BASIC TRAINING
By Beej
Chapter One:
Aaron Jacob Ira Caleb Mitchell looked up from the papers on his desk and
sighed. He hated forms that demanded his full name. The boxes were never
big enough to fit them all in.
Only his grandmother, Dr. Williamson, and his father called him Aaron. To his friends he was Jake, to the love of his life he was AJ, to his ex commanding
officer he was Mitch, and to his uncle more often than not, he was just ‘Sport’.
His mind wandered while he gazed out of his office window. He was on the
12th floor, but he didn’t take in the glorious view of the harbour, nor did he
note that from there he could see his home on the wharf. It’s not that he
didn’t appreciate the view, his mind was just on other things.
Jake was 32 years old and co-owner of A&M Risk Management. An
interesting company, with Jake the Managing Director, running the Sydney
office and over-seeing the development of the new London office, and his
best mate Michael, Financial Director, who ran the New York office, soon to
be relocating to Chicago. A&M Risk was a security firm specialising in high
risk insurance for company personnel (kidnap and ransom to those in the
know), and also consulting on internal security for their clients.
Jake was also used from time to time by the Sydney police as a specialist negotiator. Both he and Michael had been in the military, special forces, and
Jake was on ‘active reserve’ status holding the rank of Major.
Right now Jake was suffering from terminal boredom. He was restricted
to his office due to his love of powerful motorcycles. He had recently
parted company from his Harley and the plaster had only just been removed
from his leg. He longed to be out in the field once again, even though he
and Michael were always saying that they were strictly meeters and greeters
these days.
There was a quiet knock on the door and a head poked round the opening.
“Are you busy?”
“No, Jinny, come in, please.”
Jake’s PA, Jennifer Clark, always had to stifle a grin when he called her by
name. She had emigrated to Sydney from England 20 years ago, and was
well used to the Aussie accent, but was still fascinated by her boss, who was
born and bred in New Zealand. His mother was a quarter Maori and his father
had a Maori mother and an Australian father. It seemed that no matter how
long he lived in Australia, his Kiwi accent was always just beneath the
surface, and she loved him for it.
“What can I do for you, Jin?” he asked.
“You’re going to hate me, Jake, more paperwork for you,
I’m afraid.”
“How does this get done when I’m not around?” Jake asked.
“I do it, silly.” Jennifer replied.
“Well, then,” Jake said, a twinkle in his eye. “Why change
the habits of a lifetime, eh? You can do it for me now.”
Jennifer started to reply but Jake held up his hand to stop her.
“Okay, luv, just sort through ‘em and leave the completed ones for me to sign when I get back.”
Not waiting for her reply, Jake rose from his desk, grabbed his elbow crutch,
and limped as quickly as he could out of his office and down towards the lift.
Once he hit the street he stopped and breathed in the fresh air…where to go
from here? It was good to be out of the office for even a short time, and he
felt like a naughty schoolboy playing hooky.
He decided to go back to his apartment, but it was too hot for a taxi (he still wasn’t driving yet), so decided to take a slow walk home past the Opera
House and along the Harbour Walk on the edge of the Botanical Gardens,
certain of the breeze coming off the harbour to keep him cool.
By the time he got past Circular Quay and was headed towards the OH
he thought he’d made a bad choice in trying to walk. His leg was aching
already and he hadn’t even reached the gate of the gardens. There was still
quite a walk along the flat, then a slight rise and lastly a lot of steps before
he got home. Ah well, let’s just call it physical therapy for the week. He
could relax and take a swim when he reached home.
30 minutes later found him halfway round the harbour walk sitting on a bench watching the ferries go by.
“I’m rooted,” he thought. “It’ll be tomorrow before I get home at this rate.”
He looked up to see the scenic train heading his way. He raised up his crutch
to stop it, thinking he wasn’t too proud to hitch a ride to the other side of the gardens.
“G’day, wanna lift?” asked the driver.
“Cheers, mate. I’m not a tourist, mind, so spare me the chat.”
