“Same here,” Denise said.
“Then probably about five minutes,” Jase told them.
“So how long have you two known each other?” Tim asked.
“About ten years, I guess,” Bree replied, looking to Denise for confirmation.
“Wow, it has been that long.”
Tim grabbed foil-wrapped baked potatoes from the top rack of the grill. “How did you meet?”
“We were trailer-mates in Iraq for, what? Nine months, give or take?” Denise took the platter from Tim and set it on the table.
“Give or take.” Bree sat at the table. “You got there a few months after I did, and I left a month before you did.”
“Where were you deployed?” Tim asked.
“We were at Camp Victory,” Bree explained. “I was assigned to the CASH unit there and Denise was working for a Joint Task Force.”
“What’s a cash unit?” Tim asked.
“Combat Army Surgical Hospital.”
“I thought you were Air Force.”
“I was, but we were back filling the Army positions because they couldn’t fill them. Something about the Army sucking,” Bree said, winking at Jase.
Jase smiled and shook his head at her. “Which JTF?”
“High-Value Individuals. We were tracking al-Qaida insurgency leaders.”
“That’s sounds interesting.” Tim said. “What all did that entail?”
“I can’t really talk about it,” Denise said.
“Or you’ll have to kill me?” Tim suggested.
“Nah. We don’t kill people anymore, just stick them in secret prisons.”
“Was that the only time you guys were deployed together?” Jase asked as he removed the steaks from the grill.
“No, actually. We were both part of a CST in Khanadar.”
Jase paused, tongs suspended in mid-air and turned around. “Wow. Really?”
“What’s a CST?” Tim asked. “Quit talking in alphabet soup.”
“Sorry. It’s a Cultural Support Team,” Jase explained. He removed the last steak from the grill and set the plate on the table. “All-female team that’s trained to go out with Special Ops guys. They engage with the women and kids on target. They get trained on language and culture and go through five or six weeks of intensive training.” He flipped off the knobs of the grill and closed the lid. “It’s a really hard course to get through, from what I hear.”
“We had four or five guys decide to go through the training with us because they didn’t think it could be that hard. You know, ‘cause we’re women,” Denise said. “A couple of Rangers, a SEAL, and a Green Beret, I think. All but two dropped out, and by the end of it they had both injured themselves.” She stabbed a steak on the platter and moved it to her plate. “They finished out of sheer stubbornness more than anything else. Needless to say, we didn’t get any shit about how easy the training was after that.”
The corner of Jase’s mouth lifted and he looked at Bree. “So you were a door-kicker too.” No wonder she didn’t ask him any questions. She was a bad-ass. He took her in. Really looked at her physique and not just her body. She wasn’t muscular to the point you would think she lived at the gym, but she was lean and strong. That explained her taking him down at her house. His gaze drifted back up to find an amused smile on her face.
“I didn’t do the door kicking. I just walked in after it was already off its hinges,” she said.
“You should go out on the trip with Jase next weekend,” Tim said, passing the coleslaw to Bree. “You can probably teach some of the guys a thing or two.”
“I can’t do it next weekend. I’m scheduled through the end of the month, but if you let me know ahead of time, I’d love to go,” she said. “My availability for next month is due next Friday. I just need to know dates so I can block them off.”
