While still shocked, nobody hesitated to move forward. Iain led his group around the house towards the basement, while Jack led our group towards the front door. I chased after Jack, his bright orange hair standing out in the dim light. With his right leg, Jack kicked in the door, surprising me with his strength despite his slender appearance. The door crashed to the ground, and we all flooded inside. There were about five men scattered across the living room, but with six guns pointed at them, not one man dared to move. The difference between doing this alone and having a full team with you was like day and night.
While keeping our guns focused on the men, Jack spoke in a quiet voice, almost a whisper. "Kathy, Leo, and I will be going upstairs. Bob, Trevor, and New Guy (that's me, apparently), keep watch of these men." We didn't get a chance to answer before Jack rushed upstairs, followed by Leo and Kathy. We continued to hold our guns on the enemies, remaining in that tense standoff until one of the men in front of us snapped, reaching for his gun mounted at his hip. The other four men followed suit, and they began reaching for their weapons too.
I readied myself to fire when suddenly, a bang came from my left, followed by a scream of pain. One of the men clutched his chest, clearly injured. I looked over to my left and saw smoke rising from the tip of Trevor's gun. The injured man went down, but four others were still left, and Bob and I aimed our guns, preparing for a gunfight. Just before chaos broke out, we heard a loud gunshot from upstairs. Everything froze. Someone upstairs had been shot. Footsteps came down the stairs, and first, Jack appeared, followed by Kathy, and then Leo, who looked at his feet solemnly, I think I could figure out who got hit. We all left the house and regrouped with Iain's team outside.
Then, just like last time, Iain instructed Martin to start the test, and we went in again. This time, nobody was on the bottom floor, so we all went up to the second floor. Nobody was spotted in the hallway either so Jack ordered us to search the rooms. I entered the room on my right, only to find a man standing right next to the door, pointing his gun at my face. Reacting quickly, I used my left hand to smack the gun away, altering its trajectory. The man fired, but his bullet hit the door behind me. I then lifted my gun and struck him on the side of the head with it, knocking him out instantly.
As he fell, a gunshot echoed through the hall, and the man I had just hit froze mid-air. I walked in the hallway to see Bob walking out of one of the rooms. He looked at me awkwardly and said, "Sorry, guys." "Don't worry about it," Jack said as he emerged from the room at the back of the hall. "Just be a bit more careful next time." Jack seemed visibly frustrated but stayed calm. We left the house and tried again, and again, and again, for the next few hours, struggling to pass the test, only succeeding fifteen or twenty times which sounds good but considering how many times we did this twenty times wasn't the greatest. What made things worse was that Iain's group never messed up, yet they never showed any irritation towards us. I don't think they realized but their kindness only seemed to get Jack more and more agitated.
We took a short break but before soon enough we were back to testing. However, one failed attempt where Jack himself got hit, I think he finally snapped. He stopped me from going down the stairs and asked me, "Hey, new guy, how about you lead next time?" He didn't wait for my answer and walked past me, heading out the door. Despite my inexperience, we managed to pass the next attempt. Jack was the only one to not celebrate our success. Shortly after the testing ended, we all got ready to go home. Jack was the first to leave without speaking to anybody. The rest of the officers I met today bid me farewell, even Martin. Iain and I were the last to leave. I guess being in the Number One position comes with certain responsibilities...