by Lia Davis
Whether on purpose or otherwise, General Stone might just get his way automatically. The selection process, or lack thereof, which had resulted in this bunch of recruits, had already ensured as much. Alpha Squad would fail at the first hurdle, it was inevitable.
"Wake up, cadets!" Janine nodded at Private Callahan to flip the light switch in the dorm room, which revealed all her recruits in various stages of drowsiness.
The first to jump up was the former SAS guy, predictably. They trained tardiness right out of those guys.
Within moments of Janine's initial call, Craig Bentley stood to attention in front of his bed. All the while, the younger man in the top bunk, Ben Cooper, got up on his elbows and blinked against the light.
"What time is it?" he mumbled.
Janine tapped her foot impatiently. "It's time to start your training, that's what time it is!"
The solitary man at the end of the dorm joined Craig Bentley in the center of the room, copying his stance. "Ready, Ma'am."
Janine shook her head as she stole a glance at the two brothers from East London, who seemed to find it most difficult to wake up. Perhaps animal stereotypes applied to shifter people as well. Did bear shifters hibernate like real-life bears did? If the weather turned, perhaps she'd find out first hand.
"I'll meet you all outside in ten minutes. No exceptions!" Janine marched out of the room with Callahan closely on her heels.
"That could have gone better," Janine mumbled.
"It's only the first morning," Callahan responded, in a similarly muted tone.
She was right—it was only the first day—but these guys seemingly had no clue what lay ahead.
Janine still found herself shaking her head as she made her way through the hallway and into her office to pick up her clipboard and stopwatch. She also grabbed a coat from the rack in the corner—mornings in the area could be harsh and unpredictable, and she did not expect to be able to head back indoors for quite some time.
Before long, she and Callahan found themselves out on the rather unimpressive grounds next to the parking lot. She had mentally mapped out a trail for everyone to follow this morning, so that she could get a baseline of their fitness levels. They all looked fit enough, but you could never really tell with new recruits until you put them to the test.
It did not take long for the first of the lot to come out. Unsurprisingly, the SAS man, Bentley, led the way, along with the most unlikely of the lot: Eric King.
Janine held her breath as she looked squarely at the two of them. Must not show weakness. I am in charge.
Within minutes, the remaining recruits had made it outside as well, though they did not look happy about waking so early. Janine decided to ignore the sorry state of their uniforms for the moment; that could be addressed another day.
"So kind of you to join me. Let's not waste any more time. We'll start with a run around the compound. From this point over here, follow the track around the old tank toward the tree line beyond the old hangar, around the western side of the fence and back here." Janine raised the stopwatch. "And yes, I will be timing you. On three, Callahan!"
Janine waited as the private counted to three and pressed the button. What she saw took her breath away.
The former SAS guy started strong, as expected, but the three shifters left him in a cloud of dust within moments of the countdown. It was still dark out, so Janine had trouble focusing on their movements. She could barely even see who was leading the race. One of the pack had made it to the trees and was coming back already, while the other human, Cooper—the youngest of the squad—had only reached halfway.
Janine put a comment on his grade sheet to that effect; there was no need to wait for the end of the race to know that he would be last.
Barely a minute later, the first two recruits stopped in front of Janine, prompting her to record their times. It was Thomas Blackwood and Eric King, with Adam following half a minute later. Unbelievable, how fast these guys were, especially considering their size.
"Very good," Janine mumbled as she watched Bentley approach the ground as well.
He stopped and eyed the shifters darkly. Clearly, he'd come into this thinking that his background would give him an edge over everyone else.
"Good job, Bentley," Janine said, only to be met by a similar displeased look.
She didn't let it bother her. He'd been fast for a human, but when it came to running, even the most highly trained man could not beat a wolf or a bear.
They waited for another couple of minutes until Cooper finally arrived too, panting heavily as he stopped, resting his hands on his thighs.
"Cooper, you made it," Janine remarked, scribbling his terrible time onto the mark sheet. "I think you should work on your stamina daily from now on. I wouldn't want you to lag behind if we're deployed together."
He looked up and made a face. "I didn't see you run with us. Perhaps I won't be the one lagging."
Janine straightened herself. "We've had this discussion before on how to address me. Seeing as you need to build up your fitness, push-ups will do you good. Let's start with twenty."
Cooper frowned.
"Did you not hear me? Get on the ground right now!"
"It's muddy!" he complained, then looked up at Janine again. "Ma'am."
"That's nothing compared to what's coming. I wasn't asking! Do it or you're off the team!"
He sighed and did as he was told. Someone else snorted in amusement.
"You laugh and you're joining him!" Janine warned.
The resulting silence was deafening.
Janine shook her head and made yet another comment behind Cooper's name. Serious problem with authority.
"While Cooper completes his pushups, the rest of you will set up the obstacle course. You know the drill, Bentley, you're in charge!" Janine ordered.
