Operation Child Soldier (The Academy Book 1)

by Jaci Wheeler

  “I’m serious, Cam. These people are one hundred percent freaking insane. I’m the top of my class, right? I did amazing things. I’m not bragging; it’s just a fact. These guys could eat me for breakfast! I get no training, no heads up. I show up, get a very fast introduction to our small team, and then Spencer says, ‘We just got the call; wheels up in five,’ and walks off to grab his stuff.

  I stand there like a dummy looking around and have to be told by Nix who, by the way I have no clue what her actual name is, that and I quote ‘I better get the thumb out of my butt and step on it.’ She said those exact words and walked off to grab her bag. So I, of course, do as she suggests and go grab my bag, which thank God was there. Everyone hurries to the helo pad and off we go.”

  “Okay, so it’s fast–paced. It makes sense since this is the squad they call in when others fail or can’t do what is required. To be honest, Aria, this is why I didn’t understand why your father would put you on it without proper training and life experience.”

  “It’s because he’s a sadistic jerk…obviously!” I add with a huff.

  “Okay, so you are in the bird. Then what?”

  “Spence gives us a very rough briefing that goes something like this: ‘Alright guys, here are the specs. We are going in hot in the middle of a turf war between two drug lords. Our job is to bring it to a quick end and recover anything we can in the process. Questions?’ I literally was sitting there with a million questions like oh, I don’t know, maybe what country are we going to, where is this war taking place, where is the extraction site, what is our point of entry…like all the questions that we should have answers to before we land. I’m expecting someone to pipe up and ask these questions, but they don’t, Cam. They all nod and say ‘got it!’ And the worst part is they actually did get it! I mean they were in the same bird I was, they got the same info, yet they all ran like they had info for days. And I was the one walking around with my thumb lodged straight up my butt.”

  Cameron starts laughing at my little tirade and I can’t help but want to punch him.

  “Calm down, little one. Geez, you’ve got to see your face right now. I mean if the spy thing doesn’t work out you should totally become a story teller. This is great. So, what happened next?”

  “Well I should have just asked my questions, but I didn’t want to sound like the rookie idiot, so I kept quiet. The next thing I know T-bone, or T-Dog, or whatever the ridiculous name is of the scariest man I’ve ever seen in my life hands me a parachute. So I figure ok, we are going to jump and then figure out where to go from there, right? So, we free jump, which thank God, I did fine, but then I look up and see everyone taking off. I wasn’t told where to go, what job to tackle, nothing. I am starting to think they set me up so I grab ahold of whoever was passing and ask what to do. He shoots me the meanest look ever and tells me to change my tampon and get my head in the game! Can you believe that?! Cameron! Stop laughing! Seriously I’m going to punch you.”

  Cameron has tears falling down his face he is laughing so hard.

  “Nope, story time is over.”

  “No, no, don’t stop now,” Cam says, trying to get himself under control. “This is just getting good. I can’t believe they didn’t prepare you at all. They know you don’t know how they work.”

  “Finally, someone who sees reason!” I say, throwing my hands up. “Since everyone snuck off in their own direction, I decide to take the high ground and jump into sniper mode. I’m doing really well and nobody knows what’s hit them until everything goes calm. I’m not sure what’s happening, so I talk into my mic asking for a stat report,” I say, throwing my hand over my face.

  “Okay…?” Cam says, not getting it.

  “Well, no stat report came because, apparently, we were in stealth mode, meaning radio silence. Which would have been good to know. So I stayed there, not wanting to give away my position.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “You’d think, right? Well apparently I was supposed to be helping with the recovery part of the mission and Vic had to come and get me. I mean, why even have comms if you aren’t going to use them? He then goes and runs his mouth saying that I was hiding in the jungle. Like I’m some scared little girl. Overall the mission was successful, but everyone was pissed at me, and in turn my father was embarrassed and I got a horrible talking to from Spencer.” I feel ashamed and I’m too afraid to look at Cameron to see how ashamed he is of me. When I look, however, he is angry, and not just angry; he’s full on pissed.

