Chapter 75 - Just Breathe

After parking her car in the FTB lot, Cate and Jon walked to the outdoor range that was directly across the perimeter road from the FTB offices.

Jon saw a large group of BATs, all dressed in PT uniforms and wearing their web belts of gear, gathered near the firing line. Off to the side, Danny and Steve were busy uncoiling garden hoses and hooking them up to four hydrants. George dragged two large bins of clean towels over to the water stations. Brandon, Troy, and Bobby moved among the students, talking to them in small groups.

“So, this is where we do OC Spray training,” Cate said, sweeping a hand toward the scene in front of them. She and Jon strolled over to the edge of the range, stopping near the water stations. Steve and George called out a “howdy” to Jon, and he waved in reply. Cate gave Danny a sad little smile in response to the concerned look he sent her way.

Jon watched her response from the corner of his eye, then flicked his own glance at Danny, subtly acknowledging that she had told him of her decision. He watched as Danny shook his head slightly, then turned back to his task.

“So, how does this work?” Jon asked Cate. “Do the students spray each other, or what?” He couldn’t quite picture how somebody could “practice” being pepper sprayed. It seemed to Jon that it was something that would only happen once, then the practice would be over.

Cate smiled, grateful that Jon was staying focused on training. “Well, sort of. The training is actually in two parts. The first thing the students will do is practice using the spray in a confrontational situation. They have training canisters filled with aerosolized water on their belts. They will practice discharging them, using the proper commands and technique.” She paused at Jon’s puzzled look.

“You mean there’s a right way and a wrong way to mace somebody?” Jon asked. “I thought you just spray and run.”

Cate chuckled. “Well, you would think so, but there are actually some really important considerations for law enforcement officers. First off, a cop isn’t gonna just randomly spray somebody. He or she is gonna use OC in a confrontation, as an intermediate weapon. So, the officer wants to be sure to get the maximum effect of the spray on the bad guy while minimizing his or her own exposure.”

She watched Jon’s brow furrow as he concentrated on her words. “It’s actually part of defensive tactics,” she continued. “Remember how I taught you weapon retention? A lot of times an officer will use OC against a suspect who’s trying to fight, or to take his gun away. The officer has to be able to retain control of his firearm, protect himself, and subdue the suspect. Then he has to be able to apprehend the suspect. And he has to do all that with a cloud of pepper spray floating around, affecting him, too. It ain’t easy.”

“Wow,” Jon replied. He hadn’t considered that the spray would affect the cop, too. But it made sense. “Doesn’t sound like much fun, either.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot about being a cop that isn’t fun,” Cate replied. “It may be a cool job, but it’s not for the faint of heart.” She smiled slightly. “Anyway, officers have to be certified that they can properly discharge OC spray as an intermediate-level use of force tool. That way, if they have to spray somebody in the field and they get sued, or questioned by a defense attorney under oath, they can hopefully prove that they acted properly according to their training.”

Jon nodded. “So it’s kinda a CYA thing,” he observed.

“Not just that, it helps ensure the safety of both the officer and the civilian. The goal is always to use the minimum amount of force necessary to achieve the desired outcome. Just like in defensive tactics. That’s how people avoid getting hurt.” Cate smiled. “Believe me, no good cop ever wants to fight, spray, or shoot in the line of duty. The goal is to protect and serve, not maim and kill.”

Jon chuckled at her choice of words, but he understood what she meant. “So the students are just gonna spray each other with water?” he asked. “Then what are the hoses for?”

“Oh, the BATs are gonna get sprayed with the real stuff, all right.” Cate replied. “But they aren’t gonna spray each other. One instructor will spray the student, then the BAT will have to ‘run the gauntlet’ while under the effects of the spray. The other instructors will try to fight, try to disarm. The BAT has to make it from point A to point B without losing his or her gun and without getting knocked down.”

“Shit,” Jon breathed, surprised. “And I thought getting beat up in DTs sucked.”

“Yeah. This is probably the worst day of training for these students,” Cate answered. “They’re gonna feel this for hours. Even after we hose down their faces, they’re still gonna be burning for awhile.”

“So you spray them just so they know what it feels like?” Jon still couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. This sounded like some cruel cop hazing ritual.

“Partly,” Cate answered. “It makes the students realize what may happen if they have to discharge their spray. It also gives them the confidence to do it when necessary; it takes away the ‘unknown factor.’ And it gives them a legal defense down the road, when they have to testify in court as to why they used OC spray on a suspect. They can honestly say they know first-hand the physiological effects of the offensive use of pepper spray.”

“Shit,” Jon repeated. He was silent for a long moment as he looked over at the group of BATs, who were laughing and talking while they waited for the training to begin. He was glad he only got to watch this training. Participation sounded like no fun whatsoever.

