Alpha Squad: Boot Camp

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter FourteenPhase Three started with police procedures, courtesy of the expert instructor Secretary Teese had sent over. It was quite the learning curve, not just for the cadets, but for Janine as well, who sat in on the training.

If everything went according to plan, they'd be ready for action soon. And every single one of them, including Janine, needed to know how to handle the general public.

She found it difficult to concentrate; the memories of the night at the cabin had etched themselves into Janine's mind, making it hard to simply brush them aside. At the same time, Eric had taken on the role of star pupil; no matter what subject was being covered, he was ready to ask insightful questions.

As it turned out, there was quite a bit of overlap between the police training and his own shifter training topics.

Today's discussion: strength and abilities.

In a way, it was a relief for Janine to take a step back and let someone else take the lead on the training. The weeks that had passed so far had been stressful; they weren't an ordinary group of recruits, making their training even more challenging than a normal unit.

Of course, as Eric started to speak, Janine had trouble staying objective.

"Today Mike demonstrated some police techniques for restraining and subduing suspects. I hope you don't mind—" Eric glanced in the direction of the other man, who had stuck around to participate in Eric's session for the day too. "But a lot of these methods will not work for shifters. Here's why."

Eric waved Mike over. "Cuff me, if you please."

The hairs on the back of Janine's neck stood up. She had never known herself to have a dirty mind, but now, everything was different. She held her breath and tried to focus as Mike opened his handcuffs and approached Eric in much the same way he had taught the group earlier in the day.

But when he made a move to grab and twist Eric's arm behind his body, the maneuver failed. Eric's arm simply did not move, no matter how hard Mike struggled. It was obvious from his red and flustered complexion that he had put his all into the staged fight. Eric, meanwhile, had not broken a sweat as he stood his ground.

"You see, bear and wolf shifters possess the strength of about two to three human men, depending on their level of training. Female shifters are at least twice as strong as their human counterparts as well."

Mike stood back with his arms folded. "What's the solution? This sort of thing is going to become more and more important to regular law enforcement as well."

Janine looked around. Cadets Blackwood and Adam King seemed to have enjoyed the demonstration so far—they were grinning like schoolboys—while Cooper's face could barely disguise the shock at what he'd seen. Not the brightest of the bunch, the former Border Agency man.

Even if Janine had not gotten to know Eric so intimately lately, she could have guessed at the shifters' superior strength. All the physical tests she had put them through during the first week of boot camp had shown her as much.

Eric straightened himself as he addressed the group, including Mike. "Well, it's all about finding weaknesses. Sometimes the only way to win would be to fight dirty."

The sound of a chair being pushed back made Janine turn to check the back of the group. Bentley had gotten up.

"Mind if I have a c***k?" he asked, his chin jutting out in a show of confidence or arrogance, Janine could not be sure.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Sure thing, mate. Do your worst."

Janine inhaled sharply. Things were about to get interesting.

Bentley approached Eric in a few long and resolute strides. Then he placed his hand on top of Eric's shoulder and grabbed his arm.

Eric let out a growl, but much to Janine's surprise, her man was forced onto his knees, with a triumphant Bentley beside him. The man had actually managed it. Eric glanced up and gave Janine a reassuring look. He was fine, even if he didn't look it.

"And that's how you do that," Bentley quipped. "Nerve points, lads! You'd be surprised how useful a little knowledge of anatomy can be."

"Right. That's what I was coming to," Eric confirmed as Bentley released him from his hold. He rubbed his shoulder and faced the group again.

"I've prepared a little diagram. Adam, if you could hand a copy to everyone." Eric gestured at the pile of papers on the table next to the wall. "Applying the right amount of pressure will give you an edge in hand-to-hand combat. Of course, this won't work if the shifter decides to change form, but it's better than nothing. I would also suggest the use of Tasers. We'll have to experiment a bit to figure out how many amps would be needed to effectively disable a transformed shifter."

Janine watched as Mike, the police trainer, took notes, and everyone else studied the diagrams. Funny, to think that the supposed expert sent in to train the team ended up learning a thing or two himself.

Eric's brother and Blackwood exchanged an apprehensive look. Janine supposed that they did not enjoy having their weaknesses exposed to the rest of the group, especially Bentley.

But if they were going to be effective at their jobs, this was exactly the kind of thing they needed to learn. With Bentley's and Mike's help, Eric demonstrated a few more moves that could effectively be used on shifters, then had Cooper repeat all of them once as well.

As soon as Cooper had managed to successfully copy even the final maneuver, Janine got up from her seat and nodded at Eric. "Good job, Cadet King. This has been extremely helpful."

You ain't seen nothing yet, Eric's voice spoke in her mind.

Perhaps you'll show me some more moves later, Janine teased.

"All right, I think this is enough for today," Eric addressed the whole group.

He had really taken to the role of trainer very well. It built on his strengths and experiences leading a New Alliance team. Janine suppressed a smile. She was lucky to have him on her side; actually, the entire squad was lucky. This right here was what would set them apart in the field.

Things were looking good. So long as nothing else went wrong, they would be unstoppable.

