by C. G. Cooper
Once again Brian did as instructed. He pressed the button and heard a mechanical click and he could now see that the interior of the wardrobe had moved forward a bit and there now appeared to be a seam in the middle.
CAL: All right, now open the panels. Once you get that open there’s a separate light switch inside.
Brian pulled the two heavy panels apart and stepped back. Well it was definitely a secret stash. It just wasn’t the stash Brian had guessed. Neatly held in racks, and now lit by the interior light, was a bottom row of an assorted number of rifles. The top row was half pistols of varying calibers and half full of other gear like knives, GPS, compass and survival gear. What the hell? This Marine is ready for war.
CAL: Now grab the first pistol on the top left. Should be my Beretta nine mil. Grab the one next to that too, the forty-five cal Springfield XD.
BRIAN: Hey man, I can’t bring these things back to the hospital!
CAL: Look, Doc. I know I’m asking a lot on this one but I need your help. You should know me well enough by now to understand that I don’t like asking for help.
BRIAN: Saw a small glimpse of that the other day when you refused my help getting up to take a piss and you landed flat on your face.
CAL: Yeah, I know. But look, I just have this funny feeling and I want to be prepared. You ever get that feeling in your gut while in the field that something bad was gonna happen?
BRIAN: Of course. But, Cal, this is different. You’re not in the field and you’re surrounded by trained hospital security staff. Not to mention the local cops are always stopping by to see how you’re doing.
CAL: You’re right. But I thought the same thing about taking Jess out to dinner at a seemingly safe downtown restaurant.
Cal let that sink in for a couple seconds and continued.
CAL: You know I wouldn’t let you take the heat for this. If anyone finds it on me I’ll blame it on myself. Thing is, the minute I walk out of that hospital I’ll need to have some protection of my own.
Brian knew he could trust Cal, but the thought of bringing loaded weapons into the hospital still did not sit well with him. Worst case he could get fired AND thrown in jail. He liked his job at Vanderbilt and wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.
On the other hand, whether a new friend or not, Cal Stokes was his brother-in-arms; a fellow warrior that upheld the highest standards of the military establishment. He knew deep down that Cal would never let him take the fall. In for a penny, in for a pound.
BRIAN: Ok. You said the Beretta and the Springfield. Anything else?
Cal went on to ask for a couple boxes of ammunition and one of his knives from the top row. Then he instructed Brian to grab one of his gym bags from the front of the closet, fill it with some random clothing and hide the weapons inside.
Brian put the phone down and started. He grabbed the first pistol and reflexively ejected the full magazine and checked the chamber. Fully loaded. Just like a Marine.
The next pistol was the same. With both magazines reinserted, he stuffed each into a separate pair of boxer briefs. Next he grabbed two boxes of ammunition: one of 9mm and one of 45 cal. He finished by hiding the knife in a pair of socks and loading some workout pants, shirts and sweatshirts on top.
Mission completed, he picked the phone back up.
BRIAN: Anything else you need?
CAL: Yeah. Grab my cell phone. I think it’s either on the kitchen counter or on my nightstand. Thanks again for doing this, Doc.
BRIAN: Yeah, yeah. You just make sure that if we get sent to jail you’re the one that gets to bunk with Bubba.
CAL (chuckling): You got it. I’ll see you in the morning.
Brian put his phone back in his coat pocket, picked up the gym bag, now laden with a small arsenal, and took it out into the bedroom and laid it on the bed. He went back into the closet, closed the hidden panels, replaced the drawer, and re-sealed the armoire.
He found Cal’s cell phone on the night stand. I wonder why Cal didn’t have it with him that night? Most people carried their cell phones everywhere. He’d have to ask Cal later.
He did one final sweep of the condo. Brian stopped by the nightstand and as an afterthought grabbed the photograph of Cal and Jessica sitting next to the bed. It was a portrait of the couple sitting on the edge of a dock at some lake. They looked happy.
With the small picture frame now wrapped in a t-shirt and safely packed in the full gym bag, Brian headed for the door.
+ + +
Brian decided on the way back down to the lobby not to wait until the next morning to get the weapons back to Cal. The night staff at the hospital was lighter and going in through the staff entrance would attract less scrutiny.
Getting off the elevator he waved to Irene as he went by.
IRENE (bubbly): You tell Cal that we want to know as soon as he’s getting out. Maybe we can throw him a little party when he gets back.
BRIAN: Ok, thanks.
Brian knew the last thing Cal would want coming home was a cocktail party. Guys like Cal didn’t want or need that kind of attention. Better to be among close friends or, even better, with a couple Marine buddies drinking beer and swapping sea stories.
