FicWad

Chapter 1
Breaking In

Briefing rooms are not terribly exciting places and neither was this one. It was a simple space known only for its cream-colored walls and rather unspectacular carpeting. Furniture consisted of cheap plastic tables and chairs. Fluorescent lights graced the ceiling, a giant computer screen sat off to the side, and the only piece of artwork if one would call it that, was a dry erase board covered in heinous red handwriting. The folks at Home and Garden Television would be appalled. Not that the warriors really cared though. Fighting was their specialty, not interior decorating.

As to what exactly a group of sailors were doing in an Army briefing room was a different matter all its own. Over the last eighteen months a SEAL platoon began a mandatory training regimen in preparation for an upcoming mission. They were constantly shuffling back and forth from their home training facilities in Little Creek, Virginia to others scattered along the east coast. Now at Fort Bragg the SEALs were busy working on various combat scenarios, which ranged from high altitude jumps all the way down to room clearing exercises.

Today's routine tasked several elite warriors with raiding a three story apartment building taken over by an unknown number of enemy combatants. In actuality, the apartment building was one of the many killhouses specifically designed for practicing room clearing. An eager of bunch of paratroopers from the All American volunteered to play the role of the bad guys. Even though this was only an exercise everybody knew to treat it like the real thing. Besides, the SEALs were anxious to settle a bet with their Army counterparts. This was going to be more exciting than the yearly Army Navy football game.

Inside this indiscreet briefing room, the SEALs waited patiently for their briefing to begin. Some of them passed the time talking about recent basketball games whereas others opted to watch the news. By coincidence the running story related to their mission. Those interested quickly quieted their comrades. After all, they wanted to know what kind of situation they were getting into. No sense in ignoring a few important details.

"Welcome to yet another edition of The Topic. Today's focus, the crisis in Brazil. Joining us this afternoon is former Secretary of State Guillermo Ramirez. Secretary Ramirez, we'd like to thank you for your time."

"Thank you Paul. Glad to be here."

"Now as all of our viewers are probably wondering, how did things manage to get this bad?"

"There are many ways to answer this question and I think its only fair to speak of this crisis in terms of cause and effect. As most of us can remember, about twelve years ago, Brazil started suffering from severe economic problems. Millions lost their jobs, others went on strike, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Brazil's withering economy led to a massive increase in poverty. In turn, this poverty caused widespread discontent amongst the populace. That being said, it is safe to say that a faltering economy was the root of all of Brazil's problems."

"So you say that a faltering economy was the cause and poverty was the effect?"

"That's correct Paul and as I mentioned earlier poverty led to widespread discontent, which was another cause and effect equation if you will. The people of Brazil were not shy of voicing their opinions and millions took to the streets in protest. They demanded that their government address the growing poverty problem either by creating jobs or reforming the whole economic system from the ground up. Of course these demands were not met, at least not fast enough to satisfy the masses. In due course peaceful protests turned into riots and it's easy to see why. People could not work and were unable to feed their children and the government that was supposed to take care of them was not delivering on promises."

"But afterwards things got really complicated. Terrorist attacks, kidnappings, assassinations."

"You hit it right on the nose Paul. Most Brazilians thought their message was not getting across. Now, in saying this, I do not mean to call the Brazilian people terrorists. Instead it was rather a few very angry individuals that decided to turn to violence as a means of convincing the politicos. Car bombings, kidnappings for ransom, and assassinations were the preferred techniques. Unfortunately, these self proclaimed liberators failed to take into account the consequences of their actions."

"And this is when the Brazilian government ordered their military to declare martial law throughout the country."

"Yup. Every province, city, town, anywhere people lived had troops patrolling the streets. It was hoped the show of force would discourage more attacks and assassinations. These measures only served to aggravate matters. As far as Brazilians were concerned this was proof that their government only cared about the rich minorities while leaving the poor working class in a state of constant struggle and strife."

"Is it true that riots were not allowed?"

"Yes and the people only defied these statutes. To quell the riots, troops began using non-lethal weapons such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and occasional beatings. It was just like old times, but troops were the ones maintaining discipline instead of police. But sadly, a riot in Rio de Janeiro turned deadly. Even today, it is still unclear as to who exactly fired the first shot, but in looking back it really doesn't matter. When the first shots rang out, troops immediately fired bullets, lethal ones this time, into the crowd killing rioters on the spot. In retaliation a few of the rioters fired back at the troops, killing about three, I'm unsure about the exact statistics, but to make a long story short all hell broke lose. In the aftermath of the violent encounter about three hundred Brazilian rioters were lying dead in the streets."

