Chapter 51: Getting Ready

I left the range, after allocating responsibilities to various people, including who should supervise what was happening. In most cases, this meant that one of my team that assisted in training normally, was running each exercise. Most of the guys took it in the spirit it was intended, following instruction quite easily, and those who didn't would be noted and I would probably excuse them from any operations.

I decided that this was a good time to make some administrative arrangements and made myself comfortable on a director's chair where I could be far enough away from what was happening to be out of ear-shot and close enough to still observe what was happening. Once I had settled down, I hauled out my phone and started calling.

I was looking for kit; I realised that with a private operation like this, I would have to provide all the kit myself that would normally be part of the issue if we were working officially. One of my major concerns was the possibility of injuries to any member of my team, so I started calling some connections.

One of my friends owned and operated a factory in Pinetown that made all the protective gear that I could want, and I tried him first. Once I had explained in general terms what I was doing, he was very sympathetic and I extracted a promise from him to donate some of his kit. When I hung up the phone, Daise gave me an enquiring look, and asked "What equipment is that guy going to provide, Rupert?"

"There are two main things I want from him," I answered. "An under clothing protective vest and a jacket that looks like a wind-breaker, but has ballistic protection. We can put plates into the jacket to provide protection against 7.62 rounds and it still doesn't look like a bullet-proof vest."

"Is his stuff that special?"

"I think it is. There's an amusing story that he tells. He was in the parking centre of a shopping lot in Pinetown, and saw some guy stopping his motor-bike. He noticed that the guy was wearing a helmet that he recognised as one that he had made. He asked the guy where he had gotten the helmet and the guy told him that he was just back from Afghanistan and he got the helmet there. Turns out that the helmet was made in Pinetown, exported to the USA, sent across to Afghan where this guy was issued it and then he brought it home and was wearing it not more than a klick away from where it was made."

Daise laughed. "That's amazing. is his kit good though?"

"Yes. I've seen the tests that they do and if the bullets hit one of the plates, then they are stopped. The vest and jacket will only stop hand-gun rounds though. I figure wearing both the vest and the jacket will provide double protection, and adding the plates to the jacket will add some protection from rifle rounds. It won't stop everything, but it is certainly better than nothing. The real reason that I want his stuff though is that it doesn't look like anything other than normal clothing so the guys won't stand out."

"And what about me? Do I get to wear some of that stuff?"

"Yup. I asked him for a few sets made for women."

"Thank you darling," Daise said, and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I returned to my phone. There were a few other things I wanted to source.