They were next issued uniforms, given a quick physical followed by two shots and then taken off to be fed. The mess hall was set for thirty people and each of the chairs had a number on the back. They all took their places as the rest of the men filtered into the room a few at a time. There was little talk as each man found his assigned seat. Two chairs had no numbers but were occupied by men in civilian clothing.
After they were all settled in, one of the civilian men said, “We would like to welcome our new candidates. Your brothers are anxious to meet you and they will be both your mentors and evaluators. You are here to learn and your ego needs to be left behind. My associate and I will meet with each of you after lunch to discuss your training and assignments. We know that you are physically tough and determined. If you weren’t, you would never have ever known about us. That alone says a great deal about you. Now you will be asked to go beyond that to the next level. Let’s eat,” he said and immediately carts were brought in and plates passed out.
The men introduced themselves, using their number designations. Miller did likewise. Small talk went around the table but no one mentioned what they had been doing here and Miller was smart enough not to ask. He mostly watched, trying to determine the accents of the various members.
It was obvious that they were not all from the US Military. Number Eight said ‘eh’ at the end of most of his sentences and Miller took him to be Canadian. The ‘mate’ character was obviously from Australia and the Brit was instantly identifiable.
Once the meal was finished each candidate was taken to a different part of the building. Miller was taken to see a man whom he guessed to be a psychologist. He was given a seat and several pads with electrical wires were placed on his skull. A band was placed around his chest and a clip was added to his left index finger.
“Take several deep breaths and slowly let it out,” the Psychologist told him and Miller complied. “I want you to relax as much as possible. I am going to show you a short movie. All you have to do is watch it. Nothing more. You do not need to make comments of any kind. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Fine. Now relax and watch,” he said and turned the lights down.
A second later a movie started up and Miller watched it, not sure of what he was supposed to be looking for. The movie would show one scene for a minute and then suddenly jump to another. No two were alike and it was obviously meant to evoke some kind of emotional response from him.
He let his mind go numb, letting the images drift by without trying to give them any conscious thought. Children playing, green fields, Atomic explosion, two women making love, cars crashing, the collapse of the twin towers and others flickered in front of his eyes. He sat, absorbing the information as if in a trance. A young girl was being raped and then shot followed by a priest giving mass. Miller tried to maintain the same conscious level with each new image.
“All right, we can get this paraphernalia off of you now,” the man said when the last of the images had been shown.
Miller didn’t ask any questions. He figured that they would tell him whatever he needed to know. If he did poorly he would know it soon enough so he couldn’t see wasting time worrying about it.
After that session had finished, he was taken to another room. Inside were the two civilians that he had seen earlier at the table. One looked a little like Dan Ackroyd when he was in ‘The Blues Brothers’ movie. The other was shorter and nondescript. He would make a good spy, Miller thought. You would never notice him.
“Have a seat 24B,” the Dan Ackroyd look alike said.
“Yes sir.”
“You do not need the ‘sir’ in here or anywhere else while you are in this program. Sir indicates someone superior in rank to you and we do not want that. Understand 24B?
“Yes.”
“Good. Now let me tell you why you are here. Strike–1 is a Para-military covert operation. Sometimes we are referred to as WetOps. You will retain your military rank but you will be operating as a civilian. You will receive a military discharge and become a civilian employee of Strike-1 Team. A very special civilian. No further reference to your military standing will be used from this time forward until you leave the program. Understand?”
“I do.”
“What you are going to have to decide by the end of the day is if you are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be in Strike–1. After that it will be too late to change your mind because you start training tomorrow and you will be privy to some of the most sensitive material in the world. Not just in America, but the entire world,” the man said, looking directly into the eyes of 24B.
“And if I want to leave, I must make my choice known by tonight?”