"Was this the catalyst to civil war?"

"Many would say yes, and I'm inclined to say so myself. But I would not be offering a complete picture, as there were many other contributing factors tantamount to war. For the sake of our audience I will try and condense the details. The Rio Massacre as it became known sent shockwaves throughout the country. Many Brazilians no longer trusted their government and began taking up arms. Instead of rioting, people turned their attention to armed troops. In short, civilians began attacking troops very much like an insurgency."

"How did the military respond?"

"It is very interesting that you ask me this and I will tell you why in a moment. Yet, in answering your question as stated, the leash was let loose. Brazilian troops were ordered to outright crush the insurgency, which basically meant kill or capture anyone suspected of attempting to undermine the Federative Republic of Brazil, quoting the words of Brazil's then president Tomas Lucando in a memorandum he sent to various Brazilian generals. Now the interesting thing is that every division of the Brazilian military, whether they were army, marines, the air force or even the navy, was divided. Orders were not carried out and eventually large elements of the Brazilian military sided with the same people they were ordered to kill. Essentially, two sides were pitted against each other. Forces loyal to the government and forces for the so-called liberation of Brazil. Civil engulfed the whole country."

"This civil war lasted three years. Just how bad was the conflict?"

"Paul, it was absolutely devastating. Casualties rose into the tens of millions, with both sides thoroughly exhausting their resources. The country was a mess. Every viable piece of infrastructure was destroyed. A substantial portion of the Amazon was not even spared. Everywhere you looked there was rubble, burnt out tank hulks, and dead bodies. Roving bands of survivors fought one another for a stake of their ruined land. For a moment many nations wondered how Brazil would ever recover from such a tumultuous conflict."

"Can you elaborate upon the United Nations response?"

"To begin with, the United Nations was horrified and fearing a ripple effect throughout South America the Security Council convened. Unwilling to put their troops into harms way several nations reached a unanimous agreement to request the service of Defense Enterprises to restore order eventually paving the way for reconstruction."

"But if memory serves me correct, was it not the United Nations that disbanded several private military corporations, namely those involved in the Corporate Wars? Why did they even choose, let alone, consider Defense Enterprises as the group tasked with restoring order to Brazil? Were there not fears that this organization had ulterior motives?"

"There were powerful opponents to the United Nations initiative, including a few member nations of the Security Council. But fears subsided when the Secretary General reminded those who objected, that Defense Enterprises did not participate in the Corporate Wars and could be trusted without second thought. And who would have objected? Defense Enterprises worked side by side many national armies in their quest to rid the world of terrorism, a battle that we are still fighting to this very date."

"But we never suspected Defense Enterprises to do what they did. How did they manage to so cleverly deceive the world?"

"Many sides to this coin Paul, many sides. Some would say it was because of the many contracts Defense Enterprises had with many of the globe's nations, including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, just about any Western Nation you could think of. It was supposed, and I have come to this conclusion myself, that we, meaning the Western World, turned a blind eye to the exact workings of Defense Enterprises for fear of jeopardizing high profile contracts, which included weapons systems and security services. Such ignorance, intentional or otherwise, allowed Defense Enterprises to go about its business without any interference. If only we showed a little more circumspection in our decision making."

"What put Defense Enterprises in a bad light?"

"Well, to begin with, Defense Enterprises did what they were asked. They restored order and brought an end to the insurgency. But when kindly asked by the United Nations to turn over control, they refused and..."

"I think we pretty much got the idea, gentlemen." A voice boomed from the back of a room.

"You know, Carl we were actually trying to learn something for a change."

"Sorry Chief." Lieutenant Carl Ackerson replied. "But you know how the chain of command works around here." He smiled.

"Chain of command my ass sir." Chief Petty Officer William Brigham smirked. "What ever happened to the backbone of the Navy, the enlisted men? We get shortchanged or something?"

"Aw shit here he goes again." A sailor smirked.

"Don't get him started." Another laughed.

