Free Disruption by Steven Whibley

what you’re asking.”
    “I know we’re young,” he added quickly, “but we’re a lot more experienced than some of the fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds. We’ve been to a lot of these camps, sir; a lot. We could be really useful. More useful than people give us credit for.”
    “I’ll keep it in mind, kid,” I said.
    Rob sighed and turned to his friends.
    “Sir,” Alexis said, “we just want to be utilized. We’ve been coming to these camps for years, participating in the same training exercises year after year, but we know we won’t be taken seriously until we participate as members of a Delta team.”
    “Years?” I asked. “You’re not even teenagers, and you’ve been coming here for years?”
    The three of them looked at me as if I’d just said a made-up word.
    “Not here, ” Alexis said hesitantly. “Camps like this one.”
    Rob nodded toward a group of cabins to his right. “This is the first year for Camp Friendship, sir.”
    This was my chance. I had to be smart about it, but if I could get these kids to tell me more about this camp or others like it, I’d be able to figure out what I was involved in better.
    I drew in a breath and straightened, doing my best to look captain-like. “All right, tell me what training exercises you’ve done.”
    Duncan cleared his throat. “We’ve been mostly limited to the standard ones,” he said. “But we’ve excelled in those.”
    I lifted my chin. “And the standard ones would be . . .”
    Duncan looked at me like he wasn’t sure I was serious. Then he shrugged and said, “Tactical firearms, principles of dynamic entry, barricade situations, and defensive tactics. Plus, we’ve had our share of the standard surveillance and counter-surveillance. You know, just the standard stuff.”
    I wasn’t even sure I knew the words he was saying, let alone what he meant by them. I was once again reminded of the SWAT shows I watched back home on TV and thought for sure some of those terms he’d used were ones I’d heard on those shows.
    “It’s just,” Rob continued, “you can’t learn, or do the cool stuff, unless you’re on a Delta team. No one considers you until you’re older.”
    I considered my team and wondered if that was why none of them had been on Delta teams before. Because they were still pretty young.
    “Of course not,” I said, trying my best to sound like I knew what I was talking about. A dozen questions sprang to mind, but I forced them back. I needed to sound like a leader. I didn’t need any rumors about how clueless I was getting back to Dalson or Smith. I decided I could ask them one more thing. “And if I were to ask you who runs this camp, what would you say?”
    “Well,” Rob began, “obviously the agency runs—”
    Alexis lunged out and punched Rob before he could finish his sentence. He spun around glaring and then seemed to realize he’d said something wrong.
    “Idiot,” Alexis muttered. “He was testing you. We’re supposed to be regular campers. What would regular campers say?”
    Rob turned back to me and sighed. “I’m sorry, sir. I wasn’t sure what you were asking.” He cleared his throat. “Camp Friendship is run by a group dedicated to cultural awareness and friendship.”
    The Agency? Which agency was he talking about? The teach-kids-to-avoid-land-mines agency? Or was this some kind of camp run by social services? At least that might explain why all the kids looked so mean, but it wouldn’t explain why the adults tried to blow them up on soccer fields.
    I was just about to ask Rob more about the agency when Alexander Bratersky came into view down the path. He had a towel over his shoulder and a few clothes in his hand. I smiled, thinking at least I wasn’t the only one who needed a shower after the soccer ball challenge. But any notion of a smile wilted when I caught a glimpse of the Arctic Fox Delta. He had paint on only one part of his body: his face. It was the color of blood and splattered in