Reborn by Melody Anne

Chapter Sixteen

Mallory Black-Meeks picked up Jasmine at 0500, just as they’d agreed to a week prior, and Jasmine was on full tilt. In two weeks, Jasmine would start college, so this was one of the last times she’d be able to train with Mallory on a weekday due to her class load.

“Good morning,” Jasmine said, practically bouncing in her seat.

“Good morning. You a little excited?” Mallory asked with a smile.

“Dang straight!” Jasmine smiled back.

“We’ll see how excited you are at the end of the day. You might not want to hang out with me after we’re done,” Mallory said with a chuckle. She knew who, and what, the eldest granddaughter of Joseph Anderson was. She was exactly like Mallory had been at her age.

Jasmine had life by the horns and was full of wonder and interest, wanting to conquer the world in one bite and swallow it whole. Even knowing the world didn’t, and wouldn’t, work like that, she was going to try it anyway. Like Mallory, it wouldn’t get her down when she didn’t succeed. In fact, it would have the opposite effect — she’d try even harder and push herself that much more. Life experience would slow her down some but her love for adventure would never disappear like it does in so many people as they become stuck in their jobs and the comings and goings of their ordinary lives.

Mallory pulled away from the house, and the subtle light radiating from the dashboard lit up Jasmine’s smile like a beacon on a stormy seashore. Mallory wasn’t cynical, and she didn’t hide her joy in seeing others happy, so when she noticed the cemented smile on her passenger’s face, she couldn’t help but bring up the corners of her own mouth as well. It was true that you became the best or worst of yourself by who you chose to surround yourself with.

This was the fourth meeting between the two women. The first three had been spent going over the mental aspects of the FBI. Mallory had brought training manuals, which Jasmine devoured like a starving bear sitting at a waterfall waiting for some salmon to jump directly into its mouth.

Once the boring stuff was finished, Mallory had requested Jasmine complete an assignment and present her findings to a group of family and friends. The eighteen-year-old had lost hours of sleep getting it done and the room of thirty people had been rightfully impressed when she’d been able to handle all of the questions that had come at her, many of which Mallory had provided prior to the start of Jasmine’s presentation.

The last part of the assignment had been deciphering codes that had grown in complexity with each step. Usually those brain-teasing intellectual tests were reserved for people going into specific fields of study and rarely did individuals who tried them for the first time get past the fifth page. Jasmine had completed eight tests before getting stumped. Only after she’d accepted defeat did she get told there was no solution, except to turn it in and state there was no solution.

Jasmine loved the training Mallory was giving her, and as Jasmine had been told in previous meetings, most FBI work was mental. The physical interactions were rare and almost never seen in the field. On this particular day, the physical aspect of being an FBI agent was going to be put to the test.

“Do you recall what the instructors are looking for when you’re at the Basic Field Training Center?” Mallory asked Jazzy. She was speaking about the twenty week FBI entrance training at Quantico, Virginia.

“Yes,” Jasmine said, counting them off with a finger matching each reply. “Conscientiousness, Cooperation, Emotional maturity, Integrity, Initiative, and Judgment.”

“Well done,” Mallory replied. “And what are the physical requirements?”

“For me, it’s as simple as eating pie. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, a three-hundred-meter sprint and a one-and-a-half-mile run. You know I can pass that portion of it any day of the week,” Jasmine said with confidence. She wasn’t being cocky, she just knew that the workouts she’d been doing with Smoke had her in the best shape of her life. Since she’d been working out with him her overall fitness had increased exponentially.

“Yes, I do, but can you do it soaking wet, with a full suit on, and completely geared up?” Mallory asked, looking at her young protégé from the corner of her eye.

“In a suit? Wet? What gear?” Jasmine asked.

“Well, it’s easy to take a test when you’re in workout gear. That isn’t real life though. You’ll never be chasing down a perp right after you’ve walked out of the gym.” She paused and laughed. “Okay, almost never,” Mallory corrected herself as she remembered taking down a guy who’d tried robbing the gym where she’d been taking a spin class.

“This morning though, I’m going to get you dressed and geared in what you’ll wear on the job. After that you’re going to dive into a pool and then your exam begins. There will be no rest period, there will be no time to take a bathroom break, and there won’t be any time to stretch before the exercise begins. Understand?” Mallory asked.

