"Where are you going, Mr. McCarthy?" - The recruiter exclaimed anxiously, rushing toward Emmett. - "Stand back at once!"
"We have a plan, sir," Bella exclaimed.
"What plan?" - The recruiter looked at her incredulously. - "There are enough professionals to solve this problem. Just wait".
"No. He won't talk to the people who blew him off," Bella stated confidently. - And Emmett is a recruit like him, who also didn't qualify. He might talk him into putting the gun down.
"Or he might not, and then he'll shoot!"
"He'll shoot anyway. Look at him. He's already on the edge," Bella pointed to the boy, whose face was streaming with cold sweat and his pupils were constricted, as if he'd been drugged. - "We don't have a contract yet, and you're not responsible for us!"
The recruiter didn't put up with their arbitrariness and was about to object, but Emmett had already stepped out behind the partition.
The guy immediately turned to him, along with a terrified Renee.
"Don't move, or she's dead!" - He exclaimed.
"Okay, okay," Emmett held up his hands. - "Easy, man. I'm not one of those uniformed clerks. I wanted to be a Marine, too, and they sent me home, too. They sit here at their computers and think their tests mean something. Their tests are crap!"
Emmett hesitated, thinking he'd overreacted, but when he caught Bella's approving glance, he continued:
"Let's just get out of here, man. Where are you from?"
"Connecticut," - the guy replied. - "I did so much to get here, and they just sent me away".
"And I come from Tennessee. All of Gatlinburg saw me off. It's a shame for me to go home now," Emmett said with sincere resentment.
"My dad won't let me home," - the boy said. - "He hates losers. I have to become a Marine. I have to".
"To hell with the Marines. It's not us that's stupid, it's them and their tests. Why the hell would I know where Iraq is?" - Emmett shrugged his pumped-up shoulders.
"And I know," - the guy said, not letting go of Renee and still clutching his gun.
"So, you're really smart. You can go to college... What's your name, anyway?"
"Riley," the boy answered. - "Riley Biers".
"I'm Emmett," the baseball player said. - "Look, Riley, you're not gonna make it in the Marines anyway. Drop the gun and blow it off. It's not you they don't need. You don't need them. They don't care about our dreams. So why are we going to ruin our lives for them? Better... better start playing baseball!"
"But what am I going to tell my father..."
"Tell him you're going to college and that only fools serve in the Marines," Emmett said. - "Come on, Riley, drop the gun, let the woman go, and let's get out of here."
Riley looked doubtfully at the gun in his own hand, as if he realized for the first time that he was holding a real weapon, and threw it to the floor, then collapsed to his knees and put his arms around his head.
One of the marines immediately grabbed Renee and quickly led her away to safety, while the other two pushed Riley to the ground, pushing the weapon away from him.
Emmett scratched his forehead in shock and muttered with eyes round with amazement:
"Holy shit! It worked!"
Riley, pale as death, was jerked to his feet and led out into the hallway.
Bella immediately ran to Renee and hugged her tightly. Renee rested her head on her shoulder and burst into tears.
"Are you okay?" - Bella asked when Renee had calmed down a little and took a glass of coffee from the colonel, who had apparently come to formally apologize to her.
"Bella, it's awful in here!" - Renee exclaimed, swallowing her tears. - "I came here to convince you to stay. But now you know what a nightmare it all is, don't you? I won't let you go to those lunatics!"
"Mom, I know what I'm doing. You always did what you wanted and you didn't care what anyone thought of you. Why could you leave Dad and me and Forks and I can't go into the Marines?" - Bella looked intently at Renee. - "And when were you going to tell me I was going to have a brother or sister?"
"When I finally get a divorce from your father," Renee admitted. - "I don't want him to start claiming the child!"
"How can he claim Phil's baby?" - Bella wondered.
"The thing is, I'm not sure that the baby is Phil's..." Renee began, but then she stopped and turned sharply toward the Colonel and shouted, "I'll sue you! Where did that lunatic get the gun?"
"He waited the guard in WC, hit him and took the gun away," replied the colonel. - "I'm very sorry, ma'am. We are ready to discuss with you the issue of compensation for moral damages."
"I'm calling my lawyer!" - Renee declared, finally coming to her senses.
Knowing her mother's character, Bella was sure Uncle Sam would have to pay for his mistake to avoid an all-US scandal.
"Because of you, my baby was under terrible stress before he was born!" - Renee was seething, oblivious of the purpose of her visit.
Bella convinced that her mother was fine and back in her element, walked over to Emmett, standing surrounded by other recruits.
She couldn't understand how Renee could be pregnant with someone other than Phil. My God, had she cheated on him, too? But then what did Charlie have to do with it?
