Cooper must have thought so too, because he let out an expletive. “That’s bullshit. How the hell does Sarge expect us to get her trained that fast? The rest of us got a month to reach limited ops status. It’s like he’s setting her up to fail.”
“He’s not setting her up to fail,” Xander said. “He handpicked Khaki for the job against the wishes of people who have their own agendas and the power to make life hell for all of us. Gage has to prove he made the right decision, and he needs to do it fast.”
Great. No pressure oranything.
“What if I can’t get trained in time?” Khaki asked.
Xander fixed her with a look. “Then Gage is going to be in a tough position.”
Meaning Dixon might have to transfer her out of SWAT to make way for another female cop—one who wasn’t a werewolf. Despite just getting here, her stomach clenched at the thought of transferring out of the unit.
Xander must have seen the worry in her eyes because he shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking, Khaki, but don’t even go there. We don’t care about any of the political crap or the what-ifs. The boss wants you ready to go in a week, so you’re going to be ready to go in a week.” He leveled his gaze at her. He had really nice eyes. “To make sure you’re ready, I have to know what you’re good at and what your weaknesses are.”
Khaki hesitated. The idea of admitting how little she really knew about SWAT procedures to her squad leader was awkward enough, but saying it out loud in front of everyone was even worse.
“We’ve all been where you are, Khaki,” Xander said when she didn’t answer. “Gage found us, brought us in, and trained us. You can’t be any worse than the rest of us were when we got here.”
Khaki wasn’t so sure of that. But she’d have to own up to it sooner or later. Besides, it wasn’t like they weren’t going to figure it out when they saw all the things she couldn’t do.
“I’ve been a patrol officer for eight years, and while I can handle myself on the street, I don’t know the first thing about SWAT, other than what the acronym stands for,” she admitted.
Trevor leaned back in his chair, propping the sole of his boot on the edge of the table in front of him, his gaze approving. “Don’t sell yourself short. Eight years on the street is pretty damn good. And now that you’re a werewolf, you might have some skills you haven’t realized.”
“Ever done any rappelling or climbing?” Max asked. “Even if it was just for recreation.”
She shrugged. “I climbed around the rocks a couple times up near Mount Rainier. Does that count?”
“What about weapons?” Alex added. “Anything beyond your standard sidearm?”
She gave him a sheepish look. “A shotgun.”
“Hand-to-hand combat, wrestling, or martial arts?” Hale asked.
“Only what I learned in the academy.”
She braced herself for the grumbles she was sure were coming. But none of the guys seemed concerned about her lack of skills.
“Hell, I think you’re further along than I was when I started, Khaki,” Becker said.
“She’s further along than you arenow,” Cooper said.
Becker flipped him the bird, chuckling while he did. Even though Khaki laughed along with the guys, she couldn’t resist glancing at Xander to see what he thought of her answers. But he didn’t look annoyed that they had to teach her most of those things. He was still sitting there with his arms casually draped over the back of his chair, regarding her with interest.
“We’ll start with the basic skills, then,” he said. “Pistol and M4 carbine qualification, then move on to rappelling, urban climbing, entry procedures, and basic hostage tactics. Those areas are our bread and butter. You get them down, and you’ll be ready for limited operations.”
Khaki’s head was already spinning. It sounded like she’d need a month just to get all that stuff down—and she had to pick it up in a week.
“What else do I have to learn to be fully qualified?” she asked.
“Hand-to-hand combat and takedown techniques, picking locks, bypassing security systems, first aid, demolitions, and hostage negotiations. Not to mention honing any specialty skills you have,” he said matter-of-factly. “But none of those things are as important as how we operate as a team. When we show Gage that we can all work together, then you’re fully qualified.”
Khaki was about to ask how Dixon would know when that happened, but Xander had already stood up and was handing out assignments.
“Trevor, you start her on our standard issue Sig 9 millimeter. She’s already qualified on a .40 caliber Glock, so it’s just a matter of getting used to a new weapon. Alex, you get to introduce her to the M4.” Xander looked at her. “After that, Becker will teach you urban climbing, then Max will show you how to rappel.”
Did he mean all today? Apparently he did because five minutes later, Khaki was standing on the firing line of the small pistol range, a loaded Sig in her hand. She took a deep breath and spread her feet wide in a shooting stance. She was skilled with a handgun, but that was a Glock. A Sig felt completely different. Besides that, there was the little issue of the seven huge guys standing there watching her, with Xander off to her right, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes locked on her like a pair of laser beams.
Time to show the guys on the SWAT team that Dixon had made the right decision in hiring her.
