Page 7 of Specter Bred

"Move your ass, Hayes! You're in my fucking way!"

Based on what I'd already seen from Archer, I might not even need to drive Hayes out myself. She seemed more than willing to do it for me. Which was fine by me. I had a feeling that I would direct most of my energy this training cycle toward breaking her, anyway.

My timer went off just as an out-of-breath Archer and Hayes slid into formation beside the rest of the candidates. Every recruit looked slightly disheveled, but they stood at attention, waiting for orders.

I caught the looks once the other recruits realized a woman stood among them. Some stared openly. Others looked irritated. A few smirked as if Command had delivered entertainment instead of competition. Archer ignored all of it, standing straight in the pouring rain with her chin lifted slightly higher than everyone else's, as if spite alone was holding her upright.

Lightning flashed across the distant sky, briefly illuminating the sprawling obstacle course stretching beyond the floodlights. No one reacted, even when a violent crack of thunder shook the ground beneath our boots.

Rain hammered down relentlessly, soaking through uniforms within minutes. Dirt liquified into thick mud beneath their combat boots, coating the field in slick sludge.

Perfect weather for Assessment One.

I walked past the line of recruits, sizing them all up, making eye contact.

"What I'm about to put you through is Operator Assessment One."

My gaze swept over the recruits lined across the field while Cutter and Alvarez moved silently down the formation beside me.

"If you pass this assessment, I'll graduate you to Specter status right here and now."

That got their attention.

Exhaustion vanished from more than a few faces, replaced by sharp focus and sudden confidence. Their confidence was misplaced. They were all going to fail. Every last one of them.

"I should note," I continued dryly, "no candidate has ever successfully completed Assessment One on their first attempt."

Uneasy glances spread through the formation.

Cutter and Alvarez moved down the line, placing a numbered flag into each recruit's hands.

"There are thirty-five of you, which means there are thirty-five flags," I said. "Each flag represents a different piece of classified intelligence. Command needs your unit to recover the intel as part of a highly classified joint operation."

I turned toward the sprawling obstacle course, disappearing into the darkness beyond the floodlights.

"The mission is simple," I continued. "Move through the course and deliver your intel flags to the extraction point."

I pointed toward the illuminated line nearly a mile away. Rain came down so heavily now that the extraction point looked blurred beneath the storm, even farther away than it actually was.

I raised my voice over another violent crack of thunder.

"Command needs that intel."

My eyes swept over the recruits.

"You need mission success."

Simple.

Straightforward.

Winnable.

At least that's what every recruit seemed to think.

"Cutter and Alvarez will engage throughout the course using nonlethal training rounds," I continued. "If you're hit, you're eliminated from the operation."

Several recruits visibly tensed.