The remaining weeks of training went by in a flash. Despite the general's warnings and threats, everyone, including the weakest of the group, Cooper, had passed the written examination conducted by Teese's expert police trainer, as well as any tasks Eric had set for Shifter Awareness Training. There had been no stopping the squad.

Janine's gamble of somewhat coming clean with General Stone had paid off, so the invitation to today's ceremony would not have come as a complete shock to him.

The other thing that had paid off was her affair with Eric. Since that first night in the cabin, they had visited the place a few more times to spend more time together alone and get to know each other. So far, nobody had caught on, which was a relief.

Now, as she stood on the grounds outside their barracks in front of her team as well as the handful of other attendees representing the government, Janine could not feel anything other than proud. They had come so far in such a short period of time. Alpha Squad had made it against all odds.

Even the chilly October winds and onset of drizzle could not dampen her spirit.

General Stone, who stood toward the back of the group, glared at her, but his approval did not matter to her anymore. Despite everyone's differences and initial hiccups, the team had passed with flying colors. They were now ready for action.

"I'm not good at speeches, but I just wanted to tell everyone you've all done a great job," Janine began.

She scanned the crowd. All eyes were on her, but she remained unfazed and remembered the notes she had taken for today's occasion.

"In this past month and a half, we have come a long way." Janine looked at Eric in particular, then forced herself to pay attention to the others as well. "We all came from different professional backgrounds, carrying with us different sets of experiences and different strengths. But now, after the intense training we've been through, we have grown together, adapted, and learned more about each other. And though we started as a mere collection of individuals, we have now become a team."

Janine paused as she noticed Oliver Teese, fidgeting with a folded up piece of paper he had just retrieved from his inner coat pocket. Was he planning to make a speech next? Typical politician. She felt like rolling her eyes, but suppressed the urge.

"This unit is the very first of its kind, and that brings with it not just great responsibility, but also immense opportunity. We will be judged not just by the media and general public, but also by other agencies." Janine glanced over at General Stone, who looked even angrier.

"But I truly believe that we can do some good work together. We can make a difference. We are Alpha Squad!" Janine raised her voice to signal the end of her short speech.

The team, including Private Callahan, erupted in applause.

Remembering she had one more announcement to make, Janine raised her hand and everyone calmed down again.

"As a task force specifically devised to improve human and shifter relations, I felt it only right that our command structure reflects that. I am therefore pleased to announce that going forward, Eric King will serve as my adviser in shifter related matters and right hand man, making him second in command."

Eric suppressed a smile as Adam and Blackwood came up to him, patting him on the back and congratulating him. Bentley, of course, looked least pleased of the group, but he would get over it. If Secretary Teese was to be believed, this would just be the beginning. Alpha Squad was just one unit now, but in time, that would change. Bentley would get a promotion in time, Janine would ensure it.

Janine saluted her team, a gesture which they reciprocated, and stepped away from the front of the crowd.

Oliver Teese came up to her and shook her hand. "Wonderful job, Major. I hope you don't mind if I say a few words?"

Janine forced a smile and nodded at him. "Of course not, Mr. Secretary." He could say whatever he wanted right now, as long as he did not meddle in the running of her team going forward.

As Janine joined her team and the politician started to speak, she saw from the corner of her eye that one very prominent guest had begun his departure.

General Stone, along with the commanding officer in charge of the Infantry School also situated on the base, had retreated back to their vehicle. She had not expected anything else from the man.

Janine had blatantly ignored his orders and there was nothing he could do about it. It was for the best. A man in his position was not used to having his authority questioned. No doubt he would be plotting some kind of revenge for Janine and the team, but that did not worry her. So long as the Ministry of Shifter Affairs backed Alpha Squad, he had little to no influence.

Oliver Teese's voice calling Janine's name brought her back to reality.

"…want to congratulate Major Williams on a job well done. And the rest of the squad, of course. We will do great things together."

Janine balked his last statement. He wishes we'd be doing things together.

That was when Janine felt a familiar pair of eyes on her from the other side of the little crowd.

He could be trouble, Eric's voice said.

I won't allow it, Janine responded. Plus, he doesn't have operational control anyway.

She could feel Eric smile, weird as that was. Ever since their first night together, their bond had deepened further. Janine could no longer imagine a life without him in her thoughts.

Once this little ceremony is over, perhaps we ought to get away for a bit… Eric suggested.

Janine's whole body grew a couple of degrees warmer at the thought. I'd love nothing more.

Although they'd only known each other for a month and a half—and during most of that time Janine had done her utmost to avoid Eric whenever possible—she had no doubt that their shared future was set.

She had never felt this way before; she had never been able to trust anyone else. Moving from foster home to foster home as a child had taught her to only rely on herself. But that was now over. The connection they shared ran so much deeper than any strictly human affair she had been involved in before.

Anyway, every relationship she'd had until now had been more casual than anything else. The intense demands of the army life had guaranteed that. But this, this was different, unique. They truly were one, with one common goal.

This was true love, even if so far it had felt too weird for Janine to say that out loud.

I love you too, she heard him say in her thoughts, and did her best not to blush.