About Face

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “Is that so?” the Commander asked.

  Alex held the phone away from her face and screamed in frustration. Putting the phone to her face, she continued.

  “That is not my map,” Alex said. “But I will tell you — you have a serious problem with your information systems. Someone got in and changed this map just in time for your team to take it with them. And the Intelligence Center has no record of when the maps were changed. The only way for that to happen is for it to happen at the highest level in one of the services.”

  “My team was able to ascertain that the change was made on or around October 10 of this year,” the Commander said.

  “Where?” Alex asked.

  “Nimitz,” the Commander said.

  Alex didn’t respond.

  “No response?” the Commander asked. “That’s not like you, Alex.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Alex asked. “Someone sent out forty-eight of your men and used these maps to cover where they were going. Your men’s logs are wrong. Your men’s details are wrong. No one has any idea where they are, and this is the US Military. Nothing happens unless it’s signed in triplicate.”

  “Yes, well . . .” the Commander said.

  Alex waited for the woman to say something else. She didn’t respond.

  “What?” Alex asked.

  “I’m hesitating asking you for something,” the Commander said.

  “You’re starting to sound like my mother,” Alex said. “And I’m not the one who has been hysterical this afternoon.”

  “I’d like you and your team to find the men,” the Commander said.

  Alex could think only of biting responses, so she kept her mouth shut.

  “You and I know that you’re the only one who can sort this out,” the Commander said.

  “How’s that?” Alex asked.

  “I was wondering if you’ve checked that Map Phone of yours,” the Commander said.

  “Why?” Alex asked.

  “One of the men was expecting a baby,” the Commander said. “Against orders, he carried a cell phone with him so he wouldn’t miss the birth.”

  “And you know this because . . .” Alex said.

  “We’ve asked the families to let us know if they knew anything about this mission,” the Commander said. “His wife didn’t call at first because she didn’t want him to get in trouble. When she went into labor, she couldn’t connect with him.”

  “Did you trace the phone?” Alex asked.

  “Of course, we traced the phone,” the Commander said. “Listen, I’m overlooking your tone and lack of respect because of the manner in which you were treated by members of my team.”

  “And the fact that you want a favor,” Alex said.

  “Don’t push it,” the Commander said. “I am still a superior officer, Lieutenant Colonel.”

  “Duly noted,” Alex said. “There’s no cell service in the Wakhan.”

  “It’s a consumer satellite phone,” the Commander said.

  “They are faulty,” Alex said.

  “Yes,” the Commander said. “There was a space storm that interfered with the satellite dedicated to the phone’s manufacturer. We’ve been assured that it was back online last night.”

  “Is there a record of it making a call?” Alex asked.

  “No,” the Commander said. “There’s a record of it sending out two texts. It’s our understanding that you’re the only one who can access the texts.”

  “You’ve listened to the Map Phone?” Alex asked.

  “No,” the Commander said. “The technician in charge of the phone refused to allow anyone to listen to the messages. His superior officer does not know that information and resigned rather than force the technician to give over the details.”

  Alex grinned.

  “You are able to engender great loyalty from people, Lieutenant Colonel,” the Commander said.

  Alex bit her tongue to keep from saying anything too sharp. The Commander didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Alex sighed.

  “I have not checked the Map Phone,” Alex said.

  “I’m respectfully requesting that you do that,” the Commander said. “In exchange, we will not charge you with discharging your weapon in a public place on a military base.”

  Alex didn’t respond.

  “You’ll be in touch?” the Commander asked.

  “You would like me to update you personally?” Alex asked.

  “I would,” the Commander said. “Call me on this phone number at any time.”

  “Roger that,” Alex said.

  “Out.” The Commander hung up the phone.

  The US Navy Police moved away from the SUV. Groaning, Alex fell over in the back seat.

  “You know what you need?” Trece asked as he started the SUV.

  “A bullet in the head?” Alex asked.

  “Pfst,” Trece said. “This is just random bullshit. Tiny little fat navy babies whining because they were dumb enough to send their men out under the authority of a guy who’s never been in the field.”

  He raised his voice and went, “waaaaaaa!”

  Raz grinned, and Alex shook her head. Trece chuckled and put the car in gear. They slowly drove to the base entrance and started toward Oceanside.

  “What you need is to remember how fucking fun it is to be in the military,” Trece said.

  “Fun?” Alex asked.

  “Fun,” Trece said. “And you know it.”

  “What kind of fun are you thinking of?” Alex asked.

  “Well . . .” Trece started. He looked in the rearview mirror. “They have a simulation at the camp.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Alex asked with a laugh.

  “You know who holds the record?” Trece asked.

  “Nope, sure don’t,” Alex said with a grin.

  “I don’t either, but I’m sure it’s some Navy fat ass,” Trece said.

  Shaking her head at Trece, Alex grinned.

  “You’re becoming a little obsessed with this fat issue,” Alex said.

  “I’ve been on a Marine base for a month,” Trece said. “Give it a month, and you’ll see what I mean.”

  Alex shook her head at Trece.

  “And you, Raz?” Alex asked. “What do you think I need?”

  Raz was silent for a moment before he laughed.

