Chapter 37 - Dynamic Ops

Cate snickered and shook her head at Mandy’s comment. She knew they would be revisiting this topic tomorrow at the spa.

She gave a little sigh. How lucky was she? All her friends were trying their damndest to get her into bed with Jon Bon Jovi. Now THAT’S what you call friendship! she thought with a smile.

As they waited for the exercises to begin, Cate, Mandy, Danny, and Troy talked about next week’s schedule, their weekend plans, and their Friday tradition, beer and wings at Sonny’s. Troy volunteered to be designated driver, since he had a morning fishing trip planned for Saturday and he didn’t want to be hung over on the boat. Cate was glad—she was looking forward to a few cold beers after a long week.

“Looks like Team One is a go,” Cate turned her attention to the house at Danny’s comment and saw the first group of students lined up next to the door, gear in place and weapons drawn. The rest of the students stood off to the side of the yard, waiting for their turns. Cate found Jon among the group and saw that he was intently watching the first team as they prepared to begin.

Bobby’s class had split into four teams of six students each; Jon made the seventh team member for the fourth group. During the morning’s lecture, each team had been assigned a different scenario and had to plan a tactical operation based on the information they had received. Now they had their chance to execute their plans.

Inside each raid house were amateur actors who played the roles of various criminals, victims, and witnesses. They were armed with training weapons modified to fire “simunitions,” which were basically little paintballs.

The simunitions were made of soft colored wax, about the consistency of a crayon, half-enclosed in a brass casing. They looked like tiny lipsticks. When fired from the gun, the casing separated from the wax slug. The wax pancaked upon impact, leaving a colored mark on the target. The role players used yellow simunitions and the BATs red, making it easy for instructors to identify who shot whom.

The team leader for Team One gave the signal, and the trainees sprang into action. One BAT used a battering ram to knock the door open, and the team charged into the raid house, shouting “POLICE!” and issuing loud commands to the role players. The role players yelled back, then there were multiple popping sounds as they opened fire.

The spectators watched as one role player came charging out the front door into the yard, only to be stopped and ordered to the ground by a BAT team member wielding an M-16 rifle. The shooting stopped inside the house, and Cate could hear the BATs issuing orders to the role players as they cuffed and searched them, then began to search the house for evidence.

After a few minutes one student came outside, followed by George. George watched as the BAT and cuffed and searched the role player who was lying prone on the lawn. Then the rest of the BATs led three more handcuffed role players out of the house. They lined up the “bad guys” on the driveway as Bobby and George observed.

Once all the role players were in line, Bobby called for termination of the exercise. The students released the role players, who went back inside the house as Bobby and George gave the BATs a quick critique. Cate could see from the smiles on the students’ faces that they had done well.

Cate saw Jon turn to look at her, a huge grin on his face. He pointed to the front door of the house. Cate chuckled as Jon mouthed “That's So COOL!” to her, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Mandy saw him too, and giggled at his enthusiasm. Then she elbowed Cate and pointed.

“Look!” she laughed. Jon had turned back toward the house, standing with his hands on his hips. He shifted his weight to his right leg, cocking his hip. About ten feet behind him, a group of four female BATs grinned delightedly as they stared at Jon’s perfect butt. Cate saw their lips move as they whispered to each other and giggled. She looked beyond the group and saw Mo shooting the scene, a grin on her own face.

Cate watched for a couple more minutes, then sighed and walked over to the still-giggling group of female trainees. They obviously had stopped paying attention to the exercise, so it was time for her to be the bad guy.

“Ladies,” Cate said quietly as she approached. “Don’t you think you should be watching what Team Two is doing instead of staring at the Rock Star’s ass?” She gave the BATs a stern look.

The students immediately fell silent, two of them blushing. “Yes, Ma’am,” one of the girls replied. “Sorry.”

Cate nodded and walked back over to Mandy, careful to keep her own eyes away from Jon. She couldn’t be a hypocrite, at least not while the students were watching. When she reached her spot, she turned back to face the house and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Big Meany,” Mandy teased. “You know if we were the ones standing there we’d be doing the same thing.”

She wasn’t wrong. Cate chuckled. “Shit, we’re doing it right now,” she answered, her gaze sliding over Jon’s black-clad body. She saw him turn his head slightly toward her, a smirk on his lips. He must have heard what she said to the girls. And he probably knew that she was doing exactly what she had scolded them for.

“Yep. We sure are,” Mandy agreed, her own eyes wandering over Jon’s perfect form.

Jon’s team was assigned the last scenario, so he watched the next two teams execute their plans before he got to play. By the time his turn came, he was bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement. He couldn’t wait to get in there and do his part.

Along with the rest of his teammates, Jon pulled his kneepads up from his calves to their proper place, then donned his helmet. Then he followed the BAT Team Leader over to the raid house’s entrance to line up for the dynamic entry.

“Look,” Cate grinned to Mandy, pointing at Jon. “No mistaking who’s who, is there?”

