Page 41 of Under Fire

But Brooke didn’t understand. She didn’t want to understand.

He stepped back, and Katy came out to say goodbye. He forced a smile, which she seemed to know was false. He tipped his ballcap and took his leave, not wanting to prolong it.

He’d fucked up, and he knew it.

The problem is that some fuckups are unfixable.

* * * *

Warren returned to work as he pulled through the military training facility up in Wrightwood, running on too little sleep. In the higher-altitude mountainous area, the desert air brought him back to Iraq—perfect training conditions for what they had to do on their next deployment.

Maybe it was his pent-up anger, maybe it was his frustration, but he was planning on fucking delivering some hard-ass training, regardless of the pain he was in. By the end of the day, everyone was going to be suffering just as much as he was. He was going to make these boys perfect, whether they liked it or not. He was going to teach them what it meant to never give up.

Warren zipped up his hoodie, fresh from his place, slinging his modified shotgun over his shoulder. He was the type of guy who liked to research and purchase his own equipment, giving him a little stockpile at home that made him look like he was prepping for the apocalypse. Thinking about it a little more, he realized how that could have freaked out Alisa.

The master chief was meeting him in the office that morning to go over where they were at and readiness levels for getting at the next high-priority target. Warren moved into the compound’s office, a small building with top-secret access. No cell phones were allowed. No landlines. In fact, the building had been outfitted like a safe—keeping their discussions impenetrable.

“Chief.” Master Chief Rose turned to greet Warren as he walked in.

They were alone.

“Sir.” Warren nodded at the man he’d worked with for a long time.

They’d been through a lot together. They’d seen a lot of shit and suffering. They’d also seen a lot of wins.

The master chief motioned for Warren to sit, so he did so, sliding his guns off onto the side table. He’d be needing those later.

“I’m going to cut right to it,” the master chief started. “I have been informed that there was an incident over the weekend.”

“There was,” Warren confirmed, sitting confidently in the cheap chair.

“You punched one of your petty officers?”

“I did.”

“Care to explain?” Master Chief Travis Rose’s eyes widened as he looked around the room in disbelief, a shine emanating from his receding hairline.

Warren stared down the master chief, angrily sucking his teeth—the first show of emotion he was willing to express. He’d thought of exactly what to say all weekend, but by that point, he found himself too goddamn incensed to keep it cool.

“Petty Officer Gaudet made a disgusting racist comment, and I reacted.” Warren leaned forward, hot red flushing up his neck, thinking about how his subordinate had deeply disrespected Alisa. “I want him formally disciplined.”

The master chief narrowed his eyes, showcasing wrinkles that promised experience. “Write up a report with the full story, and we will proceed with disciplinary measures. We are zero tolerance here.”

Warren rapped the chair’s arm with his knuckles in a tone of finality and moved to get up.

“Wait.” The master chief motioned for Warren to sit. “This isn’t over. I also have to deal with the fact thatyoupunched him… You outrank him, you are his leader—and you assaulted him.”

“And I’d do it again. Harder.”

“And ‘you’d do it again’?” The master chief tilted his head in incredulity. “And this is instilling confidence in your leadership? You know very well that I should be discipliningyouas well for that. You are trusted with the well-being and safety of the platoon, your crew. I can’t have you punching your men when we have better ways for handling this type of shit. Youknowthis.”

Warren remained still—silent and unapologetic. He wasn’t going to back down from what he’d done. The guy needed an ass kicking far worse than what he’d given him. It had gotten so damn personal.

“I did what I did. I don’t give a fuck,” Warren finally stated, keeping his words curt and cold.

“This isn’t like you. In all the years we’ve worked together, I’ve never seen you crack.” The master chief pushed on, dropping his tone to ask. “Are you burning out?”

“No.”

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