He’d tell Cal that the girl had said hello but also warn him about the possibility of a homecoming fiesta. Brian remembered when his parents had thrown him a surprise welcome home party when he’d returned from overseas. By then the Navy had informed the Ramirez family of Brian’s valor in battle and his parents couldn’t have been more proud. They decided the best way to show him their pride was to show off their son to a bunch of friends and a few neighbors Brian didn’t even know.
He still remembered the look of devastation on his mother’s face as he’d screamed at her for throwing the party. She’d left the room crying and his father had somehow ushered the guests out of the house.
Brian wasn’t proud of that moment. His parents were not raised in a military family. They didn’t know the truth about serving in the armed forces. They just wanted to celebrate their son the hero, and had honored Brian in the only way they knew how.
What they didn’t know was that the last thing guys like Brian or Cal wanted was public recognition for their acts of gallantry. Brian didn’t want the awards they’d given him. He just wanted his Marines back.
After a period of time Brian had explained this to his parents. Luckily his mother and father loved their only son. They had worked hard to understand what he’d been through, and realized it might never be the right time for him to tell them the whole story. He was very happy for that.
He’d seen other friends return to similar homecomings, only the families had not understood their need for privacy, and as a result, the familial relationships suffered heavily.
That was a problem with even serving in the military. The only ones that understand what you’ve gone through are those who’ve served as well.
+ + +
Fifteen minutes later he pulled into the staff parking lot. He grabbed all of Cal’s things and headed through the staff entrance. Security presence was scarce mainly because most of the doors were locked and only accessible by key-card at this time of night.
In five minutes he was back in Cal’s room.
CAL: Hey, doc, I wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow morning.
BRIAN: Yeah, well, I didn’t really want to be lugging around your arsenal for the next twelve hours.
CAL: Thanks again for going. I won’t forget it.
BRIAN: Yeah, yeah. Just don’t let anybody see it. It’s my ass if the Marine I’ve been assigned to gets caught with all that gear. Just be careful, ok, Cal?
Cal nodded and struggled out of bed to grab the gym bag.
CAL: Hey, Doc, you wanna do me a favor and go watch the door for me.
BRIAN: Sure.
Brian walked over to the door and leaned against it, keeping an eye at the window slit while Cal unpacked the bag.
The first item he pulled out was the framed picture of
him and Jess. He stared down at the picture and touched Jess’s face. His eyes watered and the pent up grief almost overwhelmed his resolve. I’m not gonna do this now, dammit. He reverently placed the picture frame on the side table.
Next he checked the weapons to make sure they were loaded and ready. Then he took both guns, loaded each into one of his white socks, and stuffed them back into the bag along with the knife.
CAL (with a conspiratorial grin): The dangerous stuff is back in the bag, Doc. Have a seat if you want to stick around.
BRIAN (suddenly curious): Stick around for what?
CAL: You’ll see. I’ve just got a feeling.
Next Cal grabbed his cell phone, sat on the edge of the bed and started scrolling through the phone’s touch screen. He had a lot of voicemails and missed calls. He’d deal with that later.
He then clicked a small camera icon on the home screen and entered a nine digit pass code.
Brian moved up next to Cal and looked down at the phone. He couldn’t believe it. It looked like Cal was scrolling through videos taken at his condo.
BRIAN (surprised): Hey, is that me?
CAL: Yep. I’m starting with the most recent and moving back. I’ve got these things rigged so that they’re motion sensitive. Got ‘em hidden pretty well in each room. Bet you didn’t see them did you?
BRIAN: I didn’t. Why do you have all that surveillance gear up? Speaking of which, what’s with the armor-plated door and access code add-on?
CAL: I thought you might pick up on that. You’re not as dumb as you look, Swabby.
Brian rolled his eyes as Cal continued.
CAL: The video surveillance gear is actually through a local security company. Nothing too fancy. I had it installed just as a precaution. I’ve found you can never be too safe. I usually turn it off while I’m there so I don’t waste space filming myself in underwear.
Cal turned the phone so Brian could get a better picture.
CAL: See, here’s you getting to my front door. The next camera picks you up coming into the foyer, et cetera.
BRIAN: Pretty cool.
CAL: Yeah, my dad was in the security business. I guess I picked up on some of his habits.
Brian added that tidbit about Cal’s dad to the back of his brain for inquiry at a later date. A family security business would definitely explain the vault and arsenal at Cal’s place.
BRIAN: So what are you looking for? Just want to make sure I wasn’t rifling through your panty drawer?
CAL: Just want to see if anyone else made a visit.