“Where ya want me to drop ya off, then?”
“As close to the wharf as you can would be good, mate.”
“No worries, hop on.”
Jake managed to clamber into one of the little trucks, and as he was the only
one on board, the driver decided to take him as far as he could whilst staying within the gardens. He got to the top of the rise and stopped.
“This good for ya?”
“Bewdy! As much as I’d like to think I could, I’m pretty certain I’d not have
made that slope in this heat. How much do I owe ya?”
“Have this one on me, mate.”
“Okie dokie, thanks. Hey, meet me down at The Bells later, my shout?”
“You’re on. I’ll be there about 8.00. C ya.”
Jake walked slowly across the grass to the track by the Andrew 'Boy'
Charlton pool and made his way past, then across the roof gardens above
the holiday apartments, and down the steps. By the time he got across the beginning of the boardwalk to the café on the wharf, he was worn out.
Sitting down to get his breath back, he was greeted by one of the waiters.
“G’day, Jake, what ya drinking?”
“Cuppa tea, please, and a glass of water.”
“Comin’ right up.”
When his water arrived, Jake took out the small bottle containing his meds.
He was still in some pain from the accident, even though he would rather have
his fingernails ripped out than admit it. Much as he despised taking any form
of medication, he shook a couple out and was taking them as the waiter arrived
with his tea.
“Taking a bit longer to heal than you want, eh?”
“You’re not wrong, Pete. I thought I’d be up and around, no sticks, no limp by now.”
“Typical of you, Jake. Always were ‘Action Man’, weren’t you.”
Pete and Jake had known each other ever since their families had arrived from New Zealand. They had grown up together up in northern NSW, and their
families still lived up in the small township.
“You just watch me, Pete. A couple of weeks from now I’ll be good as new
again. Was just waiting for that bloody cast to come off. I’m going to the pool later. Wanna come?”
“The outdoor one?”
“Nah, inside. Give me a buzz when you finish your shift and I’ll let you in.”
Jake drank his tea, paid his bill and limped off down the boardwalk and inside
the wharf building. He sank onto the couch in his air conditioned lounge
room, and the next thing he knew was woken by the shrill ringing of his
security phone. Getting up slowly, he answered, and pressed the button to
let Pete in the building. Ten minutes later they were both in the pool belonging
to the wharf apartments.
Pete never failed to be in awe of Jake when watching him in the water. It was
as if he were born to swim. He sat on the edge of the pool and watched Jake
swim three lengths under water. His broken leg certainly didn’t hinder him
in the pool. He looked happier than he had since the bike crash and Pete was pleased for his friend.
Later, Pete went with Jake to The Bells for the promised drink with the
pleasure train driver. They both helped a very happy Jake back to his
apartment at chuck out time, and put him to bed. Jake didn't drink, but
somehow they'd convinced him to have a beer, or two, or three.
The following morning Jake wished he was dead. His head was killing him,
and the room swirled round every time he tried to sit up.
“Shit! Not one of your better ideas, mate. Now you know why you don't drink!”
He dragged himself out of bed and slowly managed to make his way to the bathroom, where he crawled into the shower and stayed , hands braced
against the cool tiles, until the room stopped spinning.
He made his way to the kitchen, a towel wrapped round his waist. As he was making some tea his phone rang. It was Jennifer. He told her to come up, and
by the time she was ringing his bell he had managed to get a pair of sweats on.
He opened the door and invited her in.
“You had your brekkie yet?” he asked.
“Good morning, Jake. No, I haven’t.”
“Care to join me?”
“I’d love to, thanks. Can I help?”
“No luv, you go sit down and I’ll show you how independent I am,” Jake
replied with a smile.
Jennifer sat at the kitchen table watching Jake limp around on just the one
elbow crutch. Although she was only about 10 years older than him, she had distinctly maternal feelings towards him, and worried that he was trying to
do too much too soon. It was all she could do to stop herself from jumping
up and helping him.
