by C. G. Cooper
Tears were now streaming down Cal’s face, but he continued.
CAL: I could hear my Mom try to choke back her gasps. My Dad was all business but he still sounded scared. More than anything I think he was worried for my Mom and for me. That’s the way he always was. He finished the message by telling me how proud he was and that I’d been his greatest accomplishment on earth.
Cal stopped again his breath now coming in gasps.
CAL: I never got to say goodbye. Those fucking terrorists took the most important people out of my life. I sat there playing that message over and over again as I sat with my classmates watching the attacks on TV. I was just numb. Before I knew it, a couple guys from our Charlottesville headquarters barged into the room and found me. Apparently Travis had sent them to come get me and secure me somewhere.
He reached down and grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped his eyes. There was a new anger, cold and deadly in Cal’s eyes.
CAL: They tried to take me out of there but I shook them off. One of the guys tried to get me on the phone but I wouldn’t do it. I ran out of there and went straight to the ROTC building at Maury Hall. I wasn’t part of ROTC but I knew some of the guys. The MOI was a mustang and had served with Dad. I found him and asked him how I could get into The Corps. He was sympathetic but said it wasn’t that easy. There were a lot more hurdles going the officer route. Before he could finish I bolted. I knew where the Marine recruiter’s office was and ran all the way there. There were a bunch of other kids there apparently doing the same thing as me. I pushed my way to the front, no one wanting to mess with the sweat-soaked kid with the tears running down his face. The Gunny sitting at the desk glanced up annoyed that I’d broken his routine. I asked him how I could get to go overseas the fastest and kill the people that had killed my parents. His face changed and he softened up. He stood up and took me to the back of the room where we could talk in private. The Gunny told me that he was getting flooded with similar requests and that he only had one slot left to ship kids to boot camp later that week.
I asked him how I could get that one spot. He told me I’d have to compete for it and volunteer to be a grunt. Well, being a pretty smart college kid, I aced the enlistment-screening exam and maxed out the physical fitness test that day. I got the slot and left for boot camp two days later.
Cal looked back at Brian and continued.
CAL: I know you’re thinking that by the time I got on that bus I regretted my decision. Nope. It was the opposite. Every moment I grieved for my parents, I also felt like I was doing SOMETHING. Enlisting in the Marines was the best thing I could’ve done. The rest is history.
BRIAN: Holy shit, Cal. I’m really sorry about your parents. I had no idea.
CAL: Yeah, well, it’s not something I advertise. Look, Doc, I don’t regret what I did then and I definitely don’t regret what I did to those gang bangers. If you’re not cool with that, maybe you should leave.
Now it was time for Brian to get angry.
BRIAN: Who do you think I am?! I’m not some pussy that gets sick over a little bit of blood. I don’t give a shit that you killed those guys. They deserved it. I wish you’d finished off the other two.
Brian stopped and took a deep calming breath.
BRIAN: Look, I’m here to help, ok? You’ve gone through some really shitty situations. I’m more concerned about you mentally than some dead criminal.
CAL (defensively): I’m fine. I know how to take care of myself.
BRIAN: Yeah, right. I know you didn’t learn THAT in The Corps. We’re brothers, remember? You’ve gotta be straight with me, man!
Cal snapped his glare back at Brian.
CAL: You want me to tell you that my body aches all day because Jess is dead?! You want me to tell you that half the day I wish I’d died with her?! You want me to tell you that I want TO KILL those motherfuckers over and over again?!
BRIAN (yelling back): YES! You can’t keep that shit inside, man! You’ve gotta let it out or it’ll eat you alive. You’ve seen some of those boys that come back from the desert and just clam up. Most turn into drunks or druggies. I don’t want that you happen to you!
Cal stared at Brian panting from the exertion. He finally laid back down and threw his hands to his face and sobbed uncontrollably. The bottled up pain surfaced in full force as Brian sat next to his friend and put a comforting hand on Cal’s shoulder. The outpouring of emotion lasted for five minutes until Cal finally collapsed unconscious.
Brian expertly checked his friend and made sure Cal was ok. He just needed some well deserved rest. He stood up and walked across the room, sat in a leather recliner and began his vigil.
Chapter 9
N.O.N. Safe House, Nashville, TN
DANTE: What do you mean he left?
Dante listened to his cell phone as anger raged on his face.
DANTE: You told me they had to tell you if they were gonna release him.
More talking on the other end.
DANTE: Did you at least find out where they took him?
The answer he got was not what he wanted.
DANTE: Well then I guess you’re gonna have a bad night. And don’t even think about not showing up. You’ve got some explaining to do.