  “I told him this would happen! What idiot puts a rookie on the Elite team? They set you up, Ari. They didn’t train you properly and they set you up. You are lucky it was only a little bit of embarrassment and not you getting killed.” He is pacing back and forth looking like a caged tiger.

  “What do you mean they set me up?”

  “I told your father you weren’t ready. Those people have worked hard to get where they are. They have worked together for a long time, Aria. The reason they didn’t ask questions is because they all knew the answers. They have done the same time job a hundred times. They know exactly how to handle it, but you haven’t and that is on Spencer, not on you.”

  Well, that makes me feel better.

  “Do you think I should quit?” I ask.

  “Hell no!” he says, pissed off again.

  “But you just said I’m not ready. I don’t want to look like an idiot, Cameron.”

  “Then don’t,” he says, bringing the old Cameron back in full force. What happened to my ice cream buddy?

  “The next mission you go on, Aria, you ask questions. You use the whole flight to find out anything and everything you need to know. Who cares if you look green; you are green. You ask until you are a thousand percent confident and know exactly what you need to do. You have the skill. It’s the experience you are lacking, and you won’t get that by running away. You also need to know who you are working with. When you aren’t on missions, you will be training together. Watch them. Watch their mannerisms. Watch how they handle stress. Watch their body language. Learn to read each and every member like you do me. Know them inside and out. You go in there prepared and don’t take any of their crap, you hear me?”

  I don’t know what to say so I only nod.

  “This is on Hayden too. He should have warned you; he should have prepared you better.”

  “No Cam, he didn’t know any better.”

  “It’s his job to know better, Ari! This won’t happen again,” he says adamantly.

  “Tomorrow, when you walk into training, you hold your head high. You take responsibility for your actions, but you give them a hard time for theirs as well. You tell them what went wrong and how you are going to be better prepared next time. You demand the respect you deserve. If you let them tease and belittle you, then it won’t stop. You become my fierce little warrior. You stand up to them like you did Wade and you take no prisoners. You get me?”

  I nod again. “Yes, I get you.” And I do. Cam just gave me my confidence back, he gave me my fire. And that is exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow.

  “I will do just that tomorrow, I promise, but tonight…”

  “You want to pig out and cry?” he asks with knowing eyes.

  I just nod and my tears start to fall again.

  He surprises the crap out of me by pulling me in close for a hug.

  “Alright, Ari, you can cry tonight, but tomorrow-”

  “Tomorrow I kick ass and take names,” I say through my tears.

  “That’s my girl.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Aria

  The next morning, I wake up super early and get ready for my day. I decide to take Cameron’s advice. I need to get my confidence back and earn some respect. The best way I know how to do that is to get the biggest guy I can find and beat him to a bloody pulp.

  When I woke up I decided to challenge Mr. T--no I still don’t know his actual name--to a sparring match. This could either be really s
tupid or brilliant. If I win, I will have earned a little respect and feel better about looking so dumb on the op. If I lose, I will look like an even bigger idiot, although right now I’m looking pretty dumb in everyone’s eyes so I’d like to think there’s nowhere to go but up.

  I ate a very healthy breakfast packed with protein, went for a light run, and did thirty minutes of stretches and thirty minutes of meditation to clear my mind and prepare myself for today.

  I’m going to march right in there and show them who is on their team. I’m going to prove that they didn’t make a mistake adding me. It’s time to get down to business. I take a deep breath and then march right into the Elite training facility.

  It’s massive, much bigger than the Academy’s for sure. But I refuse to be intimidated today. I walk straight up to the group standing around by the ring and look right at Spencer.

  “We need to talk,” I say in my no-nonsense tone.

  This seems to have caught him off guard a bit. Well, the wilting flower from yesterday is gone, boys.

