Author's Note- As this is my personal idea, I do own it and ask others not to use it, or any of my characters/plot lines/etc. without my permission.
Day 1
August 17th
The Eastern Mojave Desert
Southeastern California
It was obvious from the moment the woman walked around the corner, her short red curls gleaming in the early morning light, this was not going to be a typical weekly training run. Every Monday at 0700 hours, the Hounds, an elite team of American covert warfare soldiers, assembled for a group run. They always ran the same route, a seven mile trail across the California desert out to a reddish granite spire, around the rock formation, and back to the rickety set of ancient bleachers that served as the starting point. They never ran with outsiders. They never ran with females. They never ran with five foot tall freckled-faced pixies that looked like a cross between Tinkerbelle and a Dublin fashion model either.
Several of the runners present had briefly encountered the auburn haired executive officer of the Wolves group when their units had first bumped into one another two months ago in the jungles of South America. However, glimpsing someone through your night vision goggles who was wearing muddy fatigues, ballistic goggles, and Kevlar body armor was not the same as seeing them in spandex running shorts, cross country shoes, and a jogging bra.
The runners exchanged knowing looks as the pack started down the dirt road. Each knew what was coming next. Brian, the team's senior medic, had a wicked sense of humor. He was also one hell of a distance runner. Normally, he quietly ran in the middle of the pack. However, it was common knowledge that the medic had finished fifth in the Olympic trials just six years ago in the 10,000 meter run.
Every time a newbie joined the unit the scenario played out the same. The first Monday run, Brian would lure the new man into following him out ahead of the pack, and then bury the hapless rookie who was trying to impress his new teammates. Today proved no different.
Half a mile out, Brian vaguely mumbled something about "fat old men" and began to subtly pull away from the tightly grouped runners. The lanky blonde gradually moved about thirty yards ahead then seemed to slow his pace, maintaining the gap. For several hundred meters the tableau held. Then the nearest runners heard a snort of amusement from the small woman loping effortlessly in their midst. "I get it." she chuckled. Then she veered to the side of the pack and accelerated, smoothly pulling up alongside the leader and dropping in on his right shoulder, adjusting her stride to match the blonde medic's pace.
Approaching the halfway point outcropping, the pair had moved almost 600 meters ahead of the pack and were steadily widening the gap. When the clustered group emerged around the hill turning towards home the duo were out of sight, somewhere ahead down the winding dirt road.
The rest of the group, as always, finished together. Waiting for them were the two speedsters. One, sweat soaked, was leaning against the rusty bleachers and had obviously just lost his breakfast. The other was sitting on the bleachers quietly punching something into a cell phone. There was also a small unkempt man in cargo shorts and a surfing shirt sitting alone to the side. Even a charitable person would have described him as a poster child for geek central.
The idea of a joint training exercise involving the two groups had evolved out of mutual curiosity and self-interest. Several years previously, a Ms. Winters had formed a team of female warriors. These amazons of spectacular physical capabilities were already segregated from normal society by the need to conceal their physical nature. This pre-existing social separation, combined with their incredible body performance limits made them ideal recruits to forge a small elite paramilitary strike unit. Thus was born "The Wolves" and for the last year they had been active, primarily in Latin America.
Ms. Winters, as far as anyone knew, was the founder, organizer, financier, and tactical commander. The unit, again to the best of anyone's knowledge, pursued a single agenda. Simply put, their leader's agenda was killing drug lords. Why was an unknown; one of many unknowns.
The U. S. Government was interested, highly intrigued in fact. Could they use these women in some fashion? Could they be of benefit to the DEA or CIA? Did they have potential as "civilian contractors", that modern euphemism for mercenaries?
Finally there was Major Andrew Lennox, the original founder and current commander of the "Hounds", a small team of SOCOM Special Forces warriors assigned the specific black ops mission of assassinating selected targeted drug kingpins. His interests were more specific. Could they be of any use to his team? Finally, at the very least, it would be to all parties benefit to coordinate future activities sufficiently to avoid potential fratricidal incidents. Thus was born the week long training exercise at the Hound's base in the California desert.
Ninety minutes later, all the personnel were showered and in fatigues as the experiment's opening day briefing session began. The Wolves, obviously tense, sat clustered tightly together on one side of the small chow hall. The Hounds, slightly more relaxed on their home turf, were scattered in small groups, but all conspicuously on the opposite side of the room from the females.
By turns, Ana McCauley, the Wolfs second-in-command, and the Hounds commander, Major Andrew Lennox, each addressed the mixed group, giving overviews of what they hoped to gain, share, and accomplish over the next few weeks. The Hounds executive officer, Chief Devine, gave a brief lecture covering the founding, history, and legal boundaries of the Hounds' operations. Gelda, the Wolf close quarter combat trainer, a wiry middle-aged Asian, gave a short summary on how their group trained.
Interestingly enough, the Wolves' leader, Celine, though introduced along with the other major players, did not address the crowd, but instead seemed content to be a silent observer; leaning against a wall in a back corner, enormous silver furred canine lying silently at her feet. She left the briefings to her second in command, who seemed remarkably relaxed and fresh for having just finished a seven mile run in a fashion that had stunned her fellow runners. Both sides made an obvious effort to put their best foot forward.
