A Good Soldier--chapter one By Slayne
Rated R for language and adult situations
11/19/02--- I revised and edited this whole story after learning of some military errors I made in it. My older stories will be left as is, but I decided to change this one. I'm still learning, but I do strive to be as military-accurate as my current knowledge and G.I. Joe will allow!
Summary- This is a PRE-JOE story. Staff Sergeant Wayne Sneeden (Beach Head) is training a
group of covert ops recruits in the Jungles of Central America. What happens
when the stoic, regulations obssessed, Ranger meets an attractive recruit under
his command? What about when that recruit is Corporal Alison Hart-Burnett?
Disclaimer- I don't own the Joes. I don't profit from writing about the Joes.
Just for fun. I DO own Major William Elias and Staff Sergeant Brad
Greengrass...heh...mine all mine!
Notes- This was an idea that Robin gave me and asked me to write for a friend of
hers. It is cartoon continuity, not comic book, but I always write Beach Head as
a mix of the two with my own ideas of how he should be portrayed thrown in. I
wrote LJ the same way, but she's probably mostly 'Bard's LJ' than anything else,
as I have a hard time seeing LJ as anything else. I hope Bard takes that as the
compliment it's meant to be! :-)
Since Beach Head has an open history, I invented lots of it for him. It's NOT
canon nor has any of it been mentioned anywhere that I've seen. I'm sure the new
comic series will eventually do a story on him and shoot it all to hell, lol!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The evening sunlight was just starting to fade as night came to 'Camp X'
somewhere deep and hidden in the jungles of Central America. The American
covert-ops training camp was beginning to wind down for the day. It didn't
always. Much training was done at night, but not this night. A group of soldiers
stood in a group in a small clearing at the end of an obstacle course. They
watched as a female soldier struggled at the beginning of the course...an
instructor standing alongside her. Staff Sergeant Wayne Sneeden, the instructor,
bellowed at her for a long, long two minutes straight as she struggled to pull
herself up a rope. Then...just to be sure she got the point, he got in her face
half-way down and let her have it again. The woman blinked as if he had spit in
her eye...and maybe he had, when you screamed enough, you tended to do that, but
she didn't weaken and kept plodding on. Wayne was privately impressed.
He stood six feet tall in his boots. Enough to be considered 'tall', but there
were plenty of men who stood above him. His power was in his bulk. A power and
an attitude that tended to either intimidate the men above him or irritate them.
He just plain frightened the rookies. Wide shoulders and deep chest that tapered
to a lean waist and legs. He lifted weights regularly and was thickly muscled.
His early morning runs had reduced the fat in his body to near none and gave him
a stamina and quickness that was often underestimated by opponents. He got an
immense sense of satisfaction from keeping his body prime. The same way he felt
pride in a job well done...or a mission completed successfully. Anything worth
doing was worth doing well. He lived by that motto.
And he preferred others to live by that motto as well...even if they weren't
particularly inclined to do so. He could be very convincing when he wished. It
was probably one of the reasons he had been chosen to help run this camp.
That...and his willingness to bark orders at soldiers who outranked him. His
usual position as an advisor/observer at the nearby American Covert-Ops school
was temporarily suspended so he could be a part of this 'special' training camp.
He didn't know what would happen to the soldiers who made it through this camp,
he hadn't been privy to that information. The camp was meant to be a covert-ops
training and evaluation camp. Most of the soldiers picked for it had already had
extensive training in other fields. A few officers but mostly grunts. Wayne
suspected they didn't want anyone too set in their ways already. The brass just
wanted a tough and very physically intensive covert-ops camp that would weed the
worst of the best from the recruits they had chosen to attend. And when they
wanted a rough and intense test...they called Wayne.
He glanced up at the end of the course and saw Will jogging towards him. He
broke away from the woman and ran to meet the Major. Major William Elias was a
big man in his mid- thirties. He was tall and broad, with a short blond crew cut
and light blue eyes. He had a deep and forceful voice that he used with talent
to get soldiers to 'snap to', and his glare could match Wayne's. Wayne had known
him for years and had been pleasantly surprised, although he would never show
it, to see him here and work with him again.
