Chapter 6 – Fifteen
years ago eggs-actly (The Flashback Chapter)
Dave
and Frank were not exactly friends, nor were they enemies. They just happened
to go back a long way, but through a number of circumstances had ended up on
different sides of the law. Dave and Frank met while they were in the S A S
(Special Animal Service), serving together in Afghanistan and Iraq. When Dave
left the military and retuned to Civvy street, he was able join the police,
while Frank had suffered post traumatic stress disorder, and wasn’t able to
adjust to life after forces, despite a lot of help from Veterans support
groups. Inevitably, after some time sleeping rough and becoming drug dependent,
Frank turned to a life of crime. Eventually, he worked his way up the ranks and
was now able to live a comfortable life from ill-gotten gains. Frank maintains
a very different story where he now has a lot of different businesses and they
are all legit. Dave and Frank had not seen each other for twenty years – almost
to the day. The last time they saw each other had been in very different
circumstances……
(Sound of
bombs falling and machine gun fire).
It
was hot. Really hot, Lieutenant Woolfe and Corporal Fox were stationed in
Basra, Iraq, defending the city from rebel invasion. They were coming under
enemy fire, when Dave gave the order to retreat. Frank refused saying that
would all be killed, if they left their post. “They’re using cluster bombs, and
we’ll be collateral damage” shouted Frank, urging Dave to change his order.
“Alright alright” shouted Dave back, “Prepare to dig in. Today is not the day
we get killed by friendly fire”. The bombs continued to fall, and then suddenly
it went quiet. “They must be moving back their positions” Dave commented to
Frank, and ordered his unit to stay down, while he looked out from his lookout.
Without warning a single shot whistled past Dave’s ears. He was inches from
being a dead dog. Not giving a second thought for his own safety, Frank stood
up and fired two shots in the direction that the bullet had come from and took
out the sniper that had trained its sights on Dave. “Wow, that was close,
thanks mate”. Dave put his paw on Frank’s shoulder, acknowledging that the fast
fox had just saved his life. “No worries mate, I know you’d have done the same
for me”.
Dave
had never thought of himself as brave, and wondered whether he would have put
his life on line for his colleague. Dave and Frank fought in the S A S until
2007 when British forces withdrew from Basra. Having completed their tour, both
went back home where Dave left and joined the Police, and Frank was discharged
on health grounds. The next time they saw each other was ten years later…
Frank
ran a warehouse distribution service, and was one of the first to develop his
on-line sales service called “AMAZING”. It was amazing because you could get
absolutely anything, anytime anywhere. In fact the marketing blurb was
“Anything you want, anywhere you want it, anytime you want, AMAZING!”, It was often raided by the police, because
much of the merchandise had been come from the back of lorries. Although you
might expect goods from a warehouse distribution company to come from the back
of a lorry, you wouldn’t if it wasn’t legit. Dave knew full well that Frank’s
business was a little dodgy, but Frank always seemed to be able to keep one
step ahead of the law. That was until one winter evening five years ago. Dave
was in his police car when he received a 999 call. There had been a robbery at
the white goods factory. White goods are things like washing machines and
dishwashers and usually come in white, although other colours are available
(well, mainly silver).
Dave
intercepted the lorry that was being driven by Frank Fox. “Right sunshine”
barked Dave. “You’re nicked”. Dave pulled off Frank’s balaclava. ( A Balaclava
is not a type of sweet dish that you might find in Basra. That’s a baklava.
It’s a type of mask worn under a helmet – often worn by armed robbers and
forces personnel….). Dave realised that he had apprehended Frank.
“Right
Frank, what do ya think ya doin’?” asked Dave, looking both cross and
disappointed that Frank was driving the lorry. “I was just on my way back from
doing a pick up” explained Frank trying to sound innocent. “So why the
balaclava?” “Well…” Frank thought for a moment, “Its just that it is so cold
that I needed to use my ski mask to keep me warm”. “That might make sense
Frank, except it’s the same as the ones we had in Iraq. Open the back”. Frank
went round to back of the lorry and opened the louvre style door. Behind the
door was floor to ceiling boxes containing dishwashers, washing machines,
tumble driers, fridges freezers and so on.
Frank
though he might try his luck. “Look Dave, I’ll level with you. Not all the
paperwork might be in order. What do you say, if a new fridge freezer was to
find its way to your gaff” smiled Frank (Gaff is a term for house or flat – the
residence of the person or animal in question. “Listen Frank, I don’t want any
of your nonsense or any of your knock off gear.” Dave thought about what to do
next. “I’ve got a job to do Frank and you should really be doing a stretch for
this” (stretch means a custodial sentence at Her Majesty’s pleasure – i.e
prison).
“I’m
not gonna arrest you today. You’re gonna run off and I’m gonna confiscate your
lorry with all this stuff” explained Dave, knowing that he was bending the law
to let the fox who had once save his life, make a getaway. “Next time…..” They
looked at each knowingly. Frank knew that Dave knew, and Dave knew that Frank
knew. They both knew.
Frank
scurried away into the bushes just as two other police cars pulled up. “You
alright Dave?” asked one of the police officers. “Yeh, I’m fine” Dave said.
“The driver got away but at least I’ve managed to get the lorry” “Which way did
he go?” he asked. “I’m not sure. It was too dark to see”. This time Frank had
managed to get away.
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