Part   Thirty Two   "Kippered"

For all of Tammy's adventures ---> Click Here

 
Sunday 21st May 2017
 

They arrived at the NAAFI at eight, Kyle having decided that a later start was a good idea.

"Won't that mean we leave here later?"

"Not necessarily, Tammy."

There was no sign of Sub Lt Monica Forster but Tammy was a little shocked to see Capt Marcus Wade arrive.

"Good morning, er, Captain."

"At ease, Lieutenant."

Tammy wondered if Marcus truly expected the protocol or if it was just for show. The café wasn't busy but there were plenty of uniformed officers in the area some of whom it seemed knew the Broadsword Captain.

She'd finished her breakfast and stuck to just one coffee but no-one showed any sign of movement. Tammy made her excuses and went to the loo. She was back several minutes later and felt as if she'd done wrong, judging by the various faces.

"Ah good, they're ready for us."

Tammy followed Kyle and Marcus down to the Diving building where she was instructed to change into a wetsuit and to then put on a full rebreather set.

"I hope I'm not expected to walk down to the dock like this?"

Kyle ignored the comment but handed Tammy a torch, with a wrist trap, to carry as well as a sheathed knife for her belt. "You might need these."

Outside a Landrover was waiting for them, although Tammy struggled to get in the back with her flippers. They drove past the dock she had visited the previous evening and round to a small, apparently unused, dock that had been roped off. Two other divers were already waiting there, and an RN officer took over.

"Lt Smart, I am your examiner today and you will follow my instructions to the letter or you will fail. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

He explained the test was to locate and retrieve an aircraft black box within a twenty minute period. The search area, he said, was ten metres square, there were walls on three sides.

A few minutes later she lowered herself into the water using a rusting ladder and wasn't impressed with the temperature. The other two divers, it transpired, were there for her safety and wouldn't take part in the test. Tammy set her mouthpiece, checked her torch and went under. She knew she was searching for an orange box, rather than a black one, but visibility was very poor. She tried to orientate herself and that wasn't working but she didn't want to surface unnecessarily.

Tammy swam down to the bottom and her torch picked out debris and litter, any of which could do her injury if she snagged it. She swam forward until she found a wall then followed it to the left until she found open water, and then back to the right. So far she had found a number of orange coloured items which had clearly been placed to frustrate her, but there was no sign of the black box.

Only a few times did she catch sight of the other divers as visibility was about one metre using the torch, next to nothing without it. She started a search pattern, working from the open water back towards the rear wall of the dock. After a few minutes of starting this search she noticed a small corner of something orange buried in a pile of muck, rope and seaweed. She removed her knife and used it to dig around her target.

When she had exposed some more of the box she confirmed it was a mock-up of an aircraft data recorder; all of the Smart Air fleet had to carry them so she was very aware of what to look for. When she went to pick it up, however, it was caught. Tammy swam around to look from the opposite side and found it was wrapped in fishing line which was near invisible and secured to a ring set into the dock floor. She cut the line and put her knife away so she had a free hand to catch the now buoyant box.

Time elapsed was fifteen minutes when she surfaced.

"Well done. Your next task is to re-secure it."

Tammy wasn't expecting a second part to the test but checked her air, she had an hour available, and went back in. She couldn't reuse the fishing line as she'd cut it in several places in releasing the box, so she needed something else. She had found several short lengths of rope during her search but now they couldn't be seen. She could, however, find the site that she'd located the box and there was plenty of seaweed there. She wrapped seaweed around the box and found lengths long enough to go around for camouflage but she wasn't convinced it would do for tying the thing down.

She swam to the opposite side of the site and her torch picked out a length of blue nylon rope, this was suitable for her needs and she trapped seaweed under the rope to disguise it. Satisfied with her work, she surfaced and gave the examiner the 'task complete' hand sign. He nodded and indicated she could get out of the water, helped by Kyle.

The two safety divers now climbed out and one went to speak to the examiner, who then approached Tammy.