“Completely. I can’t wait to crush it,” Jasmine replied. The smile she’d been wearing all morning was replaced with singular focus.

What neither of them expected was the dramatic temperature drop overtaking the Pacific Northwest the last few days. The lows were getting close to freezing and the ski resorts were already showing large layers of snow at the higher elevations. A low cloud cover was pushed out overnight and the clear sky allowed the cold air to move in faster.

When the duo arrived at the track where a large trough had been filled with water, Mallory gave pause. Was this too much for her trainee? Quickly though, Mallory realized that in the mental exercises one of the positions was in knowing when to give up because the solution wasn’t available. Mallory was going to allow Jasmine to decide how the morning’s events were going to take place. Jasmine didn’t bat an eye after she came out of the vehicle dressed in her run of the mill daily suit for women in the FBI.

“Okay, ready,” Jasmine said as she walked directly to the water, stepped in, submerged herself completely and then jumped back out.

“Push-ups. Go,” Mallory barked. They needed to keep adrenaline at full capacity the entire day.

The FBI doesn’t have a timeline on push-ups, but they do have a minimum requirement that must be completed, which is forty-five for women. Jasmine demolished the minimum by completing seventy-two.

“Three hundred meters. Go!” Mallory yelled while starting the timer on her watch.

As Jasmine ran hard, Mallory could see the spray of water from her shoes and pants shooting high in the air. As her speed increased on the straight stretch of the track it made the suit look like a blur. Fabric was being pushed and pulled at the same time. It wasn’t easy running in wet clothes, especially those made of cotton and polyester, and tugging and twisting on a cold body.

In an extra hard push at the end, Jasmine crossed the finish line with a time of forty-four seconds. Mallory was astonished at the speed and agility of the young woman in these kind of conditions. She was doing better than Mallory had done in her beginning years of the FBI.

“Sit-ups. Go!” Mallory said not giving Jasmine time for a break. Criminals didn’t pause for time-outs.

As soon as Jasmine was on the ground Mallory started her watch. Jasmine had to get thirty-two within one minute. She finished her required amount in thirty-seven seconds, then continued until her minute was up.

“You feeling okay?” Mallory asked as Jasmine slowly rolled to her side and used her arms to assist in rising to her feet.

“I’m good. Let’s destroy this run,” Jasmine said.

“Okay. Go,” Mallory said and clicked the timer button.

Jasmine finished her fifth of six laps and the strain on her face confirmed that she was feeling the difference of completing these exercises in heavy, wet clothing. The strain on her muscles was real and the heat that had been sucked out of her body from the cold air was making it even more difficult. By the time she was on the last half of her last lap her speed had dropped dramatically and it was the first time Mallory had ever seen Jasmine struggle.

“Let’s go!” Mallory yelled across the field in encouragement.

Jasmine gave her all, pushed with all she had to finish the timed run, and then fell to her knees after she crossed the finish line.

“Get up,” Mallory commanded.

“Ugh, let me rest a second,” Jasmine whined.

“Nope. You’re not going to do this. The worst thing you can do right now is stop in your wet clothes, especially with this freezing air,” Mallory informed the exhausted girl.

Mallory held out her hand, offering to help Jasmine up and the young woman took it begrudgingly. She wanted to lay there and regain her energy but there was no way Mallory was going to let that happen.

“You need to change into dry clothes. There’s a towel in the trunk, and you can throw your wet clothes back there when you’re done,” Mallory said as she clicked the key fob for her trunk, popping it open.

“All good,” Jasmine called out after she’d finished changing.

“Well done, Jazzy. How are you feeling? Was it as easy as you thought it was going to be?” Mallory asked as she put the car into gear and started driving.

“Piece of cake,” Jasmine said with a smile, her lips still tinged with purple from being so cold.

“Oh really? I can turn us around and go back and have you start again,” Mallory said, eyebrows raised and ready to do just that.

Jasmine couldn’t hide her reaction, knowing her mentor would do such a thing, and decided against being a wise ass any further. “No need for that. Whatever we have planned next is fine.”

The two of them started to laugh while enjoying the warmth of the car’s heater. It only took a few minutes for Jasmine to get her core temperature regulated and back to a level where her teeth weren’t trying to crush each other from involuntary shivering.

