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PeeterMcG:
FOUR
Crowder had gone for a run.  He hated running, but the physical exertion often gave him relief when he was troubled, but it wasn’t working for him right now.  He could run a 7 minute mile all day long, but the last 3 miles had passed in 18 minutes.  He was thresholding right now.  Right at that maximal performance level.  Any harder and it would put him in an aerobic deficit, but he still couldn’t get his mind clear.

He realized he wasn’t alone.  He had heard the faint crunch of rocks behind him a minute ago.  A few moments passed and he realized there were two of them closing on him.  He did some quick thinking.  He was still two miles from Charing Cross.  He thought:  No sword.  No armor.  Not good.  He gave no indication that he knew they were there.  After another minute, he realized that they were human.  He relaxed, but only a little.

As they got closer, he realized that despite the pace they were running, they were carrying on a conversation.  The Americans.  He’d have to tell Miles that he found some guys who could run with him.

As they pulled even with him, he looked over and nodded to them.  The older one, Brody asked, “You mind if we run with you?”
“No.”  As if I could stop them, Crowder thought.

Brody liked this guy.  He had seen the guy tense slightly when he realized he wasn’t alone.  No reflective surfaces, so he had no way to see what was behind him, but he had deduced that it was people – Brody had seen the shoulders relax just a touch when they got within a hundred yards of him.  Couldn't have heard our voices Brody thought, either way, the guy gave no other indication.  Cool customer.

Crowder listened to their conversation.  Shop talk.  The younger one was asking about how the “new” rounds compared to the old ones as far as drop tables and windage adjustments.  Brody’s response involved ballistic coefficients, muzzle velocity, standard deviations, time to stabilize and other archaic terms.  They were stopping.  For a moment, he was tempted to keep going and then he realized that it was pure ego that was prompting him to go on.  He too stopped.

“Sorry ‘bout the conversation.  Probably not of interest to you,” Brody said.
“Don’t mind me.  Mind is elsewhere right now.”
The younger one nodded slowly, looking at the subway tube’s scarred and chipped walls.  “Yeah.”
Brody asked, “We were still a distance off when you realized that it was people behind you.  How’d you know we weren't demons?”
Crowder paused.  He hadn’t changed his pace.  He hadn’t looked back.  What gave him away?  “The sound of your steps.  I heard the crunch of the rocks.  Unless the demons hire some cobblers, their talons scratch a bit on the rocks.”
“Ahh.  That is good to know.”
“No problem.”  

Brody’s question had been a subtle I saw your reaction, but the question also indicated that ego would not get in the way of learning something that could keep him alive.  
In a like fashion, Crowder asked, “What gave me away?”
“You had tensed.  I saw your shoulders drop a bit, even before our voices could have reached you.”  If a human had observed this, then a demon could observe it as well.  Had there been demons shadowing him instead of people and they had made the same observation, his whole “playing ignorant” act would not have given him any advantage.

The younger one asked, “We heading back?”
Crowder considered a moment.  The guys had been running and carrying on a conversation yet didn’t seem to be breathing hard at all.  Christ, they were running in combat boots.  Yeah, they could definitely run with Miles.  
He nodded and said, “Yeah.”
Brody gave a nod as well.  “Yeah.”

After they got back to the station, the two men gave Crowder a nod and then headed in the direction of the gym.  At least he figured they were going to the gym, because at one point on the return, Brody had said, “Back, arms and abs when we get back.”  To which Reno had said, “Ok.”
 
The run had given Crowder a temporary outlet for his stress, but it had not cleared his mind.  He realized he would have to talk to someone.

PeeterMcG:
FIVE
When Crowder was done talking, Sandra was quiet for several minutes before she spoke.  It was something he appreciated about her.  She was quick and decisive when circumstances called for it, but otherwise, she gave things due consideration.

“When Justin was promoted and I was given command of this team, he and I had a brief conversation.  He said, ‘Guide and lead, but don’t bother commanding.’  At first, I was offended, but I held my tongue.  I figured, ‘Fine, I will just watch the videos of the team’s engagements and get a feel for his battle orders, commands and such.’  Within a couple hours, I realized that his advice was not rooted in sexism.  He wasn’t telling the woman to cool it or tone it down.  It was based on the unique composition of this team.”

