Her final target in view, Jade aligned her sights and locked on to her target. She then casually looked away, turning her head to send a closed-lip smile toward the starting point before squeezing the trigger and firing the double-tap, two resounding pings reporting the kill.
Straightening, she strolled back to the entry to stares, gawks and held-open jaws. Jade simply leaned her rifle against her shoulder and grinned at the group of young soldiers. “Nice try, boys. Better luck next time.”
“You looked a little pissed out there,” Lauren said when Jade got near. “Did they try to trip you up?”
“Yeah, they tried.”
“Just like you thought they would.”
Jade nodded, brow furrowed. “Intentions aren’t hard to gauge if you know what to look for, Lauren. Like I said, this isn’t my first time being the new girl.”
“Also, it is evident that this was not your first time running those weapons,” Woo Tang added, a brow raised. “Impressive run, Jade Hensley.”
“Seconded,” Lauren said. “And new girl or not, you just presented those guys a new challenge.”
Jade shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s a challenge I’ll dominate.”
Lauren looked intrigued, an unvoiced query on the tip of her tongue.
“Positive attitude coupled with a superior state of mind makes all the difference,” Jade stated. “Once you’ve made up your mind that nothing can stop you, nothing will.”
As Woo Tang readied to append his own response, Will Sharp approached, clipboard in hand. “What was her time, Chief?”
Woo Tang checked his stopwatch, then provided the figure.
Will scribbled the numbers along with some added remarks. “Holy shit. Are you sure that’s right?”
Woo Tang regarded him askance. “Will Sharp—have you ever known my timing to be off?”
“No, Chief. Never. That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just that…her—Miss Hensley’s time. It’s good, real good.”
“How good?” Lauren inquired, moving in beside Will to view the clipboard.
Will’s eyes danced. “Damn good.” He nearly chuckled. “Enough to break a few previously set records.”
“Records?” Jade probed. “I didn’t know we were keeping score.”
“We always keep score,” Lauren clarified, turning to Will. “Whose records did she break?”
“The young soldier looked sheepish. “I’ll give you two guesses…and the first one doesn’t count.”
Lauren backed away slightly, appearing fully entertained. “Uh-oh. Mr. high and mighty isn’t going to like this.”
Woo Tang rolled his eyes and expelled a sigh. “I take it this incident stands to cause controversy when Richie learns of it…”
“That’s an understatement and a half, Chief,” Will mused.
Jade sent all in present company a look of puzzlement. “Guys? Sorry, I’m a little lost here…should I feel bad about this? And who’s Richie?”
Lauren went to explain, but in that moment, a voice bellowed from behind the line of vehicles.
“Hey, you bunch of dicks! So glad to see everyone having tons of fun without me! Dicks!”
“Corporal Hastings, good morning,” Will Sharp called with a snide grin. “We’ve been expecting you for a while. Shall I have the men prepare the range for you?”
“Eat shit, Will! Same goes for the rest of you!” Richie barked. “I don’t know which one of you did it, but I will find out who, and when I do, I’m kicking somebody’s ass today!” He trudged up the short embankment between two parked JLTVs and onto the field, looking as if he’d recently been involved in an accident. His untied bootlaces dragged in the grass, and his uniform was in full disarray. His hair was uncombed, his left eye bruised, and his nose appeared out of place, possibly fractured. “Come on, don’t be a wuss! Own up to it and take your punishment like a man! Which one of you is the wiseass? Or should I say wiseasses?”
“What happened to your face, Corporal?” one of the soldiers asked. “You really look like hell.”
Richie seethed. “Shut your fat face, Private! Don’t pretend like you don’t know!”
The soldier held back laughter. “I’m seriously not pretending.”
“Bullshit! Maybe your ass is the one I’ll start kicking! Then I’ll just move my way down the line!”
“Tone it down, Corporal, if you would, please,” Woo Tang intervened. “Every one of these men have been with me since sunup.”
“Fine. Sure…okay…whatever, Chief. Cover for them like you always do. See if I care!” Richie hollered. “You dicks want so much to know what happened to my face? I’ll tell you what happened to my face! My nightstand happened to it! I tripped over my own feet when I got out of my rack because some wiseass tied my bootlaces together while I was sleeping.”
Laughter erupted in whispers throughout the group.
“You idiots think that’s funny?” Richie yelped. “Laugh it up, then! I broke my damn nose! I could have been seriously injured because of what you did! I promise when I find out which of you is responsible, I’m sending you to the brig for a month! Right after I kick your ass!”
Jade sniggered and whispered into Lauren’s ear, “Annnd would this be the legendary Richie?”
Lauren nodded, lips pressed into a coy grin. “Do you feel bad about breaking his record?”
“Nope. Not one damn bit.”
Chapter 12
DHS remote bivouac, designation Sierra
George Washington National Forest
Wednesday, January 12th
August Carter skimmed the bullet points listed upon the stapled pages of a recently appended addendum to his orders. Having already read the addendum in its entirety once before, the objectives were amply clear. This time, he concentrated on each word with a firm stare through squinted eyes while reading aloud and forming a theory on the author’s identity. “Forward from this point, ultimate objectives are to be achieved by means of fierce and deliberate escalation of action.” He grew quiet for a few moments. “Every effort will be made to seek and detain youthful prisoners…age preference: twelve and under. Gender preference: female. Final judgment to be left to individual field agent’s discretion, subject to team leader approval.”
August’s eyes became slits as he read further, and upon finishing, he tossed
