Minutes to Burn

"We were sitting there wet with shit and piss and he started shaking and I thought he was gonna stand up and start pounding on the door and fuck it up for all of us. So I leaned over and I said, 'Kates, look at me. When you think you're gonna lose it, just look over here into my eyes.' And he did.

"We sat there like that for the last sixteen hours, staring into each other's eyes. That's when I first fell in love with him. You can tell a lot about a person from looking into their eyes for sixteen hours. Not much you can hide." She smiled at the memory. "I don't think we even blinked."

"Wow. I'm speechless."

"Let me savor that," Cameron said.

Szabla shoved her and she stumbled, laughing and splashing.

"I apologized, you bitch. Besides, I'm your senior officer."

"Yes, 'cause we're known for our formality on the teams." Cameron bent her legs, drifting with the water up around her neck. "Sir."

"Navy SEALs. Golden bad boys. That's what my highly cerebral brother calls us. He's a Marine."

"A Marine. Jesus, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, so am I." Szabla raised some water in her cupped hands and moistened her face. "Marines. Fuckin' bullet sponges."

Cameron leaned back into the water again. The world went quiet and the setting sun was on her face and she wanted to stay like this, out here, half-dipped in water so pure she could watch the fish swimming around her ankles.

Cameron stood back up and faced Szabla. With the sun behind her, her face was shadowed, and Szabla couldn't see her mouth move when she talked. "I was so sure I was ready to walk away when Justin and I went reserves," she said. "But the teams always filled a big place in me. Bigger than I knew. It's weird, but I never thought how much I'd miss it. Humping gear. Plugging wounds. Spaghetti and meatballs from a pouch. Blisters. Wearing pantyhose to keep the leeches out." She worked her bottom lip between her teeth. "I wasn't ready, though. I was relieved to get called back for this mission. Only it's not fitting right now, being a soldier. Not like it used to." She shoveled her hands in the water and brought them up over her head, feeling it wash down across her face.

Szabla stared out across the shimmering water. "Maybe it's time to move on for real. Hang up your M-4. Make your own schedule. Choose your own responsibilities."

Cameron turned to the side and the glare of the sun broke across her silhouette. Szabla squinted into the light as Cameron spoke. "I've para-chuted from thirty thousand feet with oxygen and a forty-three-pound, one-kiloton-yield special atomic demolition munition strapped to my body." When she spoke again, her voice was flat. "But I'm not sure I'm up to that challenge."

Justin watched his wife bathing, Szabla at her side. Someone moved behind him, and cigarette smoke wafted over his shoulder.

"Must be nice," Savage said. "Having a wife like that."

"Yeah," Justin said cautiously. "It is."

They watched the women in the water for a few moments, Justin shifting his weight uncomfortably. "Looks like you lent Szabla your touch, huh?" Justin said, his eyes still on Cameron.

"You liked that?" Savage laughed. "How she took that little thing? She kills with the mercilessness of the rich."

"How'd you know she's from money? She tell you?"

Savage shook his head, though Justin still hadn't turned to face him. "In all my years of combat, I've only seen two types of people kill that well, with that much ease-the rich and the poor."

"Of course, you're the latter."

A chuckle came over Justin's shoulder, thick with smoke. "Of course."

The women started in toward shore, Cameron pulling her shirt back on. When Justin turned around, Savage was gone.

When Cameron stepped from the water, the sun felt like a lightbulb pressed to the back of her neck. The men were sitting atop a sand dune, their faces taking on a deep red hue. The long swishing tracks of a marine iguana textured the sand at their feet-the deep groove of the tail, the parallel brush marks of the feet on either side. Behind them, sea porcelain colored the white sand, a patchwork of red stems and purple flowers.

They all stood, their skin tingling from saltwater meeting sunburn. Szabla nodded and they fell out, heading for the small trail cut into the cliffs of Punta Berlanga. Diego froze, Tank knocking into him from behind. Diego touched a hand to his ear, tilting his head.

"What?" Szabla said to Diego. "Speak, boy."

A Zodiac burst from around one of the tuff cones in the distance, rocketing toward shore. Diego ran to the beach, jumping and waving his arms, but the speedboat was already heading toward them. As it drew nearer, Cameron recognized the small figure in the boat. Ramoncito. His large head seemed loose on his neck, bouncing with the impact from the waves. His shoulders were slumped, his hands loose on the throttle han-dle. He looked drugged.