"Look Wayne...she's gonna be a while. I'm going to take the rest of the men back
to camp and get them to mess." He had a strong southern accent from growing up
in neighboring Georgia from Wayne's own Alabama. Wayne's own accent had tempered
over the years and grown somewhat softer.
"Alright," Wayne glanced at the woman struggling through a short sand trough.
"I'll stay with her...she'll get through."
"If you say so...come and have a beer when you get her squared away. You don't
have to stay in your room every night reading those damn field manuals."
Wayne shrugged at the Major. "I'll be there...if I'm not carrying her to the
infirmary." He jerked a thumb towards the woman to emphasize his point.
"Alright...carry on, Staff Sergeant!" Will smiled at him and returned his salute with
that good-natured, shit-eating grin of his and pivoted to return to the group of
soldiers waiting at the end of the course. Wayne returned to the woman, lifting
a hand to the other Staff Sergeant of the Camp, Brad Greengrass, who
was walking in the distance, heading for the ammo shed. Greengrass was also an
old aquaintence, although not as well known as Will. The young Native American
was die-hard military and loved beach volleyball, of all things. He volunteered
for every shit job in the Army trying to stay out of the United States because
he found it too boring to work stateside. He was also Airborne Ranger and was
used heavily in Covert- ops, Wayne suspected. The easy going, always affable
Greengrass had a fierce hardness about him that only combat produced. He also
didn't tolerate prejudice of any kind.
Wayne quieted as the woman in front of him ran down the sand-filled track. He
trotted beside her, watching her carefully.
"Come on, Burnett...make me proud!" He called. In truth...he was surprised she
was still here after one week. She had been one of three women that had arrived
with the group of men. He and Will had gone through the files with smirks and
shakes of their heads. They could tell by files alone who would not make it
through. At least...they had thought so.
Corporal Alison Hart-Burnett's file had gone immediately to the 'forget about
it' pile. Rich society girl joins the Army. Has trouble in boot camp but
persists. And what was with the javelins?
"She must really hate mommy and daddy." Will had remarked, grinning at Wayne.
Wayne had shrugged and silently agreed. That was usually why rich girls joined
the military. Unless they went to college and officer's school and became
officers. But this one had joined the enlisted ranks. Trying to prove something?
He wanted to dismiss her, but...she had an already impressive list of training
schools...and she got better with every one. She was accepted into Intelligence
and possessed a more than suitable background. Every instructor she had had was
impressed with her.
"Well...any woman wants this gig...they better be just as good as the men. More
so, in fact. Or I'll send them home to daddy crying through their make-up." Will
had stated firmly. Wayne had snorted in response and given a rare smile. He
tended to agree with Will, and most of the old-school military, that women did
not belong here. But he had met a few women who had deftly sewn seeds of doubt
into that theory. Although he would never support any person who was put into
position purely by color of skin or gender. Not when lives were at stake. Never.
As the Major had called out roll the first day, Wayne had stood at one end of
the column of assorted officers and enlisted men...and the three women. When a
woman's voice had answered the call for 'Burnett'! He had found himself studying
the young woman. She was rather tall and slender, with a solid base of muscle
giving her curves and a healthy appearance. She had short brown hair that did
NOT make her appear masculine, as it did one of her female counterparts standing
beside her. She stood at rigid attention and answered strongly in a pleasant,
lilting voice that seemed to have the hint of an accent in it. Wayne was not
sure why this strong, attractive appearance surprised him. Perhaps only because
he had been an instructor for the Army for some time now, and he had taught his
share of women, both in boot camp and the more specialized Ranger School at
Benning. It was rare to face one so full of confidence that it shone through in
everything about them. Of course, her file had stated that her school history
involved intensive acting experience. But under duress like this...it would take
more than that to fake it.
She had lived up to that head-held-high stance. The first week was designed to
be simply, a living hell. The recruits were run through one obstacle course
after another, non-stop. They were run in the morning before breakfast and often
at night after dinner. Food was often MRE's of the worst flavor, and sleep was
interrupted and held off. It was designed to force out the weakest members who
could not tolerate harsh combat conditions. There was no point in even starting
to train those men who couldn't hack it. It had worked. The first few days had
forced 4 men to their knees and then out of the camp. One of the women went with
them. She had broken under Will's harsh voice in her face as he had screamed at
her in that slightly hoarse voice of his.