She guided everyone toward the old hangar, all the while trying to locate the correct key in the big bunch that covered the entire training grounds. As soon as she had opened the rusty door, she stood by and watched Bentley take the lead. Finally, the gruff man seemed to be in his element, shouting instructions at the three shifters.
She took note of the man's tone and overall demeanor throughout. This task, as well as putting Bentley in charge of it, was yet another test, of course.
Meanwhile, Cooper joined the group and was instantly put to work by Bentley as well. Callahan had pointed out Bentley and the two bear shifters as the biggest potential liabilities on the team, but as the sun finally rose above the hills surrounding the camp, those three seemed much more comfortable than Cooper. Janine was going to have to take him aside for a word later. His attitude left a lot to be desired.
It was only eleven as she caught herself paying a lot more attention to this odd one out on the team, rather than the rest of them. It seemed she was willing to do anything but to spend too much time scrutinizing Eric for fear of getting distracted. This was something she would have to work on for herself, just not today.
Chapter 5
The first morning of training had gone well; at least, Eric thought it had. As he found himself sitting around a large wobbly table inside a kitchen cum break room with the remaining recruits, one of them, especially, could not keep quiet.
"That was fun, wasn't it? I wonder what else we're going to end up doing," Thomas Blackwood, the wolf, said.
Eric eyed him across the table in silence, preferring to stay in the background as the conversation unfolded. Blackwood looked even more excited now than Adam had been on their way here.
Bentley didn't hold back as much. "This isn't the scouts, you know. Despite what you lot have been led to believe, this place hasn't always been the joke it is today. Good men have died training on these grounds."
Thomas shrugged. "Don't feel bad just because I beat your time on the obstacle course. In fact, the three of us decimated your time, didn't we, lads?"
Adam grinned. "And that was after setting the thing up while you stood by and watched, ain
't that right?"
Eric shrugged. So what, the shifters had ruled the obstacle course. What else was new?
"And how about the major, huh? She's quite something," Thomas said.
Eric's ears perked up. If he said anything more, anything that could even remotely be construed as disrespectful, he would ignore the whole us vs. them dynamic the shifters and humans had fallen into and take Thomas' head off for it.
"She's our superior. It would serve you well to remember that," Bentley said. His condescending tone did not match his words. He didn't give the impression of ever being impressed by anyone, especially not her.
"Hey, anyone else hungry?" Adam remarked.
All heads, including Eric's, turned in his direction.
"I mean, we've been here almost a day now, and I've still not seen any kitchen staff arrive."
Bentley rested his head in his hands. "You're having a laugh, right?"
Adam glared at the man. "What's your point?"
"Kitchen staff… Where do I begin," Bentley mumbled to himself.
Eric sat back and watched. His little brother could take care of himself; then again, Eric already knew where this was going, whereas Adam still had a lot to learn.
"This ain't a hotel. If you're hungry, you do something about it."
Adam opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again without saying anything.
"I'm sure the major and that little fox, Callahan, aren't sitting around starving to death," Cooper quipped from his corner of the table.
He and his big mouth still had not learned a thing. No matter, Eric thought to himself. The inevitable extra push-ups his attitude would earn him would do him good. So far he had been the weakest of the group.
"What Major Williams does is none of your concern. We're but lowly cadets. We haven't yet earned the right to be waited on," Bentley grumbled.
"Aight. So. Who's hungry, then?" Adam rephrased his earlier question, in a gruffer tone.
Bentley shrugged and stared straight ahead. Eric and Blackwood nodded, as did Cooper, but nobody made a move.
Finally, Eric gave in and got up to help his brother, who had already started rifling through the refrigerator. There was nothing much inside, just some eggs and bread. The various cupboards were equally bare.
"Finally, something I have valuable previous experience for," Adam grumbled to himself as he started assembling the makings of a very basic meal.
Eric couldn't suppress a chuckle. His brother had never held onto a regular job, but he had worked in the kitchen of a local café one summer when he was still in school. He had lasted all of two weeks in that role, before flipping off the owner in a dispute over who was going to do the dishes.
Just as Adam began frying up some eggs, a crackly and distorted version of Private Callahan's voice interrupted their activities.
"All recruits are requested to report to Major Williams' office one after the other. Work out the order amongst yourselves." Another crackle signaled the end of the announcement.
Eric couldn't help but wonder if the timing of the announcement was deliberate. He scanned all corners of the room, and sure enough, there was a small red light inside a vent beside intercom speaker. A human eye would have never picked it up, but Eric could spot something shiny like a small camera lens in there.
They were being watched. Obviously.
Nothing was quite as it seemed in this place.
Adam shrugged as he continued to operate the stove. "One of you lot go first. I'm busy."
The two humans did not seem keen, but Blackwood jumped up. "All right then! Wonder what this is about."
Eric waved him down. "I'll go. You guys eat first."
