Chapter 29





“What you say in the next few minutes will decide the rest of your career in Her Majesty’s Navy.”

The words struck her with the same amount of pain and ferocity as a bullet.

Her body swayed ever so slightly as it felt like a swift punch had been delivered to her gut, her lips parting in shock.

Memories of sitting at her bedroom desk, forging her doctor’s signature suddenly flashed through her mind with a torrent of regret.

“Sir-” Julia tried to speak but, although she did not know what she was going to say or if she could even manage to assembly words into a sentence, her words were drowned out by the voice of General Ridgeway.

“See, Sergeant Reynolds, this is the dilemma we have . . .” Ridgeway reached out and began to fiddle with the piece of radio that lay on the desk beside him.

Julia watched as his fingers spun the dial back and forth, twisting it until it broke and he moved on to the next contraption that would amuse him for the next couple of minutes, before that too collapsed.

But as she watched, Julia’s mind was trying to conjure a suitable excuse for forging Dr Barter’s signature, a felony in itself, and tricking her way back into the military.

The more she looked at it, Julia was nothing more than a stowaway that had just been caught where she shouldn’t be.

Jules thought of how far she had come as she saw the end of her adventure draw nearer. She had remembered so much more than she had planned, among other things.

She had not planned to like it here- no, love it here. She had not planned on becoming fast friends with her comrades, or falling back in love with Marcus.

But the one thing that hurt more than the rest of it, was that she had not planned to feel like this when the time came for her to leave.

She felt terrible, beret, relieved, angry and sad all at the same time.

She saw herself back working in the library in Bishop’s Green, picking up saucers of milk that Batty Beatrice had left for her imaginary cat.

Julia wondered who was picking up the saucers whilst she was here, or did the library now smell of putrid milk rather than old books?

“Sergeant Reynolds?”

Well, Jules vowed that if she was discharged - although she would have to be on active service to be discharged – that she would never go back to working in Bishop’s Green corner library.

She would find something far, far away from that little village of hypocrisy.

“Sergeant Reynolds?” A voice grew insistent, shocking Julia out of her thoughts.

Looking up, startled, Julia found Strong and Ridgeway both watching her with disapproval.

Re-straightening her shoulders, Jules clasped her hands tightly behind her back and stared straight ahead.

“Did you hear what I said, Reynolds?” That was the General.

Julia swallowed, “No, Sir.”

A tense silence passed, where every possible punishment for insubordination flipped through her mind in a matter of seconds.

But it seemed her imagination had run away again when the next sound she heard was the gurgling sound of General Ridgeway’s laughter.

It was such a strange noise that Julia had to look at his face to make sure he was laughing and not dying.

Commander Strong and Julia shared a confused look at the General’s reaction.

“I like you,” Ridgeway lifted his thick fingers from whatever poor radio he was dismembering at the present time and turned them towards her, pointing.

A spark of hope flared in her chest, maybe he wouldn’t send her home after all.

“Not many of men are brave enough to speak the truth,” Ridgeway explained to Strong, “It shall be a pleasant change.”

Julia frowned, her eyes passing between the two. What would be a nice change?

Commander Strong saw her confusion and took pity on her.

“General Ridgeway has a vacancy in his team which he would like you to feel, Sergeant Reynolds.”

Warm air passed over her lips as she allowed her mind to digest his words, but they must have digested wrong because Julia was still confused.

“A vacancy?” Julia frowned.

Ridgeway nodded, “I think you would be perfect for it. You’re exactly what we’re looking for, and after I heard what you did in those mountains I knew I had to come and meet you.”

“So, you’re not-” Julia shuffled on her feet, trying to grapple with the situation, “You’re not here to fire me?”

“Fire you!?” Ridgeway exclaimed, “God, no!”

But Strong was suspicious and pressed her, “Why would you think that we would fire you?”

Julia didn’t think before she answered, “Because of what I did with Dr. Barter’s signature, of course.”

The moment the words left her lips Julia knew she had put her foot in it, her eyes widened and her lips clamped shut, but it was too late.

The truth was out there and Strong looked- In fact, Julia wasn’t quite sure how he looked. He may have been shocked or disappointed, but the corner of his mouth seemed turned upwards in a half-hidden smirk.

As if he was secretly impressed with her determination to get here that she committed a crime.

Ridgeway, however, was completely obtuse, “What signature?”

Strong opened his lips, about to answer, when Ridgeway just waved him away, not interested.

“Whatever, I am not here for some signature,” Ridgeway got to his feet and laid his cap down on the table behind him, his steel eyes turned on Julia, “I came for you. I want you on my team.”

Julia licked her dry lips.

“You will get all the appropriate training, of course, and a substantial pay rise however, for confidentiality reasons I cannot tell you what you will be doing or where you would be posted.”

