Will's POV:

We stand in the correct posture holding our breaths despite knowing that each of our muscles are going to be crying at the end of this, if we do survive.

"Kadner, list your mistakes" Father must be really pissed to want to hear it all over again.

"I tried to get information .."

"From the start, Kadner" A shiver runs down Kadner sir. Well, sir, he is pissed at us beyond belief.

"I am training a team for a mission Sir does not approve. I got the mission sanctioned without Sir's approval from Sir's seniors. I involved an outsider in training for that mission. I tried to get information about a confidential mission without authorisation jeopardizing Major Wills' recovery" These words are going to be written on his grave if the flared nostrils are anything to go by. Thank God he did not use 'your'. His muscles will thank him for that.

"Go on, Kadner" he says with a tone that promises a bleak future

"Major Wills went on a mission not sanctioned.." No, Kadner sir! My muscles can't take any more of that. And that humiliation has me turning red as tomato. One such lesson is enough for a lifetime, sir!

"No need for that, Kadner" Thank you so much, sir! I don't think I can pay for that again.

"Major Louis tried to hide the fact of interrogation. Major Wills and Major Nick supported it by lying to Sir" Oh shit! This is like a double edged sword. His knowing what happened in that office saves us from failing in listing our mistakes but kills boss because nothing must go out of that office. And let us not think about what it means for us. Lying to him is a sin worse than being out of shape.

"Glad you covered that. Next?" The level of anger in that tone!

"Major Nick contacted me using Sir's confidants without permission and I answered his call giving information I had no right over and without permission" I do not need to look at Nick to know that he must have shivered at this. His confidants should never be violated at any cost.

"You are missing two very offensive points, Kadner"

The way he stutters tells me that we are about to crash. "I-I informed Chief.."

"Is that the correct word, boy?" he said with one eyebrow raised. Kadner Sir is going to hate the word 'inform' by the end of this.

"I lied to Chief about Sir's training methods for Sir's sons" My eyes bulge out at his words. But then again, any other words he used would have never satisfied father!

"And?"

Think, Kadner Sir, think before you die right here and drag us with you.

"S-sir, I don't know" he says shivering. I give up all hope here.

"Wills?"

Fuck me! I hope I'm right or else we are dead!

"Major Louis followed Kadner sir's instructions over Sir's" I dare not use 'your' if I wish to live! But damn, boss is going to hang me for these words if he lives to see another day.

"You agree, Kadner?" Boss, it was nice knowing you!

"Yes, sir" he says gulping

"Drop- all four of you. You are not getting up till tomorrow" Shit! I hope I don't disappoint him.

While we are on our fours, the tension is building.

"Tell me one word for each of your mistakes. Training a team without my permission. What shall we call it Nick?" Oh no! Nick is going to be shitting his pants.

"Umm.. Insub.."

"A better word, Nick. Or do you need to upgrade your vocabulary?"

"No sir. Out-of-bounds, sir?" He is going to get killed by Kadner sir.

"Not one word but I will let it pass. Louis, what shall we name the approval of mission by going above my head?" Shit! Each of us is going to sign a death warrant for the other by naming such a word. And if we live, our seniors are going to chew us out for getting to such words. Nice one, Sir!

"Indiscipline, sir" Louis sir says shaking! I can only hope it is not from his muscles but from the thoughts of what will happen to him for this word.

"Kadner, how is the training going?" How did the topic change?

"Go-good, sir" His tone tells you all you need to know. US Navy Seals trainers are supposed to be heartless bitches. Convincing a Chief of such a place to come and train a team at your location must have been a task in itself. I don't doubt the fact that he is definitely well screwed every day and our visit here must have earned him quite an extra.

"Then we shall ignore that mistake for now. I'm sure Chief would have taught you enough about that. He can finish that lesson."

I'm sure Kadner sir must have been thankful and terrified at the same time. Sir would leave him alone for that but one word from him and Chief would pick him apart bone by bone. It seems like Kadner sir is fully sandwiched between these two men. Sucks!

"Wills, what shall we name the blatant carelessness to your recovery?" Man, those words!

"Disregardful, sir?" Oh God, I hope it is correct. I do not wish to take a grammar lesson.