“Where are we headed next?” Jasmine asked as they made their way from the parking lot.

“I’m taking you in,” Mallory said.

“Taking me in?” Jasmine asked.

“Yep. To work; I’m taking you to my office,” Mallory said.

It took several moments for Jasmine to regain her composure. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to shout with joy, act stoic, profusely thank Mallory, or sit there acting as if she was going to just another ordinary place. Internally she was jumping out of her skin like she’d done the first time her parents had taken her to Disneyland. Both were fairytale lands in her eyes that she’d never thought she’d be able to see in person.

The drive went by quickly and as Mallory presented her identification at the gate, and it opened without incident, Jasmine knew she was actually entering hallowed grounds. There was no way she could suppress her smile as the car came to a stop and was powered down.

As soon as the two women stepped out of the car a large commotion roared toward them. Men and women came swarming out of the building, running to different vehicles, moving out of the parking lot as fast as possible.

“Matt! What’s going on?” Mallory yelled at a man as he raced toward them.

“We have a bank heist, multiple gunmen and at least thirty hostages. On top of that there’s a bomb threat for the buildings surrounding it. Grab your gear and ride with me,” the man said.

Mallory ran to the car she’d arrived in, popped the trunk, and pulled out her bulletproof vest and a briefcase that had some obvious weight to it by the way her arm snapped down once it was free from the back of the car.

“Jazzy — listen carefully, you’re going to ride with us and you won’t ask any questions. Do you understand? Call your dad and have him ready to pick you up. I’ll give you the location as soon as we’re moving. After that, no calls, no texts, no social media,” Mallory said in a stern tone.

“Yes, of course,” Jasmine said. She didn’t want her dad to pick her up. She wanted to see a real FBI takedown.

The two of them jogged to the awaiting car. Before their doors were fully shut Matt smashed down the accelerator and the car came to life. Black cars spilled from the parking lot, only inches from impaling each other. Jasmine didn’t know what to think of the situation.

The cars raced down streets, then onto backroads, everything getting closer and tighter. The only thing the recent high school graduate could do was watch the cars in front of them and grimace each time they seemed to come dangerously close to hitting an object.

There was constant chatter on the handheld radios in the front, the codes and words not making sense to Jasmine. Then she heard commands to take the next right to create a flanking position and the car she was in was the car receiving that command. Matt turned the car hard and if it hadn’t been for her seatbelt, Jasmine would’ve been squished face first into the opposite side window.

“This won’t work, Matt. We can’t leave her. She can’t stay out here all alone. Call for another car,” Mallory barked as the driver swerved, barely missing old boxes that littered the street.

“There aren’t any other cars, Black,” Matt said. Even though Mallory had married Green and taken his last name of Meeks, the transition to calling someone by a new name was a slow one.

“Damnit,” Mallory thundered. Then she turned. “Jazzy, listen carefully. When we stop you will follow every single instruction I give you. Do you understand?” Jasmine nodded. “Put this on,” Mallory said, then handed Jasmine the bulletproof vest she’d been wearing.

“Don’t worry, Black, I’ve got another vest in the back,” Matt said as he came to an abrupt stop.

The radio squawked again, telling Matt and Mallory to enter the door they were stationed at. They immediately followed instructions. They stepped into utter darkness. Not even a hint of light was visible.

“Jazzy, put your left hand on my right shoulder and don’t take it off,” whispered Mallory.

Jasmine did as instructed, and the two of them followed Matt. He had a small flashlight that provided only enough light to see fifteen to twenty feet in front of them. There was a small shuffling sound and when Matt directed his light to it, up a flight of stairs, there was a person running away at the top.

“FBI, Stop!” Matt yelled.

Then he started running after the person fleeing from them. Mallory followed suit and Jasmine was like a leech, stuck hard to Mallory’s shoulder just as she’d been instructed to do.

The trio ran hard up the steps, over a catwalk area, and down steps, the person staying far enough out of range to not be in the light but not pulling away to be lost in the darkness. The chase continued across the open warehouse floor, back up another flight of stairs, then down again.

“We have a perp at our location. In pursuit, headed southeast inside building,” Mallory yelled into the comm system.

There was no reply.

She tried again and there was no reply.

