Chapter 1: The Call Sign
Ellie had kept her call sign to herself for years, and she had no plans to say it until someone made her.
It was a sunny afternoon on the training ground of the base.
Sunlight spread across the flat concrete, and about twenty soldiers in camouflage stood at attention along the edge of the field.
Pale barracks buildings sat in the distance.
The name tapes and shoulder patches on every uniform were blank, and nothing in the scene had any lettering on it.
At the front of the formation stood Wes, twenty-eight, square-jawed, with a close-cropped head, in a camouflage uniform.
A teasing smile played on his mouth.
He glanced toward the woman beside him and spoke with easy mockery.
"What's your call sign?
A video game?"
Beside him stood Ellie, thirty, slim, oval-faced, her hair pinned neatly back, in an olive-green jacket and dark sunglasses.
Her hands were folded behind her back and she stood perfectly straight.
She did not smile and she did not look at him.
Her voice was even.
"Fury Ten."
Off to the side of the formation stood Gunnery Sergeant Doyle, forty-five, broad-shouldered, with close-cut gray hair, in a sergeant's uniform.
He had already been standing rigid.
At those two words his face locked, and the color drained out of it bit by bit.
He moved forward, his eyes fixed on her face, and his voice came out low.
"That call sign was never public."
He stopped.
His voice tightened, and each word came out on its own.
"Twelve marines were trapped."
He looked at her and could barely get the last line out.
"Fury Ten didn't turn back."
Ellie slowly lifted a hand, took off her sunglasses, and met his eyes with a calm, steady gaze.
May you like
The smile on Wes's face vanished altogether, and his lips parted.
Not a single soldier in the formation moved, and the whole training ground was silent.