"And what shall we name the unauthorised interrogation, Nick? You may use that word now" Each of these words is costing us a few breaths, tons of sweat and sinking hearts. Lord knows how these words are going to be used.

"Insubordination, sir" Nick brother, let us hope you live to see tomorrow.

"Trying to hide- Kadner?"

"Conceal, sir"

"Better and bigger words, my boy"

"Camouflage, sir"

"And for lying and agreeing to lie?"

"Men-mendacious and perjury, sir" Kadner sir definitely has got a grammar lesson. I hated those! I still shudder when I think about those damn hours of torture!

"Louis- for touching my confidants"

"Felony, sir?"

Sir lets out a chuckle at that while Nick sucks in a breath. "I can atleast let you rot in jail or kick you out for felony. This is much worse. But let us keep felony for now."

"Nick- for giving out unathorised information"

"Illicit, sir?"

"Wills- another word for lying and not following the chain of command" Sorry, Kadner sir and Boss.

"Conniving and umm.. Disobedience,sir?"

This cannot go for name push-ups.

"Kadner, what shall we do for these words?" Shit! Sir please don't say name push-ups. We won't survive those.

"Umm- sir?" Smart and dumb move, Kadner sir.

"Kadner, don't try to be a smart ass. You won't like the result." You can see Kadner sir shiver at that. Sir, hand him our arms and shoulders if you want a chance to live. He is going to get this answer one way or another. Let us not delay the inevitable.

"Yes, sir. Won't happen again, sir. Name push-ups, sir?" Dear lord, these words mean hundred of thousands of push-ups. It is nearly lunch time. We won't be completing this till dinner. And God knows how many hoops he would add by then.

"Wills, count letters in each word and then count the one hand push-ups. For your mistakes, use your dominant hand and for others, use your other hand" Holy smokes! Even two handed ones are enough to sanction our death. One armed are going to kill us.

"Out-of-bounds- ..." And if I dare mess up the sequence of words, count of letters or push ups counts! My brain is going to be fried by the end of this, if we ever make it there.

By 152 one armed push-ups, Kadner sir is shaking and I'm sure to join him soon.

"I dare you to drop once, Kadner" Scratch that! He cannot drop and if I start shaking, my fate is going to be much worse. He has made it clear how I represent him. I cannot let him down right now.

First 3 words are Kadner sir's mistakes. His right hand is going to be cursing him if he does not fall down by the end of this. And I hope he does not because otherwise, all of us are going to be paying dearly for it.

--------

Prescott's POV:

"Do you plan on starving Colonel, Prescott?" Damn it! The man has some serious stealth in him. I did not hear him breathing down above me or enter this room. His words shake me but I manage to keep going.

"No, Chief. I- I" What words to use?

"He does not have the authority to dictate a lunch break or the guts to ask for one. Right, Kadner?" I have been roasted on coals since he entered.

"Yes, sir" Like I could give any other answer. Please sir, let us have some lunch.

"Don't worry about him Colonel. He needs to skip a few lunches as it is for his weight. We can have lunch" No, Chief! You don't let me have enough for one meal, let alone enough to skip a few. And Sir cannot know about my weight. He would skin me of all the extra layers I have!

"You go ahead, Chief. I'll monitor these boys. Food is a luxury they have not earned anyways" Shit! Damn you, Sir! With him, everyday you feel like a cadet on your first day wishing for a bed but feeling like it is going farther and farther away.

"Nah, Colonel. You can pass the instructions to Kyra. She will monitor them until you come. In any case, Prescott won't dare cheat. And I take it neither your boys will. Prescott has arranged a good lunch. And I won't let a guest starve for his mistake"

Sir gives in and that makes us all release a breath. His presence is a motivating factor but damn it, when he stands over you, it becomes so hard to breath.

As if on cue, Kyra enters. I must give it to her. She listens well and answers Sir's questions without shivering or stuttering. I had nearly pissed myself when he first used that tone on me.

Once he is sure that she has understood the meaning of count push-ups and how Will's would count for us, he leaves the room but not before ensuring that our asses are on fire. Kyra has one clear authority- to curse and kick us up and down if we slow down and take over the counts. And if we fall, she will inform Sir about it.

