Chapter 8
The second the plane landed the guys were hitting the ground running. They had yet to be able to get a hold of Clay through his cell phone. Mandy got a ping off of it, and it showed that the phone was at his house.
"Yoder got spun up with Alpha the night before we did. They are one hour out from landing." Full Metal said.
"I am going to stay here and work the video. I'll have our tech guys try and get the electronic voice overlay removed so we can identify them by their voices." Mandy said, as she headed off and a run for the door.
Everyone else, including Blackburn and Davis headed for the vehicles. "The video has gone viral, with over five million views and over fifty thousand comments. All of which are variations of he got what he deserved and you can see how much he loves it. Some are even saying that Clay is only playing like he's unconscious." Davis said.
"Jesus fuck. Fucking vultures, all of em." Sonny said with a deadly rage to his voice.
"Do we know Clay's movements that night?" Ray asked.
"I don't, I'll call Emma and see if she knows." Jason said.
"He was at a party." Vic said.
That caused everyone to stop in their tracks and turn to look at Vic. This was the first they were hearing about this.
"What?" Jason asked, and it was clear to everyone he was not impressed.
"He was at a house party." Vic explained.
"And why the hell are we just hearing about this now?" Jason demanded.
"Because we've all been trying to get a hold of him. It's been a little crazy the past few days, it didn't click in when this happened until Mandy mentioned it yet now." Vic explained.
"Start talking." Full Metal said, with his own edge.
"That night a buddy of mine from Green Team, Kenny, had just rented a house with a few other Green Teamers and they were having a housewarming party. I was invited and apparently Yoder was too. I had already been at the house before Clay showed up. I was five drinks in, when I saw him in the kitchen. He had just gotten there. He was supposed to meet Yoder there, but he got spun up. Clay hung around, I don't know how long. Me and him talked to a few people and then I went up to use the head and I didn't see him after that. I figured he went home, he didn't really want to be there to begin with. He had one drink that I know of, I made it for him, but then I don't know what he had. I saw a couple drinks in his hand in the time he was there."
Vic had to be careful. He needed to give them information, but he had to make sure he didn't give them too much information. Vic knew for a fact that they would be going over to see Kenny and Vic didn't need Kenny or anyone at the house giving a different story.
"And you didn't think to make sure he was ok? You didn't stay with him?" Sonny said, annoyed that Vic had just left Clay on his own.
"We were at a house full of Seals. So no, I didn't think I would need to check in on him. He's twenty-seven, and a Tier One operator, I figured he would be safe in a house party with Seals." Vic said back.
"This isn't Vic's fault. We all wouldn't have thought to keep an eye on Clay there. He was surrounded by a bunch of Seals. He should have been safe. Someone obviously slipped something in his drink at the party." Ray said, in Vic's defense.
"We'll go there after we find Clay." Jason said, before he turned and headed for his truck.
The others all followed, not even saying anything. They piled into three vehicles and headed straight to Clay's house. On the way there Sonny continued to call Clay, hoping that he would turn his phone on and actually get a hold of him, but all he got was voicemail. A voicemail that was full according to the automated message. They pulled into Clay's house and the first thing they all noticed was Clay's truck wasn't in the driveway. They got out and headed straight around to his front door. Jason tried the handle and he was surprised it was unlocked.
"Clay!" Jason yelled, as he headed inside.
He took a quick look around to see if Clay was in the living room area, but he didn't see him so he ran up the stairs to Clay's bedroom, the guys hot on his trail. Jason walked into Clay's bedroom and immediately could smell the faint scent of blood in the room. He noticed the sheets weren't on the bed and the comforter was just tossed on it. Trent had gone into the bathroom, but there was no Clay.
"Shower is dry, but there's a towel just tossed on the floor. Also found this in his sink." Trent said, as he left up the morphine injection pen.
"Empty?" Jason asked.
"Yup, full dose is gone." Trent answered.
"How did he get one of those?" Vic asked.
"Clay always carries one in his pant pocket in case one of us needs it. He probably just forgot it was in there when he came home." Trent explained.