Julia’s eyebrow arched ever so slightly. Enough to make her feel as if she was bold enough to do such a thing to a General, and thus boost her confidence, but not enough that he would notice.

“Although I can tell you,” The General leaned in closer, “After what you did out there today, if you accept my offer, there would most definitely be a medal for you. What do you say to a Distinguished Service Cross?”

A frown was now fully etched across Jules’s brow, not caring what he thought.

“Forgive me, sir, but it sounds like you are trying to-” Julia couldn’t seem to get the thought out of her head, “-to buy me.”

“Buy you?” The General took a step back, his silver eyebrows pulled in slightly, “Buy you!?”

Julia knew she had offended him but he had offended her thinking she was cheap enough to be bought for a medal.

“The Distinguished Service Cross if awarded for action in combat. Sergeant Reynolds,” the General’s voice demanded her complete attention, “Did you, or did you not, see action in your tour which resulted in your injury and the saving of dozens of children?”

“Yes, but-”

“-And I ask you, is that not worthy of being celebrated?” Ridgeway looked to Commander Strong for an explanation of her behaviour.

Julia had to speak her mind, “No, sir.”

Ridgeway’s body froze, his back to her, whilst Commander Strong was looking at her as if she had just told the President to nuke Moscow.

Ridgeway turned around slowly to face her, his expression showing that he was not amused with how this recruitment session had ended.

“No?” He whispered.

“Medals for valour are one thing, General. But to celebrate combat itself is to celebrate war,” Julia’s tongue felt like it too was big for her mouth as she tried to explain what she was saying, “And, war should never be celebrated. I was just doing my job.”

Ridgeway narrowed his eyes, “The possibility of medals allows soldiers to strive to be extraordinary.”

Julia spoke carefully as she spoke, anger flaring in her chest as she heard his words.

“Every soldier is extraordinary; they do not need to strive to achieve it. Every soldier out there is willing to give their life and I think that is more than extraordinary, I think it’s heroic.” Julia straightened her spine, “Sir.”

Ridgeway was spluttering, watching her with anger, whilst Commander Strong was smiling at her with pride from behind the General’s shoulder.

Julia had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from smiling.

Ridgeway closed his eyes, fighting to control his emotions, “Well, despite her . . . strong views, I would still like you on my team. Take some time to think it over.”

“I do not need time, Sir,” Jules had made up her mind.

Ridgeway saw the look in her eyes and his shoulders dropped, his fingers curling around his cap as he picked it up from the table, “I take it then, you are declining my offer?”

“Respectfully, sir, yes.” Julia did not need to think twice. She belonged here.

Ridgeway gave her a curt nod as he placed the cap back on his head, “All the best, Sergeant. I hope you get what you’re looking for.”

Julia gave her salute as the General left, the Commander following him, leaving Jules alone in the tent.

Hanging on as tight as she could, Julia wrenched every second out of those precious few moments she got alone and took a few slow breaths.

She prayed she had done the right thing.

Ridgeway had been offering her a way back into active duty, a pay rise and a medal. If Jules was ruled by vanity she would have collapsed to her knees and begged him to take her away that very moment.

But Jules was thankful that she had something else in her head other than narcissism.

A few seconds later, Julia heard the helicopter lifting off the ground.

Walking out of the tent, Jules raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she turned and watched the helicopter rising into the air.

It gave a slight dip to the right, the tail lifting up in the air, as it turned and carried General Ridgeway far away.

A body came up behind her and Jules looked to see Marcus watching the helicopter but it was too far away for him to see who occupied the back seat.

“What was that all about?” Marc asked, his fingers pressing softly against the base of her spine.

Julia licked her lips, trying to control her happiness as the smile she had been keeping down suddenly broke out across her lips.

“Nothing,” Julia looked across the base and shared a smile with the Commander. Strong agreed with her choice it would seem.

Marc frowned, clearly not believing her but he trusted her enough not to press the matter.

And that, in itself, was beautiful.

Jules turned around, his fingers skimming along her back and around her waist before his hand dropped back to his side, and settled her smile on him.

Marc returned it, a soft twinkle to his eyes, “What do you say we sneak away for a few minutes?”

He stepped closer, his scent intoxicating her.

It took everything Julia had to look him in the eye, “You’re kidding, right?”

Marc frowned.

Jules laughed as she reached up and knocked the football out of his hands.

She was already halfway to the goal as she shouted out, “We have a football match to finish!”

Her carefree laughter filled the air as Marcus caught up with her.

There, safely tucked up in base, they did not have anything to worry about. No Taliban, no RPGs. Kazeem and Ray were in the best of hands and Julia was finally feeling more like herself.

As she watched Marcus and Carlos with the kids, the smiles on their faces, Jules knew she had made the right decision.

She would always be needed to keep them out of trouble, and it was job she would never get tired of.