  “Um, sure. Let’s go into the office then,” he says and turns to walk that way.

  “No, here is fine,” I say, earning a surprised look from Spencer.

  “What? It has to do with them too; they might as well be here for it.”

  “Well then, by all means, proceed,” he says.

  “What went down yesterday was wrong. It wasn’t handled correctly by either of us. You threw me to the wolves and watched me get eaten up. You are the leader of this team, Spencer; it is on you to make sure your team is prepared and ready for action. I could have gotten killed or put someone else in danger because I wasn’t prepared. That falls on your shoulders.”

  You could hear a pin drop, everyone was stunned and from the look on Spencer’s face, he was pissed that I called him out in front of a group. Well, they will get their turn right now. I turn to address the rest of the group.

  “We are a team. Not only a team, but the team. I understand you all know each other and are comfortable with each other. I’m the new guy. I’m throwing your team off, I get that, but excluding me and not helping me is only going to harm the team as a whole. You can make me feel like I don’t belong and watch me struggle, or you can help me so that I can get on par with where I need to be so that I can better help out the team.”

  Everyone is gaping at me now, like they can’t believe my guts.

  “Now for my part in this. I was too afraid to ask questions yesterday. When you gave the assignment, I should have spoken up, I should have asked people what to do if I didn’t know before I put myself and others in harm’s way. That is on me, and I can guarantee that won’t happen again. I also apologize for being the weakest link yesterday.”

  Now that we are done with that, I turn to the largest man in the room, approach him, and put my hand out.

  “I’m Aria.” He looks surprised for a minute, but then takes my hand.

  “Travis, but they call me T-bone.”

  “Nice to meet you. Do you care to spar?” At this, his eyebrows shoot up, as do everyone else’s.

  “You want to fight me?” he asks, still not believing me.

  “Yes I would, unless you are too scared, then I understand.” This earns me a chuckle from him.

  “Alright, little girl, you have yourself a partner,” he says and hops in the ring. I follow close behind him but I still I hear them talking behind me.

  “That one has some balls.”

  “Feisty. I like her.”

  “Let’s just hope T-bone doesn’t eat her for breakfast.”

  “Spence, you might want to get the medic on standby.”

  I ignore all their comments as I braid my hair, but the last comment sends a chill down my spine. I stand there and stretch a little as I size up my opponent. He is huge, like he could be related to Wade huge.

  He is about six foot five and close to 300 pounds if I had to guess. His head is completely bald, and he has a tattoo that starts on one side of his head and wraps around and trails down his massive neck. His arms are also covered in tattoos, and when he takes off his shirt, his muscles look painful. But I push aside the intimidation.

  I’m fast, very fast. I’m also strong for my size and can take a hit. As long as I can get the jump on him, I have a chance of winning this thing. I have to prove to the others that I belong here, that I didn’t just get this spot because of my daddy, which is what they are all thinking right now.

  “Go easy on her T,” Spencer shouts, which pisses me off.

  Travis turns to acknowledge Spencer and that’s when I strike. Normally I would sweep the leg because it’s my signature move and the best way to get them on the ground so I can have leverage, but this guy is just too big and I might end up hurting my leg.

  Instead, I go for the stun while he is off guard. I throw a hard right and get him right in the jaw. He stumbles back like I thought he would, so I launch myself at him with all my might, making him fall back. Just like that, he’s on the ground and I’m all over him throwing punches left and right.

  Right now, he’s just blocking me. I don’t think he saw that coming. It was playing a little dirty to get him off guard, but with our size difference that was the only way I was going to get the upper hand. I have to keep him on the defense if I’m going to make it out of this. He throws up his leg, but I see it coming. I instantly have him in a leg lock.

  “Holy crap, she’s doing it,” Ritz yells excitedly. I can’t let myself get distracted.

  He throws a few good punches to the ribs, but I have his leg in a strong lock and he has nowhere to go.

