The Drumhead

by Richard Correll

  “In horse racing they call it a daily double.” He smiled arrogantly. Springs felt the hairs on her neck starting to stand on end.

  “Why did you do that?” She had to ask. “You’re family has money.”

  “Because I can.” His eyes narrowed and the mouth drew itself into a carnivorous thin line.

  She watched him ease past her and continue down the hallway. Major Springs began to think about coordinating the new radio frequencies for each unit heading into Chicago. But, in the back of her mind a chill began to spread itself out inside her. By the time it reached her stomach it had become a raw, nauseous panic. So, a voice inside her wondered; what happens when he finally gets tired of you? She had no words to answer. The only reply was a trembling lower lip.

  *

  “See you for a second, Maggie?” A whisper touched her ear. Again, it was Pinder. With an inner start Maggie realized he had referred to her by name and not by rank. She followed him to the fire escape stairs.

  “First of all,” Pinder kept his voice low even after the fire door had closed. He sat down on some stairs while Maggie leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms somewhat defensively and listened. “I want to tell you how sick I am that you’re going through this,”

  “Thank you, I’m okay.” Maggie guessed correctly this was not about losing her unit.

  “I don’t know why I’m here.” Pinder laid his cards out for her to see. Maggie’s reaction at this sudden honesty was hard to read.

  “Have you ever had command experience?” Maggie also kept her voice low. She briefly thought about walking up a few flights of stairs to see if someone was listening but decided against it.

  “No.” He shook his head.

  “Have you ever expressed an interest in field command?” Her arms uncrossed and she slipped them in her pockets. No, this guy was not here to spy on her. He was just as much in the dark as she was.

  “No.”

  “I….” Maggie looked closely and suddenly remembered him. “I remember, you handle the ….”

  “Paperwork, finances,” Pinder nodded his head. “Yeah, that stuff.”

  “So,” Maggie’s head cocked and her eyes searched for an answer in his face. “When did you make Captain?”

  “Last night.” He leaned forward and nodded when Maggie’s mouth opened in surprise. “They had taken one of my uniforms and stitched on the bars.”

  The door opened with a metallic creak. It was Symons with a determined look on his face. He nodded to Maggie and pointedly looked at Pinder. “Just want to let you know,” his voice was threatening. “This is Maggie’s unit.”

  “Sergeant!” Maggie’s voice bounced off the walls and hung in the silence that followed. Fire door or no fire door, Maggie knew that her voice was going to carry. It’s time to read the riot act.

  Pinder was already on his feet facing Symons. Maggie had to give the guy credit, he wasn’t backing down. “That is none of your concern, Sergeant.”

  “Sir…..” Symons began.

  “That is enough out of you,” Maggie reached up to Brett’s shoulders and turned him around away from Pinder to face her. “You will come to attention, Sergeant!”

  “Ma’am, I……

  “DID I STUTTER?” Even Maggie was amazed at the volume that came out of her mouth. Symons’ explanation quickly turned into a ramrod stance. The only sounds in the stairway were the echoes of Maggie’s voice. She started to breathe through her nostrils to calm down. It sounded like an angry bull about to charge.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care what particular kind of burr you have up your ass, Sergeant.” Maggie was standing 6 inches away, she only came up to his chest. But, rank and attitude made up the difference. “But, it just ended. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” His voice was gravel.

  “You are also going to respect chain of command, hear me?” Her eyes practically glowed with rage.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Symons had to pause before answering. Her collusion with Pinder had him off guard. But, this would be a bad time to argue.

  Maggie made a point of staring down Symons for several long seconds before turning and facing Pinder. “Shall we discipline the officer, sir?”

  “No, “ Pinder’s voice was calm. “A simple apology will do this time.”

  “Yes sir,” Maggie nodded once and turned to Symons. “Your catchin’ a break asshole, make it good.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Symons nodded to Maggie as his eyes burned at her. He slowly turned to PInder who regarded him with a blank expression. “Permission to speak, sir.” Symons was all by the book right now. He tried to push away his anger and concentrate on the moment.

  “Granted.”

  “Sir, “ Symons began. His eyes were staring into space with army intensity.” I have been disrespectful to the Captain. I apologize for my actions, sir.”

  “Good,” Pinder seemed impatient with the whole situation. “See that it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Should I dismiss the Sergeant, sir?” Maggie was also at attention. Her voice was the rapid fire monotone of military discipline.

  “Perhaps he should join us,” Pinder suggested. It was a smart move. What was going on was about to affect everyone and another set of eyes and ears wouldn’t hurt.

  “Yes sir,” Maggie nodded then turned toward Symons and addressed him. “Sergeant Symons.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Siddown!”

  “Yes ma’am, “ Symons nodded slowly and made eye contact with Maggie for a furious moment. She decided to let him simmer for a few minutes.

