Chapter 17

We stood at attention not wanting to move. I was counting the number of names listed. Only fifteen were called. Which means I actually made it to round two. I'm the first female to enter Rangers training. "Congratulations men." He didn't single me out which I greatly appreciated. "Your phase one assigned partners will train with you during the eight week training program. Unlike phase one, you will not fail if your partner fails. During the rigorous training schedule, some of you will not make it past the fifth week. Report back here at 0600 tomorrow. Dismissed." I had a strong feeling we will be training harder than I could ever imagine.

Uncle Alex was waiting for us when we got home. He was smiling like the cat who ate the canary. "What did you do?" I asked with a laugh. No doubt he did do something. He may be my superior, but at home he was always my uncle first.

"I have your final grades from your assessment." We must have done better than I thought. General Rogers said my name last, so I could only assume we barely made the grade.

"Let me guess... I was last in the top thirty." To make the top thirty was a remarkable feat in itself. I had no idea how wrong I could be.

"General Rogers randomly called names but left the top two recruits for last. You and Manoso scored in the top two," he said with pride.

"I don't want to know who was number one," I lied. Number one or two was still amazing. My ego wanted to know where I placed but I doubted it was in the number one slot.

"You and Manoso scored equally on most events save two. Tactical plan and Sniper. Manoso scored higher on tactical and you scored higher on Sniper. In fact, you scored the highest out of all recruits on your sniper test," he bragged. I just wanted him to get on with it.

"Who scored highest?" Carlos asked curiously.

"Both of you," he announced passing me the document. I saw there was a few more events where I scored higher or Carlos scored higher. It wasn't surprising to see I kicked his ass for sniper and computer literacy. He had a slight edge for tactical and obstacle course. "Overall you're equally matched. If you both make it through the next few months, you'll be an unstoppable team."

"Wow Uncle Alex. I knew we did extremely well, but I thought for sure Carlos kicked my ass out there," I admitted.

"The next few months are going to be physically and mentally exhausting. Are you sure you can do this?" he asked me.

"I'm in excellent physical shape," I replied.

Aunt Rylie and I went to the kitchen to make our lunch. We talked as we assembled the sandwiches. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was quick. My stomach has been grumbling for quite a while.

We sat around the table to talk when a group of men arrived at our door. It was the same entourage from yesterday. Tank lifted me into his arms, "Congratulations Little Girl." The other men greeted me in a similar manner.

"Wonder Woman you totally kicked our asses today," Cal stated.

The men snapped their eyes to me. "You're the Wonder Woman?" Junior asked stressing the word 'the' in his question.

"Yes. My friend is called Cat Woman," I added.

Lester stared at me before his mouth popped open. "Wonder Cat. The dynamic duo. Soldiers all new female recruits idolize and all the men want to meet. Where is Cat Woman?" Lester asked. I thought he would know where his cousin was.

"Jeanne is undercover for another six months," I gave away part of her name to see if Carlos or Lester would get the hint.

Carlos was quick to understand. "Jeanne Ellen Burrows? My cousin? Your barracks roommate and best friend?" he asked.

"Yes to all of it," I said giving him a look. Please don't ask the next question I could easily read on your face, I silently pleaded. Technically she's my cousin too, by adoption not blood related. So our mutual sexual release was not incest. Carlos knew I experimented with another woman once because I was completely honest with him. I wondered if he had one of his friends help him rub one off.

"We'll talk later," he whispered in my ear.

As promised, I used my poker winnings to order pizza for our group. It was the last night we could make poor nutritional choices before we had to follow strict dietary protocol. We had a very early morning so the men didn't stay too late.

Carlos and I made love before snuggling to talk. "You didn't cheat on me because we weren't together then," he insisted for the millionth time.

"It doesn't make it right. We never should have crossed that line in the first place," I was regretting my only time with Jeanne. "I know it won't happen again."

"I don't share and I don't expect you to share. None of my friends helped me nor did I help them," he stated.

"You're not upset I had sex while you abstained?" I asked since this was too good to be true.

"You were dealing with your old family drama. It was a difficult time for you and you needed to have that human touch. I understand and I'm not upset. From now on, whenever you need another human for sex, it better be me and only me," he said sounding like a caveman.

"I don't share either. We only get pleasure from each other," I continued.

"Together. Only you, only me," he said between kisses. "Forever." He pulled my body partially on top of him, in our typical morning position. "Sweet dreams my love."

"Goodnight Batman."

My dreams were very erotic and so realistic it caused me to open my eyes. I woke up riding Carlos when my orgasm hit. It wasn't a dream... or if it was, it quickly became a reality. "Steph," he cried as my muscles clenched him, causing him to release into me. "Babe. The best wake up alarm ever." His hands pulled me until my chest was pressed against his.

"Morning to you too, Mr Cuban Adonis sex God husband of mine."

"We need to shower and grab breakfast," he said while slapping my ass.

"Okay. Follow me handsome." I threw off the covers and strutted naked towards our bathroom. He jumped out after me and pulled me over his shoulder, giving my ass another slap. This routine quickly became normal over the next few weeks.

