Page 46 of Doozer

“That’s not how this works. You bring me the money, and we give you the product,” the red leader said, his tone becoming more aggressive.

“Jerry said this would be a no hassle deal,” Tackle said. “What the fuck is this?”

“I sure hope you’re not thinking of backing out, because that wouldn’t be very smart of you.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m thinkin’ that might be the smartest thing I do all day. Come on, Boots,” Tackle said, motioning for his partner to get in the car.

“I said backing out wasn’t a good idea,” the red leader said, pulling out a pistol, leveling it at my team.

I clicked off the rifle’s safety.

“Be cool, and we can all just walk away, here,” Tackle said, calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be walking away as soon as you give me that bag full of money.”

“I told you. Deal’s off,” Tackle said.

“This isn’t a deal anymore, now gimmie the bag.”

“You really think we’re here alone?” Tackle asked. “You pull that trigger and you’re a dead man.”

“You brought guys with guns. I brought guys with guns.” The red leader motioned to his goons. “We could turn the place into a bloodbath, sure. But you’re not gonna,” he said, just as the second SUV rounded the corner, the door swinging open to reveal Jette, bound and gagged in the back seat.

“Make one move and the driver shoots her,AgentTackle,” the red leader said.

Taxi had obviously handed Jette over to the red team to be used as a hostage. He loved to throw curveballs during these exercises. Still, I had to play this scenario out as if it were real. After some quick figuring and a quick prayer to whoever might be listening, I slowed my breathing, put the target in my crosshairs, and let my mind go blank.

In that moment, and possibly for the first time in my life, I trusted myself. In that split second, I decided on a plan, executed it, and felt confident that I’d made the right call. I didn’t act out of fear, impulse, or even the desire to beat the red team. Only to do what was best for my team.

I held my breath and squeezed the trigger, activating the sensor in the driver’s hat, indicating a head shot. I targeted red leader and fired a second shot, hitting him center mass, giving Tackle and Boots time to draw their weapons on the three remaining bad guys and take them into custody.

I was told most of this afterward, as I’d missed most of the event myself. I saw only flurries of activity in my scope as my mind swam in and out of a fugue state. I was aware I’d decided to take the shots, but after that, it was like I was on auto pilot.

After a moment of silence, I heard the celebratory whoops and hollers of my fellow teammates in my earpiece, followed by Taxi’s voice. “Blue team, report to rendezvous point Charlie immediately.”

My team was there to greet me by the time I’d packed my rifle and returned to the street level. I almost felt like I’d left another version of myself on that rooftop. Pride wasn’t a feeling I was accustomed to, but the looks on Tackle, Boots, and Jette’s faces made my heart swell.

“Holy shit! I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire fuckin’ life. I swear to god!” Tackle shouted excitedly.

“Seriously,” Boots said. “How the hell do you manage to get off two clean shots from that distance?”

“Because she’s a badass,” the usually reserved Jette screamed, giving me a huge hug.

“Thank you, guys,” I said, knowing I was fully blushing and not caring at all. For once, I couldn’t wait for our debrief with Taxi. I kept my shit together, did my job, and helped lead my team to victory.

“Congratulations on another failed mission, blue team,” Taxi said, throwing the field report to the ground.

“What the fuck?” I blurted out.

“Did you say something, candidate?” Taxi bellowed.

The entire team stood in line, at attention, while Taxi paced back and forth in front of us like a drill sergeant.

“No, sir,” I replied, wanting to crawl inside myself.

“I didn’t fucking think so,” he snapped. I’d never seen Taxi this angry. which only added to my confusion. I thought Taxi would be all hugs and high fives, but instead I’m worried about getting kicked out of the program.

“Now, would one of you like to tell me what the hell happened out there today?”

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