Chapter 3
Headquarters
In Major Phelps’s office, Jack continued to stare silently at Lieutenant Jacobson. I don’t want to shake hands with a woman who is going to be commanding me in the field. Finally, the silence was broken when Phelps said, “Savage, it’s okay if you shake hands with your new partner.”
Jack still couldn’t speak, but he was able to reach out and grasp the outstretched hand of his new partner. He took her hand in his and noticed that it was petite, soft on the back, but calloused in the palm. While shaking her hand he said, “Nice to meet you . . .” But Jack struggled to finish his sentence. After several seconds of silence, he swallowed hard and forced himself to finish his sentence by adding the last word, “. . . ma’am.”
Lieutenant Jacobson flashed Jack a friendly smile and said, “I’m pleased to meet your acquaintance, Sergeant Savage.”
Jack’s throat felt like sandpaper. He struggled to maintain his self-control. Why did the Army do this to me? I am a well-developed sergeant, talented beyond all others in the field of sniping, not to mention hand-to-hand combat, pistol skills, light anti-tank weapon skills, and navigation. Why do all of these skills have to come under the authority of a pencil-neck female that just graduated from the academy? I need a partner who knows more than just books. I need someone who instinctively knows what to do in a combat situation, someone I can count on to watch my back.
Jack was so lost in his mental tirade that he forgot to release his grip from the lieutenant’s hand that he was still shaking. Jack noticed the muscles in her petite hand tighten, then her hand straightened, and with a firm twist she nimbly slid it out of his grip.
“Before I let you two get acquainted, I need to run a couple of things past you,” said Major Phelps. “You two will be going to training camps before you get your assignment. First, you will be attending jump school together.”
“But I have already done that.” Jack raised his voice ever so slightly, just enough to emphasize his point, but not enough to be considered insubordination.
Phelps glared at Jack. “Yes, but this is HALO school. I read your file and I didn’t see HALO in it. Savage, do you know what H-A-L-O stands for?”
Jack took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then he responded in a slow, reticent voice. “High Altitude, Low Opening.” He saw this as the only good omen so far. He always wanted to do a HALO jump. He did the civilian equivalent when he was in high school. He made many of these jumps from airplanes at twelve thousand feet, and then sky dived to two thousand feet, where he pulled his ripcord. He then floated to earth on a high-performance parachute that steered like an airplane and could land a man on a target the size of a golf cart. Now he would be able to do the military version, which started at a much higher altitude—thirty-three thousand feet. That required the use of bottled oxygen, which sustained him until he got to twelve thousand feet where the air was thick enough to breathe.
Major Phelps continued with a stern face. “After that I want you both to go to the upcoming sniper competition at Fort Benning, Georgia. You two will have a chance to demonstrate your abilities as a sniper team. Remember, only the best go to this competition, and so the winner is literally the best of the best. I fully expect you two will win the competition.”
That was another good omen. Jack realized that this would be a good opportunity for him to gain more leverage with the Army by winning the sniper competition.
“After that, if all goes well, you will come back to HQ and get your assignment. Do either of you have any questions?”
Jack didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to say that everything was good except for the part about working with a pencil-neck female, but he knew better. So, he simply said, “No, sir.”
“Alright, why don’t the two of you get out of here and start getting acquainted. Go out and have some beers and do some male bonding—I mean get to know each other.”
Lieutenant Jacobson and Sergeant Savage stood, saluted the major, and exited the room.
As the two walked to the parking lot, neither spoke. Finally, they stopped next to the two Hummers at the edge of the parking lot. Jill broke the silence. “Before you say anything, I want to say that I know this isn’t what you were expecting.”
Jack glared at her. Woman, that’s an understatement.
Jill continued, “The upside is that the Army picked us for this mission because we are the best of the best, and anything less than that will have a sour ending for everyone: you, me, and the Army.”
Jack pondered her words. The thought of having a female partner in combat made him grind his teeth.
“So, if we both keep our eyes focused on the successful completion of this mission, we should see a nice future in the Army.” Jill smiled again.
Jack understood the logic of her statement. But, somehow it just didn’t seem right. To make matters worse, Jack realized that for the successful completion of this mission, he needed to work on his attitude.
“Ma’am, we have a long way to go. So let’s not sing Kumbaya too soon.”
Jill smiled again. Jack decided that he did not like it when she smiled. He sensed that it was a sign of optimism on her part, and right now he was not very optimistic. If she thinks she can use her smile to impart some of her optimism to me, then she has a lot to learn.
“Savage, do I detect a little bit of your competitive spirit coming out?”
The pleasant rebuke made Jack even madder. The veins in the side of his neck bulged. He knew he was losing control. He did the only thing he knew how to do. He took a don’t-care attitude and then spoke his mind, “Ma’am, you seem like a nice lady, but in the end, I want a partner I can trust. It’s going to be difficult to trust someone that is fresh out of school, a woman, and a skinny woman at that.”
Jill’s smile dissipated. “Good, I think we are making progress. I wanted to personally hear you say those words. I suspected that you would feel that way. I am glad that you have admitted to your weaknesses. Now you can start the process of modifying your inept attitude.”
Jack was furious. He felt like he was going to explode. Both hands clenched. He wanted to strike her, but he knew that would be the end of his career, so he did nothing.
Jill responded to his silence. “By the way, Savage, it works both ways.”
Jack wanted to continue his silent rebellion, but his curiosity got the best of him. He managed to speak the words, “What do you mean ‘both ways’?”
“Savage, it’s true that you are stuck with me, but I am also stuck with you.”
Jack’s hands clenched tighter as he searched for words to express his frustration. Again Jack restrained himself and said nothing.
“Have we put all of our cards on the table?” Jill asked.
Jack was still struggling for words, so he simply nodded.
“Good, we’re definitely making progress . . .” she said.