The Drumhead

by Richard Correll

  Pinder watched as Maggie turned around and started making her way to the bus. The shoulders were hunched and the arms crossed tightly around her chest. He thought he saw Maggie grimace and close her eyes. There is such a thing as caring too much, Maggie. He thought to himself.

  The bus door hissed open and Maggie stepped up into the cabin. Her face had been dirtied by the dust thrown up by the EVAC helicopter. Pinder could clearly see tracks in the dust running from her eyes down her cheeks.

  “I just need a minute here, people.” She held up her hand for a second and turned away from them to face the front of the bus. The bus driver respectfully kept his eyes forward. The silence was like time was standing still in this little part of the world. Not a muscle moved, not an eye blinked and maybe even the clocks took a pause.

  “I don’t know,” Maggie finally broke the silence with her back still to her troops. “Maybe they’ve come up with something since we’ve last heard.”

  “Desjardins and Benjamin will get the best treatment the army has.”She turned slowly and started to make eye contact with her troops. Voorhees, Symons, Chalmers, Pinder and Bradley were the closest . Fuck, Pinder felt his throat tighten. She just hates this.

  “We gotta be more careful.” Maggie continued. “I don’t know what’s going on right now. “ Her right index finger suddenly stabbed the air. “But one thing is sure, I have your back and I know you have mine.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The answer came as a whisper.

  “I don’t wanna have to go through that again.” She nodded her head to wear the EVAC had been. “I am going to look each one you in the eye and you are going to promise me you’re going to be more careful, dammnit.”

  Pinder watched Maggie walk slowly over Chalmers. He was seated ram rod straight in the bus chair. She leaned over to get close as his brown eyes met hers. “Chalmers, your gonna promise me your gonna be more careful, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am” His voice cracked and his eyes reddened as he nodded. “I will be more careful, ma’am.”

  “Sergeant Symons,” Symons eyes locked with Maggie’s and he could feel himself being pulled into her emotions. “You will be more careful, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am .” He could feel himself wanting to protect her from the world. Their eyes lingered together for a moment. Finally, he swallowed hard and said: “I promise I will be more careful, ma’am.”

  “Brenda.”

  “Yes ma’am, “ Voorhees whispered, lost in emotion.

  “Please tell me you’re gonna be more careful.”

  “Yes ma’am, I will be more careful.” Her eyes misted as the words left her mouth.

  “Corporal Moshood,”

  “Yes ma’am,” A heavy set African American soldier who cradled a heavy machine gun looked into her eyes.

  “I don’t think I could face your mom if something happened to you. You are all she has in the world.” Maggie returned the look, unblinking. “You gotta promise you’re gonna be more careful.”

  “Yes, ma’am, “the face was stoic as the eyes became moist at the corners. “I will be more careful, ma’am.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.” Maggie turned to Pinder suddenly. “I did not ask your permission to address the troops.”

  “Maggie,” Pinder looked at his shoes before summoning the voice and courage to respond to her. Finally, he looked up at Maggie. “You never need my permission to address your troops. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes sir, you do.” A sad smile creased her face. Pinder’s phone chimed as she spoke: “Thank you, sir.”

  “This is Pinder.” His voice was calmer than Maggie expected. She heard the muffled voice on the other end of the phone and suddenly became aware she was grinding her teeth. Murphy. A feeling rose in Maggie, a flashback that made her hyper-ventilate. Maggie turned away from the conversation and walked out of the bus onto the empty highway that they were travelling on. Across a centre line of train tracks the southbound traffic continued its slow exodus.

  “You okay?” She turned to face the voice. It was Symons. The first thing she saw was his eyes. That dark blue that Maggie used to lose herself in during late night dinners and walks along the beach. He wasn’t like anyone else she’d ever met. When he asked if she was okay he always listened to the answer. No matter how long it took.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” Her voice softened as their eyes met.

  “Liar.” He whispered back, his eyes warmed her for a second.

  You made this decision, Maggie reminded herself. The memory of that day seemed so long ago. But, the times they were together suddenly seemed like yesterday in their clarity.

  “When this is all over,” He leaned closer. She suddenly was aware of that particular scent every man had. Each one was different. It was tribal, primal. She barely heard him finish his sentence. “We’re gonna get this guy.”

  Liar, she wanted to say. Instead, she nodded her head and looked down.

  “We’d ……um…..better get back.” She finally stuttered.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He nodded. The professional tone was back in his voice.

  “Hey, I know your heart was in the right place but I had to do it.” Maggie spoke up after a minute of silence. “Sorry, about kicking your ass in front of Pinder earlier.”

  “Quite alright, ma’am.” Symons replied wryly as he adjusted the weight of his rifle on his shoulder. “I’m used to it.”

  “Asshole.” Maggie said through a slow smile.

  “Yes, ma’am, thank you, ma’am.”

