Fractured Reflections - Chapter 1
Afghanistan Desert August, 2002
Bagram Airfield, once known as Bagram Air Base, is the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. It is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. The base is mostly operated by government contractors, the International Security Assistance Force, and by statistics it is minimally used by the US Armed Forces.
Or so it this was the belief of Dr. Vincent Keller until 0400 hours the morning of August 7, 2002.
That morning he was summoned to the office of his commanding officer, who was in charge of the Delta Company. Eric Milverson, Raymond Ascalvo, Matthew Pierce, and Zach Hayes stood there with him to receive their new assignment. Their commanding officer informs them that they were reassigned to Top-Secret Squad called Project Muirfield.
Despite the squad looking curious about it, the commander could only provide minimal details as the rest were need to know. The only thing he was told was that they were chosen because their skills were the best in the US Army. The commander informed them that a detachment will ship them out at 0300 hours to Bagram airfield and they will receive further instructions.
It was now 0600 hours and the 5 men stood in formation at parade rest next to each other. Twenty-six other soldiers stood with them as the morning heat started to seep into their boots. Even in the early morning hours, the tarmac was starting to sink the heat into the soles and cause a little discomfort. However, each of them also shown eagerness to learn what Project Muirfield was all about. Each soldier maintained parade rest despite the heat.
That was except Zach Hayes.
"How long is this supposed to take?" Zach asks Vincent with annoyance in his tone.
Vincent closes his eyes as Zach breaks rank as always. Zach may be assigned to this group for having skills, but perfect military form was not one of them. The only positive thing was the man was good at hiding it from commanding officers. Otherwise, his fitness report would tell a very different story. Vincent exhales annoyingly and rolls his head towards Zach.
"It's going to take as long as it takes." Vincent replies with a sardonic smile. "And not a moment before or after."
"This heat is burning the living shit out of my feet!" he grumbles as he shifts his feet.
"And you expected what when you were assigned? A red carpet with soothing ointment?" Vincent snaps back.
"Buck up, Hayes!" Ascalvo gave him a playful shove. "You're a soldier, not a girl scout. Start acting like one."
Milverson leaned towards Vincent and Michael as Ascalvo continues to goad Hayes.
"How in the hell did this guy even get chosen for this project?" He grumbles under his breath. "I know 5 year old girls more rugged than this pantywaist."
"They were tired of him bitching, or they hope he grows some balls out here." Vincent quips. "Medical scientist has come a long way."
The group giggles at the remark and quiets down. Zach taps Vincent's shoulder and nudges him in a certain direction.
"Hey. Hot Piece of Ass at 9:00." Zach spoke as he looks towards their left.
Vincent sighs as he heard the remark. He turns to look at the girl who was third to his left. The frown over the remark turned into a soft smile; he likes what he sees. As a doctor, he would guess that she was in her early twenties and the ideal definition of the perfect soldier. He did notice Lieutenant bars on her collars, which told him trouble for any enlisted man in the unit.
Her hair was in regulation style braid and almost black. There were strands of red that glistens with the rising sun, which makes him wonder if it was dye or natural. However, she looks professional in her uniform as she looks forward.
He found it difficult to determine her ethnicity, but he was seeing Angelo and some southern European descent. Her fair skin glows like a sunlit summer peach, which offsets the fierce and intense features on her face. Her eyes were light green, which reminds him of a panther and perfectly offsets her dark reddish hair.
She slowly turns her head in his direction and raises her eyebrow. He couldn't help but continue staring for a few moments as their eyes connect. She gives him a wry grin to indicate she knew he was staring. However, she didn't seem to mind as she appears to like what she saw in him as well.
"Hey! You're staring." Mike whispers at him bringing him out of his love-struck trance.
"I'm not staring." He quickly retorts as a small bit of laughter occurs.
"Hey! I saw that first." Zach threw his arms out and looks hard at Vincent. "I called dibs!"
