SOLACE: Behind The Shield (Beauty 0f Life Book 2)

by Laura Acton

  After a light rap, the door opened, and William nodded authorizing admittance as he pointed to the carafe. “Can I pour you a cup, Mike?”

  Lieutenant Mike Galloway nodded. “Yes, please. Thanks, sir.” Mike strode over and took the mug the general offered him. Having been with General Broderick for so long, his CO insisted on a more relaxed attitude when they were in private. Only when others were present, did he observe formalities.

  “Take a seat. Tom will be here shortly.” William returned to his desk.

  As Mike sat, he said, “Been checking on Becca’s latest man, as requested. I have not found anything solid yet, but intuition points to Pletcher being more than what meets the eye. I haven’t trusted him since he led the task force on the missing munitions. All his intel caused us to either chase our tails or sent us on wild goose chases. Drake and Jack are tailing him now. They’ll report to me if they find anything.”

  “Thanks. His name starts with Pl, and that along with something in his demeanor sets my gut to burning. My girl has the worst taste in men.” He is too old for her… was their meeting an accident? “She remains a bit flighty and hasn’t grown out of her party girl ways. Yvonne says to be patient, Becca will wise up and settle down soon. She thinks Becca is still searching for what gives her life purpose and when she finds it she’ll be unstoppable, like all Brodericks.”

  William sat and took a sip of his strong, hot, black coffee—just the way he liked it. Although, right about now adding a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream would be pleasant. If he didn’t have a video call with CDS McFergus in an official capacity in two hours, he would add some, but he did, so he didn’t.

  His door opened again, and Colonel Thomas Sutton entered. He nodded at Mike and headed straight for the coffee pot to pour himself a mug. After adding cream and loads of sugar, he took a seat facing William. “So, what did you need to speak with me about?”

  William took a moment to savor another sip as he peered at one of his most trustworthy friends. He could count on Tom to a cover his six. They had been in the same unit when he first joined the Guardians. He lived today due to Tom saving his ass several times. The reverse was also true—he saved Tom’s hide as many times.

  He set his cup on the desk. “The stolen mail. The analysis came back on them. The only fingerprints on the envelopes belong to Corporal Sandeep Jheeta, the individual writing the letter, and a few mail-handlers. None of the carrier’s names start with Pl. Whoever blackmailed Jheeta is smart about maintaining his anonymity. He is careful in how he handled the mail ... undoubtedly wears gloves.”

  Tom nodded. “Just like whoever has been sending you those taunting pictures for years. Did you find anything in the correspondence indicating why someone would intercept Dan’s letters?”

  Mike shook his head. “No, but I didn’t expect to. The person orchestrating this theft already decided to burn the dispatches without reading them. We have no idea of the content of the missives which he stole, but I did find some disturbing things in Dan’s missives.”

  William closed his eyes. He read every single one of them. He took a breath and opened his eyes. “I’m aware of what you are referring to, Mike.”

  Tom sat forward and placed the mug on William’s desk. He rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands as he peered directly at William. “Tell me.”

  A hint of emotion colored William’s tone, something which rarely occurred. “The gathered evidence included correspondence from Daniel to the family, and messages from Scott, Adam, Jeff, Zach, and Kyle. Each asked the other why the writing stopped and repeatedly petitioned a return letter.

  “I believe whoever is responsible wasn’t trying to find incriminating military or personal secrets. For what purpose I cannot determine, but it appears their goal was to effectively isolate Daniel from his cousins. This makes no sense to me. What did they seek to gain?”

  Tom’s head dropped as the weight of what William shared landed on his shoulders. Dan had been disconnected from his parents since he was nine years old but maintained open communication and decent relationships with his male cousins—or so Tom thought until now. “Why didn’t they ever ask you about Dan not writing?”

  “They did, but I screwed up.” William raked his fingers across his scalp.

  My friend missteps with Dan so often it seems to be the punchline of a tragic joke. Tom acknowledged William desperately desired to reestablish a connection with his son, but his many attempts in the last nineteen years ended in abject failure alienating Danny even more.