Carlos and I collapsed into our bed extremely exhausted. We've been training hard for the last seven weeks. Our training group was significantly smaller. Lester, Tank, Bobby, Ram, Cal, Hal, Junior, Manny, Rodriguez, Silvio, Zip and Zero were still holding strong with me and Carlos. After our last week of training, we were told two more men wouldn't be moving onto the final phase. Rodriguez and Silvio mentioned they were planning to drop out after training.

Silvio recently married and his wife was moving to Trenton New Jersey to be with her family. She was already six months pregnant and he wanted to be around for their baby. Being on a special ops team and in the military was more than he could handle. "Sarah doesn't mind me being in the Army. She could handle my regular tours, but I know she couldn't handle the more dangerous Ranger missions," he explained.

Rodriguez loved the program, but he was more interested in another special ops group. He was meeting with General Rogers tomorrow to discuss his options. "I want to plan the missions including extractions. My skills would be better served here behind a computer terminal," he told me while the guys were teasing Silvio.

"I could see that. You scored high on both computer literacy and tactical planning. What are you hoping to accomplish?" I asked.

"The program we use can be improved. I've been playing with the code and found a way to catch a piggy backer," he said with pride. I started rhyming off some code and logic equations to plug that hole and a few more. He grabbed some paper and a pen to write down my code. "If we add in these lines," he jotted down some code, "We could track the piggy backer stealthily and shut him down."

"Can I have the pen for a minute?" I asked. He handed me the pen and a blank paper. I filled three full pages with code. "If we add this to the back of your code, it would plant a virus on his computer. We'll receive a copy of everything on his hard drive before it's completely erased."

"How?" he asked in awe.

"I wrote the original program and I've been working on this fix for months," I replied with a shrug.

"Ric, your wife is the most intelligent person in this room," Rodriguez told my husband. The men know we are married and completely respect our vows. During our training sessions, we've also become close friends.

Our final day of training arrived. Rodriguez will be moving to the other special ops group after he completes his training. Silvio was still in our training group and was in the process of moving to the other group with Rodriguez. Sarah, Silvio's wife, was pleased with the decision. He would be transferring to DC where he'd work in the administration office, his wife was moving with him. Rodriguez was staying on the base to train new computer techs. I loved programming, but it wasn't something I wanted to do full time.

General Rogers announced we were all moving forward in our training. Cal, Ram, Manny and I are the snipers. Carlos, Tank, Hal and Zero are tacticians, Bobby and Junior are medics. Zip and Lester are the explosives experts. We were divided into two groups of six.

My team has Carlos, Ram, Tank, Lester and Bobby. The other men are on the other team. For our first deployment, the two teams would be working together. We could begin the final training for Rangers. I had a feeling these next few months were going to be absolutely brutal. Three more Ranger groups were joining us for our final training. Only the best will be deployed for the next mission.

The next few months were the most exhausting, mentally draining and difficult months in my entire life. I thought the first few months were difficult, but it was nothing compared to this. Thank goodness I got my head screwed on after losing Stephan. A few times I got too close to cracking. It took all my mental strength to persevere. I lost over 20 lbs and the program restrictions was starting to wear me down.

Several men left the program and I was thinking about following suit. We still had a few more months to train. Carlos and I discussed my options. He wanted me to stick with the program. I attempted to argue he didn't need the extra mental strain of worrying about me. He's a remarkable soldier and is clearly a Ranger at heart. It was time to let my husband soar.

Ranger training involved detaching your emotions. I could detach to a degree, but I started feeling I was losing myself. Carlos talked me into continuing our training. Our team needed my spidey sense. We were going to be the dynamic duo.

That night Carlos and I made love for the first time in weeks. It would need to get us through the next few months. Our team would be deployed once training is complete. We are forbidden to have a sexual relationship while deployed.

The team ran through various scenarios. Some were extremely difficult, but I managed to pull through. A few days after our training completed, we were sent on our first deployment. There was a possibility I would be required to be a decoy. We assured our CO I wouldn't be a distraction for Carlos if I was on his team. He could maintain focus on his men to keep everyone safe.

His team requires my intuitive skills to assist with the mission. If any intel was minutely inaccurate, I would be the person to notice. We signed our contracts. Mine had a pregnancy clause indicating if I were to become pregnant, I was to notify my CO immediately.

Carlos nodded to greet me. He seemed to be more detached, like a switch was flicked. I couldn't read his expressions. It was as though Ranger training hardened him more than it hardened me. We all agreed to the terms of the mission, assuring everyone we could remain professional. When I was told Carlos was our team leader, that puzzle piece fell neatly into place. He was focused on his job.

The team met us back at General Alex's house to discuss our mission. "Men!" Carlos commanded the room. He was assigned as our team leader. "We're heading to Columbia to take out Jose Hernandez. He's wanted for drug and human trafficking." I listened as he outlined our task. Hernandez is six feet tall, black hair and eyes. His skin was dark like Carlos' skin. He was an attractive man but he had a cut across his right eyebrow.

A team of soldiers would keep an eye on his movement within the compound. Ram and I would be stationed on top of a building outside the camp. I'll be on the east building, Ram on the west. If I had a clear shot, I need to tap my radio button once, Ram twice in quick succession. Carlos, Tank and Lester would infiltrate the compound. Bobby would wait with the patrol. Lester was planning to drop an explosive at Hernandez's back door, rendering that exit useless. We needed to lure him out the front door. The other Ranger team, Hal's team, would be providing assistance and guarding the back of the compound.