"Lt Smart, it seems your rope work is adequate and the box wouldn't free itself, well done."

She was driven back to the Diving building and, under orders to be quick, showered and dressed in ten minutes flat. The examiner was waiting for her when she emerged, "Come with me."

Their destination was a small room with a desk and seats for three, Tammy didn't recognise the officer who was already in the room but decided that he was likely to be just an observer.

"Lieutenant Smart, take me through the steps you need to take before you enter the water."

Tammy listed all the safety and equipment checks, adding that a safe entry point was also required as well as a dive companion or shore support. The examiner nodded at various times and made notes as she spoke.

"You're in the water and another diver indicates they have a problem with their air supply, what signal do they use?" Tammy indicated appropriately. "Now, what steps can you take?"

Tammy hadn't rehearsed sharing a supply and hadn't used a a spare air tank in practise although Kyle had demonstrated one and she had watched a video covering this emergency, she explained that and then repeated what she had learned from the video.

The questions continued for another ten minutes and the examiner made more notes but he finally put his pen down.

"Lieutenant, I am satisfied that you can dive safely."

"Thank you, Sir."

He indicated the door and Tammy bowed her head before leaving, finding Kyle and Marcus outside.

"Well?"

"I passed."

"So we didn't waste the weekend, after all?"

"No, er, Sir."

"Go collect your kit bag and meet us in the training room."

Tammy was almost immediately stopped in a corridor.

"Where are you going, young lady?"

"To collect my bag from the Dive room."

"Where's your pass?"

Tammy looked down, her NATO ID was missing. "Ah, it must still be in my bag, I've just done a dive test."

"You're not Royal Navy?"

"No, Army, and two Captains are waiting for me. Can I get to my bag?"

She was escorted and was able to satisfy the uniformed enquirer that she was on base with permission as she also had an unescorted pass, albeit tucked into a side pocket of her bag.

Kyle wasn't pleased with her delay.

"I couldn't help it, I forgot to put my ID back on."

"So you could have helped it?"

"I was almost chased out of the shower!"

"If you're looking for sympathy and understanding, you're out of luck, Lieutenant. Very lucky to not having to deal with the Provost right now." Kyle wasn't going to give in.

"So where was my induction training?" She stared at Marcus.

"She has a point, Kyle, I did say not to go too hard on her."

"But insolence is no good in an operational team."

"That's unlikely to be Tammy's role for a while, Kyle."

Tammy dropped her bag and put her hands on her hips. "So what is my role going to be?"

"We're working on it, sit down."

She did as Marcus asked, "what are we going to do now?"

"Coffee first, when it arrives, then a debrief."

The coffee arrived a few minutes later and was accompanied by flapjacks so Tammy's mood improved, although some chocolate Hobnobs would also have been nice.

"Tammy, take me through your planning for this trip? Step by step."

She thought back and tried to remember when she first told Jim or her father that she was flying out for the weekend. "The date changed so I had to let Jim know, so my plane would be ready. I think I used my mobile for those calls, so there will be a record of them."

"We already have your phone records so that tallies."

"Is nothing sacred?"

"Not when intelligence is involved. Now, what happened when you arrived at the airport?"

"There was this idiot behind me at the gate, my airside pass was in the boot and he was getting frustrated. The usual gate security guy wasn't there, otherwise I'd have been waved through."

"Can you describe the driver and the car?"

"To be honest, no."

"Have you seen him before, or since?"

"Not that I remember."

"We have the gate CCTV, courtesy of the Police, but the car had false plates. We're still looking for the driver."

"Could he be the one who phoned in the report?"

"That's the current theory."

"What about the decision to divert me?"

"Your plane didn't have any flags on the CAA database when it was checked and was a fairly recent registration, so they erred on the side of caution."

"Should there have been a flag?"

"Strictly yes, but that applies to civilian aircraft being used by the military and most of the time your plane isn't in military usage, plausibly deniable to the casual observer."

"Wouldn't it give me additional problems if I flew into a major airport - Edinburgh for example?"

