by Laura Acton
Solely concentrating on his breathing for several minutes, Dan lay back on the grass. Then he poured some of the water from the bottle over his head to cool down. He looked up at Jeff. “Still didn’t … make it to the end.”
Crouching, Jeff cocked his head studying his cousin. “No, you didn’t. Though you made it further than yesterday. You’ll get to the end. Give yourself a break. I don’t know anyone who was in the shape you were in only eight and a half weeks ago who could do what you can. For Christ sakes, only four and half weeks ago you couldn’t make it up the stairs. You’ve come a long way.”
His breathing recovered a bit, Dan took a sip of water. “Still have a long way to go.” He pushed up with his arms and wobbled. “My upper body strength is shot to hell. Wish Mom would let me rappel down the house.”
Jeff laughed. “She shot you down, too? I tried. I told her it would be safer than rigging something up to one of the trees out here. But it was a no go.”
Dan lifted his brows. “Mom said something about having to paint the house if she caught us rappelling. Not too keen on painting.”
“Me neither.” Jeff chuckled again.
Dan flopped back down to the grass. “I’m done for the day. Totally spent.”
Jeff stood and grabbed Dan’s hand hauling him up to his feet. “You’re not done until I say you’re done. Let’s go again.”
Groaning, Dan headed for the start line of the obstacle course. He knew better than to argue with Jeff. Better just to go along with him. Besides, he needed to make up for this morning. He had coffee and timbits with Lexa and then hung out with Blaze, Winds, and Scott at the Raven playing pool when he should’ve been working out. So he needed to do this now.
He chuckled. Winds kept trying to win his twenty back, and now Dan was sixty bucks richer. As he got ready to go on Jeff’s mark, he decided Blaze and Winds were right. He needed to learn how to chill. It was nice to hang out with them with no mission hanging over their heads. He got to see a different side to them today, and he liked it.
“Go!” Jeff called out and clicked the stopwatch.
Dan moved to the pipe and dropped to his knees. He crawled through the ten-foot section and got to his feet. He managed a weird, fast walk, slow jog to the raised stepping stones and leapt from one to another keeping his balance. He gained speed as he moved to the short wall and vaulted over it. Well, not really vaulted … more like hauled his sorry butt over it. Next, he went to the rail and ducked under the metal bar and moved on to the other three sets of low vaulting walls and rails.
Doggedly, he headed for the long ramp. The angle of it was less than forty degrees, but it kicked his ass every time. He stopped at the top to take some needed breaths and tried to block out Jeff yelling at him to move it.
Once he caught his breath, Dan traveled down the ramp and to the log over the mud pit. Halfway across he misplaced a step and lost his balance. He ended up on his side in the mud pit. His cousin’s laughter rang in his ears. After he pushed himself up, he found Jeff, Zach, and Kyle standing near the pit.
Dan thrust his hands down into the mud, and before Zach or Kyle could react, he threw globs of mud at them, hitting his marks with accuracy.
Jeff chortled as Kyle and Zach wiped the muck from their faces. His laughter cut short as a blob smacked him square in the mouth. Spitting out the mud, he scowled at Dan who smirked at him from the trench.
“This means war!” Jeff roared and raced in scooping up a handful of mud and tossing it at Dan.
Honed instinct kicked into gear as Dan ducked, turned on his knees, and scooped up more mud. He laughed when the mud missed him.
Zach and Kyle raced into the pit. An all-out mud fight ensued with all four howling with laughter. Ten minutes later, the war ended when Dan laid down on his back in the mud and didn’t respond to the barrage of mud flung at him. Jeff, Kyle, and Zach all took a knee close to Dan.
“Dan, you okay?” Zach asked wiping a mud from Dan’s eyes.
Thankful Zach cleared his eyes because he couldn’t lift his arms to save his life right about now, Dan gradually raised his eyelids and gave them a lopsided grin. “Can’t move a muscle. I’m dead. Bury me here.”
Kyle, Zach, and Jeff hauled Dan up, and half dragged, half carried him over to the hose. He sat on a bench as they sprayed off the caked-on mud. “That was messy but fun. Kinda boring running the course alone all the time.”