  “I can’t come up with anything better than a simulation,” Raz said with a laugh. He interlaced his fingers and pushed his hands in front of him to stretch his back. “We should listen to the Map Phone first.”

  “I was going to call X first,” Alex said.

  “Good idea,” Raz said. “Then Map Phone, then simulation.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Oh, I need to borrow a phone,” Alex said.

  Trece howled a laugh. Shaking his head at her, Raz handed her his work cell phone.

  F

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Tuesday early morning

  November 8 — 1:28 a.m. PST

  Camp Pendleton, California

  Alex nervously rubbed Miss Sweetie’s lead between her thumb and her finger. Off to her left, Trece was making a big show of being taken into custody as a prisoner of war by the Marines. His sacrifice allowed two more Fey Team members — Royce and Vince this time — to slip past their guard to join the others five miles ahead.

  According to Raz and Margaret’s model, there was no way the Fey Team could take the Marines head on. Their best bet was to get around their line, get their horses, and race to the goal — a blue bandana tied to a post. This simulation was designed to present individuals on the team with opportunities to solve problems on their own. Or so the Brigadier General had told them. No vehicles were to be used. Nothing mechanical for flight. Three SEAL platoons had finished only after attempting and failing the simulation at least twice. Only two Marine teams had finished after four attempts. The betting odds were set at 1-25, simulation over Fey Team.

  They were allowed to use any modality that could be direc
tly linked to their team or another team from an equally ranked team from the same service. In other words, if they had swam in a previous mission, they would be allowed to swim. Since the 5th Special Forces team used horses on their hunt for Bin Laden right after 9/11, the Fey Team were well within their right to ride.

  Alex watched the stars and listened to the night. The night was cold and damp, but also clear. This area of the camp was protected from the ocean fog. The stars were brilliant. A nearly full moon was already behind her to the West.

  Matthew slipped next to her. While they wore earbud communicators for emergencies, they’d decided on running this as a silent mission — no communication devices, no words. Matthew reached out his left hand, and she grabbed his hand. He held up his right wrist to watch the time. Two minutes passed, and he headed off into the night.

  She watched the stars and waited for the signal — the hooting of an owl — that he’d made it to his horse. Alex squinted. The signal had seemed a little fast. Troy appeared at her side. He looked at her. As if he could read her thoughts, he nodded.

  He took a tiny drone from his pocket and set it free. The drone sped out into the night. Five minutes later, the drone returned. Alex leaned against Troy to watch the video of the drone’s journey. There were only four men and one woman left in the blind in front of her. The rest had been tagged with paint.

  Somehow, their route had been detected. Royce and Vince seemed to have made it through, but Matthew had been detained. The Marines had also determined their signal.

  Troy nodded to Alex. It was time for her to go.

  She mounted the horse. She was just about to take off when Troy jumped onto the horse behind her. Miss Sweetie reared a bit but Alex was able to settle her. Alex turned to give Troy a questioning look, and he pointed to his gut. Knowing Troy, the gesture could mean anything from him having gas to him having a gut feeling. Taking the gesture for the latter, Alex started out to the left. Troy grabbed onto her around the waist.

  Miss Sweetie walked slowly from their hiding place. Once far enough away from the action, Alex gave the horse her head. She took off. Within a few minutes, they approached the corral where the other team horses were waiting. Alex scanned the area.

  She felt Troy shake his head against her back. He didn’t like how quiet it was, either. Colin’s horse Apollo made a low nicker. Hearing the sound, Miss Sweetie took off fast away from the horse corral. They rode a few miles before Alex was able to slow the hose to a stop.

  “What was that?” Troy said in a low voice.

  “No idea,” Alex said. “Something she didn’t like.”

  “Are we out of bounds?” Troy asked.

  “We never discussed bounds,” Alex said. “I assumed that we have to assume it’s the entire camp.”

  “You think the others are caught?” Troy asked.

  “We have to assume they are,” Alex said.

  She looked down at her smartwatch and then pointed to Troy’s. They’d received a distress signal from Matthew in the form of a text.

  “Trick?” Troy asked.

  “It doesn’t have his code,” Alex said.

  “Should we head back?” Troy asked.

  “It seemed too easy, didn’t it?” Alex asked.

  Troy nodded.

  “Do you know where you are?” Troy asked.

  Alex looked up at the moon and then the stars.

  “I wish Jesse were here,” Alex said with an outbreath, not realizing she was talking out loud.

  “He’s right there.” Troy pointed. “You can’t see him?”

  Alex looked where he pointed and saw nothing. She shook her head. The sorrow on her face made Troy give her a fast, impulsive hug.

  “I know this is not the time, but . . .” Troy started. He scanned Alex’s face and shook his head. “You’ve been really great to me, and my boys love you, so I feel compelled to tell you something.”

  He looked into her face again.

  “Can you listen?” Troy asked.

  Alex nodded.

  “You remember how we took all of those assessments at SF training?” Troy asked.

  “Strengths, weaknesses, personality, IQ,” Alex nodded.

  “I haven’t seen the outcome of my SF tests or any of the ones that I have to take every year,” Troy said. “But I know you have.”

  Alex nodded.