The only awkward spot came when Chief Agent Jenkins, the spokesman for the small team of Federal government personnel monitoring the experimental program, summarily and unexpectedly announced that they would be scheduling time over the next week to conduct detailed medical exams and psychological testing on each individual Wolf. At that statement, Celine glared harshly at an obviously surprised Lennox and instantly concluded he was as surprised by both the agent's tone and his statement as she. Celine Winter approached the podium down the left side aisle.
Chief Devine was struck by her startling resemblance to a big hunting cat as she glided silently towards the center of the hall. Her team's pulse rates surged up at the sudden drop in the room temperature. The discussion, not surprisingly, rapidly went downhill.
Celine's flat response of "No." seemed to set off some hidden emotional trip wire in the Government civilian. In an ill-considered reply that brought winces from several of the more experienced Hounds, he roughly stated that they did not have a say in the matter. Celine responded with a single word, clearly audible to every individual in the room. "Fascinating." She then calmly surveyed the confines of the room, seeming to fix the exact location of every individual. Turning back to face the agent with an expression as cold as an arctic night, she spoke. "Actually,…..we do."
Sensing the potential for the whole experiment to fail catastrophically before it ever got off the ground, Lennox strode rapidly forward and tugged at the coat sleeve of the immaculately clad chief government agent's arm. "Sir, I am confident we can resolve this, to your satisfaction. Perhaps away from the microphone? Please, Sir?" Agent Jenkins had blankly stared for several long seconds at the officer and then brusquely nodded in acquiescence.
Gesturing subtly for McCauley to accompany them, the Major guided the two towards a small breakout room behind the podium. Later in the day, after the fact, when they were reviewing the video tape of the meeting he first realized the huge attack dog, unnoticed entirely, had silently positioned itself directly behind the Chief Agent's right side during the verbal exchange.
Taking a slow breath he calmly began. "Jenkins, lets shoot straight. You and I don't like each other. Hell, I wish you weren't here. But, the reality is …you are. Let's all ramp down for a second and think about this logically. What's in this for you and me, Sir? How much will you pickup today just by observing? A damn lot, I suspect. I know my team sure will and you are set up to monitor every meeting and event. Think how much you will learn over the coming weeks just by watching and listening. Sir, what happens if Ms. Winter tells her team to grab their gear and get on the bus?
Sensing the senior agent beginning to cool down, at least sufficiently to recognize his own self interests, Lennox turned to the Wolf number two. "Do you think Celine would actually follow through on her threat and leave?" He was surprised at the complex series of emotions that transiently flitted across her face. Choosing words with obvious care, Ana responded. "Celine speaks seldom and never lightly. Every Wolf in the room heard precisely what she said. She did not threaten to leave." She paused, a troubled expression shadowing her countenance, started to say something, then finally remained mute.
The civilian immediately flared in response to her words. "What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean?" He blared. Lennox raised both hands palms up. "Geez, folks. Whoa. Please. Let's get back on track. This is simple." He turned to squarely face Jenkins and met his gaze directly "They stay…you learn things. They leave ….you don't." Silence ensued in the tiny room. The two warriors watched the play of conflicting emotions over the civilian's face as he calculated his options and the political and professional ramifications. The agent's stance gradually relaxed and he began rubbing his jaw with one hand in thought.
Satisfied the crisis was receding, the red headed Wolf turned to exit the room. Walking back to the podium, she was uncertain which she found more intriguing; the skill with which the Hound leader had disarmed the situation or the covert boyish wink he had given her as the two men re-entered the room.
Ana finished the mid-afternoon breakout session with her team. "Any alibis?" she asked. Lennox had slipped in the side door a few minutes before, accompanied by the curly haired slightly built man in his late twenties who had been in the bleachers when the runners finished earlier that morning. Waiting until everyone else had finished, he raised his hand. "I have one" he spoke, and walked towards the podium.
"I'd like to introduce one of my most valuable assets to your team" he announced, gesturing towards the disheveled appearing man standing next to him. "This is Josh. He is my "problem solver". Whenever we have a problem and none of us can come up with a solution….we ask Josh." The Wolves examined the new man with looks ranging from openly curious to politely incredulous. To first glance, any unbiased observer would readily admit his appearance was in no way assuring. Clearly having anticipated the group's reaction, the Major turned to the Wolf X. O. and, with a hint of friendly challenge in his voice, said. "McCauley, Josh has two questions he wants to ask you." Caught off guard, she glanced at the packed room, then back at the expressionless features of the Hound leader. She sensed a subtle challenge of some type in his request. She did not know the lean brown haired man well enough to discern if it was in good humor or malicious. One thing was for certain. This was not a time to show doubt or weakness. "Certainly." She briskly replied. Turning she faced the looking civilian. "Josh?"