  Staring at his friend, unsure if he wanted to learn the answer, Tom queried with a bit of condemnation and trepidation, “Will, I’m afraid to ask … but what did you do this time?”

  “I reminded them, Daniel is in Special Forces, and while in the field, duty comes first. He would write if and when he had time,” William confessed.

  Mike dipped his head and averted his eyes. How can the general be so wrong in the way he handles Dan? William is a remarkable man, but with his own son, he dropped the ball so many times over the years. It made Mike sad for both of them. Both men were likable and honorable. Mike wished they resolved their issues and established a caring relationship.

  Though, he did realize not all the fault belonged to the general. The root of what they presently dealt with was something out of their control. Dan’s jumbled memories of Sara’s death laid the foundation for the wall separating William and Dan. This occurred well before Mike’s time, but his predecessor imparted essential details, including how the event so traumatized young Daniel that his mind scrambled events causing a cavernous divide which made connecting and communication difficult for father and son.

  Mike decided to change the subject. “Sir, I’ve been investigating Major Plouffe as you requested. Nothing concrete so far, but I made some quiet inquiries and spoke briefly with Captain Blain regarding Plouffe. The men don’t respect the major. Well, that is, most don’t.”

  Tom said, “That’s no secret. Many of them call him Major Puffy because he is so full of himself. I have been trying to discover something which proves Plouffe is incompetent and not fit for his position. Unfortunately, the thorn in my side comes out by-the-book clean on anything I might use to effect a transfer. I still can’t reckon how he made major.”

  Leaning back in his chair, William said, “Not to speak ill of the dead, but that was Colonel Grasett’s doing. He usually exhibited solid judgment of a person’s potential and never promoted anyone before they deserved it. For the life of me, I will never understand what he saw in Plouffe. I think his promotion was the worst decision Grasett ever made.

  “Nigel Plouffe doesn’t make the grade in my book. Lacking in leadership skills, terrible as a sniper, and his tactics at times are questionable. After my promotion to colonel following Grasett’s death, I dressed Plouffe down rather harshly several times for his half-baked and risky mission plans. He never considered the welfare of his men.”

  Tom snorted. “And now the pleasure of scolding him is mine.”

  William grinned. “One of the perks of being general is the colonel deals with the major.”

  Tom chuckled. There are not enough perks to ever tempt me to assume the responsibilities weighing down Will’s shoulders. Sobering, he said, “You’re right about his skills. The weasel almost killed Major Pearce years ago when he shot Jay in the back of the leg. Pearce still believes it wasn’t a friendly-fire accident, as there was no love lost between the two of them. I tend to agree, but without proof to substantiate the charges, the review board cleared Plouffe.”

  William sipped his coffee. “I remember the incident. Jay was royally pissed when the bullet ended his field career. He still chafes at being a paper pusher as he calls his position. He’s a lot like Yankee in that respect. Jay would’ve preferred serving out his entire career in the thick of the action.”

  Tom blew out a breath at the mention of Yankee. His loss was still hard to accept even after two and a half years.

  Me
ntioning Yankee brought painful memories to William too. Not only was George Washington an honorable man and his death a tragedy, what pained him most was he believed Daniel had died that day too. Daniel survived the bombardment when he shouldn’t have … one might describe his continued existence as nothing short of a miracle.

  A niggling thought kept creeping into the back of William’s mind. When it took hold, his gut twisted. He peered at Tom. “I can’t tell you why or how, but my gut tells me Plouffe is somehow involved. However, we must approach this cautiously. He is a major with high clearance, which requires solid evidence before we take action. I cannot ruin a man’s career, as inept as he may be, on my intuition only. All inquiries must be done with discretion, and follow all legal and ethical rules, so if proof is found, we are above reproach.”

  Mike nodded. “I’ll keep digging. If there is anything to support your suspicion, my guys will unearth evidence.”

