Female Snipers. Greg Pius
Blushing Nahid said in reply using a conspiratorial tone of voice,
"Florence you will be a great rebel leader. I have faith in you. My days are long gone but your day is coming. Thank you for your friendship."
Later as Florence was saying her goodbyes Nahid came up to her to give her a big hug. There were tears of gratitude in Florence's eyes as she walked to her car. She thought that with rebel women like Nahid Fitzgerald to act as role models the rebel cause had to succeed.
Duplicity
The refugee camp, almost six hundred kilometers due north of the harbor city, was humming with activity. Colonel Hutch Matterson was doing his monthly inspection tour. Of course he never found anything because he arrived on the same date each month. This would be surprising if it was not also the day that Hera Feelgood had her half day. So he was able to do his duty then take the woman he loved to a long lunch. Hannah looked after Mossy which was easy given that her niece was in her gifted and talented students class for that afternoon each month. Everything worked out to the mutual benefit of these three people. Hutch Matterson could continue to see Hera in a social setting. Hera got to get out of the refugee camp for one afternoon to be a normal woman enjoying lunch with a man who loved her. Hannah got to develop her nieces remarkable literacy skills before she left for boarding school down south. Mossy got to see her busy aunt to show here how grown up she was so that her aunt could tell her mother to stop treating her like a little girl.
Hutch Matterson was stunned when Hera joined him at the only restaurant in their outback town. Dressed in her newest clothes Hera reminded him of that young woman her saw at the Casino down south. Still a very beautiful woman, Hera was now smiling broadly as she let herself relax and lowered her mask in front of this trustworthy man. She noticed the impact she was having on Hutch, smiling inside at her ability to still completely disarm this war hero. In fact she noticed that Hutch was speechless so Hera opened the conversation with a teasing remark. In a wicked tone of voice she said
"Why Hutch Matterson I do believe that you have become a stunned mullet. Where is my welcome kiss? Or am I not pretty enough for you?"
Recovering from his gawking state Hutch replied in an awed tone of voice,
"Hera you get more beautiful every time I see you. That is a stunning outfit but where did you get that marvelous tan?"
Hera laughed her crystal bell laugh before saying in a mock shocked tone of voice,
"Fratinising with the civilian population. You will never get promoted doing that now will you Hutch darling."
Right after the words left her mouth Hera wanted to kick herself. She well knew that Hutch had been denied any promotion for six years. With real concern in her voice she gushed,
"Oh Hutchy I am so sorry. Please forget I said that.You deserve a better friend than me. Please forgive me."
Actually Hutch had no intention of forgetting what Hera had said because it included her last word "darling". He was thrown into a romantic stupor by hearing these words from Hera's lips. Realizing that she was waiting for a reply Hutch used his friendliest tone of voice to gush out these words,
"Nothing to forgive. Its not your fault that I have not got a promotion since I was sent here. Probably just my own fault. I must have done something wrong. Maybe I am not meant for the army senior ranks. My father was right all those years ago."
Now Hera got angry. Not at Hutch but at the incompetent army promotions board for ignoring such a fine man and officer. She raised her voice using a firm tone of voice,
"Now Hutch Matterson. You are not to do that to yourself. You are the best officer the Australian army has by a long way. You have done nothing wrong. Your father was not right. You are a brilliant army officer. It makes my blood boil to think that old men can hold back the career of someone as talented as you. I've a good mind to march down there and tell them all off for wasting such a talent as yours on simply guarding their butts from rebel smuggling."
Hutch now laughed with genuine pleasure. He had forgotten how loyal Hera was to her friends. Even as a teenager when they were picked on by a local youth gang terrorizing teenagers in the town near Hera's family estate, Hera had stood up to the bullies when they cornered Hutch. Her flaming eyes and angry face scared off those country thugs. Now she was the lioness once again, defending her pride and, and he hoped to dream, her man.
Hutch took Hera's hands in his as he looked her in the face to say in a tender tone of voice,
"You always have my back don't you Hera darling. I am the luckiest man in the world."
The smile he got back melted his last reservations from his heart. Then Hera said,
"I am not really that hungry today. Besides we have already exhausted all that is on their menu. Why don't we order a picnic basket so we can go down to that river spot that you and I love. Suddenly I don't want to share you with anyone else."
With his heart in his mouth Hutch could not reply. So he nodded his head vigoriously.
After the picnic the two of them were lying on the bank of the local river. Hera was so close to Hutch he was being swamped with her perfume. Then she touched his face. He leaned to kiss her at just the right moment. They were about to get very naughty when both their smartphone went ballistic. Hera switched her's off a second before Hutch. They then looked deep into each others eyes and gave themselves completely up to this rare romantic interlude.
Hera said in a hushed tone of voice,
"I love you Hutch!"
Straight away Hutch said'
"I have always loved you Hera but not more than I love you right now."
Hera sighed as she sank into the arms of the man she loved.
The Rebel Alliance was very grateful of this monthly opportunity to facilitate their smuggling activities at this northern refugee camp. Bill Han was inducting the latest recruit to the vagaries of running the army blockade of that camp. He had read a letter from a dead man. This dead man recommended the sniper skills of the eighteen year old female in front of him. That was all Han needed to second her to his team. If Flint said she was that good she must be a brilliant shot. The rebel cause was short of decent snipers. Apart from their number one sniper Amelia Leong, they did not have anyone to match the army commando snipers. The Doras triplets in particular were cutting a swaith through their ranks of fit fighters. So Han hoped that they did not run into any commando patrol. Just outside the camp he halted to bring his inductees within whispering range. He said in a low, sobering tone of voice
"Up to this point we have had it relatively easy. Now comes the hard part. To get inside that refugee camp we have to outwit a whole army battalion. We do this by using coded messages. It its safe for us to enter by our prearranged tunnel then we get this code: RIDDLES!. If at any time there is danger, the code that we get on our smartphone is : FIRE. If we have to wait whilst moving in the tunnel we get the code: EGG. When there is a desperate need for total silence as we move into the camp we get the code: ONION. You newbies must remember this code!"
There is always one who wants to ask a question. Han noticed that it was Zaheer Anaheed . Shades of her stepfather he thought before saying in a cross tone of voice,
"Yes Zaheer what is it now?"