The Training by Connie Myres

Before they were heroes, they were a disaster.

Six months before Jack Wolfe met Dr. Amy Hendren, he had a different problem: keeping his team from killing each other out of boredom.

Trapped in their freezing Detroit headquarters during a brutal winter, the operatives of Onyx Tactical are going stir-crazy. To keep them sharp, Jack orchestrates a "simple" hostage rescue drill in the kill house. The objective? Rescue "Steve," a 180-pound sandbag dummy. The obstacles? A lethal obstacle course designed by their resident tech genius, Milo.

But when Milo upgrades the training drones with aggressive AI and a few nasty surprises, a standard drill devolves into chaos involving glitter bombs, tactical groin strikes, and an argument over deep-dish pizza.

"The Training" is a humorous, action-packed short story that showcases the bond, the banter, and the brotherhood of the Onyx Tactical team.

Note: This is a standalone short story prequel to the romantic suspense novel Shepherd's Watch.