Zach hosed off his boots. “As messy as when we went four wheeling and had to push the truck out of the muddy bog. Had a blast with you and Brody.”
“I remember. Fun day.” Dan’s muscles wanted to give out as he stood, but he forced himself to stagger, dripping wet, towards the house.
While Jeff watched Dan go, an idea of how he might help Dan rebuild his upper body strength formed. All he needed to do was obtain Uncle Will’s permission after dinner tonight.
Determined, Delighted, and Disciplined
61
September 27
Special Forces Training Area – 8:00 a.m.
Jeff smiled when he noted Dan’s cheerful expression. The obstacle course at home had served its purpose. Dan ran the course daily for the past three weeks, but he outgrew the course. Runt needed more of a challenge and to work on upper body strength. He would get that here.
Dan stared up at the thirty-foot climbing rope. He ran his hands up and down the line. Good memories came to his mind. A small smile tugged at the edges of his lips as he wondered if his speed record still stood. Sounds of Brody’s whooping laughter when he broke the previous record were distant memories but filtered into his ears.
“So, there’s no problem with me using the course?” Dan asked.
“None. Your dad cleared it with Major White who is now in charge of Special Forces Training.”
“When did that happen?”
Jeff set down his water bottle and power bars filled pack. “Recently. He moved from Administration back to what he truly likes, whipping soldiers into elite soldiers with a focus on teamwork.”
“Recall him being an excellent training officer. White was a Lieutenant when Brody and I ran through here.” Dan let go of the rope and set down his pack to retrieve his gloves. “So the rope first?”
Jeff was about to answer when they heard his name called. A private raced up to them. “Sergeant Broderick, you are to report to General Broderick.”
“Now?” Jeff asked.
“Yes,” the private answered.
“I’ll just wait here.” Dan rummaged in his pack certain he put his gloves in. Though he dug to the bottom and still didn’t find them. Crap!
“Wait until I return before you try to climb.”
“Bring me a pair of gloves when you come back. Forgot mine.”
“Will do.” Jeff trotted off towards the general’s office.
Dan stared at the thirty-foot climbing rope for a long time. One of his favorite parts of the obstacle course when he attended Special Forces training. He decided not to wait for Jeff to return with the gloves. He grasped the rope and tugged. I can do this!
A group of Special Forces recruits who arrived yesterday headed back to their barracks from the mess hall. They would start their training tomorrow. With nothing to do today, they stopped at a couple of picnic benches near the obstacle course to relax.
Corporal Strachan nudged his friend. “Hey, who’s that?”
Turning to look, Corporal Marot shrugged. “No idea but he’s not military. He’s in civies, and his hair is way too long to be military.”
Strachan said, “He looks a little familiar.”
Corporal Chin snickered. “He thinks he’s going to climb the rope.”
“Ten bucks says he doesn’t make it half way up,” Marot stated.
“You’re kidding, right? Check out those scrawny arms. Ten bucks say he doesn’t make it a quarter of the way up,” Chin countered.
Corporal Fitzpatrick shook his head. “Dudes, not cool!”
“Shut up, you’re such a cub scout, Fitzpatrick,�
� Marot said.
“Rather be that than an asshole like you, Marot,” Fitzpatrick retorted.
Strachan stared at the guy and had a gut feeling. He seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t place him.
All ten recruits turned to watch.
Unaware he was being scrutinized, Dan grasped the rope and started up. He only got a quarter of the way up the rope before losing his grip and falling to the ground. Standing, he brushed himself off annoyed at the short distance he climbed.
The heckling reached his ears, and he turned to find ten men observing him. Dan ignored them as he gripped the rope again. On his second attempt, he only managed about three feet before his muscles cramped, and he lost his grip. He fell to the absorbent material beneath the rope.
The recruit’s jeering increased, but Dan tuned them out. His next five attempts resulted in the same thing—falling gracelessly to the ground as his muscles gave out. Glaring up at the rope, he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. With attempts eight and nine he reached a little higher but still ended up on his ass on the ground.