As Brian watched, Cal fast-forwarded through the footage. He saw the front door’s exterior camera pickup residents walking by Cal’s unit. After a couple minutes of forwarding Cal stopped.
CAL (curious): Hmmm. Looks like Irene stopped by.
BRIAN (pointing): Hey, isn’t that the girl from the front desk?
CAL: Yeah, her name’s Irene. Nice enough girl but kind of nosy.
BRIAN: I got that vibe. She said to say hello by the way.
Cal ignored the comment and kept watching the small screen. At first Irene looked like she was knocking on the door. Then she pulled out her cell phone and made a phone call. She looked nervous. The video didn’t have sound but Brian got the impression that Irene didn’t like what she was hearing from the other end.
Finally, she hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. She approached the door again and it looked like she was entering a pass code to get in.
The next frame showed Irene stepping into Cal’s foyer just as they’d seen a few minutes before with Brian’s visit to the condo.
CAL: What the hell is she doing?
BRIAN: Maybe she was coming in to make sure you hadn’t left the stove on or something.
CAL: Doubt it. The building staff isn’t supposed to enter the private residences unless there’s an emergency. Plus, she doesn’t know I have cameras installed.
As they both watched, Irene made her way through the living area and kitchen. She seemed to be looking for something. She paused to open random drawers and peer inside. Nothing she saw seemed to be of much interest.
CAL: What the hell is she looking for?
Irene moved from the living area to Cal’s bedroom. She opened the drawers on the bedside table and picked up Cal’s cell phone out of the charging cradle. It looked like she’d pressed the unlock button on the phone but without the unlock code she quickly grew frustrated and put the phone back down in its charger.
She moved to the other side of the bed and picked up a small package that appeared to have already been opened.
CAL (through gritted teeth): Tell me that package was there when you went by, Doc.
BRIAN: Yeah it was there, I think. What is it?
CAL: Just a little engagement gift from Jess’s parents.
BRIAN: Oh.
Peering back down at the phone, they watched as Irene set the package down and advanced her search.
They continued to stare as Irene did a quick scan of the bedroom closet then headed back towards the main living area. She looked around one more time then left through the front door.
CAL: Irene’s gonna have a little explaining to do.
BRIAN: You wanna tell me what’s going on?
CAL: The less you know the better, Doc. I already exposed you by having you go by my place. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.
BRIAN (offended): Look, brother, I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I do know that you’re in no condition to be doing much of anything. So if you need help I’m here.
Cal stared at Brian for a moment and nodded.
CAL: If this goes to shit in a couple days don’t say I didn’t warn you.
BRIAN: Sounds like what my platoon sergeant said to me after I volunteered for that ambushed patrol.
CAL: Didn’t you learn never to volunteer for anything in the military, Doc?
BRIAN (smiling): Yeah. I guess I’m just a slow learner.
CAL: Ok. Here’s what I think. That guy that attacked me, Dante West, isn’t done with me yet. I’ll bet he’s not happy about what I did to his crew. He’s also pissed that I messed up his face.
BRIAN: You think he’s coming after you?
CAL: Yeah.
BRIAN: Why not your family?
CAL: All my family’s dead. I’m all that’s left.
BRIAN: What about all those phone calls you’ve been getting? The ones you don’t want to take?
CAL: They’re guys with my dad’s company. I’ll deal with them later.
BRIAN: Hey, man, I know this whole situation sucks but you’ve gotta talk to someone. You can’t just hole up here and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist. I’ll bet those guys are worried about you.
Cal stared at Brian for a minute and then nodded.
CAL: I’ll call them in a minute. Can you do me another favor?
BRIAN: What now? You want me to go break someone out of jail?
CAL: No, smartass. Can you go get me some coffee? I think this is gonna be a long night.
Brian agreed and left the room. As he made his way to the cafeteria, he thought about what Cal had said about his family. He was sure Jess’s family had tried to see Cal, but the stubborn Marine had refused any and all visitors.
He also had a stack of messages from various callers all waiting to check on Cal’s condition. Brian kept tight-lipped until now, but he knew that would have to change. In order for Cal to make a full physical and, more importantly, mental recovery after losing Jess, he’d have to let his friends help. As a nurse and corpsman, Brian had seen a lot of troops clam up and refuse treatment. Some never made it back to reality. Others drowned their demons in booze and drugs.
Brian didn’t think Cal was the type to go off the deep end, but having a strong support system would still be crucial in getting back to full form. If Cal didn’t make the calls himself, Brian would make some for him.
+ + +
He got back to the room a couple minutes later afte
r stopping by the nurse’s station to get the phone messages. Cal grabbed the coffee and the inch thick stack of messages.