Vincent has had it with Zach in terms of female relationships. While at the previous command, Zach was notoriously analyzing women and making sexist remarks. Either the commanding officer never came around or it was convenient forgotten. However, Vincent felt he was raised right and was told to respect women. It didn't hurt that his mother was the type to grab him by the ear for any foul step. Well, it did hurt, but it made him a better man he thinks.
Vincent scoffs and folds his arms.
"That is your problem right there, Hayes. She is a person, not a thing! Why don't you start referring them as human beings instead of objects."
"Yeah, he's right about that." Pierce piped in. "And no woman likes to be called a HOPA, Hayes! If I called my wife a hot piece of ass, she would cut off my dick to serve for breakfast!"
Zach exhales angrily.
"Well what chance do I have when all of them are looking at Keller!" His eyes bore daggers into Vincent. "You took my girl away! Why don't you save some for the rest of us!"
"Oh for fucks sake!" Vincent closes his eyes and drops his head before placing his hand over his face shaking his head.
"If you're going to go on and on about Gabriella again, I'm in no mood. Now shut the hell up! We are supposed to be standing at parade rest and you are making us all look like a bunch of high school jocks!"
"Your girl was the town bicycle, Hayes!" Ascalvo retorts as Zach angrily lunged toward him.
Approaching vehicles averts the fight from starting. The group corrects their formation as they watch the action unfold as the convey park in front of them.
A Rheinmetall Yak with medical red cross on the side stops fifty yards for them. Vincent recognize several medics unloading from the field. This view includes a mature woman who treated his gunshot wound to the shoulder. He could hardly forget her telling him to stop being a doctor.
Shortly after that, three humvees arrive besides the medics. Two Gunnery Sergeants open the doors of two of them, which six civilians unload. The Gunnies were summarily dismissed and they drove the humvees off the lot. The civilians wore suits and badges, which suggest government officials.
The third humvee remain idle for a long period of time as the rest of the convoy remain behind it. After what felt like an awkward block in the action, the vehicle finally moves to the front and came to a halt. A highly ranked NCO jumps out and opens the back door to disembark the passengers.
The first man was a tall, asian man wearing a dark suit and accompany with high-end jewerly. If Vincent was to guesstimate the value of the apparel, it would be enough to fund their excursion in Afghanistan at the least. Vincent guessed the man was in charge of the project, but the body language also spoke of a self-absorbed asshole.
The final five FMTV tactical vehicles came roaring up to the rear. A group of soldiers jump out shouting in a unified cadence while they unload crates of munitions. Without any orders from a commanding officer, they unload the trucks efficiently and fall into formation. They stand at attention with perfection in their stances. From their battle kevlar, insignias, and weapons, Vincent assumes that they were special forces. A mix of Green Berets and Delta Force.
The day had just become a hell of a lot more interesting.
"At ease!" A man wearing captain's bars shouted as they all stood with their feet apart, weapons across their shoulders.
The man caught Vincent attention because he didn't seem to fit the conventional profile of a special ops soldier. Rather than brute force, special force utilize stealth and tactics, which makes them like ninjas in those stories. These people could disassemble the average soldier in less time it takes to pour a cup of coffee through efficiency rather than brawling.
The man was about six four and two forty of muscle. He look like he ate his wheaties and started PT once the doctor spank his ass at birth. He was a perfect specimen for a soldier, but he did not have the intensity he expected from special forces. He appears a little more sedate, but looks can be deceiving.
The other thing that stood out was his age. The other guys appear to be early thirties to mid-forties, which he looks in his mid-twenties. He had dark skin and appearance of Native American or those Aleutian islanders he saw in a report. The captain bars also stood out. Either he was older than he looks or he was fast-tracked.
As he falls into formation with his unit, he caught Vincent staring at him. He nods at him and Vincent returns the nod in kind. He turns his head back, but not before catching a name tag that reads Faulks.