He shut off the call and sat back on the dirty couch. Dante was sick and tired of being on the run. The only good news was that he’d somehow managed to recruit a couple more boys to join his crew. He only got that done by offering way more of cut than he usually did. It really was his only choice because everyone knew Dante couldn’t show his face on the streets. Once this thing blows over, I’ll take my money back anyway.
Dante’s plan of taking out the hero Marine as he was leaving the hospital was now scrapped. He’d have to find another way to get to the guy. The gang leader was still confused about how the dude had managed to be released without having to go through normal hospital protocol. Maybe there was more to this guy than he knew. He’d have to do some digging.
As he sat thinking in the dingy hideout a plan began to formulate. If he couldn’t get to the Marine himself, he’d somehow have to get him out in the open.
Think, Dante, think.
+ + +
Cal awoke to the thin stream of light coming from the curtain-covered bay windows. His eyes focused on Brian asleep in the leather chair across the room. I’ll bet he’s been sitting there all night.
He tested his balance as he slowly rose into a sitting position. His wounds still throbbed but they’d be muted a bit after a couple pain killers. Cal quietly shuffled to the bathroom to relieve himself. After he was done, he brushed his teeth, washed his face and threw down two pain pills. Time for breakfast.
As he walked back into the main room Brian got up from his chair and did a quick stretch while yawning.
BRIAN: How you feeling, Cal?
CAL: Alright. About last night, I…
BRIAN: Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you got it out. Now we can work on getting you better.
CAL: So what’s on the schedule for today’s torture?
BRIAN (chuckling): Travis stopped by while you were passed out and he said you guys have a nice gym on campus.
Cal nodded.
BRIAN: I thought I’d wheel you over there and we could do some stretches and PT. You up for it?
CAL: Yeah. I need some fresh air.
BRIAN: Me too. Let me go take a leak and then I’ll help you get changed. You wanna eat before or after?
CAL: Let’s do after. I don’t want to puke up everything at the gym. My gut’s still not right.
BRIAN: Cool. Give me a minute and we’ll head out.
Fifteen minutes later, the pair emerged from the suite. Cal rested comfortably in an off-road looking wheelchair. Probably some super upgrade Trav hooked up for me. At least they could take it on some of the trails if they wanted.
After leaving The Lodge, Cal directed Brian to take a left and head down three blocks. As they traveled Cal described some of the surrounding buildings.
At a brisk pace, they reached the gym in only a couple minutes. Although sparsely decorated, it looked to Brian like all the newest equipment was housed within the facility.
CAL: This is the main area with free weights and machines. We’ve got a cardio room around the corner that has flat screens. Where should be start?
Brian looked around.
BRIAN: Let’s head over to that spot with the mats. We’ll kill some stretches first.
Thirty minutes later, Cal was drenched in sweat and panting with exertion. The stretching alone had been excruciating for the wounded warrior. Moving on to the treadmill felt like death. Nevertheless, he finished the tortuous physical therapy session with a determined smile on his face. It felt good to move again.
BRIAN: Alright, that’s good for today, Cal.
Cal nodded and rolled over.
CAL: Let’s go get some food and then I want to introduce you to some people.
Brian looked at his friend quizzically but kept his mouth shut and helped Cal into the wheelchair.
The duo left the gym facility and headed toward the chow hall. As they entered the smell of scrambled eggs and pancakes greeted them. They found a booth in a corner and Cal took a seat.
BRIAN: What do you want me get for you?
CAL: Two eggs over-easy, country ham, a stack of pancakes and some orange juice.
BRIAN: Got it. I’ll be right back.
The companions finished breakfast with the occasional greeting from company employees who stopped by to say hello to Cal. Brian noticed that rather than be embarrassed or standoffish, Cal spoke openly with the visitors and knew most by their first names. It wasn’t something he’d expected and mentioned this on the way out of the dining facility.
CAL: Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of time on both campuses over the years. I’ve even been in on some of the hiring interviews. Dad really wanted me to see the inner workings at SSI and included me whenever he could. I even had a hand in hiring some employees. That reminds me…take a left up here. I want to introduce you to somebody.
Brian took the next left. They walked down four blocks finally reaching a low structure. Brian pointed at the front door and Cal nodded. As they passed through the double doors, the former corpsman noticed the pressurized feel as the heavy glass door sucked back into place.
BRIAN: What is this place?
CAL: We call it the Bat Cave.
BRIAN: You mean like Batman’s Bat Cave?
CAL: Yep.
Cal didn’t explain further as the two strolled up to the front desk. The two security guards, heavily armed, greeted Cal by his first name and came around the desk to shake his hand. It was obvious to Brian that both men (each the size of an NFL linebacker) liked and respected Cal. It wasn’t some employee attempt to suck up to the future boss. These guys really admired Cal and it seemed that they held him on some sort of pedestal. Interesting.
