I Won't Let You Down

This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “Proof of Life”. No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.

by: Thorne's Rose

Chapter 1

The room was dark, almost dark, the only source of illumination glowed weakly from the monitors by one wall.

The room was silent, almost silent, broken only by the insistent beep from the monitors and the sibilant hiss from the ventilator.

The room was empty, almost empty, apart from a dark form laying on the bed.

The form was still, almost still, the chest rose and fell in time with the hissing ventilator, forcing air into the unresponsive lungs.

A chair was placed near the top of the bed, and on it there was another silent, still form, asleep with its head resting on the edge of the bed.

Slowly the form in the chair moved. First, a slight twitch in an arm as if objecting to the angle it had been held in for hour upon hour. Then the head moved. An eye slowly opened, blinking a few times to try and focus in the darkness of the room.

The head lifted from the bed. The form stretched and reached out for the light above the bed, turning it slightly to keep it from shining directly onto the occupant. The light clicked on revealing a tousled red head. Pale blue eyes looked out from world weary face. Dark shadows attested to the lack of sleep.

The redhead slowly rubbed his hands over his face and stretched, grimacing at aching muscles, longing for a comfortable bed.

"I'm getting too old for this," he thought.

The door opened quietly, admitting a man in a white coat and a young woman who looked extremely attractive in her nurse's uniform. Trust the redhead to notice that even after so many days of worry and sleep depravation.

"We just want to check on his vitals," said the doctor. "Could you wait outside for a few moments?"

"I'm going nowhere doc," The redhead answered.

The nurse gently touched his arm. "Your friend is in no danger here, and you look like you could do with a cup of coffee," she said. "Take five, and I'll come get you when the doctor has finished."

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the kinks out. "Okay darlin'. Just for you. Don't forget to come looking for me," he said, heading for the coffee machine.

The nurse returned to the room and switched on the overhead light. Looking at the patient she let out an involuntary gasp. She still couldn't get used to the things men could do to other men, the pain and suffering they could inflict.

Pulling herself together, she went towards the doctor, ready to take notes as he read off figures from the monitors, and any changes that were evident.

True to her word, five minutes later she headed out to fetch the redhead back to the room.

As he entered, the doctor looked round and smiled slightly.

"Any change doc?"

"Well, the bad news is that there hasn't been any change during the night."

The red head slumped into the chair and sighed.

"The good news is, he has remained stable. In his condition that can only be a plus. Your friend must be very strong. A lesser man would not have made it this far."

"He's one in a million, doc," replied the redhead. "He's strong physically and mentally, and he's a fighter."

As the doctor turned to leave, the redhead stopped him with a question.

"Do you know when he's likely to wake up, doc?"

"He's under heavy sedation at the moment. He needs his body to be completely relaxed to enable the ventilator to do its work... I know you want him off the machine, but the damage to his body is so great that I think if we left it to him, he would find it too painful to take a breath and may just give up altogether. Be patient with us please, and we will try to ease up on the medication in a couple of days."

"That's great news, doc," he replied, smiling for the first time in nearly two weeks.

"Don't get too excited yet, young man," the doctor replied. "If he seems at all distressed or in too much pain when we try this, we will have to deepen the sedation and keep him on the machine a bit longer."

The red head's face fell on hearing this and his body shuddered as he let out the sigh he just couldn't hold onto anymore. The doctor came over and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Keep the faith, son, I'm quietly confident that things will work out fine."

The doctor and nurse left him alone with his friend and his thoughts. He moved back to the bed, sat down in the chair and took his friend's hand in both of his own.

The hand that was usually so strong felt limp and cold. He squeezed it hard and talked softly to his unconscious friend.

"Come on Tio, you Aussie bastard. This is one fight you have to win without backup, mate."

The only reply was the beep and hiss of the machines surrounding the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was crowded, noisy and filled with smoke.

"Strewth, trust that bloody Seppo to pick this place to meet up on a Friday night," the man thought.

