Notes: OK, I promised this chapter would be longer, and it is :)
02. New Recruit Two hours after sunrise, the temperature in Los Angeles was already beginning to soar. The city had been experiencing yet another heat wave for the past few weeks, and it looked as if this particular day was going to be just as bad. Jim Street pulled into the parking lot of the SWAT headquarters, smiling slightly as he noticed Hondo's car was already in its customary spot. As he headed out towards the gun range, he saw other vehicles arriving, and knew the rest of the team had managed to fight their way through the heavy morning traffic. He strolled over to his team leader, inclining his head slightly in greeting to one of the few people he trusted with his life.
"Morning Hondo."
"Street," Hondo replied, in his usual stoic manner.
"Guess the traffic was lighter than usual this morning huh?" The cocky rejoinder was part of a long running joke between the two men, ever since Jim had turned up at just past daybreak when he got a second chance to be part of a SAWT team.
"Uh-huh." A slight smile, hidden quickly, accompanied the reply.
"Yeah, guess I'm gonna have to try harder tomorrow."
"Trouble sleeping again?"
"Err..." The sudden, serious question threw Street and he looked at the older man in surprise. Hondo looked back at him, his expression unreadable, and Jim found he was unable to break eye contact with his boss.
"We'll talk later," he murmured, winking in a conspiratorial fashion to the younger man as the rest of the team came onto the shooting range. The two watched as the rest of the team headed towards them, followed by a rather nervous looking stranger. "Guess that's our new recruit?" Hondo muttered, his tone holding the barest hint of disgust.
"Guess you're right," Street laughed. Both men were beginning to despair of ever finding a replacement for TJ, but they had to keep trying. Ever since the night TJ had turned bad, betraying his team because his greed had gotten the better of him, Captain Fuller had been choosing new recruits to try and fill the vacancy. Fuller had taken great pleasure in sending them people who he knew would never make the grade, delighting in Hondo's often colourful language when yet another one failed. He had jumped on the fact that TJ had betrayed them, and nearly gotten Boxer killed in the process, and used that fact to make sure he had full control over the candidates given to Hondo to train.
"Maybe this one will stay the distance..." Hondo didn't sound particularly convinced of his own words.
"Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see." Hiding his grin, Street turned to greet the rest of the team, wondering whether they would ever find a replacement for TJ. "Morning Chris."
"Morning Street," she nodded her greeting. "Hondo, this is Andy Thomas, our new recruit." As her back was to the newcomer, he couldn't see the smirk on her face, but the rest of the team could see the amusement in her eyes. They all knew it was going to be a fun morning...
##
By lunchtime, the team knew their latest recruit wouldn't be staying with them very long, but kept their opinions to themselves for the moment, knowing Hondo would ask them for their views when he was ready. The look on his face told them all that their team leader was just as unhappy with Officer Thomas' performance during the training session that morning as they were. As soon as a halt was called for lunch, the team headed back to the parking lot, while Officer Thomas went to get something to eat.
"So, what do we all think of our new team member?" Hondo's tone was laden with disgust as he looked at each member of his team.
"He's just fantastic," Boxer replied, sarcastically.
"Yeah, he's a real gem," Street agreed, fighting to control his laughter.
"Well, he is good for amusement value..." Sanchez put in. Her expression was serious, though her eyes sparkled wickedly. The rest of the team had been amazed by her control during the morning, as Thomas had made mistake after mistake and she had still managed to keep her temper.
"I'll inform Captain fuller that Officer Thomas is not up to the required standard for a SWAT team," Hondo told them, rolling his eyes in resignation. "Now, get yourselves something to eat and be back here in an hour. We still have work to do." Grinning, he dismissed them and turned towards his car, secretly enjoying the reaction he knew he'd get from his former partner when informed of yet another washout...
##
A single beam of sunlight streamed in through a small hole in the dirty window, falling across a table which contained a mass of diagrams and manila folders. On top of one folder lay a handgun, similar to those carried by the police, and in immaculate condition. A young woman sat at the table, studying on of the diagrams closely, gathering all the details her team would need for their current job. Running her hand through her short, curly brown hair, she sighed and pushed the maps away from her. Picking up the handgun, she held it with the confidence of someone completely at ease with a weapon in her hand. She ran her other hand over the weapon, almost caressing the barrel as she ran a cloth over it, keeping it in pristine firing condition. The weapon had never failed her, because she took such good care of it. It fired every time, and she never missed her target. Only once had she ever wished she had missed, but she'd had a job to do, regardless of the cost.
"Larnia! Where are you?" A deep male voice called, interrupting her musings.
"I'm here, same place I was when you left," Larnia called back, smiling as the man walked into the room where she was working.
"Got you some breakfast..." He held out a paper bag from one of the many fast food restaurants in the area.
"You mean lunch, right?" Laughing, Larnia took the bag and grabbed a few lukewarm fries, munching on them idly as she put her weapon back on the table and pulled the floor plan diagram back into view.
"Right," he agreed quietly. "So, how are we doing?" He nodded towards the drawing she was working on.
"We're almost ready. I should have everything we need detailed by tonight, so we can go tomorrow, as planned."
"Good."
"Now get lost so I can finish my work," she laughed, turning back to her work. As soon as the man left the room, her smile disappeared. She waited until she heard the door close behind him, then moved silently to the window, watching as the man dove off. As soon as he was out of sight, she flicked open her cell phone and dialled a number she knew by heart...
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