For MamaBirdCat. A story challenge featuring Low Light.

The usual disclaimer: don't own not making a profit

The Road Goes on Forever: The Highwaymen

Chapter Twenty

The Fighting Side of Me

0615

General Hawk was awake by five AM. He was in a bad mood. He had enough time to shower and change into his combat fatigues and sheep skin bomber jacket before he met Flint and Lady Jaye at the air field. Firewall was with them. He didn't need his sidearm but for today a show of force would be necessary. He clipped it onto his left thigh. It was cocked and ready just like him. Jaye met him with a stainless steel coffee mug made the way he liked it. She didn't forget. Flint had one of his own. Firewall was sucking on a Red Bull. They saluted when he walked up. It was early for all of them. It was an eight hour flight to Fort Hood Texas. He was meeting General Stern at four PM. It was scheduled to be two hours earlier than General Rey. Hopefully it was enough. Wild Bill took off with a 'Yee Haw' before they could strap themselves to the jump seat.

General Hawk looked at the photographs in his hands. They were taken from a high speed long range lens bordering on an invasion of privacy. It was what the paparazzi would use. He sighed and put them away. PJ Knight was pulling out all the stops if he was involving the Jugglers and General Rey. That meant the Arms dealer was running scared and desperate. The higher ups in Washington would demand an answer. General Hawk chose Flint and Lady Jaye to accompany him for that purpose. They were the picture of a successful end to fraternization. They had a strong healthy marriage despite the multiple protests from his Drill Sergeant. Beachhead was the most vocal critic against it. Now it was his turn. It was no secret his Warrant Officer and Drill Sergeant didn't see eye to eye. General Hawk suspected it was because the two of them were both severely intelligent. It was a challenge. He chose Firewall as his personal liaison for the same reason. He knew the computer specialist wouldn't be able to resist letting his junior sniper know. Already she had her phone in her hand text messaging Trick Shot from the inside of the helicopter. Her phone seemed permanently attached to her hands. General Hawk almost laughed. If this was the way PJ Knight wanted to play then he expected a fight. When he landed at Fort Hood he would have to hit the ground running. The gauntlet was tossed. It was up to Hawk to pick it up. He would have to save his energy for the battle ahead.

General Stern made one final pass of the grounds. In his ear his aid was spewing an endless litany of reports. He ignored it. Ever since he found out General Hawk and General Rey was coming he made it his personal mission to make sure the base was in clean and in working order. His privates he sent scrubbing the barracks and mess hall. He called off his personal chef from her down time to oversee the welcome dinner. The motor pool he ordered to power-wash the runway and the parking area. The trees were trimmed and the lawn was mowed. All of his personnel from basic to senior officers were busy making the base presentable.

As a high profile General he was used to visits by congressmen and Presidents alike. He supposed because Fort Hood was so well known that the higher ups often used it as a backdrop on the campaign trail. General Stern was used to it. When he heard General Hawk was making an appearance his normal high level of inspection was kicked into high gear. The leader of the GI Joe team was known for his high standards. His troops were the best in the World. Now not only was General Hawk paying a visit but General Rey as well. Everything had to be perfect. With any luck General Stern would be the one chosen to replace General Hawk. He eyed his soldiers with a scrutiny he normally reserved for Heads of State. When a tank track was found to have left over dirt on its grooves he ordered its soldiers to scrub it again. His aid was exhausted. It showed on his face. His eyes had dark circles. He replaced him with a fresh young brunette in a French braid and crisp Army hat. He waited. It was two PM. If General Hawk's reputation preceded him then the General would be early,

At ten after two General Stern heard the loud flutter of the transport helicopter. It was as he thought. The pilot belayed his coordinates until he set down. General Hawk ducked beneath the blades as he walked across the tarmac. He held out his hand. General Stern was there to meet him. They shook hands as the General held onto his helmet. Behind him Flint and Lady Jaye stepped down. Flint held his arms up and gripped her waist. She landed with ease. She didn't need his help. Firewall stepped down with all of the confidence of a twenty-something year old. She put her phone away. It was the first time today.

Aside from annual meetings amongst the Generals the two men didn't meet. General Stern had a healthy respect for General Hawk. On his part General Hawk admired Fort Hood's Commander as a man he could trust. The General had a good reputation as a solid leader. He was firm and fair. His background at The Citadel afforded him an entry level into an elite circle that included Admirals and Generals. His path towards the power of a Juggler was as much set in stone. He was equally ally and enemy. General Hawk had to weight if he was with him or standing with General Rey.

