FLASHBACK INSTALMENT:
Hannah Carmichael stared out the window as farms zipped by. Stephanie Winchester was sitting in the seat next to her, listening to music. They had been assigned as roommates in the first week of training and had become fast friends.
Stephanie looked over to the window and caught Hannah’s eye, smiling and shaking her head.
“There is beautiful scenery and we only get to see it for half a second.” She rolled her eyes and pulled a face. Hannah laughed,
“We aren’t here for the scenery Steph.”
Stephanie shrugged and turned back to their instructor at the front of the bus, headphones still in one ear.
“Carmichael, Winchester, are you listening?” The instructor asked. Trevor was tall and leaning against the empty chair in front of him.
“Yes Sir,” they answered in unison. Trevor continued with the brief for their training session that afternoon. They were going to a building five hours away which was supposedly abandoned with terrorists hiding inside. Hannah rolled her eyes, the training was getting monotonous.
She looked over to where Ian Longford was sitting in the chair across the way with Elizabeth Smith. Hannah and Ian had been flirting since the beginning of training four months ago, but nothing had happened.
Yet.
The bus lurched forward and Hannah and Stephanie braced themselves on the chair in front of them. Trevor shouted orders for them to move into the command tent for a briefing.
Hannah moved with the rest of the trainees into the command centre where Debbie was waiting. Debbie was her favorite trainer and she smiled as they entered and picked up their coms from the gear table to her left.
“Trainees,” Debbie waited for murmurs to die down then reached behind her, pulling a sheet off the other table in the tent. Whistles and cheers erupted as modified weapons were revealed.
“These are your weapons for today’s drill.” Debbie said above the noise. “They have been modified to shoot pellets, not bullets.”
Groans were heard from some trainees and Debbie chuckled.
“If you like, we can go back to the laser modified weapons.” People shook their heads and Debbie motioned for them to collect a weapon. Hannah selected her weapon and stepped back, awaiting further instructions.
“According to intel, there are twelve terrorist suspects and fifteen hostages inside the building.” She motioned towards the abandoned office building. “We need A Team to enter through the front, B Team at the back and,” Debbie paused as giggles from the back of the group sounded. She sighed and stared at Jonathan and Simon, the twins. They shrunk back and Debbie cleared her throat.
“And C Team will enter from the roof. You received your Team allocations on the bus, so please find your teammates and head towards your Team leaders out front of the building.”
Hannah turned and moved towards Elizabeth, smiling as they walked together towards their A Team leader. Stephanie passed them and winked at Hannah as she moved to B Team.
Trevor waited for A Team at the front of the building, tapping his foot.
“We need to breach this building now. There are hostages inside. Do you want them to get back to their families?”
The A Team sounded with ‘No Sir’ and hurried into position as Trevor went over basics. Beside her, Hannah saw Cara Stone staring at Elizabeth with a scowl. Hannah nudged Elizabeth and lowered her voice to a whisper,
“What’s her deal?” She asked. Elizabeth looked over to Cara and sighed,
“Just a silly misunderstanding,” she shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
Hannah turned back to Trevor and prepared to enter the building. They were counted down and Trevor opened the front door, motioning for A Team to enter.
Hannah cleared floors One, then Two, then Three.
Jonathan moved up next to Hannah and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and he signalled that there was movement towards their left.
Hannah followed him into the hallway and positioned herself on one side of the door to an office. B Team came up behind them and Stephanie bumped into Hannah. She smiled as she moved across the hall to the opposite side of the door.
They paused as sounds of a scuffle were heard inside the office. Hannah raised her hand and counted them down from three and they entered.
Cara Stone was standing over a barely conscious Elizabeth, kicking her side again and again.
“Cara!?” Hannah yelled as agents ran to pull Cara into the hallway. Hannah felt frozen in the doorway as Stephanie moved forward and checked Elizabeth’s vitals. She glanced up,
“I’ve got a pulse! Get a paramedic in here!”
Want to find out what happens to Hannah after TEN? The next instalment is due to come Thursday 20th September!!
Christy Grace Scarlet Pen 