Once he was finished ogling the men and weapons, Vincent's eyes drift back to the girl and frowns as he observes her eyes locked into an ardent gaze with Faulks.
"Well crap." he whispers to himself and sighs as he presses his lips together to form a half-smile. He didn't break formation, but he broke out into a larger smile feeling happy that the girl he felt could be a potential Mrs. Vincent Keller seems to have possibly found her true soul mate.
"Mrs. Keller is out there. Just going to take a while." he whispers to himself before a man in dress uniform with the rank of colonel approaches and quickly inspects the recruits. He raises an eyebrow and nods approvingly towards the group. He steps back and clears his throat.
"Good morning and welcome." the Colonel spoke. "Welcome to the first day of the end to the War on Terror!"
The crowd behind him erupts into an applause as the group maintains attention.
"My name is Colonel Daniel Phillips and for the next 10 weeks, I will run everyone through hell during this specialized training. By the end, you will hate my guts and you will use that anger against Al Qaeda!"
Vincent winces at the jihadist group with brief flashes of the towers. He quickly snaps back out of it to listen to the Colonel.
"I don't expect anything less than the best. I don't care about how many head shots you accomplish or how you can strategize a mission. Your ability for getting inside the head of the enemy and counterattacking means jack in this unit." he spoke to a confused unit. "In the mix of 1000 soldiers, we had combat specialists who exceeded each of you in those categories and didn't make the cut. You few are here because you proved to have what it takes to be a super soldier!"
Phillips let that information sink in before continuing.
"Project Muirfield is going to make you faster, stronger, and more agile." he smiles proudly. "That is just scratching the surface to potential for the 21st century war machine."
Colonel Phillips walks in front of Vincent and studies him for a moment. The Colonel was familiar with the look in his eyes. He has see two variety of men join the Army in the wake of 9/11. There were the people who had a spark of anger flare up with the attack and joined out of patriotic pride. Vincent represented the other kind of men. The ones who lost someone that day and joined to make sure no one else loses somebody on American Soil. He nods and continues.
"Of course, we will need a squad leader. Since each of you represents the best candidates for this project, we shall have an unconventional exercise to determine the best choice." he waves his hand as that soldier steps out with an MP5 in his arms. Vincent and the woman look at Faulks with a clear view. His short black hair, darkened skin, and high cheek bones struck many of the recruits, but identification tags outside of the name tag were difficult to find on his uniform.
"Your mission if you accept it is to get that MP5 away from Captain Faulks. From your basic training and performance evaluations, you should be able to do this within three rounds." he said before grinning a little sadistically. "Although I should mention that Captain Faulks is from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. If this is news to you folks, he can walk into hell to get your behind out and be back for chow time! To date, no one has pried his weapon from his hands. Do we got a volunteer?"
Alex's eyes remains focused on the group, but did stray towards the lady for brief moments. The lady's eyes connects with his and there was a reaction. Neither of them knew what it was at this moment, but something was happening.
"May the best man win." Vincent thought to himself as he prepared to retrieve the weapon and maybe still win a chance with the girl.
Phillips scoffs at the group.
"Don't be shy. Captain Faulks hasn't killed anyone in a training exercise yet." Phillips continues to grin. "If round one ends and none of you are fortunate enough to take possession of his weapon, we shall proceed to round two and three. If anyone wins one of those challenges, you will be squad leader. Any volunteers?"
A recruit of equal size to Captain Faulks steps forward.
"I volunteer, sir!" he shouted, which caused Phillips to grin.
"You see boys and girls…" he speaks as he spots the recruits name tag. "We got our first brave soul ready for an ass kicking. 2nd Lieutenant Castillo everyone." the Colonel drapes his arm around Castillo. "This task should be simple for a strapping young man like you. All you have to do is approach Captain Faulks and take his gun away."