"No, I'm told that under normal circumstances the registration isn't checked against that part of the database."

"So it would help if a query was raised? Or rather help prevent my plane being trashed by so-called friendly forces?"

"Quite, and we've asked the USAF for an explanation."

"Marcus, doesn't that mean disclosing that I'm working for you?"

"We submitted the request at a fairly high level, where such issues are irrelevant."

"How long before a response and an admission of criminal damage?"

"To be honest, an admission is very unlikely."

"In which case it seriously looks like there will be no compensation to fix my plane? It runs into the several thousands right now, plus labour."

"Insurance cover?"

"I suspect it's not covered for these circumstances, I'm sure there's an exclusion clause that mentions interception by supersonic fighters?"

"Possibly, Tammy."

"In summary, you don't know for sure who made the call, why my plane was damaged, why I was targeted or how the hell this can all be fixed?"

"That's about it."

"Great. I'll also have to work out how much I'm out of pocket for the weekend, Marcus. You know I had to replace lingerie because those idiots managed to open a new bottle of shampoo over my knickers?"

"I was told, I'll email you the appropriate form."

"Has Kyle reported on everything so far this weekend?"

"Yes."

Tammy wasn't overly surprised but she couldn't recall see Kyle using his phone apart from ordering take-aways. "Okay, Marcus, what now?"

"That, Tammy, is my question. Congratulations, you've qualified as a basic diver, but where does that fit in?"

"Great, you answered a question with another question, how do I know? I mean, it's a nice skill but when would I ever use it?"

"That depends on the circumstances at any given time."

"Which means nothing."

"Yes, Tammy, but it's a military way of saying 'we don't know but we'll train you anyway'."

"Do you have any more courses lined up for me?"

"Not yet, but I would like you to do a self defence course and some weapons refreshers."

"I'm qualified with my firearms."

"Not the SA80 or the HMG."

"Check with the range officer at Wattisham, I posted a decent score with the SA80. As for the HMG, when am I ever going to use a Heavy Machine Gun? I'm not planning a trip to Bogota in the near future?"

"I hope that was an attempt at humour?"

"Oh, has the crime rate come down in Colombia?"

Kyle was trying to stifle a laugh. "She has a point, Marcus."

"Look," Tammy tried to be serious, "what is it that you have planned for me? I want to move on from my previous attachment but so far you've dragged me here, dragged me there, trained me on some aspects and ignored everything else. I've had to extricate myself from places that no civilian should be in and I'm still none the wiser?"

"We'll have that conversation another time, Tammy, my time today is limited."

"So, in other words, you don't have the time to answer some simple questions?"

"Your simple questions don't have simple answers, Tammy, and now is not the time."

Capt Marcus Wade left the room, Tammy kept her tongue as there was nothing Kyle could do and apparently Marcus wasn't much better in that regard.

"Tammy, why don't we grab an early lunch then get going? I think we've done enough here."

---

Kyle had booked them rooms at Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel and dropped Tammy outside with both kit bags so she could check in. She had a sense of deja-vu as her room was the same one she'd used two years earlier.

Tammy opted to shower and change out of her fatigues and into something more casual, she was doing her face when Kyle knocked on the door.

"Sorry, I took longer than I thought."

"Was there a problem?"

"The nearest car rental is at the airport so I had to get the shuttle back here. I see you changed?"

"Well, yeah. What are you going to do?"

"I'll take my bag and have a shower, then I have a report to write."

"About me?"

"Yes."

Tammy checked the time. "It's three now, I'm going to have a look around the shops."

"You might want to have a look at the scuba stockists?"

"Okay."

Tammy hadn't mentioned Kerri's offer of a complete scuba set to Kyle, or Marcus, and decided that they didn't need to know. Indeed, Marcus wasn't prepared to discuss some things in front of Kyle so Tammy wasn't expecting to see much of Kyle in the future.

She checked the trains for the following morning, a 1010am departure from Queen St station would get her to Thurso after six in the evening. Unfortunately her car was at Wick airport so it would be close to seven by the time she reached home.

