Clear Water, Hidden Danger

Chapter 48 – Mission Improvements

The conference room at Clear Water felt smaller that morning. Not because of bodies, but because everyone carried the weight of the UNMC run on their shoulders. Lantern light washed over maps, whiteboards, and the rough scrawl of routes and contingencies. People filed in slowly, still waking up, still sore.

Neal stepped forward first.

“Convoy performance,” she said, lifting her clipboard. “Integration was clean. Iron Battalion folded in without hesitation. NLC personnel showed discipline. Radio chatter stayed low. No equipment loss.”

She flipped the page.

“Improvements needed: convoy spacing, rear-guard communication, and loading speed at UNMC. Messy is expected on a first run. But considering how tight things were, we’re ahead of where we should be.”

Major Jackson nodded once from across the room, a silent confirmation.

Captain Shava Bilew-Jackson spoke next. “NLC perspective matches. Coordination was solid. Loading sequence needs to be faster with clear lanes inside the hospital.”

Master Sergeant Hike stepped up for IBF.

“Firehouse crew performed,” he said. “Roles were understood. Instructions clear. Next run, we want set placement assignments. Front, middle, rear. Doesn’t matter. Just assign and lock it in.”

Prince added, “Rear comms can be sharper.”

Boro nodded. “Spacing too.”

Neal jotted notes as they spoke.

Rourke stood near the wall with his arm braced in a sling. He wasn’t on the UNMC run, but he’d seen the loading footage twice.

“Loading line was sloppy,” he said. “Nobody goes through a doorway unless they’re called. One direction in, one direction out.”

Hike gestured at Hawk. “You’ve got something?”

Hawk flipped open his sketchbook — a rough drawing of an MCU with a modified rear panel.

“We retrofit one MCU,” he said. “Strip the back. Install a flip-down panel that opens inward and forms a ramp. Add a standing platform inside. Cut the top half into a gull-wing hatch. Gives shooters visibility without exposing them.”

The room leaned in.

“This isn’t covert,” Hawk continued. “It’s a containment chute. Johnson pulls a controlled group behind it — maybe thirty or forty. They cluster. Kill team handles it clean from inside the van. No risk to anyone outside.”

Shava studied the sketch. “Containment pocket.”

“Exactly,” Hawk said. “Short cycles. Three or four per mission. Keeps the herd small. Prevents multiplication every time we move.”

Rourke nodded carefully. “Can Iron Battalion reinforce the doors?”

Hike didn’t hesitate. “We can reinforce anything.”

Alan spoke from the back. “Environmental chokepoints saved us yesterday. Next time we need them planned. Not luck.”

Jackson crossed his arms. “Logistically sound. High reward. Low exposure. But only against small clusters.”

“Always small,” Hawk agreed. “And we rotate offload zones. Never repeat a location.”

I stepped in.

“Good. That becomes part of training. We map seven potential offload grids. Neal leads operational drills. NLC command joins for the full cycle.”

Cruz spoke from the doorway, unwilling to leave Fatima’s side. “Fatima stable. Supplies helped. Next run, give us med-specific carts and faster offload intervals.”

No one argued.

Silence settled — not the heavy kind — the focused kind.

I looked around the room.

“You all did good work yesterday,” I said. “So today is a day off.”

The reaction was instant. Shoulders loosened. Someone exhaled loud enough to make the kids in the hallway perk up. Even Jackson let his posture drop half an inch.

“Rest. Recover,” I said. “Tomorrow, we move into strategy.”

People drifted out in small groups. The lanterns kept burning. The plans stayed on the walls, waiting for the next set of hands.

And for the first time in days, Clear Water felt like it could breathe.

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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY ALPHA
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
CWP leadership conducted structured review of UNMC operation. Primary notes: convoy spacing inconsistencies, rear-guard communication gaps, and congestion at loading thresholds. Hawk presented MCU-mod retrofit for controlled-cluster neutralization; Iron Battalion confirmed structural feasibility. Med Wing requested dedicated carts and improved offload pacing. No resonance anomalies recorded. CWP maintained full perimeter integrity.

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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY BRAVO
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
NLC command participated in joint CWP debrief via leadership presence. Confirmed stable coordination but cited loading-sequence inefficiencies inside UNMC. Supported Hawk’s containment-chute concept pending joint training cycle. Facility remains primary base; no relocation planned. Perimeter remained undisturbed during meeting. Preparing for next scheduled strategy phase after mandated rest period.