CHAPTER FOUR
Mike stood at the entrance to the barracks. He had his own quarters separate from the main barracks, being an Admiral, but his instructors would be bunking with their trainees. So far everyone but Tex and Second Place had checked in, but he wasn't too worried they still had two hours before the recruits arrived.
His gear was stowed, and he stepped out into the sunshine. He had already toured the facility and was satisfied with the equipment and set up that Reiss and Kincaid had arranged. As he walked over to the parade grounds, he saw a jeep pull up. He glanced over and noticed that it was Tex and Second Place arriving. He walked over.
"Hey, Tex," Mike said in greeting. Tex jumped out of the driver seat and stuck a hand out. Mike shook it and smiled at Second Place. "Nice to see you too. You're the last two to check in."
"Gotta make that grand entrance," Tex said with a smile. "Where we staying?"
"Tex, you're over there in the men's barracks. Your other four men are settled in, and I suppose hanging out in there."
"And where am I bunking?" Second Place asked. Mike looked at her.
"Female barracks are over there," Mike replied pointing to another building. "You get your pick since you're the only female instructor."
"Sounds peachy," she said and grabbed her bag from the back of the jeep.
"We have a meeting in half an hour in the gym," Mike yelled after the two as they went their separate ways. They both threw a hand up in the air to acknowledge they heard him and continued on their way.
Mike made his way into the gym and sat down on the edge of the boxing ring. He checked his watch and blew out a breath. Hopefully this program went smoothly, and he wouldn't have to deal with Reiss and Kincaid over the efficiency of the trainers. He checked his watch again and saw they still had eight minutes before the meeting.
When he looked up, he noticed the Second Place had joined him in the gym. She was walking through slowly, admiring all the equipment they were given to train the new recruits. She looked over and saw him staring at her and gave him a small smile. He smiled back and she slowly approached him.
"Get settled in?" Mike asked to break the ice. She nodded slowly.
"As settled as one can get in an open barrack."
"Did you take the officers' quarters?"
"No. It was big and would be creepy with just me. I'll bunk with the recruits unless it becomes an issue."
"Your choice," Mike said with a shrug. He was intrigued by her. He took a moment to take her in. He guessed she stood about five feet six inches. Almost a foot shorter than him. Her frame looked to be filled out with solid muscle, but she wasn't over developed so it was hard to gauge her strength. He figured she would surprise a lot of men. Her hair was short and a deep red color. He wandered if it was her real color. Her eyes were a golden brown with tiny flecks of yellow in them. She seemed to squirm a little under his scrutiny.
"How'd you get saddled with this project?" she asked suddenly and Mike thought about the way she asked the question. He smiled.
"I didn't want another sea duty," Mike said with a shoulder shrug. He thought a moment about his next question then decided to ask away. "How'd you get a name like Second Place?"
She looked at him for a long moment. He let her stare him down. He maintained eye contact with her until she smiled. She looked over her shoulder at the door, as if expecting someone to come to her rescue. Mike wondered why she had a hard time with people.
"Maybe you'll hear the story sometime," she mumbled as she looked back at him. Mike quirked an eyebrow at her, but she just gave him a tight smile. He nodded slowly knowing she wasn't going to share it with him now. She visibly relaxed when Tex banged through the doors, announcing his presence.
"Have no fear, Tex is here," he said with his arms raised in the air. Mike rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. The other trainers filed into the gym behind Tex. Mike stood ready to get the meeting started. His recruits would be there soon.
"Alright, listen up," Mike said in his command voice. The trainers all lined up in front of him. "The first round of recruits will be here soon. We have four weeks to whip them in shape. This round we have Army and Marines. So, a lot of hand-to-hand combat and survival training. We'll take them to the range and assess them, then the ones that need work will also put in range time."
"Sounds good. How are we breaking things down?" Gavin West asked.
"When we get the recruits, I'll break them down into smaller groups and each of you will be assigned a specific task each day to work with each group."
"How many recruits are we getting?" Colt Brannigan asked.
"I've heard thirty in the first group. Groups may grow as more recruits sign up and finish the initial training. Any more questions?"
No one had one so Mike let them go with instructions to familiarize themselves with the facility. They scattered about after that, and Mike pulled himself up. He turned to find Tex standing near the boxing ring.
"Need me?" Mike asked him.
"Always, Admiral, you know that," Tex replied, and Mike smiled. "But not for anything specific at this current moment in time."
Mike shook his head and turned to walk away from Tex and almost tripped over Second Place. He caught himself on her shoulder and stepped around her.
"Sorry, Admiral," she said, and Mike nodded.
"Need something?" he asked quietly as he took a step back.
"Naw, just looking at the ring and lost my proprioceptive sense."
"Propio what?" Mike asked.
"Proprioceptive?"
"What is that?"
"It's the system in your body that tells you about spatial awareness," she said with a tight smile. "Sorry, mine sometimes malfunctions and I'm not aware of my surroundings."
"Okay," Mike said slowly. "Will this be a problem?"
"Uh, no," Second Place said quickly. "Sorry, forget I said anything."