Crowder cocked his head, but said nothing.

“You realize, of course, that you or Gideon need only put your name in for it and you would be given a team of your own.  After all this time, I wonder why you haven’t.  To this day, I still feel that either of you are more qualified than I am to be leading this team.”

Crowder was shaking his head.   “No.  I know what my abilities are.  Tracking opponents and friendlies in combat is one thing, but trying to lead a group, coordinate with other teams, plan alternate routes, communicate with and guide non-Templars in the heat of battle, all of that….I’d be out of my depth.  Leave me a pair of swords and tell me what baddy to intercept or what flank I should cover.”

“Ok, what about Gideon?” Sandra asked.
Crowder now paused.  “I’m not sure.  I mean, I have no doubt he would be good at it, but as to why he doesn’t, I don't know.”

“Those videos I told you I watched – I realized something while watching them.  You and Gideon.  Both of you are ‘free lancers’ of a sort.  At this point, when we set up a ‘watch-face’ formation you don’t even have a particular spot.  Instead, the rest of the team leaves a slightly larger gap than most teams do.  You can float in and out of the circle.  It drove me nuts at first, but I soon realized that you are not a glory hound.  You are simply doing your thing.  What you are so tremendous at doing.  You have an exceptional set of skills and as such, you should NOT be deployed as just another Templar.  You never run off on your own, you have never forced us as a team to bail you out of trouble.  You always seem to be right where the most pressing attack is coming from and at the moment when that attack is beaten back, you are back in the ring.  Gideon does the same thing, except his fighting style is not as kinetic as yours.  He might be at our 6, but I’ll be damned if I haven’t found him right beside me when I was about to be overrun and before I know it, he is back at his spot fending off a group that was trying to over-run us while he was keeping my ass out of the fire.”

“Anyone in our team who says that he or she has not been kept alive by Gideon is a liar.”  Crowder said.
“Precisely my point.” Sandra said.  “Like you, he routinely violates some of our basic tenants of battle formations.  His solo act out there on the Thames is merely the latest example.  He knows when someone is about to collapse, fall apart or be over run.  When he called that horde of demons on himself, he should have been finished.  Instead he calmly reassured the kid while dealing with 14 of the horned beasts.”
“You went back and counted, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did.” She said.
“Hmm.  Me too.”
“So, we have established that both of you do things that few others in the Order can do.  In the process, you violate standard battle orders and flout convention.  As the leader of those two individuals, I am left to wonder if I am leading anyone or merely along for the ride.”
She held up a hand as Crowder was about to talk.
“No, don’t respond to that.  It was not an indictment.  Neither of you have ever been insubordinate in any way at all.  On the contrary, both of you are always deferential and that goes a LONG way with the rest of the team.  If either of you challenged me, the team would fracture in a flash.  I have no illusions about what sort of divided loyalties would result.  But, we are off the subject now.  You came to me to tell me that something must be done to safe guard Gideon from himself.  I was merely trying to point out that from the start, I have long accepted that both of you operate outside the normal parameters.  I dare say that people hold the same opinion of you and your behavior in combat.  ‘He is going to get himself killed.  He doesn’t follow the standard procedures and it will kill him or his team.  He tries to do too much.’ Blah blah blah.  The truth is, I fear for both of you, but I have the utmost confidence in your abilities AND your judgment.”

Crowder was looking down and slowly shaking his head.  “How do I explain this?  I understand your predicament.  With both of us, you are already off the page, so to speak.  You allow us free rein because you believe in our abilities and in our estimates of what we can and will undertake.”

Sandra knew he was pausing while he thought of how he wished to express his thoughts.

