Shoot Not to Kill

by Daniel L Stephenson

  Someone in the front row said, “Sir, touch without permission is simple assault.”

  “That is correct. You are candidate commander. Your name?” Davis asked.

  A chuckle ran through the crowd, and Yeoman said, “Sir, I am candidate Yeoman.”

  “You are Candidate Captain Yeoman now, and will be in charge of this lot. The doors to the barracks are open. You will find cubicles and your name on one. Please go in and become acquainted with the facility. The mess hall is attached in the rear, and I will meet with you there in one hour.”

  They milled into the barracks. A long hall had doors into cubicles. The first few inches of the paneling appeared to have been blackened and scuffed. Michelle noticed this and looked closer, while Colin and Geech were wandering about, looking for their names. The scuffs appeared to have been created by boots, and scuffs were most concentrated near the door.

  Officer Davis walked by and noticed Michelle’s interest in the scuff marks. Reading the name on her uniform, he said, “Candidate Lumen, you have noticed the brace. It is the area that you will be standing at whenever you are summoned from your cubicle. The blackened areas are from the boot polish you will purchase in the morrow, to polish the boots you also will be purchasing. Your brace will add another layer to the wall.”

  Michelle was trying not to dislike Officer Davis, but she was not trying too hard.

  Michelle found her cubicle and entered. Three other candidates all sat, talking quietly among themselves. Michelle approached and they turned and smiled.

  “Hey, you’re new to us. Sorry, we know each other already. I’m Dawn,” said a large girl with red hair and few freckles.

  “Hi. My name is Michelle, and I’m about ready to pee my pants. This place scares me. What did I do to deserve this?” Michelle smiled and looked to the other girls.

  “Hi to you. I’m Rachel, and this is Mixie,” a petite Hispanic girl said. Michelle turned to Mixie and notice she was not smiling, and she too looked like she was ready to run.

  “Hey, I was only kidding when I said I was ready to pee my pants. I’m just surprised at all this spit and polish. You look scared.”

  Mixie looked at Rachel and Dawn, then said, “You girls ain’t gonna have to put up with me long. Tomorrow they be doin’ a pregnancy test on us all, and that’s when they’ll catch me. Damn my luck anyway. Me and my guy been having too much fun, and he’s in for it now. Been married four years and never missed a period. Never did a thing to keep from it, and now I finally get a good job, and it’s prego time. So don’t be getting your briefs in a bundle for me, I’m just passing through.”

  Rachel put her hand on Mixie’s arm and said, “No fooling, you have been trying since we started college, and now you’re pregnant. What does Boom think about this?”

  “Boom’s going to be real proud, but now he’s going to have to feed another mouth on his one salary, and they don’t pay more here for another kid.”

  Michelle looked closely at Mixie and asked, “You said ‘here.’ Is Boom a cop?”

  Dawn and Rachel giggled, and Mixie said, “He’s the stuffed shirt that’s been booming around here all morning. I’m Mixie Davis, and that stuffed shirt wears pants that I press. His boss said it would be trouble if I joined, and damned if he just wasn’t right on. Here we go, girls. Boom said he’d treat me just like he had never met me. Well guess what? When the reports from the lab come in, he’s gonna have a hard time acting like he don’t know me!”

  Michelle asked cautiously, “Does he want to have a child now?”

  Mixie smiled for the first time and said, “Oh, he wants one, alright. He’ll be happy enough that we’re going to have a kid, but he’ll have a hard time not showing it. We’re being called. Come on, girls, we’re supposed to be in the mess hall, as Boom calls it.”

  Chapter 19

  First Day of Training

  It was Monday morning. Michelle stood at the gate of the compound with her three duffle bags of gear. With her stood Mixie, Rachel, and Dawn. The guys were milling around, and Colin was nowhere to be seen. Michelle’s arm hurt where she received the identification chip the week before. And her butt hurt where she had started the immunizations required for her job. The stipend for starting training had looked attractive, a bonus for uniform purchasing. That sizeable bonus was now piled at her feet, including boots, Category B training uniforms, and equipment. The cabbies, as the Category B uniform was universally known, were military fatigues, with a few extra pockets to make them different enough that you could not cheat and go to the surplus stores in town. The morning was cool and nice.

  “Mixie, what happened when you told them you were pregnant?” Michelle asked as she wrestled with her bags of equipment.

  “They asked me if I wanted to continue, and had me sign a waiver. Also said I would be exempt from some training until such time that I’m no longer profiled, whatever that means. Otherwise they said I’d be treated like any of the recruits,” Mixie said. “Maybe that means we’re all pregnant!”

  Dawn laughed, and injected, “What it likely means is that after we get done here, we’re all going to feel pregnant!”

  “I hope that doesn’t happen. Where did you gals get your equipment? Rachel asked. “I noticed there were several options.”

  “Got mine on the Internet,” Michelle said. “Thought I was going to save a bundle, but then the shipping costs came in. Would have done better here in town.”

