passed so much as within a thousand miles of this sleepy little town.”
But Mark knew better. It was possible for the virus to spread past border security screens and roadblocks as easily as the wind blew. Borders meant nothing to a virus. But then that was why they were undergoing this mission – to subvert these kinds of events from happening in the first place.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be anywhere near it on your mission,” Major Edwards said.
“Small mercies,” John said.
The small white tents were a reminder to Mark what they were up against. Should they fail in their training, they would get another try. In the real world they wouldn’t enjoy such a luxury. They would have one chance. They dare not fail with stakes as high as they were. They carried the world’s hopes in their hands. Suddenly, the task seemed insurmountable.
“How did the outbreak start?” Mark said.
“A woman came down from New York,” Major Edwards said. “Apparently she was at a birthday party.”
“Do you think it spread?” Mark said.
“I don’t even know if the story is true,” Major Edwards said. “The hardest part used to be just getting information. Now, it’s getting reliable intel. It’ll probably end up being someone’s pet cat that caught it first. Now remember, you’re after the virus. Your enemy will utilize any weakness they can against you. We’ll be waiting for you at the compound.”
Mark blinked.
“‘We’?” he said.
“I’ll be heading up the exercise,” Major Edwards said.
Mark’s eyes went wide.
“What?” he said.
“You’ll be against me,” Major Edwards said. “I told you this training mission was of the upmost importance. You didn’t think I would put a greenhorn in charge of defense, did you? Our enemies won’t be cautious, and neither must we.”
The chances of success had just dropped significantly. His father was a veteran of every major conflict the US had had over the past thirty years. He knew how his enemies thought and used that information against them. He studied until he knew their territory almost as well as they did – sometimes even better. And in his arsenal he would have not one but two Special Forces teams. Possibly even more. Just because he had allowed them to see two teams did not mean there weren’t more. Such were the mind games Major Edwards was capable of. Mark would need to be on his guard and do the unexpected.
The helicopter hovered over the forest canopy. The trees bent over at an angle. Leaves swirled like a miniature tornado.
“Remember fellas,” Major Edwards said, having to shout to be heard. “Keep your wits about you. This isn’t your typical training exercise. You’ll need to think creatively.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Mark said. “You just try to stick to the rules.”
“Why?” Major Edwards said. “You’re not going to.”
They shared a smile. They were about to begin a game of chess like they used to play when Mark was a kid. Only now it was on the military’s dime.
“There are a few curve balls,” Major Edwards said. “Keep your wits about you.”
He pressed a button on his watch. It bleeped, the countdown begun.
“You’ve got eight hours,” he said. “Good luck.”
The wind kicked up a swirl of dirt that stung their faces. Mark and his team hopped out and made a B-line for the trees. The helicopter waited a moment before it lifted and veered away.
The helicopter was lost to the canopy as Mark’s team headed deeper into the forest’s underbelly, into an imposed darkness.
Z-MINUS: 7 hours 52 minutes
“You would have thought multiple tours would have ruled us out for basic training,” John said.
“Apparently not,” Jacob said. “Though they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel if they recruited you for this.”
“Dude, you’re so near the bottom of the barrel you’re part of the concrete,” John said.
“All right guys,” Mark said. “Knock it off.”
They walked in
But Mark knew better. It was possible for the virus to spread past border security screens and roadblocks as easily as the wind blew. Borders meant nothing to a virus. But then that was why they were undergoing this mission – to subvert these kinds of events from happening in the first place.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be anywhere near it on your mission,” Major Edwards said.
“Small mercies,” John said.
The small white tents were a reminder to Mark what they were up against. Should they fail in their training, they would get another try. In the real world they wouldn’t enjoy such a luxury. They would have one chance. They dare not fail with stakes as high as they were. They carried the world’s hopes in their hands. Suddenly, the task seemed insurmountable.
“How did the outbreak start?” Mark said.
“A woman came down from New York,” Major Edwards said. “Apparently she was at a birthday party.”
“Do you think it spread?” Mark said.
“I don’t even know if the story is true,” Major Edwards said. “The hardest part used to be just getting information. Now, it’s getting reliable intel. It’ll probably end up being someone’s pet cat that caught it first. Now remember, you’re after the virus. Your enemy will utilize any weakness they can against you. We’ll be waiting for you at the compound.”
Mark blinked.
“‘We’?” he said.
“I’ll be heading up the exercise,” Major Edwards said.
Mark’s eyes went wide.
“What?” he said.
“You’ll be against me,” Major Edwards said. “I told you this training mission was of the upmost importance. You didn’t think I would put a greenhorn in charge of defense, did you? Our enemies won’t be cautious, and neither must we.”
The chances of success had just dropped significantly. His father was a veteran of every major conflict the US had had over the past thirty years. He knew how his enemies thought and used that information against them. He studied until he knew their territory almost as well as they did – sometimes even better. And in his arsenal he would have not one but two Special Forces teams. Possibly even more. Just because he had allowed them to see two teams did not mean there weren’t more. Such were the mind games Major Edwards was capable of. Mark would need to be on his guard and do the unexpected.
The helicopter hovered over the forest canopy. The trees bent over at an angle. Leaves swirled like a miniature tornado.
“Remember fellas,” Major Edwards said, having to shout to be heard. “Keep your wits about you. This isn’t your typical training exercise. You’ll need to think creatively.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Mark said. “You just try to stick to the rules.”
“Why?” Major Edwards said. “You’re not going to.”
They shared a smile. They were about to begin a game of chess like they used to play when Mark was a kid. Only now it was on the military’s dime.
“There are a few curve balls,” Major Edwards said. “Keep your wits about you.”
He pressed a button on his watch. It bleeped, the countdown begun.
“You’ve got eight hours,” he said. “Good luck.”
The wind kicked up a swirl of dirt that stung their faces. Mark and his team hopped out and made a B-line for the trees. The helicopter waited a moment before it lifted and veered away.
The helicopter was lost to the canopy as Mark’s team headed deeper into the forest’s underbelly, into an imposed darkness.
Z-MINUS: 7 hours 52 minutes
“You would have thought multiple tours would have ruled us out for basic training,” John said.
“Apparently not,” Jacob said. “Though they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel if they recruited you for this.”
“Dude, you’re so near the bottom of the barrel you’re part of the concrete,” John said.
“All right guys,” Mark said. “Knock it off.”
They walked in
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