Burnett, on the other hand, stood rigid and unyielding as both Wayne and Will
had set upon her like rabid pit-bulls after she had tripped during the morning
run. They had deliberately over-reacted and tore into her like ravenous bears
devouring a rabbit. It was meant to be intimidation of the highest sort, and
covert-ops agents, especially those destined for Intelligence, would have to
take it. Burnett had set her jaw and taken every word with a set and sullen look
on her face. Her only reaction was a hard swallow as Will had screamed a comment
about her 'not being in daddy's house anymore'. She had answered in a strong
voice that didn't quaver or shake, and jumped to do the push-ups Will had
ordered with eagerness. Wayne had felt a rivelet of something strange for her
that day. Respect. Especially when two of the men broke and quit the camp after
similar attacks by the two instructors. The other remaining woman had tried, but
couldn't keep up with the others and had finally collapsed one day in
exhaustion. She was given her pinkslip and a free ride back to her unit the next
day.
Burnett was now the only woman in camp, except for the two female officers that
the Army had insisted be there as long as one female recruit remained. They
tended to ignore the Corporal though and spent the time working on other
projects or occasionally flirting with Greengrass.
"Come on, Burnett! This isn't one of your society lawn parties! Run!" Wayne
barked at the woman struggling down the sand pit. Her eyes flashed an irritated
look at him that almost made him smile. She hated the remarks about her family's
wealth and position. Which was exactly why he and Will focused on it. Sweat ran
in rivers down her face and darkened her BDU. Her face was a mask of
determination and fatigue. She fell forward once and nearly growled in
frustration as she leapt back to her feet and began running again. Actually, she
was doing quite well...especially considering that this was her second trip down
this obstacle course tonight. The others had done one trip and that was all that
was required, but Burnett had run into problems. In all groups where there are
women present, there are men who dislike it and men who have no problem with it.
Then...there are the men who feel mistakenly obligated to help the female. And
Burnett had two of these 'knights in shining armor' who, in their attempts to
help her and win her approval, only managed to trip her up and irritate the hell
out of her. She wanted no part of their assistance, and Wayne had watched with
growing concern as she had repeatedly tried to escape their 'help' and do it
herself. The fire in her eyes had eventually become too big to contain and Wayne
had stepped in before she blew and alienated the only two allies she had in the
camp.
"Burnett! Do you have a problem doing this course by yourself?" He had shouted,
glaring.
"No sir!" She had answered loudly, her glare dark and malevolent. The two
'knights', one a young Second Lieutenant straight out of West Point, had begun to
interrupt and Will had stepped in and blasted them as well, shouting them down
and sending them on their way down the course. Wayne would have had no problem
blasting the officers himself...but they probably would have had a problem with
it. They had to listen to him here, despite his lower rank, but he couldn't go
all out on them. He left that to Will.
Wayne had then ordered Burnett to finish the course and then do it over again.
By herself this time. It had driven the message home to the two officers to
leave her alone and yet would hopefully keep them as acting body guards for the
young Corporal. Even on stateside, well-run Army bases, bad things sometimes
happened to female soldiers. This was a remote shithole deep in Central America.
The participants were carefully chosen, but still...
Burnett finally crossed the finish line and gasped to a stop, bending at the
waist to grip her knees and stare down at the ground, panting heavily. Wayne
stood beside her and studied her time. She had actually gained time without her
two heroes interfering. He glanced down at her as she rested, giving her time to
catch her breath now that the rest of the group was gone. The brown hair was wet
and curled over and behind her ears then stuck to the nape of her neck. Her
olive drab t-shirt was soaked with sweat and clung to her narrow, furrowed back.
Wayne's eyes followed the curve of that back towards her hips and then he tore
his gaze away with annoyance. What the hell was the matter with him? She was a
very attractive woman, but...he had much more discipline then this.
"You did better without the help, Burnett."
She pulled herself up to standing and glanced into his brown eyes.