  Rachel slapped Michelle’s shoulder and said, “Beat ya. My big sister was going to be a cop. Academy used to have a summer course for seniors in high school. When Mary was my age, she looked like me, all her stuff fit, so I got mine out of my folks’ garage.”

  “Good for you,” someone said.

  Michelle noticed Colin and Geech dragging up the path. Both were festooned with bags. Geech had his hair in a long ponytail. “Gonna go in the hard way, eh, Geech?” Michelle called out.

  “You got me into this. Got tired of stealing your equipment and doing your work!” Geech called out as he stumbled into the group.

  Michelle helped him stack his gear, then turned to Colin. She noticed Colin was pensive. His hair was shorter, and he looked pretty sharp in the duty uniform they were wearing. “You look good in uniform, Colin,” she said as she touched his arm. She felt that she should kiss him on his cheek, but knew that would likely embarrass him. “Girls, these two are, or were, my friends. That was before I talked them into this crazy job. Colin, Geech, I’d like you to meet Mixie, Rachel, and Dawn, my new roommates.”

  “Glad to meet you,” Colin said. “Hey, I’m OK with being here, really. I was getting tired of tutoring and studying all the time. This well be a nice break. Did you get all that junk they asked you to get? Why do I need three sets of everything anyway?” Colin asked.

  Michelle was just getting ready to answer when the doors to the buildings on the compound opened and several uniformed officers stepped out. They were in cabbies that they must have starched and rolled on a big press. Their boots were immaculate, even from afar. They walked into the loosely assembled crowd without saying a word. Officer Davis was the last member of this cadre. “Your room assignments are posted on the central bulletin board, which is there,” he said as he pointed to a covered bulletin board on the first building. “That building is the cadre barracks,” Officer Davis said as he pointed to a small building sitting aside, “and is off limits to you at all times. The only reason you will enter the cadre barracks is to do details or if there is an emergency. The first assembly for your training is in one hour. The uniform will be cabbies. I expect a formation of two platoons. Those dwelling in barracks B, that one,” he said pointing to the adjacent building, “are in the first platoon. Those in barracks D are in second platoon. The first one of you that asks me what happened to barracks C will be the first one to find out. Move it.”

  There was a moment’s confusion, and then everyone started picking up what they could and headed for the bulletin board. Michelle walk
ed to the central bulletin board and noted she and the other ladies were all in D, while Colin and Geech were in B. Michelle turned and headed for her pile and called out, “Colin, Geech, you’re in B. Ladies, head for D.”

  Officer Davis pointed at Michelle and said, “You’re company cadet commander until further notice. Get your troops moving. I want platoon commanders from you in one hour.”

  Michelle answered, “Yes, sir. What happened to Yeoman?” she asked before she even knew she had the words in her. A feeling of having eaten something sour settled in her gut as she turned to the group.

  Someone laughed and called out, “Serves you right for thinking on your feet!”

  Officer Davis looked at Michelle and asked, “Do you see Candidate Yeoman in the group? When you do, he can be the commander, but as of now, he is absent without permission and presumed to be a no-show.”

  Their rooms were cool and empty. No individualization was obvious. There was bedding laid out on the beds. Lockers with keys hung open. A large sign hung on the wall said there would be no smoking. Michelle turned to the inside of the door to the cubicle and noted there was no check-out time listed, she mentioned this to the others. “Looks like we can sleep in, there’s no check-out time listed.” A fire escape plan finished out the interior of the room.

  Mixie had already started dumping her bag. She pulled out a pair of cabbies and started to change. Others followed. They were able to put up most of their gear before the hour was up. They exited the barracks and found most of the other trainees were already milling about in the commons, an area between the barracks.

  Michelle walked over to the men from the other barracks. She knew better than to ask for a volunteer. She noticed several groups of trainees talking together, and a smaller group nearer the barracks. This group seemed older. One member had graying hair. She did not pick him for platoon commander, as it would be obvious she did so for the gray hair. She picked another in that group—a man who looked Hispanic and seemed to have a quick smile. He had the appearance of one that had been used to working and was sparing his energies for the work to come. Michelle smiled and said, “Hi, what’s your name?”

  The trainee smiled back and shook his head, “Ain’t me, ma’am. I’m just a trainee here.”

  Michelle laughed and said, “Ain’t me it is. Get your troops out of the commons and onto the street back there. Maybe a good idea to find two guys to be your squad leaders. There’s a duty roster on the door from the last class, and it uses four divisions of tasks, so start looking for your guys.”

  “Damn and nation, anyway. OK. I’m Gabriel. Gabriel Reyes. Thank you. What’s your name? I call you sir or something?” Gabriel said as they shook hands.

  “Michelle. You can call me Michelle. Thanks.”

  Michelle walked to the second group and picked another cadet for platoon leader. He was Carl Brown, and soon had his group falling into place.

  They mustered in the street. Officer Davis emerged with his cadre. Several of the officers carried piles of books. These were spread out on a table near the cadre barracks.