"First of all Chief, I am more than honored to have you as an advisor on my team. You are a priceless asset, a skilled operator with countless years of experience. No other service is as lucky to have you serving in their ranks."

Brigham gave Ackerson a sarcastic stare. "That's the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard."

The room bawled full of laughter. Brigham had quite a reputation for his take on things. His thirteen years in the SEALs may have been a contributing factor.

"Alright gentlemen, simmer down." An imposing figure with slightly graying hair announced. "We got a bet to settle with the Army."

"HOOYAH, Senior Chief Moggs!" The sailors replied.

"Lieutenant, you have the honors."

"Thank you Senior Chief." Ackerson walked to the front of the room and began going through some slides on a giant computer screen. "We have a week and a half of training left. A few more days of training here at Bragg and will be heading down to Puerto Rico, to finalize our training. Normally, we would have been deploying as a full platoon. But, as most of you already know, our platoon has been split due to the sensitivity and uniqueness of our mission. The other boys are down in Florida doing their SDV training. You know our ultimate objective is to disable a dam. But that's still quite a ways away, so I won't get into that for now. Now, lets get down to business. Today gentlemen, we have the pleasure of raiding a three-story apartment building that happens to be commandeered by an unknown number of enemy soldiers. Ordinarily, we would have fast roped on to the roof and raided the building from there. But once we have boots on Brazilian soil, we won't have the luxury of using helicopters. So for this exercise we will have to infiltrate the building on foot. Just so we're clear on what we're up against, here are the diagrams of the building. I know we've seen this plan about a million times over the last couple of months, but please take your time in memorizing where the rooms are. Tangos could be waiting in either one of them, so stay sharp."

Ordinarily, the average SEAL team consists of six platoons, each of which is headed off by two officers and one chief. Within the platoon itself, there were two groups. In this particular case one group was led by Ackerson and another fellow SEAL. SEAL platoons usually did not split up, but as Ackerson reminded his men, the uniqueness of their upcoming operation dictated that the two groups work on accomplishing two different sets of tasks. Ackerson was not quite used to such a change in protocol. But he was an adaptive warrior. He'd get used to it eventually.

Everyone, including Ackerson began looking over the plans, their eyes taking into account the placement of doorways, windows, stairwells, and even possible barricades the enemy might have been using. They had done this sort of thing plenty of times before. But lately, the training personnel had gotten a little creative. None of them knew what to expect in the way of enemy tactics. Hopefully, previous training would take care of that.

"All of you should have the floor plans memorized by now. Time for assignments. Seven shooters this time. Silver, you got overwatch. It's your job to tell us what our friends in the apartment building are doing. Know where you'll be?"

PO3 Harrison Silver happened to be the fresh out of what the SEALs referred to as the Finishing School. Ackerson and Moggs handpicked him for his deadly skill with an M-14 sniper rifle. He may have been new but at least he could shoot.

"Already picked a spot elltee." Silver nodded.

"You know that's cheating." Ackerson noted.

"Like the Army doesn't?" Silver smiled, gathering laughter from his teammates.

"Good point. Just make sure you're ready to shoot when given the order and don't get caught." Ackerson smiled. "Shooters! We got some pretty tall grass adjacent from our entry. My best bet is that they'll have guys looking from the roof and windows. But too bad for the enemy, it's quite windy outside. That means we can be somewhat tactical with movement. Wind blows, we move, wind stops, we stop. We all know what to do once we reach our objective. Standard room clearing procedures. Just do what you were trained to do. Any questions?"

The SEALs traded looks with each other then with Ackerson. Everything was set.

"Good, lets suit up."

Ackerson was the last out the door. He had to speak with Moggs for a second.

"Almost ready I think."

"Yeah, I'd say so, considering the difficulty of our upcoming mission." Moggs said.

"Just a little worried about Silver. You think he's prepped? It'll be his first time out."

"We'll on paper he's a hell'uva long rifleman and we've seen him shoot. He can kill shit, no doubt about it. Don't worry Carl, he'll hold up when things get real. That's why we train."

"Just wish he had some simple missions to get him acclimated to the field. This is a really difficult mission we got ahead of us."

"Oh it is, but look at it this way, we were all new guys at some point. Shit I was more worried about you, a new OIC. But look how you turned out."