He looked up.  “Ok, let me try it this way.  By taking responsibility for the well-being of everyone else out there, he endangers himself.  When I take steps away from the unit, it is because I see an opening -- an opportunity.  When it is gone, I fall back into the formation.  When he steps out of line, it is not because of opportunity, but rather, because he feels circumstances dictate it.  Be it to defend a team mate or one of those survivors we are frequently tasked with recovering.  When I take a step out of line, it is not to place myself in danger, but because the demons have put themselves in danger and I mean to take advantage.  When he steps out of line, he is putting HIMSELF in danger.  Every time.”

“Crowder, what prompted you to talk to me about this now?”
“It has been building a long time.  Mostly, it has to do with those ex-military guys.  The word is out that they are going to be assigned to teams.  I fear that those unarmored boys are going to make tasty targets for the demons and ‘Mother Hen’ himself is gonna take it upon himself to keep everyone alive, even if he dies in the process.”

Sandra leaned back and exhaled.  “I’ve heard the same thing and your concern about him is valid.  Ok.  First things first.  I will not change my handling of either of you two.  I agree that the inclusion of such personnel could create additional stress and dangers to a team, but that man is far too experienced for me to pre-emptively second-guess him.”

“Fair enough.  Mostly, I just wanted to put a bug in your ear.  To make sure you had in your mind what dangers it might pose to particular members of our team.”  Crowder said.

“Second, I have been thinking about volunteering our team to take on a pair of those military types.  I don’t know how helpful they would be, if any, but if this might be part of our future team constitution, I would rather be on the front end and help determine how it would be used.  I would like to see for myself what benefits and risks it would entail.  The opinion of a team with two of the most respected Templars in the Order might be taken into consideration.”

“I could see that,” he said.
“So, with that in mind, you have any opinions or preferences on who is assigned to our team?” she asked.

“I’ve only met about a dozen of them.  I haven’t spent any time with them though.  Based strictly on first impressions, though, I’d have to say the American pair.  Word is, they can shoot and I get the impression that the older one has some serious field experience.”

“Ok.  Irrespective of whom it winds up being, any other thoughts about it?” she asked.

“Get Gideon’s input.  He’d probably have some insights.”

PeeterMcG:
SIX
Sandra had solicited Gideon’s input.  While he had a few names to avoid, he didn’t have any suggestions on whom to select.  When asked for his other thoughts, he thought it would be a good idea to check on the physical and mental make-up of the prospects.  He also suggested going to the range to see what they were capable of performing under static, moving and artificially stressed conditions.  He also suggested reviewing several videos collectively as a team with the shooters – let them see how the team worked and listen to their thoughts on coordination, movements and so forth.  Sandra had already considered the first two, but the video review was a stroke of genius.  Gideon was right.  Let them tell us what they think they can do, and we can always decide yes or no on its practicality.

Sandra had gathered the other members of the team and told them what she had told Crowder: she was seriously considering volunteering to take on a pair of the military guys to be part of the experiment.  The team agreed that being on the front end of this would, ultimately, be for the good.  Like she did with Crowder, she asked them for input on choices.  “No formal responses here, just a free for all.  Air your thoughts and impressions.”  Tentatively at first, people started talking.
“That guy Mason is a heckuva shot.”
“Mason’s a jackass.  He doesn’t get along with anyone.”
“Geordi shoots as well as Mason.”
“Yeah, but Geordi is a smoker.  You heard his hack?  He’d alert every mob within 3 klicks.”
“Yeah, that’s a good point.”
As though he hadn’t been asked the question before, Crowder said, “The Americans seem like a possibility.”
This elicited a few comments about their conditioning and comments that had been heard about their shooting.
Sandra noticed Josh staring at the ground and shaking his head slightly.  “What is it Josh?”
Like a school boy caught doodling in class, Josh snapped his head up, “I’m sorry.  What was that?”
“I asked if you had any thoughts on the Americans.”
Josh realized that all eyes were on him.  “No.”
“Josh, you’re lying.  I asked for thought and impressions.  You have one.  We are sharing facts, thoughts opinions and impressions.  Each person here will heed or disregard as he or she sees fit, but to withhold your impressions from the rest does no one any good right now.”
“Sorry.”  He squirmed a little as he sat up straight.  “Ok, I feel like an idiot for saying it, but Reno makes me nervous.  I haven’t met the other guy.”
Crowder and Gideon made eye contact.  Gideon nodded ever so slightly.
A few more names were discussed, before Sandra wrapped it up.  “Ok, let’s do it this way.  Everyone take a piece of paper and write down your selection.  You may also write down simply that you have no preference.  There are nine of us.  If a name is listed 5 times or more, he will be selected, otherwise, the decision is mine.  Either way it works out, I am not going to tell you the results of the vote.  Any issues with that?”
No one voiced an objection.