Once Sir is gone though, all the adrenaline that he supplied us with is also gone. That is replaced by fear. Those two sharing lunch could be more hazardous to my health than a bullet hitting a grenade strapped to my chest.

With the bullet, the grenade will explode but it won't touch my body to do any damage. However, all the fragments from the grenade would bury themselves like burning needles in my body slowly killing my organs one by one, all the while ensuring I die in agony and the burial can be nothing but a closed casket. God, I shiver at that image! And the lunch shared would be a much bigger disaster. I have a half a mind to fall just to get Sir back away from Chief.

Will's counts are the only thing that I concentrate on. After the past days I had and the last night, I'll be lucky if I last an hour. And Sir won't be done with a day, let alone an hour.

I hope I don't disappoint. Because then, he will definitely kill me.

I'm shaking badly at 'disregardful'. Ironic, isn't it? The damn word has no regards for my dying muscles while I am being labelled as 'disregardful'.

At 100, I cannot come up from one. Damn it! Cursing myself internally, I gulp down my shame, "Kyra, use your authority, before I fall face first" And boy, she ensured that I remained on fire. I never knew she had those words or that tone to speak them. I'll have to find those soon.

Once we made it to the end of the word, the whole 124, I could give up a whole damn pizza and a cup of coffee for the gratitude it brought me.

Sir had generously allowed us 4 breaks of a minute each. Wills must have done the math and announced one after first 3 words. None of us said anything for that minute. We caught our breaths lying on the floor and massaging our dead shoulders.

When time was up, I was thankfully back on my left arm. Finally, my right gets to take some rest. Dog just got himself some breathing space for fucking this one.

2 more words later, when we are shaking and groaning, the terror duo enters jovially with full stomachs and devil minds. God, I am so damn hungry, I could kill somebody for food.

However, that thought fades faster than a drop of water on desert when Chief speaks, "Water break" Yeah. Finally! I can extinguish this fire with water. I'm not sure if we will have dinner and I need all the energy I can get. Chief has killed me these past days and the almost the entire night. Water is one chance to give my muscles some break.

Dismissing Kyra after taking a report, Sir stands before us, sealing our fates. 2 breaks and 7 long words left! The day feels longer and longer.

The rest of the push-ups were faster and crispier, counted to perfection because Will's had a viva. No words would be enough to describe the viva we had for each of those crimes of ours. I wish the earth would just open up and swallow me whole. Atleast only we were here.

With that, we have pushed till each of those 12 words were imprinted in our memory forever. His words though were much worse than those damn push-ups. They ensured that we never fell once, yet we fell feet below the ground in his eyes.

By that time, it is time of dinner. And my body is killing me. I can barely stay awake and if it were not for Sir, I would have slept while standing or pushing.

Sir asks, "Wills, have you earned dinner or do I need to check?" What is he talking about?

Wills stutters, "Si-sir, I-we. There is no need to check, sir. Sir decides when I have earned dinner." Damn it! That pet took away our only chance at a dinner.

"Kadner, have you?" Damn you, Sir!

"Sir, I do not have the authority to decide that" Bye, dinner.. I shall see you in my next birth. God, I hate it when he drives his lesson like that.

"Then, let's find out if you have earned it or not. How many total, Wills?"

"1236, sir" Damn it! We are dead if this is our torture number. Thank God, Wills kept a correct count. Otherwise, we would have been more dead.

"Sissy squats. Hold on to the wall" No no no! Sir, you can take away our dinner but please no, sissy squats, sir! My thighs, knees, hamstrings and core would go for a toss and even then, we would be shaking like we are fish out of water. But arguing against him is not an option, ever! So, we get into sissy squats with one hand on the wall and the other on the waist, bending our knees forward, raising on our toes and then bending our torso backwards parallel to our knees. Holding this position is like signing up for hell. Lord save our souls. Within seconds, we are shaking and groaning.

"Kadner, get me four pillows, NOW" Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I run out of there thankful for the rest but each step making me cry at my poor knees. I get the damn pillows and come back reluctantly but fast knowing that a slow performance will mean a death warrant. Once I enter, I dread his words, already knowing what is coming.

"Kadner, put a pillow between their thighs. Hold on to them boys" Sorry, boys! I put a pillow between each of those boys without looking, because all of them would have a face that will make me wish pity on them.