Soon, they were both sitting down to a breakfast of cereal, toast, marmalade
(for Jennifer), Vegemite (for Jake) and a nice pot of English Breakfast tea.
She appreciated this very much. Jake knew that even after all these years
there were still some things she missed about England, and real English marmalade was one of them. He always seemed to have jars of the stuff
stocking his larder, and every couple of weeks she would find a jar on her
desk, wrapped in a big pink ribbon.
She insisted on clearing up after their meal, and Jake went to sit on the
balcony while she stacked the dishes in the washer and wiped down the work
top and the table. When she finished she joined him, placing her briefcase by
the side of the steamer chair before she sat opposite Jake. He hadn’t noticed
the case before then, and groaned softly knowing what was inside.
“I thought it might be too hot for you to be in the office today,” said Jennifer.
“It’s air conditioned,” Jake replied.
“Yes, I know, but be honest. You’re going stir crazy in there. This is the
longest time you’re spent in your office since you opened the business. After
you skipped out yesterday, I spent all afternoon clearing the pile on your
desk.”
Jake looked up at her guiltily through his long lashes. Jennifer thought he
looked like a naughty little boy who had been caught with his hand in the
cookie jar, and had to stop herself getting up to give him a hug and ruffle
his hair.
“Don’t worry, I’ve just brought the ones that really need your signature today.
All the rest can wait until you feel like turning up again. It should only take
you about half an hour to look through and sign these, then I guess you can
take
the rest of the day doing whatever you want.”
“Jinny, your blood needs bottling, luv,” Jake said, beaming across at her.
True to her word, half an hour later everything was checked, signed and placed back in the briefcase. Jennifer got up ready to leave for the walk to the office,
but Jake grabbed hold of her wrist and stopped her.
“Why don’t you give the office a call, luv, and get one of the messengers to
come round and pick them up? After all, that‘s what we pay them for. Claire
can deal with them, and you can play hooky along with the boss for a change.”
Jennifer started to protest, but then looked out from the balcony across the
bay and thought ...why not!
“Okay, boss, never let it be said that I don’t do what I’m told.”
Ten minutes later the messenger arrived and the papers were sent off to the
office without Jennifer or Jake.
“What shall we do now, then?” asked Jennifer.
“Right. I suggest a quick trip to your place for you to pack an overnight bag,
then it’s off to the airport.”
“Where are we off to?”
“I think it’s time you came up to the old homestead,” Jake replied, winking at
her as he made his way to his bedroom to pick up his holdall.
Two hours later the company helicopter touched down at Jake’s country retreat and he was introducing Jennifer to his grandmother, Emily. Even though she'd never been there before, she instantly felt at home. Emily seemed pleased to
see her, and not at all surprised that Jake had taken her there.
After freshening up in the guest room, Jake decided to take her for a quick
tour around the house and the area near the building. He didn’t think he was
up to taking her too far on the property yet.
She loved everything she was shown, especially the horses. They rounded a
corner of the house and she saw a large enclosure with high wire fences. She
was wondering what was kept in there when a flash of grey shot towards the
front of the enclosure where she was standing. Her blood ran cold…it looked
like a wolf.
The wolf was snarling and growling, its hackles risen up the length of its back. Jennifer was frozen rigid where she stood. Suddenly the wolf stopped
growling, sat down wagging its tail, looking past her with its tongue lolling
out of the side of its mouth.
Jennifer turned round to see Jake lower his hand. This creature was obviously
his and obeyed his unspoken commands.
Jake took hold of Jennifer by the hand and led her to the gate of the
enclosure. She pulled back, afraid to go anywhere near the creature. He
looked at her and told her not to worry, she would be okay with him there. Entering the enclosure, Jake closed the gate behind them.
Slowly, he managed to bend down on his undamaged leg and the wolf
approached him, lay down and rolled onto its back. Jake spoke to the animal.
“Lupo, meet Jinny.”
