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    Combat Zone
    Combat Zone
    Combat Zone
    Ebook64 pages47 minutes

    Combat Zone

    By Patrick Jones

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    About this ebook

    Having a parent return from military duty is a dream come true. But sometimes, coming home comes with problems.

    Justin's got it all planned out. He's going to graduate high school, enroll at the Naval Academy, and become a Navy SEAL, just like his dad. But when he finds out a secret his dad has been keeping, Justin's world is turned upside down. He feels betrayed by his biggest role model. When his aggression spins out of control, his future with the Navy is on the line. Justin might not be in combat yet, but he'll have to figure how to readjust under pressure before it's too late.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLerner Publishing
    Release dateAug 1, 2015
    ISBN9781467790208
    Combat Zone
    Author

    Patrick Jones

    Patrick Jones lives in Minneapolis and is the author of many novels including the Support and Defend series. A former librarian, Jones received lifetime achievement awards from the American Library Association and the Catholic Library Association.

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      Book preview

      Combat Zone - Patrick Jones

      —P.J.

      1

      Man up, Justin! Dad shouts, even though I’m standing next to him. He pats my butt hard and then pushes me into battle, into the combat zone of the mixed martial arts fight in our backyard.

      I inhale all the manly scents. Cigar smoke. Steaks on the grill. Embers from the fire pit.

      Pounding my chest like a hero from the Greek myths, I inhale the smells in the distance. Jet fuel. Diesel. The aroma of home: Pearl Harbor. Military might in a tropical paradise.

      Go get ’em, Jimmy! Jimmy Martin’s father shouts. He’s wasting his words. Jimmy can’t take me and everybody knows it, especially Jimmy. I’ve already beaten him without throwing a punch, taking a leg, or grabbing a hold. It’s not if I beat him, but when. And how badly.

      The ref, linebacker superman Mychal’s dad, Colonel Stewart, signals for us to start. I adjust my helmet and step forward. We tap gloves and assume our stance. I’d rather go bone on bone, but the dads make us wear MMA gear.

      Jimmy circles and throws kicks as the crowd of twenty fathers and sons, all military like my dad, make a human octagon to surround us and cheer. And they’re not just military; they’re the elite of elite. Navy Seals.

      Come on Jimmy! a voice shouts. I recognize it and it stings more than the right jab Jimmy lands. It’s Calvin Parker, the fourteen-year-old son of Colonel Parker, my dad’s best friend. The Parkers moved to Pearl last spring, about the time my parents split up for good. Dad wants Calvin to be my best friend. No way.

      After a flurry of punches, Jimmy tries a front kick. I snatch his right leg, trip his left leg, and we’re on the grass. I start to pound. Elbows and fists fly as fast as machine gun fire.

      Waste him, Justin! Mychal yells loud like he does when he’s calling the defense on the gridiron.

      Jimmy locks his legs around my torso so I’ve got full mount. Up close, it’s a manly fight, but from a distance and to the rednecks of the world, we probably look like two gay dudes doing it. But that’s something I wouldn’t get caught dead being around.

      Take his back! Dad yells, as if reading my mind.

      As Jimmy bucks like a bronco to escape, I position myself to grab side control. And that’s what this is all about anyway: control. Every year before school, Seal sons kick off our private season of MMA fighting to settle old scores and set the hierarchy for the upcoming year so there’s no trouble at Pearl High. Of course we’ve got regular sports at school, but our dads know we need something a little more real. This establishes who’s tough and who’s weak. Who rules but also who needs to be protected. At school, we stick together. The Seals are not just a branch of the military; we’re a family.

      And a family that fights together, stays together. So I stick Jimmy with a hard elbow over the right eye that busts him open. I can’t smell the blood, but I can almost taste it in my mouth. Two more quick sharp elbows and it’s like I hit red oil as the crimson spurts upward.

      Jimmy panics—which is why, unlike me, he’ll never make it in the Navy—and that gives me the opening I need. To escape elbows to his face, Jimmy gives me his back. I take his neck.

      My right arm slips around his chin, pressed against his throat. With my left parallel to his sweaty and bloody head, I cinch the hold tight. Tighter. Tightest. Rear naked choke. Don’t get the wrong idea from the name—there’s nothing gay about this fight.

      Jimmy quickly taps my arm to signal his surrender. I release the hold and stand in victory. Jimmy rises, wipes the blood from his brow, and hugs me tight. Great fight, Justin.

      Get a room, lover boys! Mychal shouts

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