Page 47 of Luck Be Mine
“We were able to kill IQS because there was no space between thought and skill on my team. Your people are having a problem.” He flipped a finger between the two of them. “Unfortunately, we both have a problem now. I will not allow mission failure. I will not lose any of these men to errors. Ever. Regardless of personality issues, those men are here to do a job, not to argue.”
Stemmons’s mouth snapped into a tight line. “Chief fights me at every turn.”
“Looks to me like Chief has his hands full fighting the rest of the team. Reason?”
“They were loyal to Gritz and are struggling. Riaz’s way is different.”
“Boo-hoo. Not the first time I’ve heard those excuses for a team in transition. Don’t care. Riaz has been on your team for years, too. You’ve got a few rednecks who are fighting the authority, and I will knock the crap out of them. This isn’t a slumber party. I’ve executed this plan multiple times. So have you. This works if everyone does their job. Deal with it.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yes. Terrorists don’t care about your whining. They will kill you with no remorse. Get it?”
“Yes.” But the man wasn’t convinced.
“It’s not a democracy, Stemmons. You stop all this crap, or I will.”
Oh, he definitely didn’t like any of this, but Hunt was on experienced ground. He didn’t sway with the breeze.
“I’ll get to it, but watch it. You’re distracted. Pretty wife at home. I’ll be watching, too.”
Hunt snorted at the comment. Stifling the impulse to slam the motherfucker into a wall, he let it slide. The man had no idea.Cait would be the first in line to kick his ass if his head wasn’t in the game. What was this obsession with his marriage? Christ.
He let the man walk away angry and stayed behind for a few minutes to analyze if he could have handled the situation better. The first pass was no, and the second pass was hell no!
Master Chief appeared at his elbow. “That one is gonna cause trouble.” The older black man grinned at him. “Stomp on him.”
Hunt snorted. “Your best advice?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hunt had been enlisted once upon a time, and he appreciated the recommendation from an experienced hand. “I’ll get on that, Master Chief. Thanks for your space.” He shook the man’s hand and followed Stemmons to the practice area. He climbed the command tower and stood next to Brennan.
Jack’s grim face matched his. “Whatever you said to him, smoke was coming out of his ears.”
“Essentially, stop all this crap or I will.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Okay. I’m on board. Are we stepping into this?”
“No. Hernandez is.”
“I’ll bet he loved that.”
“Yes, because he hates poor performances, but no because this isn’t a mess of his making. Stemmons didn’t like it much either. Watch him.”
“Sounds like he pissed you off, too.”
“Jack, never bring a man’s family into a professional conversation. It’s a bad, bad idea.”
“I’m not stupid, LT. Besides, I like Doc.”
They both went silent as a new practice round started. Hunt studied Stemmons on the deck, observing from the sidelines. He would take his own advice and mentor Stemmons until he had no choice but to become a better lieutenant.
Hunt kept an eagle eye and assessed. Brennan cataloged all the activities. By the fourth time – better.
Still not good enough. Not even close for Senior Chief either.
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