War Torn

Chapter Forty-four

BILLY FINN TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT. ABOUT A WEEK LATER AN announcement was made that, as soon as the engineers had finished building the temporary base at Jackpot, 1 and 2 Platoons would be moving there for a week with the civilians. Patrols continued but oil exploration work was halted in the meantime.A Chinook arrived, kicking up a spiral of fine dust which reached high into the air like a storm. The back was opened and out came three men in flipflops, shorts and T-shirts. The lads stared at them. They were carrying kit but the most noticeable item was an old tin teapot dangling on a string from a Bergen. They were talking and laughing as if they had just arrived at their holiday destination and couldn’t wait to get their towels out by the pool before any Germans did.‘Who the hell are they?’ men asked each other. But not for long because the mail bags had been unloaded. People pounced on their blueys and took them to their cot or some other private corner to read them, like dogs dragging away bones to maul in private. As usual, Finn, who had nothing, watched other people reading their letters.‘All right, mate?’ he asked Mal.‘Yeah,’ said Mal. ‘Why?’‘You don’t look too happy.’‘I’m good.’‘Women trouble? One of your babes found a bloke with better wheels?’‘I told you, I’m blowing everything I earn here on a beamer when I get back, and I mean an M3. Women are going to be gagging for a ride with me, there are no better wheels.’Finn said in an undertone. ‘Listen. There’s a rumour going around that the blokes who arrived on the Chinook are SF.’Mal laughed out loud.‘Yeah, they look like big hard killing machines.’‘Well, who do you think they are?’‘Bunch of tossers.’Later, in the cookhouse, the lads were having a brew while Streaky gave them his minefield rap. He had been writing it in his head when he covered the rescue operation. It had taken the edge off his anxiety for Binman but now, a week later, it didn’t sound so special. The others listened impassively right to the end:

. . . It was a Russian who’s dead now who laid that mine then fled,The Russian didn’t guess it would take a British leg,A Russian soldier left two British boys for deadAnd the ragheads laughed and fired while Connor bled and bled.