"I didn't want their help, Staff!" she insisted vehemently.
"Good. Everyone gets through this camp on their own."
"And I will too, Staff Sergeant." she said with an edge to her voice. He felt a small
sense of wonder and satisfaction at that tone. Why was she here? What gave her
that edge, that desire to succeed in the enlisted ranks of the Army? She was an
enigma that he found himself growing more curious about everyday.
He walked her back to barracks. She basically had one whole building to herself.
The two female officers took the seperate rooms in the front of the building
that were originally meant for drill instructors. He wondered briefly, as he
dismissed her and she walked towards the run-down building, if she was lonely
here...or if, like him, had learned to deal with and eventually savor the
solitary life. He hadn't spoken much to her, except to yell or order her around.
He had discussed her military training with her over MREs on the trail one
morning. Her softly accented voice was low in pitch and tone and made everything
she said sound serious. Her green eyes had held his own with self-assurance and
a practiced interest. It had made him hold her gaze for a split-second too long,
much to his frustration, but she had simply smiled and gone on with the
conversation without a beat.
She had gone to Benning for Ranger School as well. That had intriqued him. Very
few women made it through the school. She hadn't gone through when he was
instructing there, he'd have remembered her. He had asked a few questions of her
as they discussed it. He'd even drawn a slight smile out of her with some quip
he'd made. He wasn't completely without a sense of humor after all. But then the
break had been over and he'd had to switch to 'hardass' mode again, getting the
troop up and moving and jumping on their mistakes with violent zeal.
He had not been able to keep his gaze from falling on the female Corporal again
and again though. He was noticing things about her that he had never noticed on
any woman...especially a recruit under his instruction. Little things, like how
her hair curled over her ears, or the expressions on her face as she faced
another recruit in hand-to-hand combat. He was dimly aware in some part of his
conciousness that he was doing something he had never done in all his years as
an instructor. He was playing favorites and allowing one recruit to draw his
attention. In his annoyance at himself for falling into it, he was also aware
that he was being harder on her than any of the others. It had been no problem
for him to avoid this trap all these years. Why now was he finding it different?
Why her?
TBC....... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Rated R for language and adult situations
11/19/02--- I revised and edited this whole story after learning of some military errors I made in it. My older stories will be left as is, but I decided to change this one. I'm still learning, but I do strive to be as military-accurate as my current knowledge and G.I. Joe will allow!
Summary- This is a PRE-JOE story. Staff Sergeant Wayne Sneeden (Beach Head) is training a
group of covert ops recruits in the Jungles of Central America. What happens
when the stoic, regulations obssessed, Ranger meets an attractive recruit under
his command? What about when that recruit is Corporal Alison Hart-Burnett?
Disclaimer- I don't own the Joes. I don't profit from writing about the Joes.
Just for fun. I DO own Major William Elias and Staff Sergeant Brad
Greengrass...heh...mine all mine!
Notes- This was an idea that Robin gave me and asked me to write for a friend of
hers. It is cartoon continuity, not comic book, but I always write Beach Head as
a mix of the two with my own ideas of how he should be portrayed thrown in. I
wrote LJ the same way, but she's probably mostly 'Bard's LJ' than anything else,
as I have a hard time seeing LJ as anything else. I hope Bard takes that as the
compliment it's meant to be! :-)
Since Beach Head has an open history, I invented lots of it for him. It's NOT
canon nor has any of it been mentioned anywhere that I've seen. I'm sure the new
comic series will eventually do a story on him and shoot it all to hell, lol!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The evening sunlight was just starting to fade as night came to 'Camp X'
somewhere deep and hidden in the jungles of Central America. The American
covert-ops training camp was beginning to wind down for the day. It didn't
always. Much training was done at night, but not this night. A group of soldiers
stood in a group in a small clearing at the end of an obstacle course. They
watched as a female soldier struggled at the beginning of the course...an
instructor standing alongside her. Staff Sergeant Wayne Sneeden, the instructor,
bellowed at her for a long, long two minutes straight as she struggled to pull
herself up a rope. Then...just to be sure she got the point, he got in her face
half-way down and let her have it again. The woman blinked as if he had spit in
her eye...and maybe he had, when you screamed enough, you tended to do that, but
she didn't weaken and kept plodding on. Wayne was privately impressed.