The wolf looked at Jennifer and held up a paw. She let out a soft gasp,
but stooped down to take hold of the offered paw.
“Jinny, meet Lupo.”
They spent about twenty minutes with Lupo and then headed back to the
house.
“He’s beautiful but a bit scary, Jake. Where did you get him?”
“He was a gift from a grateful client in Europe. I’ve had him since he was a
little bundle of fluff. He acts scary, but he’s safe, really.”
They went back into the kitchen where Emily was putting the kettle on for a
cup of tea. Jake limped into the lounge room while Jennifer stayed in the
kitchen.
“Thanks for bringing him up for a visit, Jenny,” said Emily.
“Well, I think it was the other way round. He decided that we should both
skip the office for a couple of days,” she replied.
“He’s going mental with the inactivity, isn’t he?” Jake’s Grandmother asked.
“Yes, he surely is. I’m just glad the cast is off and he’s getting more mobile.
I’d have hated to see him more badly hurt. He wouldn’t have been able to
cope with it.”
After a moment she asked, “Do you ever miss the bustle of the city, Emily?”
“No. I like it fine up here in the sticks. I still do a shift in the local hospital
once a week, not bad for a doctor of my age. For a country hospital we're
very state of the art, mainly because we are the main
base in this area for the RFDS. Hopefully you’ll get to see it before he whisks
you back.”
“I’d like that very much. Thanks for the invite.”
Just then they both heard a car pull up and their heads turned to the kitchen
door together. The door flew open and a short, dark-haired young lady in a
nurse uniform entered.
“Hiya, Emily…Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you had a visitor.”
“Angie, this is Jennifer from Sydney.”
“Jennifer? JENNIFER!!!! Is AJ here?”
“Yes, he’s in the…..”
Angie flew past the two women at the kitchen table headed for the lounge
room. By the time they rose from their seats to follow she was standing by
the sofa looking down at the sleeping Jake, love radiating from every pore
in her body.
On hearing the two older women enter the room, she turned and walked
towards them, whispering quietly. “I’m sorry. That was very rude. I’m
Angeline, AJ’s girlfriend. I’m pleased to finally meet you, Jennifer.”
“Likewise, and please call me Jenny.”
“Okay, Jenny, thanks. I’m Angie to my friends. How was the trip up?
Was Jake okay?”
“It was good. He had a little nap. I think being in the office has drained him.
When I suggested that he didn’t go in this morning he dragged me to the
airport and the next thing I knew, we were here. He really needed to get out
of the city for a bit.”
“Thanks for letting him bring you up here. It’s the best thing you could have
done. He hasn’t been ‘home’ for such a long time now.”
They'd all turned to look at the still sleeping form of Jake when the silence
was broken by Sam and the dogs coming through the kitchen door. The dogs homed in on Jake right away and in no time his sleep
was interrupted as he vanished under three excited cattle dogs happy
to see him.
“G’day, Sport,” cried Sam, slapping his nephew on the shoulder. In truth
they were more like brothers as Sam was a late child for his parents and only
5 years older than Jake.
Jake managed to get the dogs off his lap and struggled up to give his Uncle
a hug. Then he saw Angie.
“Hi, Angel,” he whispered
“Hi, AJ.”
Although she and Jake had grown up together since they were ankle biters,
had always loved each other, it was only in the last couple of years she'd
realised she was actually ‘in love’ with him. She was certain, though, that
Jake had been ‘in love’ with her a lot longer. She was still overwhelmed with emotion every time she set eyes on her man, and went weak at the knees
when he smiled at her.
Jake introduced Jennifer to his uncle, then they all sat down to catch up with
the news. Before long the women went to the kitchen to prepare the
evening meal. Sam and Jake stayed chatting away, Jake asking Sam how his
love life was going, and Sam jokingly asking if Jake wanted his other leg
broken.
After supper, Jake finally admitted that he was pretty bushed, and got up,
saying goodnight to everyone. He headed for his room, but after half an hour
of tossing and turning, was still unable to sleep. Angie came quietly into the
room and asked him what was wrong.