The Colonel nudges Castillo towards Alex, who is standing with MP5 shouldered and his arms crossed. Castillo salutes and Alex returns the salute. Castillo charges him and tries to take Alex out with brute force. Alex takes his aikido training and uses Castillo's momentum against him. Castillo taps out and Alex releases the hold.
"I forgot to tell you. Captain Faulks is also versed in multiple disciplines of martial arts." he looks down at Castillo. "Sorry, son."
One by one all that volunteered stood before Faulks and failed.
When it was finally Vincent's turn, all eyes were upon him - anyone taking bets that day would have picked Vincent to be the victor; anybody but Vincent who knew he was clearly mismatched in height and weight as he attempted to appeal to Faulk's better nature. first giving him a salute, Vincent gave a trepid smile.
"Hi...Captain. I don't even have to fight you to know that you could make my testicles switch places. Can you just do me a favor and make it look like it was a good fight?"
Faulks gave Vincent a look that neither confirmed nor denied he had accepted his request.
Vincent got into a standard stance and approaches Alex. He was able to grapple the Captain and tussle around for a minute or so. Thankfully, the MP5 was on safety, or Colonel Phillips would have a lot of paperwork. The fight ended with the Captain flipping Vincent hard onto his back and pressing his boot down on the recruit's throat.
The last to step forward was the girl. "And that leaves one volunteer." Phillips turned around looking at the girl. "Would you like to take a stab at getting Captain Faulks's weapon away from him?"
She stood at attention saluting the colonel. "Yes Sir! But please know that fighting isn't my strongest skill...SIR!" Her response was nervous.
Phillips laughed and placed his hand against the small of her back walking her forward.
"Is that why you waited until the end, soldier?" He chuckled. "I'm sure if you smile sweetly and ask nicely, Captain Faulks will be kind and go easy on you."
She nodded and saluted Captain Faulks as Phillips quickly turned on his boot heel and stomped away muttering to himself.
"How did this broad even get in the Army?" He muttered as he stood with the recruits. "I don't even want to think about how she got chosen for Project Muirfield."
Vincent, who was standing only a foot from the Colonel, turned and frowned. His mother would tan his hide if he ever said anything like that and it provoked anger hearing those remarks from an elder.
Once Phillips was out of range, the girl raised her head slowly until she was looking into the eyes of Captain Faulks who smiled back amiably. Giving him a wink, she reached up and opened the top 3 buttons on her uniform revealing a black and lacy article of clothing offset by smooth cleavage. In Alex's state of bewilderment, she used the opportunity to deliver a fist punch to his jaw knocking him off balance, followed by a foot sweep that sent him falling to the hard asphalt. She immediately grabbed his falling weapon and shoved it against his chest, cocking it's trigger.
"Dead." She whispered.
"Son of a bitch." Vincent whispered to himself.
After an several moments of stunned silence, everyone present broke out in cheers and applause as Phillips approached the girl who had returned to her feet standing erect holding onto the weapon proudly.
"Well little lady, it appears I greatly underestimated you." He grinned at her proudly as he addressed the crowd. "Team! Meet the only man..." Phillips cleared his throat. "...erm...make that person alive - to ever be able to pry Captain Faulks weapon out of his hands. Should I call you Mata Hari, or do you have another name...soldier?"
"First Lieutenant Fiona Conner, SIR!" Vincent linked the cadence of her voice to urban New York, Brooklyn or perhaps the Bronx. "And do NOT call me Lady." She hissed under her breath. "Because a lot of witness saw you touch me inappropriately when you thought I was some dumb ass barbie doll." She smiled once again as Phillips gulped hard.
"Welcome to Project Muirfield, Lieutenant Conner." He leaned in so only she could hear. "You have my word. And I sincerely apologize for any disrespect." He immediately regained his ground. "Fall in, Conner! And since evidently, there will be no further activities today, you may dismiss your squad."