Cerberus was going all over the room smelling it, trying to see what he could come up with. He placed his head down on Clay's bed and whined.
"Ok, so he was drugged at the house party and was brought here. Either in his own truck or someone else's. They get him up here, they rape him and video tape it, they leave. Clay wakes up so many hours later, he showers, takes a shot of morphine, and then strips the bed." Blackburn started.
"With his allergy, whatever was given to him would have made him out of it and sick. He probably woke up and immediately went into the bathroom to throw up. And as we all know, he doesn't like taking narcotics, so for Clay to take a full dose, he was in serious pain." Trent explained.
"Ok so he's got the bed stripped, he wouldn't have washed em, he would have tossed em. They might still be in the garbage." Sonny said.
"Search the house, see if he's in another room." Jason said.
They all headed out and made their way throughout the house. Jason and Trent headed out to check the garbage to see if they could find the sheets. Trent opened the lid and saw the ball of sheets.
"Boss." Trent called out.
Jason came over as Trent put on a pair of gloves and pulled out the sheets. They both saw the extensive blood on the sheets as well as the objects.
"Fuck. Could he still be bleeding?" Jason asked, concerned about the amount of blood on the sheets.
"Depends. It looks more then it probably is because it would soak up on the sheets and spread faster. He still should have gone to a hospital to get checked out. Even if he didn't want to report it, he could have lied about his name. He knows how dangerous this could be, plus with his allergy there's no telling how the roofie affected him."
"He wouldn't have been thinking clearly, you know that. He would have panicked. We all would have." Jason said, in Clay's defense.
"I know. He took a shower, so he got rid of any evidence on his body. These sheets are the only thing we'll have to try and find physical evidence of who this person is. We need to put them into something."
"There's large garbage bags under the kitchen sink." Jason said, as he headed inside to grab them.
Trent waited until Jason came back and then they carefully placed the bedding and the objects into the bag. It would need to go to the base for testing and hopefully they would be able to match someone's DNA to it. Chances were, Clay's rapist was in the Navy. They headed inside with the bag as the others all gathered in the living room.
"There's no disturbances anywhere else in the house. It doesn't look like Clay went into the other bedrooms to sleep. The couch has a pillow and blanket on it. We found his cell phone across the room. Best guess, he laid down on the couch and threw his phone when the texts and emails started to come in." Blackburn said.
"His phone was dead, but it's not damaged. I've been going through it, he had over a hundred voicemails, and thousands of emails and text messages. He was tagged in the video so every time someone commented on it, that comment was sent to him via email. He has over fifty thousand emails. The emails and texts are still coming in from people sending them right now." Davis said, from the kitchen as she had Clay's phone hooked up to his charger.
"Any names or numbers we can run?" Full Metal asked.
"Plenty of phone numbers, but no names. Not everyone was smart enough to block their number. We'll run the numbers we can and get their names." Davis answered.
"He's got to be somewhere, so either he called for a ride or his truck was here. Meaning whoever they were, drove him home." Ray said.
"His door was unlocked, that's not like him. He probably left after seeing those messages. In his emotional state he just left." Brock commented.
Blackburn's phone rang and he instantly answered it.
"What do you got Mandy?"
"Nothing on the video yet, we're still working on it. I was so focused on finding Clay's phone, that I didn't even see a secondary signal coming from his house. There's another phone in that house."
"Can you tell where?" Blackburn asked.
"Based on the blueprints, it's a bedroom upstairs. I can guide you."
Blackburn turned and headed up the stairs. He followed Mandy's directions that led him to Clay's bedroom. He went over to Clay's bedside table and opened the drawer to see a laptop. He headed back down the stairs and ended the call.
"Mandy found a secondary signal coming from the house. It's coming from this laptop that he had in his bedside drawer." Blackburn said, as he handed it over to Davis.
Davis opened it and started to look through it.
"Why would a signal be coming from a laptop?" Sonny asked.
"He's got a security system on the house. The feed is connected to the laptop." Davis answered, as she pulled it up.