  “These books are your guidebooks for the next eight weeks. You will use them as your standard of operations and procedures. That shortens up real nice to SOP, and nothing gets done here if it ain’t SOP. We’re going to meet in the classroom after your first instructions in marching, and a warm up mile. When we’re back, you’ll each take one of those three books and head into the classroom. The remaining instructors are Officer Driscow, Officer Banfield, and Officer Ripley. Mr. Ripley, at your pleasure.” Officer Davis said, “They are all yours. I will pick them up in the classroom at 1000.”

  “You are in platoon formation now,” Ripley began. “You somehow have managed to get all your asses in one spot, but it is ragged and a mess. If you are taller than the individual in your view, tap that individual on the shoulder and move into his or her spot. That individual will take your spot. Continue doing this until you are tallest if front, shortest in the back If you are tapped on the shoulder, step back. Now people,” Mr. Ripley ordered.

  A laughing and a milling about ensued. Officer Ripley yelled, “Am I funny, people? Do I make you laugh? I’ll really tickly your funny bone if you don’t get your ragged butts to work as ordered. Now move it.”

  The milling became quiet. It took several minutes before the general outline became obvious.

  “Cadet Commander, front and center. That means stand in front of me. Fill in her hole, people.” Ripley ordered.

  Michelle stood out and trotted up to the officer.

  “You walk unless you are in a formation, then you march. You run when you are told to. A formation is anytime three of you move about this compound. One is the march commander and the other two are the troop body. When I ask for anyone to break out of the troop body, you march to where I designate. That means in a straight line with turns that are corners. You will not march directly to me. You will stand at attention when in formation and not marching unless you are commanded to be at rest, at arms, at bay, or at fire. You will learn these positions during your early training. Right now you are at attention in formation. Head to the front. Eyes to the horizon, and arms at your side. Now people,” Ripley called.

  Michelle was standing staring at Ripley.

  “Commander Lumen, you will not stare at me, it is impolite. You will stare at the horizon, and you will not follow me around. I have command of your company now. Please designate your platoon commanders.”

  Michelle could not recall the name for the platoon commander for her platoon, and in the effort to answer without sounding stupid she said the first word from her memory, “Mr. Reyes for platoon D, and Rachel for platoon B.” As soon as she had said it, she knew Rachel was the wrong answer.

  “Reyes, front and center on your platoon, fifteen feet out. Rachel who, Ms. Lumen?”

  Michelle was about to admit she did not know Rachel’s name when she heard Rachel call, “Rachel Marquart.”

  Ripley called, “Ms. Marquart, front your platoon as is Mr. Reyes.”

  Rachel took her position at the front.

  Ripley walked to Rachel and said, “I run a polite training facility, Ms. Marquart. When I ask someone a question, I expect that individual to answer. I do not expect spontaneous answers from the audience. Do I make myself clear, Ms. Marquart?”

  “Yes, sir,” Rachel answered, looking at the horizon.

  “Very good,” Ripley said as he turned to the platoons. “Fill in the gaps, please. I will now demonstrate the manner in which you turn in formation with the commands to right face, left face left, and about face. Right face is a turn on the heel of your right foot, and you execute a turn that is over your right shoulder. A left face is accomplished in the same manner, only over your left shoulder. An about face about uses the left heel as a pivot point, your right toe reaches to the rear, and you rotate to your right to face your rear. One smooth move people. For now, I want a turn to your right. Everyone raise your right hand.”

  After a few false starts, everyone had their right hand in the air.

  “Drop your hand. Now, remember which hand you had in the air as I tell you to right face. When I say the word face you execute the turn to your right. Remember the hand you had in the air. Now, right face.”

  To Officer Ripley’s amusement, everyone managed to turn the correct way.

  “Now repeat the drill. If you are taller than the individual to your front, please tap that person on the shoulder and assume that place. Repeat this exercise until the tallest persons are on the front rank, and the shortest persons are on the rear. Do so now, there is no command for ranking and filing. So just do it, quietly people,” Ripley said as he walked to Michelle. “Ms. Lumen, I will maintain control of your company. You may stand at the left front corner of the company of troops while I have command. If we are in garrison, that means at your barracks, you may break formation for your own duties of command without the permission of the acting company commander. If that person wishes you t
o resume the command of the company, and you are not present, it will be given to your subaltern, whom you will pick tonight.”

  Michelle stared to the horizon and answered, “Yes, sir.”

  “Commander, I will give your formation over to you in a few moments. When I do so, please instruct them to face left. Then tell them to repeat the drill I just accomplished. I want the tallest individual in the left far corner. The smallest will be in the right corner closest. We will then march. We will march and march and march. Your position will be at the rear of the company, five feet from the platoon commander, who will be just behind the individual in the left rear corner. This is your position long as your company is commanded by someone that outranks you, and you have not been called to front and center. Is that clear?” Officer Ripley asked.

  Michelle had no clue what he was talking about, and decided to tell him just so, “No, sir. I do not understand.”

  Officer Ripley smiled, almost laughed. He looked at Michelle and spoke in a voice that would not carry to the remaining formation. “Ms. Lumen, honesty is its own reward. I will help you to the fullest of my abilities, and we’ll do just fine.”