Page 48 of The ARC Unit: Breach

Wolf came out of the structure after the final call, lowered his weapon and looked toward Bear.

“Door?”

“Frame warped on the second hit,” Bear said. “Wouldn’t trust it for another run.”

“Replace it. Use the south room until then.”

Bear nodded.

Viper cleared his weapon and moved toward the equipment table. Jackal pulled his protective glasses up and almost instantly regained the loose expression he’d had at breakfast.

“Did she see me catch him?” he asked Raven, out of breath.

“Unfortunately.”

Jackal looked at me. “You’re welcome.”

“For what?”

“The demonstration.”

“You were doing training whether I stood here or not.”

“You don’t know that.”

Viper passed behind him. “He does this every week.”

Jackal looked offended. “Why are you committed to ruining my mystique today?”

“You don’t have mystique.”

“That’s vicious.”

Hawk’s voice came through Raven’s headset.

“Can someone tell Jackal I can hear him from six hundred meters?”

Raven pressed the transmit button. “He says you don’t have mystique either.”

Jackal looked toward the ridge and raised both hands in betrayal.

The team laughed, but the shift back into normal conversation only happened after Wolf called the exercise complete and everyone began clearing equipment.

Nobody joked over him during the scenario. Nobody second-guessed a call for entertainment. The difference between the men this morning and the men I’d just watched move through the building was sharp enough that I finally understood why Wolf tolerated as much nonsense as he did off the clock. They knew exactly when to stop.

Wolf came toward the observation line last.

Sweat had darkened the fabric at the base of his mask and along the collar beneath his plate carrier. A loose strand of hair had escaped near his temple despite everything covering his head. He stopped in front of me.

“Happy?”

“Marginally.”

“Good. Go work.”

I folded my arms. “That almost sounded like you cared whether I understood it.”

“I care whether you stop asking Raven stupid questions during training.”