Cate watched Jon’s face as he considered what she had just told him. A light breeze stirred his hair, and his lips puckered slightly in concentration. She felt a dull ache in her heart as her eyes played over his perfect features, pausing on those beautiful lips. She remembered how soft they had felt against her skin just hours ago. She sighed inaudibly at the thought of never kissing him again.

Jon turned back to Cate. “One more question,” he said, his lips forming a little smile. “What the heck does ‘OC’ stand for?”

“Oleoresin Capsicum,” Cate answered. “The ‘capsicum’ is literally the pepper in the pepper spray. It comes from ground hot peppers, which are mixed with an organic solvent, then aerosolized.”

“So if I just say ‘pepper spray,’ I don’t sound as cool?” Jon asked, teasing her gently, hoping to evoke a smile. He succeeded.

“No, you don’t sound as cool,” Cate chuckled. She looked back toward the range and saw Danny striding toward the group of BATs. “Go time,” she said, nodding at Danny.

Danny let out a shrill whistle, silencing the chattering students, who all turned their attention to him. Jon and Cate listened as Danny gathered the BATs and gave them a brief overview of how the training would proceed. Then he directed the class to line up on the range, in two facing rows. The BATs hustled into place as the instructors moved among them.

After the students were lined up, Danny and Steve stepped between the lines and demonstrated the proper technique for use of OC Spray. After two demos, they stepped back and called out direction, leading the students step-by-step through the procedure as a group. Jon observed with interest, noting the same training methodology as Cate had used with him: explain, demonstrate, practice.

Jon smiled as he watched the students’ reactions, several of them giggling self-consciously as they spritzed their classmates in the face with water. He felt every minute of his age as he looked at the youthful faces of the trainees. He glanced at Cate and saw her watching him. Their eyes met and she gave him a small smile, then looked away.

In that brief moment Jon was sure he saw her true emotions; longing, affection, and sadness. What the hell are we doing? He thought to himself. We’re not kids anymore, like these BATs. Life’s too fucking short... He shook his head, renewing his resolve to make Cate consider a future with him.

After about fifteen minutes of practice, during which the instructors moved among the class and evaluated each student individually, Danny ordered the BATs back behind the firing line. They quickly scampered over to the designated area, then stood shifting nervously as Danny explained what would happen next. George, Steve, and Brandon lined up behind him while Bobby and Troy moved over to the water stations, each picking up a hose.

“Here we go,” Cate said quietly. Jon watched as she cast her eyes skyward, then glanced at his forehead. She saw his hair ruffle in the light breeze and her eyes narrowed slightly.

“What?” Jon asked, confused by her expression.

“Just checking to be sure we aren’t downwind,” she replied. “There’s gonna be a lot of OC floating around in the air.”

“Oh.” Jon didn’t know what else to say. They were a good twenty yards away from Danny. Surely that would be far enough. Cate didn’t tell him to move, so Jon shrugged and turned his attention back to the students.

At Danny’s direction, the students lined up single file, tittering nervously. The student at the front of the line, a tall, athletic young man with close-cropped hair, looked relaxed and confident. Jon guessed he had previously been a state or local police officer. He mentioned his observation to Cate, who confirmed his suspicions.

Danny put a coaches’ whistle to his lips and nodded toward the student. He blew a short tweet on the whistle, then the BAT stepped forward, slipping into character for the scenario Danny had verbally outlined. He approached Danny and ordered him to stop and put his hands up. Danny approached the trainee, simulating a threat, and the BAT swiftly drew his training spray canister from his belt. He issued another stern warning for Danny to step back.

In role, Danny continued to advance on the student. The trainee shouted “SPRAY!” then discharged his canister, spritzing Danny in the face with a light mist of water then flinging the canister away, freeing his hands.

In response, Danny raised the real OC Spray canister in his hand and aimed a short blast of pepper spray at the BAT’s face. The trainee squinted his eyes closed just in time, then pitched forward with one hand on his holstered rubber training gun, charging toward the instructors. He put his other arm out in front of him, barring an approach from an assailant, as Steve, George, and Brandon all grabbed at the student’s arms and belt and shoved at his shoulders and hips.

The BAT charged forward, battling past the instructors, his eyes cracked open and tears and snot streaming from his eyes and nose. His face was bright red, the capsicum residue burning his skin.

Once he made it past the third instructor, Danny blew the whistle to indicate the end of the scenario. Brandon quickly grabbed the student’s arm and led him over to the water station, where Bobby took over. He told the trainee to bend forward at the waist, then flushed the BAT’s face with cold water from the hose. The BAT panted and winced, but submitted to the care. After a couple minutes he was able to hold the hose to his face on his own.