She hurried off after that and Mike watched her go. The more he was around her the more she intrigued him. He shook his mind free and walked towards the gymnasium exit. He walked out into the sunshine and stopped next to the parade grounds. There was a large parking lot that the bus would unload in. He watched the bus coming down the driveway. Once the bus parked and the recruits unloaded and grabbed their various bags Mike called for attention.
"Attention," Mike yelled. The recruits snapped into lines and stood before him. Mike noticed his trainers had joined him and were standing in a line just off to his side. "My name is Admiral Slattery. I am in charge of this barracks. While you are here you will build on the skills you learned in your initial training. I have six instructors plus myself that will teach you better hand to hand combat skills, how to survive in the wildness when you are cut off from everyone else, and how to shoot more accurately.
"You have thirty minutes to secure your belongings in the barracks before I want you at attention on the parade grounds," Mike continued. "Dismissed."
He watched as the recruits broke from the line and started to hustle towards the buildings marked barracks. Mike counted twenty-one men and nine women as they scattered. Two of his male instructors walked back to the barracks with the recruits but he noticed that Second Place let the women go on their own. She stayed on the parade grounds, taking a seat on a concrete wall to wait.
Mike walked over and sat down next to her. She physically tensed and Mike wondered what had happened to her to cause that kind of reaction. He had no idea why he had sat down next to her, other than he was starting to enjoy her company and wanted to know more about her.
"Admiral," she said in greeting. Mike smiled.
"You can call me Mike. You're not in the Navy."
"How about I call you Slattery," she offered. He thought it over.
"I guess it's better than Admiral."
"Slattery it is then."
"I know you ended up here because you know Tex. But how did you fall in with him in the first place?"
"Digging into my past?"
"Just making conversation. If you don't want to talk about you, we can talk about the weather," Mike said back pedaling a little. He could sense she was uncomfortable talking about herself.
"It sure is sunny today," she answered, and Mike nodded. Message received. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out over the parade grounds.
"Sure is," he said. They were quiet for a while and Mike's brain wandered to his family. It was weird, even all this time later, the odd times his brain brought them up. He was remembering his son right now, lost in the memory.
"They're coming back," Second Place said next to him, and he startled a little. He had forgotten where he was. He looked at her briefly before shifting his gaze to the returning men and women.
"Thanks," he mumbled as he pushed up from the wall and stood. She remained sitting on the wall as he walked to the parade ground and stood, waiting for everyone to fall into place.
Once everyone was back and his trainers were all present, he broke the group into six smaller ones and sent them off with the trainers. He sent Second Place into the gym with a group of five. He gave her two of the women to start and three men. Mike grabbed Tex by the arm as he passed making the other man pause.
"I'm gonna float between groups for now. I'll start in the gym with Second Place. I want you to take the range and assess everyone's shots."
"Aye, Admiral," Tex said giving a mock salute. Mike nodded then let Tex's arm go as he headed into the gym after Second Place and her group. When he came in, she had them lined up on a mat, explaining what they would be working one.
"To start with I'm going to assess what you know. So, one at a time you'll spar with me." Mike raised an eyebrow. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "Recruit, what's your name?" she asked pointing at one of the women.
"Ma'am, Sheila Tabor, Ma'am," the recruit shouted. Second Place sighed then motioned for her to step forward.
"Come over here," Second Place said, and Tabor walked in front of her. "Take a stance and come at me."
Mike watched as the woman attempted a fighting stance and advanced on Second Place. It took her about three seconds to neutralize the woman and take her down to the mat, immobilizing her. Mike was impressed. Second Place jumped to her feet, extended her hand, and pulled the other woman up.
"You've got a lot to learn," Second Place said. Mike looked at the other recruits. Most looked worried but one of the young men looked smug. "You," she said pointing at one of the guys.
"Ma'am, Andrew Breskin, Ma'am," the young man said.
"Alight, Breskin, your turn."
He lasted about five seconds, but Second Place subdued him as well. He looked embarrassed to have been taken down so quickly. He refused her hand up and jumped to his feet rejoining the others.
This repeated with two of the others before she came up against the smug young man. Mike stood up a little straighter as he didn't like the arrogance the man carried. Second Place looked him over.
"What's your name, kid?" she asked. Mike saw the look of annoyance the flashed over the young man's face.
"Not a kid. And my name's Jenson Knight," he said with attitude.
"Alright, Knight, show me what you think you got." The kid smirked and stepped up in front of Second Place and took a decent stance.
He advanced and moved quickly, but she was faster. He got in a couple knocks but for the most part it looked like Second Place was toying with him. Once she grew bored Mike saw when she moved for real. She swept his feet from under him, taking him down hard on his back, knocking the wind from him. She leaned down.
"You think you're good, but you need a lot of work," she whispered to him them walked back to the group. The young man sprung to his feet and Mike was sure he was going to attack her from behind. He went to step forward when she looked over her shoulder freezing him in his tracks. "I went easy on you the first time. It's in my contract I ain't liable if you get hurt."
Mike covered his mouth to stop the snicker that almost escaped. The young man's nostrils flared, and Mike watched as he flexed his muscles. Second Place went back to training to others, leaving it up to Knight if he was going to join or not.
The young man made the right decision and joined the rest of the group. He watched a while longer and figured she had a handle on the training, so he walked from the gym and headed for the range.
To Be Continued…