"He's got an alarm. How would that be giving off a signal?" Jason asked, confused.
"It's not just an alarm. He has multiple hidden security cameras all around the outside of the property. The feed from them goes right to the laptop." Davis explained.
"He has cameras? So then he could have these bastards on camera." Sonny said, now very interested.
"I'm already on it." Davis said.
"You didn't know he had cameras?" Ray asked Jason.
"No, just the security alarm. He said he wanted to install one for when we are away. It made sense with him no longer living in an apartment building." Jason was not happy that Clay didn't tell him there were cameras as well.
"Got it. So that night the cameras were on as you can see Clay driving away. But around two hours later, the whole system is turned off, cameras and the alarm. It doesn't come back on." Davis said.
"Can it be something that Clay could control from his phone?" Blackburn asked.
"Nope, it's only controlled through the laptop or the main panel. Whoever turned it off, had to do it remotely by hacking into the system. It's not something Clay would have done. There's also saved footage on here from additional attacks on his home. There's a brick through a window, and one night his tires to his truck were all slashed." Davis answered.
"So he's been hiding things from us?" Sonny said, pissed off.
"You better not be thinking about blaming him Sonny." Jason automatically said with an edge to his voice.
"I'm not, but he's obviously been hiding things from us. We should have known about this shit." Sonny said.
"That's not important right now. We need to find him. His phone is here and so is his wallet, but his keys are gone. So he must have taken his truck and driven somewhere. Davis, go back to base and start working on pinging his truck's GPS. Vic and Brock, you stay here just in case he comes back. Trent, head to the hospital and see if he was found and brought in. He could be under as a John Doe. The rest of us will go to the house party and see what the hell they know." Blackburn ordered.
The others all jumped into action. The guys all headed for the trucks so they could make their way to the party house.
"Derek just texted me, they landed. He wants to know where you want them." Full Metal said.
"Have them on standby at the base. See if Mandy could use them if they need to do something. I want them ready just in case. Have Yoder meet us at the party house. I want to know exactly who this Kenny person is." Jason said.
He wanted to know if this was somehow planned. That the party was just a cover to get Clay to the house where he could be drugged and raped. Jason wanted to know who Kenny was and that was something that Yoder would be able to tell him. They pulled up to the house and saw that Yoder's truck was already here. They all got out of their vehicles and Yoder got out of his truck and met them.
"Anything?" Yoder instantly asked.
"Not yet. His phone was at the house along with his wallet, but no keys or truck. His trucks not here, so it's looking like whoever it was, drove him home." Jason answered.
"Is his license updated with his new address?" Yoder asked.
"I don't know, why?" Jason said back.
"Because Clay's always been anal about keeping his address under wraps. Some of the guys in Team Three didn't even know where he lived back in Cali. If it's not on in license, then someone who knows his address has to be involved somehow. Whether that is just releasing the information or participating." Yoder explained.
"Alright, that's an angle we'll look at. I want to know about Kenny and this party." Jason said, as he moved on.
"Kenny was solid in Green Team. He's on the short list like myself to be drafted when a spot comes up. Right now he is working as support to Romeo. He was always a team player in Green Team, even stayed late to help other cadets with their shooting and the training course. He didn't have a problem with Clay. He was one of the few that focused on his own skills and didn't have opinions about him. We've shared beers together plenty of times and I've been over at his place before. When he told me about his housewarming party I invited Clay so we could hang out. But I got spun up before I could even make the drive over here. Clay texted me back saying he was just gonna head home, to be safe and we would grab a beer when I got back."
"Alright, you tell me if anything Kenny says sounds like a lie." Jason said, before he turned and headed towards the front door.
Jason knocked and it only took a moment before the door opened. Kenny was standing on the other side and they could all tell he was waiting for this.
"Come on in." Kenny said, as he moved back.
They all headed in and Kenny walked over to the living room speaking as he did.
"I swear to you Master Chief, I don't know anything about what happened to Spenser."
"Why don't you tell me what you do know." Jason said, keeping an edge to his voice.