  “As I was saying,” Pinder returned to the issue at hand. “I don’t know why I am here.”

  “You became a Captain last night?” Maggie repeated the information to bring Symons up to speed.

  “Maggie,” Pinder’s surprise was all over his voice. “Until last night, I was a Second Lieutenant. I used to salute you in the hallways.”

  “Yes, I remember.” She nodded to him, her head nodded in affirmative. She made eyes contact to let Pinder know he was in good company. Just keep talking, don’t give him time to backtrack from the truth. Trust was like anything. It took time.

  The door opened a second time. This time it was Voorhees with Esterhaus just behind. Brenda looked straight at Maggie and addressed her: “Sorry ma’am, we’ve been looking for you.”

  “Brenda,” Maggie scolded calmly. “You must be aware you always address the superior officer first when entering a room.” Maggie then averted her eyes to Pinder.

  “Oh,” Brenda blinked.

  “You are…..?” Pinder stepped forward and addressed the private.

  “Uh….,” Brenda was caught off guard but started to make up for lost time by coming to attention and saluting smartly.” I apologize, sir. Private Brenda Voorhees.”

  “Not at all….and?” Pinder craned his neck to look at Esterhaus in the hallway,

  “Sergeant Carl Esterhaus.” He saluted and came to attention in one motion.

  “Good,” Pinder nodded his head. “I want you to come in and close the door. I have something to say.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Yes sir,” Esterhaus carefully closed the door behind him and made sure he was all ears.

  “Maggie,” Pinder sighed. “We could play this game all day. We just don’t have time for this.” Pinder glanced at Esterhaus, Symons and Voorhees and then nodded back to Maggie. “This is your unit.”

  “Thank you sir, but you are in command.” Maggie nodded politely. “May I make a suggestion to the Captain?”

  “Of course…”

  “Perhaps from time to time I could offer a bit of advice.” Maggie made a peace offering.

  “That would be most appreciated.” He nodded with a slow smile. “But why not take command?”

  “This could be a setup, sir.” Maggie explained.

  “How do you mean?” A brow furrowed behind his glasses.

  “I am not e
xactly friends with the Major right now.” She stated the obvious and then continued: “I decided to go public with my charges against him. The networks are already calling.”

  “Good for you, ma’am.” Brenda whispered while the room recovered from the news. Symons face became a grim smile as he nodded slowly. Maggie continued her explanation; “Any sign of disrespect to you could be used against me.”

  “Maggie, I would never bring you up on charges of…..”

  “Begging the Captain’s pardon,” Maggie continued. “They could go right over your head and blow anything up into a major incident.”

  He regarded her for a moment as one hand held on to the rail and tapped it lightly with his forefinger. His other hand casually rested on his chin in thought. “Yes, he could do that,” he finally surmised.

  “So, we gotta do this by the book,” Maggie concluded.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Blackhawk base come in please,” Maggie was trying to call the forward operating base at the University of Illinois in Chicago for a description of the enemy, numbers and anything else that might have come up since they started heading toward The Loop. The Eisenhower Expressway was perfect for transporting materials in and out of Chicago in times of crisis. After all, that’s what it had been designed for. The Cold War had been a great time for civic improvement. Albeit, with ulterior motive.

  The canvas tops of the M-35 trucks had been pulled back to let in the brilliant sunshine. Heading east, the Eisenhower was dotted with emergency and military vehicles moving toward Chicago and their designated areas. The speed of events had created a sudden shortage of transportation and Maggie’s four platoons found themselves riding in Chicago transit buses. The big issue with the bus was the staggering amount of gear the average platoon had to take along. The thin width of the passenger seats doubled the issue. These weren’t your averaged sized guys. Shoulders rubbed shoulders and gear bulged out of overhead compartments. The driver was a squat black man with a bald head and short mustache who now kept his eyes on the road. Maggie was pacing up and down the center aisle of the bus as it lurched around. She was thinking that the lack of response might be dead zones of reception. She finally sighed and bowed her head in defeat. No contact.

  She gazed out across the highway to the slow moving procession heading west out of the Chicago area. Cars loaded with belongings, children and other pack rat parcels of human consumption. On some cars, space inside the vehicle had been used up and some people clung to the roofs and crowded into the trunks. Even at this distance, she could see the blank expression in their eyes. She pondered how the adults all seemed to have that far away look. Like they were reliving events and nightmares they couldn’t forget.

  One man stood up in a crowded pick-up truck and began shouting at the column as it passed. His arms flailed around so much that one of his buddies had to steady him to prevent him from pitching backward onto the asphalt. The wildness in his eyes captured Maggie’s attention for long enough to read his lips.

  “WHERE WERE YOU?”

  She turned her back on the man and watched the convoy move east on the Eisenhower before turning north on the I90/94. As they passed by the University of Illinois in Chicago command center she wanted to imitate the man and scream out the bus window; “Hey! Anybody home?”