He stood six feet tall in his boots. Enough to be considered 'tall', but there
were plenty of men who stood above him. His power was in his bulk. A power and
an attitude that tended to either intimidate the men above him or irritate them.
He just plain frightened the rookies. Wide shoulders and deep chest that tapered
to a lean waist and legs. He lifted weights regularly and was thickly muscled.
His early morning runs had reduced the fat in his body to near none and gave him
a stamina and quickness that was often underestimated by opponents. He got an
immense sense of satisfaction from keeping his body prime. The same way he felt
pride in a job well done...or a mission completed successfully. Anything worth
doing was worth doing well. He lived by that motto.
And he preferred others to live by that motto as well...even if they weren't
particularly inclined to do so. He could be very convincing when he wished. It
was probably one of the reasons he had been chosen to help run this camp.
That...and his willingness to bark orders at soldiers who outranked him. His
usual position as an advisor/observer at the nearby American Covert-Ops school
was temporarily suspended so he could be a part of this 'special' training camp.
He didn't know what would happen to the soldiers who made it through this camp,
he hadn't been privy to that information. The camp was meant to be a covert-ops
training and evaluation camp. Most of the soldiers picked for it had already had
extensive training in other fields. A few officers but mostly grunts. Wayne
suspected they didn't want anyone too set in their ways already. The brass just
wanted a tough and very physically intensive covert-ops camp that would weed the
worst of the best from the recruits they had chosen to attend. And when they
wanted a rough and intense test...they called Wayne.
He glanced up at the end of the course and saw Will jogging towards him. He
broke away from the woman and ran to meet the Major. Major William Elias was a
big man in his mid- thirties. He was tall and broad, with a short blond crew cut
and light blue eyes. He had a deep and forceful voice that he used with talent
to get soldiers to 'snap to', and his glare could match Wayne's. Wayne had known
him for years and had been pleasantly surprised, although he would never show
it, to see him here and work with him again.
"Look Wayne...she's gonna be a while. I'm going to take the rest of the men back
to camp and get them to mess." He had a strong southern accent from growing up
in neighboring Georgia from Wayne's own Alabama. Wayne's own accent had tempered
over the years and grown somewhat softer.
"Alright," Wayne glanced at the woman struggling through a short sand trough.
"I'll stay with her...she'll get through."
"If you say so...come and have a beer when you get her squared away. You don't
have to stay in your room every night reading those damn field manuals."
Wayne shrugged at the Major. "I'll be there...if I'm not carrying her to the
infirmary." He jerked a thumb towards the woman to emphasize his point.
"Alright...carry on, Staff Sergeant!" Will smiled at him and returned his salute with
that good-natured, shit-eating grin of his and pivoted to return to the group of
soldiers waiting at the end of the course. Wayne returned to the woman, lifting
a hand to the other Staff Sergeant of the Camp, Brad Greengrass, who
was walking in the distance, heading for the ammo shed. Greengrass was also an
old aquaintence, although not as well known as Will. The young Native American
was die-hard military and loved beach volleyball, of all things. He volunteered
for every shit job in the Army trying to stay out of the United States because
he found it too boring to work stateside. He was also Airborne Ranger and was
used heavily in Covert- ops, Wayne suspected. The easy going, always affable
Greengrass had a fierce hardness about him that only combat produced. He also
didn't tolerate prejudice of any kind.
Wayne quieted as the woman in front of him ran down the sand-filled track. He
trotted beside her, watching her carefully.
"Come on, Burnett...make me proud!" He called. In truth...he was surprised she
was still here after one week. She had been one of three women that had arrived
with the group of men. He and Will had gone through the files with smirks and
shakes of their heads. They could tell by files alone who would not make it
through. At least...they had thought so.
Corporal Alison Hart-Burnett's file had gone immediately to the 'forget about
it' pile. Rich society girl joins the Army. Has trouble in boot camp but
persists. And what was with the javelins?
"She must really hate mommy and daddy." Will had remarked, grinning at Wayne.