"I don't know when he got here. I left the door unlocked so people could come in. The house was packed, by the end of the night there had to be two hundred people in and out of this place. Not all of them were military, a good chunk were civilians that were a friend of a friend that heard about the party. I saw Spenser walking around with Vic roughly around nine or so that night. He had a drink in his hand. Later on I saw a shot in his hand. But that's all I noticed. I talked to some of the guys that were here, and they all said they only saw him with a drink and a shot. They never saw him with another drink. Bobby saw Vic give Spenser the shot, but we don't know who gave it to Vic or if he made it. Just like the first drink. I didn't see any arguments or fights. None of the guys that I talked to did. One minute Spenser was here and the next he was gone. I figured he went home. He drove his truck, the girl Bobby was trying to get with, noticed it and made a comment about wanting to sleep with that guy. The truck was gone when I went out to get some fresh air around midnight."
"When did Vic leave?" Blackburn asked.
"No idea. After midnight, it gets blurry. Look, we all got the notification for the video the next morning. It was sent out to everyone practically in the Navy. Guys from Team Five were texting me about it. It was a mass email that went to tens of thousands. It seems like the only people that didn't get an email of it were the ones connected to Clay, including Team Three. Me and the guys, Roger and Jimmy, we tore this whole house apart looking for any drugs of any kind. We didn't find any. We also reached out to everyone we could that was here and went through their photos, but they never got Clay." Kenny said, as he moved over to the kitchen to pick up a flashdrive. He handed it to Jason as he continued. "All of their photos are on the drive for you to go through yourself. There is also their info as well if you need to reach out to them."
"And you just took the initiative on yourself?" Full Metal asked, skeptically.
"Ya we did. Look, I don't have an opinion on Clay one way or the other. He's a solid guy and that's all I need to know. But in Green Team you learn within that first week that you, Master Chief hold a lot of weight in who gets picked for a team and who doesn't. A bad review from you and you can kiss your chances of getting onto a team goodbye." Kenny turned to look at Yoder. "You know that better than anyone. Top of the class, we all knew you were getting on Bravo, and then Vic, a middle of the road guy, gets picked over you and no one will touch you."
"That's not why I passed over him." Jason said, still regretting his decision.
"Doesn't matter. You don't get a golden ticket by you, you get kicked out of the chocolate factory. It's why I always follow the unofficial rule." Kenny said.
"Which is?" Full Metal asked.
"Don't fuck with Baby Hayes." Yoder answered.
"What?" Jason asked.
"Everyone in Green Team knew how special Clay was to Bravo and to you. Most of us called him Baby Hayes, because a bad review from him, could also do damage to your career with the Upper Brass. It was also clear by the amount of time the two of you were together that he was special to you. So you don't fuck with Spenser, messing with him only gets Bravo and all of DEVGRU on your ass. So ya when I found out this morning that he had been drugged and raped, I knew you would be coming by at some point. He had to have been drugged here, so I made the initiative to investigate as far as I could. I'm not looking to be flipping burgers for minimum wage." Kenny answered honestly.
"Well, it's nice to know you care about what happened." Sonny said, not impressed.
"I do care. What happened to him, what he is going through now, it's fucking bullshit and I am disgusted that people who have sworn to protect this country would do this to a fellow brother. It's dishonourable and as far as I am concerned, every single person that left a nasty comment, should be dishonorably discharged for it. I might not know Spenser that well, but I respect the hell out of him and look up to him. Whatever happened in this house was not sanctioned."
Everyone could hear the passion and anger within Kenny's voice. He might not like Clay, but he was against what had happened to Clay. He sincerely didn't know who had drugged or raped him. They did at least have the flashdrive with everyone's photos and information they could comb through that if Clay couldn't remember who it was.
"I appreciate this." Jason said, as he held up the flashdrive.
"If there's anything you need me to do, don't hesitate to ask." Kenny said.
Jason gave a nod and they all headed out. Once they were by their vehicles Ray spoke.
"Do they seriously call Clay Baby Hayes?"
