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Ifolded my arms over my chest and eyed the recruits as Coach spoke to the six men and two women. His voice bounced between the walls of the courtyard.
Shay, Crew, and Gray stood in the back row as they weren’t official recruits—though, everything they’d been put through could not have been more real. We wouldn’t do anybody a favor by being lenient. They’d asked for a selection process, and we’d given it to them.
Now they wore the same black utility pants and tees as the rest of the recruits, and they were ready for their two-week trek through the jungle.
“And I don’t wanna see anyone activate their distress signal for a fucking twisted ankle or mosquito bite,” Coach boomed out. “You’ve been training for this for a whole year, and if you fail these two weeks, you gotta do it all over again next summer. I repeat, you will not pass if you do not complete the tasks!”
That was my cue. I stepped forward and retrieved eight Ziploc pouches from one of my side pockets. “Personal belongings and anything that can identify you goes into these bags!” I stopped at the first guy, who dropped his phone, wallet, and a bracelet a kid had obviously made into a pouch. “What kind of operators does Hillcroft create?”
“The gray kind!” they all echoed. “We do not stand out. We will not be identified!”
“Who speaks first?” I moved on to the next recruit.
“Never us!” they replied.
“Who strikes last?”
“Always us!”
One by one, they left behind driver’s licenses, wedding bands, phones, wallets…
Danny was next. He joined Coach at the front.
“As you know, we’ve made some changes this year,” he said. “If we spot your beacons on the wrong side of the border, you will immediately be evacuated and escorted back to DC, and you will not have a future with Hillcroft.” He paused to let that message sink in. “On your map, you’ll find seven checkpoints, and you’ll go to them all. If you return in two weeks and you’re missing one marker, you’re out.”
Last but not least, Elliott, Mercier, and River. While the latter two handed out backpacks, Elliott positioned himself next to Coach with his own backpack.
By then, I reached the last row, and it took all my strength not to say anything to Shay—or, hell, to kiss him.
Gray had nothing to leave in a Ziploc bag. He’d already given it all to Darius.
Shay had a single item. His ring.
I love you, baby. You can do this.
Last but not least, Crew dropped a gold band too, plus his phone and a necklace with a miniature dog tag that carried his personal information.
“Recruits, you can open your bags for inventory!” Elliott ordered.
I got out of the way and returned to the others.
This sure brought back memories.
Elliott bent down and grabbed the first handful of gadgets. “As I go through the items, you confirm you have each one. Starting with a water filter system.”
“Confirmed!”
“One multitool, one combat knife, one folding knife.”
“Confirmed!”
* * *
Shay Tenley
What, no kiss?
Pffft. He had another thing coming. They both did. I appreciated River and Reese for acting professional, as they had throughout my yearlong training in DC, but I wasn’t here to become a contractor. I only wanted to see if I had what it took—and then to start my job as an instructor.