  “What’s my psychological weakness?” Troy asked.

  “Overcompensation for a small penis,” Alex said.

  “What?” Troy looked shocked and then laughed. “No really.”

  “That was it,” Alex said with a grin.

  Troy gave her a hard look, and she relented.

  “Tendency to rely on logic to solve problems even when it’s clear logic is not working,” Alex said. “Defense mechanism of arrogance over intelligence even when his instincts tell him he’s wrong.”

  “Hmm,” Troy lifted a side of his lip. “I wish that didn’t sound so true, but . . . shoe fits, you know.”

  Alex nodded.

  “That’s why we’ve been working with you to focus on what’s actually happening and learning to trust your gut,” Alex said. “You’ve made great progress.”

  “What’s yours?” Troy asked.

  They sat under the stars in the silent night with their hips pressed together on the back of Miss Sweetie. While Alex was in front, there was no real way to get away from him.

  “I bet I’ll guess it,” Troy said.

  Alex shrugged.

  “Inability to psychically defend against humiliation, cruelty, and false judgment from a superior,” Troy said. “Especially a tall male.”

  “Mmhmm” Alex said.

  “Isn’t that what’s happening now?” Troy asked.

  “What do you mean?” Alex asked.

  “What happened with Ingram was humiliating,” Troy said. “I saw the tapes, and I was humiliated for you. And he was so excessively gross with the whole sexist thing? The winking? Yuck. I felt like I’d been dipped in shit, and I wasn’t even there. Then to take our hard-earned prizes.”

  “The archipelago of the Jakker?” Alex asked.

  “That, yes,” Troy said.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what you’re saying,” Alex said. “Can you be a little more plain?”

  “I’m saying that someone found your testing and is exploiting your psychic weaknesses,” Troy said. “And they are doing it intentionally to get you out of their way.”

  Alex’s brow dropped.

  “You wonder why they didn’t blow up your house instead of Joseph’s?” Troy asked.

  Alex nodded.

  “They didn’t have to,” Troy said.

  “What?”

  “They’d already neutralized you, effectively blowing up your mental house,” Troy said while gesturing around his head. “No firemen, no police, no noise. They destroyed the Fey with the only thing she can’t endure — invalidating all of her brilliance combined with disdain for her being. Add in a sense of betrayal from someone she loves? Like the Admiral? And, as John says, you’re done and dusted. That’s probably why you don’t see Jesse.”

  “Why?” Alex asked.

  “You’ve retreated to far into your own head,” Troy said.

  There was a sound to their right. They turned to watch a group of three female deer wander past them.

  “Think about it,” Troy said. “The turd this evening? Navy Intelligence? Why didn’t you tell him to stuff it? You’re a Lieutenant Colonel. You didn’t have to listen to anything he had to say. Not now, not ever. You should write up that dick from NCIS. He had no right to send F-15s on you. Just insane!”

  Alex stared straight ahead.

  “Did you write them up?” Troy asked.

  Alex shook her head.

  “Would you have a year ago?” Troy asked. “Before we were kicked off base? Before all that crap with the Admiral and the rest of it?”

  “I would have written them up,” Alex said. “Or at least told their superior
s that I needed a formal apology. But . . .”

  Troy waited for her to continue.

  “I’ve never dealt with this kind of thing before,” Alex said. “I’ve never had a teacher or a superior officer be disgusted with me, threaten my team, want to take away my accomplishments and make me a private again, tell me he was going to court martial everyone to . . . save the taxpayers from paying our pensions. I have worked my entire life, given everything I have and then some. I’ve been extremely successful. And . . .we . . . I . . .”

  Her rage came out in the words, but her face was a mask of sorrow. Troy put his arms around her and held her tight. He kissed the back of her neck. To Alex’s surprise, Jesse appeared in front of her.

  “Jesse?” Alex asked. She began to cry. “Oh, Jesse, I . . .”

  “No tears now,” Jesse said. “This is touching, but if you don’t get your lazy butt in gear, you won’t beat the time.”

  “Where do we go?” Alex asked.

  “Follow me,” Jesse said. “Tell Olivas to hold on.”

  “Hold on, Troy,” Alex said. “We have a record to break.”

  They rode fast. Once they started, Miss Sweetie seemed to know exactly where Jesse was going. She sped up. After a few minutes, they were going so fast that Alex had to lean forward to get out of the wind. Troy folded nearly in half over her. They raced across the sand dunes, through stands of trees, and through wide fields of sage. It seemed as if the stars themselves streaked above them.

  They turned to their left and then back toward the moon. They came upon the Marines so suddenly that the Marines couldn’t get a fix on their location. They heard the whizzing sound of projectiles moving over the horse. Alex, Troy, and Miss Sweet flew past them without getting tagged.

  They turned quickly toward their right, which kicked up a lot of dust and sand. They stopped short. Alex grabbed the bandana.

  The Fey Team beat the record by 2:43 minutes.

  A general cheer went up among the Marines. The Fey Team rushed to meet Alex and Troy. Everyone was talking and cheering all at the same time. Troy slid off the back of the horse to join the melee. Alex walked Miss Sweetie to the edge to get her out of the way.