Walker and 53 smirked and I knew there would be hell to pay. I felt the poke in my back again and looked over my shoulder. Terri was pointing at me and mouthing threats. I turned face forward, knowing where that was going, and walked right into the back of the lieutenant.
"Sorry ma'am." I grabbed her by the shoulders and kept both of us upright. The second I let her go, she took a step forward and turned on me.
"If I had the authority I would turn this ship around and drop both your sorry asses back on Sergeant Hendricks for remedial training," she snapped.
I could see there was nothing in front of her and no reason for her to stop.
"Jamison, I suppose you’re distracted by all the shiny steel and people working for a living?" she continued.
"Yes ma'am," I answered, hoping it was the right thing to say.
"Can you focus on just making it to the meeting room?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good, let’s go. They’re waiting on us."
****
We walked into the room, which was filled with about a platoon of marines. An unusual-looking marine captain sat in front, looking like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of weeks or had a haircut in a couple of months. O'Malley walked to the front and we all searched for a place to sit. Instead of climbing over and trying to get to an empty seat, I just opted to stand in the back.
Terri wasn’t about to climb over fifteen men to get to any of the seats in the middle. "Hey!" she shouted. Heads turned to look at her. "Scoot the fuck down!"
They all shifted down one seat and she sat on the end. The captain and the lieutenant were both watching; without missing a beat, the lieutenant started.
"You all know what you need to know about the what, when, where and why. We have four new team members. You can introduce yourselves later. This is Captain Braun. He is on loan from command and has his own orders which will work parallel with ours. He is going to evaluate all of you over the next two days and pick a small team to assist him in carrying out his portion of this mission."
She looked around the room; everyone seemed attentive. "I'll let Captain Braun brief you all now. Corporal Meadows, see me after the briefing."
O'Malley sat down and the captain stood, seemingly at ease, looking us all over.
"Lieutenant O'Malley is going to divide you into three teams. You will compete both against your teammates and against the other teams. I am going to push the envelope, so don’t think we are just getting together to do PT. I will provide the rest of the details about my mission once I have selected my team."
The captain stopped talking and sat down. That was short and sweet. No one seemed to have any questions. O'Malley stood and dismissed everyone, and they eyeballed me on their way out the door. Meadows yelled out our names and we made our way to the front.
"Corporal Meadows will take you to supply and then your quarters. Stow your gear and be ready when you’re called. Can you handle that, PFC Jamison?"
"Yes ma'am," I answered quickly.
"Good. Now, get out of here and get yourselves situated."
Meadows seemed like a decent enough marine, I thought as he spoke. He was firm but didn’t play hard-ass with us.
"When I call you later, dress like you’re falling out for PT with Sergeant Hendricks. Keep your pockets empty. I heard about you two from the lieutenant; eight against two, was it? It may be true, but most of the platoon, when they find out, will want to see if you live up to that story."
Antolini spoke up. "Corporal Meadows, if it comes down to it you may want to bet on the newbies."
"If the story came from anyone besides Sergeant Hendricks, I would call bullshit on you,” Meadows replied, “but he was my instructor in school and I trust him. Just watch your backs.” He turned and took Terri across the corridor to bunk with a group of female marines.
We were in the first group, thirteen in all, to go to the gym. I wasn’t sure how the selection took place, but it looked like it was the newbies and the weakest members of the platoon. I didn’t know any of them, and I figured the idea was to weed us out quickly. O'Malley called 53 out first along with a PFC Johnson. I gave him a pat on the shoulder and a thumbs-up. Johnson was a small wiry man who probably weighed no more than 140 soaking wet.
The only rule was to subdue your opponent until he or she tapped out, or the lieutenant intervened. Our platoon sergeant and Corporal Meadows sat on either side of O'Malley to help if things got out of hand. 53 had thirty-five or forty pounds on Johnson and finally pinned him on the floor in a chokehold until he tapped out. The match was called and Johnson took a seat behind the lieutenant and her staff. I got the idea Johnson was admin or something.