Another train ten minutes earlier to Edinburgh, and onwards to that city's airport, could get her to Wick via Loganair by two in the afternoon so that was preferable. One small problem, her firearm would cause huge problems at Edinburgh Airport. Right now she was faced with an eight hour train journey.

Her first call didn't get an answer, she tried a different number.

"Dad, I'm in Glasgow."

"Okay, so you are travelling back tomorrow?"

"Yes, and right now I could really do with my plane."

"There's not much we can do, sorry."

"Any chance of a pick-up from here or Edinburgh?"

"I don't know, why don't you call Jim?"

"I tried, Dad, no answer."

"Why can't you take a commercial flight?"

"I'll set off all the alarms with something metallic."

"Oh, why did you have to take that?"

"Standard practice, and not a problem with a private plane."

"Well, I'm sorry but it looks like a train ride for you."

"Yeah, I'll see you in the evening. Oh, there's a load of mail for you now."

Tammy pulled on a jacket and picked up her bag, retail therapy beckoned and the Princes Square shopping centre was just a few roads away. She had nothing in mind when she entered the mall but her mind started to look forward to the summer. She had an idea of going to one of the music festivals, but there was no chance of a ticket to Glastonbury only four weeks away. She decided she would spend the summer, or at least some of it, in a warmer area. Her target was a decent supply of shorts and tops.

Her phone was ringing as she left Zara. "Hello Kyle."

"Where are you?"

"Shopping, why?"

"You weren't in your room?"

"Did you seriously think I'd sit there when there were loads of shops nearby? I did say where I was going."

"I thought you might have been back by now, I guess I don't think the same way as you?"

"One day you'll learn the difference between boys and girls, Kyle."

"I think I already know some of that Tammy, let me book us a table for the evening?"

"Okay, but let there be wine?"

"Sure, we're not likely to get a call now? Things are fairly quiet right now."

"Hey, don't ever use the Q word!"

"Do you like French, Italian or something else?"

"Designers?"

"No, Tammy, food?"

"Surprise me."

Tammy dived back into Zara and found a dress for the night. Ann Summers was across the road so she located a strapless pushup bra and matching knickers as well as a pair of sheer tights. She had one pair of heels with her and those would have to suffice.

Next was a dash across to the Sassoon Salon. Finding a salon still open gone 4pm on a Sunday was a challenge, and would have been impossible in Thurso. She knew it wouldn't be cheap but she did want to make an impact.

Tammy reached the place and was told, sorry, that they were fully booked.

Her phone didn't help, it seemed that most of the hair salons in Glasgow were closed on a Sunday, and Mondays. She had passed a branch of Boots so went back for some volumiser conditioner and a suitable brush, the hair do would have to be a DIY job. She hadn't worn more than clear nail varnish all weekend so picked up a bottle of a deep red, that required a matching lippy and soon Tammy had a basket of beauty products.

Finally, just before five, she was back in her room. Her phone pinged:
 

You're back? Table booked for six thirty

 

Only an hour and a half to get ready?

 

Women!

 
Tammy went back into the shower and paid extra attention to her hair before blow drying it for twenty minutes. Her nails followed, using the hairdryer on cool to accelerate the drying process. She was just putting her shoes on when Kyle knocked on the door.

"Aren't you ready?"

"Almost."

"You do look wonderful, Tammy."

"Thank you." She reached up and kissed his cheek. "I just need a jacket, is it far?"

"No, it's a hundred yards from the hotel, you'll be fine."

"I have a cardigan, I think I will need it." Tammy's frock fully exposed her shoulders so she covered herself for the walk.

It wasn't far to Gusto, an Italian bistro and Tammy enjoyed the meal, finally relaxing after an interesting few days.

"What time are you off tomorrow?"

"There's a train at 1010 to Inverness, right now I'm going to be on it."

"My team have left Aberdeen and are now heading to Inverness."

"To Fort George?"

"Yes, so it looks like I'm on the same train as you."

