voice through the entry phone system.
‘Major Milward. From 1 Herts. I’ve, erm… I’ve got some news about Luke Blake.’
The door buzzed and Milward let himself in. As he climbed the tatty, lino-covered stairs he heard a door open. He looked up to the landing and saw a young lad staring at him, looking utterly bewildered.
‘You’d better come in,’ said the lad.
Milward followed him into a small living room where the TV was on and there were beer cans on the table along with the remains of a take-away.
‘Are you Peter North?’ he asked.
The lad nodded. ‘So what’s happened to Luke? And more importantly, why are you telling me?’
‘Because you’re his next of kin.’
‘What? Since when?’
‘He didn’t tell you?’
Peter shook his head. ‘No. I mean we’re mates, good mates, but we’re not related or nothing. Shit, I knew he hated his mum and dad but I didn’t know he hated them that much to cut them out of his life completely.’