As he walked further into the bar, he either didn't, or chose not to, notice the heads turn his way, both male and female patrons giving him the once over.

"TIO!"

On hearing the shout, he turned. His eyes swept over the throng until he spotted an arm raised above the heads of the crowd. He made his way to the small table in an alcove inhabited by a red headed man of around 40 who was guarding the only vacant chair in the place.

A path seemed to clear before him making it easy to navigate through the Friday revellers. Perhaps it was due to his stance or the confident way he moved. There was an aura about him that seemed to say, *Don't mess with me.*

In no time he stood before the red head in the booth. Saying nothing, he raised one eyebrow and tilted his head in a silent question. The seated man rose from behind the table and enveloped him in a crushing bear hug. After about 30 seconds, he freed himself, smiled, and greeted the man.

"G'Day Dino, how the fuck ya going, mate?"

"I'm good Terry, even better now you're here. You wanna drink?"

"Ta mate. I'll have a green one."

Dino laughed and headed through the crowd to the bar, shortly returning with two bottles of ice cold VB.

Terry gulped down a mouthful and pulled a wry face, sighing in appreciation. Only Dino would pick the Aussie bar to meet up, knowing Terry had just been through a tough couple of weeks far away from life's comforts. After spending a few minutes in companionable silence, Terry looked over at Dino.

"Okay, mate, tell me what's on your mind."

"Drink up, Terry, then we can go to the hotel and I'll fill you in on the situation."

Terry glanced over at him sensing something was up. "Fuck that mate. You don't need to stay at a hotel. You can doss down in my guest room."

Forty-five minutes later, Dino was sitting on the sofa in Terry's lounge room, looking at the view out over the Thames. The flat was made up of the entire top floor of a converted warehouse on the south bank of the river. The unrestricted view of the river and the city beyond at night always took Dino's breath away. He could hear Terry clattering crockery in the kitchen before he appeared carrying a huge mug of steaming freshly brewed coffee and handed it to Dino. In his other hand he carried an equally large mug of tea for himself.

Kicking off his shoes and loosening his tie before sprawling comfortably in a huge armchair, he looked at Dino, waiting patiently now for him to speak.

He cleared his throat ."I can never get enough of this fantastic view, Tio," he said, rising from the sofa and heading towards the huge French doors leading out to the wrought iron balcony.

"You didn't call me home just to chat about the view from my bloody windows, mate. What's up?"

Dino turned back to face Terry.

`"We have a new job, Ter," he said

"And?" asked Terry, sensing that there was a lot more to this 'job' than Dino was letting out.

"The client is at the hotel."

"Okay," said Terry. "Make a call and tell them that you'll bring them over here."

"Terry, I don't think that's such a good idea. It might be better to meet at the hotel."

"Why is that, Dino?" asked Terry. All of a sudden the hairs at the back of his neck were beginning to tingle.

He took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly before answering.

"Our new client is Penny."

Terry opened his mouth to speak, but no sound would come. He ran his hand through his hair, looked up at his partner, and finally said, "What the fuck?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They drove to the hotel in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. At a red light, Dino glanced over at Terry. He was staring unseeing, out of the passenger window, absently chewing on his thumb nail. Dino thought he looked so vulnerable and wondered, not for the first time, if he'd made a huge mistake agreeing to take Penny's case.

At the hotel they made their way across the lobby and were about to call for the lift when they were halted by an authoritative voice behind them.

"Terence."

Terry and Dino turned as one and came face to face with Terry's ex-wife, Penelope.

"G'Day, Pen," said Terry through gritted teeth. Despite his reservations at the meeting he inwardly smiled at the look of disgust that flashed across her face at Terry's misuse of the "Queen’s English".

"I thought we would all feel a bit more comfortable if we met down here instead of my room," Penny said. "Shall we get a drink?" she added, leading them to the bar.

