Jody Klaire

Hi there, This week’s scene of Boot Camp.

Big Smiles,

Jody

Act 4 Scene 9

Renee landed the chopper not sure why her entire body had started shaking in mid-air as though she’d been plunged into ice. She hadn’t been able to carry on flying… and she shouldn’t have been flying with no peripheral vision anyway… but she’d helped stop any further avalanches heading toward the town. She shut down the engine and shivered again. It was a good idea she didn’t tell Spokes about her lack of vision. She shouldn’t even be driving with that kind of blindness but she was probably safer than most people. She climbed out of the cockpit and shook of the surge of guilt. She’d helped. Crash. Renee spun in the direction of the noise… an explosion… She sprinted toward the town only to see severed chopper blades flying into a mound of snow. She dropped her hand to her gun, searching for Spokes. “Get over there and help!” A soldier called out, sprinting toward the downed chopper. “Dunno why it came down,” another soldier shouted, sprinting behind him. Crack. Crack. Renee dived onto the ground as the two soldiers dropped lifeless to the snow. “We have hostile fire,” Renee said into her earpiece. “Spokes, clear the area.” “Renee, I’ve got a bullet in my ankle. I got the hostile-part already.” Spokes was grunting and puffing. “They’ve taken down the chopper and five men already.” “Make that seven,” she said with a sigh, eyes straining for any tell-tale movement to show the hostile’s position. Crack. Crack. “Another two down,” Spokes muttered. “Whoever it is, take them out.” A smatter of “Sir, yes, sir” echoed through the speaker. Renee fixed on a position to her right on top of a roof. It wasn’t a prime position for a sniper but then Yannick had never been a trained sniper. He preferred up close attacks. She lifted herself up onto her protesting legs, her back sending shards of pain up and down her thighs, as she sprinted across to the building. “Renee, where are you going?” Spokes grunted then puffed. “I want your ass inside.” “Negative,” Renee whispered then leaned up against the wall. “You’re pinned down and we need to help wounded.” “You’re a VIP.” Spokes wasn’t happy and he was chewing his gum loudly enough it crackled the speaker inside her ear. “You’re my VIP.” “Spokes, when have you ever saved my ass?” She shook her head and crept into the building, over the trip wires planted at each corner of the room. She hadn’t been wise to who Yannick was before but she knew his tricks now. She pulled her gun. Spokes had ordered for Yannick to be taken out. Her hand shook and she tried to steady her breathing. Could she take him out? Crack. Crack. Renee scowled and limped up the stairs, her back throbbing with the pain. She held onto the wall, eyes watering as the nerves in her leg shuddered. Her pain meds had worn off hours ago. Couldn’t fly or drive with those either. Crack. She shoved off the wall and climbed up the stairs to the roof escape hatch. She eyed it. She hadn’t been able to pull her full body weight up since he’d smashed up her spine. Crack. Renee holstered her gun, gritted her teeth, gripped onto the edges, and cried her way up. The pain ripped through to her toes and she shuddered out ragged breaths trying not to whimper. Crack. She climbed out onto the roof as Yannick laughed to himself and reloaded. She pulled her pistol and raised it, hands trembling and flicked off the safety. Yannick glanced over his shoulder, then laughed then spun around. She ducked to the side. Crack. Bullet hit the hatch. “Hostile is on the roof!” “Get up there and help,” Spokes fired into her earpiece. “Tess,” Yannick said in his false sweet voice. “Now why are you pointing a gun at me. Aren’t you in love with me?” Renee’s hands shook. Fear gripped her. Not because of what he’d done to her, although that was bad enough, but what he’d done to the others… because of how it was her fault. She should have seen what he was. “You’re too quiet,” he said in French and laughed at the gun shaking in her hands. “You don’t want to hurt me.” He stepped closer. She fired—Bam—and hit the building adjacent. Panic filled her. She never hit less than the center of the target. Yannick followed the route of her bullet. “I didn’t make you that blind, did I?” The howls of his victims filled her ears. The begging in their eyes as he dragged them away and she was unable to free herself and help. “You’ve always been blind for me though, yes?” he said it with a confidence, with that obnoxious tone he used when he felt superior. “Without doubt, doc. You’re good at your job.” Aeron smiled at her with an affection that stunned her. Renee tried to blink away the odd memory of Aeron but it wouldn’t let go. Instead her voice grew so loud that Renee had to step back to try and shake herself free of it. “You clearly want me, Tess,” Yannick said with a pitying laugh. “You’ve never even been able to fight back.” Aeron hoisted her up to carry her to the river in front of the whole town and even Lilia. Yes, they must all be able to hear how flirty she was being even if Aeron didn’t notice. She couldn’t help it. She loved her. “Why don’t you put down the gun and I’ll show you your place,” Yannick flicked back his long blonde hair and smirked. Bam. Her bullet pinged off the ground in front of his feet. Aeron beamed at her as she tapped Yasmin’s shoes and Renee’s heart thudded in a way she swore it hadn’t beaten before. How did she feel so loved when Aeron didn’t even know how she felt? He stared at her. “Now that is impolite and no way to show you love me.” “Love you?” Renee shook her head, focusing on Aeron’s face in her mind. “No.” He stepped forward. “You do love me.” Bam. Her bullet hit the ground next to his toe and he stepped back. “No, I prefer muscles.” She fired again. “Big, big muscles.” Yannick curled his lip. “Then I will make you remember why you love me.” “I never loved you, Yannick.” She stuttered saying his name and fear gripped her again but she raised her gun. “You disgust me.” He laughed but his eyes glinted. “What?” “Besides,” she said hoping it was Spokes and his corps thudding their way up the stairs