"People do ya, but it's not meant in a degrading way at all. It's meant as a respect thing. The name Jason Hayes is legendary, everyone knows who he is. Clay is quickly becoming legendary himself. Everyone knows he's going to be taking over one day as Bravo One, he's going to be the next Jason Hayes and then some. It's meant as a show of respect for who he is and for what is to come from him." Yoder explained.
"Fair enough. Now what?" Sonny asked.
"I'm gonna check my apartment and I'll call Emma. Maybe she heard from him." Jason said.
"We'll head back to the house." Full Metal said.
"I'll go to the base and see what I can help them with." Blackburn said, he needed to find Clay just as badly as the others. Clay was a member of his team, he was his responsibility and right now he was just out there possibly injured and sick.
They all got into the proper vehicles and headed off. Jason was alone so he pulled his cell phone out and hit Emma's name as placing it on speaker phone. Jason forced himself to focus on the road even though his mind was going a mile a minute. He was praying that Clay would be at his apartment. It would make sense if he didn't want to be at his house alone.
"Hey Dad, you're back. How was it?" Emma's voice filled up the emptiness of his truck.
"Em, have you heard from Clay?"
"Not since you guys got back from your last mission. Why?" Emma asked, slightly worried.
"Do you know about what has been going on with Clay and the social media page?" Jason wasn't sure exactly how much Clay had shared with Emma and he didn't want to start off in the wrong spot.
"Ya, he told me about it. I still can't believe people are doing that to him. Did something else happen?"
Jason really didn't want to tell her this. He knew Clay probably wouldn't want her to know, but she needed to know how serious this situation was. He wouldn't give Mickey the details, he could just tell Mickey Clay wasn't feeling too great when they did get eyes on him. But Emma, he couldn't lie to her about this, because she was older and she was so very close to Clay. He would need her to get through this.
"Baby a video was posted to the social media page, it's gone viral. The night before I got spun up this last time, he went to a party at a fellow frogmen's home. At the party he was drugged, roofied, and he was taken back to his home where he was raped." Jason said gently.
"What?" Emma asked, and Jason could already hear the tears building in her eyes.
"They recorded it, and then posted it online. Its gotten over five million views and over fifty thousand comments. Each comment is sent to Clay's email address, thousands have also sent him text messages or altered the video and sent it to him so it looks like he is moaning and begging for it. That was a couple of days ago, we just found out before we landed."
"Oh my god. Is he ok? Is he in the hospital?" Emma asked, as the tears poured down her face. She couldn't believe this had happened to Clay. He was one of the strongest people she knew. He was the best person she knew, he was such a good man, and to think someone did something so violent to him. It was heartbreaking.
"We don't know where he is. We went to his house, but he wasn't there. His phone and wallet were there, but not his keys. We are thinking he took his truck and drove off somewhere. I'm heading to my place to see if he's there. Has he called you or anything?"
"No, I haven't heard from him. I thought it was weird that he didn't call to tell me about his first day teaching Green Team, but I figured he must have been busy with work or fell asleep. You said this was a couple of days ago, if he was driving up to see me he would have been here long by now."
"He might not have left the State and he might have just drove off not that long ago. We don't know how long he was home before he took off. If you hear from him, call me please."
"Of course. I'm gonna come down too. I don't have any exams, I'm gonna hop on the next bus out of here and come down." Emma said.
Jason wanted to tell her she didn't need to, but the tone in her voice told him there was no talking her out of it. Not that he could blame her, he would have done the same thing.
"Be careful and let me know when you get in. I'll either pick you up or one of the guys will. I'm almost at the apartment. Is there anywhere that you can think of that he might go?"
"If he's not at your place, then the only place I can think of is Rickety Bridge."
"Where is that?" Jason had never heard of it before.
"It's a trail for North Landing River out on Princess Anne Road. There's this old wooden bridge that goes over the river. Clay found it when he started Green Team, he likes to go there because it's quiet. He told me once that he can go there and make the world quiet. It's peaceful for him."
