“Oh? I thought I had just done you one?”
“Yes, sir, more than you will ever realize. However, I expect to see my supposed lover walking in any moment after he tells the OSI to go pound sand up their collective asses. Can he also not be sent to the disciplinary barracks? He’s a good man who is dedicated to the Air Force and does not deserve the humiliation of being assigned with drug addicts, disciplinary problems, and mental cases.”
“Yes, of course. I know of Sergeant Claymore and I’ll see to it that he is put to good use.”
“You have my gratitude for being understanding and compassionate, sir. Thank you.”
“Very well. Look, take the rest of the day off and report at 0800 hours. I suggest you get an attorney or whatever you’re gonna do about this other matter.”
“Yes, sir. I intend to get civilian counsel to represent both Todd and me.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll see you in the morning, then, Callahan.”
I saluted and left his office just as Todd was arriving. I stopped him before he went inside. “What happened? What did those bastards tell you?”
“Well, I imagine the same thing they told you. That we are suspected of being lovers and they intend to discharge us. They asked all sorts of questions about our relationship, to which I insisted that we were merely friends. They wouldn’t tell me who said what about us to get this thing started, so I really wouldn’t cooperate much with them. Oh, and they offered to set me up with the base shrink.”
“Yeah, same bullshit as with me. Okay, you’re gonna go in there and this asshole sergeant will give you a paper to sign acknowledging that the Air Force is moving to chuck you out. I refused to sign it before talking with a lawyer. Then he’s gonna tell you to report to the disciplinary barracks as we are both relieved of duty. I’ve got it set up with Captain Blackman that we’ll work in admin for him or someone else. I’m supposed to report at 0800 hours in the morning. He let me have the rest of the day off to get an attorney. After you see the sergeant, ask to see the captain. I’ll wait for you over at the bench by the flag.”
“Okay. See you there shortly. I just can’t believe this shit.”
As I walked toward the bench, my head began to spin. How was it possible to go from a hero with medals, to being processed out of the Air Force? Who ratted us out? I was determined to find out who the rat was but had no idea about how to go about it. As I sat there and stewed in my own juices, the squadron commander was driving by. He stopped when he saw me sitting on the bench. “Callahan, come over here,” he ordered.
I got up and walked over to his car window and saluted. “Yes, sir?”
“You look like you lost your best friend, sitting there like that. Are you feeling all right, Callahan?”
“Not really, Major. In fact, I’m in a state of shock and frankly feel sick to my stomach over what’s just happened to me and Sergeant Claymore.”
“Happened? What’s just happened to you and Claymore?”
“Well, sir, we were both called in by the OSI and told we are under investigation for being gay. We’ve denied it and we were ordered to report to Captain Blackman’s office, where we were told by the clerk that the Air Force was moving to discharge us both. Claymore is at the captain’s office as we speak.”
“OSI, huh? Let me look into this, Callahan. Where have you been told to report for duty?”
“Well, at first, sir, we were told to report to the disciplinary barracks, but Captain Blackman told me to report for admin duty in his office starting in the morning. He wants to use my admin ability and I think he is going to do the same for Claymore.”
“You go back to Captain Blackman, and tell him that I’ve ordered you to report to me in the morning for duty and that you are now my clerk until further notice. Tell the captain to put Claymore in his office for now.”
“Thank you so much, major. You have no idea how much we appreciate this.”
“For now, don’t let this upset you too much. Let me take a look.”
“Yes, sir.” I saluted and the major drove away.
I headed back to Blackman’s office to relay the orders of the squadron commander. Just as I got there, Todd was coming out of the captain’s outer office.
“I just ran into the major and he ordered me to report to him in the morning and for you to report here. Is that the duty assignment the captain gave you?”
“Yeah, I’m to work on some backlog of some kind. He also said you would be working here.”
“Okay, let me relay the new orders, and then we need to go home and start calling attorneys. I have an idea in that regard.”
After passing on the orders from the major, I left the captain’s office and we got in Todd’s car and drove home. Neither one of us said much as we were deep in our own thoughts. This was not something we had even considered as a possibility since we lived off base and were careful on base. The first time we had slipped was in front of Sergeant Gray when he saw us kiss when the world was about to blow up. Could it have been the sergeant?
After getting settled back at the house, Todd cracked open a couple of beers and asked, “So, what’s your idea?”
“Just listen,” I replied as I picked up the phone. I dialed a number and waited for the party to answer. “Yes, is Judge Maxwell there, please?”
Todd frowned. “Yes. Would you tell him it’s Airman Callahan from Warren calling?”
As I was on hold, Todd couldn’t wait. “Why are you calling some judge?”
“Do you—” I began to ask Todd when I heard a voice on the other end of the line. “Ahh, yes, Judge Maxwell, how are you? Do you remember me?”
“Of course, airman, how are you? I haven’t seen you since that first speeding ticket you brought before me just after you went on duty with the Warren base police.”
“Yes, sir. That was the last time. Look, I know you’re a busy man so I will get right to the reason for my call. My close friend and I are in trouble and we need a lawyer. I was hoping you might consider taking up our problem for us.”