The students were huddled together near the entrance, doing a quick last-minute review of their plan, their backs to the instructors at the edge of the yard. Jon was clearly identifiable in the middle of the group, his shaggy blonde locks peeking out below his helmet. The rest of the students were indistinguishable, looking like a group of black-clad robots of various sizes. Even their gender was not discernable, as the female BATs had tucked their hair up under their helmets.

Mandy laughed. “Nope. No confusion at all,” she agreed.

Jon’s team lined up against the wall of the house, their weapons at the ready. Jon was third in the line of five, and at the order he rushed into the house. Cate heard his unmistakable voice shouting commands before the popping noises started again.

This time one of the female role players started screaming. Cate knew from the scenario that the woman was pretending to be a confidential informant who had been “made” by the criminals when the bust went down. The script called for one of the bad guys to shoot and injure her, so the students would have to evacuate her from the house. Sometimes the students figured out what was happening, but most of the time the twist in the scenario threw them for a loop. Cate wondered what would happen with this group.

No sooner than she opened her mouth to mention her thought to Mandy, she had the answer. A grin spread across her face as she saw Jon come charging out of the house, carrying the shrieking female role player over his shoulder. George followed Jon out the door and watched as Jon carried the woman over to the driveway and gently laid her down on the grass beside the asphalt. To the role player’s credit, she stayed in character and continued to cry and howl.

Jon ripped off his helmet and knelt beside the woman, trying to calm her. Mo stood several steps away, capturing the whole performance on camera. After a minute of listening to the role player wail and Jon try to placate her, George stepped toward the pair, telling them they could relax.

Cate and Mandy both laughed as they saw the role player’s face turn beet red when Jon grinned at her and gave her an animated nod. Damn, she’s gonna remember this day forever! Cate mused. Literally swept off her feet and carried away by Jon Bon Jovi….

The rest of Jon’s team brought the remaining role players out of the house and over to the driveway, then Bobby gave the exercise termination signal. He and George talked to the team for a few minutes, giving them their evaluation. The the students let out whoops and yells. Cate watched as they high-fived each other, Jon grinning ear-to-ear as he slapped hands with his teammates. They had passed with flying colors.

Bobby and George gathered all the students together and gave them a quick overall critique, announcing that all four teams had passed the exercise. As they spoke, Cate, Mandy, Danny and Troy wandered closer, standing off to the side to listen.

Jon looked over at Cate, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He had obviously had a blast. Cate gave him a little smile in return, then tilted her head toward Bobby, silently signaling Jon to pay attention.

At the end of the evaluation, the class broke into cheers as they were dismissed for the weekend. Mo quickly stepped in, corralling the group for a photo before they scattered. The BATs eagerly gathered around Jon, all wanting to pose for a souvenir of their Rock Star encounter.

On the count of three, the group grinned for Mo’s photo. After she took a couple shots, several of the students who had been on Jon’s team began to sing.

It’s all the same, only the names have changed

Every day, it seems we’re wastin’ away…

Jon threw back his head and laughed, then nodded enthusiastically. He raised his hands and waved them back and forth in time, as if conducting a choir, as the rest of the BATs joined in singing. They came to the chorus, and Jon joined in the singing, eliciting a few squeals of delight from the female trainees.

I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride… I’m wanted….

“WAAANTE-E-ED!!!!” the class belted out, imitating Richie’s famous wail.

“Dead or Alive….” Jon finished with the group. The students broke into applause and cheers as Jon grinned widely and nodded his approval of their performance. He looked over to the instructors, who were all chuckling and shaking their heads. Mo’s camera clicked away, recording the moment for posterity.

Jon spent a few more minutes talking to the students, shaking hands with the guys and kissing the girls’ cheeks. Cate heard him politely decline several invitations to join the group for beers after training. Finally he wished everyone a good weekend and disengaged from the group.

He turned and walked over to the instructors, running his hand through his sweaty, matted hair. He was beaming, his eyes dancing. Cate’s heart jumped at the joy on his face, as he approached her. “That was Fuckin’ AWESOME!” he exclaimed, his voice gleeful.

Cate laughed heartily. Jon looked like a kid on Christmas morning. “See, told you cop training can be fun,” she joked.

Jon nodded in reply. “Yeah, that was almost as fun as defensive tactics,” he answered, a naughty edge to his voice. He arched his eyebrows and, just to tease her a bit, licked his lips.

Jesus, Jon! Cate thought, feeling her pulse race. Not in front of everybody! “Like getting your ass kicked, do ya?” she countered, trying to cover his innuendo.

Jon smirked, understanding her tone. “I don’t mind at all,” he answered smoothly. He and Cate shared a knowing little smile, then Danny’s voice broke the pause.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for a cold one,” he said. “You buying, Slick?”

Cate nodded. “First round’s on me, Boys,” she announced. “And Gals,” she added to Mandy. “You are coming to Sonny’s, right?”

“Bet your ass I am!” Mandy grinned. No chance she was gonna miss this night out.