Jake later called Allison with his decision. Unsurprisingly, she was delighted to hear it. Then, he asked her to put together a platoon. Much to his dismay, though, she was unable to do that. She had been away for too long; most of the men and women she had served with were either in Iraq or scattered across the States. At any rate, their orders were to go to the Pentagon, where their superiors would brief them on their mission. Therefore, the two of them caught the first flight available to the capital.

Jake avoided her like the plague, throughout their trip. He wouldn’t speak to her at the airport and chose a seat as far away as possible from her. Apart from her massive lie, Allison had caused him and Holly too much trouble. He knew that, sooner or later, she would attempt to talk to him about their situation, even though he had been clear there was nothing to discuss. Jake had to focus on the task at hand; he couldn’t afford any distractions, especially one as painful as their messed up past.

The two of them arrived at the Pentagon, on a cold, rainy, late-February night. He would not address her there either; neither would he walk alongside of her. Allison had to effectively chase him down the wide corridors of the huge building. Jake entered an elevator and pressed the second floor button fast. To his disappointment though, she managed to jump into it, just before the doors slid closed.

“Damn it…” he hummed to himself.

“You could at least be a little more polite,” she complained, gasping for breath as she turned to him.

“And why would I do that?” Jake grumbled, as their eyes met, “So that you can talk to me about us? I don’t think so. We got a job to do here.”

“I wasn’t going to do that!” Allison claimed in a squeaky voice.

“Really?” he smirked. “What would you have been talking about?”

“I wanted to tell you about General Holden.” She lowered her tone. “He’s a real hardass. I don’t think he’s going to like you very much.”

“Who cares?” Jake murmured, as the elevator door slid open. “We won’t have to suffer each other for long, anyway. How do you know?”

“Simms told me about him.” Allison spoke, as they stepped onto the second floor. “He doesn’t like him much, either. They were on the phone this morning. When Simms mentioned you to him, he said something like: “I’m not working with quitters”.”

He kept his mouth shut, preferring not to comment, as they headed towards the situation room, down the corridor. Of course, Jake didn’t like what he had just heard, but, if he had any chance of saving his friends, he had to cooperate with General Holden. The two of them entered the large, bright room. More than a dozen officers had already taken up their seats and were waiting for the General. Across from them, there was a blackboard and a map of Fallujah and the surrounding area. Not too much later, the General joined them, accompanied by a young, male Lieutenant. Every man and woman in uniform rose.

“At ease,” General Holden commanded in his gravelly voice. “Lieutenant Hendricks, go ahead.”

“Thank you, sir.” The young officer said, pointing a yellow stick to the map. “About 36 hours ago, a patrol ran into a truck full of ISIS elements roughly one mile west of the village of Tahoona, Fallujah. Bravo Company platoons Charlie and Delta were tasked with some reconnaissance in the surrounding area. They were supposed to report back to Headquarters at nineteen hundred hours local time last night, but they failed to do so. Forty five minutes after the incident, they contacted Headquarters. They said they had been vastly outnumbered. Sergeants Rivers and Sanchez had been captured. Twelve of our guys escaped with minor injuries. Two are in serious condition.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” The General assumed a firm, strict tone. “One of our drones recorded the incident. The Iraqis roughed our boys up quite badly, but they’re alive. They were led to a remote compound, two miles north of Tahoona. This is where you come in. According to our satellite pictures, there are twelve hostiles in that building at all times: two at the gate, five in the yard and five more inside. Obviously, we can’t drive there and we can’t use choppers. Both options will attract too much attention. The safest option is parachuting. There’s a power line fuse box, two hundred yards away from the village limits. Delta Company platoon Alpha will be there. They’ll kill the power upon request and take out the guards: any questions so far?”

“Sir,” Jake raised his hand in the air. “Captain Jake Isaacs: United States Marine Corps; I don’t have any questions. I’d like to suggest a battle plan. A twofold attack would be ideal. My platoon, Alpha jumps first. Lieutenant Barnes’s platoon, Bravo jumps a couple of minutes later. We land on the roof of the targeted building; we take out any hostiles there and the ones in the yard. Barnes’ platoon lands in the yard: we go in from the roof; they go in from the ground. Those Iraqis won’t know what hit them.”

His words put a bitter smile on the General’s face.

“Everybody: clear the room. I’d like to speak to the two platoon leaders in private.” He commanded.

Jake and Allison arose, as the rest of their fellow officers obeyed. There was a sad look on the short, overweight man’s face, one that Jake didn’t understand. But, everything became clear, as soon as the General verbalized.

“Brilliant plan,” the General stated, unable to hide his admiration. “That’s exactly what I would do. I didn’t expect this from a quitter.”

“I didn’t fly all the way from Boston to be insulted,” Jake protested.

“I wasn’t trying to insult you, kid,” General Holden declared. “I just don’t understand why you, a fine officer from all accounts…” He paused: “…threw it all away.”

“I’m a little tired to have that same old conversation, sir.” Jake lowered his voice.

“We’ll provide you with more satellite and drone photos later on. Get some rest,” the General suggested. “You’re leaving at twenty two hundred hours.”