  A single file line of school buses appeared in the distance from the direction they came. As they got closer it was clear to both of them they were carrying military personal. The wop-wop of helicopter blades could be heard in the distance. The bus brakes grinded and the motors idled as the doors opened and the human cargo began to disgorge. Pinder had stepped out of the bus for more privacy. As Maggie and Brett walked back to their bus the phone conversation began to come within earshot.

  “Sir, I believe I have given the Major several options to consider here.” It was Pinder, his voice calm.

  “Captain Pinder, there is only one option. You’re completion of this mission.” ” Murphy now, Maggie felt a lump in her throat and tried to push away an image of him. It was like seeing something horrible and trying to mouse click it away when the computer had frozen. It was there. She couldn’t stop it.

  “Sir, based on observations in the field,” Pinder pressed on. “Our mission may be no longer attainable.”

  “I need to remind you this is wartime, Mr. Pinder.” The silky voice of Murphy had a tone of intimidation to it. “Failure to execute a direct order has severe consequences.”

  “Sir…..”

  “I am talking about a firing squad, Captain.” Murphy was angry now. Maggie cocked her head slightly in alarm. She wasn’t totally sure they did firing squads anymore. Still, Murphy had so much pull he could probably make it happen.

  “If you wish to relieve me of command, sir.” Pinder still kept going. “I will gladly hand the unit over to Lieutenant Hunter.”

  There was a pause at the other end of the line. Murphy was probably balling his fists in rage over that possibility. Maggie desperately wanted to say: He’s got you there, asshole.

  “Have the reinforcements for the picket defense of the I90/94 arrived?” Murphy had recovered and was trying a new tact.

  Pinder looked over to Symons who nodded. “Yes sir. They have arrived.”

  “Good,” Murphy slyly answered. Maggie could imagine his slimy mouth curving upwards. “Then, I will hand command over to one of them and they will complete the mission.”

  Pinder’s jaw tightened as the sound of helicopters began to increase in volume. Maggie looked over to see two Hueys packed with troops touching down. Murphy’s voice was back: “You then, Mr. Pinder, would return to me.” There was metallic click on Murphy’s side of the phone.

  “Here that, Captain?” Murphy’s voice was barely human. “I just put a bullet
in the chamber and its’ got your name on it.”

  Symons and Maggie felt their faces lose color and shock rise even higher than the temperature. Pinder looked over at Maggie and saw her facial expression. He briefly gritted his teeth and sighed.

  “I trust you will follow through with the mission?” Murphy’s voice was almost lyrical.

  “I guess I have no choice, sir.” Pinder’s tone was low and angry.

  “No, you don’t. Give my regards to Lieutenant Hunter.” The line went dead.

  “If it means anything, sir.” Symons spoke up. “Thanks for sticking up for us.”

  “We might as well get going.” Pinder replied and pocketed his phone. He seemed to be a gambit of emotions. Anger, humiliation, defiance and a few Maggie could not put her finger on.

  “Yes sir.” Maggie said tersely. I still haven’t got you figured out, she thought as Pinder walked to the bus. Symons sighed and followed Maggie across the highway for a private moment.

  “Did I or did I not hear that asshole threaten Pinder?” Symons asked when they were out of earshot.

  “You did.” Maggie answered as she watched the picket line assemble. “You need to commit the whole conversation to memory so we can use it later.”

  “You got it.” Symons nodded as he headed toward Esterhaus who was on top of the bus keeping watch. It was his turn to relieve him.

  Maggie nodded her head and watched the picket line unit. It was like looking at a puzzle with a piece in the wrong place. Something was out of sync. She started to look at individual soldiers. First one, then another and it didn’t take long to see the problem. The uniforms, scattered around the huddle of soldiers were patches on shoulders from at least a dozen different divisions. She spotted a few air force blues as well. Further observation even revealed police and a few National Guard uniforms. This is not a coherent unit, this is anybody we could find to plug the breach. This is desperation.

  How bad was it? She put head down and walked back to the bus. How bad is this going to get?

  *

  Outside, Alice watched Murphy’s face from several feet away as she approached him. She listened to the conversation as a slow snarl touched his lips and invaded his features. When he pulled out his side arm while cradling the phone on his shoulder his head tilted in her direction, she saw his eyes and caught her breath. They were dull brown, emotionless orbs. Like the close up picture of a spider preparing to consume a fly. They were cruel, soulless and obscene. The eyes: A window to a corrupted soul. A touch of fear brushed past her heart. How did you get like this? She licked her lips nervously. Did I help do this to you?

  He replaced the sidearm in his holster, satisfied that his point had been made: “Give my regards to Lieutenant Hunter.” The parting shot was spat into the phone and his thumb terminated the call.

  “Let’s hold off on calling the retreat.” He put his phone back in his pocket as he turned toward her. Alice carefully avoided looking into his eyes. Don’t go there, something inside her warned. You might not like what you see.

  “Compton is reporting that he can’t hold his position.” Alice argued. “He said there were thousands of them.”

