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Gabby sat at her desk, staring blankly at the mound of paperwork in front of her. Desk duty was the last thing she had wanted, especially when the rest of her team was out in the field, conducting ops.
She let out a long sigh, spinning her pen between her fingers as she tried to stave off the boredom that threatened to overwhelm her.
The only positive to her being sidelined was that she had gotten to spend time with Playboy a lot over the last week and a half. His team was off rotation, so he had been free most evenings as well.
Almost every evening, they’d find themselves together, whether it was having a simple dinner or meeting up at a public spot and just talking. One night, they’d met at the beach and sat in the sand, exchanging embarrassing stories about themselves. That night had been full of laughter. Another evening, they met at the spot near the Air Base and watched the fighter planes take off and land. They talked about everything and nothing, and that night, she realized how much deeper their bond had grown in such a short time. Despite the chaos in her life, those moments with him had become the silver lining—something she hadn’t anticipated but now cherished more than anything.
She glanced at the clock, wishing the time to move faster. It felt like the minutes were crawling with each tick of the second hand, mocking her as she sat there doing nothing. She’d filled out every form double-checked every report, and now she was running out of busy work to keep herself occupied.
“I’m going to lose my mind,” she muttered to herself, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. Maybe if she just—.
The sharp ring of the phone on her desk made her jump, and she quickly reached for it, hoping for any excuse to break the monotony.
“Petty Officer Allen,” she answered, trying not to sound too eager.
“Allen, the CO wants to see you in his office,” Graham’s assistant told her.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she sat up straighter. “On my way,” she replied, hanging up the phone and practically leaping out of her chair.Finally, something to do, she thought to herself.
She made her way down the hall, her pace quickening with every step. As she reached the door to Graham’s office, she paused for a moment, smoothing down her uniform before knocking and entering. Her eyes immediately landed on Vice Admiral Alley, seated in one of the chairs across from Graham. The sight of him made her want to roll her eyes, but she resisted the urge.
She wished that Graham’s assistant would have given her the heads up that the “pigeon” was in the building. She and the team, including Captain Graham, gave Vice Admiral Alley the code name shortly after he became their boss. They gave him that name because whenever he “flew” into their base, he always ended up shitting on everyone—well, more so her.
His presence so soon after his last visit during the competition put her on edge, especially now knowing that the prick had tried to sabotage her final event at the competition. She was still pissed off over that, but incidents like that only fueled her determination to succeed and make him eat dirt.
Just like what she had done with the trophy she won at the competition. She made sure it was displayed in the lobby of theirbuilding so every time the fucker walked thru the front doors, it was the first thing he saw.
“Have a seat, Allen,” Graham said, his tone neutral, though she could sense some underlying tension in the room.
Gabby took the offered seat, trying to keep her expression neutral as well, though she could feel the annoyance simmering beneath the surface.
“We just got word from an air patrol,” Graham began, his gaze steady on her. “A narco sub was spotted approximately twenty miles off the coast of Virginia heading north. Since your team is already assisting with another situation, and the other two teams are currently engaged elsewhere. We’ve called in one of the SEAL teams from Little Creek to assist with this. The Coast Guard Station in Virginia Beach is sending up their helo for aerial support as well as sending two of their forty-fives as backup and to help with offloading any contraband found. There is a cutter en route, but it is going to take them some time to get there.”
Gabby’s pulse quickened with excitement, as she was pretty sure they’d tap her for aerial support—after all, she’d won the last competition, proving she was the best shot they had if anything went wrong.
But just as quickly as the excitement flared up, it was snuffed out by Alley’s voice, dripping with condescension. “Don’t get too excited, Allen. You’re still technically sidelined for two more days. However, because we are short-handed at this precise moment, and we need all available personnel we can muster up, I’m allowing you to participate in a limited capacity.”
Limited capacity? What the fuck was that?She thought to herself.
“Wherever I can help out, I’m happy to assist,” she told him, taking a diplomatic approach to the situation.
“I glad to hear that, Petty Officer Allen,” Alley said with a smirk. It was as if he was taunting her.
Thankfully, Captain Graham stepped in, easing some of the tension in the room.
“Allen, the Vice Admiral asked that you be assigned to pilot the boat with the SEALs.”
Gabby clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to argue. She could tell that Graham wanted to push back against Alley’s decision, but with Alley outranking him, there wasn’t much he could do. She could feel her anger rising, but she forced herself to remain calm. It wasn’t worth it to challenge Alley, not here, not now.
“Yes, sir,” she bit out, keeping her voice as level as possible. Inside, she was seething.
Piloting the boat?She thought to herself. Sure, it was an important role, but she’d been hoping for something more hands-on, something that would utilize her complete skill set.
Graham gave her a sympathetic look, clearly unhappy with the situation as well. “Get your gear and be at the pier in fifteen minutes. The SEALs are already en route.”
“Yes, sir,” Gabby repeated, standing up with a sharp nod. She didn’t spare Alley another glance as she turned and left the office, though she could feel his eyes boring into her back.
As she made her way to gear up, she let out a slow breath, trying to shake off the frustration. It wasn’t the assignment she wanted, but at least it was an opportunity to be back on the water.