Sandra had gone to the council to volunteer her team.  She made her pitch and then made her request that it be the Americans attached to her team.  She was told that she would be advised after the council had made its decisions.
______________________________
It had been a busy ten days.  The team had been out six times and Sandra had been told that the Americans were assigned to her team.  She knew her team needed a break, but the changed circumstances precluded any real down time.  The day before yesterday, she had given the team the day off.  Yesterday, the whole team gathered and met with the Americans.  For several hours, there was talk about previous experience, training, the nature of the demons and more.

There was much that the Americans still felt obligated to remain quiet about.  Even with the threat the world currently faced, they still felt uncomfortable talking about classified work they had done.  While they wouldn’t go into specifics, a general picture came into focus.  Sandra could read between the lines, somewhat.  They had routinely worked without back-up, just the two of them infiltrating, performing their assigned tasks and then exfiltrating.  Their questions revealed a lot as well.  Do the different demon types work well together?  Are there factions within the demon ranks’?  Has there been any coordinated efforts observed or are the demons simply rushing as hordes?  Are some more intelligent than others?  Are some cautious?  If so, is it out of self preservation or a thinking approach?  How is their vision at night, during the day?  What about the fliers: day or night?  Is it true that some explode when they die?  How do the demon types speeds compare?  And more.

The Americans had many of these questions already written down in their notebooks.  Yeah, they had brought notebooks to the meeting.  Throughout, they flipped back and forth, sometimes leaning over and comparing notes.  When they heard something from the team that was at odds with what they had been told previously, they stated as much.  Not a challenge, but seeking clarification.  They asked about videos.  Sandra told them that tomorrow would be dedicated to videos.  They nodded at that.


The next day, the team began watching videos of previous outings.  Sandra had indicated that she wished for each video to play through entirely. The replay could be paused and questions asked or opinions rendered.  She wanted to know what they felt they could contribute, where they would have to be to contribute most effectively, what sort of cover they would need and the like.

Before the first video was queued up, the Americans produced yet another notebook and asked for a bit of help.  Opened, the notebook contained detailed pencil and charcoal drawings of various demons.  Brody said, “For common reference, it would be helpful if we knew what to call these various bastards.  Could you put names to these uglies?”  
Jason let out a whistle.
Claudia drew a sharp breath.  “Wow.  Those are fantastic.  Great detail.”
Josh was trying to figure out which of the Templars had provided the drawings when Sandra asked that very question.  “Where’d you get these?”
Brody hooked a thumb at Reno.  “He drew ‘em.”
Sandra looked at several pages and said, “But, the after action reports for the ops you guys have been on never mentioned contact with even half of these.”
Body said, “Well, yeah.  We didn’t encounter all of them on those excursions.”  He shrugged as he went on, “We weren’t gonna ask a team to nursemaid us everytime we wanted to test the effectiveness of a new bullet.  We’d just pack up and go hunting.  After each run, we’d compare notes about point of impact and effect.  That’s what the circles and circles with x’s and the sequences of numbers for each refer to.  Hits, hits that dropped the demon and the ammunition type that was used.”

Sandra, smiling, slowly shook her head.  "A regular pair of hunters, just going out to shoot some stuff, huh?"
Gideon was leaning back in his chair and started laughing quietly.  He rocked forward, stood, walked over to the two puzzled Americans and held out his hand.  “Welcome aboard, gentlemen.”
The rest of the team was smiling, quietly laughing or nodding.  Any lingering concerns about how serious these guys were taking this had been dispelled.  The experiment might not work, but it sure as heck wouldn’t be because these guys were not putting in their fair effort.

