Woohoo! I finally convinced myself to do a Hurt Locker story. Okay, I will state this now. I am a civilian. I don't know that much about combat, a little about ranks, a little about guns, and a touch of what it actually takes to become an EOD Tech/Specialist. I looked it up online, and that's about as far as my knowledge of this goes. I'll try to do my best not to shred the military of what actually goes on, what they really live like, or what they deal with because: I don't know! I don't own anything pertaining to The Hurt Locker or Jeremy Renner. I own nothing from the military or any of that. This is a story written based off what I watched in The Hurt Locker. I hope everyone enjoys.
The massive rotors on the Chinook swiveled over her head as she stepped off the chopper. Already, the heat and sand soaked air plastered her skin. She carried her duffel to the mess hall to meet with the other men in her squad. She knew she was the only girl in the team, but was excited and nervous at the same time. As she neared the doors, she could only imagine the harsh words that might come her way. She tugged on the handle and was greeted with a chill of air as she stepped out of the sand and into the hall. A man sat at the table, alone. She walked over to him and sat her bag on the table, looking him in the eye. "Are you EOD?" The guy scoffed and turned around on the stool, leaning on the table. "Yes, Barbie. I'm EOD." Her brown hair was pulled back into its usual tight bun. She had served her time, worked her way up the rank. But she had yet to find a genuine guy who would not make a big deal of the fact that she was a woman. "My name is Specialist Madeline Gilmour." He stood a great deal taller than she, but smiled. "Kennedy. Corporal Jake Kennedy." She returned his smile. "I have only one question, do you have a problem with me being a woman?" He chuckled and sat back down. "Hell no. If you made it into EOD, you must be good. Most women drop out of the class, don't even make it halfway." She sat down next to him and took her hat off, rubbing the back of her neck, and they continued to wait.
The doors opened and two more men walked inside. She stood and saluted, knowing one of them was their leader. The last guy coming close shook his head. "Easy there, Specialist. I'm not that extreme on the protocol of being saluted everytime I walk into the damned room." She gave a small nod and sat back down next to Jake. "Alright. Well, I am Sgt. Will James. I'll be the guy in the suit. And all I know are your ranks. Anyone care to give me names?" She looked to her left at the other man and then back to James. "I'm Madeline Gilmour. Jake Kennedy, but I have no idea who the other guy is." The other guy sat silent, his arms crossed across his chest, blocking his name patch, a scowl on his face as he glared a hole through her. "That is Luke Taft. No offense, Madeline, but he's not too pleased about a woman being on this team." She let a pleased smirk slip across her lips as she stood and collected her bags. "I'm here to do a job. We're all together for a year. I'm a woman. Holy shit, tell me something I didn't know. I've put in my 10 weeks of basic combat, my 39 weeks of advanced individual training, passed the security clearance, and scored a 110 on the ASVAB. Just the same as the rest of you. I intend to do my job. Or die trying." James stood before the two men, a slight smirk on his face as she turned her back to him. "Gilmour, no one is trying to offend you. It's just how he feels. Come sit back down." She turned around and scoffed as the two remained seated, and James looked to be waiting on her. "No, thanks." She walked out of the mess hall and towards the bunk which she knew was hers. She opened the door and dropped her duffel on the floor, before flopping onto the bed. After a few minutes of blissful silence, she sat up and looked around. Not bad at all. As she finished emptying her bag, she found her cigarettes, lighter, and bottled water. She stepped outside and found a shady place to sit and smoke.