Jon watched the entire scene with wide eyes. Holy SHIT! he thought, again glad he didn’t have to participate in this training. He heard Cate chuckle at his reaction.

“Yeah, it sucks,” she said softly, giving him an amused little smile. “Makes your line of work look pretty good, eh?”

“It damned sure does,” Jon breathed. He looked back toward the range at the sound of another sharp tweet from Danny’s whistle. This time a female BAT stepped forward, challenged Danny, and eventually received a blast of OC Spray in her face. She stumbled past the instructors, barely keeping her feet, until she was led by Brandon over to the water station. She whimpered slightly as her face flamed bright red from the spray. Jon shuddered slightly and shook his head. Thank GOD I don’t have to do this…

One by one the students stepped up to take their turn at the torturous training. Some did better than others, and several didn’t make it past the instructors without falling or having their weapon taken away. Those unlucky students had to go back to the beginning of the gauntlet and try until they succeeded, though they were sprayed only once.

As more airborne OC floated around the range, Jon felt his eyes become slightly watery and his nose begin to run. He coughed and sniffed, then looked at Cate. She seemed unaffected. He looked back to Danny as Danny sprayed the next student in line. He, too, seemed only slightly affected by the spray, though he was right in the middle of the thickening cloud.

“How the hell can the instructors stand being right there?” Jon asked hoarsely, feeling a little tingle down his throat a he breathed in a tiny bit of the OC.

Cate looked at Jon, unable to hold back a smug little grin. “We’re used to it. Nobody’s ‘immune,’ but after awhile your body becomes conditioned to protect itself. We know when to hold our breath, how to breathe, when to close our eyes. It becomes instinctive.”

She watched as Jon cleared his throat and swiped the back of his hand across his watery eyes. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Do we need to move?” she asked quietly.

Jon shook his head. “Naw. I’m fine. Just a little runny nose.” He pulled the hem of his t-shirt up to wipe across his face, uncovering his tanned abs. Cate felt her stomach flutter at the sight, her body responding to the memory of feeling of those hard muscles pressed against her. She quickly looked away, back to the range.

The training continued on for another half hour, as each of the 48 students took his or her turn facing Danny and the other instructors. Jon took it all in, silent except for an occasional question for Cate.

As shocked as Jon had been by the actions of the training, he was even more startled by the aftermath of the exercise. After flushing their faces with cold water for as long as necessary and pressing clean towels against their skin, the students sat on the grass near the water station. Their faces were raw and pink, their eyes watery and bloodshot. Their expressions conveyed a combination of pain, relief, and triumph. They had survived.

There were only three students left to run the gauntlet as the training day wound to a close. Thankfully, the day wasn’t too warm and the slight breeze that stirred the air picked up, bringing a welcome cool draft to the range. Jon breathed deeply and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched a large, muscular trainee approach Danny to begin his scenario.

The BAT challenged Danny, Danny responded in role, then the student discharged his training spray as he should. However, when Danny pointed the real OC at the student, the BAT dropped to the ground and rolled to escape the spray. The OC blast shot into the air, over the student. Danny scowled and reacted quickly, dropping the canister downward and shooting the BAT directly in the face as he rolled. Danny barked at the student to get up and run, goading him to perform after his smart-ass little trick.

Jon laughed at the BAT’s antic and Danny’s reaction. But then he stopped short, his laugh strangled by the burning sensation that assaulted his senses. He felt his throat closing and his eyes blurred as they welled with tears. Jon’s eyes widened as he gasped for breath, then felt the fire race down into his lungs as he breathed in the airborne OC. He sputtered and coughed, his hands going to his throat. HOLY FUCK! he thought, beginning to panic. I CAN’T BREATHE!

“Jon?” He heard Cate’s voice near his ear and felt her hand close over his bicep. “JON!” she commanded, trying to focus his attention on her. But Jon’s only thought was to escape the horrible fire that had consumed his respiratory system. He raised his hands to his face, rubbing desperately at his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“JON! Don’t rub your eyes!” Cate barked as she saw his hands go to his face. SHIT! she swore to herself. Now he’s really gonna suffer.

“Try not to close your eyes. Over here.” Cate commanded. She pulled on Jon’s arm, leading him swiftly over to the water station. “Bend over,” she ordered him. “Put your hands on your knees.”

“FUCK!” Jon gasped out as he followed her direction. “This fuckin’…. It fuckin’ BURNS!” he rasped.

“Don’t talk. Let me flush your face,” Cate replied sternly. She grabbed the end one of the hoses and pulled it upward, flooding Jon’s face with a stream of cold water. She placed her free hand on the back of Jon’s neck, preventing him from raising his head. “Keep your eyes open as best you can, and don’t let any of the water get in your mouth. Just try to keep your face down and let it run off. Stay there, and stay calm. It’ll get better in a minute.”