  I twist so that he’s on his side and I’m slightly behind him blocking him from hitting my ribs. The only problem with this is that it puts us in close contact and he head butts me…hard. I can hear my nose crack. Dang it. Well, what’s another broken nose as long as I win this match? I suck in a breath, put more pressure on his leg, grab him from behind, and have a leg and his head both in a lock. He’s stuck.

  He tries to get out of it a few more times but then realizes I won. He taps out and I jump up and put my hand down to help him up, even though blood is pouring from my nose and my eyes are so swollen I can't see. This causes him to break out in a huge smile and burst out laughing.

  He takes my hand and then pulls me in for a hug.

  “Well done, Blondie,” he whispers in my ear. “Maybe you’re not just a Barbie after all.”

  I grin broadly even though I have blood pouring in my mouth from my nose.

  “Come on, let’s go get your nose taken care of. Sorry, I didn’t mean to break it,” he says, handing me a towel.

  “That’s ok, let’s not forget your face. I’m hoping you will need at least a few stitches,” I say, trying to smile through the blood. He laughs at me and shakes his head.

  “You chica, are loco.”

  “But in the best way possible, right?”

  “Of course. You can’t be sane and be an Elite member, that’s for sure.”

  ***

  Later that night there’s a knock on my door. I open it to a grinning Cameron.

  “So, I heard right? You put them in their place?”

  “Firmly,” I say, smiling.

  “What's the damage?” he asks, scanning my face and I wince.

  “Bruised ribs, broken nose, black eyes. Could be worse.”

  “Did you win?”

  “Of course.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “I think I earned their respect. Now I just have to take advantage of every single minute I can to learn the dynamics of the team. Spencer came and talked to me after I was done with the medic. He apologized for how things went down yesterday and said they are going to make an effort, so at least it’s a start.”

  The rest of the week went off without a hitch. I learned a lot about my team and started to find my spot in the group. I’m the best shooter and the best hacker, so that is where they are going to use me the most. Travis is the muscle, but he is also flu
ent in the most languages.

  Vic is our engineer. Anything with a gear, or motor, anything at all mechanical, goes right to him. Our weapons specialist is Nix; the girl straight up rocks. They nicknamed her “Nix the Ninja,” which she hates because she says they are mocking her Asian heritage. Ritz, which is actually her name and not a nickname like I thought, isn’t a huge fan of mine, but she’s taken me in stride with a few quips here and there. Her biggest asset is her mind. She’s brilliant and can think up a logical way out of any situation. She also knows the most random facts ever.

  We are in the middle of a sparring session when Spence walks into the room.

  “Huddle up; mission time.” We all quickly stop what we are doing and head for the conference room. I’m surprised to see Hayden in there, along with several other people I don’t know.

  “Have a seat guys. Your handlers are here because they are going to be used for this mission as well. We decided it was best to debrief everyone at once to save time,” Spencer says as he grabs his laptop.

  I sit next to Hayden and he winks at me.

  “This assignment is an extremely important one. There are three businessmen on their way to Zurich right now with some very valuable information. Our job is to intercept that information and upload a virus into their computer, rendering it useless. This information cannot reach its destination, do you understand?” We all nod and he continues.

  “Good. Now the best way to play this is to send the three girls in. Obviously, Aria is going to be the one hacking into the system and getting the info. The only problem is that we don’t know which man is carrying the information. It could be one man with it all, or all three with some.”

  “Will they have it on their person or is there a chance its checked or in a sleeper cabin?” Ritz asks.

  “That we don’t know, which is why we need the three of you. The guys will all be on the train and will be your eyes and back up if you need it, but you girls might have to divide and conquer. You two,” he motions to Nix and Ritz, “are going to have to keep them occupied so Aria can slip away and work her magic. I’m told the information is located on a device, Aria, so you are going to have to systematically check cell phones, laptops, iPads, everything they have.” I nod, thinking this is going to be next to impossible without them noticing. I think Vic could see my panic.