She grinned back at her teammate. “I did. Admiral Duquesne looked none too happy about it, either. But he can suck my”—she finished lamely—“toes.”

Jab shook his head, tsking. “If you’re gonna be a SEAL, you’ve got to get better at swearing, kid.”

The remainder of the dinner conversation devolved into swearing lessons for her. She laughed hard at the Smurfs’ creativity, and a good time was had by all. Mostly, though, she was relieved they didn’t hold it against her that she’d been pulled out for a stupid press conference.

The next night, Vidmeyer announced the trainees would have all day Sunday off to rest…because Hell Week started Monday morning.

This was it. The ultimate test of whether or not she would make it as a SEAL. The fix could be in to graduate her as much as anyone wanted, but if she couldn’t hack Hell Week, the SEALs would know it and she would never be considered a legitimate member of the brotherhood.

It was a sacred rite of passage. Period.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t stack the deck in her favor a little.

Late Sunday morning, she gathered the Smurfs in her room for an unofficial team meeting. Afterward, grinning from ear to ear, they dispersed to do various errands. Two guys went into San Diego to obtain a tank of helium and hide it near the beach. When the instructors weren’t looking, they would fill the Smurf boat with it to make it lighter to carry.

Two more guys went shopping off base where they wouldn’t be spotted, and everyone helped them hide boxes of chocolate and bottles of brandy for several miles in each direction up and down the beach.

Sherri bought and handed out jars of the thick petroleum paste used by triathletes and ultra-marathoners to prevent chafing. Even though she embarrassed the men by saying so, she told them succinctly where to smear the stuff. She also warned them to wear bathing suits under their clothes and hide the suits during their forced showers to prevent their confiscation. Griffin had assured her that chafing and raw tender bits would be one of the worst agonies of the week.

Over supper that night, she gave the guys one last pep talk, sharing every hint she dared from Griffin without giving away that she’d been coached to death on how to survive Hell Week.