“Can’t get comfortable. My leg is aching too much.”
“Okay, you stay there for a minute and I’ll see what I can do to fix that for
you.”
With that, Angie headed towards the master bathroom and soon Jake heard
water running. Angie stuck her head round the door.
“Can you make it over here okay, or would you like some help?” she asked.
“Oh, I think I can get over there, luv,” said Jake, grabbing his crutch and
hobbling towards the bathroom.
When he got inside he smiled to see the spabath full of steaming water.
“Come on, let’s see if warm bubbles will relax those muscles.”
Jake dropped his sweats and slowly entered the hot tub. Soon he was so
relaxed in the bubbling water he began to drift off. He looked so peaceful
Angie was loathe to disturb him, but the water was cooling and she needed
to get him out before he resembled a prune.
She managed to help him out of the tub, wrapping him in a large, warm,
fluffy bath towel. Rubbing him dry, she took him back to the bedroom. He
sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Angie to help him in. He was asleep
almost before his head hit the pillow. Angie slipped quietly beside him and
smiled as he turned and spooned in behind her. He'd been away too long
she thought as she, too, drifted off to sleep.
The weekend went by all too quickly and before they knew it they had to
leave for Sydney. Jake promised to bring Jennifer back as soon as he could,
and they headed back towards the city. Before long Jake was in a suit again, moaning every time another piece of paper was put in front of him to read, approve and sign.
Chapter Two
He had been back in the office two weeks when there was a knock on the
door and Jennifer popped her head around.
“There’s someone to see you, Jake. Are you free?”
Jake looked around his empty office and grinned.
“Yep, I think you could say that,” he said, winking at her.
“It’s a soldier, Jake. He looks like a high-ranking one at that.”
“Really? Show him in.”
Jennifer went back outside and closed the door for a moment. Jake heard her speaking to his visitor, then at the deep rumble of a reply, he smiled.
The door opened again and Jennifer entered, closely followed by his visitor.
“Jake, this is….”
“G’day, Tom,” Jake said, smiling as he got up from behind his desk to give the older man a huge bear hug.
“Jinny, this is Colonel Tom Fisher, my old CO, and incidentally, my godfather,
too. Tom, this is my PA, Jennifer Clark.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Clark.”
“Hello, Colonel Fisher. It's Jenny. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Thank you, yes. A coffee would be great, and please, call me Tom.”
“Okay…Tom, coffee coming right up.”
Jennifer left the office, closing the door behind her. Jake noticed that Tom’s
eyes never left her until the door was completely closed.
“Nice isn’t she,” Jake said, smiling at his visitor.
“What? Oh, yeah, I guess.”
“Okay, you didn’t come over here to perve at my staff, now did you….did you?”
“Um, no, of course not, although she’s well worth a second look. Is she spoken for?”
“No, she isn’t. I’ll put in a good word for ya if ya want. Now…what’s up?”
“Ah, right. Well, since you’re back on both feet again, I have a little job for
you unless you’re too settled behind that desk.”
“Shit, Tom, I’ve been itching to break out of here for weeks now. Whatcha
got for me?”
“We have some new recruits back at the unit. You know the kind. Think they
were born to be in special forces, don’t need the specialist training, don’t need
to take orders from anyone. Sound familiar?”
Jake flipped him the bird just as Jennifer re-entered with the coffee. He blushed and sat on his hands.
“Thanks, Jin,” he said quietly.
As Jennifer closed the door grinning to herself, she heard Tom's deep booming laugh coming from the office. She giggled at the thought of Jake's being embarrassed at her catching him out for a change.
Back in the office Jake looked thoughtfully at Tom.
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want to you c ome up and take a look at them. I trust your instant
judgement, so if you think some of them aren't worth the effort, we can ship
them back to their units. Let them think that you're a new recruit as well, one
that doesn’t give a shite for authority.”
Okie dokie,” replied Jake. “Anything else?”