Wayne had shrugged and silently agreed. That was usually why rich girls joined
the military. Unless they went to college and officer's school and became
officers. But this one had joined the enlisted ranks. Trying to prove something?
He wanted to dismiss her, but...she had an already impressive list of training
schools...and she got better with every one. She was accepted into Intelligence
and possessed a more than suitable background. Every instructor she had had was
impressed with her.
"Well...any woman wants this gig...they better be just as good as the men. More
so, in fact. Or I'll send them home to daddy crying through their make-up." Will
had stated firmly. Wayne had snorted in response and given a rare smile. He
tended to agree with Will, and most of the old-school military, that women did
not belong here. But he had met a few women who had deftly sewn seeds of doubt
into that theory. Although he would never support any person who was put into
position purely by color of skin or gender. Not when lives were at stake. Never.
As the Major had called out roll the first day, Wayne had stood at one end of
the column of assorted officers and enlisted men...and the three women. When a
woman's voice had answered the call for 'Burnett'! He had found himself studying
the young woman. She was rather tall and slender, with a solid base of muscle
giving her curves and a healthy appearance. She had short brown hair that did
NOT make her appear masculine, as it did one of her female counterparts standing
beside her. She stood at rigid attention and answered strongly in a pleasant,
lilting voice that seemed to have the hint of an accent in it. Wayne was not
sure why this strong, attractive appearance surprised him. Perhaps only because
he had been an instructor for the Army for some time now, and he had taught his
share of women, both in boot camp and the more specialized Ranger School at
Benning. It was rare to face one so full of confidence that it shone through in
everything about them. Of course, her file had stated that her school history
involved intensive acting experience. But under duress like this...it would take
more than that to fake it.
She had lived up to that head-held-high stance. The first week was designed to
be simply, a living hell. The recruits were run through one obstacle course
after another, non-stop. They were run in the morning before breakfast and often
at night after dinner. Food was often MRE's of the worst flavor, and sleep was
interrupted and held off. It was designed to force out the weakest members who
could not tolerate harsh combat conditions. There was no point in even starting
to train those men who couldn't hack it. It had worked. The first few days had
forced 4 men to their knees and then out of the camp. One of the women went with
them. She had broken under Will's harsh voice in her face as he had screamed at
her in that slightly hoarse voice of his.
Burnett, on the other hand, stood rigid and unyielding as both Wayne and Will
had set upon her like rabid pit-bulls after she had tripped during the morning
run. They had deliberately over-reacted and tore into her like ravenous bears
devouring a rabbit. It was meant to be intimidation of the highest sort, and
covert-ops agents, especially those destined for Intelligence, would have to
take it. Burnett had set her jaw and taken every word with a set and sullen look
on her face. Her only reaction was a hard swallow as Will had screamed a comment
about her 'not being in daddy's house anymore'. She had answered in a strong
voice that didn't quaver or shake, and jumped to do the push-ups Will had
ordered with eagerness. Wayne had felt a rivelet of something strange for her
that day. Respect. Especially when two of the men broke and quit the camp after
similar attacks by the two instructors. The other remaining woman had tried, but
couldn't keep up with the others and had finally collapsed one day in
exhaustion. She was given her pinkslip and a free ride back to her unit the next
day.
Burnett was now the only woman in camp, except for the two female officers that
the Army had insisted be there as long as one female recruit remained. They
tended to ignore the Corporal though and spent the time working on other
projects or occasionally flirting with Greengrass.
"Come on, Burnett! This isn't one of your society lawn parties! Run!" Wayne
barked at the woman struggling down the sand pit. Her eyes flashed an irritated
look at him that almost made him smile. She hated the remarks about her family's
wealth and position. Which was exactly why he and Will focused on it. Sweat ran
in rivers down her face and darkened her BDU. Her face was a mask of
determination and fatigue. She fell forward once and nearly growled in
frustration as she leapt back to her feet and began running again. Actually, she
was doing quite well...especially considering that this was her second trip down
this obstacle course tonight. The others had done one trip and that was all that
was required, but Burnett had run into problems. In all groups where there are
women present, there are men who dislike it and men who have no problem with it.
