It was not until a few days later that Seth saw Kong again. Completely drained of energy, Kong blankly stared at the ceiling as he sat on the spare chair in Jack’s office. Having just returned from one of Captain Steward’s training sessions, Seth was caught off guard by the Kong’s soulless appearance.

“What’s up with him?” Seth asked Jacks.

“Ms. Nadeem was finally done with him and decided to return him to us. This will make him think twice before trying to play hooky again.”

“I get that, but what exactly happen to Kong for him to be in this state?”

“Oh that. Ms. Nadeem had Kong filing the reports and delivering them to their respective departments. It helps familiarize him with the building after missing the first couple of days. I suspect that it was the filing part that got to him. If you think I have a lot of paperwork to go through, you should see hers. She’s excellent at her job and get it done quickly.”

As if to confirm Jacks’s words, Kong muttered “So...much...words.”

Seth glanced at Kong and ask “Who exactly is Ms. Nadeem? The only time I saw her was during the interview process and the first day here. After that I haven’t seen her around.”

“Oh, she’s the secretary for the Branch Commander. She’s usually perform task for him or under his orders. Some of them are top secret so it is not surprising you don’t see her around. She is quite the busy person” Jacks answered as if he hadn’t just dropped a major piece of new to Seth.

“Wait, she’s the secretary to the Branch Commander? As in the Branch commander, Red lightning, that Branch Commander?” Seth asked.

“Yep that Branch Commander. She actually ranks higher than me. If I remember correctly, she’s actually a lieutentant.”

Seth tried to absorb all the information that Jacks had just dropped on him. Seth Knew the women Shiela Nadeem was capable. The way she had easily disabled Kong on the first day was a testament to the fact. Why was someone of such high ranking taking care of two nobodies on the first day?

“Enough about her,” Jacks said deciding it was time he moved onto another subject. “ Do you know how to drive a car?”

“No, but I did read the manual you gave me last week.”

“Good, but reading books can only get you so far. Let’s get you some practice.” Dragging a listless Kong, Jacks led Seth to one of the hangars on the Federation property. Inside, Seth saw various of vehicles in all shape in sizes lined up. Jacks led the two boys to a armored brown vehicle.

“This here is a tactical multipurpose wheel vehicle, also known as the humvee. You can equip a machine gun or other heavy assult weapons on top for shooting enemies while driving. It is lightlty armored so that it can take hits from enemies that are class 3 threats and below. It’s one of the most common and basic vehicle here.”

Seth raise his hand. “Does that mean we’re going to be learning how to shoot things from up on top today?”

Jacks shook his head. “No, that’s for another day. You have to learn how to drive the car first before you can use the guns on top. There no point on learning how to use the guns if the car cant run right? Besides this vehicle here isn’t equipped with any weapons.” Seth looked at the top of the humvee and saw Jacks was right. There was a opening with protective walls on top, but there was no weapon in sight.

“Let’s take this thing out for a spin.”

***

That was how Seth found himself in the front seat of a military vehicle with Jacks next to him and Kong sitting in the back. They were starting off with the beginner track for Seth, such as driving straight and making turns. Jacks was explaining the multiple feature found in the front such as speakers, radar, and other things. Everything Seth did was slow going as he practiced right in front of the hangar where there was a empty road that led straight towards an exit. Fortunately, there was no one around which gave Seth less things to worry about such as accidently driving the 4 ton vehicle into the hangar.

After going one last lap, Jacks decided it was time to switch drivers. “Let’s give Kong a chance alright? Kong you know how to drive?” Jacks said after 30 minutes of driving.

“What about parking? “

“Honestly it more important to learn how to drive then it is to park. Out there on the field you can park anywhere, it not like there someone judging you. No, it’s more important to get to the location quickly without any incident. We can save parking for another day. Alright, Seth get off and let Kong have a turn.Do you want to wait in the back of the car like Kong is now, or wait outside next to the hangar?”

“I’ll wait outside,” said Seth.

“Finally. I thought I was going to die of boredom back here.” Kong said, finally recovered from his dazed state. Seth got off the driver seat and went to wait by the hangar they had come out of. His hands were still a bit shaking from the unfamiliarity of driving. He felt a bit giddy about the whole experience. Who would have thought his first driving experience would be a armored military vehicle?

The humvee was still in standby mode as Seth waited for Kong to start driving. Seth wasn’t expecting much since Kong just needed to prove he knew how to drive, but that was when the vehicle took off.

The road from the hangar to the exit was about a mile. The humvee zigzagged on the driveway as if a drunk driver was in charge. Just as it looked like the armored vehicle was going to crash through the exit point, Seth watched it swerve and could have sworn he saw one side of the Humvee lift off the ground for just a few seconds before making a complete U-turn and proceeded to come back to the hangar at full speed.

It was speeding back in same drunken fashion as if a monster was chasing after it. Seth could even began to see Kong and Jacks through the windshield of the vehicle and it still show no sign of stopping. Kong was acting as if nothing was wrong with his driving, while Jacks was holding on for his dear life. Having a bad feeling, Seth watched them a get closer and closer. At that point, the Humvee swerved right, drifted a few feet before finally stopping at the spot Seth was just a moment ago. Had Seth still stood there, he would have been rear ended by the Humvee. Thankfulyl Seth had jumped out of the way in the nick of time. Being hit by a armored vehicle was not how Seth wanted the first day of learning to drive ending.

Kong jumped out of the driver seat and stretched. “Whoa! It's been a while since I drove. I forgot how good it feels.”

Jacks came out of the of other side of the car and began puking what must have been his breakfast. What went on that seem like five minutes of puking before he addressed Kong. “You... are never.... allowed ...to drive a car that... I'm in again.” Then he began to throw up once again what must have been last night’s dinner.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad,” said Kong as he scratched his head with one hand. “That wasn’t even the top speed.”

Both Jacks and Seth shudder at those words. That was the day, Seth swore that he would never get into a car Kong was driving.