Flint walked out to the tarmac where his team's helicopter was waiting. In fifteen minutes they would be heading out for a long assignment. He was in charge of a small group of Joes for a month, and it was his responsibility to make sure that each was prepared to spend that time in a remote location with no supply drop-offs and only emergency radio contact. They would be taking with them everything they would need to turn a dilapidated building into a small base fit to house up to ten men. The mission required several skills and a dedication to hard work.
Unfortunately, Duke had given him Lady Jaye, Alpine, Footloose, and Bazooka. Worse, Flint suspected that for him, this mission was also a test to see if he could deal with a non-battle command position involving the more…independent members of the team. If Duke had only been concerned about completing the mission, Flint was sure he would have been assigned different personnel. It could have been worse, of course—Beach Head was in charge of a similar mission; he had been given Shipwreck, Cover Girl, Mainframe, and Aritight. At the very least, it would be interesting to exchange stories will the drill sergeant at the end of the month.
His team's gear was waiting to be loaded into the helicopter. Another one would be carrying their food, tents, and building materials. Flint looked over the pile of duffel bags. It seemed like there were too many bags for just five people. He checked the tags and saw that Bazooka had packed two extra duffel bags for himself and that Lady Jaye had managed to pack a total of five. He shook his head, wondering what she could possibly need. He hefted one of them, feeling the weight. It was heavy, as were the others. He unzipped one of them, but it contained nothing more than extra clothes and toiletries. Flint was about to open the next one, but was interrupted.
"Can I help you with something?"
Flint stood and turned, watching Lady Jaye close the distance between them. "Yes, now that you're here. I was wondering why you packed five bags."
She raised an eyebrow. "So you weren't just digging through my underwear?"
He nudged the duffel with his boot and said, "Fine. I don't need to look if you tell me what's in the other bags."
Lady Jaye shrugged. "I asked Duke if I was allowed to bring extra supplies along and he approved it."
"We have plenty of supplies," he told her. "Why do you need an extra four bags?"
"I like to be prepared."
"For what?" he asked, incredulous. "The next ice age? We're only going to be in Colorado for a month. What could happen?"
"You never know." She walked over to her bags and slung the first over her shoulder. "Don't worry—I'll carry them all." She heaved the bag into the open doors of the helicopter and reached for another.
Flint sighed and bent down to pick up the next duffel. "If Duke says it's ok, I'm not going to argue. But for future reference, I am in charge of this group." He threw her bag through the door, and it landed with a thump. "You should have asked me." He knew he sounded petulant, but he didn't care. This was his mission.
Lady Jaye smiled sweetly at him. "You would have told me no."
He shook his head. It was going to be a very long month. Alpine walked over and joined them, asking, "Aren't there only five of us going? What's with all the bags?"
"They're mine," Lady Jaye answered. She saw his mouth open and said, "Don't ask, okay?"
"I'd probably rather not know," he told her with a lift of his shoulders. "Girl stuff, I guess. But if those bags contain a TV and a satellite dish, you'll let me watch Monday Night Football, right?"
"This is a serious mission!" Flint barked. "It's not a vacation."
"Man, someone didn't eat his Cheerios this morning," Footloose commented, walking onto the tarmac. "Chill out—we'll get the work done."
"We have to work?" Alpine laughed. "Guess I can unpack my bathing suit."
Bazooka joined them, completing the team. He picked up his bags and threw them in the chopper. "Ready," he said.
Flint looked them over. He was used to giving little speeches before a mission, but that usually meant they were heading into battle. Still, he thought that it was best to get them in the right mindset now and make sure that somewhere in their gear they had everything they needed. Once they got out there, they'd be on their own.
"Last check, everyone," he began. "You should have packed a climbing rope, a harness, a compass, knife, canteen, warm clothes, lots of extra socks, and a med kit." Everyone nodded, and he continued. "Good. Hopefully you all brought soap and a toothbrush?"
They nodded again, and Lady Jaye said, "Yes, dad."
He frowned at her, but ignored the comment. "Everything else we need was packed into the other helicopter. Until we get the base livable, we'll be sleeping in tents. I'll go over our assigned tasks once we get there. This should be a fairly easy mission, but we do have work to do. The others are counting on us to prepare a base that's sturdy and weatherproof. If you have any problems, I'd prefer you ask for help rather than try to solve them on your own."
He took a clipboard from the passenger seat of the helicopter and marked off the checklisted items. "I think that's it. Let's get loaded."