Following behind, Dino whispered to Terry, "Still the sergeant major," hoping to help his friend relax. Terry half-smiled, shrugging his shoulders as he stared at the back of his ex.

They found a quiet booth and all sat down. An uneasy silence fell over the trio as the waiter took their order.

Penny sat opposite Terry sipping her G&T, watching him take a swig from his stubbie. 'Would he ever learn to use a glass?' she thought. Her gaze roamed over his face, noting a few more battle scars, but admitting to herself that he was still an extremely attractive man. Continuing her appraisal, she admired his athletic form trying to hide beneath his business suit. Once again she wondered *what if?*

What if she hadn't been so much her father's daughter?

What if Terry had tried to conform a little more?

What if she had listened to her heart and not her head, and realised that deep down she had always loved him the way he was?

Ah well, water under the bridge. She was happy with Michael, and Terry......she tried to look into his eyes. Was he happy?

He looked tense, but that was to be expected.

She was roused from her thoughts when Dino coughed discreetly.

"So Penny, would you like to tell us what we can do for you?"

Penny took a sip of her drink and tried to slow her breathing down before she began. Looking at Terry, she said, "It's my father."

Terry let out the breath he had been holding. In the back of his mind he had thought this may have had something to do with Henry in some way. He leaned back in his chair, silently waiting for her to expand the statement.

"He's gone missing!"

"What do you mean, missing?" asked Terry. "Bit late back from a round of golf is he?"

"I know you don't like my father, but sarcasm is low, Terence, even for you," Penny snapped. "I think he's been kidnapped."

"Who would want to kidnap a retired soldier?" asked Dino.

"That's just it. He isn't retired, and you both have to admit that he isn't just any old soldier."

The two men looked at each other. So okay, Penny's father wasn't just some old soldier. He was in fact a Brigadier General, and the former head of the SAS, and therefore of interest to quite a lot of people.

Terry leant forward in his chair, his arms resting on his knees. He looked intently at Penny. "What's going on, Pen?"

Penny took a deep breath and began to relate her story. She explained that although 'officially' her father had retired from the service, he was still working as an intelligence advisor.

"He heard about an 'old boys' outward bound course, and being the fitness freak that he is, decided that he would take part. When he found out it was in Australia, he thought it would be a good way to show 'those Colonials' that the Brits' are better at survival in the wild than anyone else."

Penny looked apologetically at Terry, realising she had reminded him what her father thought of Australians.

He had last been heard of in Cairns and had not been in touch for a couple of days.

"Why call us? It's only been a couple of days, and if anything is going down, it's a government problem," Terry said.

"Oh Terence, don't be so naive . You know the score. They won't bail him out. He wasn't under orders, he was doing this on his own time. They won't do anything until or unless they get concrete evidence that he has been taken. But I know him. He's a creature of habit. He always stays in touch when he's away from home. If he doesn't call at his regular time, mum knows something is wrong. The regiment won't listen, they've hung him out to dry."

Penny looked at her ex-husband with tear-filled eyes. "You're my only hope," she whispered.

Dino looked over at Terry waiting for his response. Would he agree to help a man he neither liked nor respected?

One glance gave him his answer. Terry was already in business mode. Dino could almost hear his brain mulling over all the possible pitfalls of extracting his former father-in-law.

"Okay, Pen," he said. "We'll do what we can, but with conditions. You keep your opinions to yourself and let us get on with our job."

Penny bit down the wave of anger that was threatening to engulf her at Terry's remark, and slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Just tell me what you need and let me come along with you."

"NO!" Terry barked. "You need to stay here with your mother and Henry."

"Mother is fine. She's an officer's wife remember, and Henry has Michael."

Looking at Terry she caught the pain in his eyes at that last remark and realised that she had hurt him. She reached across the table placing her hand on his. "Terence, I didn't mean that to sound like it did. You are Henry's father and always will be. Michael can never take your place. I just meant that if I came with you, Henry wouldn't be alone."

