The guard’s expression softened. “You’re the kid they pulled out of the ocean, right? The whole base is buzzing about it. Good to see you on your feet.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Look, I don’t have any other way of contacting him.”
“Hang on.” The guard ducked into the small gatehouse and picked up a phone. After a moment, he leaned out. “He’s on his way. Sit tight.”
A cluster of exhausted figures emerged from the main building, wet gear slung over their shoulders, faces pale with salt and sun. Flynn’s breath caught when he spotted him. Bear. That same calm stride, that same grounded presence, moving like gravity itself.
Without thinking, Flynn jogged forward. “Bear!”
Bear stopped, slow and deliberate, eyes narrowing slightly. He looked as large as life as he had in the hospital, power wound tight under that quiet.
Flynn grinned, couldn’t help it. “I need to talk to you.”
Bear’s brow lifted. “You shouldn’t be here, kid. I think I said something about rest.”
“I’m not a kid,” Flynn shot back, then grimaced. “Okay, technically, yeah, seventeen. But I’m working on it.” He rested his forearms against the wire. “You saved my life.”
Bear’s tone didn’t change. “You already thanked me.”
“Not properly.” Words tumbled faster now. “I didn’t understand what you were doing out there, what all of you were doing, until I looked it up. BUD/S. SEAL training. Hell Week. The Around-the-World Paddle. You guys were insane, but in a good way. Like, beyond-human good.”
Bear’s face stayed unreadable. “It’s not about being beyond human. It’s about not quitting.”
“Exactly!” Flynn slapped a palm against the fence. “That’s what I mean. The way you moved out there, like nothing could touch you. Calm in the middle of chaos. I want that. I want to earn that.”
For a second, Bear didn’t answer. The silence stretched, heavy but not unkind. Then he said, “This life isn’t for everyone. It’ll test you.”
“I’m counting on that.” Flynn’s shoulders squared. “I’m done wasting time. Sitting still isn’t in me.”
That earned the faintest flicker of amusement. “I can tell.”
Flynn leaned closer. “I want training. From you. I know I’ve got to wait to enlist, but there’s stuff I can learn now: PT, water work, mindset, discipline. I want to start right.”
Bear studied him like a man sizing up a storm. His eyes gave nothing away, but Flynn could feel him seeing, not just the words, but the drive behind them.
Finally, Bear said, “You’ve got a lot of fire, Gallagher. Fire burns fast if you don’t learn to control it.”
Flynn swallowed. “Then teach me.”
Bear shook his head once. “Go home. Finish school. Grow up a little. You want to train like a SEAL, start with discipline. Wake up early. Push your limits. No one’s coming to do it for you.”
“I’m not interested in school. I’ve already started becoming who I want to be.” He hesitated, voice rough. “I can pay you. Whatever you want.”
Bear’s expression hardened, the air between them going cold.
Damn. That was wrong. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just…please…I want this.”
Bear exhaled, a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “You’re relentless.”
Flynn grinned, helpless. “Pretty much my brand. So?”
Bear turned toward the base. “The answer’s no, kid.”
“Wait…Bear!”
He glanced back.
Flynn pointed toward the buildings beyond the fence, sunlight burning off the fog. “Whatever it takes. I’m coming for that. Count on it.”