Then...there are the men who feel mistakenly obligated to help the female. And
Burnett had two of these 'knights in shining armor' who, in their attempts to
help her and win her approval, only managed to trip her up and irritate the hell
out of her. She wanted no part of their assistance, and Wayne had watched with
growing concern as she had repeatedly tried to escape their 'help' and do it
herself. The fire in her eyes had eventually become too big to contain and Wayne
had stepped in before she blew and alienated the only two allies she had in the
camp.
"Burnett! Do you have a problem doing this course by yourself?" He had shouted,
glaring.
"No sir!" She had answered loudly, her glare dark and malevolent. The two
'knights', one a young Second Lieutenant straight out of West Point, had begun to
interrupt and Will had stepped in and blasted them as well, shouting them down
and sending them on their way down the course. Wayne would have had no problem
blasting the officers himself...but they probably would have had a problem with
it. They had to listen to him here, despite his lower rank, but he couldn't go
all out on them. He left that to Will.
Wayne had then ordered Burnett to finish the course and then do it over again.
By herself this time. It had driven the message home to the two officers to
leave her alone and yet would hopefully keep them as acting body guards for the
young Corporal. Even on stateside, well-run Army bases, bad things sometimes
happened to female soldiers. This was a remote shithole deep in Central America.
The participants were carefully chosen, but still...
Burnett finally crossed the finish line and gasped to a stop, bending at the
waist to grip her knees and stare down at the ground, panting heavily. Wayne
stood beside her and studied her time. She had actually gained time without her
two heroes interfering. He glanced down at her as she rested, giving her time to
catch her breath now that the rest of the group was gone. The brown hair was wet
and curled over and behind her ears then stuck to the nape of her neck. Her
olive drab t-shirt was soaked with sweat and clung to her narrow, furrowed back.
Wayne's eyes followed the curve of that back towards her hips and then he tore
his gaze away with annoyance. What the hell was the matter with him? She was a
very attractive woman, but...he had much more discipline then this.
"You did better without the help, Burnett."
She pulled herself up to standing and glanced into his brown eyes.
"I didn't want their help, Staff!" she insisted vehemently.
"Good. Everyone gets through this camp on their own."
"And I will too, Staff Sergeant." she said with an edge to her voice. He felt a small
sense of wonder and satisfaction at that tone. Why was she here? What gave her
that edge, that desire to succeed in the enlisted ranks of the Army? She was an
enigma that he found himself growing more curious about everyday.
He walked her back to barracks. She basically had one whole building to herself.
The two female officers took the seperate rooms in the front of the building
that were originally meant for drill instructors. He wondered briefly, as he
dismissed her and she walked towards the run-down building, if she was lonely
here...or if, like him, had learned to deal with and eventually savor the
solitary life. He hadn't spoken much to her, except to yell or order her around.
He had discussed her military training with her over MREs on the trail one
morning. Her softly accented voice was low in pitch and tone and made everything
she said sound serious. Her green eyes had held his own with self-assurance and
a practiced interest. It had made him hold her gaze for a split-second too long,
much to his frustration, but she had simply smiled and gone on with the
conversation without a beat.
She had gone to Benning for Ranger School as well. That had intriqued him. Very
few women made it through the school. She hadn't gone through when he was
instructing there, he'd have remembered her. He had asked a few questions of her
as they discussed it. He'd even drawn a slight smile out of her with some quip
he'd made. He wasn't completely without a sense of humor after all. But then the
break had been over and he'd had to switch to 'hardass' mode again, getting the
troop up and moving and jumping on their mistakes with violent zeal.
He had not been able to keep his gaze from falling on the female Corporal again
and again though. He was noticing things about her that he had never noticed on
any woman...especially a recruit under his instruction. Little things, like how
her hair curled over her ears, or the expressions on her face as she faced
another recruit in hand-to-hand combat. He was dimly aware in some part of his
conciousness that he was doing something he had never done in all his years as
an instructor. He was playing favorites and allowing one recruit to draw his
attention. In his annoyance at himself for falling into it, he was also aware
that he was being harder on her than any of the others. It had been no problem
for him to avoid this trap all these years. Why now was he finding it different?
Why her?
TBC....... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^