A small cloud of sand puffed up as someone joined her. "That was some speech, Gilmour. Don't think you changed his mind, but he's one of those people who has to have something to bitch about." She took a long drag and offered James one. "He's just a prick, though. I mean, James, do you really think they'd let me on EOD if I hadn't completed everything to their satisfaction?" He blew the smoke out and shook his head. "Hell no. But this isn't a game. It's not battle of the sexes, or Sahara Dreams. Just keep your helmet on, listen to me, and fuck everyone else." She looked at him and giggled. "Not literally, I hope." He rested his elbow on his knee and ran his fingers through the sand. "Look, I'm pretty impressed you had the ability and balls to tell me no." She took a drink of water and bit her lip. Here it was. The whiplash of her temper catching up with her. "James, I'm sorry. I just hate it when I'm underestimated because of my gender. It's sexist and stereotypical and pisses me off in the worst of ways." He held his hand up. "It's fine. Really. I need someone on this team who won't be afraid to tell me no." He stood up and tossed his smoke into the sand, grinding it in with his boot. "Get some food and sleep. We're up at 0500 for breakfast day after tomorrow and some training exercises before we actually go out." She held up her bottle of water as he walked away. She stubbed out her butt and stood up, headed back to her room where she found another woman. The girl walked over towards her, her hand extended. "Hey. You must be Gilmour. I'm Regina Lawson." She took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you Regina. I'm Madeline. Or just Maddie." She smiled at the other woman. "Well, Maddie, I'm just glad I have another woman to bunk with and not a stinky ass man. Spend enough time around them already. Everybody calls me Reggie." They laughed as she headed to the door. "Well, Reggie, I'm heading out to the mess hall. I have got to eat something and soon." She let the door close behind her and saw James coming out of his bunk in his gear.
She walked over to him and stopped him in his tracks. "Where are you going all dressed up?" He chuckled. "I've got to help one of the other squads detonate some shit. They leave same day we start. Just trying to help them out." She nodded her head. "Well, have fun with that." She turned to walk away when he got her attention. "You want to come with me?" She grinned and nodded her head yes. "Well, meet me by the humvees in 10." She busted through the door to her room and quickly threw on her jacket and helmet, grabbing her M16 from her locker and her sunglasses. She arrived just as he fired up to go. She opened the door and jumped in. "You seem excited." She nodded her head as he maneuvered through the gates and into the sandy ocean. "I am. Just ready to put all that work to good use." He lit a cigarette and they drove for 30 minutes into the sand. He grabbed the humvee radio. "This is James. Driven for 30 from base. Where to now?" The radio was silent for a moment before it came to life. "Veer left, 5 minutes." She sat in silence, getting sleepy from looking at the same scene for going on 40 minutes. She knew she had to wake up, so she decided to talk. "So where are Kennedy and Taft, James?" He took one hand off the wheel and stretched his fingers. "They wanted to stay back at base and eat, watch a movie, basically horse around. If they get themselves killed, it's on them." As she opened her mouth to speak again, she saw the other humvee come into view. He pulled along side and shut off the engine before climbing out. She joined him as he spoke to a tall, skinny black man, his name patch reading Moore. "We already applied the C-4 to countercharge the main charge. Should be ready to go. You got 4 different sets to go off. I'd give it about 10 minutes between each set." James nodded his head. "Got it." Moore and another soldier climbed into their humvee and drove off, sending the sand flying.
She unstrapped her helmet, leaving it on, and walked closer to James. "So you were planning on coming out here on your own to blow up stuff?" He looked at her and smiled. "Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that. But yeah." He opened the box containing the detonation devices and readied the first. "You ready, Madeline?" She nodded her head and looked out over the sand. "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" As he finished yelling the second time, a deafening boom blasted, and sand shot into the sky about 350 meters away in a dip in the dunes. She sat down to wait for the ten minutes, James taking a seat next to her. "So, what's your story, Madeline?" She sighed and watched as sand still slowly drifted. "Not much of a story, really. Graduated high school, did the college thing, and actually applied myself, and now I'm here." He shook his head and slid off his helmet. "Nah, there's more to it than that. I'll get it out of you eventually." She smiled as he stood up and walked over to the det box. "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" Another explosion sounded.
When they were finished, he loaded the det box in the back of the humvee, and they headed back to base. The sun was setting, and it was starting to cool off by the time they pulled back in at the gates. "Well, Gilmour, if you ever want to talk to me, or need me, you know where my bunk is." She smiled and nodded as they parted ways. She headed to her room and stripped herself of her gear before heading to the mess hall to get some food. She took her tray and her stomach growled at the sight of the chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and the roll that awaited her. She ate alone, not knowing anyone in the mess hall, and disposed of her trash quickly before heading back to her bunk. Day one was almost complete. And soon, she'd be doing what she loved to do.
Tuh Duh! There's chapter one. Read, reply, hate, love, which ever you prefer. That's just the way it goes. I would've written more, but I'm suffering from a hand injury and it took me two hours just to type this out. More soon, and even sooner if I get a reply. ;-)