commander was out of earshot, Dave started.‘Right, shitheads, I don’t ever want to hear that fucking backchat again. Not ever. Anyone who gives lip in this platoon gets gripped by me. And you know I’m not nice. Because lip in the FOB is soon going to turn into lip the other side of the hesco and if shitheads don’t do what they’re told out there then there’s only one fucking outcome. And that’s more casualties. Got it?‘Since some of you have got such short memories, I’m going to remind you what we told you before deploying to Afghanistan and what we told you when we got here. One in ten of you goes home in a body bag or fucked up for life. And it’s going to be a fucking sight more than that if you don’t work in a team. Look around you. Look at the lad sitting next to you. He might not go home. He’s looking at you. You might not go home. Think about it before you try to be funny next time. Because corpses can’t laugh.‘So wind your necks in and get on with your jobs. I want to see some teamwork. And let’s hope I’m not phoning the hospital at Bastion to see how you are after tomorrow.’He was angry. But it was hard to be very angry after the men had been given such a bad set of orders.They trooped out in silence. Some exchanged glances. Some, like Jamie Dermott, still looked embarrassed. Others, like Sol Kasanita, just looked unhappy.‘You can stay behind,’ Dave said as Finn passed him. Finn studied the ground. Dave waited until the room was empty.‘Time for you and me to have a little talk, Billy Finn . . .’Face reddening, Finn continued to stare at the footmarks the men had left in the Cowshed’s dust. For once, he made no attempt to respond. When he was finally dismissed he left slowly, the setting sun throwing a long, faltering shadow before him.Dave found Boss Weeks alone in the ops room.‘I was piss poor, wasn’t I?’ the platoon commander said. ‘I just don’t seem to be getting any better at it.’Dave smiled. In spite of everything, he couldn’t help liking Boss Weeks.‘If you don’t mind me saying so, sir, it’s a bad idea to involve the lads in the full strategic picture. Each man needs to know what he’s doing, but if you give him too much detail he gets confused. And if you explain everything to everyone, they think they have the right to contribute. Or the cocky ones do, anyway.’‘I knew that. But it’s the same every time. I open my mouth and it all goes out of the window.’‘I’ve dealt with Lance Corporal Finn,’ Dave said. ‘I can guarantee you won’t have a problem with him again.’‘Has he often challenged orders in the past?’‘He’s a bright lad and a very good soldier. But he never stops talking and he’s still got a lot more to learn.’Boss Weeks looked down at the ground. ‘He’s not the only one,’ he said quietly.
THE FLAT WAS ONE SPECIALLY RESERVED FOR FAMILIES VISITING wounded men at Selly Oak hospital. It was lovely, at least it had been before Leanne filled it up with all their stuff. There was no lift and she had made many journeys carrying baby paraphernalia up and down the stairs, the twins screaming and trying to follow her each time she left them for the next load.There was no sign of her mother. Because she was lost. Of course. And probably too flustered to use her mobile.Leanne looked at her watch again and again, aware that visiting time had begun and that Steve was waiting for her. Maybe she should just go, and take the twins. But everyone had told her not to do that. She would be unable to have the conversation with Steve she had waited such a long time for. And the hospital couldn’t really want children on these wards, not for long.The old Leanne would have blustered her way in. But now she didn’t have the confidence. Steve had lost a leg and God knew what else, while she had lost some other things that probably didn’t even have a name. Bits of herself. The bits that usually didn’t worry and thought they could cope with any crisis. She had always been good in a crisis. But this wasn’t a crisis. This was the rest of her life.At last she heard the sound of her mother’s car outside.Leanne jumped up with a twin under each arm and ran down the stairs.‘Nana! It’s Nana!’ she told them. That tone of anticipation again, intended to whip kids up into a frenzy of excitement. The same tone everyone used when telling the twins they would soon see Daddy again. Except that the boys were only eighteen months old and might already have forgotten who Daddy was. They probably thought he was some sort of chocolate bar they’d get if they were good.Leanne’s mother sat behind the wheel, her face red, her hair dishevelled.‘What a journey!’ she said to Leanne before greeting the boys.Leanne put down the twins and crossed her arms. ‘You got lost. Just like I said you would.’‘Well the signs aren’t clear enough. They don’t tell you anything!’As her mother heaved herself out of the car, Leanne glanced at her scalp. Her mum’s roots were showing and a lot of them were grey now.The boys ambushed their grandmother. She picked one up but the effort made her breathless. The other pounded with his fists at her skirt.‘Oh, Leanne, I’ll have to sit down for a while before you leave me with them,’ she said. For a moment, Leanne hated her. She hated her mother for getting older. One day she would be too old to help at all.‘But visiting time’s going to end soon, Mum.’‘They’ll have to let you in anyway, Leanne. If they try to keep you out they’ll have me to answer to.’Leanne recognized in her mother the firm, confident woman she herself used to be.They went up the stairs and Leanne’s mother admired the flat and Leanne made her a cup of tea and saw to her amazement that her own hand was shaking as she put the sugar in.‘You not having a cuppa?’ asked her mother.‘Mum, I really want to get to the hospital. And I have to walk there because of the parking.’ Leanne never walked anywhere if she could help it.Her mother pursed her lips.‘Switch on the telly!’ Leanne suggested, switching it on herself. She fetched her handbag. Its familiar, shapeless bulges felt reassuring, like an old friend.‘I must go, Mum. You’ll be all right.’Her mother put down her tea with a pained expression. Both the twins ran to Leanne and hung onto her.‘I’m going to visit Daddy now,’ she told them. She wanted to say something nice.
