“She either loves you or she hates you,” Dakota said.
Carrera couldn’t contain his smile.
“Let’s get you that SUV.” Dakota led him over to one, handed him the key fob. “Welcome aboard. You’re in an enviable position.”
Carrera shook his hand. “Thanks for today.”
“I’ve gotta change for training.” Dakota retreated back inside.
Leaving his SUV in the hangar, Carrera went in search of the team. The bright afternoon sun had him pulling on his shades.
As liaison between the Bureau and ALPHA, he wanted to know every aspect of the organization. His interest in sticking around had absolutely nothing to do with the beautiful, badass blonde who’d just flipped him off.
Nothing at all.
Hawk was on the helipad doing his preflight check while the team warmed up.
Slash was doing push-ups, Prescott on one side of her, Brit on the other. They were counting and dropping in sync. At fifty, they stopped, then started doing sit-ups.
She was a beast. After sit-ups, they moved to pull-ups. From what he could tell, she was having a blast. When they finished, Rebel instructed the team to gear up. Helmets went on, followed by gloves, then their rucksacks. Despite the summer sun, they ran in formation toward the chopper. They boarded, and the helicopter rose into the bright, afternoon sky.
Hovering overhead, someone threw out a rope. One by one, they rappelled down, their rucksacks still on their backs. Then, Rebel called them over. Carrera couldn’t hear over the roar of the helo, so he strode over to listen.
“Addison has climbed up the rope before. Addison, you want to demonstrate?”
“Sure.” She pulled off the forty-pound backpack, set it on the ground, and jogged toward the dangling rope.
She waited at the base until Rebel gave her a thumbs-up. Then, she grabbed on with gloved hands, wound the rope around her leg and ankle, and started pulling herself up. It was slow going until she found her rhythm.
Everyone shielded their eyes from the sun as Addison climbed higher and higher, then vanished inside the bird. A minute later, she slid back down and re-joined the group.
Impressive.
“Who’s next?” Rebel asked.
“I’ll go.” Slash took off toward the dangling rope.
She did exactly what Addison had done, except she didn’t remove her rucksack. After securing her foot around the rope, she started climbing. It was slow going. Even from the ground, Carrera could see her straining against the weight of the pack. She got halfway up and stopped.
“C’mon,” he murmured. “You can do it.”
Then, she slowly slid down, dropped the pack off her shoulders, and re-looped the rope around her leg.
“Slash is on her way back up,” Rebel said to Hawk through the comms.
Moving much faster without the added weight, Slash climbed up the rope, vanishing inside the chopper. After a brief moment, she slid back down, then jogged over.
“Too hard with the pack,” she said, breathing hard.
“Nice job,” Rebel said. “We’ll work up to that.”
After everyone had their turn, Carrera said goodbye to the team, his gaze cemented on Slash. “I’m super impressed. You guys are the true beasts of ALPHA.” He tossed Slash a nod. “I’ll talk to you.” Then, he made his way to the hanger to pick up his ALPHA SUV.
First stop, home. After he dropped his vehicle in the garage, he took a rideshare back to the Bureau to pick up his truck.
On his drive home, he called Luciano.
“How’d it go?” Luciano asked.
