Lara dashed out of Spains Hall the adrenaline coursing through her veins and mind stuck on the blood-soaked image of Vasquez allowed her to ignore how tired her body was feeling. The scariest sixty minutes of her life, so far. _Scary, but exciting_ thought Lara. The flame that roared inside her had started to flicker and simmer down as she made her way through the fields back to the safety net of Outpost #078.
****
“Archie… stop being such a moron” groaned Wren as they went about their reconnaissance mission around the campsite shop and homestead.
“Wren, I’ve not felt this limber and agile since I was ten years old” pleaded Archie… “If I want to roly-poly, I will roly-poly
“What the hell is a roly-poly? You mean forward roll?” Wren cringed “You British have such strange words and phrases. I thought roly poly was a bug until I came to this country, then I find out it is a dessert. Now you are telling me it is a forward roll. No wonder everyone finds the English language so confusing”.
“I think it has something to do with this Evasiveness proficiency. Since all of this started, none of my usual aches and pains have occurred. I feel… limber!” Archie exclaimed after completing his second consecutive front roll.
Wren stuck to the mission, into the property she filled her bag with long-lasting produce. Archie trailed her and retrieved Bob’s camouflage kit from his wardrobe. They both took stock of Bob and Maureen’s house. Everything looked as if it used to be neat and tidy; although the peace had been disturbed not just by the night with the wolves, but also the troops that had made the home their own for a number of days. Papers lay scattered across the floor, the fridge raided and all the cupboard and wardrobe doors hung open. Both, Archie and Wren glanced at each other. Maureen would be sad that her beautiful and meticulously decorated home had been left in such a state.
“Let’s tidy it up a little bit, it won’t be so bad for them if they decide to come back in here” Archie said. With that he and Wren quickly got to work, stacking up the papers and putting the house in order; Wren even gave the floors a clean with their Dyson cordless hoover.
“This is Archie. Over. Calling the base. Over. Sorry”
“Homebase. Message Received. We don’t know an Archie. Over.” Bob replied
“I mean Omega-Unit over”
“Understood… what do you want?” Bob sighed, giving up on the usual protocols.
“Erm, we will be about forty-five minutes to maybe an hour late, everything is fine. Don’t worry. Over”
“Stick to the mission. Over”
“Yep we will, thank you! Bye” Archie replied
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“Pop on an apron. Out” Bob chuckled
“Can they see us?!” Wren said in alarm
“They’re a wily old couple aren’t they! Hidden camera’s in here too huh? We should have spent more time at their monitors” Archie laughed, as he slowly and casually slide Maureen’s light pink apron over his neck “let’s give them a show”.
With that Wren and Archie doubled down. Bright yellow marigold gloves and feather dusters, they restored the house to its former glory over the next two hours. Tightening and securing the shutters that protected the downstairs entrances and windows, the house was now a real, viable place to live. Grabbing the hidden set of keys to the back door, they left the property and locked up.
Filling the remaining space in their bags with food and clothing from the shop they made their way back around to the secondary entrance to their Outpost. Maureen had warned that there may be surveillance equipment or eyes on the camp site, so for the avoidance of doubt they should exclusively utilise the secondary entrance for the foreseeable future.
A few radio calls later as well as trips back and further between the shop and their Outpost, Bob opened the camouflaged iron trap door for the final time. Archie and Wren had made five trips in total, filling their outpost with food, as well as extra equipment and clothing from the shop. They now had enough supplies for well over a year.
Making their way into the main room of the bunker they were met by the smell of freshly baked bread and a steaming hot pot of tea. Butter and Jam sat at the centre of the giant oak table. “Something nice for you both. You are so very kind” Maureen choked. “And we had a great laugh at you with those Marigolds on” Bob chipped in, his usual grin stretched widely across his cheerful face.
“It’s the least we could do, after all you have done for us!” Wren said as she wandered towards the centre of the room, drawn in by the enticing wafts of fresh bread. “A job well done” Bob beamed “although you really need to work on your radio calls”.
For just a moment, Archie and Wren stood motionless, taking it all in. The kindness of strangers, the gold and brown hues of the bread, the complex scents and the comforting warmth. A feeling of love, that both of them had not felt for so very long.
After a brief, yet powerfully emotional moment, the four of them laughed and joked, forgetting about the troubles of the world for a time. All of them brought together by the food, light conversation and Archie’s general tomfoolery. Bob teased them further by putting a DVD recording that he had burned in Maureens office on the big TV at the corner of the room. Played in double speed it showed Archie and Wren clumsily moving around the house above, aprons, gloves and feather dusters suited them.
The peace was broken by a radio call.
“Alpha-Unit to Homebase, come in”
Quick as a flash, Bob was on his mobile receiver “This is Homebase, over.”
“Alpha-Unit approaching final rendezvous point in T-minus two minutes, over.”
“Homebase, message received. Out”
“You see, Archie. That is how it’s done. Concise, nothing to give her identity away, nothing to explain where she is heading is the home-base and a timed warning for me to open the door.” Bob informed the room, continuing “much better than ‘heyyy Bob, I mean Homebase, I’m stood outside your door blah blah blah’… but don’t worry, it will come with practice”
“Sorry Bob!” Archie said, amazed at Bob’s ability to go from a jovial and playful mood over lunch and then straight into action and command on the radio, as seamless as the flick of a switch. It was clear to Wren and Archie that Bob had seen a lot in his time on earth and probably been witness to many atrocities and hardships during his time in the service. Whilst Bob kept everyone around him happy, engaged and prepared there were moments in the evenings when Archie would catch Bob, his eyes glazed over, lost in memories he would soon rather forget. A conversation for another time thought Archie.