  “With your permission, Will, I would like to put Bransworth to work on this. He is excellent at information gathering and analysis,” Tom said.

  “Okay, but we need to keep this close to the vest. We have no idea who is truly behind these incidents or if the taunting pictures and pilfered mail are related. Though I sense they are …”

  He raked his fingers through his hair again. He kept these words to himself for far too long now. It would bring him pain, but no worse than hearing the bitterness in his son’s words. The time had come for him to disclose the master corporal’s parting shot.

  William blew out a breath. “I should’ve probably shared this before, but it is of a deeply personal nature. When Daniel signed his discharge papers, he said something which pervaded my thoughts many nights. I believe we should investigate this given the photos, the isolation of Daniel from the family, and the murder of Corporal Jheeta.”

  Tom didn’t like the agonized expression which fleetingly appeared on William’s face before his mask descended. If what Dan said pre-occupied Will’s thoughts for more than seven months, the contents must be hurtful.

  It would hurt to put to voice the words haunting him for months, but he needed help to figure out what his son meant and if it might be related. William left out the colorful words peppering Daniel’s declaration as he quietly shared, “Right before Daniel stormed out of here, he said, ‘General, you failed, too. You failed to kill me. You tried for six years, and you failed.’

  “After racking my brain, I still can’t determine what gave him that idea. I maintained a hands-off policy with his career so there wouldn’t be any merit to claims of favoritism and to protect him from those who would attempt to manipulate me through him. Daniel never throws out arbitrary or untrue statements. He must believe this to be true. I cannot fathom what prompted his assumptions.”

  Tom responded softly, “Will, might this be the same type of thing which happened to Dan after Sara died. Perhaps Hunter’s death disorganized things in his mind like Sara’s death. It occurred once, which makes it probable. We placed Dan on suicide watch, and those guards tasered him. It is conceivable he mixed up the incident and thought you ordered them to shock him.”

  William shook his head. “No. I don’t think that’s the case. If it were, Daniel wouldn’t have specifically said ‘for six years,’ the entire span of his Special Forces career. And it corresponds to all those pictures I received of Daniel through the years.”

  Mike blew out a breath. Those damned pictures pissed him off. After years of trying, he was no closer to figuring out who sent them and why. The HL and HB followed by numbers still stumped him and the analysts who studied them. The last one the general received soon after Dan left the military had been the worst.

  He glanced at his CO. “I’ll begin a quiet investigation, sir. If there is merit to those words, I will find out. Perhaps I should start with Blaze and Winds, but I need to do that face to face.”

  William nodded. “Agreed. Take the next flight to Ottawa.” He leaned back and grabbed his coffee. As he drank a bit, he thought about Daniel’s unit.

  Captain Blain was currently in Ottawa breaking in his new men. He understood now, with the help of Tom’s insight, the devastation suffered by Blain’s unit as a result of Hunter’s death and Daniel’s departure. The unit was never the same after the losses. They were assigned one seasoned soldier, Warrant Officer Oscar Halverson, and one rookie, Corporal Russell Kostopoulos, to replace the two unit members. However, William knew from experience it takes time to create a cohesive unit.

  The men began to gel, but three months ago, Master Corporal Nils Carsten requested and was granted a transfer to a new unit. Apparently, staying in Blaze’s unit became too painful. Five weeks ago, Carsten committed suicide, a sad waste of a worthy man. If only they had known Carsten was so affected by their loss, they could’ve gotten him counseling or helped in some way. Regrettably, no one recognized the signs, and Carsten took his own life at the remote base camp.

  Sadly, this form of self-destruction became all too common for soldiers. Many had a difficult time coping with all the horrors they experienced. Witnessing or finding a buddy blown to bits was the worst. William understood first-hand. He lost men under his command, and their deaths were never easy to accept. Never!

  After Carsten transferred out, Master Corporal Angus MacDonald took his place. Then only fourteen days ago, Patch decided not to re-up and left the military altogether. Master Corporal Shea was the best-damned medic they had in their ranks. His departure exacted a substantial loss for both the Special Forces and the Guardian Units.