Jon let out a grunt in reply, and did as Cate told him. Cate let the water wash over Jon’s eyes, nose, and mouth for a minute, then raised the hose to the top of his head, to wet his hair. Once his blonde locks were soaked, she moved the hose back to Jon’s face. She shifted her hand from Jon’s neck to his forehead, pulling his wet hair back away from his face.

“That any better?” she asked. Jon grunted again and nodded slightly in reply. “Okay, here. Take the hose and move it to where you need it. Be sure you flush your eyes out really well. Since you rubbed them you got the OC on the membranes around your eye sockets. You’re gonna feel it for awhile.”

Jon raised his right hand from his knee to Cate’s hand. He took the hose from her, then stood groaning as he moved the cold water over his face. He coughed occasionally, sputtering against the water and wincing at the rawness of his throat.

After a couple minutes, he heard Cate’s voice at his ear, more gentle than before. “Better?” she asked.

Jon nodded, dropping the hose slightly and turning his head to look at her. “Jesus Fucking Christ!” he said hoarsely, water dripping from his nose and chin.

Cate chuckled at Jon’s reaction, and felt a pang of sympathy for him as she took in the bewilderment in his red, watery eyes. “Told ya it sucks,” she smiled gently. “But you’ll live.”

Jon groaned and ran a hand through his wet hair, slicking it back from his forehead. Holding the hose down at his side, he slowly straightened up, blinking rapidly and clearing his throat. He shook his head slightly, sending droplets of water flying from his face.

Cate stepped over to the bin and retrieved a clean towel. “Here,” she said, moving back to Jon and standing in front of him. She gently pressed the towel against his wet cheek. “Pat, don’t rub. If you rub you’ll make it worse.”

She held the towel to Jon’s face until he raised his hand to take it. Then she took the hose from him and dropped the end back on the ground. That done, she turned back to Jon and watched as he dabbed gingerly at his face. He sniffled and coughed slightly, but breathed more evenly.

Finally Jon lowered the towel and looked at Cate. “That was one of the most horrible things I’ve ever felt,” he said, his voice gravelly. He cleared his throat and winced. “I still feel it in my throat.”

Cate nodded. “I know. You sucked in a lungful of airborne OC when you laughed. Unfortunately, that double-shot Danny had to give that BAT headed directly for us.” She smiled sympathetically. “And then you rubbed your eyes, and made it worse.”

Jon nodded, dabbing his eyes with the towel, then pulling his hand through his hair again.

Damn…. Cate thought, taking in Jon’s wet form. His t-shirt was soaked, clinging to his broad chest, and his damp bangs curled sexily down over his forehead. His blue eyes sparkled with moisture, beautiful even though they were rimmed with swollen red lids.

“How come you didn’t get it?” Jon asked, a hint of indignation in his voice.

Cate smiled. “I told you, I’m used to it. As soon as I felt the first effects of the spray, I automatically held my breath and closed my eyes. It’s just conditioned reaction. I still felt it, I just didn’t suck it in like you did.”

Jon sniffed again, then cleared his throat. He spit the phlegm he dislodged onto the ground beside his feet. “Sorry,” he apologized. “That was gross.”

Cate laughed. “Yeah, it was. But we’ve all done it.” She grinned. “You wanted to be ‘one of the guys’….well, now you are. Baptism by fire,” she teased gently.

Jon smiled at that. “Hell of an initiation,” he commented.

Cate chuckled again. She looked back over her shoulder at the range, and saw that Danny, Steve, and Brandon were standing there, talking. The last student had completed training, and was being hosed down at the water station. She turned back to Jon. “C’mon,” she said. “Let’s go get you out of those clothes.”

Jon’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “What?” he asked, confused. NOW she wants to get me naked?

“The OC is on your clothes. You need to shower and change, so you don’t get it in your car, in the villa, or back on your skin. That’s why I hosed down your hair.” Cate explained. Her eyes met his. “It’s not an invitation,” she muttered under her breath, reading his expression.

Jon grinned at her response. “Too bad,” he replied softly. “I could use some help cleaning up.”

“I think you’ll do just fine on your own. You have clean clothes in your locker?” Cate asked coolly. God, stop tempting me…

“Yeah, I have PT clothes,” Jon answered. “I’ll have to go home and change before the range tonight, though.”

“That’s fine. You just don’t wanna wear these clothes home. You need to launder them as soon as possible.” Cate responded. She jerked her head toward the FTB Building, across the road. “C’mon, you need to get in there before these guys do.” She indicated the male instructors, who had started cleaning up the water stations.

“Okay,” Jon nodded. He tossed the towel onto the pile of used linens on the ground, then followed Cate away from the range.