Page 19 of Luck Be Mine
Stemmons carried his tall stature well. His sturdy body stood on tough missions, and his quick mind was an asset. His good looks caught the women which Hunt had always been happy to let him have. He had more time in grade than Gil, but they’d done a few missions together. He had no complaints about how the man ran his team. So, they needed a conversation to put to bed all the gossip, most being too far off base to let continue.
“Stem.” He offered his hand and studied the man’s solemn face. “Walk me out?”
“Sure. Might be better outside conversation anyway.”
Hunt kept his face neutral and continued to the exterior door.
“Ready to deploy? New wife ready?”
“Yes.” He should expand his affirmative, but he didn’t like sharing information about his relationship with Cait.
“You sure? Sometimes women get anxious, and they’ll go crazy contacting you.”
Hunt stopped, holding the outer door. “Cait has ten years in the Army. She understands deployment.”
“Oh right. What’s she doing about her service?”
“Undetermined at this time.” Hunt wished he could slip sunglasses on to mask the irritation on his face, but the gathering darkness of February disagreed with the move. He went to the edge of the parking area and waited for Stemmons to speak. When he didn’t, Hunt stopped. “Lay it out. What’s the problem?”
The younger lieutenant shrugged. “No problem.”
“Come on, Gil. Don’t send messages through the other team members. You have a problem, come to me. I have no designs on Kirkus. I’m happy with the team I have.”
“But you’re about to get promoted. I hear Scott wants you for his position.”
“He’s said as much to me, but nothing has been decided. Now with this virus, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s up to the Navy to pick.”
“Oh, I wasn’t arguing. I want your team.” Stemmons kept walking, but Hunt stopped paces from his truck. What the fuck?
“You what?”
Stemmons put his hands on his hips. “After you get promoted, I want to move to your team. Be their lieutenant.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like the make up of my team. Personality clashes.”
Hunt frowned. “Fix it, then.” Christ! This would make Doogie’s head explode.
“I get the problem children.”
“Yet, they perform under fire.”
Hell, his team took on Tommy who was a problem child with all capital letters. He’d straightened out. Mostly Senior Chief’s doing, but partly Doogie’s, too.
“Yeah, but can I treat them like family when we come home? Congrats on the marriage by the way. That was unexpected.”
Hunt had no clue how to answer. “If you have issues with your team, you should talk to Scott.”
“Nope. Not going to give him a clue anything is a problem.”
“You always tell him things are ship shape?”
“Yes, because they are. In the field. At home? Assholes, partiers, and killers. I stay out of the loop, if possible. Thankfully, as an officer, they don’t come to me much.”
Hunt had a higher calling, a dedication to his country. The commitment was what he expected from his people, outside and inside the wire. Find it or get out. He also gave a fuck about his people. They knew they could come to him if needed. Stayed between them. No brass involved.
“Come on, Hunter. You have a stellar reputation for getting the job done, and you navigate the gray areas so well the Navy is never left holding the bag. Not to mention IQS. A nice commendation by the way.”
