The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(166)
“Well, I’ve always loved history, but I didn’t know how I could use a degree in history, so I settled for being a teacher.”
“So, you decided that you would just get the degree you wanted, and use it in the most secure profession you could think of that needed it?”
“Something like that!” Kimberly answers, laughing aloud. They are getting along famously, and Robert cannot take his eyes off of her body. While her profile picture on soldiermatch.com had her wearing professional attire, today she has chosen to wear a bikini top and some short, cutoff jeans that barely cover her rear end. She is clearly much more confident in her body than are many women her age. She is not thin as a rail like so many women in society, but instead, she is fit and toned, but not so muscle bound as to appear freakish. Overall, Robert is incredibly attracted to her.
Kim, too, is feeling the pangs of lustful passion grow in her belly when she steals glances of him. Sure, he is dealing with some serious baggage from having gone to war, but all that means is that he is a brave soldier who witnessed things that the rest of the merely mortal men that she comes into contact with wouldn’t experience in their worst nightmares. Combined with the fact that his physique clearly was that of a former Army Special Forces operator, and Kim was confident that she could see herself in a long term relationship with this hero.
They continue fishing for the rest of the afternoon, laughing and joking about the way she is catching more fish than he is. Their flirtatious banter would not be out of place in a high school hallway or dive bar. Soon, they have caught well more than enough fish to eat for supper, so they pack their gear up, and head back to shore. After they have loaded the boat back onto the trailer, they set off, heading in the direction of Rob’s house.
When they arrive there, he cleans the fish while she slices potatoes to make homemade French fries. When all the food is ready to cook, he fires up his propane fryer, and together they prepare supper.
Carefully, they pre-cook all the freshly cut potatoes, and set them aside while the bass fish fillets are cooking. Once all the fish is finished, they cook the potatoes for the second time, creating the crispy boardwalk style French fries that are so delicious.
Chapter 6
Deep Thoughts
It was not long at all before all the food was eaten, and they were left sitting there, wondering what the other was thinking. Rob gets out a bottle of Irish whiskey, and together they pour glasses of the sweet nectar that lowers inhibitions. Rob also lights a cigar, and together, they discuss their dreams and ambitions.
“So, what do you think you want to do, now that you are out of the military, Rob?” she asks him.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure at this time,” he answers. “I really would like to go back into the Army, if I can, to be honest.”
“Why didn’t you stay in, then?”
“Well, they didn’t let me,” he answers. “I was only one year into my most recent enlistment when I was discharged.”
“Why were you discharged?” Kim asks him.
Rob thinks this question over for a few long minutes, before his alcohol consumption strengthens him enough to tell her the story.
“Well, last year, my team was called overseas to handle the capture of a Muslim cleric and Mujahidin, Sheik Tayyib Pour Salman.”
“Your team?”
“Yes, I was special forces.”
“So, Delta force?” She asks, clearly in awe. This causes Rob to laugh, and he answers, “No, not Delta Force…Green Berets. Kind of like the SEALS to the Navy and Marines. Anyway, my team was shipped out to Baghlan province in Afghanistan, which by all accounts was not the most dangerous duty station in the country. I myself, had been to Baghlan about ten times, and had never seen so much as a single explosion. Well, all that changed when we went after the Sheik. We roped into the hilled area of his compound about half a click from drain pipe that we were going to go through to infiltrate the compound. We had been told that the drain pipe would be the best way to get in, because it wouldn’t be defended. Overall, it was supposed to be a simple mission, one similar to dozens like it that we had completed before. The only problem was, the Sheik’s compound was much better defended than we had expected. We got to the end of the drain pipe alright, so everything was going according to plan. The problem was, there was a .50 cal nest inside the pipe, and within seconds, he had cut down the lieutenant who was in charge, and the E7 who was second. That left me in charge.”
“So, what did you do?”
“We got the bodies of the dead and wounded to a private area, and continued on with the mission. There were only five of us able to keep going forward, and all five of us had taken at least one bullet. It’s how I got this one,” he says, pointing at the second oak-leaf cluster above his “Purple Heart” tattoo. “Anyway, I told one of my guys to throw a grenade down the pipe to take out the machine gun nest, and that worked. But apparently the Sheik had discovered that the drain was his weak spot, and fortified it. I set an E4 to be the point man, and he stepped on a landmine, killing him, and riddling another of my guys with shrapnel. Now, I was down to three guys left from a twelve man team.”
“Did you turn back?”
“Nope. Had a job to do. We kept pushing through, and found the bastard that we had come for. We got him out, and then I called in an airstrike, and they leveled the entire place. “