Everyone boarded the chopper, and Flint waited until he saw Wild Bill exit the garage and get into the supply helicopter before sitting in the pilot's seat of his team's transport. He started the rotors and lifted off.
They made good time and arrived in the small clearing ahead of schedule. Wild Bill landed nearby and they all pitched in to unload the supplies and building materials. They made a pile on a tarp near the run-down building they would be fixing up, and covered it all with another. Their food boxes were put inside the shelter to discourage bears and other wildlife.
Wild Bill stayed long enough to help them set up three tents and unload the sleeping gear, then gave them all a tip of his hat and took off.
Flint and the others unloaded their own bags and put them in the tents. Lady Jaye and Bazooka insisted on putting their extra bags in the shelter with the foodboxes, and Flint didn't argue. If they went in the tents, there wouldn't be enough room for them to sleep.
It was just getting dark when they finished. Flint put Bazooka and Footloose in charge of gathering wood and starting a fire, while he and the others went inside to look more thoroughly at the state of the building. There were holes in the walls and roof, but overall it was sound. It had obviously been abandoned for a while, though, and all of the rooms—two large main areas, a kitchen, and five tiny bedrooms—were filthy.
Finally they turned to the foodboxes. "What did they pack for us?" Alpine asked, rubbing his hands together. "I hope it's not all MREs… we need real food if we're going to work hard every day." He eagerly lifted the lid of the first box. His face fell. "Pork and beans?" he asked. "No, thanks."
Flint opened the second box. "This one is full of cans of pork and beans, too," he said.
They all looked at each other in dismay, moving to the other three boxes of food. They were all the same.
"Oh, this is nice," Lady Jaye commented. "Didn't you check the supplies, Flint?"
"No, Duke told me he did that," he responded angrily. Flint wondered if Duke had planned this. He wouldn't put it past him. He should have known enough to double check it himself. Apparently he'd failed the first part of the test.
Alpine held up a can. "Well, I guess I know what's for dinner. And breakfast. And lunch…" He grabbed two more and said, "Well, might as well grab a pot. If I'm gonna eat pork and beans, at least it can be hot." He walked back outside.
Lady Jaye shrugged and opened the box of utensils. Flint watched her carry the supplies outside, but stood there a moment more, staring at the five large boxes containing the only food they had for a month. He wondered if it could get any worse. He sighed and headed outside.
The temperature had already begun to drop. Even though it was mid-summer, they were high enough in the mountains that the nights still held a chill. Fortunately the fire was roaring, and Bazooka had dragged a few logs around it to serve as seats. Alpine was starting dinner—if they could call it that—and Lady Jaye was telling the others about the food situation.
"I must have accrued some seriously bad karma," Footloose said.
"Nothin' wrong with pork and beans," Bazooka argued. "I love 'em."
"I am so not bunking with you, man," Footloose replied.
Alpine looked over at Flint and said, "Maybe we should give Bazooka his own tent."
"What?" Bazooka asked. "Why?"
"Nocturnal emissions."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind." Alpine patted his friend on the back. "I'm sure Flint would love to share a tent with you."
Flint rolled his eyes. "Let's go over our assignments." He wished they would take this a little more seriously. He sat down and pulled out the envelope Duke had handed him before they left. Reading over the sheet, his eyes widened.
"What's wrong, Flint?" Lady Jaye asked.
"Nothing," he replied tersely. "Okay, according to Duke, we need to make a geographical map of the area, find a site for a radio antenna, dig permanent latrines and get the generator running, build a dock on the river, and of course, fix up the base." He paused, looking at each of them in turn. "Bazooka, you're supposed to make the map; Lady Jaye, you're in charge of climbing the surrounding peaks and testing the radio reception; Alpine, you dig the latrines and work on the generator; Footloose, you're going to build the dock. That leaves me to work on the repairs."
They stared at him, stunned. Alpine let out a burst of laughter and said, "Pull the other one, Flint."
Flint shook his head. "Those are the assignments Duke gave us," he told them.
"You're kidding," Lady Jaye said.
"No. I'm not." Flint held up a hand to forestall any other arguments. "I'm sure Duke has his reasons. We're all being evaluated here on our performance. Let's just get the work done."
Their first meal was eaten in silence. Flint watched the fireflies dancing above their heads and wondered if Duke wanted him to fail, or to succeed under adverse conditions. It didn't matter; he planned on making sure his team not only finished their tasks, but finished them well.