Remsburg glanced at his watch, and shook his head. "About ten minutes. I waited longer the last time I had to meet a Senate subcommittee, and they had supposedly professional drivers."
Brutus chuckled, glad the Colonel had a sense of humor. "Still, it is your day off."
"That's why we make the big bucks," the Colonel said. "Anyway, let me introduce you to your company commander for the next seven days, Major Tyson Kirk."
"Nice to have you here, Mr. Townsend." Major Kirk offered his hand. "First up... is the truck clear?"
The MP who had come over with the two officers nodded. Apparently he'd been inspecting Brutus's truck for something. "Roger, sir."
"Good." Major Kirk reached into the thigh pocket of his uniform and taking out a piece of paper. He handed it to Brutus, and he saw it was a temporary parking pass. "Please keep that in the front window of your truck on the passenger side, displayed for people to see. You won't be driving much, but it'll save you hassle and prevent your truck getting towed in the meantime."
Brutus went over to his truck and immediately put the paper where asked before coming back.
"Okay. Now what?"
"Now you get to follow our Humvee back to battalion headquarters, where we'll brief you on how this upcoming week is going to go and introduce you to your chain of command," Remsburg said. "We're going to try and keep things short and to the point today to give you a chance to settle in and get accustomed to the barracks."
Brutus climbed back into his truck, and saw a military Hummer pull out of another parking spot. As it pulled into the roadway an arm stuck out to wave him on. Considering the rear bumper read HQ 3/3 INF, he was pretty sure he had the right vehicle, and followed it as it drove away.
Fort Pickett was a lot bigger on the inside than he'd expected. Following along behind the Humvee, he was surprised to see row after row of white clapboard type buildings, interspersed with the occasional brick walled structure. He did note a huge complex off to his left as they turned down a different road and kept going, finally stopping at another brick and white boarded, two-story building.
Pulling around into the parking lot, Brutus stopped and followed Remsburg and Kirk into the building. "I know it doesn't look like much on the outside." Remsburg pulled open one of the double glass doors, "but the Army's done a decent amount to make sure our offices are up to the highest standards."
The man wasn't lying. Sure, the walls were a plain, boring white, and the furniture was pretty much what Brutus expected, government issue and ugly as hell. But the computers on the desks looked newer than the ones the Bluecats used for team meetings, and the conference room he was led into was serviceable, with chairs that were more comfortable than they first appeared.
Inside were four more people. His gaze immediately locked onto the woman at the end of the line. Stunning. Slightly taller than average, her light caramel skin and incredible eyes almost glowed under the fluorescent lights. She wore sergeant's stripes, but it was her captivating presence that held his attention.
"Mr. Townsend, this first briefing will be kept simple," Remsburg said. "You'll be meeting your chain of command today before I turn you over to Major Kirk. He'll be the most senior officer directly observing you on a daily basis, and you'll be interacting with his company the most."
"I understand, Colonel."
"Good," Remsburg said. "Now, while I'll be signing off on your completion of this week's training, you can guess who's actually going to be giving you your grade."
"I get you, Colonel," Brutus said.
"Something like that," Remsburg acknowledged. "So, Major?"
"Thank you, sir." Kirk picked up a remote and hit a button.
On the ceiling, a projector fired up, and while it wasn't as powerful as the huge LED screens that the Bluecats used in their team meeting rooms, it worked.
"So Mr. Townsend, for the next seven days you'll be a member of Charlie Company, otherwise known as Cranked. You're going to be slotted into Alpha Team, First Squad, Third Platoon. With that let me introduce you to your chain of command. First, your platoon leader, First Lieutenant Parker."
The tall man gave him a nod, and Brutus nodded back. He looked serious, and was definitely a lifetime Army man, Brutus thought. It was like meeting other second-generation professional athletes, there was a certain air to them, like they were born for what they were doing and knew it.
"Next is your platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class Lincoln."
"Sergeant."
"Townsend," Sergeant Lincoln replied, and Brutus could hear the iciness in the man's voice. Obviously he wasn't a Bluecats fan. Or maybe he just wasn't a Brutus Townsend fan.
Major Kirk continued. "Next we have your squad leader, Staff Sergeant Orkin, and your team leader, Sergeant Castellanos. They will be the people you will be working with most closely."
Brutus couldn't help but study Castellanos more carefully. She really was beautiful, and even the severely pulled back ponytail she wore to keep her hair within military styling couldn't detract from the fact the woman was prettier than any of the Bluekitten cheerleaders the team had.
"First, some rules," Major Kirk said, forcing Brutus attention away from her. "Between the hours of six in the morning and five in the afternoon or whenever we finish work, you're to be in your assigned uniform at all times. You were briefed on that, correct?"
"Yes. Major, quick question. If there's a problem with the program, who do I go to?" Brutus asked. "Just in case."