"Yes yes I do hi my name is Josh your name is Ana i saw you run this morning you run very very fast I want to ask you a question actually two questions because if you answer two questions for me I think I can tell you why you run so fast you run really fast do you know you broke a women's world record this morning you did i am certain you did it was hard to calculate exactly because you ran about seven miles instead of 10,000 meters and it was on dirt so you were even quicker but I am certain it was 18 or maybe 19 seconds under the world record for women and ….."
"Slow up, Josh." Lennox interceded. "Let her talk." Josh immediately went mute and froze in place, intently looking at the small female officer. Amused in spite of herself, she chuckled.
"Was that your first question?" Josh's eyes lit up and he verbally launched, again. "No my first question is are you also very strong or just very fast? because if you are just very fast it is probably a cardio-pulmonary mutation or more likely several mutations maybe dual hearts or something like that but that does not seem very likely but if you are also very strong than it could be a more efficient recruitment of your muscle cells maybe a biochemical neuron-muscular endplate alteration or something I considered a muscle cell mutation perhaps in the mitochondria but all mammals have the same muscle fibrils and…" He stopped there, glanced briefly and dispassionately at her slight but distinct breasts and resumed. "…and you are clearly a mammal so i think it is unlikely…."
Ana, laughing openly now, held up both her hands in a signal for the savant to slow down. He immediately froze in the same position of silent watchfulness. Even as she spoke, she could not help but wonder how long he would have been content to remain motionless, waiting for her to respond. "I am also much stronger than I look." She stated, smiling at him.
The 27 year old's face furrowed in concentration for a dozen seconds and she could almost hear the gears whirring. "This must be what it is like to sit next to a chess grandmaster when he is playing." She thought in wonder. "My second question my second question….." He gestured out at the other Wolves, by now sitting transfixed by the verbal exchange. "….are they are they fast and strong, also?" A fresh voice entered the conversation from the back of the wood-paneled room. "Yes, Josh. They are all fast and strong." Celine replied.
Josh exploded into a torrent of words. "I knew it I knew it I knew it was much more plausible to have a single mutation now that I know that I am certain it is at the neuron-muscular junction I understand you do not want the men in the dark suits to do tests on you i do not trust them and i would not want them doing tests on me either but if you ever want to find out for sure i am certain we could find out with some simple tests I would just need to take a muscle biopsy from your arm or leg or any where it would hurt a little because I would have to use a needle but i would use a small needle and I….."
The tall woman made a faint motion with her raised hand and to Lennox's surprise, Josh immediately went quiet, staring intently at Celine, who then turned to address Lennox.
"Tests are not necessary. Your problem solver is correct. It took our research personnel thirteen years to isolate the genetic alteration in the axonal neuro-transmitter. It seems to have taken your advisor five hours and two questions to reach the same conclusion." She looked at Josh, then back to the male officer. "My host, I admit you have impressed me." Turning back to Josh she finished. "Josh, if you ever wish to ask us other questions, please let Ana know. "
The sun set in a blaze of pink and orange against the far western peaks. The stars emerged bright and clear as the first day's training reached its close. The command cell retreated to their small office. As before, Celine sat sphinx-like in a corner, observing Lennox and Ana hunched side by side over a conference table. They were totally immersed in a cluster of laptops, daily training schedules, Special Operations doctrinal manuals, and legal pads covered with random notes. They stumbled through their first mutual "after action report", striving to capture the "lessons learned" of the day and noting areas and topics to be corrected or pursued further in the coming days.
Celine smiled in amusement, noting it was almost a full minute before either noticed the two scouts who had silently entered the room and now stood motionless awaiting their attention. The green-eyed wolf exec was the first to become aware of their presence. She nodded crisply at the pair across the cluttered conference table. "Yes?" she asked.
Sasha, the wolves lead scout of several years, met Ana's gaze unblinkingly and in a matter of fact tone stated "We need to go for a walk."
With the beginnings of a frown, Ana pondered this for a moment then, glancing at her watch, crisply replied. "O.K.. But, you'll need to keep it short. At 2100 hrs we are planning…. " Her voice cut short as she sensed the man beside her stir and reach out, stopping just short of touching her forearm with his fingers. "You sound as if you two have something else in mind." He asked intently, looking back and forth intently between the pony-tailed Native American and the spectacularly scarred Slav.
The oddly matched pair, total strangers to each other ten hours ago, exchanged a long silent expressionless stare. Then Hosteen gave a microscopic nod, and the Wolf Sister turned and responded to Lennox's query, clearly speaking for both of them. "We need to learn how the other thinks, what the other sees." It was now the leaders' turn to exchange gazes. After several seconds of searching the Army officer's face, the auburn haired woman grimaced ruefully. "This is what we hoped for, isn't it." she murmured. He nodded in silent affirmation. With a nod of acquiescence, she briskly turned back to the waiting pair.
"Of course. Take as much time as you need." Celine, nigh on invisible in the background throughout the entire exchange, cocked an eyebrow at her number two's statement. Having received the desired permission, without further conversation, the scout pair exited.
"I have a good feeling about this." Lennox whispered aside to his co-leader as they watched the two scouts soundlessly depart, neither guessing the "walk" they had just approved would consume thirty eight days and become a Special Operations legend.