Terry raised his face to her, allowing her a rare glimpse of the melancholy he always carried at their failure as a couple, and nodded in understanding. Then as she looked at him, his expression changed as if a mask had been put in place. She realised he was once again in 'work mode'.

"Okie dokie, let's get this show on the road then," he said, giving Penny's hand a squeeze while finishing his drink and rising from his chair all in the same move. Within the hour they were back at Terry's place pouring over what little information she had been able to provide, trying to formulate a plan, working out which personnel to call on and what equipment they might need whilst arranging flights.

Meanwhile Penny was trying to keep busy and out of their way by fussing about in the kitchen making coffee for Dino, tea for Terry and herself and food for all of them. She paused to look around. It was a modern, stylish, well equipped kitchen. Stainless steel replacing the usual white appliances, granite counter tops. It was an impersonal place, no flowers, no notes held up by fridge magnets, just a white board with scribbled appointments. Somehow it smacked of loneliness.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell startled her, nearly causing her to drop a cup on the floor.

"I'll get it," called Terry.

As he opened the door he was almost bowled over by his son rushing into his arms. Terry hugged him tightly and looked over his head at Henry's step-father, Michael who smiled sheepishly as he held his hand out to Terry.

"Sorry, Terry, as soon as he found out where his mum had gone, he insisted I bring him over to see you. Hope you don't mind."

"G'Day mate, no worries. Thanks for coming over. Penny is busy 'being mother' in the kitchen, but I think what she really needs is a hug and a shoulder to soak," Terry said, winking at the man who had replaced him.

"I'll go see her," said Michael, nodding. "You spend some time with your son, I think he needs you right now." He patted Terry on the shoulder as he went past to find his wife.

Terry led Henry into the den and sat down with him, amazed that as big and grown up as Henry was becoming, he still clung to his father like a limpet to him and not to Michael.

"Dad, will everything be okay?" he asked haltingly.

"Mate, Dino and I are going to get your Granddad back. It's what we do all the time and we're good at it. You can count on me son, I won't let you down this time."

Henry loosened his grip on his father and said quietly, "You've never let me down on purpose, Dad, no matter what you think or what anyone has told you."

The boy got up and went to the kitchen to say hello to his mum. Terry stood up and watched him go, wiping his hands over his face. He turned to see Dino leaning on the door frame, sighed and said, "Christ, mate, what a fucking mess!"

Chapter 2

Terry and Michael had ganged up on Penny and had finally managed to persuade her to stay at home which was a relief to Dino who knew that Terry would need to focus on the job in hand, and not have to worry about her safety. They all piled into Michael's car and headed out for the airport in time for the late night flight.

Amidst a lot of hugging, kissing and handshaking, Penny, Michael and Henry saw Terry and Dino off. She tried to keep her spirits up by waving them off as if they were just off on holiday, and not trying to get her father back from some unknown enemy with a grudge that was holding him who knew where.

The flight to Bangkok was long and boring. "Thank Christ for Business Class," thought Dino, looking over in annoyance at Terry, who, as usual, had crashed as soon as they had taken off. He once again marvelled at the way Terry could just drop off at wheels up and not wake until touch down. He had long distance flying down to a fine art, and never seemed to get jet lagged. Dino was always too hyper to sleep, playing around with the entertainment system for hours and eyeing up the cabin crew.

Terry woke up alert and refreshed just as they began their descent. They had a four hour wait for their connection to Sydney and then it was a quick sprint across to the domestic terminal for their connection up to Cairns. From there they would be met by their man on the spot, Anton. He would have their base all set up by the time they arrived, and hopefully he would have been able to make contact with whoever had the General.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The general sat on the low bunk bed staring at the bare walls around him. He frowned as he felt the rivulets of sweat make their way slowly down his back.