"You're right. I had a hell'uva chief to show me the ropes." Ackerson smiled.

Moggs grinned. "I know and now it's your turn to motivate. Besides, give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a SEAL sniper and that's legendary in itself. I betcha those eighty-second boys are practically cursing themselves out right now, knowing that he'll be out there, not to mention that we'll be knocking down their door soon."

"I'll give 'em hell."

"Damn right you will Carl. Now get the hell outta my way. I gotta meet with the other half of the platoon."

"Hooyah, Senior Chief Petty Officer."

Truth be told, he felt more like a cheetah, in the middle of the Serengeti, stalking its prey. More precisely, Ackerson and his whole team felt like a pack of cheetahs. On their bellies, they crawled forward whenever the wind blew. Whenever the wind died down, they would slowly come to a stop. Moving in such a way was taking a long time, three hours to be exact. But these men had all day. As the saying went, patience is a virtue.

Meanwhile, safely hidden amongst some brush two hundred yards from the target building, Silver was keeping watch. From head to toe he was covered in mud, dirt, leaves, twigs, and sticks. His rifle even took on the form of an inconspicuous fallen tree branch. He was one with nature. He was invisible.

With his index finger resting only a centimeter from the trigger, Silver carefully moved his rifle back and forth scanning the large simple concrete building. Through the scope of his rifle he regarded a couple of soldiers. Two patrolled the rooftop, looking down into the grass, while those in the windows scanned the area with binoculars, hoping to get a glimpse of something out of the ordinary. Enjoy the view fellas, you're not gonna find me.

Back at the killhouse Silver's teammates remained silent and still in the grass. The wind stopped blowing for a while forcing them to stay put. They breathed lightly, trying to control how their body moved. It was a difficult exercise but these men wanted to keep the element of surprise alive.

Ackerson observed the door a few feet away from him, then the windows and rooftop. There was only so much his eyes could see without turning his body all the way over. Straining his eyes upwards he could barely make out the sentries doing their jobs. But that problem could be solved relatively easy.

"Silver, this is TL, status on sentries?" Ackerson whispered into this microphone.

"Two on roof, three in the windows, over." Silver replied, his voice crystal clear.

"TL copies. Request all-clear to move in, over?"

A brief pause. "That is a negative, over. The guys in the windows and rooftop are looking right down on your position. Advise that you stay put, over."

"Roger that Silver. Will await further advising, over."

"Silver copies, will advise, out."

As tension began to build, the SEALs concentrated on remaining still. Any sudden movements would give away their position. Seconds felt like they were lasting a little longer than expected. Time always had a way of slowing down when moments got uncomfortable and this one was no different. Ackerson was already starting to wonder if he walked right into an ambush. He honestly hoped he had not, because his gut instinct was telling him otherwise. The plan was already set in motion. No use in turning back now.

"I advise go. Say again, advise go, over!" Silver hissed.

"Assault moving! Silver, take them out!" Ackerson replied.

Trusting Silver's judgment Ackerson jumped at the first opportunity to move. While Silver was busy picking off the sentries, Ackerson and the shooters suddenly sprung from the grass, darting towards a wooden doorway. Two seconds flew by as they began to stack against the walls surrounding the single entrance. Three men waited on one side and four waited on the other. As two men quickly worked on placing a breaching charge, the others worked on providing cover, prepared to drop an unsuspecting enemy.

Silver furiously cocked the bolt of his rifle back and forth, ejecting a steaming empty shell casing from the chamber. Quickly readjusting his aim, Silver zeroed in on yet another target. Taking a few short breaths he was ready. The rifle rocked back and forth yet again. Just as the simulated bullet reached its destination, Silver's teammates began their elaborate routine of breaking and entering.

As the door shattered into several wooden fragments, Ackerson and Brigham tossed in two flashbangs hoping to stun anyone waiting inside. Following a brief bang and a loud flash, the SEALs disappeared into the building. Upon entering, the seven-man element separated into two teams. Ackerson's team stormed a room immediately to the left, while Brigham's proceeded further down the hall towards a room on the right. A flurry of shouts and gunshots ensued engulfing the narrow hallway in a hail of confusion.