"PFC Jamison and Corporal Arrendondo!" O'Malley yelled. I walked out to the mat and she walked out, stopping about three feet away. She was a pretty Hispanic woman with an hourglass figure. She was toned and looked solid.
Arrendondo spoke low. "Hey, your girlfriend says you won’t hit a girl. I don’t want to hurt you, so why don’t you tap out so we can keep things moving along for the lieutenant, alright?"
I spared a half-second glance at Terri, who was smiling. Then I saw the lieutenant looking from me to her. I looked at Arrendondo and said, "Ok."
I went down on one knee and she charged. My fist came up and connected with her diaphragm and she doubled over. I stood quickly and wrapped my arms around her middle and fell, pulling her over my body and slamming her to the floor. I started to lock her up when I notice she still was trying to catch her breath.
"Tap out now so you can catch your breath," I told her. She did and I walked off the mat and sat down. She was up a minute later and walked to her seat.
The call went out again. "PFC Antolini and PFC Walker!"
Watcher, my new nickname for him, was about to pay for sitting through our little skirmish with the navy. He knew it too, but he came out of the gate hoping to get lucky with a barrage of kicks and punches. Terri batted most of them away. She took a couple on the outside of her thigh, which I knew was like kicking a rock.
After about three minutes, Watcher was letting his guard drop and his kicks carried less and less force. It was a little anti-climactic when Terri got inside his arms and caught him with an uppercut to the chin. Out went his lights. Terri was off the mat by the time his body settled, still and unmoving.
Chapter 3
The lieutenant dismissed the losers to attend to their daily tasks. However, I noticed Corporal Arrendondo didn’t leave. Terri sat next to me but I refused to talk to her. We watched every round in silence. I figured the corporal would have plenty to say to her when they returned to quarters. Hopefully it wouldn’t escalate into anything more.
I was thinking about the next day, and I thought I had an idea about who I needed to beat. I thought the lieutenant might have a method to her madness with the matchups. She had marines; she just wasn’t going to give up to the captain for his mission. She must know more about his orders than she’s letting on, I thought.
We were released to go to chow, and then we had to report to Corporal Meadows before we were allowed to turn in. He laughed as he showed us to the head and the utility closet where everything was kept for cleaning it. There wasn’t just one; he had two more, so we split up to get them done.
"Cleaning crew, is everyone decent?" I yelled into the door a female voice asked me to hold on. I leaned against the wall and waited. Lieutenant O'Malley walked out, drying her hair with a towel and talking to sexy Corporal Arrendondo. Her T-shirt only came down to her midriff, just barely covering her breasts. I could see a bruise just below her ribs; it wasn’t bad, but I felt bad for a second and then quickly remembered not to stare.
They gave me a look and walked away. I knocked out the cleaning in about five minutes. It was three minutes longer than I was used to, and it felt like a luxury to have the extra time. I cleaned my equipment and put it away.
It was almost zero hour when I returned to my quarters. We had started our day at 0400 with Sergeant He
ndricks yelling at us for the last time, and my first day as a marine ended with me cleaning the head. I let my eyes adjust to the dark and sat on my bunk. It was already occupied, which really pissed me off. I turned on the light above my bunk and Terri was staring at me.
"They kicked me out" she whispered.
"Who did, Corporal Arrendondo?"
"Yeah, I guess she’s pissed, and it’s your fault."
"Why the hell is it my fault? You’re the one who lied to her."
"You're the one who put her down in about four seconds."
"Go back over there and tell her you're sorry and maybe she’ll let you stay. I want my bunk."
"I'm comfortable,” Terri pouted. “I don’t want to get up."
I stood and walked out; to hell with that noise, I thought. I went across the hall and into the room that Terri was supposed to be in. I heard soft snores and quiet breathing as I sat on Terri's bunk. I quietly untied my boots and slipped them off, followed by my socks and shirt. I unbuttoned my pants but left them on, just in case I had to run out of the room quickly.
