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‘You realise, of course, that even if I did fall over on eto sort out all my problems, then there’s still the issue that he’s an infantry colonel and therefore nothing to do with our ht thousand of us out here in Razorwire, we’re hardly likely to cross paths’

‘So, you are at least open to the mere possibility of it?’

Fliss rolled her eyes

‘If that’s what you want to take from what I said, then fine’

‘Good’ Elle nodded, swiping half a round of uneaten toast from Fliss’s plate ‘By the way, did I ht-hundred briefing?’

Fliss groaned Colonel Si Officer of their h proportion of the medical team, a civilian volunteer This was his second tour to Razorwire and Fliss both respected and liked hiht-hour shift, all she’d been looking forward to was eating her scra to her fro container she and Elle shared

It was because of her tiredness that it took her a ister Elle’s affected air of innocence

‘Wait, I have a briefing? What for?’

‘H Colonel Waterson is arriving’

‘Ah’

Both women fell into a few seconds of respectful silence They’d only met him once, but Colonel Waterson’s death had been a shock Razoras in a non-combat environment, its task to help local communities rebuild and improve But the former infantry colonel hadn’t been content to stay behind a desk and had flown out, on a spurious task, to a danger zone some six hundred miles away His death had knocked the rest of the caged into an internal investigation which, though standard, had the effect of further dragging down their already low morale

Fliss could only hope that the arrival of their new Co Officer would help the infantry unit to heal Not least because that particular infantry unit provided the protection units, or Quick Reaction Forces, for any other teaistics to her own medical team

‘Anyway—’ Elle broke the silence fir that, especially out here, far from home, it didn’t pay to dwell ‘—since the new colonel’s men form the four-man QRF teams ith on a daily basis, Simon felt we should meet him’

Fliss narrowed her eyes at her friend She should have seen the set-up co from the start

‘And this CO, is he by any chance the all-singing, all-dancing Colonel Man Candy?’