"Kadner, get in position. Fast" "Yes, sir" is the only answer I can give. I get to do the honors of balancing the pillow myself before getting in position.

Nick drops his pillow but quickly picks it up. Too late for us though.

"Boys, 10 squats before you go back" Nick, I'll kill you! Squats after this is worse than being burnt alive! But with his words, we manage to do that and resumes the squats. Before another one of us gives away, Chief enters. We are done tonight.

"Colonel, why are they shaking like THAT" Seriously, Chief. Double meaning comments when our muscles are going in muscle failure!

"Boys?" One word and a raised eyebrow and each of us have found some reserve energy to keep holding those damn pillows tight without shaking. Chief pays no attention to this effort and leaves us to much worse fates. Damn, I thought it was dinner time.

"So, boys, if you hold them for 1236 seconds, the dinner is yours." WHAT? 1236 seconds ! Sir, we are lucky if he survive for a 60 seconds.. That is never happening!

We shake and shiver but manage to hold on tight for what feels like ages but it is only seconds, I guess, when dog drops his pillow. I cannot say anything here but I'm going to eat him if the dinner is gone.

"Kadner, how many?" Dog, you are dead! "512 seconds"

"And what does it mean?"

"I- I do 512 sit-ups ans then join the squats, sir?" I stutter out closing my eyes and accepting my fate. I can't do 10, let alone that many. But I won't throw the boys under the bus. I'm not getting out of here as it is. Why drag more people with me?

"That you will. But after I'm gone. For today, the count continues till the last man standing." What? Did he just show us mercy? God, there is definitely a catch here.

Instead of holding on the wall, I had my hand in a tight fist on the wall and my teeth grinding with the effort it took me to keep holding. Both the sons had also held on. I don't know how they can! I'm dying here.

After a few more eternities, which are a few hundred seconds only, Sir says, "Kadner, if Chief allows, then you can have some. Otherwise, sit there. Boys, let's go. Kadner, call Chief" I know that the count is not done. This means our post dinner session is going to be hell. God, he knows exactly how to kill me.

I run out of there knowing that making him wait will get me killed at the hands of Chief! Taking a wild guess, I check the gym first before going to the grounds to see where Chief is training others.

I find him leaning against a tree chatting with Miss Jane while the team is straining under the weight of a log. He must be pissed to make them do log PT! That sucks big time.

Re-arranging my face, I stand before him and say, "Chief, Sir is ready for dinner. Umm.." How shall I ask him?

Ignoring my struggle, Chief looks at the team and speaks "Put the log down and have some food. I want a better performance post-dinner if you want to sleep tonight."

A tired "Yes, Chief" is heard before we follow Chief to the cafeteria wordlessly. He need not warn the team to behave. I have already told them what would happen if I get screwed for any actions of theirs. I'm in enough trouble already.

We enter the cafeteria just in time with the boys and Sir. The team and boys immediately start grabbing food while I think of a way to get some food. I need some fuel to be on my feet right now.

"Chief, may I have some dinner?" What better than to just ask for permission. God, I hope he allows it.

"Colonel?"

"Chief, it is your decision" Chief, please, let me.

"Has he performed well, Colonel?" Shit! I'm screwed. I can feel the boys shift in their seats and the food being gulped.

"As much as you can expect from him. We shall have a better version soon" Did he compliment or complain? Sir moves ahead, leaving me alone with Chief.

"Prescott, have some. But according to the meal plan" Thank you so so so so much Chief! Any food is better than none.

Once everybody has their plates, I fill mine up with little rice and food strictly monitored by Chief and join the spot across Sir, specially reserved for me by dear Chief. I swear the man takes sadistic pleasure from my miseries.

I hope that Sir would not comment on my plate but my ass barely touches the seat before he speaks, "Did you gain weight again, Kadner?"

Before I can answer, Chief speaks, "Is this a regular occurrence, Colonel?" Chief, stop playing with my life here.

"It was during his first year. But he learned to keep it in control after a few nights out" says Sir in a tone that tells me we will be speaking more about this when we are alone.