The wolf shrugged and sank back down onto his chair. "If you prefer."
He did, actually. If this was anything like the basic training he'd undergone with the New Alliance, it was time for individual assessments. Perhaps the major had prepared some tests for each recruit, or she would just wing it and have conversations with each of them.
In any case, he welcomed the chance for some alone time with her, no matter how loudly his stomach growled.
He could not explain it, neither did he expect anything to happen. He just knew that he craved to be near her. His inner bear practically demanded it.
"Come in," Janine answered the knock on her door.
Individual assessments were an essential part of training, but she was dreading one in particular this time. Eric King.
Of course it was him who had decided to come in first. She held her breath as she observed him enter her office. His movements were much more stealthy and refined than she would expect from someone of his stature. Was it deliberate?
Either way, hopefully, she could get this conversation out of the way quickly, so that she could move on to the easier subjects.
"Take a seat," she offered.
Cadet King—she'd tried to force herself to think of him in those terms, even if it seemed wholly inappropriate—sat down. He made the substantial wood and leather chair in front of her desk look small underneath him.
Her heartbeat sped up against her will.
His eyes were fixed on her face as he folded his hands and waited for further instructions. Despite Callahan's observations as well as her own concerns, he had been quite comfortable taking orders all morning. Was it just an act?
"I have a few questions for you, and it's best if you are completely honest." Janine shuffled a few of the papers on her desk, pretending to look for the checklist she had prepared earlier. In reality, she was just trying to avoid eye contact.
"Of course, Ma'am."
His voice still affected her, perhaps even more so than the first time they'd spoken. He was so near and yet so unattainable. She could not wait for this torture to be over.
She glanced up into his eyes and immediately focused on the questionnaire again.
"Why are you here?" she started, folding her hands to resist the urge to fidget with the paperwork again.
"You called all of us in," Cadet King—Eric—answered.
Janine shook her head. Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be! "I mean generally. Why join Alpha Squad?"
He paused, stealing a glance downward, presumably at her lips. Her heart skipped a few beats, but she did her best to maintain the same steely expression.
You're mine, a voice said in her head. Was it a voice, though? It sounded more like a low growl. Janine readjusted one hand on top of the other and continued to stare straight at the bear of a man in front of her. Now she was truly losing it.
"As you will have read in my file, I've been involved in the New Alliance. I just want to make a difference, Ma'am."
And what a difference you've made already, Janine thought.
I'm here to claim you, the same voice in her head seemed to say. The hairs on her arms stood upright, tempting her to scratch herself, but she managed to resist the urge. Janine's eye twitched involuntarily. What was that voice?
"In your own words: what is the purpose of Alpha Squad? The mission statement, if you will…"
Eric continued to look at her directly, his expression as calm as could be.
"To aid the traditional law enforcement agencies in any shifter related matters."
Janine nodded and made a quick note in his file. "Let's drill down, shall we? In concrete terms, what are we here for?"
"For example, shifter on shifter or shifter on human crime. We could more effectively investigate the shifters in question. We would be a bridge between the shifter community and the human government."
Janine scribbled his response onto a further sheet of paper, rushing so much the end result was hardly legible. Still, if her previous interactions with this man were any indication, she wouldn't need the notes to recall his answers word for word. This conversation would get re-played and analyzed over and over during those moments when she lay in bed at night with sleep still eluding her.
Whether she liked it or not.
; "Very good. So would you say you are here because you believe Alpha Squad will continue to let you make a difference?" As soon as Janine finished her question, she listened for his response, as well as any more comments from that weird imaginary voice she'd heard before.
"Yes. Absolutely." That was it. The other voice remained silent.
Janine glanced up at him briefly again. He sounded firm and determined, but there was something in his eyes that suggested that he was either hiding something or not completely convinced of his own answer.
Fair enough, neither was she. He talked the talk, though, and that was all that mattered for now.
She asked him a few more routine questions about his background, how he grew up, his skill set, and what he thought his strengths and weaknesses were, and that concluded the assessment. The mysterious voice seemed to have gone away by itself.
Her phone rang with impeccable timing.
"That's all, then. Excuse me," she said, gesturing at the phone.
Eric, no, Cadet King, nodded and started to get up while she lifted the receiver to her ear.
"Ma'am, the Secretary of Shifter Affairs is on the line for you. He wants an update on the Squad," Callahan explained.
"No problem. Put him through."
Janine watched as Eric left. That had gone pretty well, hadn't it? She hoped she'd been able to disguise her discomfort well throughout his assessment.
Meanwhile, a voice she'd previously only heard in the media answered the other line. "Major Williams? This is Oliver Teese. You are the officer in charge of Alpha Squad, am I correct?"
"Secretary Teese, this is unexpected! Yes, Sir, I am. Training has only just begun, though…”
"No matter, I was hoping to receive regular updates from you throughout training anyway. This initiative is important to me, so I expect to be kept in the loop."
