Page 18 of Ground Zero

I grin, “You’re looking at him.”

He gives me a head nod.

I point out the other targets and explain. “They are calibrated to match a man running.” I wheel my horse away. “The obstacle course is next.”

When we arrive, the first thing he says is, “I’m coming out here to work out with y’all. This looks like fun.”

I laugh. “You are welcome anytime, but don’t expect to win.”

He laughs too.

We dismount, tie the horses up in the shade, and go inside at the warehouse. There is a model of a house built with just the walls, no roof, and a viewing tower built around the top of the warehouse walls. I head for the stairs and take two at a time to the top. When I step onto the landing, Hardcore is right behind me. We stroll out onto the viewing platform, and I explain how we will use the maze to train, breaching, entering, snatching, and retrieving our targets under a time limit. “Like you said earlier, ‘Minutes count. Details matter.’”

“Yes, they do.”

As we trot down the stairs, Hardcore says, “I tell ya, Crockett, I’m impressed so far.”

I laugh, “Then be prepared to have your mind blown because I saved the best for last.”

When we enter The Coop, it feels like returning to Bravo. Mike, Jack, and Nina all stand when they see Aurelius is with me. I introduce each of the guys, they shake hands, then I turn to Nina. I lift my arm, and she slides underneath it.

“And this is my main squeeze, Nina Fox, Foxtrot. She was the targeting officer for Bravo, and for Cock Blockers, she’ll be the mission commander as well.”

She pats me on the chest and cocks that damn eyebrow. “Main squeeze? I better be the only damn squeeze.”

Everyone laughs.

Then she steps forward and shakes Hardcore’s hand. “Nice to meet the man whose money I have spent so freely.”

Everyone laughs again.

“Nice to meet the woman who took his idea and has made it a reality.”

She nods, pleased with the compliment. “Let me share with you what you purchased and how we will use it.”

They walk across the room to the three video screens along the far wall, and I pull up a chair to sit at the conference table with Mike and Jack.

As they go, she talks animatedly about the surveillance items she has purchased and their purposes. She is wearing a gray T-shirt that is too tight across her breasts with black yoga pants and flip-flops. Her hair is hanging straight, and I love how it swings as she moves. She rarely wears makeup, and I prefer her natural beauty.

Hardcore asks her some questions, and she answers by escorting him to the back. In the adjoining room are individual cages that house our personal shit, and beyond that is the warehouse where the equipment she bought is housed.

Mike laughs when we hear the door close. “Foxtrot is in her element now. Let’s give her ten minutes, then one of us needs to go rescue him.”

Jack laughs, “Hell, no. He’s the one that gave her a blank check. He needs to see all the shit she bought.”

I laugh. “Hardcore can take care of himself. I’m not going in there and interrupting her.”

Forty minutes later, Nina and Aurelius walk back in and find us cleaning our weapons. I have an M240 machine gun, while Mike and Jack both have MP7 machine pistols, broken down and scattered on the table.

Jack jokes, “Did you get to see every single thing she’s bought?”

Aurelius laughs as Nina sasses him, “When your ass is on a mission, and that equipment saves your hairy hide, you’ll be thanking me for making sure you had the best.”

Mike pushes his chair back, “Oh, snap!”

Hardcore leans forward and pretends to whisper, “She even showed me the parachutes.”

Jack gives him a knuckle bump, and everyone laughs, including Nina.

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