Savages by James Cook

up.”
    Jacobs shrugged. “If you say so. Well, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Riordan, what do you think? Do you know Specialist Hicks?”
    “We do,” I said. “He works for us sometimes.”
    A raised eyebrow. It made the scar on Jacobs’ forehead crinkle. “Works for you?”
    “Salvage work. Part time. Volunteer only. We’re picky about who we bring along.”
    “Who is we?”
    I waved a finger between Gabriel and me. “We’re equal partners in a salvage company. Captain Harlow allows us to employ his troops’ services on a fee basis. The Ninth TVM helps out too.”
    Jacobs looked hard at the captain. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
    “As he said, sir, it’s volunteer only. Helping Mr. Riordan run his salvage business provides us with much needed resources without having to requisition them through Central Command. Saves us time and saves the government money, so to speak.”
    “Hm. Not a bad idea.” Harlow looked relieved. Jacobs went on. “So you’ve worked with Specialist Hicks. Have you been in combat with him?”
    “I took him with me earlier in the year when I went after Sebastian Tanner, AKA Blackmire,” Gabe said. “He’s solid.”
    Another rustling of paper. “He’s also recovering from a wound to his leg.”
    “Seems pretty recovered to me,” I said. “He looked just fine during the attack yesterday.”
    “The wound wasn’t bad,” Gabe said. “I dressed it myself. A through-and-through on the outside of his thigh. Missed the femoral artery, the femur, and the common peroneal nerve. He got lucky. A couple of inches either way and he would have been in bad shape. As it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s fully recovered by now.”
    “So you’re all in agreement?” Jacobs asked. “You think he’s the one for the job?”
    We all nodded. Harlow said, “Yes sir.”
    “Good. Bring him in and I’ll speak with him. Just to be clear, this mission is for volunteers only. I don’t want anyone on the team who doesn’t want to be here. This mission is too important. That said, any suggestions how I could convince him?”
    Harlow said, “I was planning to promote him anyway. Just tell him the promotion comes with acceptance of the mission.”
    I gave Harlow a hard look. “Caleb is a friend of mine, Captain. I don’t like the idea of you using leverage against him. If you want to promote him, fine. Do it. But don’t hold the sergeant’s stripes in front of him like a carrot on a stick. He is not a fucking donkey.”
    The captain went red in the face. He was not accustomed to being addressed in such a manner. But I wasn’t one of his soldiers, so fuck him. Harlow opened his mouth to retort, but the general interrupted.
    “I agree,” he said. “We’ll give him the promotion before we discuss the mission.”
    When Jacobs saw my expression, he said, “Look, I need good people. You ever buttered someone up before asking them for something? Even if it was dangerous?”
    I let out a breath, counted backwards from ten, and said, “Yes.”
    “Then don’t criticize me for doing it. Anyway, any other suggestions?”
    “I don’t think you’ll have much trouble convincing him,” Gabe said. “I know the kid. He lives for shit like this. He’ll go willingly and with a smile.”
    “I hope you’re right.” Jacobs closed the file and handed it back to Harlow. The captain stopped trying to kill me with his eyes long enough to take it.
    “Do you have anything else you want to ask? Anything at all?”
    Gabe said, “Where are we on logistics?”
    “Still working out the kinks. Captain Harlow and I will wrap that up as soon as we’re finished here.”
    “Timeframe?”
    “Still working on it. But definitely within the next week to ten days.”
    Gabe looked at me. I shook my head. He said, “Then I guess we’re done for now.”
    “Do you mind staying on base for the rest of the day?”
    “Define the rest of the day,” I said.
    “Let’s say until 1800 hours.”
    I did the conversion in my