Texas, eighteen years prior:
"Dummy!" >>Push<<.
Seven-year-old Vin Tanner staggered back, bumping right into another of the boys that now surrounded him in the orphanage yard.
"Yer so dumb ain't nobody ever gonna want you!" another boy said as he pushed Vin again.
"Dummy ain't never gonna be able ta do his school work!" >>Push.<<
"Only job you'll ever get is gonna be a garbage man." >>Push.<<
"Heck, he'll be lucky if he kin scoop up road kill on the highway!. Dummy!"
>>Push.<<
"Dummy." >>Push.<<
"Dummy." >>Push.<<
The boys' taunts stopped suddenly as a distinct male voice yelled out "Boys! What's going on here?" Vin took that opportunity to run, rounding the corner of the building before any of the other boys even thought to try and run. Slowing, Vin looked over his shoulder and seeing no one following him, he made his way to the small storage shed that held the tools the groundskeeper used. Checking once more, he pushed a loose board aside and crawled into his hiding space. Moving over behind the mower, he slid down the wall, pulled his legs up toward his chest and rested his forehead on them. Only then did he let the tears come.
"Ain't no dummy!" he growled out. "I'm smart as any of them others. Jest cain't do tests good. Not a dummy, not a dummy!" Vin allowed himself to sob for a short time before pulling himself together.
Wiping the tears from his eyes he whispered, "I'll show 'em. Gonna make somethin' a' myself. Jest wait n'see!"
Denver, Present Day:
"Decorated Army Ranger. Top of your class. Bronze star, 2 Purple Hearts," a blonde eyebrow cocked upward at that last item mentioned. With a slight nod, Chris Larabee closed the folder he had been reading from and stared intently at the man sitting across from him. Still watching the long-haired 25-year-old, he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a leather case and slid it across the desk.
"It's official. Welcome to ATF Team 7, Vin Tanner."
The End