I woke to a pain in my ass. Someone was poking me with their finger, or at least I hoped it was a finger. I rolled over quickly to find three female marines frowning at me.
"PFC, what the hell are you doing in our quarters?" Arrendondo said.
"Corporal, what was I doing when you started poking me in the butt?"
"Sleeping."
"Okay then, why are you asking me?"
"I mean, why are you sleeping in our quarters?"
"Really, Corporal?” I answered with a smirk. “Two questions like that in a row?”
"I’m going to get Corporal Meadows and we will throw your ass out," she snapped back. The other two just stood behind her, nodding the whole time like a couple of bobble heads.
"Gotcha, and how long will that take you?” I said. “I'm going back to sleep, and don’t forget to tell him why I’m sleeping here."
I rolled over, facing the wall again, and closed my eyes. It only felt like a few seconds when someone was waking me. I rolled over to find Arrendondo dressed in uniform; the other two were nowhere to be seen.
"Get up, you have fifteen minutes to get ready and get to the gym."
"Thanks." I grabbed my things and ran across the corridor to get some fresh clothes and run for a two-minute shower. Terri walked in about the time I was done tying my boots. She had a cinnamon roll and a small carton of milk.
"This is for you."
"Thanks,” I said. “How much time do we have?"
"Five minutes."
I took three quick bites and tossed the rest in the trash. The small carton of milk went down fast, and we walked double-time to the gym.
Sitting down with one minute to spare, we still felt like we were late with the whole damn room turning to look at us. We must have been the last. Lieutenant O'Malley didn’t waste any time. She called out the first two names and I was happy neither was mine. It took about five minutes, and unlike me, the winner helped the loser up off the floor. Two more names were called and it went on and on.
"PFC Antolini and PFC Jakes." Jakes was about six feet tall, and strong. It was clear he worked out every day of the week. Terri saw him coming and sized him up.
Corporal Arrendondo walked into the gym and sat next to me.
"Who are the winners so far?" she asked.
I pointed each of them out, not remembering their names. She took out a notepad and wrote them down.
"So how good are you?" she asked, turning to me.
"I do okay, why do you ask?"
"It’s not often something like this happens, and there are some wagers on who might get picked. I have some money on you, just so you know, and I would like you to win." She smiled. It was a friendly smile
"I'll do my best just for you, Corporal," I said.
"Do you think she will win?" she continued, gesturing to the floor.
"I know how good she is, but I don’t know anything about him. I will need to watch them,” I answered.
"He’s good, and strong. If he gets his hands on her she may be through."
"Does he fight dirty?" I asked.
She looked at me funny. "I don’t think so, never heard him accused of it."
"Well she does, so factor that in your odds."
"This should be good, ‘cause he hates to lose." She smirked.
We were sitting on the floor about ten feet from the edge of the mat. Jakes saw Arrendondo and me and gave us a dirty look that seemed to start growing into anger. I was watching him and Terri intently now. Once he pissed Terri off, it would be a battle royale, I knew.
I felt Arrendondo’s shoulder bump into mine. "Did I mention he’s my ex-boyfriend?"
"Great,” I answered. “When this is all over, could you and Terri make up so I can sleep in my own bunk?"
"Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe we’d like you to stay with us and let your psycho girlfriend live across the hall."
"As long as I've got somewhere to sleep, I don’t care," I answered, shrugging.
Jakes picked up Terri and threw her to the ground. He thought she would be down, I could tell, but she bounced right up and came at him. She was in the zone immediately, but he was good, blocking her kicks and punches. Then she got in to close and left her punch hanging too long.
I watched as Jakes grabbed Terri by the wrist and pulled her into a bear hug. He lifted her off the floor and was trying to throw her down with himself on top of her. She was able to plant her feet, however, stopping his momentum. I started laughing when she bit down into the meat of his thumb like a chicken wing.
