him Slick. ’Cause what he did in Ranger School was, well, slick.” The big man flushed red.
Moms was next. “I think we call him Know. Because we all know the
n
in Ranger stands for Knowledge.” She said the old joke with a smile to take away any possible sting.
Mac was standing next to a plastic garbage can. “Shoot, we call him Cheetah, ’cause that’s what he is. Fast and smart.”
Nada was frowning, but that was Nada’s usual look. “Fred. Every team needs a Fred.”
“My choice,” Eagle began, “is—”
“We ain’t using two damn words,” Nada interrupted. “You know the rule. One name. An easy word. And one that won’t confuse us, so I think Know is out, sorry, Moms.”
“It’s okay,” Moms said, meaning she’d never been in.
Ms. Jones’s voice came through the door, surprisingly vibrant. She always sounded perky during the name-choosing ceremony. “What did you write, Mister Eagle?”
“Kobayashi Maru,” Eagle said. “I know the rule about one word and—”
“I believe,” Ms. Jones said, surprisingly interrupting Eagle’s attempt at explaining, “I know where you are going with this. From the old American television series
Star Trek
. I watched it as a child in the former Soviet Union. Yes, we had a television. The test that was lose-lose, where choosing either way was wrong. And Captain Kirk cheated on it by reprogramming the computer. Very interesting.”
There was a silence as they waited on Ms. Jones to make her ruling now that she had all the entries.
“The thing I liked about what our new team member did,” Ms. Jones said, “was not reprogramming the computer. Any fool can reprogram a computer. Even the Photoshopping of the score sheets was to be expected. But he did all of them, not just his own. So they would all look alike and his wouldn’t stand out. And weathering them. That was the nice touch. Welcome to the team, Mister Kirk.”
“Hot damn!” Mac exclaimed, a can of Pearl beer in each hand. He tossed the first to Moms, the next to Nada. He pulled and pitched until everyone had a cold brew in hand. He popped the tab and everyone else did. “To Kirk.”
“To Kirk,” the team echoed.
“I like it,” Nada said after taking a deep draft of the beer. “Short. One syllable.”
Kirk was a bit overwhelmed as his teammates came by, slapping on his shoulder, calling him by his new name. When Mac came up, Kirk clanked cans with him.
“Thanks for the brew, Mac. I didn’t think they made this in the can anymore.”
“They don’t,” Mac said. “My daddy owned a piece of the company before it got broke up and he got a warehouse full outside of San Anton’.”
“You got a daddy?” Roland said, smiling.
Mac’s face went hard. “Yeah, I do, and he’s a right mean son-of-a-bitch.”
Roland flushed red and he tried to stutter out an apology, but couldn’t gather the right words; he was better with guns than words. Moms reached out and placed a comforting hand on Mac’s shoulder, which he shrugged off angrily. She glanced at Nada and he gave the slightest shake of his head.
Then Mac suddenly smiled and the room lit up. He ran around Roland’s massive form and the big man reacted slowly, because he was only fast in combat mode, and Mac jumped on his back. “Lookie there. Roland made a funny. Someone alert the news.” He poured his can of beer over Roland’s head while the big man halfheartedly slapped at him with his massive paws.
Nada shook his head. “Fucking
F-Troop
.”
“What’s
F-Troop
?” Roland asked, Mac still on his back.
Ms. Jones’s voice came through the door loud and clear. “Another classic television show of the sixties. A western comedy. Very amusing about a bunch of misfits cast together.” She made a strange sound, and Nada started for the door thinking she was choking...and then everyone realized it was Ms. Jones laughing.
After an awkward pause, everyone started chatting again. Mac slid off Roland’s back and passed
Moms was next. “I think we call him Know. Because we all know the
n
in Ranger stands for Knowledge.” She said the old joke with a smile to take away any possible sting.
Mac was standing next to a plastic garbage can. “Shoot, we call him Cheetah, ’cause that’s what he is. Fast and smart.”
Nada was frowning, but that was Nada’s usual look. “Fred. Every team needs a Fred.”
“My choice,” Eagle began, “is—”
“We ain’t using two damn words,” Nada interrupted. “You know the rule. One name. An easy word. And one that won’t confuse us, so I think Know is out, sorry, Moms.”
“It’s okay,” Moms said, meaning she’d never been in.
Ms. Jones’s voice came through the door, surprisingly vibrant. She always sounded perky during the name-choosing ceremony. “What did you write, Mister Eagle?”
“Kobayashi Maru,” Eagle said. “I know the rule about one word and—”
“I believe,” Ms. Jones said, surprisingly interrupting Eagle’s attempt at explaining, “I know where you are going with this. From the old American television series
Star Trek
. I watched it as a child in the former Soviet Union. Yes, we had a television. The test that was lose-lose, where choosing either way was wrong. And Captain Kirk cheated on it by reprogramming the computer. Very interesting.”
There was a silence as they waited on Ms. Jones to make her ruling now that she had all the entries.
“The thing I liked about what our new team member did,” Ms. Jones said, “was not reprogramming the computer. Any fool can reprogram a computer. Even the Photoshopping of the score sheets was to be expected. But he did all of them, not just his own. So they would all look alike and his wouldn’t stand out. And weathering them. That was the nice touch. Welcome to the team, Mister Kirk.”
“Hot damn!” Mac exclaimed, a can of Pearl beer in each hand. He tossed the first to Moms, the next to Nada. He pulled and pitched until everyone had a cold brew in hand. He popped the tab and everyone else did. “To Kirk.”
“To Kirk,” the team echoed.
“I like it,” Nada said after taking a deep draft of the beer. “Short. One syllable.”
Kirk was a bit overwhelmed as his teammates came by, slapping on his shoulder, calling him by his new name. When Mac came up, Kirk clanked cans with him.
“Thanks for the brew, Mac. I didn’t think they made this in the can anymore.”
“They don’t,” Mac said. “My daddy owned a piece of the company before it got broke up and he got a warehouse full outside of San Anton’.”
“You got a daddy?” Roland said, smiling.
Mac’s face went hard. “Yeah, I do, and he’s a right mean son-of-a-bitch.”
Roland flushed red and he tried to stutter out an apology, but couldn’t gather the right words; he was better with guns than words. Moms reached out and placed a comforting hand on Mac’s shoulder, which he shrugged off angrily. She glanced at Nada and he gave the slightest shake of his head.
Then Mac suddenly smiled and the room lit up. He ran around Roland’s massive form and the big man reacted slowly, because he was only fast in combat mode, and Mac jumped on his back. “Lookie there. Roland made a funny. Someone alert the news.” He poured his can of beer over Roland’s head while the big man halfheartedly slapped at him with his massive paws.
Nada shook his head. “Fucking
F-Troop
.”
“What’s
F-Troop
?” Roland asked, Mac still on his back.
Ms. Jones’s voice came through the door loud and clear. “Another classic television show of the sixties. A western comedy. Very amusing about a bunch of misfits cast together.” She made a strange sound, and Nada started for the door thinking she was choking...and then everyone realized it was Ms. Jones laughing.
After an awkward pause, everyone started chatting again. Mac slid off Roland’s back and passed
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