Page 45 of Metal & Mud

"So you ready to properly clear a building finally?" Tom Franklin asked Logan as they prepared to attack the problem at hand.

"This is going to go just like clockwork," Logan answered Franklin as he looked over the newest piece of equipment he'd had to learn, a Sig Sauer MPX.

Logan hefted the MPX. It was smaller and lighter than his M4, the red dot laser promising quick target acquisition. The kick was different, a sharper jolt, but he liked the controlled fire rate. It felt right in his hands, like an extension of himself.

Why the military insisted that the 3-3 have all these different kinds of weaponry was a question he hadn't quite figured out yet, but he knew there was a simple answer... they needed it. Different missions called for different loadouts. It was just a matter of time before one of them came Logan's way.

"Okay Bravo Team, you ready?" Sergeant Adams asked.

She was strapped and ready to go, her Kevlar helmet on her hip and vest cinched in, her gas mask ready to be pulled down and the gloves intended to protect her hands tight. Minus a facemask, she looked a lot like a linebacker in Logan's opinion. Just shorter.

"Bravo Team just went through, Hyunh and his boys had no casualties with a clear time of ninety-four seconds. What do you think?"

"Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in ninety-one," Logan replied, chambering the first round into his MPX. "So... ninety?"

"Hollywood says ninety," Adams replied, grinning. "Good target. Shows you're serious about this." She held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary. "Now just like we rehearsed, on me."

The team split into two groups, Logan and Sergeant Adams taking the back of the building while Franklin took Carter and Bron through the front. Logan had noticed that, ever since their discussion, with rank set aside, Adams had been pairing herself off with him whenever the fire team had to break into two elements.

Logan wondered if it had something to do with what he'd told Sabby, but it made sense tactically as well. Logan was the least experienced, Adams the most. Besides, it allowed him to work with her more closely, learning and observing from her. So he wasn't going to complain.

Prepping by the back door, Adams gave Logan a thumbs up as they pulled down their gas masks, prepared for anything. The flash bangs detonated at the front of the building, a signal for action. Logan kicked in the back door with a single, practiced motion, the wood splintering under his boot.

Sweeping the first room, he and Adams moved side by side, one covering the other as they cleared the back three rooms of the building, taking out two 'bad guys' before meeting the first group at the stairs.

"Smoke!" Adams called, tossing a standard smoke grenade up the stairs to the second floor landing. "Hollywood!"

Taking the lead, Logan went up the stairs, but this time he was under control, the rest of the fire team on his back as he got to the top stair and swept, firing on a figure at the end of the hallway before taking cover on a knee. "Move!"

The rest of the team came up, once again splitting into two elements as they cleared the last four rooms, freeing a room of 'hostages' in the final one. Finally Adams lifted her fist. "Clear! Time!"

The evaluator, who was standing in the middle of the room, looked at their stopwatch. "Ninety-two seconds."

"Fuck," Logan growled.

There were a few laughs.

"What? I wanted the Tyson standard."

Outside, the fire team laughed and congratulated each other, Carter imitating the XO. "Good point. Carry on then."

"Okay, okay." Sergeant Adams shook her head. She was in a good mood though, she was smiling faintly as she rubbed at her hair. "We've still got some more scenarios to run through. But good job this time. Good start to sending off Bronny here."

"What?" Logan asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't hear, Hollywood?" Bron asked, shifting the shotgun he was carrying and slinging it over his shoulder. When Logan shook his head, he explained, "Army decided that I need to move on, man. Up or out, you know?"

"Actually, I don't," Logan admitted, his stomach dropping at the thought of losing a teammate. "I thought you wanted to stay?"

"I do, but the Army says either I go to the Basic Leadership Course at Benning and become a Sergeant, or I won't be allowed to re-up my contract," Bron admitted. "Remember your first day? Told you I've been around longer than anyone else."

"Fuck."

Bron nodded in agreement. "They might reassign me to the battalion if they've got an open E-5 slot somewhere, but if not... well, I've got the rest of this week and next before I take some leave, go take a vaycay, and report to Benning."

"So for Sergeant's Time tomorrow, we're going to be throwing Bron here a farewell barbecue," Adams said. "Since I know come next Thursday he's going to be busy with out processing and paperwork. But for now, let's kick some more ass."

They kept training, but Logan was troubled. During their lunch break, he found Carter, and sat down with him to eat.

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