They waved goodbye, Cal promising to meet the two guards at the gym soon, and headed to the bank of elevators.
They boarded the first to arrive and Brian shifted around to select a floor. There was only a second floor and nine buttons below the first floor. A bunch of subfloors. He looked at Cal questioningly.
CAL: Press B9.
Brian pressed the very bottom button for B9. Nine levels down?
It took less than a minute for the elevator to descend and open its doors. As they opened, Brian smelled the incoming air. It smelled like the air wing hangers he remembered from his time with the Marines. It was that unique smell of oil, grease and metal. The smell brought back a flood of memories from his time spent at Cherry Point to his cruises on the gator freighters.
CAL: Ok, before we head down to see Neil, I want to give you a little background. Neil was one of my finds for the company. We went to school together at U.Va. and he was two years ahead of me. He’d been my resident advisor my first year at school. Neil was a brilliant triple major who hardly studied. He was a funny mix of hip social butterfly and technological genius. I won’t even tell you what his IQ is. So anyways, his family came over from India when Neil was a little kid. They didn’t have a lot of money and really worked hard to make ends meet. His father was almost as smart as he is. I met him once. Mr. Patel started a cell phone company out of his garage and soon had a booming business that he exported back to India. The hard work paid off and family made a lot of cash. Neil grew up in the business and learned to love tinkering with the surplus cell phones his dad would bring in. Pretty soon he was doing all the repairs for his dad’s company. He just had this knack for fixing and building stuff.
CAL: Well, going into his fifth year at school his mom and dad went on a trip to India then over to Pakistan to solidify some business contacts that were going to open a new headquarters for Mr. Patel’s company. While they were in Pakistan both of Neil’s parents were kidnapped and later killed. Some tiny terrorist outfit claimed responsibility and no one was ever caught.
Neil went into a real tailspin. He and his father were really close and Neil didn’t know how to cope. He went off the deep end; started drinking all the time, screwing anyone he could get his hands on and started dabbling in drugs. Let’s just say he really didn’t give a shit anymore.
So I bump into him one night at some party and I notice he’s a little crazier than I remember. I somehow convince him to stick around and hang out with me. Over way too many drinks, he finally broke down and told me the story about his parents. Up to that point I’d had no idea. It was obvious that he’d given up and didn’t want to deal with life let alone school. Then the poor dude passed out on my couch.
At the time I didn’t know exactly what to do but I knew I had to help the guy. We were little more than casual acquaintances but he’d always been a great friend. I called my Dad the next morning and explained the situation. Luckily Dad was at the Charlottesville headquarters and asked that I setup a meeting with Neil. I agreed and somehow got a very hung-over Neil into my car and out to Camp Cavalier.
The coffee on the way seemed to revive him a bit but pulling into the main gate really woke him up. Long story short, my Dad instantly liked him and outlined his plan for Neil. He wanted Neil to lay off the partying and finish up school. Then he’d bring him on in the company’s brand new R&D department. I think this might’ve done the trick, but Dad threw in a kicker. He promised Neil that if he came onboard, SSI would do anything within its power to find the men responsible for the Patels’ murder and bring them to justice.
BRIAN (dumbfounded): No shit?
CAL: Yeah. By that time, Dad had some pretty serious contacts internationally and within most of our government agencies. Not to mention SSI’s intelligence gathering capabilities were really ramping up. Neil jumped at the chance and didn’t let my Dad down. Six months after Neil graduated, the terrorist cell that took credit for Neil’s parents death were killed in a raid by Pakistani special forces. Justice was done.
BRIAN: So Neil stuck around after that?
CAL: Yeah. He and my Dad really hit it off. Plus, in no time Neil was leading the R&D department with some pretty heavy technological advances. My Dad kept trying to get Neil to take a new title like Head of R&D or Vice President for R&D but Neil always refused. He always said he’s just a developer.
BRIAN: What kind of things does he develop for you guys?
CAL: You name it. It started with little tech gadgets for the military: small cameras, light weaponry, tactical gear. The guy was a triple engineering major. He’ll tell you which ones but I’ll tell you they’re all way over my head. Anyways, he and Dad figured out pretty quickly that rather than develop stuff for individual jobs, why not develop technology that SSI could license out to other entities. THAT’S when the company really starting making a ton of money. Dad made an agreement with Neil that Neil would keep fifty percent of the sale or ongoing licensing fee from any of the stuff he researched and developed. Neil didn’t wa
nt the deal, but Dad felt it was only fair. Let’s just say that Neil will never have to worry about money ever again.