words that didn’t fit into her vocabulary. As an in-demand agent for all types of covert ops, she traveled a lot. She didn’t have time for getting close to anyone. Besides, a Navy SEAL was deployed a good part of the year, and this guy would be much too busy with all his training for the next several years to worry about a one-night stand with an NCIS agent. She shifted. She also had a personal agenda to fulfill as her gut clenched with the anger that was just below the surface, festering.
She had no intention of telling him that she was undercover. She hated to admit it, but he could be part of the NWO terror cell. This time when she looked over the seated men, she scrutinized them a little closer. Maybe if she could vet Sinclair, she could pump him for information about the class.
Somewhere amongst these men were terrorists who meant them harm. It was her job to discover who they were and make sure each of them had no chance to hurt any of these courageous guys.
“Be on time. Stay aware every moment. Take responsibility for your actions whether in uniform or not. If the officers look out for their guys, your guys will follow you anywhere. This is where your reputation begins and as your proctor, it’s a reflection on me. It’s a small community and your character and integrity will define you and follow you wherever you go. You will start that on Monday morning at zero five hundred.” Every man was paying attention to every word Max spoke. “Telling you the teams are all about brotherhood are just words right now. Only after you’ve worked together, frozen your asses off in the surf, PT’d your little hearts out and broken down in Hell Week will you understand this. There is nothing that even comes close to what we share, what we build every day when we go down range, nothing like knowing the guy next to you will die for you and you for him. You think you know what brotherhood means, but you don’t. You will and the experience will change you.”
He paused and let his words sink in.
“Finally, I’m not a hardass, but I can be a butthead. Come to me about pay problems or personal or family issues, but don’t cry and whine about the training or the evolutions or your chits for screwing up. I’ll beat your asses even harder. I’m not your nurse either. Get to medical if you need medical. You’re grown men and need to act like it. I’m your instructor, not your nursemaid.”
He rose and slipped his hands into his pockets. “Okay, get out of here and get wet and sandy, pump out forty push-ups and then you are secure. Make sure your new rooms are spotless, paint your helmets and stencil your numbers. I’ll be over to the barracks at ten hundred and give you a quick and dirty on how to get ready for inspection.”
The candidates were out of the room at a very fast pace, but her gaze went to Sinclair. He nodded to her then sprinted out of the room. Max turned to her with a slight frown. He walked over and offered his hand.
“Max Keegan.”
“Shea—”
“Palmer. NCIS agent undercover to weed out NWO terrorists targeting our boys.”
“I see you’ve been briefed.”
“I was wounded in the raid on their second compound a few weeks ago, so I’m well aware of what’s going on.” He shifted and looked back to the open empty door. “Anyone look good?”
“I’ve just gotten here and haven’t had a chance to make any kind of decision yet on who to take a closer look at.” She lifted her chin and said, “You think that group is tough enough to send guys who can hack this training?”
“They had an O-course on their training’ grounds, so I say they were drilling them. There’s plenty on BUD/S to research and training their recruits to get them ready is definitely possible. If they’re determined enough, I’d say yes. They could get through.”
Shea scowled. “Okay, that might make it more difficult, but I’ll be watching them all for now.”
“Me too. I’ll give you a heads up if I see anything suspicious or if any of the instructors mention someone being off.”
“Thanks.”
“What about Sinclair?”
Singling out the man she’d slept with jolted her, and she hesitated in answering.
A slight smile touched his mouth.
“I met him off base.”
“I see. Personal?”
“Very,” she said, narrowing her eyes.