“Yes, when you make the final selection, I’d like you to head up their jungle training. Let’s just say that your active reserve status will be jumped up to
just plain active. Oh, and by the way, ship your dress uniform up. Don’t bring
it with, ship it to me before you arrive. Don’t want them to get a look at it. As
far as they're concerned, you have no rank, no uniform…no medals!!”
Jake gave him an old fashioned look at the mention of his medals, but agreed
to be at the base in five days time. He asked Tom when he was returning, and offered him the use of his guest room, telling him that way he could take
Jake’s uniform back with him.
Tom smiled, thinking that it would also give him a better chance of meeting
up with Jennifer again before he left. Finishing his coffee, Tom said goodbye, arranging to meet up after Jake was done at the office. He made sure to stop
at Jennifer’s desk on his way out of the suite of offices, heading for the lift
with a slight skip in his step.
Jake stuck his head round his office door and watched Jennifer gazing down
the corridor. He laughed softly, the sound breaking her reverie. As she looked
at him, he stuck his tongue out at her and dodged back into the safety of his
office just as she picked up her mouse mat as a missile to fling at his head.
Chapter Three
Five days later, Jake arrived at the special forces base, ready to join the other recruits. He wondered what he would find, if they would be good enough to
pass his scrutiny.
Jake made his way to the bunkhouse, knowing that he would be the first one there. That not only gave him the advantage over the others, but also the pick
of the beds. He chose one behind the door.
It wasn’t long before he heard the others. It sounded like they had already
formed a bond between them. That would make him odd man out, all the
better for what he had to do.
They entered the room laughing and joking, throwing their kits on their chosen beds, then realised there was someone else in the room. As one, they turned
to look at the stranger in the corner bed.
“G’day,” the stranger said.
They all stared at him. He was stretched out in a lazy fashion, in civvies. He
didn’t look like a soldier to them despite the haircut. In fact, he looked more
like a skinhead as they noticed his tattoos and leather thongs around his left
wrist.
“What the fuck are you meant to be?”
“A soldier, mate. How about you?”
“You look like a yobbo fresh off the street…mate!!”
“Yeah, whatever,” replied Jake, looking at the group of men, feigning boredom.
“Maybe you need to know what being a soldier in this unit means,” said the
leader of the small group as they advanced in a body towards Jake.
“Yeah, right, and who's gonna show me...mate?” Jake asked.
The next thing he knew, he was dragged from his bed and forced up against
the wall.
“Listen. We’re all here on trial, and we’re all being judged as a unit. Now I
don’t know about you, but we want this gig and no one is going to mess it up
for us...okay?”
“I don’t run with the pack, mate. I’m my own man and I don’t give a stuff
about you or your bunch of merry men,” Jake sneered.
He gave them their due, they were bloody quick. He never saw the fists coming, but he sure as hell felt them. They were good, too, not one blow landed on his face. The bastards even managed a couple of kicks before they heard footsteps
in the corridor outside. They quickly threw Jake back on his bed and went to
sort out their kit.
Jake lay there watching the men as the door opened. A sergeant came in,
closely followed by an officer. The men sprang to attention, though Jake
remained on the bed.
The sergeant ordered the men to stand by their beds, and while their
attention was away from Jake, the officer quickly winked at him. Jake
nodded his head slowly and the officer began ranting at him for not getting
to his feet when an officer entered the room.
Suddenly more footsteps were heard outside and Colonel Fisher entered the
room. Everyone once again snapped to attention, apart from Jake, who was
still lying on his bunk.
“At ease, gentlemen,” said the Colonel, eyeing up the new recruits.
He turned towards Jake’s bed.
“Comfy, soldier?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Jake.
“I sure am,” he replied.
“You’re out of uniform, son,” said the Colonel.
“Certainly looks that way...Colonel,” Jake replied, smirking at Tom.
“My office...five minutes,” barked Tom, turning on his heel and marching
out, quickly followed by the officer and the sergeant.
