Breaking Point. Lindsay McKenna

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СКАЧАТЬ code says you feed those who ask for food,” Bay said. “Okay, good to know. I’ll see what I can do.” If they were feeding more strangers, Bay knew it meant potential Taliban were coming through the area.

      Hampton smiled a little and said, “How you getting along wearing our gear?”

      Bay felt heat come to her face. “To tell you the truth, Chief, I had a hissy fit about wearing a SIG. That’s a special pistol that SEALs have earned the hard way. I haven’t earned it.”

      Hampton pursed his lips. “I understand how you feel, Doc, but this order came directly from the LT. So, if anyone gives you any grief, you come to me. It’s important you look like one of us. We can bring you up to speed on how to handle the weapons.”

      “I will, Chief.”

      “Gabe?” Hampton said, shifting his gaze to the SEAL. “I want you to take Doc out on the shooting range sometime this afternoon and get her acquainted with the SIG. She’s got to know how to use it and clean it. Plus, do some rattle battle with her.”

      Gabe nodded. “Already figured that out. And the Win Mag?”

      “Leave it here. This is a day op. We hopefully won’t need it. But work in a rotation daily until she’s good friends with that rifle. Have her shooting at twelve hundred to fourteen hundred yards with accuracy.” Hampton looked at Bay. “You okay with filling in as a sniper trainee, Doc?”

      Bay shrugged. “I’ll give it a whirl, Chief. But I’m not a trained sniper.”

      “Gabe is one of the best in the sniping business. He’ll teach you the basics.” His gaze narrowed. “You okay with being a sniper?”

      Bay nodded. “Chief, I was gunning and running with Special Forces over at the Syrian-Iraq border. I know I’m a medic and I’m charged with saving lives. But when my team is being shot at with the intent to kill them, I don’t mind lifting my M-4 and taking out the bad guys.”

      “Okay, just checking,” Hampton said. “You should know our LT talked to your commanding officer, Captain Morton, over in Iraq. The captain had good things to say about you. It looks like you’re a solid player. You have our back and that’s good to know.”

      Bay tried to hide her shock. Given the nature of her being an experiment, it made sense that the SEAL LT would check her out. “I’m glad the LT knows that. I’m not here to get anyone killed on my behalf.”

      “It’s SOP to get the dope on the new guy coming into our platoon. Reputation is everything in the SEAL community,” Hampton told her. “And he was calling mainly to find out your reputation among the spec op guys.”

      “And is the LT satisfied?” Bay wondered what Morton had said. Everyone saw her differently. Some saw her as a gun in the fight, one who could perform coolly under fire. Others saw her as a compassionate medic and trusted her with their lives.

      Hampton smiled. “Yes. And so am I.”

      Relief trickled through Bay. “That’s good to know, Chief. Thank you.”

      “Many guys who enter combat corpsman duty are pacifists by nature,” Hampton said, assessing her.

      “I don’t enjoy killing anyone, Chief. But I will shoot in self-defense for myself and my team. The way I look at it, it’s just another way to save a life. It’s one more bad guy who isn’t going to kill one of us.”

      Nodding, Hampton appeared satisfied with her answer. “If you haven’t already got it in your notes for your medical ruck you’re bringing along, put some vaccinations in there.”

      “Ahead of you, Chief.” She saw Hampton’s eyes gleam with approval.

      “Can you give us a few minutes alone, Doc? I need to talk with Gabe.”

      Easing off the bench, Bay nodded, picked up her M-4, placed it in a harness over her chest and left.

      Hampton sat down on the bench next to Gabe. “What I didn’t say to her is that Captain Morton raved about her under-fire abilities. He said we don’t have anything to worry about, that she’s calm and thinking through the firefight. She takes orders and when she’s placed in a position, she stays. She doesn’t run.”

      Gabe placed his elbows on his thighs. “Good to know. How’s it going with Hammer and his men?”

      Hampton grimaced. “My threat is still working. We’ll see if it lasts.”

      “Doc is really uncomfortable wearing that SIG.”

      “Yeah, I can see that.”

      “And the look on Hammer’s face when we came in was one of fury.”

      “I saw that, too.”

      Gabe shrugged. “SEAL exclusivity can work against us at times.” He gave Doug a twisted smile.

      “What Hammer and those guys don’t understand is that she’s in combat, too, and needs that pistol to protect herself. Or them...”

      “She tried to talk me into carrying a .45 instead of the SIG,” Gabe told him. “I told her no. Reasoned with her that she’s got to look like a SEAL whether she’s one or not. A camouflage point.”

      “That persuaded her?”

      “Enough for her to wear it, but she’s unhappy about it.”

      Scratching his head, Hampton muttered, “Well, I hate to say it, but we’re going to be in firefights sooner or later, and at that time, she’s going to realize how important that SIG can be.”

      Gabe sat up and clipped the M-4 over his chest, muzzle down. “Bay is savvy,” he reassured the chief. And then he realized he’d called her by her first name. Damn. He was working hard to keep distance between them. Grimacing, Gabe looked up to see Hampton grinning crookedly at him. “What?” he demanded testily.

      “She’s a very attractive woman.”

      “Not going to argue that point,” Gabe growled. “But we’re in combat and grab-ass isn’t what you want in a platoon going into firefights, either.”

      “No,” Hampton agreed equitably. “But there is a special connection between you and her. I can feel it.”

      Snorting, Gabe stood up. This was not what he wanted to hear. “She’s a decent, caring person, Doug. Her word is her bond. There’s no bullshit with her.” The kind of woman he wished he’d met before marrying Lily. Gabe had discovered his idealism about women was just that: not based on rock-solid reality. And Baylee-Ann Thorn was as sincere and real as a woman could get. And dammit, that sincerity called to him. And he was struggling not to be get entangled in it. Relationships had no place out here. None.

      “She’s solid, no question,” Hampton said, standing. “Half the guys have bought in to her being with us. We have one half to go.”

      “Over time,” Gabe said, heading for the door, “the other half will be convinced once they see her in action.”

      Hampton agreed. “Help her get her kit together for the mission. I know she’s used to that СКАЧАТЬ