Sister Widow Makers

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

-Proverbs 18:24

Brook

“Target entered the room,” Kay murmured in my ear. My Remington rifle laid ready on a tripod as I lined up behind it to take the recoil without issue. The Remington used a smaller caliber bullet that was quick and wind-resistant which I needed on this mission.

“Roger.”

Kay estimated range then read off the data on previous engagements - or DOPE - for that range. We didn’t need to figure in the Coriolis Effect for the distance we were at. She then provided me with the barometric pressure, wind reading, and density altitude. All necessary for taking accurate shots. I confirmed the information and adjusted my scope with my left hand accordingly. I inhaled slowly, swallowing down the foreboding gathering in my chest.

“Spotters up.”

“Mmmm.” We agreed on this noise to let her know I was ready to fire, so I didn’t have to talk and risk moving off target. Focus was key.

“Send it.”

Applying a slight amount of pressure from the pad of my finger on the trigger allowed the weapon to fire. The bang of my rifle filled the air with the slight smell of sulfur fitting for the occasion. I informed her where I aimed the reticle. I struck my target dead center. She congratulated me on a good shot as I lined up for the second. We repeated the process and I sent my second shot before the other target knew what happened.

This time I missed. Kay told me where to correct and I sent my third round within seconds.

“Nice shot, sis.”

A couple of days ago Kay, my older sister, and I set up a sniper hide complete with booby traps to make sure no one snuck up on us while we waited for the target. Now that the mission was over, we needed to high-tail it out before anyone of their comrades came searching for us.

Once we were in the clear, we laughed and joked to keep our minds off of the people we killed. It took a toll if we dwelled on our jobs for any length of time. Thinking about killing bad guys and actually doing it were two different things.

“You look a hot mess.” Kay stood and stretched. “I hope you plan on showering before seeing Bennett.”

“I’d take a look at that rat’s nest you call hair before talking about me.” I rolled over to sit up as she rolled her eyes at my comeback. We gathered our equipment seeing who could finish faster as we jibed each other.

Kay and I always competed with each other over everything, even as children - who was better at drawing, who ran the fastest, who climbed the highest. In reality, we balanced each other out. She ran faster, but I had more endurance. I was analytical and she was creative. We made a good team when we got along. Joining the military helped us learn to work better as a unit. We already knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so we pulled each other up and brought out the best in each other.

“That’s all of it.” Kay didn’t want to admit defeat, so she brushed over the fact I finished a few seconds before her. “Let’s get back to camp before the sun sets.”

I thought about the MRE in my rucksack. “I would much rather eat at the DFAC than have to eat another MRE.” I grimaced.

“I know. All I have left is the disgusting omelet one.”

After we updated the higher-ups on the status of our mission - a total success - we showered then headed to the DFAC for the first hot meal we had in several days.

“What are you doing after this, B?” Kay shoveled a fork full of pork chop into her mouth.

“Probably going to sneak into Bennett’s tent.” I missed him every time we left and I looked forward to discussing what happened around here in my absence. Kay rolled her eyes at me as if she didn’t plan to do the same with O’Brien. “What about you?”

“Probably the same with O’Brien.” Kay twirled her hair around her finger with that longing look in her eyes. It appeared whenever she talked about her beloved O’Brien.

“It’s just cute how hung up on him you are.” I loved taunting her. If I didn’t, we probably wouldn’t have half of our arguments. We drove our chain of command crazy with our bickering. We might or might not have counseling statements to prove it.

“Oh, and you aren’t with Bennett?”

I shrugged. “Eh... I do like them tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Well, he at least has the tall and dark down... Now handsome... eh...”

I chuckled at her jab. Before we dated anyone, we discussed all of the men in our platoon and who was the best looking, so I knew she thought highly of him.

“Yeah, like O’Brien is better looking.” I rolled my eyes shoving another large piece of pork chop in my mouth.

“Really? What’s wrong with O’Brien?” Kay folded her arms across her chest and furrowed her brow - I knew I’d struck a nerve.

“Sorry, I’m not into a guy who cries for his mommy every night.” Pretty sure I spewed some of my food out while talking with my mouth full. It was too delicious to stop eating and have a proper conversation.

“He doesn’t cry about it!” She huffed. “We can’t all have men who don’t give a left nut about their family-like Bennett.”

I gritted my teeth to keep from slinging more insults. I liked O’Brien as my future brother-in-law and nothing I wanted to say would be respectful towards him.

“Whatever. I’ll see you in the morning.” I had to end such quarrels or it would turn into an all-out brawl. Kay had some weight and height on me, but I excelled at hand-to-hand combat. It would be a good fight if we ever did go at it. The guys or I ended it before it ever reached that point though. When we were teenagers, we sometimes fought, but we never hurt one another - at least not too bad. I choked her one time after she punched my cheek; however, our friends jumped in and broke it up before I did any damage. We probably needed anger management looking back now.

As I strolled past some men, I noticed them sneaking glances at me. It was hard being one of only two women with an infantry unit stationed in Afghanistan. There were not many women snipers, but we had each other’s backs even when bickering. At least with us being the only women around, we didn’t have to worry about O’Brien or Bennett cheating unless they picked up a local.

Fortunately, I didn’t stress about getting pregnant like other deployed women who dated within their company because we never had sex. Two reasons made up this decision. One getting pregnant would end our careers - at least for a while. Two, we believed fornication was wrong for religious reasons. That may sound incongruous considering we annihilate people for a living, but I saw it as protecting our country and didn’t see a problem with it.