It was late afternoon when Eric asked about getting something to eat.  Everyone had lost track of time, lunch completely forgotten.  The shooters wanted information.  Brody writing furiously and Reno scribbled and doodled: from new demons they hadn’t seen to various static and dynamic formations that the team employed.  They asked questions about coordinated movement.  They noted the similarities and differences with the other three teams with whom they had gone out.

With Eric’s question, Sandra realized they had run longer than she wanted to for one day.  She indicated that they would meet again in the morning and do the same thing.  Before the group broke, Brody stood and addressed the team.
“Ma’am, this is your team.  We accept you are the one giving orders.  The videos speak for themselves – your team works.  We will do what we can to minimize the disruption that our presence will cause.  If the trouble we bring outweighs any benefits we offer, we won’t be offended if you say as much.”  

Sandra caught Josh’s arm as he was going past.  When everyone was gone, she asked, “Reno still make you nervous?”
Josh said, “Yeah, but I guess it is just his intensity.”
“Crowder has that effect on people too, sometimes,” she said.
Josh brightened at that.  With a laugh he said, “Yeah, I guess he does.”
“See ya tomorrow, Josh.”

Aircroth:
Ugh it ended, I need to find out what happens next!

PeeterMcG:
SEVEN
The team had its choice of assignments for its first foray with the shooters.  Sandra wanted to minimize the dangers and risks, so she chose to help bolster the defense of the Green Park Station.  The shooters might offer a lot against airborne threats in an open environment, but for a first outing, she wished to minimize the directions from which attacks might come.

Work at the range had been eye-popping.  The rumors were true.  To say that these guys could shoot was an understatement.  If they could see it, they could put a hole in it.  Whether the target was stationary or moving and whether they were stationary of moving didn’t seem to affect them much at anything inside 150 yards.  Beyond 200 yards required a little more attention from them.  At 400 yards, they really needed to be stationary.  600 yards seemed to be about the max range at which they felt comfortable shooting from a standing position, what they referred to as “off-hand.”  800 yards out to more than 2,000 yards were shot with a scoped rifle.  Geez that thing was large, loud and ugly, but there was no denying what they could do.  While Brody did some shooting with it, it was clear that the team performed best with Reno on the rifle while Brody called for adjustments.

Since they were going to be indoors, Sandra had indicated to the shooters that the big gun would probably be more of a hindrance than anything.  They indicated that she was probably right, but they also held the opinion, “We’d rather have it with us and not need it than to later wish we had brought it along.”  With Reno toting the big ugly, Brody would be carrying the extra ammo for it and for both of their primary rifles.  Sandra didn’t press the issue.  This was field trial time – if the extra load-out weight slowed them, it could be reevaluated later.  

Arriving at Green Park Station, Sandra quickly made contact with Lewis, the Templar responsible for coordinating efforts in the area.  The two conferred for several minutes and looked over a map. Sandra returned to the group and advised the team that they would be heading out Savile Row to help bolster the offensive that was trying to retake Oxford Circus Station.

While the tube seemed to have been cleared – scores of demon bodies bore testament to that -- the team made note of several points where its walls had been breached.  Brody and Reno wrinkled their noses in distaste.  While the forces of hell were always depicted in fiction to be accompanied by brimstone and the smell of sulfur, the foul stench that permeated the area defied description.  At that moment, Reno would have given up his extra peripheral vision for one of those helmets the Templar wore.  From past experience, however, he knew that olfactory desensitization would settle in and make it more tolerable.  The Americans walked with the rifles slung and sub-machineguns in hand.  

