Justin quickly realized that he was not in the good 'ole United States anymore. The amenities here were scarce. Christ, everyone seemed to stink, and the food rations were slim. Justin checked out the pantry, and absconded a can of Chef Boy Ardee raviolis. He was starving as usual. He was still a growing boy after all, at the tender age of twenty. He sat down on the steps, and began enthusiastically digging in with his metal utensil. A couple of the men sat down near him and greeted him. "Hey sergeant, I'm Pvt. Johnson, this is Pvt. Jimenez, and this is Pvt. Battaglia." Justin reached for their outstretched hands. At least the men appeared to be friendly, he thought. Over the next two hours, Justin gained a plethora of information from the men in his platoon. They seemed eager to impart their vast knowledge about their surroundings, as well as their CO. According to the men, Brian Kinney was a brilliant tactician, and a capable leader. He was consistently fair in his dealings, and they trusted him with their lives. While Justin was surprised to hear the men's highly regarded opinions of Lt. Kinney, the next bit of information totally rocked his world. Matt, the big burly soldier with the Italian last name, made a remark about the lieutenant being an okay guy, even though he batted for the other team. Justin's curiosity was peaked now, and of course he had to inquire what Matt meant by that. "It's a well known fact that Kinney is queer", Matt informed him. Justin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He told you that?" he asked incredulously. "No, but rumor has it that he can have his pick of guys to fuck, and he reportedly has a very active libido. It's never with anyone directly in his command, and the lieutenant supposedly meets them outside the compound. Once, some enlisted guy almost caught him in the act. Allegedly, the powers that be choose to look the other way, because he does such a kickass job following orders, and saving their collective hides." Justin had to admire Brian Kinney and his "I don't give a shit attitude." Justin was gay himself, but had been relieved to be able to harbor in the sanctity of the army's recent policy of "Don't ask, don't tell." He lived in constant fear of the repercussions if anyone found out for sure that he was gay. It had never occurred to him that Lt. Kinney was a homosexual, because his entire affect was that of a straight, arrogant asshole. Digesting this new tidbit of information, caused Justin to want to impress his commander all the more. He wanted to prove that he wasn't some little faggot that would run at the thought of danger. Kinney wasn't the only one with balls. Justin returned to his room resigned to getting a much needed rest, in preparation for the next day. At 0600 in the morning, Justin was startled to find he was being summoned to attend a meeting that was to commence in 10 minutes, with the lieutenant and the battalion leader. When he hastily entered the building, the lieutenant reprimanded him for being tardy. Justin started to explain, when the lieutenant abruptly cut him off and said, "No excuses Taylor. Just get your ass in gear. We were supposed to be in there 5 minutes ago." They walked in tandem to the conference room to meet with the Major. After a curt greeting, he revealed the specific details of their mission. Justin and Brian became acutely aware of the danger that seemed to be inherent in this particular assignment. Pondering the stakes, Justin's stomach was doing flip flops, and he felt flush. Upon leaving the office, Brian took note of Justin's discomfort. He turned to him and asked, "You up for this, kid?" Justin, not wanting to expose an iota of self doubt to his CO responded, "Not a problem Sir. I'm ready." Brian divided up the platoon between himself and Justin. They would each have eight men under their command. Brian thought it important to give the kid a quick review on the hazards of the land. Before they left the compound, he reminded him one last time about the snipers and the mines. "Don't be a hero college boy." Brian implored him. "Our goal is to get to our intended rendezvous without incident."