“In trouble with whom?”
“The Air Force, sir.”
“Okay, give me a ten-second version of the issue.”
“Well, Judge, I along with my roommate have been accused of being gay and the Air Force wants to chuck us out. Would you be uncomfortable representing us before the Air Force since you are a federal magistrate?”
“No, not at all. Look, we’d better meet as soon as possible. When are you available?”
“Have you had lunch yet, sir?”
“No. I was getting ready to go out in a few minutes. Do you want to meet for lunch somewhere?”
“Yes, Judge. How about the silver diner down on the corner of Missile Drive
and Randolph Street
?”
“Okay, the food is good there. Say in about twenty minutes?”
“Okay, Judge. Thank you and we will see you shortly.”
I hung up and Todd just stared at me. “You know a federal magistrate?”
“Yes. Right after I got here, we started issuing civilian speeding tickets on base under the new federal law that mandated it. Well, I was the first base cop to issue a ticket to a civilian, a taxi cab driver, and the guy contested it. It went before a federal magistrate because he is the only one who has jurisdiction over the base where the ticket was issued. The city and state courts don’t have jurisdiction to hear the case. So, that’s how I know the judge. We talked for a while after I testified and the case was finalized with a finding of guilty.”
“And why do you think this is the right guy to defend us?”
“Because, my dear, he is a federal magistrate, and an attorney, of course. He’ll know the judge advocate general on base, and if we have him representing us, it can only be a good thing.”
“All right. Let’s get going; I don’t want to be late for this guy.”
“Give me your cell phone; I want to call Sergeant Gray at home while we’re heading to the diner.”
/>
As Todd drove, I hesitated after another thought because I would be waking Gray up from sleeping. Since I really didn’t have a choice, I called him anyway.
After several rings, a sleepy voice answered the phone. “Sergeant Gray.”
“Sergeant Gray, first I apologize sincerely for waking you up, but this is most urgent.”
“Callahan? Okay, what is it?”
“Sergeant, Claymore and I were hauled into the OSI office this morning and accused of being gay. We’ve been relieved of duty and the process to discharge us has been begun. We’re en route right now to meet with the federal magistrate who I had that civvies speeding ticket in front of, to ask him to represent us with the Air Force. I don’t trust Air Force attorneys right now.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Don’t those idiots have anything better to investigate but the sex lives of my men? A dozen damn Soviet commandos can get on base and kill our guys, but let there be a gay guy anywhere within a hundred miles of the base and those bastards are all over it.”
“Sergeant, I have to ask you this, and I apologize in advance for asking it.”
“Did I turn you two in? The answer is no.”
“I had to ask, sergeant. I hope you understand. We’re gonna tell the private attorney that it’s all bullshit. I would be surprised if the OSI doesn’t ask you if you know anything.”
“Look, Bryce, I have never seen you two having sex, therefore I do not know if you are gay or not and that will continue to be my response to anyone’s question, if asked. Now, may I go back to sleep?”
“Yes. Sorry again for waking you.”
“Wait! Where are you two assigned? Not the barracks, I hope?”
“No, Sergeant. I’ve been assigned to be the major’s clerk, and Claymore has been assigned to Captain Blackman to assist administratively with some backlog he has.”
“You’re shitting me! You guys get relieved of duty and then get put into two key spots within the command structure for the squadron? Unreal…. I need you both armed and on duty. Now I have to train another desk sergeant while you screw around with this crap. Okay. Get this thing taken care of and get back to duty as soon as you can.”
The phone went dead. Todd glanced over and asked, “Was he mad? I could hear him all the way over here like he was in the backseat!”
“Yeah, but not at us. With the system. He wants us back as soon as possible, and will not divulge what he has seen and knows. We stick with the strategy that we are not gay. Otherwise, we give up our Air Force careers and any future career in law enforcement.”
As we walked into the diner, I looked around at the tables and booths, trying to recognize the judge off the bench and out of his robe. Finally, I spotted him in a booth way in the back and we headed over and took the seat opposite from him.
“Airman, good to see you again,” he said.
“Likewise. This is Sergeant Todd Claymore, the other party to this mess.”
They shook hands and then he got down to business as soon as the waitress took our lunch orders.
“First of all, I will represent you both before the Air Force. In fact, I know Colonel O’Dell, who is the judge advocate general on base. In case you don’t know it, he has the final say-so on the legal strength of the Air Force’s case and can send this to a court-martial or dismiss the case with a wave of his hand. After we finish here today, I will make an appointment to see him. Do you have Air Force counsel?”
“No, sir. After all this going on, I don’t trust anyone in that office.”
“Well, I’m gonna need to have a liaison that is committed to our side in this case. Many things I can do through him and save myself the time of doing it myself. For this reason, I’m only going to charge you guys a hundred dollars to handle this case. That does two things: it acts as a legal retainer for me, and it covers minor expenses that will come up. Now, if for some reason we go to court-martial, and I defend you both, then we have to talk some serious money, as that takes a lot of time and preparation. Fortunately, my magistrate duties are usually light. As you’ll recall, you were the only case that day in my courtroom, Bryce.”