Reno would have to adjust to this deployment.  He and Brody were walking in the middle of the group.  In a rough diamond shaped group, Stephen had the point and was followed by Crowder, Sandra and Eric.  Reno followed Sandra with Jason on his left and Claudia to his right.  He knew that Brody was behind him flanked by Josh and Brandon.  The big man Gideon had been assigned the team’s six.  Watching the videos, Reno appreciated what he had seen of the old man, but never the less, he was concerned.  It seemed that everyone and his brother knew how important a good point man was, but few realized the importance of the man pulling drag.  The best were the guys who just seemed to have a preternatural talent for it: exceptionally observant, acute hearing, just seemed to “know” when something wasn’t right and didn’t rattle when “the balloon went up.”

Stephen’s voice came over the comm, “Contact ahead, couple hundred yards.  Sounds like engagement.”  While the Templars wore helmets that fully covered their heads and had the coms built-in, the Americans wore Kevlar helmets and used an ear-piece and throat mic for their com gear.   Reno unconsciously holstered the two sub-guns, secured them in their thigh holsters and un-slung the FAL from his shoulder.  Brody kept his sub-guns in hand for close quarters cover, but was ready to switch over should their team make ranged contact.

They were drawing closer.  The shrieking and hissing of the demons could be heard, the clang of swords on metal and scratch of talon and claw on shield and stone were also audible.  As a team leader, Sandra was on her team’s com channel, but was also on a “line of sight” channel common to all team leaders.  With a max range of less than a quarter mile, it allowed one team leader to hear everything that another team leader was saying.  The range was intentionally limited – hearing what every team leader in the Order was saying at any given time would unnecessarily fill one’s com and potentially drown-out hearing one’s team members. Approaching a corner, she started hearing some voices: Tyson, Dylan and Gordon.  She listened a moment trying to visualize what was up ahead, then spoke into the com,
“Sanrda, from direction of Green Park, sounds like we are around the corner from you.”  Tyson replied, “Well, Sandra, bring your boys in and join the fray.  Seems to be plenty to go ‘round.  Watch the overhead, gremlin snipers up there…we haven’t been able mount the stairs on the right hand side yet.  Blade minions and crested stalkers on the ground.  As you come in behind us, I’m at your 2, Gordon at 4 and Dylan at 8.  If we hold the wall breaches, can you clear the scaffolding and cat-walk?”
Sandra said, “Doubtful.  We have a pair of shucked oysters with us” – a reference to the unarmored Americans with them.”
“Copy that.  Can you move on Gordon’s spot and they move for the upper floor?”
“Affirmative.”
Sandra relayed the intention to the team, telling the Americans to keep their heads down with Brandon’s and Eric’s shields providing cover.
Reno slid to the right hand wall while Brody – unlimbering his FAL – slid to the left wall.  They rounded a corner and the battle was before them.  The team didn’t have to make any effort to join the fight, the demons eagerly moved to intercept them.

Brody and Reno slid forward along the wall, while their shield toting custodians mirrored their steps.  Reno’s first inclination was to engage the targets threatening the rest of the team, but quickly changed his focus to the Gremlins with the guns above.  Since he was along the right hand wall, his responsibility was the left hand wall and forward.  Similarly, Brody was already engaging the nearest Gremlin snipers on the right hand catwalk.
More than a dozen of the gremlin snipers had been dropped before others realized they were facing a ranged threat.  Their firing slowed as they looked for the new threat.  Very quickly, Brandon and Eric started catching exploding rounds on their shields, shrapnel spraying, as the gremlins tried to hit the Americans.  Brody and Reno kept a steady rate of fire, picking off the gremlins like ducks in a gallery.

Sandra and the advance part of the team were in the mix.  Did those crested stalkers do anything but breed?  A quick estimate: two hundred, with more pouring in.  The blade minions weren’t bothering to wait for the stalkers to get out of the way either – they were just swinging like epileptic cricket batsmen.  Without Brandon and Eric, the team’s circle was smaller than usual.  Not a problem for combat, but Sandra was concerned about those exploding rounds that the gremlins were shooting.  Sandra had almost asked the Americans to direct their fire at the gremlins, but she deduced that that was already their targets – the gremlins dropping down were already dead.  She spoke over the com to the other team leaders, “I think the oysters are taking care of the roofline, although they can’t reach the ones above, so the upper walk at our 6 will need clearing.”

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