He hated heat, hated humidity and he wondered once again what the hell had he been thinking about when he decided to come to this god forsaken country. He hated Australia and all things Australian. He was officially retired for pity's sake and should have turned down this jaunt at his age. It was about time he started to accept his limitations. Was he just pig-headed? Did he think he could storm in and cope with any situation these damned boys from the outback couldn't handle? Had it been a poke in the eye at his ex son-in-law? Whatever it had been, he was paying for his arrogance now -- he had made himself a sitting target for some enemy of his. And, he ruefully admitted, he would be more than happy for the talents of his daughter's former husband now.

He shook his head at that last thought. How the hell would Thorne get to find out about something that had happened to him? The man was now a civilian! If he did hear of his misfortune then he would probably be delighted. The man hated his guts. But what did he care what Thorne thought of him anyway? He leaned his head back against the wall and took a deep breath. He was going stir crazy!! He decided to try to work some things out in his head. Always best to keep the brain busy in a sticky situation.

The first question that needed answering was 'What do they want?' and 'How are they going to get it?' He then began to think about the men that had taken him. One thing he knew from their accents was that they were Americans. Americans? How had he crossed Americans? Why were Americans in the north of Australia, taking an Englishman of no substance, hostage? Light dawned in his mind.....they knew who he was! They must be military, and from the way they were acting they were most likely special forces, or at least ex-special forces. He rubbed his hand over his face and thought to himself, "What now?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry and Dino were met at the airport by Anton. With only carry-on bags they sailed through arrivals, although Dino was still muttering about the way he was left in the line for immigration, while Terry, being an Australian national, had waltzed straight through. Squeezed into Anton's ute (when was the boy going to get a decent set of wheels?) they headed out for the industrial unit which would be their base for the duration.

Terry and Anton set about stowing the gear, while Dino crashed out on the nearest soft surface, jet lag hitting him as soon as his feet touched the ground, as usual. When he began softly snoring, Terry looked over his shoulder at him and smiled. 'You rest up mate, I've a feeling we're all gonna need all the sleep we can get before we start,' he thought as Anton ran through all the info he'd received, including demands and radio frequencies complete with times for contact.

"I don't understand it, Mr Thorne," he said. "All this came directly to me at my place. How did they know we were on the case? They almost knew before I did!"

"That's a good question, Anton, and for fuck's sake, how many times do you have to be told, it's Terry!"

"Sorry Mr.....Terry, it's still hard for me to get it into my head that it's okay to call the boss anything but sir or Mr!"

"No worries mate, we'll soon train you up." quipped Terry, swatting Anton lightly on the back of his head. He liked the younger bloke. He was reminded of himself at the same age when he looked at Anton. They had both been larrikins when they were young, and could both have ended up on the wrong side of the law. Joining up had been Terry's salvation, and joining Terry and Dino had been Anton's.

"So, the bad guys have been expecting us then. That's very interesting. We've got time to try to figure things out before the first contact, and who knows, Sleeping Beauty over there may even be in the land of the living again soon and give us a hand."

Anton visibly relaxed and laughed along with Terry. He worshipped him and was amazed at how approachable he was for a man in his position. He had never worked for anyone like Terry or Dino before, and would willingly lay his life down for either of them, especially Terry.

By the time Dino woke up, Terry and Anton had all the equipment set up and were sitting drinking coffee while pouring over the sparse information they had in front of them. "Is that fresh coffee I smell?" asked a less-than-alert Dino.

"Yeah, ya lazy bastard, get over here and have a cup," Terry replied, grinning at his dishevelled friend.

Revived by the strong coffee, Dino joined them as they took the tape Anton had received out of the plain brown envelope and put it into the VHS. They saw the general sitting on a hard wooden chair behind a plain table. He was looking straight into the camera with a look of defiance in his eyes. He looked in a reasonable state, no cuts or bruises.

"Well, here's your 'proof of life'. The old guy is in fighting form so now we can get down to business. We'll make the first call at 20.00 hours tonight. Don't make us wait!" a voice-over commented.