"Yes Sir!" Fiona shouted and took her place in front of the recruits. "At ease!" She shouted before her voice softened. "I suggest you all take this opportunity to find your quarters and familiarize yourselves with your squad." A smile crept across her downward turned, full lips. "And as we are situated right next to the canteen. I'm going to be there tonight and I expect to see you all there. Company dismissed!"
As Fiona turned around she found herself face to face with Vincent Keller.
"Well played." He smiled admirably. "Congratulations. That was amazing."
Fiona gave a short laugh. "Thanks..." Her eyes flashed on the tag above his pocket. "...Keller."
"You can call me Vincent." He extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Keller." She reached for the offered hand giving it a firm shake. "And you can call me Fio."
"Fio." He gave a chuckle an. "Fio it is!"
After stepping away from Conner, Phillips approaches Alex angrily while the rest of the squad ribs the Captain for getting outsmarted by a girl.
"What the fuck was that?" Phillips bellowed and threw his arms out incredulously. "What the fuck was that? A beautiful girl flashes you and your woody allows her to take the weapon off you? You might as well handed her your man card as well! Every single recruit in the Berets and Delta has never been able to take your weapon and you just let her? What if she was a hostile!?"
Alex shrugged his shoulders.
"She used her brain, sir. She is a good fit." he said walking towards Conner to retrieve his weapon.
Phillips stood there shaking his head as he looks at Keller and Conner. He stood watching the pair becoming fast friends based on the laughter. His anger dissipated as the humor and logic sunk in. Captain Faulks was a man of few words and excellent judge of character. When Colonel Phillips was asked to select his squad of trainers, he shortlisted Captain Faulks' name without an interview or evaluation. He walked out of earshot of the group to refrain from laughing.
He was saved by two men approaching him on both sides. He turned to the familiar man on the right and held out his hand.
"Bob Reynolds." he clasps his hand with man. "How the hell is my old West Point roommate?"
Bob let go of Philips hand and embraced him with a slap on a back.
"How am I?" he chuckled. "I'm envious of this show you're running here. You get to turn 30 recruits into into Captain America. My life sucks compared to yours."
"Hey, you retired." he placed his hands on hips as he grins. "You traded the uniform in for a corner office, a beautiful secretary, and an air conditioner."
The pesky man on the other side of him sighed loudly and then lit a cigar before clearing his throat impatiently. This would be the man Vincent watched exit the Humvee earlier who did not impress him. Phillips rolled his eyes and sighed irritably.
"Yes, Zhao? Is there something I can do for you?"
Li Zhao took a power stance as he took quick drags of his cigar.
"Yes, you can assure me that my multi-billion project is not turning into a fucking circus act!"
"Circus act?" Phillips sputtered. "You wanted only the best and I got you the best. How is this a circus act?"
""That girl!" he points to Fiona. "Her little stunt today made a mockery of the Army and this program. Project Muirfield is for Soldiers! Not Strippers!"
"Oh for fuck sake, Zhao!" Reynolds shouted before Phillips stopped him.
"Son, the man who tested her is the best I have seen." he takes Zhao cigar out of his mouth and throws it to the ground. "While you are sitting cozy in your office, Captain Faulks was in enemy territory with his life on the line. Each second he has to evaluate who he has to take out and who he spares because his squad mates depend on it. So I will take his advisement over yours!"
"And.." an asian woman wearing a labcoat interjects to defuse a potential time bomb conversation. "that woman managed to disarm a man nearly twice her size. Lieutenant Conner is 5'7 and hand to hand combat is passable, but not exceptional. However, she compensates with stealth, street smarts, agility, and her world-class parkour skills do not hurt either. She also can use her looks to disarm the toughest of men, which makes me surprised she was not recruited for the CIA. These skills are why she was chosen for this project." She pursed her lips giving a self-satisfied look at Zhao. "Imagine what Project Muirfield can do with her and what she will then be able to do to Al-Qaeda."
Zhao folds his arms and glares at Fiona before shaking his head. "Fine, you can keep her, but she is your responsibility! Put a leash on her!"