"General Hawk it's good to see you." General Stern said,

General Hawk smiled. They saluted each other out of an agreed brotherhood. Between the two of them they strode towards the base. General Stern was followed by the bubbly aid and General Hawk was followed by Flint and Lady Jaye. Firewall walked a healthy distance away. They made small talk.

"It's good to see you as well Bob." General Hawk said. He kept his name informal and on level ground. It wouldn't do him any good to pull rank at this point. "How are Gloria and the kids?" He asked.

Robert Stern was married for twenty five years to Gloria Stern. They had two children in college. The boy Robert Peele Stern the First was a sophomore at his fathers' Alma Mater. His daughter Emma was a senior at Brown studying pre-Med. She would study at John Hopkins in the fall.

"They're as studious as ever." General Stern laughed. "Where they get it is beyond me. They must take after their mother." He said.

As if on cue Gloria Stern walked up. Her powder blue day suit matched tan closed toe high heeled pumps. At her ears a sedate pair of pearl earrings dropped to a white scarf she wore at her neck. She smiled and leaned forward. General Hawk kissed her cheek. Her expensive perfume was one from Paris. She was the kind of woman from any college among Vassar and William and Mary. Her entire being spoke 'Old Money'. She was the kind of woman that was born and bred to be a Senator or General's wife. She was the exact opposite of Sharon Dixon. General Hawk passed her off to Lady Jaye. Alison Hart-Burnett was a graduate of Bryn Mawr. She greeted Gloria Stern as if they were old friends. He walked with General Stern.

"I can't say that when I heard you were showing up I wasn't a bit surprised." General Stern said. His accent was Texan and his manners showed a long ancestry of the West his wife didn't hold. "Then when I heard General Rey was going to be here well I kicked it up like a hoe down at a barn raising."

Hawk laughed. The refreshments they were served came in a chilled bottle of fresh spring water set at each table. There was a mix of fresh field greens and turnips with a slice of lemon at the plate. General Hawk and General Stern sat down. Flint and Lady Jaye were seated at his right side. Lady Jaye took the time to glance over from her conversation with Gloria Stern to squeeze lemon on her salad. Firewall followed along. She looked uncomfortable and out of place. There were far too many napkins and silverware for her to keep track of. Jaye had the decency to tap her salad fork lightly to show her what to do. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The main course was game taken from the hills around Fort Hood. It was a venison stew thick with gravy and chunks of carrot and onion. It was pure Texas fare. His chef made it her point to flavor the dinner with tastes native to General Stern's home state. General Hawk loved it. By the time they cleansed their palate with fruit and sherbet he was relaxed. The soldiers took their plates away and served more fresh spring water.

General Hawk shook his head. "I don't think I have to tell you why I'm here Bob." He said. He pushed his glass away until it was in the middle of the table. "It's my D.S."

General Stern nodded. "Yeah I heard. I can't say that your Drill has a reputation for it Hawk. Hell the name Beachhead is synonymous with fear and the hand of Almighty God from Fort Benning to Fort Hood. I have to admit I've used the name to straighten out some soldiers that were headed towards the back slide myself." He said. "Just the threat of it straightened them out quicker than a firecracker up a coon's ass."

"Then you can see where I have a problem." General Hawk said.

He measured his words carefully. As comfortable as he felt he still didn't know which way General Stern swayed. He could be with him or he could be waiting for General Rey. General Hawk played a dangerous game riding the fine line between friend and foe.

General Stern leaned back. It was the time his wife offered to show Lady Jaye and Firewall the rest of the base. Flint stayed behind. The peppy aid stood up and pushed their chairs in. She would be the one giving the tour of the base. General Hawk and General Stern were by themselves.

"I knew a soldier once." General Stern said. "It was when I was fresh out of the Citadel. This was the Nam you know. That man was the most ignorant and backwards buck private I ever met. I'm betting you what that guy couldn't read a lick to say stop or go to wipe his ass." He shook his head when he remembered.

"You ever meet someone so dumb that they'd just smile and nod when you send them down in a Gook's hole with nothing but a flashlight and prayer. That was him." General Stern said. He laughed.

"Those V.C. were smart though. It come to find out they'd booby trap every damn rat hole we'd find. Every stick, every path, any kind of bamboo leaf you saw. Do you know that idiot still went down." He said. He smiled when he remembered it. "Stupid son of a bitch."

He frowned in a bittersweet smile.

"It wasn't but six months into my commission when that asshole pulled me out. That illiterate son of a bitch carried my ass ten miles to the LZ on his back. And do you know what he did?' General Stern said.

General Hawk shook his head.

"The mother fucker sang! He sang!" General Stern laughed.

"Yeah that was Private First Class Wayne R. Sneeden Sr." He said.

"Your man won't find any trouble here."

End Chapter Twenty

The Fighting Side of Me