Dino looked across at Terry for any reaction to seeing Penny's father again after so many years. His face was closed and stern. He returned Dino's glance.

"They're American, mate," Terry said quietly.

"They sure are, buddy. What the hell are they doing playing the hostage game out here?" Dino replied.

"Dunno, mate, but hopefully it won't be long before we find out."

The first contact went less than smoothly. The kidnappers were demanding $10 million US, would take no notice of Terry's reasoning that they had just picked up an English tourist, and a senior citizen at that, who had no ties with any large corporations, and who wasn't independently wealthy. In fact, they took hardly any notice of Terry at all, insisting that they would not negotiate with a 'kangaroo'.

Terry ended the first encounter by flinging the mike across the table and spitting out, "Fucking Seppo!" before storming out of the unit, slamming the door behind him.

Ten minutes later the door slowly opened and a red head poked out. Dino watched Terry pacing up and down muttering to himself. He suddenly stopped, turned to face Anton's ute, and punched the side hard.

"Is it safe?" enquired Dino, getting ready to dodge back inside if needed.

Terry turned round to face his friend, rubbing his hand absently. "Do you feel better now, Ter?" asked Dino with a wry smile.

Terry looked at his friend sheepishly. "Yeah mate, did me block there, didn't I? Sorry about that."

At that moment, Anton stuck his head round the door. "Wanna brew, Terry?" he asked.

"Yeah mate, ta. That'll be great."

They sat around the small table drinking tea and mulling over the first radio call.

"Maybe tomorrow I can make contact?" Dino said.

"No mate, you know the drill. We can't keep changing negotiators. We need a bit of continuity. If they don't like the sound of my voice, it's their tough luck, it's the only one they're gonna hear. We need to show them that we won't be messed around."

Chapter 3

Hours dragged into days, but they were still no closer to a settlement. Anton was kept busy in the background trying to dig up any Intel he could on the group holding the general. They had claimed to be an environmental group fighting to save the northern rain forests.

Of course this didn't ring true as Australia was committed to preserving their rain forest both for environmental and economical reasons. The tourists flocked there in droves each year and the government had no intention of stemming the flood of foreign money into the country. There had to be something else behind this business. Terry had felt uneasy from day one. How had they known his company was on the case? How had they known that Anton was working for them?

Six days into the negotiations, Anton hit pay dirt. His local connections had paid off and they finally had the possible location of the group's camp. Following another fruitless hour or two on the radio, Terry made up his mind.... "We're going in," he said.

Four hours later they were deep in the lush undergrowth, relieved that finally they were doing something positive instead of the frustration of waiting around.

It was almost dark by the time they reached their objective. Time for a quick recon, and then a choice of going in under cover of darkness or waiting until first light. Dino was all for charging right in, but Terry was wondering how the general would manage through the undergrowth in the dark. They settled down to check the lay of the land when all of a sudden...... "FUCK!"

Dino dropped the bins he was looking through and just stared down into the camp.

"Dino?" Terry stared at his friend, wondering what he'd seen to cause such a reaction.

"Terry, I know those guys!!"

Terry pulled Dino back to the relative safety of a clump of trees and just sat looking into his eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"Terry, they are ex-special forces. I was their training officer. I got them thrown out of the unit."

"Why?"

"They were unstable. They enjoyed the kill. Fucking whack jobs, I didn't think they would take orders under pressure. I thought they would just cut loose and do some real damage."

"Mate, I think the fog is clearing. This is nothing to do with Pen's Dad, is it? It's bloody personal."

"How?" asked Dino.

"Think, mate. Ex-special forces would probably know who the old boy is. If they know who he is, then they know he's my ex dad-in-law. If they know that much, they know about us being partners. They also know that if they take the old bastard, Pen would contact me to try get him back..."

