Flint assembled his team in the morning. He had let them sleep in a little, figuring that they should take it easy the first few days to get used to the mountain air. They grudgingly ate their pork and beans for breakfast and went over in more detail what each team member was expected to accomplish. They each had a walkie talkie in case of emergencies, and all the supplies they'd need for the day. He hated sending them off to obviously ill-matched assignments, but Duke must want to see how they handled it, so…

Flint made sure that everyone had the equipment they needed and watched as they left one by one. He turned to face the building. He was not very experienced with this kind of thing. Looking at the tools and supplies, he was overwhelmed. Should he start on the roof? The walls? Somewhere else? He had no idea. Sighing, he picked up a clipboard. He could at least make a list of what needed to be done. Maybe at lunch someone could tell him where to start…

Bazooka looked down at the clipboard. Somehow he had to turn the blank pages in front of him into a detailed map that included major land features, elevation, and trails. His small pack held a GPS device, binoculars, and survey equipment that he didn't know how to use. He sighed, looking up at the tall peaks around him. He supposed it made sense to get an overhead view first. He began to climb…

Footloose stared at the wide river, then at the pile of timber on the bank. Somehow he had to make a dock that wouldn't float away. But how? Obviously the posts needed to be sunk in the river bottom…but his only gear was a pair of hip waders and a mallet. He pulled on the waterproof overalls and took a tentative step into the water…

Lady Jaye looked up at the sheer cliff face. Somehow she was supposed to get to the top of it and wave around a radio antenna. She clutched the rope and harness, remembering back to the few practice sessions she'd had with Alpine. Of course, those were on a fake wall in the gym, and she never got more than twenty feet off the ground. This cliff was a lot higher than that…

Alpine stood in front of the generator at the back of the building. He'd managed to put gas in the tank, but the contraption refused to start. The small tool box contained several items, the uses of which he couldn't even begin to guess. With a grim expression, he started pulling the machine apart. Maybe the problem would become obvious once he looked at the inside…

Flint finished his list and checked his watch. He had circled the building for two hours, and he wasn't sure he'd gotten everything down. It wasn't nearly lunch time yet, but he thought it might be a good idea to check on his charges. He could hear Alpine swearing behind the building; apparently fixing the generator wasn't going well.

"Hey, Alpine," Flint greeted his teammate. He scanned the parts littering the ground. "Will we have electricity tonight?"

"Maybe next year," Alpine retorted. "I don't even know how a generator is supposed to work—how am I supposed to fix one?"

Flint shrugged. "The same way I'm supposed to put up a new roof, I guess. Let's take a break and see how the others are doing."

Alpine rose and stretched. "That sounds like a great idea."

They headed into the woods toward the stream, knowing that Footloose was the next closest teammate. They found him covered in muck, sitting on the bank and staring at the water rushing by. "Footloose, you okay, man?" Alpine asked.

Footloose looked up. "I was just trying to get into the whole dock thing, you know?" he asked. "Like, become the dock, and it will be obvious how it wants to be put together."

"Yeah, that's probably not going to work," Flint commented, rubbing his chin. He looked around. "Didn't you have a lot more wood than this?"

Footloose nodded slowly. "The stream took it, man. There's like, nothing to attach it to."

Flint ran a hand through his hair. This was impossible. How was he supposed to get anything done the way this was organized? He doubted even Duke could pull it off. "Well, we were on our way to check on the others if you want to come."

"Yeah. This place and I don't get along."

The three of them followed the deer paths toward where Bazooka was supposed to be working. He wasn't anywhere near the clearing downstream that was supposed to be the center of the map. Flint unclipped his walkie talkie and called for Bazooka. There was no answer after three tries. Worried, Flint tried Lady Jaye. She answered right away, much to Flint's relief. "Have you seen Bazooka?" he asked her.

"No, but I can hear him singing," she answered. "Hang on." There was a long pause, and then she spoke again. "He's up on the cliff near me."

"On the cliff?" Flint asked. "I'm on my way. Don't go anywhere."

He heard her laugh and respond, "Yeah, no problem."