Zhao storms off to the Humvee where his driver opens the door without hesitation. Phillips scoffs before turning towards the scientist and Bob.
"Prick." he kicks the dirt over the still smoldering cigar and crosses his arms. "I trust Captain Faulk's judgement. If he assesses those recruits as good, I will believe him. I had money on Keller, but after seeing Conner in action, I almost feel sorry for Bin Laden after we inject her. Almost."
On the other side of the air strip, Fiona and Vincent continued their flirtatious banter.
"Hell's Kitchen!" He chuckled. "Let me guess; you are second...maybe third generation Irish American. Grandparents arrived here in the early part of the 20th century." He paused and flashed a grin at her. "So how am I doing?"
Fiona smiled wide and laughed softly. "Wow! Impressive. And you are right. My Grandfather arrived in America from Galway, Ireland with his mother and father, plus 8 siblings in 1923. How did you know?"
Vincent gave a short laugh.
"Because it is almost identical to my story." He stepped in a little closer which Fiona did not seem to mind. "So...I was thinking later on..."
The remainder of his question never escaped his lips as they were approached by Captain Faulks. Fiona and Vincent quickly stood at attention saluting their superior.
Alex saluted back then waved it off.
"At ease." He chuckled then turned to look at Fiona. "Sorry for the intrusion, but I think you have something that belongs to me." He grinned softly as his eyes shift to the gun still gripped in her hands.
Fiona glanced at the MP5 and back up at him. "Oh, you mean this?" She held it up and grinned playfully. "If you are referring to your weapon...I took it from you fair and square. If you want it back. I guess you are going to have to find a way to get it from me." Fiona smiled wryly and took off with his gun. As she walked away, she turned around and blew him a kiss to which both Alex and Vincent both chuckled at her sassiness.
"You do realize getting that away from her won't be easy" Vincent crossed his arms watching her leave; all kidding aside, he marveled at the way she walked like a real soldier with her shoulders erect taking quick, long strides.
"Yeah." Was all Alex responded as he stared at her Godsmacked, clearly admiring more than her military presence. "But it should with no doubt be fun." He raised an eyebrow and looked at Vincent.
Vincent sensed in his response there was an energy between the two of them that confirmed his earlier belief there would be no getting that chance he had hoped with her. However, he used his educated mind to make sure he was fine with it. He had quickly grown to respect both in the short amount of time he had spent with them and were good people as far as he was concerned.
"Hey..." Vincent smiled gratefully giving him a slap on the back. "...thanks for making me look good out there. I appreciate the assist."
Alex looked at Vincent briefly then gave off a short laugh as he shook his head.
"I did not go easy on you, Keller. That was all you." The white smile displayed against his darkened features was quite infectious. From an aesthetic standpoint, it was easy to see why he caught Fiona's eye. "Never short sell yourself. You are a naturally strong fighter. This is one of the reason you have been chosen to be among us."
Vincent inwardly glowed at the compliment, but as his words sank in, he became disturbed by Alex's comment as his smile faded replaced by a bewildered scowl.
"Wait...what?" He laughed incredulously. "But you winked at me!"
Now it was Alex's turn to appear baffled.
"You winked first. I was being polite."
Vincent's mind was spinning as he blinks.
"So, that was actually me holding my own against...you?" He gulps audibly. "You didn't ease up on me? I eased up because I didn't want to get killed."
Alex grins and nods.
"Yes. It was a good fight. Who knows how it would have turned out if you actually knew it was a real fight." He slaps him on the back before jogging towards the barracks.
Vincent let his words sink in for a moment then frowned.
"Holy Shit!" He whispered stupefied as the reality hit him that had he just allowed himself to be defeated because he did not have enough faith in himself; a mistake he would not be repeating.. Smiling to himself he watched the activity die down as he picked up his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder taking off in the direction of his quarters.