The sun already set when I left the DFAC walking toward Bennett’s tent. We usually met in his tent to avoid temptation since he had to share with all the men in our platoon. My head swiveled as I glanced at my surroundings - staying vigilant. As a soldier in a war zone, I could never be too careful. However, when a pair of hands grabbed my mouth and waist as I passed a building on my right, my breath caught in my throat. The person must have lurked behind the wall and I noticed them too late.

My training kicked in and I immediately began struggling for the upper hand. The man weighed twice what I did and almost a foot taller than me. My feet dangled off the ground, but I still attempted to kick the man between his legs. The man dropped me unceremoniously after blocking my assault. I hastily righted myself and whirled around to face my attacker.

“Holy crap, Bennett! You scared me half to death!” Bennett laughed at my flustered state and my refusal to curse. “I was just on my way to see you, but maybe I should just take my behind to my own tent!”

“Don’t be like that, Sunflower.” My nickname from him though I never understood it. Apparently, my hazel eyes reminded him of sunflowers or something. He scooped me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest while I huffed.

“Nah, don’t ‘Sunflower’ me after scaring me like that!” I slapped his arm yet he didn’t flinch or seem bothered at all.

“Looks like you still have more to learn before you can take on someone my size.” I rolled my eyes at that comment. The men always tried to prove that women shouldn’t be in combat even when I could outshoot all the men in this camp.

“Tell that to me on the range,” I retorted and started to walk away. Bennett grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. He lifted my head gazing into my eyes.

“Take your hair down. You look much prettier when it’s not in a bun.” Bennett tugged at my hair tie, unaware of how utterly annoyed I was with his very existence at this moment.

“Get out of my face, Bennett.” I smacked his arm again still no reaction from him.

“Make me, Turner.” I huffed knowing there wasn’t much physically I could do aside from shooting him.

“Come on, Sunflower. I missed you while you were out on your mission. I just wanted to surprise you.” He stroked my cheek with two of his knuckles, attempting to butter me up. Although I hated to admit it, it worked.

“Fine, but I can’t take down my hair until we’re in your tent. I’m still in uniform.” My hair went down to my lower back - way past regulation - which states a woman’s hair can’t extend below the bottom edge of her collar.

Once in Bennett’s tent, I unwrapped the hair tie keeping my hair in its tight bun. Bennett dressed in basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. I stripped off my ACU top then sat on his cot to remove my boots. The mission drained my energy, and I desperately needed sleep. As I laid back, Bennett snuggled up to me, holding my back tightly to his chest. We both drifted off to sleep without speaking a word. We found it challenging to talk in his tent anyway considering Bennett and O’Brien lived in a large tent with various makeshift partitions between people. The only object keeping others from hearing us was a bed sheet; needless to say, there was no privacy. There were a couple of embarrassing incidents where we could hear men pleasing themselves. Another time they discussed who was hotter - Kay or me - as we listened in. We learned quite a bit about our positive and negative qualities that evening. Bennett and O’Brien had a few choice words for the men about respect afterwards. Most of the men knew we dated and spent time in their sleeping quarters, so their naiveté deserved reprimand.

The next morning, Kay and I met at the DFAC with Bennett and O’Brien in tow. The shower felt amazing after a few days of sleeping on a pad in the heat of Afghanistan without running water in sight. Using baby wipes to wipe off while out on a mission provided little refreshment no matter how many times I had to do it.

We sat on opposite sides of the table from each other. PDA - or public display of affection - while in uniform was also against regulations; besides, we didn’t want the higher-ups knowing about our relationships, so Bennett and I tried to keep our distance and likewise with Kay and O’Brien. Our conversations usually consisted of what we would do when we got back to the civilian world. Bennett planned on being a security guard or personal bodyguard for a celebrity. O’Brien wanted to start his own security business. Kay and I resolved against planning until our men decided how our relationships would progress. Call me old fashion, but I expected my man to propose. Bennett and I discussed marriage, but he had yet to officially propose. Kay hadn’t revealed anything about how her and O’Brien’s relationship progressed, while they seemed content, I didn’t know for sure.

After breakfast, we walked to a large dirt field where our company held standard mandated formation twice a day to receive information from the higher-ups and keep track of soldiers. At formation, Kay and I learned we had a briefing to attend at 0930. I dreaded another mission this soon after returning from our last one. I felt worn out physically and mentally, but there weren’t many who could do the job as efficiently as Kay and I could.

En route to the briefing, Bennett approached me. “Turner, they are going to send you back out.” He knew what was coming as much as I did.

“I know,” I sighed, hating his depressed expression. It was a look as if to say he might never see me again. “You know I’m the best. Stop worrying every time I have to leave camp.” That did nothing to prevent his gaze from dropping or the worry lines on his forehead from appearing.

“That will never happen. When we get back to the States, I plan on making you my wife and ensuring you stay out of harm’s way,” Bennett promised while staring intently into my eyes.

“That’s sweet and all, but I enjoy the excitement. I would get bored being a housewife or with a regular 9 to 5.” After deploying 5 times in 3 years and going on countless missions, I didn’t know how I would adjust to civilian life.

“Well, maybe you could do sniper training or something else.” He brushed his hand along my cheek.

“We’ll talk about it more when I get back.” I stepped away before he could draw me in anymore. “I’m going to be late.”

“You never said ‘no’ to me making you my wife,” Bennett called after me as I started to walk away.

I twirled around giving him a flirtatious wink with my signature smirk then kept walking. What that man does to me, I sighed.