Guns And Dogs by T.A. Uner Page A

Backup? What does that mean? Can’t they take out those tanks with a smart bomb or something?
    The tanks got closer, but he pushed them from his mind before a loud sound of jets flying over him caused him to look up. These weren’t supersonic jets, but his HUD recognized them as four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, or ‘Warthogs’ as they were nicknamed. The F-15s must’ve radioed them since they were better equipped to the T-72s. Johnny stopped what he was doing to watch the Warthogs do their work—as their missiles and rockets annihilated the Iraqi T-72s—before continuing on their course. The T-72s were now a charred cluster of burning hulks and twisted metal.
    Relieved that the threat of death had dissipated, he disarmed the last mine. The simulation ended and he exhaled before removing his helmet.
    “That was fast thinking, Johnny,” Argos said over the intercom. He was happy that his new friend had taken an interest in his training, and relieved that he hadn’t done anything to disappoint Argos, the guy had become more than just his sponsor, he’d become a buddy. And Jessie and Studs weren’t half bad either.
    The door to the simulation room opened and Patrice walked in. “I am pleased to announce that you have completed your required AL training Mr. Veto. Congratulations. You shall be put on the active duty roster as a provisional agent and receive your first mission briefing tomorrow.”
(3)
    Later that evening, in his quarters, while writing his mother an e-mail, a HoverBot brought Johnny a beige field jacket. “You are to wear this on all AL missions,” it said before leaving. After finishing up his e-mail and sending it off, Johnny accessed the database to check his test scores. He noticed that his scores were highlighted in green. He asked the computer for clarity and it displayed an all-time ranking list of AL recruit scores.
    His name was ranked 1 st .
    Patrice was 2 nd .
    “Damn,” he said, nearly falling out of his chair. “How bout that?”
    “Don’t let it go to your head, Johnny.”
    He turned around and Argos was standing there. Alongside him were Jessie and Studs. “You snuck up on me Argos.”
    Argos sat down on a desk chair. “I’ve always been against giving access to test scores immediately upon graduation from AL training. It tends to inflate egos and make some operatives careless .”
    “I was just curious, that’s all.” He stretched out his arms; the final day of his training had been taxing. “It’s just that I’ve never finished first in any test.”
    Argos took a seat next to Johnny and assumed a somber manner. “Now that you’re officially one of us, I’m going to be upfront with you: some operatives have died during their early missions. They forgot their training, and stormed in all gung-ho. The next thing you know we’re notifying their relatives that they’ve been KIA. And these are men and women with extensive scientific or military backgrounds.”
    “I’m sure there were a lot better qualified candidates out there. But you guys don’t seem to make mistakes, do you? My scores pretty much proved that.”
    “Your psychological scores were the highest to date,” Argos began, “it’s true you don’t have any of the normal qualifications a typical AL candidate would bring to the table, but our director wanted to shake up the status quo by bringing in civilian prospects to see how they’d perform. He felt we were missing out on qualified, yet overlooked, members of the population. I’m happy to say you were the first civilian selected who passed.”
    Johnny smiled. “That’s almost as satisfying as beating Patrice’s scores. I bet she wasn’t too happy about that.” Both Jessie and Studs barked and Johnny took that as an indication that she wasn’t.
    “Let’s just say that she wasn’t thrilled about it. Keep in mind she’s not used to coming in 2 nd in anything. Her success has come at a price though. Being overly-ambitious can wreak havoc on