A loud series of CLEARS announced that the first floor was free of threats. But the mission was far from over. Not wasting any time mourning the dead Ackerson led his men towards the second floor. They moved briskly up the steps, rifles pointed upwards lest anyone be waiting for them at the top. Much to their surprise no one was. Only silence and emptiness greeted them, more than Ackerson would have hoped for.

Immediately assessing the situation in front of him Ackerson once again split his team into two groups. Two rooms awaited entry, only this time they were directly across from each other. Knowing that both teams would be exposed when entering either room, the two leaders reached for their flashbangs. Pulling the pins they tossed the grenades in the rooms briefly turning away to avoid the bright flash. A second later they stormed in overwhelming the occupants, yelling out yet another series of CLEARS when the shooting was over.

Partially hidden behind the corner of the doorways, Ackerson and Brigham traded looks before identifying two targets running down a stairwell opposite their position. Taking aim, they loosed a couple of rounds. One of the targets fell but another scrambled back up the steps.

"Shit!" Ackerson hissed, loading another magazine. A shootout's about to begin. "Chief and I stay here. The rest of you fall back to stairwell. Move it fellas!"

Acknowledging the orders five of Ackerson's men rushed back to the stairs. Ackerson and Brigham stayed put, their rifles bearing towards the opposite set of stairs. Only a few seconds passed before the enemy showed up. They fired upon Ackerson and Brigham forcing them back around the doorways. But the rest of Ackerson's men made short work of the new arrivals.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Ackerson ordered his team to form up. Quietly giving everyone a hand signal, he cautiously moved forward waiting for the others to catch up. Yet, instead of stacking up single file Ackerson and his team stacked against both walls. That way double gunfire could be directed towards the staircase. Things were not necessarily working out as planned. But considering how bad things could have gotten Ackerson was taking things in stride.

All was quiet yet again, but Ackerson carefully trudged forward along with his team. Up to now no more enemies showed up. Either they were dead or still hiding but Ackerson wasn't taking any chances. Better to take it slow than to be fast and sorry. Finally reaching the stairwell complete with four limp bodies, Ackerson and his men began moving them out the way. One spirited soldier gave Brigham a spirited hand gesture. But in good spirit, Brigham patted the young soldier on his head as and continued to move more bodies out the way.

After clearing the stairs of dead, the SEALs quietly made their way to the third floor. On this level there were two rooms all the way down the hall. Once again the same tactic of deploying flashbangs before entry was used. Following the detonation the SEALs stormed in once again expecting enemies.

"Done." A voice announced.

Lights flicked on announcing the end of this exercise. High fives were exchanged and weapons were put on safe.

"Excellent job fellas. three minutes and thirty-one seconds. Could have done it a little faster, but that's why we train." Moggs said, taking off his ear protection.

"Yeah, I just need to learn to aim a bit better next time. Wouldn't have ended up in that brief shootout if it weren't for my bad shooting." Ackerson admitted.

"But you guys adapted pretty well regardless, good way to think on your feet. And Silver for his good shooting, unlike Ackerson here." Moggs teased. "But for now I suggest we head on back to review the tapes."

"Good idea. But lets rub this victory in first."

Ackerson's men were already joking around with the paratroopers, razzing them about the takedown. Fortunately everybody was feeling positive about things. They were on the same team during the real thing. And the rights to brag never hurt anyone either. With another successful exercise in the books Ackerson led his team back to the briefing room for the after action review. Time for the fun part, time for the fun part.


After a lengthy debriefing session, lasting a solid two hours, the slightly fatigued sailors made their way to a bar full of Army grunts. Despite the obvious rivalry between Army and Navy folks, Ackerson and his warriors were treated as welcome guests at one of Fort Bragg's local watering holes. A few troopers playfully booed their Navy counterparts likewise eliciting a couple of playful punches to the stomach. Jimi Hendrix's Red House was playing in the background creating an excellent atmosphere. Everybody was in good spirits.

In between glasses of beer and chicken wings the sailors began speaking about a variety of things one of which was the upcoming mission. For some of them, the discussion was quite sobering, a reminder that sooner or later they would end up in a very dangerous place. But combat was what they trained for. Danger was a given in the world they inherited. Backing out now was out of the question. They were committed, committed to each other as a team. If one of them was going in all of them were going in.

"Finally, a mission that puts us center stage." PO1 Ahmed Asher said. "Usually it was the boys from SEAL Team Three that got all the jobs. Damn, CENTCOM were some lucky bastards."