“I’m not getting anything, Matt. We need to pull back. This situation is bad, especially with Jasmine here,” Mallory called to her colleague.

Matt stopped, breathing hard. Mallory was also short of breath while Jasmine was gasping for as much oxygen as she could consume. He did a quick sweep of the area they were in and saw an office door. Quickly making his way over to it, he found it was unlocked.

“You two go in here and wait. I’ll go on,” Matt said.

“No,” Mallory said firmly.

“Jasmine, go inside, lock the door, and don’t answer it until I return. Do you understand?” Mallory requested.

As Mallory was saying this she was walking Jasmine through the threshold of the door and inside a room that seemed to be even darker, if that was possible. Jasmine was starting to get freaked out and didn’t want to stay alone in the room waiting for an indefinite amount of time while some lunatic was on the loose. Mallory gently nudged Jasmine forward another step.

“You’ll be fine, Jasmine,” Mallory said, then gently closed the door.

As soon as the handle clicked shut an explosion of light engulfed Jasmine. She immediately shielded her eyes. The noise she was hearing didn’t make sense. It sounded like people cheering and clapping.

Then all of her senses reset. Her eyes dilated, her ears focused, and her body felt more under control. Standing before her were all of the special ops men, including Chad. They called out surprise, making her jump.

“What is this?” Jasmine asked, utterly confused.

“This is your sendoff party,” Mallory said from behind Jasmine.

“What?” Jasmine asked again as she turned to her mentor.

“The guys and I wanted to have a send-off party for you. This summer has been a great one and I’ve been blessed to work with you. As you enter college and start taking on new challenges I hope everything we did together is a benefit to you,” Mallory said with a shimmer of water pooling in her eyes.

Jasmine turned back to the men, Mallory now at her side, and beamed from ear to ear. As the two of them walked to the group, she looked at Mallory with a shaky smile. “I both love and can’t stand you right now.”

“I’ve felt the same many times in life. Did you really think I’d take you on a real FBI mission? My butt would’ve been fired, and your grandfather might’ve personally wrung my neck,” Mallory said.

“It seemed pretty damn real to me,” Jasmine said.

“That’s because we’re good,” Smoke said, the first one to step forward. The other men were right behind him.

Jasmine gave each man a hug and thanked them for all they’d done for her over the past year. She told them her time with them had been the greatest experience she could’ve ever hoped for and she was glad they’d come into her life.

“Chad, you’ve dealt with my craziness for the better part of a year and I appreciate your patience with me. Even when you didn’t want to have any. Thank you — I love you,” Jasmine said as she gave one of her earliest heroes a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

“Smoke . . .” Jasmine had to catch her emotions as she looked up to the man who’d become more than just a mentor to her. He’d become someone she knew she could call on in any situation, at any time, and anywhere and he’d be there for her. He’d become family.

“Smoke, I’m at a loss for words right now. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. All of the time you’ve spent training me, all of the time you’ve given me guidance and advice, and all of the time you simply listened to me, which I know was a considerable amount of time, has meant the world to me. Thank you, Tyrell, I love you,” Jasmine said as she wrapped her arms around him and silently let a tear fall.

“Love you too, kiddo,” Smoke replied, returning the hug. She had a feeling he might be fighting a tear or two of his own. He might look tough as nails, but he was a big marshmallow.

“Now, let’s party!” Mallory interrupted, knowing they’d all be crying soon if they kept up the mushy talk.

The food arrived, and Jasmine was starving after her adrenaline-fueled morning. As the team ate, Jasmine opened gifts from each of the people there, and they told her about the entire set-up and elaborate planning to get her to her party. She hadn’t had a clue as to what they’d been up to. There were many stories shared and Sleep even kept most of his from becoming too raunchy. Everyone laughed and had a great time. As the end of their celebration was drawing near Jasmine stood up, held out her glass, and gave a toast.

“To each of you sitting with me, thank you. My life is better because you’re in it. To those who hate us cause they ain’t us, they can kiss my ass!”

The men and Mallory hooted and slapped their hands on the table vigorously in agreement with the sentiment of their unofficially adopted kid. It didn’t matter how old Jasmine got: she’d always be a little girl in their eyes — but a badass one at that.

Jasmine couldn’t wait to see what her future held.