TO SERVE AND OBEY

Chapter 4

'Next!' Aleska barks.

McDouall steps forward.

'Hands out!' She orders.

McDouall obeys.

She places a sack of solid lead into his arms. His hands almost collapse.

'That's twenty five kilograms!' McDouall heaves breathlessly.

He has reason to complain. He thinks it unfair that he and Harris are carrying much heavier sacks, whilst Scott gets only a fifteen kilogram sack. Aleska ignores his complaint. She observes Scott smirking, happy as a lark. Harris is quietly gripping his sack of lead. She picks up a twenty five kilogram bag herself as if it weighs nothing.

'Let's go.' Aleska issues.

She start's running up the bank. Ridiculous. That bag weighs almost as much as she does. About a hundred metres on, Aleska looks behind her. Amazingly Scott is right behind her, or is it not amazing considering he is carrying the least weight. McDouall is right behind Scott. Harris is under strain at the back.

'Faster! Keep moving soldiers!'

McDouall's jaw drops. He sees Aleska has turned around and she is running backwards up the bank with her load of lead. Scott is weakening.

'I said faster, Captain Scott.'

She can't be too lenient with him.

When they reach the top, they are panting, lungs burning. All three men are bent forward, clutching their knees.

'Line your bags in tandem!' She instructs.

All three obey and await further instructions. Aleska places her own bag down as well.

'I want you to run on the bags, give me twenty rounds.'

There is collective groans. They barely have their breaths back.

'Go! Go! Go!'

Aleska smiles inwardly. She goes in search of three poles. 'Faster!' She barks without even looking to see if they had slackened at her turned back.

'Watch and follow.'

Aleska goes down in a bridge position. She lifts her upper body, holding one of the poles; the one end close, towards her right shoulder, the opposite end diagonally to her opposite knee.

'Interesting view,' Harris murmurs softly to McDouall, his eyes trained on Aleska's bottom.

'Give me two hundred,' she throws the pole down, dusts her hands and sits down to watch.

'Hurry! You don't have all day. You start your shifts in an hour.'

Aleska watches them grunt and groan. It is excruciating torture to watch their efforts. British SAS and U.S Delta forces know nothing about discipline.

These soldiers would never make the harsh standards for red beret, unless she spends twelve hours a day with them for a whole month. She knew all about it. She had stab wounds from real knives during her days as a trainee. She had to endure pain from start to finish, during her endurance training that included, assault courses, martial arts, parachuting in all weather conditions, unarmed combat with judo, karate and knife-fighting, infiltration techniques- disarming hi-tech security systems, reconnaissance and map reading, satellite navigation aids and survival in all environments including desert, jungle, open and confined surfaces. She's been a soldier since the age of sixteen. Eight years on she could do most things with her eyes closed ... almost

'We are done Major,' Harris states.

'No you not,' she hops up. 'Dive into the water. Two kilometres upstream and back. Go!