salute [james conrad] 1

Chapter 7

Flashback - 

"Hey, Charlie!"

Charlotte looks to the direction her name is being called, her hair falling into her face.

"What!?" She shouts back, shutting her trunk and standing up, pulling her hair into a ponytail and then putting her hands on her hips.

She watches as the curtain to her tent opens, letting in a gust of hot air, and revealing a very eager Tyler. He smiles his dorky smile and points back where he came from.

"Man they're crazy!" He says, breathing out a sigh and sitting down on her cot

Charlotte laughs, clearly enjoying his face. 

Tyler then scrunches his face and shakes his head in a disapproving manner.

"You know Charlie, just because you're one of the best doesn't mean you get to laugh at people" He says in a serious voice.

Charlotte laughs even harder. Then she pats his shoulder and heads for the entrance.

"Yeah. It's because I am the best that I can do what I want" She says jokingly, turning back at Tyler to see his eyebrows raised and his mouth opened in a wide O.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" Tyler screams from inside the cot, scrambling off the bed and rushing outside with her.

Charlotte ignores him and then shades her eyes from the scorching sun,  walking towards the main tent.

 Stopping outside it to look at her team, which are laughing and wrestling outside another tent. She shakes her head and smiles, her team might be the goofiest, but it was one of the best. Then she heads inside, putting on her serious face.

The feeling of goofiness that she had felt before is replaced by the feeling of stress and seriousness. 

The dim illuminated tent offers little room for walking, and only the necessary people are allowed inside. 

"Officer Parker" Charlotte greets with a nod as she walks into the back of the tent.

"Wilson" He greets back in a serious voice. He looks at his files, and then at the map displayed on the table.

"What've we got?" Charlotte asks, looking at the map as well.

"Well, it seems we have a sighting" He tells her briefly. " I'm thinking that in a few hours i'm going to send your team to check the area out, and if possible, retrieve the hostages kept" He pauses and grabs a pen, pointing it at a place on the map "right here"

Charlotte nods and looks around, watching as other officers look at other maps and write things down in their files.

"Do I gather them up?" Charlotte asks, turning back to officer Parker.

"Yes, please do" He tells her before moving on to talk to another person.

Charlotte turns around, nodding goodbye to other fellow soldiers, and exiting the tent.

She walks the dusty trail and into the team cot, where her team is resting.

"Listen up!" She yells, gaining their attention. All of them, which are about 12, look at her direction. Some are playing cards, other write letters, while others read books.

"Yes, sir?" ONe of them asks. Charlotte turns to look at Tyler with a mean expression, which only makes him laugh.

"In" Charlotte looks at her watch "3 hours, we are going to do a simple observation mission. Scape the terrain. All that crap" She tells them. They all looks at her with attention.