Becca XXX: Dangerous Cargo Ch. 16

Authors note: - This is a follow on to the previous episodes of Becca XXX Dangerous Cargo. Please read them before reading this or you will not understand the plot or characters.

Becca XXX. Dangerous Cargo. Ch 16

The Lake District was a bleak place to be in the depths of winter. It hadn't snowed, but it was wet and cold. The trees were bare of their leaves and the whole place smelt damp and earthy. Despite all of that, it was somehow beautiful, picturesque and peaceful.

As I looked out of the window of the farmhouse, which was our forward operating base, it seemed hard to believe that there was a terrorist's stronghold less than five miles away. That stronghold was under the control of a man, whose only purpose was to plant a number of dirty-bombs at strategic motorway intersections. That act of terror would bring our country to a standstill.

His name was Douglas Shaw and he was believed to be working under the orders of a member of The Generals called Charles Hamilton. Hamilton was like some kind of wraith, controlling the path of our country from the shadows. His plan was to cripple the UK in order to crash the stock market and force us to re-join the European Union.

It had been a long road to get us to this point, but we were now all that stood in his way.

Our team consisted of five elite special-forces operatives, known as The Grey Ghosts. Lexa and I were also going to be on the assault team. Ethan had been tasked to help Jock on overwatch, and Arran was there to deal with the technical side of things.

I poured myself a cup of coffee in the farmhouse kitchen as Ethan came over to join me. I was still wary around him as I didn't completely trust him. Tony had told me that Ethan had sold his stocks and shares at the same time as The Generals, which couldn't have been a coincidence. He'd also dragged his heels on this mission from day one in my opinion. Therefore, I was keeping him at arm's length.

"That was amazing work in Birmingham, Becca," he said. "I've read the mission debrief. Taking on six rapists in order to get Tony's team into the flat was no small feat."

"And quite enjoyable," I sniggered. "I came twice."

"Yes, I imagine you probably did. You've been trained to make the best of any situation. You've had a good teacher."

"I know. Lexa is my inspiration," I smiled.

"Actually, I'm glad I've got you on your own for a moment," he said quietly. "I need to talk to you about a potential problem we might have to deal with."

"What sort of problem?" I replied, turning from the window to face him.

"A police problem," he said. "Do you remember the two men you killed in the derelict warehouse? You encountered them near the care home that Brian's Nan was staying in."

"Yes. I remember them. How could I forget? They were going to murder a kid over a bag of drugs. They got what they deserved. I thought that case was closed and put down as part of the drug war?"

"It was, and I couldn't agree more, but we know a little bit more about the men you killed. One of them was called David Banks," he said the name as though it would mean something to me.

"Who's David Banks?" I asked. "I've never heard of him."

"He was the son of an influential business man from the city. He just happens to play golf with the Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester police."

"And?"

"And, he wants justice for the killer of his son. David Banks' father is using his golfing buddy to get the case reopened. The police are now investigating to make sure it was a lawful killing."

"Are you fucking kidding me? That twat was holding a gun to a young guy's head like an executioner. If I hadn't shot him, he'd have killed him in cold blood. I don't care who his father is. He's talking shit. Get it shut down."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm sure there won't be a problem, but I just needed to let you know. They might want to question you at the very least."

"Listen, I delivered more justice to those fuckers in a week than the police did in a year. You told me I had free reign to kill them all. They were criminals and they didn't deserve to keep breathing. The police should be thanking me, not bothering me with bullshit questions. Don't they know who we are and what we do?"

"Of course they do, but it's not always as simple as that. This Banks guy is talking to the media and riling things up. They have that picture of you from CCTV. I know it doesn't show much, but they think a woman was involved," said Ethan. "I'm just keeping you informed in case the police come knocking on your door. If they do, call me immediately and I'll straighten things out."

"I fucking hope so," I snapped. "Just keep me out of it. We're the good guys, remember?"

As I said that, Lexa arrived and got herself a cup of coffee.

"What are you two whispering about?" she asked. "I hope you're not interfering with my best agent."

"Hi Lexa," said Ethan giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "No, of course not. I'll leave you two to catch up. The mission briefing is in ten minutes."

