The Recruiter (A Thriller) by Dani Amore

but in an honest way. Move promptly to the business at hand.
    2. Probing. Use open probes to help discover the needs of the potential recruit.
    3. Acknowledging. Build empathy by acknowledging the potential recruit’s needs.
    4. Supporting. Show how benefits of Navy meet expressed needs of potential recruit.
    5. Closing. Review next steps.
    Five professional selling skills designed to swell the ranks of the Navy and guarantee more funding. It is all about money, Samuel thinks. Well, he can’t blame them. After all, he has his own agenda.
    The line moves forward, and Samuel can almost make out the paper ahead of him. Ackerman should be the first on the list, as usual. There’s little doubt in his mind that he’s made it. The principles were easy. He’s always hated salesmen, but their tactics are easy to learn, understand, and use. Besides, the classes are designed to help even the stupidest motherfucker on the planet learn the system. They weren’t out to fail anyone.
    In his mind, potential recruits seem like tomatoes ready to be squashed. Simply convince them to step up onto the conveyor belt and ignore the giant metallic hammer waiting for them at the end of the line. Samuel has no respect for the Navy, by and large. Most of the sailors are idiots. Stupid kids with dead-end lives who will never amount to much.
    Like he used to be, in fact.
    Only the elite members of the Navy, and of the military in general for that matter, are worthy of Samuel’s respect.
    At last, the line is done inching forward, and Samuel is face to face with the report sheet.
    Ackerman, Samuel F.
    Pass.
    Samuel’s face shows no sign of emotion. He walks down the stairs and out into the Florida sunshine. It was a chore. A huge pain in the ass. And it’s really just the start. He has eleven months and three days before he’s eligible to participate in the BUD/S course.
    In the meantime, he’s had his recruiter training. Now he must pack, make travel arrangements, and play the part of the recruiter.

Thirty-Six
    Gray.
    From one gray world to the next.
    Samuel stands on the small hill overlooking the cemetery. The sky is one long gray cloud. Michigan. The town of Lake Orion. No lake to be seen. Just gray bullshit. Just like the Navy.
    It’s been two days since his departure from the base in Pensacola. A mind-numbing journey depositing him into the sheer chaos of Detroit Metro. Then onto Lake Orion and a cheap flat, a trip to the store for groceries and necessities.
    Now, it’s Monday morning, and he’s on his way to the recruiting office in Troy, a suburb of Detroit.
    But first things first.
    He stands still, a faint palpable moisture is in the air. The cemetery sits across the street from a tennis court and a church. A row of small homes is on the other side.
    Both of his parents are buried here.
    Samuel’s head starts to throb.
    It’s almost as if the air here is tainted. As if the memories, the images, hang in the thick stillness, and now that he’s back, they’re descending on him like locusts. Masses of them, dark against the sky, filling his head with an incessant humming.
    His father’s voice booms at him. He can feel the impact of those giant fists knocking him around. His own hysterical sobbing a tragic two-part harmony.
    Suddenly, Samuel goes still, and his body seems to be sucked through a whirlwind of pain, agony, and humiliation. He’s very young, and he’s in the dark. A shaft of light sneaks under the closet door. He’s huddled among clothes and shoes and boots. It smells vaguely of wet wool and musty cotton. His body is shaking, and tears stream from his face. His teeth chatter.
    He doesn’t remember why he’s in the closet. He just knows that he’s done something very wrong. Maybe being born was the bad thing. His father hates him. Thinks he’s a fucking piece of—
    And then it happens.
    A steel fist crashes into his temple and everything goes black—
    Samuel takes a step back from the cemetery, his body