Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) by Kenneth Cary Page B

you too, mom. I’m fine.” And out of view from his mom he rolled his eyes for his dad.
    John smiled and held the grin when he saw Adam standing ready, finger off the trigger and extended along the magazine well of his AR. He looked ready to fight, and John was torn between regret and pride. He hated thinking about how his children, or all the children in the company for that matter, were roughly torn from their world of safety and security. But he was proud of how quickly they adapted.
    “You OK dad?” asked Adam, as he studied his dad with a furrowed brow.
    “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” asked John.
    “Well . . . you’re looking at me sorta weird,” replied Adam.
    John looked at Adam over the top of his sunglasses and cleared his throat. “You look good . . . strong. I’m proud of you.”
    Adam straightened and smiled, but turned immediately serious when Pete radioed, “Lancer-one, have you made contact with Blue-six, over?”
    “This is Lancer-one, roger,” replied Adam. He released and then rekeyed the send button to say, “ETA to your location . . . zero-two mikes, over.”
    “Roger. Red-six out,” came Pete’s voice over the radio.
    “Stand on the running board and I’ll follow your lead,” said John.
    Adam nodded and jumped up while holding on to the roof rack with his free hand. He pointed ahead and said, “We’re just up there a little ways . . . on the left . . . in a small clearing. Once you’re settled, we’re going to go recon the river crossing site.”
    “Do you mean the bridge?” teased John.
    “Seriously, dad?”
    “So, Lancer?” asked John, as he drove slowly down the rough dirt road to the clearing.
    “Yeah. Pete says we’re the tip of the spear, or something like that. He said it was a unit he used to like in his old division. I’m OK with it . . . its kind of cool. Better than being called a dog, or some other kind of animal,” added Adam, with no contempt whatsoever. He didn’t even seem to be teasing John.
    John chuckled and said, “I used dog because you smelled like one.”
    “Yeah. Well, I guess that makes you Horse-six then,” quipped Adam.
    John chuckled and said, “Good point. And the other’s, they’re numbered under Lancer?”
    “Yeah. Corbin is Lancer-two and Marcus is Lancer-three,” replied Adam, and he added with a pointed finger, “its right over there . . . the clearing.”
    John nodded and Adam jumped off the running board before he could stop. Adam waited for Paul to approach in the dually, and after directing him into the clearing, he remained at the entrance to stand guard.
    John parked in the afternoon shade of a large mesquite tree, and stepped out to find Pete. He heard the ladies climb out as well, but he was only interested in hearing from Pete. He found him talking to Corbin and Marcus over a sand-table, scratching plans in the dirt. “Marcus,” he said, “you come with me as a spotter. Corbin, I want you to stay here and guard with Adam. Any questions?”
    Both boys shook their heads no, and Pete asked, “OK. Corbin, what’s the timeline?”
    Corbin swallowed and said, while looking at his watch, “At sixteen-fifteen, we depart the AO . . .”
    “AA,” corrected Pete. “Assembly area.”
    “Right, we depart the AA and move along route snake, here,” said Corbin, as he traced the route with a stick, “and we radio when we reach checkpoint one.”
    “Good,” replied Pete. “Marcus, what happens next?”
    Marcus nodded and said, “After reporting checkpoint one, we continue along route snake to CP two and call in.”
    “Continue,” said Pete.
    “Right. We continue on Snake to CP three, which is also the over-watch position. From there we scan the bridge for any and all signs of activity, send spot reports using the SALUTE format, and we continue the mission until relieved.”
    “Excellent,” said Pete, as he slapped the teenager on the shoulder. “Corbin, what’s the emergency contact drill?”
    Corbin’s eyes got