  “I saved you a seat, Maggie.”

  She looked up the aisle to see Pinder at the front of the bus sitting with Symons. Maggie was glad the Sergeant was making amends. His little stunt earlier had been way out of line. It was good to see he was starting to understand. That was a long time ago, she reflected on the two of them together. Symons looked up and made eye contact with his brilliant blue eyes that always seemed to light up when she walked into the room. She felt a thrill of primal electricity as she made eye contact and drank in the moment. Well, maybe it wasn’t that long ago.

  Her senses hit a knife edge at a flashback with Murphy. It was like a needle sting. You may never trust anyone enough to be with them again. She stared into a growing incision of blackness that seemed to grow out of her heart. It was like a part of your soul had been cut off and the pain of the amputation would always be there. Is that why so many woman commit suicide after this? She suddenly felt helpless again. Stop it, damnit. Stop it.

  “Maggie?” It was Pinder motioning her to sit down. As Maggie found her spot beside the Captain, she contemplated again why he was using her name and not her rank. Pinder clearly felt out of his element. He made it very clear she should be in his shoes. With Maggie’s refusal he decided not to use rank to command respect. The result would have an opposite effect with her people. By calling Maggie by her first name and not her rank was a very clever message to her and her unit that he regarded Maggie as an equal. It was a very wise move by a man who fought on a different battlefield. The day to day office politics of the army could be a harrowing game. Maggie had to admit it was a sly political move that had headed off an insurrection that no one had the time to deal with.

  “Its’ hot out, ma’am,” Symons dug into a cooler and produced an ice cold bottled water. He passed it across the aisle to his Lieutenant. His eyes met Maggie’s and seemed to speak: okay, sorry. I just get that way sometimes.

  “Good idea, Sergeant. Thank you.”Maggie nodded and felt the deliciously frozen liquid cool her mouth and tongue first before spreading through her. Here that sound, Sergeant Symons? She thought with an inward smile. That’s you getting out of my dog house.

  “Any luck?” Pinder was clearly concerned over the silence. His left eyebrow was a pure sign of worry.

  “Nothing, sir.” Maggie shook her head. “Maybe my radio is out.”

  “Maggie, they are ignoring you.” Pinder spoke bluntly. “I have tried as well.”

  “What?” Maggie looked at the floor and tried to comprehend such an act of sheer unprofessional behavior. “They’re not talking to us?” She finally looked up at Symons and Pinder in that order. “What is this? Fucking high school?”

  “Sergeant Symons has a theory.” Pinder nodded to Brett to tell his story.

  “Ma’am,” Symons took his cue from Pinder with a nod. “Captain Pinder was just saying that he had brought some issues to Major Murphy a few weeks ago.”

  “Issues?” Maggie could feel this was important.

  “Financial improprieties,” Pinder had his accountant’s hat on. “I told the Major I could easily follow the paper trail and see where it leads.”

  “Did you?” Maggie asked.

  “I didn’t have time,” Pinder explained. “Next thing I knew I was here.”

  “Captain Pinder, this may not be a promotion for you,” Symons explained while he nodded to Maggie. “They may be setting you up to fail.”

  “So I’m starting to see,” Pinder nodded his head and glanced out the window. They were now on the I-94 heading north. He finally turned back to Maggie and then Symons in turn. “Any ideas?”

  “I have one,” Maggie explained quickly and then wrapped it up by saying: “Lets’ talk to our people.”

  “Okay,” He nodded and stood in the aisle and faced the back of the bus and addressed the troops. “Pay attention everyone.” His voice was not command strength but the unit turned to listen. “We have lost contact with our forward base and need to start getting some intel on our situation.”

  “Maggie?” He motioned for her to stand up.

  “Thank you, sir.” She nodded as he sat down. She turned toward the back of the bus and a shark’s smile slashed open.“Okay, people. Who broke my rule today about cellies and smart phones?”

  Row after row didn’t move. They were statues, not daring to even scratch themselves because of the attention it would get. Maggie placed her hands on her hips as she sighed. The smile took on a humorous vein as she started walking to the back of the bus.

  “You get a freebie today,” she offered, like a mom enticing her children to eat something good for them. “We need intel and I need your phones to get it.”

  A few hands s
heepishly began to rise. Voorhees, Bradley, Smith. She knew there were more.

  “C’mon Chalmers, I know you. “ Maggie smiled at a lanky African American soldier in front of her. “You’re always checking baseball scores and downloading porn.”The bus roared with high volume laughter as Chalmers smiled, half stood up and raised his hand. A cheer and applause erupted from the back of the bus as he sat back down.

  “Thank you for your belated honesty, private.” Maggie smiled. “As a reward you get to choose the news source you’re going to check out.”