next to the hatch. “I’m not really into blonds.” Yannick scowled and stepped forward. Bam. Bullet hit the edge of his shoe. He glanced at the hatch then glared at her. “We’ll fix our problems, Tess. You only say this to hurt me but I will show you.” “Doubt that.” She lifted up her pistol to his chest height, her hand trembling hard enough it was hard not to drop the gun. He laughed at her again then turned and jumped off the top of the roof. “Spokes!” she limped her way over to the edge of the roof. Yannick had gone. He hadn’t fallen but she wasn’t sure where he was. “Renee, what are you doing?” Spokes shoved his way out of the hatch and hobbled over. “And who are you shooting at?” “Yannick,” she said not daring to look at him. “It was Yannick.” Spokes pulled her closer to him. “Then double the what are you doing?” “That’s polite for you,” she mumbled straining to see if Yannick was ready with his gun on the ground. “Only because I ran out of expletives an hour ago.” He sighed and turned to the sniper rifle left on the rooftop. “Guess it’s not going to give us anything useful?” Renee shrugged. “He doesn’t worry about leaving prints.” She winced as she tried to stoop. “It’s FBI-issue. Must have gotten it when he escaped from prison.” Spokes nodded. “Sure.” “You don’t think so?” Renee studied him. “You know something more?” Spokes shook his head but he sucked at lying. “If you want answers, talk to Frei.” He wiggled his finger in his ear. “If you want people to tell you information, take the promotion everyone keeps trying to give you.” Renee shook her head. “I don’t do strategic.” “But you don’t do shooting hostiles anymore so you’re going to have to be.” He scowled at her then nodded to the rescue effort pulling the townsfolk from under the snow. “And I just got your medical records over from Montgomery.” She limped over to the hatch. “Which makes me give you a triple what were you doing?” Spokes unloaded the gun and threw it to one of the soldiers as they headed onto the roof. “You should have shot him and then some.” He grabbed her hand before she could grab the hatch. “I would have done a lot more.” Renee squeezed his hand. “Won’t fix anything.” “Fix?” Spokes tugged her back around to look at him. “I told you POIs don’t like getting lied to. CIG might be your corps but they sent you in before knowing what he was.” “I know my job,” Renee glanced at the soldiers taking up spots on the rooftop. “I know the risks.” “He crushed five vertebrae, damaged your optic nerve so badly you can’t see anything but in front of you; he smashed up your pelvis, your knees, your ankle and ripped the ligaments in your wrists and your shoulders.” Spokes said it but they both knew it was only the surface. “And you hauled yourself up here to take him on, alone, so if you knew those risks, you’re crazy.” “The only part that makes me crazy is that I couldn’t shoot him.” Renee held his gentle eyes, seeing only love and concern for her. “I couldn’t even hold up the gun.” “That’s because you shouldn’t have been flying and you shouldn’t have been pulling your bodyweight up.” He jumped down the hatch and held out his hands. “And if you don’t accept my help, I’ll retire you myself.” She holstered her pistol and stumbled downward into his arms. “You want me to shoot you instead?” “I know you won’t, Black. You’ve saved my ass too many times to shoot it.” He lowered her down and they hobbled over to the stairs. “But you’re not fit for active duty anymore and you might have been the best with a gun but there’s a lot of bullet holes in the roof.” “I can’t fire at him. I don’t know why.” She limped her way down. “Some of its fear but… even when an unsub had Aeron in trouble… I could only take out his knees.” She held onto Spokes because he was limping as much as her. “I thought I could pull the trigger.” “If you can’t, you’re in the wrong job.” He grunted as they reached the landing. “You need to think about strategic.” “No.” Renee turned and met his gentle eyes again. “I just need to think about firing something that will knock people out instead.” Spokes rolled his eyes. “Well, when they invent that… let me know.” He headed to the door. “In the meantime, I’ll just take down hostiles before they hurt anybody else.” She gritted her teeth. Spokes closed his eyes. “I didn’t mean that against you…” He chewed his gum. “He just needs taking down.” She walked out of the door, her guilt building again. She didn’t need a reminder. Spokes grabbed her shoulder. “Renee—” “Don’t.” Renee shook off his hand and strode over to an ATV and climbed on board. “I’m clearing the area.” She roared off before Spokes could stop her and scoured each and every road and street she could find surrounding the avalanche site. That odd cold feeling wrapped around her again and she stopped as she saw a chopper head into the sky. Her gut said it was Yannick and it had told her he was a hostile not a POI but she hadn’t listened… she should have listened. “You’re good at your job,” Aeron said with a beautiful smile on her face. Renee pulled over and hugged herself. “Am I?” “Sure you are, doc. You got me out.” Aeron grinned at her then shivered. “Could do with you here right now.” Renee smiled at the odd visualisation. Must be shock or something. “Boot camp is never easy.” She glanced around in case anyone could hear her talking to herself. “If you’re on cold weather training… you need to light a fire inside you and keep it burning. Keep feeding it and you’ll get there.” “I can do that… right… at least your dad gave me tips on building a shelter.” Aeron smiled and yawned. “He looks like you.” Renee shook off the thought as Aeron’s image faded from her mind. Her dad? Must be some odd delusion if her dad was helping Aeron. She shivered herself and rubbed the tears away then drove back to the rescue effort ignoring the pain building all over her body and inside her heart. She’d have loved to have taken Aeron home to meet her dad and Matt… and even maybe her mom. She laughed at her own stupid dream and limped over to help

assess a woman on a stretcher. What would Aeron want with a smashed up, incapable soldier like her anyhow?