"Ok. I just need to speak to Becca about something and then we'll be through to see you," she smiled.

"No problem."

Ethan left the room and Lexa came over to join me. She gave my ass a playful squeeze and we kissed each other on the lips.

"Hey you," she cooed.

"Hey yourself. How are you?"

"Excited about bringing this to a conclusion," she replied. "But I need to talk to you about something before we go through."

"Not you as well. What is this - pick on Becca day or something?" I sighed. "Ethan's already given me some worrying news."

"About the police? Yes, he told me about it too. Don't worry about it, the police just like to flex their muscles now and then -- it makes them feel like they're in charge. Sometimes these things happen for a reason, but Ethan will sort them out."

"I hope you're right. I'm not opening my legs and killing people for my own benefit," I pointed out. "Now, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, I know you want to bring Charles Hamilton down and we may have found a way of doing just that. I'm just checking that you want to be involved after this is over."

My face lit up. This mission was almost completed and Hamilton was the missing piece. It looked like Lexa was choosing me to pursue him after this assignment was over.

"Too right I want to be involved. You know I'm up for it. Any man who wants to damage his own country needs bringing to justice one way or another," I said excitably.

"I thought you'd say that," she laughed. "But I need to know something."

"What sort of something?" I said tentatively.

"I need to know how far you're willing to go to bring him down," she stated, taking a sip of her coffee.

"However far I need to. You know that. Why? What's the plan?"

"If you want to do this, it will involve you going into cover so deep that you'll be working completely alone without back up for weeks, possibly months. Is that something you think you can do?"

"I've done something similar before with the Eden Project and Sanchez's brothels. I think I can handle it," I smirked. "But what have you got lined up if it involves something like that?"

"It's complicated. You know Hamilton's very high up within The Generals. Tristan's been doing some careful digging and it makes interesting reading. The guy really is like the invisible man."

"I'm sure he is, but everyone has a weakness or a way in. Are you telling me that you've found his?" I asked, gazing out at the hills and mountains in the distance.

"Yes. We think so."

"What is it?"

"It's too early to give you the details. You need to concentrate on completing this assignment first. Once this is over, I'll show you what we've found out. I just needed to know that you're willing to go the extra mile. Like I said, you'll be alone and we won't be able to come and help you if you get into difficulty."

"I can take care of myself. And besides, you wouldn't be asking me to do it if you didn't think I was capable," I winked.

"You know me too well," she giggled, nudging her shoulder into me playfully. "Come on. We'll talk about it later. We need to get to the briefing."

"Wait," I said, grabbing her arm and looking over her shoulder to make sure we were alone.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something too."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Are you aware of Ethan's financial dealings?" I asked quietly.

"Not especially. Why? Should I be?"

"I'm not sure. Are you aware that he's liquidated his stocks and shares into cash?"

Lexa took a step back and stared me in the face in shock.

"Really? Who told you that?"

"It doesn't matter, but don't you think that's a bit suspicious? The Generals sold their stocks and shares after a tip off and now Ethan's done the exact same thing," I pointed out.

She stayed silent as she thought it through.

"I also think he's made some slow decisions on this assignment. Don't you?" I added.

"Be very careful, Becca. He's led a distinguished career. He was a war hero and then he set up The Facility when he realised that the government-run military didn't always do things the way he wanted. The conventional armed forces have always been tied up in bureaucracy and rules of engagement. Ethan found a way around that by starting up as a private military contractor. We answer to no one. This is black-ops at its highest level," she jabbed her finger at me.

She seemed pissed off that I'd brought it up. The last thing I wanted was her to think I was being disloyal to her.

"It sounds like we do answer to someone. He's just told me that the police are after me for killing some fucking drug dealer. Am I being paranoid or does he want me out of the picture?"

"Get a fucking grip, Becca," she spat. "I love you more than anything, but you can be stupid at times. Just think about what you're saying."

"What do you think I'm saying?" I asked in a stroppy tone.