  William understood part of the reason Shea did not re-up was the suicide. Shea expressed in his exit interview he should have spotted the symptoms and done something to prevent Carsten’s death. The exit counselor tried to help the medic accept he bore no fault, but Shea reached his limit—his buddy’s suicide became the last straw. William hoped Shea found the peace he sought in civilian life. The man served his country well for many years.

  With Hunter’s death, Daniel’s exit, Carsten’s suicide, and Shea’s departure, the stress on Blain and his second in command, Master Corporal Nathan Simons, had been enormous. Dr. Jasper Pastore ordered Blaze’s unit to Ottawa for an extended rest. The men required time to decompress. After their break, they would train Corporal Duncan Weber, a rookie who just finished the extensive Guardian training.

  William needed his elite unit operational but recognized they might suffer disastrous consequences if not given time to unwind and train together. The soldiers under his command were his responsibility and important, so he agreed to a three-month rest and training window for Captain Blain’s unit.

  Tom picked up his coffee and took a sip as he sat back. “Did you decided yet whether or not you are going to tell Dan about the missing letters?”

  “I’m calling Walter for an update. I’ll make my decision soon. If it sounds like Daniel is in the right headspace, I’ll call him. Though, I would rather not burden him with something like this until I possess hard facts.”

  Mike reclined and offered his opinion. “Sir, he should be informed … soon. Jheeta was murdered, and we don’t know by whom or why. Dan’s life might be at risk. It is only right he be made aware so he can take precautions.”

  Personally, Mike thought, Dan deserved to be told his cousins didn’t abandon him, but he kept that to himself. His job required him to safeguard his CO and his family, not butt into his personal affairs.

  William nodded. “Duly noted. However, with nothing actionable how would he prepare? Daniel needs less stress without checking over his shoulder assessing everything and everyone as a potential threat. I will give Commander Gambrill a heads-up of sorts to keep an eye out for him.”

  Tom shook his head. “William, you should tell him. Listen to me for once. Please. You said Dan is isolated from the family. That means he has been alone in Toronto for the past seven months. I thought he would have family there to support him through Hunter’s death. If he’s been isolated and thinks they abandoned him …r />
  “Dammit, William—that’s not right. The boy needs support. You know I’m right. Your brothers won’t be pleased with your decision, either. Erik, Ryan, and Mark will read you the riot act if you don’t do the right thing. You’ve made some colossal errors when it comes to Dan. Don’t let this be one of them. For the love of god, call him.”

  “I’ll call Walter first.”

  Recognizing William would not commit, Tom stood. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to grab a few hours of sleep. I need to be in the Ops Command Center at zero four hundred.”

  Mike stood also. “I’ll be heading out too, sir. Should you need anything, Craig will remain here while I head back to Ottawa to speak with Blaze and Winds. I’ll inform you of anything I find.”

  When both Mike and Tom were gone, William raked his hands through his hair, both men were right about contacting Daniel regarding both reasons, but he hoped not to bother his son with the security aspect. The isolation though … yeah, he must resolve that issue.

  William first dialed Walter. They spoke at length and William shared what details he could. Walter agreed to keep an eye on Daniel for him. Then Walter shared with him Daniel had been stuck in an elevator, mixed up sleeping pills and aspirin, and was now home sleeping it off. Walter indicated Daniel appeared to be doing better and although still a bit rocky, things were improving with the team.

  Secretly, William didn’t want things to improve too much. He wanted Daniel back in the military where he belonged and made a real difference.

  Calling Daniel now would be out of the question because he would be sleeping due to the medication mix-up. William rose and poured himself another coffee, needing the caffeine to boost him until after his meeting with CDS McFergus. He decided to wait and call Daniel tomorrow.

  Resuming his seat, William stared at the old picture on his desk. Three happy little kids smiled broadly in it. William sighed. If only I could turn back the hands of time and change things ….