Deathrace

5

Lieutenant (j.g.) Ed DeWitt watched Katherine Garnet walk away and through her door in the officers quarters. It hadn't really hit him yet, a woman on a SEAL mission. Unthinkable. Impossible. Outrageous. Dangerous as hell. But they were going to do it.

Had to. The President said so.

He turned and walked out the gate, and across the highway to the SEAL headquarters. A few minutes later he entered the small offices where the Third Platoon hung out when they were on base.

Platoon Chief Jaybird Sterling worked over some papers on his desk, and only looked up and nodded. They were informal where they could be.

DeWitt walked into Murdock's office and dropped into a chair beside the battered desk.

"We have to go through with this?"

Murdock looked up and laughed. "Just how in hell are we going to get out of it? Not a chance." He threw a wadded-up sheet of paper at the wastebasket across the room. He missed. DeWitt saw that there were a lot of misses around the target.

"Makes sense, in a way. Having her go in with us. But why couldn't they have found a man just as good at taking apart nukes? Now, that I could have lived with a lot easier."

"Living with it, the key phrase," DeWitt said. "How much is she going to compromise us? Are we going to take any extra KIAs because she's along? Can we get in there, and out, without getting her killed?"

"Wish I knew. If I did, I'd ask for another two months to make her the best shot in the outfit."

The two career naval officers looked at each other. The silence stretched out.

"So, what we have to do is turn Kat into a damn good SEAL in a month," DeWitt said.

"About the size of it." Murdock kept staring at DeWitt.

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Lieutenant, your new task for the Third Platoon is to be personal training officer for Kat Garnet. You will be with her twelve to fourteen hours a day. You will train her until her little buns fall off. You will make her an expert shot with pistol, and the MP-5 sub-gun."

"How in hell-"

"You will do it. Start with the most important first — shooting. Work her with the five and a pistol, probably a nine-millimeter with fourteen rounds. Work out a training sched to show me in the morning. Hot rounds first. Might take two weeks. Then we'll work her into the first squad as our ninth man and try to get her integrated into the platoon conscience. She has to know what we do and how we do it, so she'll know instinctively what to do and when to do it."

"It's a three-month job, Murdock."

"True. So we'll be lucky to get four weeks out of the brass back on the fucking Middle Eastern desk and from State."

"Oh, damn."

Murdock grinned. "Hey, what's Mildred going to say you ass-to-elbows all day and half the night with a pretty, sexy woman like Kat?"

"Oh, damn. I won't tell her. No, I have to. No secrets. Damn, already I'm going to be sleeping on the couch."

"Milly might surprise you."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll be sleeping in the garage and eating on the patio. We don't have a dog house."

DeWitt yelped and looked at a small notebook he took out of his pocket. "Oh, damn. Murdock, I need a favor. Tonight you were due at our place for a fried chicken dinner. Call Milly and cancel out. I've got at least five hours of work to get a training sched to map out for my CO tomorrow."

"Done."

"Don't say anything about Kat. I'll have to break that news to Milly a little at a time."

"But don't tell her why Kat has to go with us."

"Naturally," DeWitt said. But both he and Murdock knew that he'd have to tell Milly. There was no way around that kind of a challenge.

Ed arrived at his Coronado apartment off base at 1815. Milly was pacing the kitchen. She scowled at him, and her fists went onto her hips. Ed wished he was a religious man so he could say a prayer.

"I know, I know, he had to cancel out. That leaves more chicken for me." He swept forward and kissed her, then kissed her again until her akimbo arms dropped and she grinned. "Hey, maybe this isn't such a bad deal, after all."

Milly looked at his sandy, dirty cammies. "Shower," she said and pointed.

A half hour later, they were eating the fine meal, when Ed began.

"We had a double whammy, Navy style, today. We got a new assignment, almost, but Murdock told them we needed another month for training."

"Will you get the extra time?"

"I hope so. Think we will. Murdock can be damn convincing when he's talking about the platoon."

"What was the other whammy?"

"Oh, that. We have a new person to work into the platoon for this assignment, a damned civilian."

Milly stopped the fork halfway to her mouth. "You're joking. The SEALs have never taken along a civilian on a shooting mission. What is Washington thinking of?"

"Whatever it is, they don't tell me. Now, how did your day go?"

Milly looked at him and smiled. "Hey, did I tell you that I'm just delighted that you're back from your little three-day camping trip. I missed you. I don't want you ever to go away again."

They both laughed. It was a standing joke. She knew he had to go away, and he did, too. But in more than a year now, the two of them had weathered the separations. Twice he'd asked her to marry him. Twice she had said no.

"Ed, this is a dangerous game that you're playing," she'd said the last time. "I know it. You know it. I've read all the books about the SEALS. I know now that you do some covert work that nobody can be told about. I can accept that for now, this way. But I just can't marry you, and start a family, knowing that you might come home the next time in a damn body bag." Tears had welled up in her eyes and spilled over. She slashed them away with her hand.

For now they both accepted that, and made the best of what they had. Long, quiet walks along the crashing Pacific Ocean. Dinners out at curious and different eateries around the San Diego area. Bicycling up and down the streets of Coronado and then playing racketball. Going to plays and concerts. Walking through the zoo and Balboa Park. For now it was enough. Ed wasn't sure how much longer it would be. She had never asked him to quit the SEALS, but he was sure that was what she was hoping for.

He helped her with the dishes, and cleanup, then they sat on the sofa, their thighs touching.

"So, tall Navy officer, what's on the agenda for tonight?" Before he answered, she leaned over and kissed him, and eased him down on the sofa, so she lay on top of him.

The kiss lasted a long time. When she came up for air, he chuckled. "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"

She hit him on the shoulder. "That's from an old, old movie. And yes, I am. After three good sessions, what do you have to do?"

"About three hours of planning out a training schedule for this civilian so nobody in the platoon gets killed. First weapons, then conditioning, parachute jumping, underwater — the works. Never know what we'll need to do once we get in the field."

"But you're not going to tell me why it's so important that this civilian go along with you on the mission."

"Absolutely not. Top secret. Anyway, I don't want to tell you anything to upset you while you're looking and sounding this sexy."

"Like the way you think, sailor. So, roll me over in the clover, big guy. As the English song used to go. Do they still sing that anymore?"

He didn't know. He didn't care. He had more important things to do right then. Milly agreed with him, passionately.