Terri didn’t let up and bit harder until Jakes screamed and let her go. She had no qualms about punching him in the face, which is where her elbow landed once she had a couple inches of room. The knee to the groin was deflected as he turned slightly, but the punches to the stomach landed.
Jakes pushed her back hard and was holding his hand, cursing under his breath. Terri was back on him a second later, punching anywhere she thought she could land one. He backed away, rubbing his hand again, when she jumped, her momentum took him down. There was a barrage of punches that followed. Jakes had his arms over his face but he was tiring some or pretending to be. Maybe he knew something we didn’t.
I was thinking someone would stop it soon, but nobody moved. Terri raised her arm and brought her elbow down hard into Jakes’ arms. She continued to do so until he took one arm and started slapping the mat.
But I knew she wouldn’t stop, he didn't. Something had happened to her as a child and that bear hug set her off. The few times we had had sex, it was with minimal intimate contact — no hugging, touching or kissing, except for one kiss when we were done. I remembered that 4 minutes with fondness. We thought we were smart yelling at everyone to clean up the head if they used it before lights out so we could use the five minutes for ourselves.
Snapping out of it I got up and ran for the mat. Terri had her arm raised to bring her elbow down again when I scooped her up under the arm and pulled her off. She fought with me but I held her, talking softly and telling her to calm down. She looked at me and I could tell she was back. I let her go and she walked off the mat, grabbing a towel, and sat down alone.
Jakes looked to be okay; he started getting up as I passed him on my way back to sit down.
"PFC Jamison and Corporal Meadows," the voice rang out. I stopped and looked over at the lieutenant. Both she and Meadows were looking at me. I turned and walked back out and waited. Meadows seemed lost for a second but snapped out of it and took off his uniform shirt. I got the feeling this was a surprise to him.
The lieutenant grabbed his arm and motioned at him to bend over so she could talk to him briefly. He gave her a slow nod and walked out. I watched him walk up, his eyes downcast. He stopped a foot in front of me with his back to the lieutenant.
"She says if necessary, I have to hurt you and do what it takes to win, even though I am exempt from being chosen by the captain," he
said quietly.
"It's cool,” I answered. “I understand. You do what it takes to make her happy, I'll do what it takes to make her mad. No hard feelings in the end?"
"No hard feelings," he agreed.
I took a step back and looked him in the eyes. Meadows was about six three and weighed as much as me. He started throwing punches like a flat-footed boxer. I moved and let them go by, not even bothering to block them. When he tried to get in closer, throwing body shots, I slapped them away dancing backwards. At six five, I was blessed with coordination and agility and usually underestimated.
Meadows kept coming, and I found myself thinking it was too bad the lieutenant had to say something to him because he would get desperate soon. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I wasn’t going to go easy on him either. I could see that I could take him out just like I did Arrendondo with a body punch, because he just kept leaving himself open for it.
I watched the two left jabs and his right he was going to use for an uppercut. Stepping in, my punch hit him exactly where I wanted. He didn’t double over as much an Arrendondo but he exhaled and hunched. His right never came up and mine slid under his arm, grabbing his wrist with my left hand. Putting my leg behind his, I twisted, bringing him and myself down to the floor.
He tried to get away, but I gripped his arm and wrapped my legs around his middle, rolling on my back and bringing him with me. I pulled his head back by his forehead and wrapped my left arm around his throat, grabbing my bicep then pushing forward with my right.
Meadows squirmed and tried to elbow my ribs, but my feet were locked as well as my arms. I tightened the choke, keeping track of time in my head since I knew he had started out short on air. I looked over at the lieutenant and scrunched my face like I was squeezing harder, even though I wasn’t; I had in reality loosened my hold.
It was clear Meadows didn’t want to tap out, even though he couldn’t do a damn thing.
"PFC Jamison, let him up,” the lieutenant finally said.
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison Mission 1: The Scarab Moons Page 2