"I think you're saying that he might be one of The Generals. You think that because he's made some difficult decisions and that he's sold his stocks, that he works for them. And now you're saying that he's throwing you to the wolves to get you arrested for murder because he thinks you're onto him? For fucks sake, Becca. What have you been smoking?"

"I know it sounds far-fetched, but don't you think it might be a remote possibility?" I mused. "The Generals have people all over the place after all."

She thought about it for a moment with an angry look on her face. Eventually, her face dropped and she relaxed and spoke softly to me.

"Ok... maybe it does sound suspicious, but what do you want me to do about it? I can hardly ask him outright, can I? Hello Ethan, are you a secret member of The Generals?" she put on a silly voice to mock me.

"Well, I'd hope you'd be a bit more tactful than that," I smirked. "Can you at least look into it and see if it's true about his finances? Just do it for me?"

I made a pouty face at her like an innocent child. It would usually win her over.

"Don't make that face at me," she snapped. "I understand your concerns and I'll see what I can find out, but don't go spouting this shit to anyone else. Ethan thinks the world of you and if he hears that you've been making accusations like that, he'll fire you. This line of work requires trust on all parts."

"I know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I've not mentioned it to anyone else," I lied. "Thanks babe,"

I gave her a kiss on the lips and put my arms around her waist.

"Oi you two. Stop flicking each other's beans and get in here," said Jock from the doorway behind us. "The briefing's about to start."

"Sorry, we're coming," I said in a jolly voice.

"I bet you are," he replied in a dirty tone, licking his lips.

"Put it back in your pants, Jock. You've got a filthy mind," I laughed as I walked towards him.

"After what I saw you do to those six guys in the flat, what do you expect? You took it like a champ."

"Awww thank you so much," I cooed slapping his cheek playfully as I passed him. "I hope you weren't wanking yourself off while you were watching me through your sniper scope."

Lexa sniggered behind me as we entered the large lounge and dining area. It was unrecognisable as a living room after we'd spent the morning rearranging it into an operations room. Large video screens had been erected and there was a wall full of photos and building plans. A large satellite photo was spread out on the table showing the layout of the farm and its outbuildings where Shaw's crew were holed up.

Arran was uploading further intel to the video screens as he tapped away at his computer and clicked around the screen with his mouse. Tony and his team were in the corner of the room checking their weapons and equipment as Ethan took centre stage in front of a huge fireplace.

"Ok everyone, listen in," he said, as Lexa, Jock and I arrived to join the briefing.

Tony put down his sub machine gun and moved in front of the fireplace next to Ethan. I stood next to the wall of photos with Hayward and Lexa, waiting for Ethan to start the briefing.

"Right. We all know why we're here," he stated. "Less than five miles away, there is a group of terrorists who are looking to attack the motorway network with dirty-bombs. Sergeant Fox's team have gathered more intel from the bomb makers after the raid on their flat. We know that the attack is planned for Sunday night. Today is Thursday so that doesn't leave us much time. We're going to hit them tonight."

"Tonight?" I exclaimed. "Isn't that a bit soon?"

"There's no time to lose on this one," he replied. "This Travis asshole delivered the bombs to Shaw yesterday morning. It's going to take a couple of days for him to fit the detonators and lace the explosive devices with the nuclear waste. Arran, would you like to explain?"

Arran clicked around the screen and brought up a picture of the steel barrels.

"These are the pictures that Tony's team took of the bombs a week ago. As you can see, they have packed the explosive charge into a forty-five-gallon metal drum. They've also constructed homemade detonators which can be triggered using a mobile phone," Arran explained.

He clicked on more pictures showing the bombs from different angles. He also brought up pictures of burner phones which had been dismantled in the flat and rewired with other household electrical items to create a detonator. They looked like very crude devices, but the damage they'd do when they were triggered would be devastating.

"We think their plan is to load a bomb into the back of each of the ten pickup trucks they've acquired and then drive them to their destinations. We think they'll leave them parked at the motorway intersections ready for simultaneous detonation."

He scrolled through more pictures of the motorway junctions to show the proposed targets. The junctions corresponded to the numbers which Natalie and Tony had both found during their missions.

"What about the nuclear waste?" asked Lance. "What did they steal exactly?"

