Chapter 3 - The Lane
The crowd formed faster than command liked. Marines lined the perimeter behind the safe markers, some holding phones low at their sides despite the warning that recording was restricted. The range officers checked every training weapon twice. Referees reviewed the rules. No live fire. No unsanctioned contact. No physical escalation outside the lane. The exercise would be timed, scored, and observed. Briggs looked pleased because he believed a formal frame made his humiliation cleaner.
Brooke stood at the starting line in full kit, helmet strapped, gloves tight, rifle held safely down and indexed. She looked smaller beside Briggs and his chosen men, but not uncertain. That bothered the people watching. They expected anger, fear, or at least visible tension. Brooke gave them none of it. She only asked the range officer to confirm the scoring categories: entry discipline, target identification, communication, restraint, and completion time.
Briggs laughed under his breath. “Listen to Princess. Wants the rules read twice.” Brooke turned her head slightly. “Rules are useful when people intend to follow them.” A few Marines stopped smiling. Briggs’s jaw flexed. He stepped closer, voice dropping. “Careful, Captain. This isn’t a classroom.” Brooke looked at the entry door. “Good.”
The horn sounded.
Briggs’s team hit the first room fast, too fast, all volume and momentum. They cleared with aggression, but aggression left gaps. One Marine overcommitted into a blind corner. Another crossed a teammate’s lane. A third shouted over a command call. Their time was strong, but the judges marked penalties. Briggs came out breathing hard, sweat cutting lines through dust on his face, and still smiled because the crowd understood speed better than discipline.
May you like
Then Brooke stepped to the start point.
Someone near the back muttered, “Let’s go, Princess.” This time, she heard it, and this time she let herself smile once. Not warmly. Not kindly. Just enough to let the nearest men understand that she had been listening all along.