The taunts grew rather nasty as he dropped for the tenth time. He gave it all his effort, yet only made it a few feet up the damned rope. The mocking insults from the recruits did nothing to improve his mood.
But mostly, Dan fumed at himself for his failure to do such a simple thing as haul his ass up a damned rope. Their rude comments continued non-stop as he sat gathering his strength and readying himself to try yet again.
He gazed up at the line and muttered, “Getting to the top no matter how many fucking attempts this takes. Damned rope is not beating me!”
As he stood and grasped the rope for the eleventh time, he recognized a familiar face walking towards the condescending recruits. It was his favorite training officer, who is now Major White.
Major White instantly recognized Dan Broderick. He gave the recruits a scathing glare before he yelled loudly across the yard to Dan. “Broderick, all your records on the course still stand. Not a single one has been broken in the past eight years. Glad to see that an armor piercing bullet to the chest isn’t going to stop you. I expect you’ll be back in fighting shape in no time at all. You need anything you just ask me.”
Suddenly the heckling stopped. Not that it mattered one way or the other to Dan, but at least it was no longer a distraction. He waved, acknowledging Major White, then grabbed the rope and tried again. Only climbing a quarter of the way up, he ended up on his ass on the ground for the eleventh time.
As Jeff strode toward the course, he saw Major White with a few recruits. The major was on the warpath while the recruits appeared rather cowed. He wondered what the recruits did to earn White’s wrath. The man had a reputation for being composed unless something egregious happened.
Jeff turned his attention back to Runt and cringed as Dan fell several times. He saw the determination in Dan’s face, yet he clearly needed a break. So, when he reached Dan, he handed him a bottle of water. “Break time, Runt. Remember doc’s orders not to overdo it.”
After Dan took a drink of water, he chuckled. “Major White is none too pleased.”
“I see that. Do you know why?”
During his break, Dan related the incident with the recruits and Major White’s comment to him.
An evil grin twisted Jeff’s mouth.
“What’s that face for?” Dan asked.
“Nothing. How far you can make it up the rope?”
Dan finished his water and power bar. He put on the gloves Jeff brought and gripped the rope. He declared, “I’m getting to the top if it kills me!”
Ten more unsuccessful attempts and Jeff put a stop to it for the day. Dan tried to argue with him, but in the end, Jeff and his spent muscles won. His shoulders, neck, biceps, back, butt—oh, hell, every damned muscle in his body ached. Dan needed a long, hot soak in the tub.
Toronto – TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 6:00 p.m.
Loki bounded into the briefing room with a megawatt smile on his face. As he sat he beamed at Ray, his extreme delight evident in his entire body.
Ray grinned. “You look like you beat level sixty of Beasts of Nephilim. I hope you weren’t playing down in your tech room?”
“Nope. Try and guess why I’m happy?”
Lexa guessed first. “You got a new part for Lucille?”
Loki shook his head.
Bram tried. “Your ma is making you something special for dinner?”
“Not even close. But whatever Ma makes is special.”
“You got tickets to Comic Con?” Ray suggested.
Loki’s grin grew, but he shook his head. “That would be cool, but no.”
Jon leaned back and studied Loki. Something made him exceptionally happy today. He guessed, “You talked to Dan?”
Loki tapped his finger on his nose then waggled it at Jon. “Partly right. Happy to chat with Dan, but …”
“It’s something he said to you,” Lexa said. She wracked her brain to figure out something Dan could’ve said which made Loki so happy. Lexa was aware it couldn’t be Dan was ready to come back. She had traveled up there a couple of times since the seventeenth. Dan was doing remarkable, but not anywhere near ready to return.
Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Loki blurted out, “Dan told me to take his Ducati to my house and said I could ride it anytime I wanted.”
Jon stared at Loki. “Do you even know how to ride a motorcycle?”
Nick chuckled at the offended expression on Loki’s face.
Loki sputtered. “How can you even ask that? I’m Italian. Of course, I can ride a motorcycle.”