Or had she and father been doing more than just fighting lately?
It was time to end this soap opera!
When he saw Bella, a cheerful Emmett immediately jumped up to her, ditching his admirers.
"And how did you know what to say to him? It was just like in the movies!"
"It just came out," Bella said honestly. - "You have a good memory. You said it word for word. I'm surprised you couldn't remember where Iraq is."
"I just didn't learn," Emmett blurted out. - "I had training all the time instead of class."
After the police left, interviewing all the witnesses and taking Renee with them to testify, one of the military clerks stepped into the center of the room and spoke into the microphone:
"Since the emergency situation has been successfully resolved, we can get back to work. All station personnel and recruits are requested to resume their duties immediately."
Bella and Emmett returned to their recruits and sat down to await the verdict. Sinking into his chair, Emmett immediately exclaimed:
"I don't think your tests are crap. And I really want to join the Marines. Everything I said in there was..." Emmett hesitated, but the recruiter finished the sentence for him:
"Military cunning?
"Yes, yes," Emmett cheered. - "Military cunning!"
"That was impressive, Mr. McCarthy," the recruiter said without any irony. - "You've demonstrated great wit, courage, and the ability to act quickly and appropriately in a critical situation."
"Wow, thank you, sir," Emmett said happily. - "But it wasn't my idea."
"Whose was it, Mr. McCarthy?"
"This little girl," Emmett pointed to the next table, where Bella sat, hunched over. - "Isabella Swan."
The recruiter smiled, noticing Bella's embarrassment at Emmett's loud statements, and said:
"In any case, you've shown admirable courage, Mr. McCarthy. And Colonel Rogers feels that as a reward for your deed, we can make an exception and allow you to sign a contract with the United States Marine Corps. Congratulations!"
Emmett jumped up in his chair so hard it nearly fell out from under him:
"You won't regret it, sir. I'll prove I'm the best. And I'll find out where that damn Iraq is, you have my word!"
"I'm sure you will, Mr. McCarthy," laughed the recruiter. - "Now let's get to the terms of your contract."
"So, Miss Swan, let's continue," said the stern recruiter in a casual tone, looking closely at Bella. - "We stopped at the choice of your specialty. As I told you, we offer you the service in logistics unit..."
"Aren't there any other options, sir?" - Bella looked at him pleadingly. - "I'm a good shot with a rifle. I could be a rifleman!"
"Ms. Swan, legislation prohibits women from direct participation in combat, so women cannot serve as riflemen," the recruiter said.
"But thousands of women have served in Afghanistan and Iraq," Bella objected.
"And they've almost served in logistics and support units," the recruiter said.
"Okay," Bella sighed. - "Then send me to do ammunition accounting in Iraq or Afghanistan!"
She might have to do some boring nonsense, but at least she'd see a whole different world and maybe she could prove herself again, like now, with that madman Riley.
"An 18-year-old girl without special skills has practically no chance to get to Iraq and Afghanistan, Miss Swan," - said the recruiter, handing her a contract.
"So you would rather conscript adult reservists, many of whom have families and children and don't want to go to war, when you have young volunteers?" - Bella was indignant.
"Tell me, why do you want to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan, Miss Swan?" - The recruiter spoke, looking at her attentively.
Bella wanted to say something about patriotism and the desire to bring order and democracy to the war-torn countries of the Middle East, but instead she suddenly answered:
"I know that I can do something important there. I can become better and stronger. I helped save my mother from an armed terrorist today. You see, I never thought I could do that. I realized... I realized… I could really be a Marine!"
She fell silent, thinking that her words now sounded quite childish, but suddenly she saw in the recruiter's eyes sincere sympathy, so unexpected in his dry, stern face.
"Ms. Swan, I can offer you the reserve service," he said. - "It implies minimum employment - visiting the duty station one weekend a month and two weeks a year. And reserve service doesn't pay as well as active duty..."
"But I could be sent to Afghanistan?" - Bella perked up.
"It's unlikely, but, yes, your chances would increase somewhat. You see, Miss Swan, the one who is on full-time service, as a rule, is directed to the certain place of service, and to pull it out to the mission in Iraq or Afghanistan is more difficult than to send an available reservist there," - the recruiter thumbed through her file and added in a low voice. - "So if you choose reserve, Miss Swan, start to learn Arabic or Pashto and make sure that your personal file contains record of knowledge of this language."
"Pashto?" - Bella looked at him in surprise, and the recruiter continued:
"Arabic, Pashto, or dari. Do you understand me, Miss Swan?"
Bella smiled and nodded:
"Yes, I understand you, sir. I choose the reserve!"