"...And if you’re in the field, I'm likely to be close on your tail," sighed Dino. "Ter, I'm so sorry."

"Mate, how could you know? Let's get the general out and then try to find out what the fuck is going on."

A low whistle took them back to Anton, who was keeping watch on the camp below.

"They just took some food into the hut at 3 o'clock. I think that's where our guy is," said Anton.

"Right, this is how we play it. Wait until they settle down for the night, then we move in slow and get the general out. We get him away, then we can worry about what those arseholes really want...."

"I'm with you, Ter," said Dino

The general lay on the bunk staring up into the darkness of the hut. He couldn't sleep. He didn't know what they wanted him for, and he was getting tired of their stupid games. Just then he thought he heard something outside his door. His ears strained to pick up a sound, but it was all quiet. He relaxed again and wondered what things were like at home.

Suddenly he had the feeling he was not alone. Had the door opened? It was as dark outside as it was inside - hard to tell. He held his breath hoping to hear any breathing coming from near the door...... nothing!

He nearly left the bunk in shock when something grabbed his shoulder. "C'mon general. Let's get you outta here."

He said nothing, but obeyed instantly. As he was led through the darkness, one thing went through his mind, "I know that voice."

A few minutes later he found himself being eased down to the ground. The hand that had guided him let go of his arm, and he sensed the body moving away. Then he knew there was another person in front of him.

"How are you, general? Any damage anywhere? Can you manage a trek through the woods?"

"An American," thought the general, but not the one who got him out.

"Can we have some light here?" he asked.

"Sorry mate, no can do," Anton said quietly. "When we get to the truck it will be safer."

He heard a slight movement off to his left, and a whispered, "Let's go."

Rising up from where he was sitting, he steeled himself for the difficult journey through the forest in pitch black conditions.

Two strong arms on either side of him kept him upright more than once on the trek to the transport. After what seemed like hours, they stopped as a shape loomed up in front of them.

"Here ya go General, your transport awaits."

Dino and Anton helped him into the back of the truck they had acquired from Anton's friends, and they piled into the cab. As they pulled off, the general heard a click, and a faint light appeared in the back of the truck. He looked into the yellow glow and let out a slight gasp.

"Thorne!!"

"G'Day General," Terry looked at him with his usual expression of insubordinate challenge.

"I always said if I ever saw you again it would be too soon - but I owe you my thanks."

Terry shrugged, turning away from the man he had always disliked. "Don't bother, I did it for Pen and Henry, not for you."

The rest of the journey was silent. The General spent the time examining the man he had first set eyes on as a young undisciplined Aussie, so full of himself. The man who had nigh on broken his daughter's heart. When did he become the man he now saw in front of him? Years on, that brash selfish boy had become a man confident in his capabilities, battle scarred, proud, resourceful.

He saw a man who looked like he was still able to kill silently with his bare hands. Well why wouldn't he? They had trained him well all those years before. He also saw a man who was alone and maybe lonely. When he had looked him in the eyes he still saw dislike, that was understandable, but he also saw sadness deep down. This man had grown, changed, and was no longer the arrogant young soldier he had come to hate. He decided that when they got back to safety he should speak to Terry, if he would let him. It was time they resolved the rancour of the past.

It was dawn by the time they had made it back to the base unit. They left the truck and filed into the building in silence. Anton went away to make a brew. The three remaining men sat around the table looking at each other, saying nothing. Anton brought the tea and they all drank thankfully. Slowly they began to unwind and Dino slapped Terry on the shoulder on a job well done.

The General cleared his throat, "Do you have any idea why they took me?"

Dino looked at Terry and began to answer. Terry cut in. "It was nothing to do with you, General. They were using you as bait."

"What do you mean?"

"We think they’re after me, General," Dino said. "I got them thrown out of special forces and I guess it's payback time."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"NO!" snapped Terry. "We fly you out later today. You are going back to England. The other problem is ours."

It was obvious that he would not be crossed on this.