"I'm just coming to that," Arran replied. "They call it Slurry. It's basically the filtered solids that come from the cooling water used inside the reactors core. It's classed as 'Intermediate Level Waste' and contains Caesium, Strontium and Uranium isotopes. It's stored in a High Integrity Container or HIC to make it safe for transport."

Arran seemed to be in his element with the technical stuff. He clicked on more photos which showed the containers he was talking about. One of the pictures showed a large blue cask in the back of Shaw's pickup truck. It had been taken from the traffic cameras when Shaw had stolen the waste.

"Shaw and his men have stolen an HIC full of Slurry," he confirmed.

"How dangerous is it?" I asked.

"It's hazardous to health for obvious reasons. If it's spread over a large area from a bomb blast, it will take considerable time and effort to clean up. These guys appear to have done their homework. All they need to do is place some of the slurry on top of the bomb, detonate the device and then allow the contaminated material to fall back to earth like rain. Depending on the wind direction it could contaminate a mile radius or more from the detonation point."

The room fell silent for a moment as we all took in the gravity of the situation.

"The good news is, they haven't finalised the bombs yet," said Ethan. "We have drone footage of their stronghold which was taken this morning."

He nodded at Arran who brought up a video onto the screen. The drone he'd used was similar to the one that Isaac had used to film the street race from my previous mission, but a little more high-tech.

"We didn't fly directly over the target area for fear of them seeing the drone," arran explained. "We basically flew it all the way around the perimeter to see what they were up to."

From the video footage, the farm looked typical for the area. It consisted of a long gravel track from the road all the way up to an entrance gate. A tree lined slope was to the west, but the rest of the surrounding area consisted of open flat fields with very little cover. A farmhouse was to the east of the main entrance with large out-buildings to the north. A low dry-stone wall had been erected all the way around the farm. The wall had collapsed in places and looked as old as the farmhouse.

"You can see that Shaw's pickup truck is parked near the main entrance. It still has the HIC strapped to the back of it," said Arran as the drone flew around in a high arc.

More vehicles came into view as the perspective around the buildings changed. There were ten pick-up trucks lined up outside one of the out-buildings. Some of them had steel barrels in the back of them and some were empty.

"They're loading the bombs into the trucks one by one," said Ethan. "We think that once they have them all loaded and primed, they'll add the waste to them at the last minute. That way they won't have to be exposed to the radiation for any longer than they have to."

The drone continued its arc, showing more vehicles parked around the back of the modern out building. There were a lot of people wandering around, some were armed with Ryan's MP7's and some appeared to be carrying pistols.

"How many tangos?" asked Hayward.

"We've seen at least forty," said Ethan. "We've got some other drone footage using thermal imaging and there's more people inside the buildings."

"Any civilians?"

"No. Everyone on site seems to be involved."

"That's a hell of a target-rich environment then," laughed Jock, high-fiving Lance.

Hayward and Tony were keeping quiet, taking it all in. They didn't mind the banter, but I could see the cogs were already turning in their brains as they started to formulate a plan.

"There's one person in there who isn't a target," I pointed out. "Natalie's still in there somewhere. Have you seen her on any of the drone footage?"

"Yes," said Arran. "We've seen her roaming about with the rest of them, but she spends a lot of time in the farmhouse with either Shaw or some of his men."

"Good old Nat," I laughed. "She told me that she was having some fun with Shaw and his men. If you could avoid shooting her - I'd appreciate it."

"How will we spot her?" asked Stud-Muffin.

"She's the blonde one with big tits. It shouldn't be that hard," I giggled.

"What about potential collateral damage?" asked Lance, ignoring my dirty comments

"There's nothing anywhere near the place for a five-mile radius," said Arran. "We are the nearest farm to them."

"Are there any cameras or flood lights?"

"There're no cameras, but there are lights. You'll have to stick to the shadows."

The drone finished its loop of the area and the screen went blank.

"This is going to be a full-scale assault," said Ethan. "Prime Minister Wilson is fully aware of the situation and he wants anyone who's involved taken out of the picture for good. This isn't an arrest mission - it's a kill-op."