Kyle suggested a Bavarian brasserie that was next to the restaurant but Tammy was starting to ache everywhere. "I could do with a massage."

"Muscles complaining?"

"Yes, calve muscles especially - Ouch!"

"Cramp?"

"Yes!"

They made it to Tammy's room and she laid on her bed as Kyle worked on her legs.

"Your tights need to come off."

"Okay, but don't ladder them!"

 
Monday 22nd May 2017
 

Tammy woke to the sound of her mobile, although she first had to reach past Kyle. The display said it was half past seven.

"Hello?"

"It's Jim, your father says you're looking for transport?"

"Yes, I can't fly commercial so I'm stuck with the train, and my car's at the hanger."

"Can you be at Inverness by two?"

"Err, yes, I think the train gets there about half one."

"Pete's doing some jobs to and from the rigs off Moray this morning and should be done around two."

"You're a miracle worker Jim, thanks!"

She turned back towards Kyle just in time to see his bare rear disappear into the bathroom. Tammy decided against modesty so padded into the shower cubicle as she was and turned the water on, trying to avoid getting her hair wet.

By the time she was wrapped in a large towel Kyle had left for his own room with barely a word. Tammy pulled out the last clean set of underwear and sorted out something to wear over it. She ignored her make-up for the time being, then started to pack everything into her bag. She left her phone charger out and plugged her phone in, somehow she'd forgotten it the previous night.

Kyle came for her at eight fifteen. "Breakfast?"

Tammy wasn't certain how to handle him, and this wouldn't be helped by their upcoming three hour train journey together. She certainly hadn't intended for things to get out of hand and right now hoped she wouldn't be simply his latest conquest, but she equally had no long-term intentions; she did her best to keep her emotions in check and decided food would be an excellent way to clear her head.

She went for the full Scottish breakfast, something that isn't approved for anyone on a weight loss plan, although Kyle had opted for the kippers and Tammy was now thinking about catching a different train altogether.

"Kippers?"

"Thought I'd try them, not the sort of breakfast I've had on base before."

Don't worry, the repeats are renowned, you'll have plenty of chances to taste them."

"Oh."

"Watch out for the bones as well."

Tammy could easily detect the fish, over the melée of smells from her own plate, and was trying desperately for it not to spoil her own food. Kyle finished his jammy toast some time before Tammy so she sent him to get a few newspapers. He was back ten minutes later, as Tammy was finishing her coffee.

"Kyle, firstly, what happened last night was a one-off. There won't be a repeat and it's unlikely we'll be working together in the near future."

"Tammy, after everything else I thought we could have some fun but I didn't expect anything to actually happen. You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, and yes I'm on the pill."

"Okay, good, err."

"Look, can we put that aside? I'd like you to ring your men in Inverness and get a car to the station for one twenty five. You can drop me at Inverness Airport as it's on the way to the fort, it saves us both the hassle of a taxi."

"Okay."

"The other thing, we're right next to Glasgow Central but the train goes from Queen St so we'll need a taxi, be a dear and sort that please? I'm going up to my room to finish off."

Tammy retreated and freshened herself before applying light make-up, her nails were still red and she didn't have any varnish remover so they stayed as the were.

They arrived at Queen St with plenty of time to spare. According to the platform information a trolley service would be serving drinks and snacks but Tammy sent Kyle to one of the coffee bars to get a large Americano for her.

The train wasn't heavily loaded and the pair managed to grab a 4 seat bay between them. Tammy picked up her coffee and opened one of the newspapers so she could catch up with the weekend's news. On a whim she put her coffee down and picked up her phone, she searched the Scotsman site for any record of her incident at Prestwick but there was nothing. A google search brought a similarly negative response.

One story caught her eye, however, apparently there had been an incident at the University of the Highlands & Islands in Thurso on Thursday, and a member of staff had been arrested by counter terrorist officers; no further details were available.

She picked up her coffee again just as the train set off, homeward at last. The smell of smoked herrings was hanging in the air and there was nothing she could do about it.