"Ok, I'll check it out if he's not at the apartment. Thanks Em."
"I'm gonna pack up and head out now. I'll let you know when the bus will get in."
"Be safe. I love you."
"I love you too."
Jason ended the call and did his best to calm himself down. He just wanted to find Clay, he just wanted to find his son. He needed to hug him and tell him it would all be ok. He just needed to get eyes on him. Jason pulled into his apartment's parking lot and once he parked he ran inside and up to his apartment. He walked in and quickly searched, but there was no Clay. It looked just as he had left it. Jason turned and headed back to his truck. Once inside of it, he didn't start it right away, instead he placed his head into his hands and took a moment. He had been really hoping he would walk in to find Clay asleep on his couch or something. He really thought he would open that door and his son would be there. Jason had no idea what he was going to do if Clay wasn't at the Rickety Bridge. He was technically missing, but at the same time he was an adult so it wasn't like the police were going to be doing much. They could report it to NCIS, but again they couldn't do much without an actual crime. And they couldn't have a crime without a victim. It would be on the teams to track Clay down, but if they didn't find him soon they would have to face the reality of going back to work with Clay out there somewhere.
Jason's phone beeped for a text message and he pulled it out to see it was from Blackburn.
Come back to base, we have something.
Jason didn't bother texting him back. He just turned his truck on and headed off for the base. He was really hoping they would be able to find Clay and get this whole mess sorted out. After making the quick drive over to the base Jason noticed that some of the other guy's vehicles were already here. Jason headed inside and went straight into their war room. He was the last one to arrive and he could feel the tension coming off of Blackburn. Something was going on that none of them were going to be happy about.
"If you are about to tell us we are getting spun up, there's no way." Jason immediately started, fearing the worst.
"I'm not, this is about Clay." Blackburn said.
"The Upper Brass better not be blaming him for that video." Sonny said.
"They aren't. The Upper Brass are all trying to find out who is in the video and what happened to Clay. Davis was able to track his truck's GPS location. It is in a police impound lot."
"He was arrested? Why don't we know about it yet?" Full Metal asked.
Clay being arrested did make some sense. He knows himself if he was raped he would want to get shit faced and beat the living shit out of someone. Clay could have easily gotten into a bar fight.
"He wasn't arrested. Yesterday afternoon a 9-1-1 call came in from a civilian that was out for a run on a trail in North Landing River." Blackburn started, but Jason cut him off.
"I was just talking to Emma about that. Apparently there's this old rickety bridge on one of the trails that Clay likes to go to get away from all of the city noise. I was going to check it out."
"So Clay wasn't at your place?" Ray asked,
"No, and it looks like he was never there."
"The civilian, the man, was running on the trail when he noticed a truck parked by an old wooden bridge. He didn't think much of it. When he went down to the river to refill his water bottle, he noticed a body in the river." Blackburn continued doing his best to keep his voice calm and even.
"Oh my god." Yoder softly whispered, already fearing what Blackburn was going to say next.
"The man pulled the body out and called 9-1-1, but the person was long dead. There was no identification on the body so the police came and took it to the morgue where DNA was taken to run. Fingerprints were not viable due to being in the water. That DNA came back as Clay." Blackburn continued.
"What?" Derek asked, softly.
They had to have heard him wrong. They had to have misunderstood what was being told to them. That was the only explanation to any of this.
"Clay's dead, approximately twenty-two hours now. We were never notified because they didn't run it through the military database, just CODIS and it came back as a partial match to Ash. They contacted him and he made the ID at the morgue. An autopsy was performed and they found water in his lungs. Cause of death is accidental drowning. From what I gathered from the police they didn't find a suicide note in his truck or in the area, so they couldn't rule it as a suicide. The Upper Brass was informed by Ash of Clay's death just a couple of hours ago. They were working on making the notifications once the paperwork was in order for it." Blackburn finished.
