Free THE PRIZE: BOOK TWO - RETRIBUTION by Rob Buckman

nodded. “You’ll also have twenty five fully equipped ground troops on call to help clean up the more violent elements in your district if you need them.”
    “Good to know. It’s very bad out there in places, sort of like Afghanistan and Lebanon all rolled into one.”
    “Remember this, never point the guns inward, always outward towards the bad guys, never towards the innocent. You are the servant and protector of the people, not their lord and master.”
    “Now I understand the meaning of the test.” His eyes flicked to the doorway and he visibly shivered. “All the others that come out of that doorway are going to be like me, aren’t they?” Penn nodded.
    “Mostly.” He answered, seeing Simpson look at the row of uniforms on the table.
    “I wondered why there were so few uniforms, considering the number of applicants. Now I understand.”
    “You are taking on a huge responsibility, one that only one man in a hundred is capable of. People will try to bribe you, con you, and or kill you in so many different ways. From IEDs and snipers, to old west style shootouts, to trying to stab you in the back, but don’t worry. You’ll be dealing with everything from domestic violence and petty criminals, all the way up to war lords, pocket kingdoms, criminal gangs, slavers and god knows what else. The uniform and equipment you’ll have will protect you from most kinds of firepower you will come up against, and gradually you will have more Rangers assigned to your district to help.”
    “And if the situation is more than I can handle, like a full scale army?”
    “Now the Imperials have gone, the bigger the rogue groups will become, so if you run into anything bigger then you can handle, you can call in the Marines. Your job is to re-establish the rule of law for everybody, equally by whatever means you deem necessary.”
    “Sounds like a good plan.”
    “You can call in Rangers from the surrounding districts to help as well. But like the Texas Rangers used to say. …’One riot, one ranger’… You will also be able to call upon construction equipment on a ‘as needed’ basis to help in the rebuilding process.”
    “Got it.” Simpson smiled then, just as a second person, a woman this time walked out of the doorway. Wiry, with short, dark brown hair, she looked tough, but the look in her eyes said she’d been through a similar experience to Simpsons.
    “Hello Ranger. My name is Simpson.” He held his hand out. The woman hesitated for a moment, and then shook it.
    “Musgrave, Gina Musgrave. So I’m a Ranger now am I.” She looked at Penn.
    “If you still want the job you are.” For a moment, she looked as if she’d bitten into something sour.
    “Do you have any idea of the hell I’ve had to go through for the last few months… wait?” She stopped and looked around the room, seeing exactly the same thing she’d seen when she came in originally. “It wasn’t months, was it?” She said, more of a statement than a question.
    “For you it was months, here,” Penn looked at his watch. “About half an hour.”
    “But… but… how… Hell I almost died in that hellhole!” She snapped.
    “And proved you were worthy to wear the uniform of a Ranger.” Her anger faded.
    “You’ve been through there yourself, haven’t you?” Penn just smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course you have. It all makes sense now.”
    “So, Ranger Simpson will explain the basic rules while you and he grab a mug of coffee. It shouldn’t be long before the remainder arrives.”
    Just then, a third person staggered out the doorway, an old man, with long gray hair and a haunted look in his eyes. It was all that remained of the burly looking man with unshaven cheeks who’d swaggered through the doorway less than an hour before. He looked at the three of them a moment, then at the uniforms on the table and shook his head.
    “Not fair… you never told us.” He sobbed, looking at them with pleading eyes. “I never