Free Humanity: After It Happened Book 2 by Devon C Ford Page A

three times a week where he ran them until they sweated, then made them lift weights and finish with a session on the mats where they drilled over and over with close quarters scenarios.  Leah kept up as much as she could and paid close attention to the lessons in weapon retention.  She had also been training with Lexi and was starting to develop some muscle.
    Twice Dan had overtly tried to get Marie to be part of Ops, and both times she flatly refused him.  He raised good points with her skills of planning and organising being an asset, but her mind was made up.  He had even approached Penny about it, but she was firmly on the side of Marie.
    She felt her professional experience was of no value yet; there weren’t enough people to police and nothing to investigate.  She had decided to use her education in a more practical setting, and after some discussion she became the group’s first mental health professional.  She had a degree in psychology, and through her work had been trained as a counsellor.  She had also studied art, and ran a drawing class. 
    She was allocated a room, furniture needs were met and the rules of confidentiality firmly set.  Similar to the medical records being established, Marie met each member of the group in turn, taking nearly two weeks, and discussed how they were coping.  Nearly half of the group booked a return visit.
    Dan grudgingly attended, and was as closed off about his past as he always was but felt tempted to book a follow up session just so he could spend more time with her.  She fascinated him, but he couldn’t get close to her without looking like a lost puppy.  He tried to push her from his mind; he had a lot to plan for with scouting trips and scavenging runs set to start again soon.
    Lexi had fussed over Paul who was very groggy for the first week.  Kate, using complex medical terminology, had declared him badly concussed with a raft of soft tissue injuries from the crash, and watched him like a hawk. 
    “What’s a sub-dural haematoma?” Leah whispered to Dan as Kate spoke.
    “It’s a lump on the head” Dan answered in a stage whisper to annoy the paramedic, receiving a cold stare from Kate in reward.
    Paul insisted that he felt better, and was released.  The subject of his employment was raised in a council meeting, and Neil asked to talk to him with Mike to see if his architectural knowledge was of use to them. 
    It turned out it was; not only was he an architect but he also site-managed and had built a few commercial properties.  He knew a little about scaffolding, and was instantly hired.  He also, being a bit of a gym nut and heralded as a ninja according to Lexi, agreed to take over the running of the fitness and self defence programs.
    Interdepartmental requirements had been drawn up, and a long list of supplies was needed.  Scaffolding and building tools were requested for engineering, equipment and feed for the farm, food and water for stores as their supplies had been depleted over winter.  Sera needed veterinary supplies and equipment for the horses, Kate needed medical supplies and an abundance of suturing kits she joked.  Dan raised a self-conscious hand to the neat zip marks on his face.  Clothes were required, as was all the fuel they could find to keep their vehicles and generators running.
    All of these requirements had to be assessed, prioritised and researched for the appropriate site.  These sites then had to be checked by the Rangers and reported back on as to whether it was yes or no to the site, and a decision on if the teams should be escorted.  Dan took a long list of notes, and decided to call his whole team in the next morning for an admin day and to lay down new standard operating procedures.
    Neil, Mike, Carl, Ian, Adam and Paul set to work planning how the solar panel project would work and wrote endless lists of requirements, including every vehicle battery from the larger stuff that could be found.  Jack was recruited