One Worry At A Time
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 1
The two soldiers opened the door of the local bar and prepared to enter. Their senses were immediately assaulted by the strong smell of sweat and stale beer. Despite its thick walls, the interior of the building was not the cool temperature that they had expected. All the bodies packed inside had raised the inside temperature to an uncomfortable level.
Tully made a face at the heat and the noise pouring out of the door. "So much for a cold drink and a comfortable, quiet room to drink it in."
Hitch laughed as he gave Tully a shove toward the door. "All the new guys on base must have found this place already. Maybe we can still get a cold beer."
Tully shrugged, not too sure that that was even a possibility. "They probably already sold all the cold ones. We'll be lucky to get one that's been anywhere near a cooler."
"One beer Tully, then we'll head back to the barracks." The blond grinned. "Unless you'd rather just go back now and forget the beer."
Tully gave the suggestion some consideration. Troy had given them permission to grab one beer before they returned to their rooms. With a new assignment in the morning, he wanted them rested and ready to go bright and early. Moffitt had hinted that this assignment might be longer than normal. Considering that possibility, Tully decided to risk the mass of bodies to fight his way to the bar.
Hitch smiled and followed in the path that Tully cleared to their goal. As their eyes met, they nodded at a few soldiers that they knew. Reaching the end of the bar, Tully greeted the bartender, who just happened to be the owner too.
"Evening Rennie, two beers please."
The little Frenchman returned the greeting, calling each of them by name. He reached under the bar and placed two bottles on the surface in front of them. Hitch placed their money on the bar as Tully checked the temperature of the beers.
"Warm."
"I'm sorry, that is all that I have. As you can see, we are very busy tonight." The Frenchman apologized. He waved away the money that Hitch offered him. "They are paid for already."
"By who?" Tully asked suspiciously.
"The first one's on me." A booming voice called out over the crowd.
Tully and Hitch turned to face the speaker, their beers untouched.
"And who are you?" Hitch asked.
"And what's the occasion?" Tully questioned.
"The name is Sonny Santos. Sergeant Sonny Santos." The burly soldier replied loudly. The smell of beer on his breath indicated that he had been in the bar for a while.
"That's the who." Tully drawled quietly, eying the three men who crowded behind Santos. "Now about the occasion."
"We're going to be great friends." The sergeant declared confidently. "My friend over there," Santos pointed at a soldier that Tully recognized from the motor pool, "says you guys work for a Sergeant Sam Troy."
"So?"
"So, I know Sam, we're old friends."
"Is that a fact?" Tully eased a step away from Hitch, both of them keeping their backs to the bar. "And how does that make us friends?"
"Any friend of Sam's is a friend of mine." Santos stated, reaching out to clap Tully on the shoulder. "Now about that beer, I'm buying the first one; you guys can buy the second round."
"We're only having one." Hitch answered. "We have duty tomorrow morning. Thanks anyway." He tossed his money on the bar while keeping an eye on the men behind Santos. "Maybe some other time if you're still around."
"Oh, I'll be here," Santos promised, "you see, I'm thinking of joining your outfit."
Hitch glanced over at Tully, startled by the news. "We don't have any openings."
"Don't you worry, I've got that covered." The burly sergeant assured them, swaying slightly.
"You know Hitch, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."
"Yeah, I think you're right. Let's get out of here." Hitch tried to push away from the bar but the three guys behind Santos crowded forward.
"You didn't drink your beer."
"It's kind of warm." Hitch responded.
"You didn't even touch it." Another of the three growled drunkenly.
"Tully says it's warm and I trust Tully." Hitch eased a step further away from Tully.
"Hey, you guys order a beer or get out of the way." A loud voice called from behind the knot of men standing in front of the bar.
"Shut up you!" Santos turned to yell at the speaker.
A small, wiry guy about thirty stepped toward Santos. "Who are you telling to shut up?"
"You, you little pip squeak!" Santos yelled back. "Can't you see we're having a conversation here?"
"Well talk somewhere else," the little guy retorted, "I came here to drink!"
With a curse Santos reached between Tully and Hitch and picked up one of the bottles by the neck. Swinging it viciously, he brought it down toward the smaller man's head. The wiry soldier ducked, causing the bottle to hit his shoulder and bounce off.
"Why you…."
And the fight was on.
Tully grabbed Hitch by the shoulder and shoved him toward the end of the bar. Hitch ducked a fist and shoved the fist's owner backwards.
Tully was slammed against the bar by a falling body. He gave the guy a push back into the fight and turned in time to catch a blow to the jaw. Hitch pulled the attacker away and aimed him at someone else.
Within seconds the fight had spread to the entire bar. Soldiers were taking pokes at everyone and anyone who came within reach.
Tully jerked on Hitch's arms to get his attention and jerked his head toward the bar. Hitch nodded and jumped easily to the bar's surface. Tully followed, avoiding a hand that reached to pull him back. Both privates dropped behind the wooden barrier and ducked as a chair flew over their heads to hit the wall behind them.
"Hey Rennie." Tully called to the owner. "Let us use your back door; we don't want any part of this."
The little Frenchman nodded his permission while scrambling to save as much of his wares as possible.
"Thanks."
Slipping through the storeroom, Tully and Hitch made their way to the door leading into the alley behind the bar. In front, they heard the repeated shrill ring of the whistles used by the MPs. The room would soon be swarming with security collecting all the fight's participants destined to spend the night packed into crowded cells. Tully winced at the thought of trying to sleep in a cell full of drunken soldiers with hangovers. Just the thought nearly turned his stomach.
"Good thing we got out of there." Hitch whispered as he heard the whistles. "Sarge would have been really mad if we got caught fighting."
"Yeah." Tully agreed, opening the door to the alley.
"Hold it right there! Now just where do you two think you're going?" The MPs holding the flashlights illuminated the faces of the two surprised privates. Two others stepped forward and grabbed them by the arms.
"Come on, back with your buddies. You can spend the night sleeping it off."
"We weren't involved." Hitch protested.
"Right." One of the MPs drawled while shining his light on Tully's bruised jaw. "Tell it to the duty officer in the morning. Now get moving!"