The three men reached the cliff, but the only sign of their teammates was Lady Jaye's climbing rope hanging down over the rock. Alpine gave it a little tug and muttered, "Why'd she go up there? That's the worst route she could have taken."

"Is there a better way up?" Flint asked.

Alpine nodded and led them around the base of the cliff to another area. It looked like someone else had been through there recently; probably Bazooka. Alpine started climbing, and the others followed in his footsteps.

About fifty feet up, Bazooka's gear lay in a pile. There was no sign of the soldier, though. "Hey, Bazook!" Alpine called. "You up there?"

"Yeah," came the faint reply. "I'm drawing a map!"

"Dummy," Alpine muttered. He began to climb again, and a short while later they all came out on a wide ledge. Bazooka was seated cross-legged on the ground, bent over his clipboard. His tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth and his brows were furrowed in concentration.

"Bazooka, please keep your radio with you," Flint admonished. "You had me worried."

Bazooka looked up and smiled. "Sorry. All that stuff was too heavy," he replied. He held out the clipboard to Flint. "Whaddya think?"

Flint looked down at the drawing. It showed the river, the mountain peak they were standing on, and several trees drawn in classic cartoon style.

"Very nice," Alpine commented, looking over Flint's shoulder. "I'll hang it on the fridge when we get back to base."

Flint tried very hard to think of something nice to say. "Um, the river is pretty accurate," he told Bazooka, whose face lit up. "And those are really good trees." Duke was going to laugh his ass off when they returned. Flint sighed. "Let's find Lady Jaye."

Alpine led the way again, but they had to stop when it became apparent the ledge didn't continue all the way to her position. Flint radioed her again and asked if she could work her way over.

"Well…I don't think I can," she responded. "I'm—kind of stuck."

Flint sent Alpine over alone, and it took them almost an hour to work their way back. Lady Jaye clung to the rocks and picked her way carefully, but at last they were all on the ledge together.

They sat looking out over the view. It was stunning. The river shone in the sunlight and the trees stretched to the horizon. The silence lasted several minutes, until Footloose said what they were all thinking. "This is such a blow-out, man."

Flint suggested they go eat lunch before doing anything else. At this rate they'd be here a lot longer than a month before everything got done. He ground his teeth in frustration the whole way back to camp.

He stopped short in the clearing. "I forgot we have to eat pork and beans again," he growled.

Footloose nodded. "My stomach already hurts,"

"At least you didn't have to sleep next to Bazooka. It gives a whole new meaning to his code name," Alpine quipped.

Lady Jaye sat on one of the logs, glancing over at the building. "The repairs are looking real good, Flint," she said dryly.

"Is the generator up yet or do we have to build a fire?" Bazooka asked.

"The generator is not even close to running," Alpine answered, stacking wood in a pile.

"Let me get the fire," Bazooka told him. "I grew up camping in Minnesota."

"Land of a thousand lakes," Footloose said. "That must have been serene."

"Yeah, we had a house right on the water with a dock and canoes… we used to fish all of the time, and—"

"You had a dock?" Footloose interrupted.

"Sure. Built it myself."

Footloose stared at him. He shot a glance at Flint and said, "Hey, man, what say we pull a little switcheroo on the jobs? I'll try my hand at mapping if you put the dock together."

They turned toward Flint. He met their earnest gazes and let his shoulders drop. "Do you even know how to make a topographical map?" he asked Footloose.

"No, but it's gotta be better than letting all the wood float away," he answered.

Alpine spoke up. "Speaking of trading jobs, anyone know how to fix a generator?"

"Sure, man. No problem. I can fix all kinds of stuff," Footloose answered.

"Great!" Alpine exclaimed. "But that leaves me making the map…"

"Not if you want to climb mountains instead," Lady Jaye said.

"Don't you like it?" Alpine asked with a laugh.

"No. I'm… kinda…" the rest of her sentence was inaudible.

"What was that?" Alpine asked, putting a hand to his ear.

She looked up with a glare. "I'm afraid of heights, okay?"

The others chuckled. "No way. I didn't think you were scared of anything!" Bazooka exclaimed.

She sighed. "I can't make a map, either, though."

Flint cleared his throat. "I can."

They all looked up at him. He met their gazes one by one. "Change of plans," he said.