  “We need 45 minutes.” He looked up into her eyes as he spoke and Alice saw an icy black world devoid of warmth in his soul. She turned away and pretended to look out the UIC Pavilion’s expansive second floor windows, Murphy continued; “That should get Pinder into Chicago.”

  “Then what?” Her breath was short.

  “Then, we pull everyone out,” he spoke almost lyrically like he was reciting a poem. “Then, its’ buh-bye Maggie.”

  “That’s it, isn’t it?” Alice suddenly felt an urge of hysteria building up inside.

  “Yes, what’s the problem?”

  “Are you paying attention to what’s going on?” Alice blurted out the words before even thinking. She gestured to the windows. “What’s going on out there is happening all over the world.”

  “So?”

  “This is serious!” Alice was finding her courage. “You saw the situation in there.”

  “I am fully aware of the situation.” While his voice was calm, his eyes were electric and dead cold. It was like watching an ice storm.

  “They are everywhere.” Alice struggled to keep her voice down. “We have no more reserves.”

  “So?” His mood was casual, his eyes a bottomless darkness.

  “So, a lot of people are dying right now.” Her voice was a whisper as she crept closer. “Our situation is precarious.”

  “A lot of people are dying.” The mouth slithered into a thin smile. “That’s their job. That’s what their supposed to do.”

  “What?”

  “If I give the order, they die.” His teeth began to appear as the smile widened like a knife wound. “I am giving the orders right now for Hunter and Pinder ……to die.”

  She looked at his eyes, cold specs connected to a frozen soul. My god, she thought as Alice felt invisible tentacles stretch out, encircle her and pull her into his world. For the first time, Springs realized that she was afraid of the man who was her lover. She felt herself start to freeze like a planet caught in the orbit of a frigid star. I am in way too deep, the logical part of Alice Springs surmised. There’s nothing to do but play along and hope for the best.

  Then, when this over run like hell the first time he turns his back.

  “Just tell me one thing,” She asked as Murphy started to walk back inside. “Have you ever done this before?”

  He turned slowly toward her with a sardonic, wisp of a smile. “Done what?”

  “Killed someone?” Springs knew her voice was high pitched. She didn’t care.

  “When it feels this good,” he turned toward the entrance and walked away. “Once is never enough.”

  Springs watched him saunter into the lecture hall with a casual swagger. It was an exclamation point to their conversation. His confidence had always been so sexy. Now, it passed into the realm of sociopathic. How did I get here? Her breath was short and syncopated. Alice looked up at the sunlight peeking through the trees and thought it almost comically out of place. She let her eyes stray to the quaint intersection of Harrison and Racine.

  The platoon that had guarded the intersection had retreated to the car park. Bodies dotted the roadway like stains on a patchwork quilt. Some here, a few there. Some of the many taken down by rifle fire when they approached. A half dozen on Racine had been sliced in half by a fifty caliber machine gun on a Humvee that had opened up before retreating. Now, careless figures wandered here and there. They seemed like souls that had lost something in their travels, tracing and retracing steps along the quaint side by side traffic lanes and greenery in between on Harrison. Strange, how they paid no attention to their own dead. Only us……

  Them………..

  “Its’ them,” she muttered. Alice watched another form stagger from behind a parked car on the street and scatter flies near a fallen form. They really are everywhere. Two soldiers on watch gathered a comfortable distance away and seemed confused at what to do next. They were like ants caught between orders from the queen of the hive. Suddenly, it hit her. Here she was in a locked, barricaded building with armed troops and Alice had never felt more alone and vulnerable in her entire life.

  *

  “Sir!”

  Maggie and Pinder were standing in front of the bus discussing final details before moving out. Both heads turned as if controlled by the same master. It was Symons standing 10 yards away. Maggie observed with satisfaction that Symons was finally following protocol and addressing the senior Pinder. The new Captain’s stock had taken a huge upward turn with her people. Suddenly, it seemed more important than ever to be on the safe side.

  “Yes, what is it?” Pinder answered. He clearly was relieved to have the distraction.

  “There is something you might want to have a look at, sir.” Symons gestured to the other side of the bus they had arrived in.

  “Very well,” Pinder
nodded and glanced in Maggie’s direction before he began to walk around the bus. “Care to tag along with some advice, Maggie?”

  “You bet, sir.”

  “You’ll need your binoculars, sir.” Symons advised as he pointed eastwards toward downtown. Maggie could read Brett’s mood and knew him well. He’d seen something serious.

  Pinder raised his binoculars to his eyes and slowly panned right and left. He inhaled slowly and held his breath before exhaling and lowering the binoculars. “Maggie?” He handed the glasses over to her with an air of gravity. She took the binoculars while glancing at Symons. His face was taut with emotion. When she focused her eyes widened uncontrollably and her lips parted slightly. She felt her face grow tense as she bit her lower lip. An embankment blocked their full vision. Perhaps they could get on top of the bus to see more. What’s the point? She decided. This was enough.