The Legacy of Shadows. William Speir

’em dead, Babe. I love you!”

      Jamie kissed Hunter goodbye. “Thanks. I will. Love you, too!”

      She got out of the car, grabbed her bags from the trunk, and waved to Hunter as he drove off. Looking at the instructors, she asked, “Is everyone ready for this?”

      “Yes!” they responded.

      “Good.” Jamie gestured to the two vans parked in front of the building. “Put your bags in the vans, and then let’s get the equipment loaded so we can get out of here.”

      They stowed their bags and followed her into the dojo. Jamie had already lined up all of the equipment for Fort Benning along the wall. Jamie picked up the first box and gestured for her team to grab the remaining boxes and load the vans. Within thirty minutes, they were ready to leave.

      Tobias arrived to get the dojo ready for the morning classes. Jamie had asked him to handle things while she was gone, and he readily agreed. He wished everyone a safe trip and assured Jamie that the dojo was in good hands while she was in Georgia. As he entered the dojo, the vans pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the interstate.

      The trip to Fort Benning was long and uneventful. To keep the trip from taking too long, they limited their stops to food and fuel as much as possible.

      When they reached the gates at Fort Benning late that afternoon, they were directed to a security post where guards checked Jamie and her team’s identification and searched the vans.

      While base security searched the vans, an army sergeant arrived and approached Jamie.

      “Miss Anderson? My name is Sergeant Barfield. I’ll be your liaison here on the base.” He handed Jamie and her team their identification badges and lodging packets. “Keep your ID badges with you at all times. If you’re caught without them, you’ll be arrested by base security.”

      The badges hung on lanyards, and Jamie and her team put the lanyards around their necks.

      The sergeant nodded. “It’s too late to get into the training facility, so I’ll take you to your lodging here on base. There’s a restaurant there that serves dinner until twenty-one-hundred hours, and there are fast food options in walking distance if you need them. I’ll help you get checked in and then meet you in the parking lot at oh-nine-hundred hours tomorrow to take you to the training facility so you can unload and set up your equipment. Any questions?”

      “No, Sergeant,” Jamie responded.

      The sergeant walked over to the security personnel who had finished searching the vans, spoke to one of the NCOs, and gestured for Jamie and her team to join him.

      “Your vehicles and equipment have been cleared. If you’ll get in the vans and follow me, I’ll show you the way.”

      Jamie and her team followed the sergeant’s vehicle to their on-base housing, which was a cluster of base-run full service hotels reserved for relatives, visitors and civilian contractors. He escorted them inside one of the gray concrete fifteen-story buildings and over to the check-in desk on the left side of the lobby. The civilian clerk behind the desk gave Jamie and her team their room assignments, and Jamie was glad that their rooms were all on the same floor. The sergeant then helped them unload their bags from the vans and carry them to the elevators.

      “Thank you, Sergeant,” Jamie said once her team and their luggage were inside the elevator.

      “My pleasure, ma’am. I’ll see you in the morning.”

      When Jamie got to her room with its flat, pale aqua painted walls, she sent a quick text to Hunter letting him know that she had arrived. She also sent a text to Senior Master Frank Whitworth telling him the same thing. Then she took a shower, dressed, and met her team downstairs to get dinner.

      The next morning, Jamie met her team in the lobby at 8:30. Jamie made certain that they all had their ID badges visible. After a quick breakfast, they walked to the vans to wait for Sergeant Barfield. At precisely 9:00, he pulled into the parking lot.

      He handed Jamie a map of the base and said, “Follow me. I’ll lead you to the training facility.”

      The sergeant drove out of the parking lot, followed by the two vans. The base commander had set aside two large buildings away from the busy part of the base. One building was for surveillance, target acquisition, and the other training being taught by SignalCorps and Tom’s old company, and the other building was for combat martial arts instruction.

      The sergeant showed his badge to the NCO in charge of the guard detail around the two buildings. After the NCO inspected the badges of Jamie and her team, he waved them all through, and the sergeant led the two vans around to the loading dock of the building they’d be using for combat martial arts.

      Jamie and her team spent the rest of the day setting up the equipment for the training. The base commander had provided cushioned floor mats and red foam-filled safety gear for the students, and Jamie had brought her video cameras and monitors so she could record everything and play it back to help her students understand what she was trying to convey to them. It was a technique that worked very well with her other students.

      Once the cameras and monitors were in place and tested, Jamie notified the sergeant that she and her team were ready to return to the on-base housing to rest.

      “I’ll escort you back,” he said. “Water, power drinks, and towels will be delivered tomorrow. Where do you want them?”