Page 28 of Metal & Mud

"So what, they're going to nerf you guys and cheat code them?" Sabby asked, shocked. "That's pretty fucked up!"

"Not really, although I used to think the way you are right now," Jess said. "Training is like the gym. Now, I could take someone and load up the bar and just staple their asses to the floor, straight up break them and leave them lying on the floor. But what good would that do?"

"Not much," Sabby had to admit.

"Exactly. It's the number one reason people quit the gym, and I don't blame them," Jess said passionately. "They either get stapled by their ego or some jackass saying 'you're not yoked unless you can lift four plates' or some shit. Fuck that, you start wherever someone is, and you help them push them one half percent further. Do that for a year, and you've got someone who's twenty five percent stronger than they were at the beginning of the year. That's good fucking progress no matter what strength level you start at."

"I bet."

"So the same thing in training with the Army. We go balls out on these guys, they're going to be broken, and rebuilding a broken unit isn't going to do the Army any damn good," Jess said, a few words getting slurred by mouthfuls of enchilada. "The time to really put the screws to them is when they're getting ready to deploy, and they're not going to be doing that unless things change geopolitically again."

Jess scooped another large mouthful of enchilada into her mouth, sighing in pleasure as she chewed before continuing.

"Anyway, we'll slowly get our hands tied, and maybe some of the Cranked troops might get frustrated with it. But it's good for us too. Trust me, they can put us out there with nothing by Red Ryder BB guns and water balloons. Me and my team's still going to go hard."

"Yeah well, no matter how hard you go, make sure you stay safe, okay?" Sabby advised her sister. "I know how you get. You'd probably try to bayonet stab someone with that BB gun."

"Speaking of guns, do me a favor and have the massage gun plugged in every day?" Jess said. "I'm probably going to need it."

Sabby sighed melodramatically, secretly pleased her sister was already considering her health. The rechargeable massage gun had been a birthday gift a year ago from Sabby to Jess, and it touched her how much her sister used and liked the device. "You and your big, gun shaped vibrator. What would my therapist say?"

Jess snorted. "You'd need to have a therapist first... not that you don't need one."

"Thanks bitch," Sabby replied, laughing. "So after you're done, how about you bring your squad by the alley? I'll buy beers for everyone, everyone can kick back and relax after a hard seven days' work."

Actually, Sabby had another reason to invite the squad. If the squad came, Logan would be there, and Sabby could handle the situation of her and Logan with some... padding. If anything, she could have a chance to talk with him about what happened, and maybe work out a solution that didn't involve her admitting that he got back to the barracks late because they'd been having sex on a pool table.

The thought sent a flutter through her stomach. It wasn't just about protecting her job anymore. She wanted to see him again, to know if what they'd shared had meant something to him too.

"Thanks Sabby, and that'd be a good idea... if it weren't we're ending on a Friday afternoon, which gives everyone time to get showered and all," Jess said. When Sabby gave her a quizzical look, Jess explained. "Babe, you're talking about a group of a hundred people, most of whom are under the age of thirty. Of us young people, three quarters of us are single, and of the single people, all but three of us are men."

"Okay, facts," Sabby said. "And?"

"And after seven straight days of testosterone pumping, chest thumping playing soldier boy in the woods, shooting things and playing Rambo and grunting, they're all going to be looking for one thing and one thing only. Pussy," Jess said before sighing wistfully. "Hell, after that much action, I might be looking for someone myself. I know that Major Kirk's going to give us a solid four days off afterwards to comp us for the missed weekend, and I can bet there's a sweet little innocent-looking coed in Richmond or over at VSU that would love to explore the side of her she's only whispered about and read about online with a muscle mommy."

Sabby groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why not just seduce one of the National Guard girls then?"

"They're an all-dick unit," Jess said sadly. "And besides, I have standards and a reputation to uphold. Unless she looks like prime Katy Perry, in which case I'll happily chuck my standards right out the fucking window. Anyway, I can almost guarantee you that nobody from the unit wants to be anywhere on post come next Friday."

"All of them?" Sabby asked, her heart sinking. She didn't want to believe that Logan would be one of those guys just looking to scratch an itch. What they'd shared had felt like more than that. But how well did she really know him? One night of passion and good conversation didn't mean she understood who he was at his core.

"Well, most of the guys at least," Jess said. "Everyone takes it a bit different. Like Gonzalez, in Headquarters platoon? That dude gets back from a deployment and sleeps so hard that you'd think the motherfucker's depressed or something. And Sergeant Manheim... well, at least until his wife died, it was stressful on their marriage."

"What do you mean?" Sabby asked. "Was Brian... you know, dark or something?"

"Yes and no," Jess said. "He has this thing where he'd go out to the woods and just... meditate, or purge, I guess. I saw it in person one time, his platoon had a mission and got back, and I ran into him because I was doing a trail run. Dude was in his skivvies in the woods, just in this yoga position, his face covered in streaks of mud. Apparently he purges the darkness he has to go to during missions that way. Trust me, the last thing I wanted to see was Brian Manheim sitting underneath a pine tree like Buddha or something."

Sabby took a deep breath. "Damn. You know Jess, if I can help you with your... I don't know, purging? Transition? Whatever, I'll do what I can."

"I know Sabs, and I love you for it." Jess stood up and gave her sister a kiss on the top of her purple head. "You just keep being you, trust me it helps. You're like my anchor in reality, and the reason I remember to chill the fuck out more often than not. In the meantime, I'm going to go jump in the shower. The shower massage is calling my name, and not in the dirty way. I'm just going to soak and boil myself until I'm jelly, then rack out since I'm going to be up early tomorrow. Would you mind keeping it quiet for the rest of the night?"

"Nah, I'm good," Sabby assured her. "I've got some homework to do, and I'll put my earbuds in for that. What time are you getting up?"

"Five. Don't worry, I'll set the alarm, and Sergeant Lincoln already said he was going to call the platoon, just like a recall. So you don't need to sleep on the couch or anything. Unless you want to."

Jess went to the bathroom, and Sabby picked up the dishes, starting to wash. She still didn't know how to tell her sister about Logan, and the truth was she was worried about him. Brian hadn't given her any updates about the situation with the National Guard officer, and she hadn't seen either one.

She couldn't even reach out to Logan, she didn't have his number. And there was no fucking way she was just going to call the front desk at the barracks, that'd drop a shit bomb for sure.

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