didn’t even know I had a sister. Got two actually. So I snuck out the night before graduation. Everyone else was wiped out. The last night, after the last patrol, after the entire course, everyone reaches their limits and just collapses.”
“But not you.”
“I knew they were gonna flunk me.” Carter flushed as he realized he’d repeated himself. “I couldn’t flunk. I needed to graduate.”
“For the tab?” This time it was a question.
Carter swallowed, but he was too far down the alley of truth and the walls were closing in. “No, ma’am. I needed the pay bonus.”
She didn’t ask what for, which surprised him. “How did you cheat?”
“I snuck out. Went to the command shed. Stole a smartphone they use for commo. Hacked into the system. Changed my grade.”
Ms. Jones waited.
“Then I got all the score sheets. Took them over to the admin shed. Scanned every one on me. Photoshopped all of them and changed mine to passing. Took them all out into the swamp. Roughed them up and stained them like the originals. That took a while, as I had to dry them off afterward to make them look real. Put them back.”
“They knew you cheated.”
Carter remembered the uproar, the RIs swearing the forms with their signatures weren’t right, that the computer was wrong. The sheets were wrong. “Yes, ma’am.”
“But they graduated you because the computer said so and they were afraid you would appeal and lawyers would get involved and it would be a mess. Easier to move you on.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What a sad state the army is in when an RI just can’t flunk a student with his word as a soldier and that a computer can overrule him. It’s a recipe for disaster. I predict you’ll see a similar disaster like that if you say yes to my question. Which, of course, is why you’re here.”
Then Ms. Jones gave the
why we are here
speech. When she was done, she simply asked: “Can you live with that?”
Carter hesitated, which he knew was bad, but he had to ask. “Ma’am, I reenlisted for Special Forces. And—”
“For the bonus, not because you particularly wanted to be a Green Beret, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ms. Jones remained silent and Carter was tempted to tell her why he needed the bonuses, but he knew Dee would have told him a man doesn’t beg. He only gets that which is his due.
Finally Ms. Jones broke the silence and there was, strangely enough, approval in her voice. “You send all your money to your family. To your older sister, Dee. Correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“To look after your younger siblings.”
That was not a question.
“Your father blew himself up recently cooking methamphetamine, correct?” Ms. Jones did not wait for an answer. “And the county is going to seize the family house and land for back taxes. You need not worry, young man. Your land and house will not be seized by the government. The exact amount of money that you should have gotten in your reenlistment bonus for Special Forceswill be sent to your sister. Understand, though, that unlike our Support, who are contractors—a move I was completely against but was overruled on—we are not mercenaries in the Nightstalkers. We are soldiers. You have sworn an oath.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Your answer?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
There was the grinding sound of a shredder operating in the darkness. “That was your service record. Winthrop Carter no longer exists,” Ms. Jones said. “You may go and learn what name options the team has chosen for you.”
He got up and went to the door. It swung open before his hand touched the knob and Nada was waiting for him, pulling him into the Den, the door swinging shut behind. On one of the whiteboards five names were written, each in a different color:
Slick
Know
Cheetah
Fred
Kobayashi Maru
“Gentlemen,” Moms said. “Please read your choices and explain where needed,” she added with a quizzical glance at Eagle.
Roland spoke first. “I think we name
“But not you.”
“I knew they were gonna flunk me.” Carter flushed as he realized he’d repeated himself. “I couldn’t flunk. I needed to graduate.”
“For the tab?” This time it was a question.
Carter swallowed, but he was too far down the alley of truth and the walls were closing in. “No, ma’am. I needed the pay bonus.”
She didn’t ask what for, which surprised him. “How did you cheat?”
“I snuck out. Went to the command shed. Stole a smartphone they use for commo. Hacked into the system. Changed my grade.”
Ms. Jones waited.
“Then I got all the score sheets. Took them over to the admin shed. Scanned every one on me. Photoshopped all of them and changed mine to passing. Took them all out into the swamp. Roughed them up and stained them like the originals. That took a while, as I had to dry them off afterward to make them look real. Put them back.”
“They knew you cheated.”
Carter remembered the uproar, the RIs swearing the forms with their signatures weren’t right, that the computer was wrong. The sheets were wrong. “Yes, ma’am.”
“But they graduated you because the computer said so and they were afraid you would appeal and lawyers would get involved and it would be a mess. Easier to move you on.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What a sad state the army is in when an RI just can’t flunk a student with his word as a soldier and that a computer can overrule him. It’s a recipe for disaster. I predict you’ll see a similar disaster like that if you say yes to my question. Which, of course, is why you’re here.”
Then Ms. Jones gave the
why we are here
speech. When she was done, she simply asked: “Can you live with that?”
Carter hesitated, which he knew was bad, but he had to ask. “Ma’am, I reenlisted for Special Forces. And—”
“For the bonus, not because you particularly wanted to be a Green Beret, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ms. Jones remained silent and Carter was tempted to tell her why he needed the bonuses, but he knew Dee would have told him a man doesn’t beg. He only gets that which is his due.
Finally Ms. Jones broke the silence and there was, strangely enough, approval in her voice. “You send all your money to your family. To your older sister, Dee. Correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“To look after your younger siblings.”
That was not a question.
“Your father blew himself up recently cooking methamphetamine, correct?” Ms. Jones did not wait for an answer. “And the county is going to seize the family house and land for back taxes. You need not worry, young man. Your land and house will not be seized by the government. The exact amount of money that you should have gotten in your reenlistment bonus for Special Forceswill be sent to your sister. Understand, though, that unlike our Support, who are contractors—a move I was completely against but was overruled on—we are not mercenaries in the Nightstalkers. We are soldiers. You have sworn an oath.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Your answer?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
There was the grinding sound of a shredder operating in the darkness. “That was your service record. Winthrop Carter no longer exists,” Ms. Jones said. “You may go and learn what name options the team has chosen for you.”
He got up and went to the door. It swung open before his hand touched the knob and Nada was waiting for him, pulling him into the Den, the door swinging shut behind. On one of the whiteboards five names were written, each in a different color:
Slick
Know
Cheetah
Fred
Kobayashi Maru
“Gentlemen,” Moms said. “Please read your choices and explain where needed,” she added with a quizzical glance at Eagle.
Roland spoke first. “I think we name
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