Katherine Garbera – Pushing The Limits (страница 9)

It had sounded like bullshit to Hemi. He didn’t doubt his father loved his mother, but that any woman could floor a man before he even spoke to her had sounded...well, like a tall tale. But then he’d seen Jessie last night.

At first he’d thought maybe it was because she’d been his crush as a teenager, but then, as they’d talked, the crush had disappeared and it had become about Jessie.

Jessie.

He heard her laugh and turned toward her again, took a step in her direction before he realized what he was doing. He turned on his heel, leaving the auditorium to get control of himself.

* * *

“WELCOME TO SURVIVAL TRAINING 101. I’ve read your files and seen the training you’ve already had, so I know some of you have learned some of this already. But I promise that is just the beginning.” Standing in a classroom in front of twenty-four candidates wasn’t Jessie’s ideal situation.

She felt claustrophobic, the back of her neck itchy in the nearly windowless room. Most of the facility was fortified with heavy walls. The work took place in simulators and specially designed modules. The Cronus trainees also practiced teamwork through practical ranching sessions. Jessie had seen the setup in the barn—Ace had the teams take turns every day riding the roundup, driving cattle from one pasture to another.

She glanced through the one small, heavily tinted window, trying to see the sun, and decided to put up some posters of outdoor scenes. It was the only way she’d tolerate being inside for any amount of time.

“Because of the nature of what I’m teaching you to react to, there will be times when you will be...well, surprised is the best word I can think of. And you’ll be forced to react to a situation,” Jessie said. “I can’t tell you when that will happen, but over the next six weeks there will be a number of unexpected activities that will test a myriad of skills. Some of them will be the ones I’ve taught you but they will also include standards from some of your other classes, as well.”

“Let the fun begin,” Hemi said, and the candidates in the room grinned.

“Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready for something to happen,” another candidate chimed in. From her files, Jessie knew she was Isabelle Wolsten, call sign “Bombshell.”

There were mumbles of agreement.

“Great. We are going to start with extreme cold. In case you aren’t familiar with me, I’ve been on several climbing expeditions to Everest and the other nine highest peaks. Today our topic is what to do when the unexpected happens. NASA has already provided you with the training for what to do in the capsule and on your ship, but what happens when something goes wrong? How will you survive when the temperature drops unexpectedly and you are trapped without the tools you thought you had?”

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