Ray said, “Me and Loki ride motor-cross sometimes. Thought you knew.”
Jon raised a brow. “No, I didn’t. Maybe we can ride together one weekend. Kent’s been asking me to teach him how. Might be fun.”
Loki piped up, “How about on our break after Thanksgiving? Say the tenth or the eleventh?” He turned to Lexa. “You want to join us?”
“Sorry, sounds fun, but I have other plans on those days off.” In fact, she had much better plans. The team was scheduled to work Thanksgiving Day this year, but had three days off after. Eagerly anticipating spending more than an hour with Dan, Lexa drummed her fingers on the table.
Though not thrilled Scott knew about them, he had been helpful arranging for them to be alone. She was sure he would help them again. If all went as she planned, her next visit would be an overnighter. The notion of waking up next to Dan brought a smile to her face—the eleventh couldn’t come soon enough.
General Broderick’s Home – Family Room – 8:00 p.m.
Dan had dumped his butt on the couch right after dinner. His movements were so slow and painful at dinner Becca offered to do the dishes for him. He agreed and offered to pick up her chore on another day. He hadn’t moved from this spot since he sat down. He overdid it today trying to climb the damned rope, and his body was letting him know—loudly.
Yvonne ambled into the family room with her sister Ann and sisters-in-law Kimberly and Connie. They had all come to dinner tonight to plan out Thanksgiving. She noticed Dan still in the same spot. Yvonne went behind the couch and began to gently massage his neck and shoulders. When Dan sighed, Yvonne suggested, “Danny, you need a full body massage. It will help you relax and would do you a world of good.”
“I’m okay. Nothing a night’s rest won’t fix.”
Ann said, “Yvonne, I think that’s a fabulous idea. What’s the name of the place we went to last year?”
“Relax Now.”
Dan snorted.
Yvonne bent over and studied his face. “What is that for?”
“Sorry, Mom. Just the last time I was in Relax Now I wasn’t so relaxed.”
Kimberly asked, “Why weren’t you relaxed?”
Dan wished he had kept quiet, now he had to explain. “I was in the Zulu One position.”
Kyle snorted. “Zulu One position? Is that some new yoga position?”
“TRF term for the prim
ary sniper position. Stands for zero options and our last resort measure. I was given the permission granted command that day.”
“Sorry,” Kyle said realizing Dan took a lethal shot.
Yvonne kneaded the taut muscles in Dan’s shoulders harder when she felt him tense more. “I still think you should go. Maybe try it once. You never know, it could help you long term. You do work long shifts in TRF.”
Dan treasured his mom’s optimism, she spoke as if his return was a given.
Jeff opened his mouth and was about to tease Runt about getting a foo foo massage when his ear was yanked painfully. “Owww!” Jeff glanced back and noted the stern expression on his mother’s face.
Kimberly scolded, “Jeffery Mark Broderick, you hold your tongue. Dan is working very hard. I know because I watched you yell at him and push him around the obstacle course and he does everything you ask of him. His body is still recovering. A massage will help his muscles relax. If he is relaxed, Dan will heal quicker, and it will relieve his pain. Now, do you want your cousin in pain or do you want him to get some relief from all you put him through?”
Duly disciplined, Jeff said, “Sorry. Runt, you should get a massage.”
Courage to Embrace New Experiences
62
October 11
Ottawa – Relax Now Spa – Room B – 4:00 p.m.
Stripping off his clothes in this little room, leaving only his boxers on, Dan experience a slight twinge of embarrassment. Undressing wasn’t the problem—having a stranger’s hands on him was. Until two weeks ago, the only massages he received came from women he dated. But his mother and aunts had ganged up on him and badgered him relentlessly to get a full body massage.
To placate his mom, he caved and agreed to try it once. The first time he came, he was nervous and uncomfortable. It was strange to pay for a massage and even weirder for a man to be doing it. Though to be honest, Beau Charters had put him at ease. He was also surprised how much a massage eased his pain and improved his performance the next day. So when his mother urged him to go again after a grueling day on the obstacle course, he resisted less.