“Ah well, at least we won’t have to put up with him for much longer, boys.
Not a good start getting called to the Colonel’s office first day, especially
just before his welcome dinner. Best get into our number 1’s, guys. Want to
make a good impression, don’t we.”
Jake watched silently as the men changed into their best uniforms. He noted
the service ribbons on their jackets before slowly rising from his bed, wincing slightly, and walking out, heading towards Tom’s office.
The men all took their places in the officer's dining room. They'd been told
the only others joining them would be Colonel Fisher and their main training officer. They had yet to be told who he was.
They all stood as the Colonel entered the room.
“At ease, men, and take a seat. We won’t be kept waiting too long.
Unfortunately your trainer was unavoidably delayed. He will be here directly
….ah, I think that’s him coming now.
The far door opened and the men stood up, ready to greet the latecomer.
“Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to your chief trainer for the next
three months, Major Aaron Mitchell.
Jake would've given anything to have been able to take a picture of the expressions on the faces of the men in front of him. The realisation that the
lazy skinhead in their room was, in fact, their trainer left them cold, to say the least. They all looked him over from boots upwards, gasping quietly when they reached the ribbons on his chest. Could all of them be the real McCoy? Looking
at him now, they had no doubt he'd earned every one. He was definitely not
the same man who had allowed them to ‘welcome’ him the way they had.
They looked worried.
Jake took his place at the opposite end of the table from Tom, and the
meal began. Tom was amused at the way the men tried to make small talk
around Jake. He knew about their little welcome without being told, had
seen the bruises that were already beginning to form when Jake changed
into his uniform in Tom’s office.
“You men will have to forgive Major Mitchell and me for earlier. We like to
see what the new recruits are like before they meet their trainer. No hard
feelings I hope?”
“None with us, sir. We hope the Major feels the same way?”
“No worries, I’ve not had such a warm welcome for quite a while,” Jake
replied. “I can’t wait to get to know you all a little better.”
The men squirmed under his unblinking, emotionless gaze, and ended up
staring into their dishes for the rest of the meal. Jake and Tom looked at
each other and grinned.
The meal couldn’t end quickly enough for them and soon they were saying goodnight to the two officers, begging an early night in preparation for their
first day of training.
After they left the dining room Jake and Tom collapsed in a heap laughing like drains, Jake wincing a little as the bruises on his ribs made themselves known.
“Are you going to do anything about your little welcome, Mitch?”
“Not officially, no. I think I’ll just play it by ear for a while. Don’t want to discourage them before we start, now do I?”
“Well, it’s your call. Just make sure you go see the doc before you turn in. In
fact, I’ll take you over there now. We have a new bloke in charge. I think
you’ll like him.”
“Is that an order, Tom?”
“Bloody oath,” said Tom, laughing at the look on Jake’s face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jake stepped into the sickbay followed by Tom. He was convinced Tom was making certain he didn’t make a run for it, and smiled at the thought.
“Doctor, I have a late patient for you,” said Tom
“Good evening, Colonel Fisher, it’s nice to have anyone in here on the grave-
yard shift. What’s the problem?”
“This is Major Mitchell, he…”
“I had a bit of a tumble on the bike on the way up here,” Jake interrupted.
“Okay, hop up on the couch and let’s have a look at you,” replied the doctor.
Jake removed his jacket and shirt and sat on the examination couch.
The doctor gave him the once over, determined that nothing was broken,
and gave him something to bring out the bruising.
Jake thanked him and promised to catch up with him in the officers mess
soon. Saying goodnight, he headed off with Tom to be shown his new quarters.
He didn’t get much sleep that night, being both physically uncomfortable and
his mind busy planning the next move with his recruits.
4.00 am the next morning found him running round the parade ground. 5.30
am and the lads made their way out for their morning run. They were a little surprised to find the Major already there. They were even more surprised
when the sergeant told them just how long he had been out there.
“Nice of you to join me,” he called as he ran by them. “Thought you were