Page 5 of Deadly Strain

“I respect her,” Sharp told his commander. “She’s smart and she’s worked her ass off this last year. But Marshall has some kind of vendetta against her. The look on his face the other night...” Sharp shook his head. “He’d have killed her if he could have. But she belongs tous.”

Cutter was silent for a couple of moments, his gaze steady on Sharp’s face. Finally, he angled his head toward the knot of soldiers and gear. “Come on, no one is going to bother her now. Marshall needs her. Get your shit together.”

Cutter had one thing right. He needed to keep his focus on the mission. Sharp followed the other man, but there wasn’t much for any of them to do, since they were always ready to move out on a moment’s notice. Every man on the team had developed the habit during training and had only refined it since. One of their instructors used to say that an unprepared soldier was a dead soldier.

Sharp joined the rest of his team, double-checked his weapons, pulled on his battered gear and bio-suit, and got out of the way.Focus.

Cutter was talking with Bart, one of their communications guys, when Colonel Marshall walked in a few minutes later with another half-dozen soldiers behind him and headed straight for the Special Forces group.

“Cutter, storm coming at twelve o’clock,” Sharp informed him quietly.

By the time Marshall came to a stop, the entire A-Team was standing at attention.

“Sir,” Cutter said with a salute. “The go-team is ready, sir.”

“Where’s that damn doctor?”

“She’ll be here in six minutes, sir.”

Marshall grunted. “You’re taking these men with you on this mission. Two additional medics, Yanik and Anderson, and four of my infantry for security. Your mission objective is to assist Major Samuels.”

For the first time since their arrival two weeks ago, Marshall was actually helping a situation rather than shitting all over it.

“And make sure that bitch doesn’t screw up,” Marshall added. “I want the men on that patrol back in one piece. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

The team saluted, and Marshall stalked off like he was Patton or something.

“So much for that guy not being a tremendous bag of dicks,” the team’s second in command, John Leonard, said in an undertone.

Chapter Two

Grace entered her quartersat a run, slamming the door against the wall.

Down, girl.

---