Free Opposing Force: Book 01 - The God Particle by Anthony Decosmo

levels."
    Gant kept his smile—more of a dam holding back a tidal surge of annoyance—and asked, "So, are you going to tell me who controls the rest?"
    "That's a good question."
    That was it, the final straw, superior officer or not he was going to give her a piece of his mind—but then he caught himself. His annoyance subsided and his smile grew into a sincere grin and he nearly laughed.
    "You said you did the psych profiles for my team. I assume this is your way of updating my file?"
    Colonel Thunder flashed a devilish smirk. "Sorry, Major. You could say I'm establishing a baseline. Normally I'm not this much of an asshole. The truth is, I'm as new here as you are, and I’m having a tough time trying to get a handle on it myself."
    "Who was your predecessor?"
    "I’d better not tell you that until you hear the whole story or, at least, what we know of the whole story. Or what I know. Or what—aw shit, we’ll just talk and maybe you can figure it out, because I sure can’t."
    The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. Another security desk with another soldier waited. Both officers presented their identification and signed another logbook.
    Colonel Thunder led him along the corridor beneath buzzing fluorescent lights. They came to an office door, which she unlocked using a good old-fashioned key.
    "You said, ‘welcome to Hell Hole.’ What is that supposed to mean?"
    "This place," she said as she led him inside and closed the door hard behind them. "It’s called ‘Hell Hole’ by everyone who’s served here. I’m starting to see why."
    She sat behind the desk, checked her watch, and went on, "I’m expecting General Borman any moment now. He might fill you in on some more details, but in the meantime you’ve been cleared for full disclosure."
    "I've been told to take my orders directly from Borman. Normally he's my boss's boss."
    They shared a chuckle of understanding as she remarked, "There's definitely no shortage of bosses in the army these days."
    "In the meantime, why Hell Hole?"
    Lieutenant Colonel Thunder leaned forward and spoke to him across the desktop.
    "First things first. Major Gant, you are here for two reasons. To start with, you have experience dealing with unconventional enemies. Quite frankly, I’m surprised they don’t have a better name for that but I guess it sort of covers the range of what you handle."
    He said, "I am certain that someone at the Pentagon spends every weekday from nine until five researching an appropriate acronym. Until they have completed that project, I suppose we have to stick with something basic."
    "I suppose so. As I said, I’ve been fully and completely briefed on your unit and activities. I know about Arrows in ’04, I know about Manitoba, and I know about your party in the Everglades a few mornings ago. I also know your history as an operator before you got into the fancy stuff. Impressive, really. Like I said, I did your psych evals a few years back. At that time I didn’t know the particulars of Archangel. It wasn’t until I came here that I got the full scoop."
    He quipped, "Welcome to my world."
    "Quite frankly, if I had heard about your adventures a few weeks ago I’d have been impressed and possibly floored with the implications, but I’ll leave that to the scientists and the philosophers. In the meantime, you need to believe me when I tell you that all of your experience can’t prepare you for this place."
    "You said there were two reasons I am here. The first, I guess, is because I know enough to believe in the boogeyman. What is the second?"
    "I’m not exactly sure how to put this," she said, searching for the right words. "Let’s say that you’ve got a nice, ordered, disciplined mind."
    "So does your average computer. Where you going with this?"
    "The reason I’m in command of this base is because of my experience with PsyOps, and I don't mean your run-of-the-mill white, gray, or black stuff."
    Gant knew that basic psychological