Fireteam Delta by J. Halpin (popular novels .TXT) 📗

a small symbol on the card in front of her. What Summers could only guess was a symbol of some kind.

“Are you mad, or is that actually the word for stupid?”

“It’s her name. So, yes,” Asle responded.

Summers stifled a laugh before saying Synel’s name out loud.

Throughout the day, they’d spent time making the equivalent of flashcards for various animals, objects, and now, names. Summers was actually a little proud of the progress he’d made. It had cost him a bit of a headache, but he’d at least managed to learn a few very important phrases. Things like “stop,” and “don’t move,” which apparently had some important distinctions.

To Summers’ surprise, the structure of the language was almost exactly the same as English, which meant that it was more of a memorization game than anything. He probably wouldn’t be a master by any means, but there was a good chance he’d have a functional understanding after a month or two.

However, the thought of spending that much time with Synel was daunting, to say the least. Summers was getting a little uncomfortable at the attention. It’s not that he didn’t like it, he just didn’t know how to process it.

To be fair, he couldn’t actually speak to the woman yet, and any body language that might be considered “relaxed” could potentially offend a powerful person they’d be spending the next few weeks with. At least, that was the estimate she’d given them before they arrived at the next city.

“I’m tired,” Asle said.

“Right . . .” Summers held up a hand to stop Synel from starting on the next card. “We’ll get some rest, okay? Could you thank her for me?”

“Can I tell her we don’t need her help, now?”

“No. We already started, and this is actually pretty easy for me.”

“I still speak better. I’m not afraid of soldiers.”

Summers paused.

“What do you mean, soldiers?”

“Soldiers.” Asle pointed to Summers. “She said there’s a war. Soldiers dangerous for me. That’s why she wanted to protect me. She’s a liar. You killed many soldiers already.”

Summers had to take a moment to remind himself that Asle was still a child.

He was going to have to learn very fast.

Chapter 15: Newer Friends

“Lower your arm. Keep your foot back here. Right.”

Summers stood above Asle. She was holding a Beretta M9 with one eye closed as she looked down the pistol’s sights.

“Fire when you’re ready.”

Summers watched as the gun muzzle flashed, kicking back for a split second. Asle didn’t flinch or break form as the bottle they were using for a target shattered. He had to hand it to the girl; she was practically a natural.

“Very nice work.” Summers’ praise earned him a nod from the girl. “Now, give it here.”

Asle carefully pointed the barrel down before handing Summers the butt of the gun, the motions almost reverent. The fact that he hadn’t needed to correct her discipline once was more impressive to him than anything. He stowed it in the holster at his side.

Since he’d taken his “time off,” the sidearm was usually the only thing he carried around camp. It was a little odd to be mostly unarmed after all this time, but it felt good to lose the extra weight and free up his hands.

Nowak was sat off to the side, acting as a supervisor of sorts.

“You sure this is smart?”

It was a valid question, one that Summers had put a lot of thought into. Nowak had learned to shoot when he was about Asle’s age, so there wasn’t any concern over ability. The problem was, they weren’t teaching her to fire a gun at a paper target. They were training her to use a weapon, then putting her into a situation where that might mean the difference between life and death. And not just her own. If they were marching into a war, there was a good chance they’d run into trouble, and as their interpreter, she’d be on the front lines with them.

“Depends. How confident are you that she’ll never need one?”

“You know what I mean.”

Logan stepped forward, placing a hand on Asle’s head.

“Sergeant, I don’t think we can really judge the kid’s maturity by our own standards. We’re different culturally, and that’s not even getting into biology.” Logan looked down at the kid. “That said, she’s never gone against orders or endangered herself unnecessarily during my time with her. Given the kinds of things we’ve seen, I’d say that’s impressive all on its own.”

“If we weren’t walking blind into this thing, I wouldn’t have suggested it,” Summers pointed out.

“According to your girlfriend, we’ll be in and out before shit hits the fan.”

“With the way our luck’s been, what do you think the odds are that things are going to go according to plan?” Summers countered.

“Fair point.”

“So, do we have any other options?”

“Not really,” Nowak replied. “I’ve been looking over the map. We can try going around, but there’s only a few towns nearby for resupply. If there’s trouble this close to home, I don’t expect the locals will be too friendly to strangers. Or have much to give in the way of food.”

“We could still risk it.”

“We could, but the caravan gives us the opportunity to learn the language. Plus, Synel has political sway, which might protect us against shit like what happened with the guards.” Nowak looked to Asle. “So, Asle, why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?”

“Merchants lie. She says there is danger to get close to him.” Asle gestured to Summers. “Then she says there is no danger, and we will escape. She’s a liar one way or another.”

“Asle, I don’t care if you think someone’s lying, or if you don’t like them. If you don’t tell us what someone is saying, we might not be able to