The Door to Bitterness
Page 26
She grabbed her brother’s hand, pulled him toward her, and hugged him. He embraced her.
Below us, doors slammed. Men shouted to one another. A half dozen sloshed through mud, heading uphill.
Ernie stood awkwardly, holding his .45, glancing back and forth between me and the smiling woman. “What are you going to do?” he asked.
“They’ll decide,” I said.
Ai-ja nodded to Ernie and whispered a little thank you.
Holding her brother’s hand, she stepped toward me and put her hand on my shoulder, stretched to her full height and kissed me gently on the cheek. I felt the lingering softness of her lips. She and her brother walked away from us. Away from the KNPs.
Hand in hand, sister and brother walked toward the cliffs overlooking the rocks below. The storm clouds had cleared once again, and the Chusok moon shone brightly in the starry sky.
They paused. Yun Ai-ja and her brother gazed off into the distance. They seemed to take a deep breath. Hands joined, they stepped over the edge.
“Are you Sueño, George, no middle initial, on temporary assignment to the Criminal Investigation Detachment under the provisions of Eighth Army Supplement to Army Regulation 250-17, paragraph five?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And are you aware of your rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice while being charged with misappropriation of government property in conjunction with a Report of Survey?”
“Yes, sir. I am.”
“And was the weapon in question lost in the line of duty?”
“No, sir.”
“And has the weapon been recovered?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Intact and in serviceable condition?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Therefore we can waive replacement charges.”
His name was Major Wardman, a quartermaster officer assigned as the disinterested party to conduct a Report of Survey concerning my lost .45. He had broad shoulders and a big square head, and the collar of his dress green shirt was one size too small. As he leaned over the paperwork, he licked his lips and squinted, filling in each block of the carbon-copied forms with meticulously printed block letters.
“However,” Major Wardman continued, “you are responsible for the misappropriation of the government property and its subsequent use in multiple felonies. How do you plead?”
“Guilty.”
“Do you waive court-martial jurisdiction?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you accept punishment as outlined under the provisions of Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice? To wit: Thirty days confinement to quarters, loss of one month’s pay, and extra duty for thirty days to run concurrently with previously mentioned confinement.”
“I do, sir.”
“Sign here.”
I scribbled my name.
“In the future,” he said, “watch the drinking.”
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22