"Not since the Middle East calmed down. Now its our turn to put guns in the fight." Brigham added taking a sip of his beer.

"And in about a week and a half we get to do what we've been training to do for the last eighteen months." Ackerson reminded his men. "How you feeling about this Oliveira?"

"Like someone just said a bunch of nasty shit about my mother." The petty officer second class said. "I was born in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro to be exact. I am Brazilian my friends. Seeing some assholes that don't belong there is kinda disheartening."

"How long you live there?" Silver asked.

"About thirteen years." Oliveira managed after eating. "Explains the accent in case you were wondering." He chuckled. "My mother and father moved to Brooklyn when I was fifteen. Lived there ever since."

"Well, Oliveira looks like we'll get our chance to teach these vatos a lesson." PO1 Guillermo Rios ensured his teammate.

"Damn Rios, aren't you sounding a little aggressive this evening? I mean I am still talking to the same guy who's our corpsman right?" Brigham laughed.

"Oh don't worry fellas, I'll always be there save your asses. But if one these Defense Enterprises jerks takes one, I'm not saving 'em. They don't deserve sympathy." Rios explained confidently.

"Hooyah to that!" Everybody toasted their glasses.

"You think this is your last deployment el-tee?" Silver asked.

"I'm thinking about it?" Ackerson replied leaning back in his chair.

"Oh and I thought we were going to spend many long nights together." Silver joked. "Some fun you are sir."

"I'm flattered Silver, I really am. But I'm taken already."

"I'm heartbroken."

Ackerson had a laugh at that. "Well, I'm engaged to my fiancé. We talked about my future in the SEALs. We had some disagreements, but we settled on me finishing this last year. After this year ends up, looks like I'm leaving. I love my team, but my girl's a hell'uva lot prettier than you ugly dogs."

"Shit sir". PO1 Shane Kaufman groaned. "That means we'll have to take orders from this old fart from now on."

Everyone had a laugh at Brigham's expense.

"Thanks for the compliment Shane." Brigham patted the Bostonian on the back. "And to show my appreciation, you'll get point every time we go out. At least under my command, after I get promoted once this operation's in the books."

"Not if he retires first." PO2 Jason Moore whispered to Rios.

"I heard that Moore." Brigham jokingly scolded. "You get rear security for that."

"Christ." Ackerson laughed. "Looking at how things are turning out already, maybe I might wanna stay around a few more years."

"Hey you've been too soft of the boys sir." Brigham smiled. "Time to toughen 'em up."

"If you say so." Ackerson resolved.

"But in all seriousness sir, family should always take precedence. Our superiors have reiterated this time and time again. You can only be around your loved ones if you're alive, not dead." Brigham explained.

"Yeah sir, this war thing's kind of overrated y'know." Rios chided.

"He's right sir." Moore chimed in. "My father died when I was five. He was a Marine. He loved his job and he loved us even more. But war doesn't seem to care though. It sucks not having your Dad around, believe me."

"And you've given how many years to the Navy sir?" Asher asked. "Seven solid years and ten good deployments including the one we embark on next week. You've earned a right to retire from this."

"There's more money out there." Oliveira lightened the mood. "I mean, look at Rios. He's a doctor, but they..."

"Sure as hell don't pay me like one." Rios finished the sentence. "Companies will be having fistfights over ya. They're always looking for guys that have exemplified leadership. And I think we all speak from first hand experience."

"Hooyah!" The sailors said in unison.

"Really means a lot fellas. I'm sure as hell gonna miss rolling with you guys in the mud."

"But didn't some famous guy say all good things must come to an end?" Moore asked. "You've paid you're dues sir. And besides, SEAL officers are always leaving the Navy after a solid five years. You've held on for two more. I say pat yourself on the back."

"You guys really think so?"

"Does it look like we're bullshitting you sir?" Brigham was serious. "You got one more mission ahead of you."

"Go out with a bang sir."

"Knock 'em dead."

"Thanks for the morbid support." Ackerson laughed.

"Any time sir, any time." Moore laughed. "Now if you excuse I'm going to try and find some nice young ladies to talk to."

"Think he'll get any?" Rios asked.

Brigham chuckled. "Not a chance in hell."