“Yes, sir, I remember. A hundred bucks is more than generous of you, Judge, and I appreciate it as does Todd.”
“Look, guys, let’s talk turkey here. Now, I’m no bigot, and I don’t hate gay people. Having said that, I need total honesty out of you both to the following questions. Regardless of your answers, I’m gonna represent you both and try to keep you in the Air Force if that’s what you want.”
Todd and I looked at each other and nodded. “Okay, shoot,” I said.
“Do they have any evidence that you two are gay?”
“We don’t know. They won’t tell us what they have or even what we are accused of, or who alleged what,” I replied.
“Okay, that tells me they are weak right off. The next question is, what is there lying around that they might find to implicate you?”
“If you mean gay magazines, movies, stuff like that—nothing. They could find nothing because there is nothing to find,” Todd answered.
“Are either or both of you gay?”
Just then the waitress put down our orders and walked away. While she was there, I took out my checkbook and wrote out a check for $100 and slid it across the table to the judge. He was now officially retained. He took the check without looking at it and folded it and put it into his jacket. He smiled at me in a knowing way.
“Yes, you have now conveyed your retainer to me, which officially makes me your lawyer.”
“The answer to your question is yes. We are both gay. We are lovers. We don’t know how anyone else knows it or what they might have whispered into the ear of OSI.”
“You’re sure you both have been very discreet? You’ve not gone to any gay bars in town or any other place gays hang out?”
“Well, Cheyenne has only one tiny gay bar and it is a dump. So, the answer is no,” Todd answered.
“There is one person who knows for sure that we are gay, and that’s our flight sergeant, Sergeant Gray. While Todd was recuperating from a gunshot wound received from the Russian commandos, he was at the desk one night recently when the world was about to end. We really did think we were done, and we exchanged a quick kiss and Sergeant Gray walked in and saw us. He was not upset and told us he didn’t care as long as we did our jobs.”
“You were wounded recently?”
“Yes, I’m just about healed up now.”
“Judge, we received a few medals a couple of days ago, and I even received a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for bravery.”
“And now they’re trying to kick you out because you’re gay. Incredible. How do you know it wasn’t this Sergeant Gray who turned you guys in?”
“Well, for one we know him fairly well, and he is a fair man. We believed him when he said it didn’t matter to him that we were gay. Plus, I called him on the way here and asked him if he had turned us in and he said no. I believe him.”
“I’ve got to try and get a look at what they have. What else did they say or do?”
“They wanted me to allow them to search our off-base housing immediately. When I said I wanted to consult an attorney first, they said in that case, they would withdraw the request.”
“Well, obviously they hoped to have you say yes, search your house, and find incriminating evidence of your relationship, to strengthen their case against you both. They weren’t interested after you advised them about an attorney because you would then have a chance to clean anything like that up and the search would be worthless. I’m glad you denied their request. Now, you are both represented by counsel. Any questioning of either of you by the OSI or anyone else related to this investigation must not be done without me being present. In an emergency, your Air Force lawyer will have to do. I suggest you obtain one and let me know his name this afternoon. Also advise him that you have retained my services and give him my number. Don’t be insubordinate or hostile with anyone from the Air Force. Do not
give them an alternate route to dismissing you because they can’t get you on the gay charge. Now, if you have no questions, I must run. I have a lot of work to do preparing for this.”
Todd asked, “Judge, should we tell the Air Force attorney that we’re gay if he asks?”
“Yes. No sense in lying to them. They can’t betray your confidence or they would be disbarred same as if they were civilians.”
“What’s the next step? Will you contact Todd or me about interviews or will we be calling you?”
“The Air Force is not required to tell me first that they are going to interview you, but they can’t proceed to do so without me. Chances are they’ll leave it up to you to tell me.”
“Okay, one final question: What’s your gut reaction on this matter? Do we have a chance of beating this thing?”
“Well, without knowing exactly what information they have, I can’t be sure. But I will say this: You are both combat medal winners of recent vintage, with one of you earning a Purple Heart, and the other a Bronze and Silver Star. If all they have is an allegation, they don’t stand a chance. If, however, they have someone like Sergeant Gray who has seen something, then they’ve got a shot. We may have to take this to a court-martial. I just don’t know yet.”
“Okay, thank you, Judge. I guess we’ll be talking soon.”
With that the judge got up and left the diner. Todd and I sat at the table in a deep mood of depression. “Let’s get out of here,” I said.
When we got back to our house, we both just collapsed on the sofa. I was overcome with emotion that had built up over the missile crisis and now this on top of it. Tears flooded my eyes and when Todd saw the shape I was in, he took me in his arms and held me tight.
“Don’t worry; we’re both strong and we’re gonna fight this shit. I can’t believe they are actually going to try and throw us out after having just won medals defending this country.”
“That’s what you don’t understand though, Todd. It doesn’t matter to these assholes what we’ve done for the Air Force. They’re on a witch hunt, and they won’t stop until they are burning a witch at the stake. I mean, who needs this shit? Maybe we should just tell them to shove the Air Force and get out and start our life. What’s wrong with that?”
John Simpson Page 16