"Seems like he needs a revisit of that too, Colonel" Thank you, Chief for confirming his decision! Chief continues re-opening old wounds, "He has made it back to the borderline of allowable weight right now but this time, he will have to get to the average if he wants food and rest!"

No matter what I say, Chief does not believe me when I say that it is impossible.

"I tried everything, Chief. Had him shed layers of skin on empty stomach but the boy never lost a gram more than where he is now." Thank you, sir! Atleast those days may pay-off.

"Let's see what happens this time" No no no! Chief sees this as a challenge! Fuck this! I need to find a place to stash food if I want to live on anything more than air and pitiable food.

While I try to contemplate the amount of food that is going to further cut down from my plate, I saw Sir passing laser looks to Wills.

Poor boy, I know that feeling. He must have done something terrible, and paid for it even more terribly.

But why now, when the discussion is about food and weight?

Suddenly I notice Sir's eyes on me, causing me to choke on the food passing down my throat.

He raises his eyebrows, asking me what the heck am I doing.

I nod a 'nothing', move my head down and stay quiet as I eat whatever Chief will allow me right now! The boys as it is have a front row seat to this show! Thank you both for this wonderful humiliating ride!

The rest of the dinner is over in blissful silence, other than Colonel informing Chief of our night outs and inquiring from Miss Jane about her time at the beach.

Rosh must have stopped breathing when Miss Jane was asked. I smile internally at that. We had no energy to speak and no intention to get killed over dinner. We just put our heads down and eat.

Post dinner, we are on the beach. Calm, peaceful, serene beach is now going to be filled with sweat and words from Colonel. Let's hope we don't have my grave here.

"Did you have enough fuel?" We are going to hear things we would rather not hear for this tank re-fuel.

"Yes, sir" comes a uniform answer in varied degreea of fear! Sir, we hate that answer but we can't say anything else if we want a dinner ever.

"Kadner, start again. This time if any of you falls, I'm holding you responsible" Oh no! I was never the SC sir. That was Wills! He has the experience of getting screwed for other's mistakes. Please sir, don't put this on me.

"Yes, sir. It won't happen, sir" because they know what awaits them if it does.

On a beach with support of a tree, the exercise makes any man think of committing suicide. Not that we didn't bring this upon ourselves. God, what idiots were we! Shaking, grunting and cursing ourselves, we hold on till the damn time is over. The moment it is over, we fall on our backs, crying at the muscle burn we felt. God they are screaming!

"Up in 5. Suicides" Kill me already!

Using my hands, I push myself up and start running across this god forsaken beach cringing at the impact my knees are getting.

"I said suicides, boys. Don't make me commit homicide" We need to RUN!

Gathering all my reserves, I push but no matter how hard I try, Sir keeps pushing for better result. By the time he is done, I have no idea of the counts and my body is giving up. I'm tired as fuck and in no condition to move an inch, let alone do this for the entire night. God, kill me already!

"Drop"

Others immediately scramble to drop while I stand straight with my eyes below the ground. I can't do it anymore. Before I can beg him to give us some rest, his tone makes me re-think my decision, "Kadner, you are really getting on my nerves now"

Sorry, Sir! "Sir, I'm ready to do anything you say. But please sir, I beg you to not do it right now. Chief has been sc- training me non-stop for days because he knew you will not waste a second to let me rest. Please sir, just let us all go now. We will offer our neck after a few hours." I say it with my eyes still trained on the ground in one breath knowing this is my only chance.

I hold my breath in as he contemplates if he should let us go or not. "Fine. Three and half hours of sleep is all you get, Kadner. Report at the gym sharp at 0030 hours. Remember your words. Nothing less than 'anything I say'. Pay 50 push-ups for speaking without permission, 50 for use of wrong words and 100 for the delay. Louis, count them."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir. " I ask thankful yet fearful of saying those words.

-------

Nick's POV:

Dad asks Kadner sir something that had him right at the edge of that red hot sword again, after he just begged to get off of it for the time being. "Tell me one thing Kadner. If Chief wouldn't have made you call me, I would have never known about your team and mission. Right?"

*********

A/N:

Surprise! Surprise! Yup.. Another chapter, which is almost 2 chapters long! And a cliffhanger (Evil smile!)

Now, we shall go and rest for a lifetime.. After all, our job is done here.