The room was dead quiet. No one knew what to say to that. No one knew what to think about it. The news hadn't sunk in fully yet. Slowly, you could hear the news reaching each and every single one of their brains. You could hear the breathing in the room starting to pick up and become erratic. Yoder was the first one to break, he placed his hand over his mouth to try and muffle the wail of pain as he realised that his brother was not only dead, but he most likely killed himself. Derek went over to Yoder and pulled him into his arms as his own tears started to pour down his face.
Sonny banged his hands against the table as tears went down his face. He did it again and Davis was at his side, putting her arms around him and giving him what comfort she could.
"No, they're wrong. He's not dead. He's not dead." Jason said, with anger flooding his voice.
Ray went over to Jason and he wrapped his arms around him. Jason struggled against Ray's hold as he spoke.
"No, he's not dead. My son's not dead."
Jason struggled, but Ray held on. He knew Jason would calm down in a minute, he just had to wait him out. That didn't stop his own tears from going down his face. After a moment Jason stopped struggling and he allowed his own tears to be released. He wrapped his arms around Ray and held onto his best friend as an unimaginable pain tore through his heart. Blackburn looked around the room and saw that everyone was in tears. Derek was holding onto Yoder, Davis was holding onto Sonny. Ray held Jason as his whole world came crashing down around him. Full Metal and Trent were leaning against the wall doing their best to collect themselves. Brock was holding onto Cerberus as Cerb whined, as if he knew what had truly just happened. The only one that wasn't in tears was Vic, but Blcackburn didn't expect him to be. He wasn't close with Clay, it would be different for him.
Blackburn knew that this was going to forever change the way Bravo operated. Clay's death wasn't being classified as suicide, but everyone in this room knew that's exactly what it was. Clay had been cyber bullied and raped to the point where he took his own life. It took a good thirty minutes before the tears had slowed down in the room and the guys could get their minds back into thinking. When the sobs quieted down, Blackburn spoke.
"I've been told by Captain Lindell that the funeral is set for tomorrow at ten in the morning. We are trying to get Clay's will, but his next of kin is Jason, that gives you the power over Ash when it comes to the funeral. Ash has been made aware of when the funeral will be and where it will be held, but it's your decision Jason, if you want to allow him to be there."
"No, he didn't give a damn about Clay when he was alive. He doesn't get to be there for this. Clay wouldn't want him there. He wanted nothing to do with Ash." Jason said, with a strength to his voice. Clay had told him he didn't want Ash to have anything to do with his life, he wasn't going to allow Ash to play the victim or the father to Clay now.
"That's fine we can keep him from getting into the church. I'm assuming you all would like to be pallbearers." Blackburn said, and he knew the guys all would want to be.
"I need to see him." Jason said.
"I've already asked, but it's been denied. He is with the mortuary and due to them being a military mortuary they are not allowing any visitors or viewings. The Navy is taking charge of the funeral and all of the arrangements. We are to be at the church for a ten o'clock start and then a small graveside ceremony for Bravo and any Tier One operator that wishes to be there for it. I don't know who is going to be talking yet. I know Admiral Andersen was going to say a few words. I'll have more on that later." Blackburn said.
"I can't even see him." Jason said, hurt that he was being kept from seeing his son.
"I'm sorry, you can't. The best thing you all can do right now, is to go home and be with your family, be with each other." Blackburn said.
"What about Emma and Mickey, we should pick them up." Ray said.
"Emma is on a bus to come down. She wanted to be here when we found Clay. I'll go and get Mickey." Jason said, as his voice shook.
"You can't be driving right now brother. I'll go get him." Full Metal offered.
"I'll be at Clay's."
That was all Jason said before he headed out. The guys knew he needed time, they all did. Ray needed to get home himself to tell Naima and then break the news to his kids that their uncle wasn't going to be coming back this time. Ray couldn't believe he was going to have to break this to his family again after they had lost Nate not that long ago. Ray didn't think he would ever have to break his daughter's heart again, but now he was going to have to tell her that her favorite uncle was dead. Had died in the states, the one place he should have been safest. Vic went over to Sonny and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Come on Sonny, let's go grab a drink."
Sonny gave a nod, a drink was exactly what he needed in this moment, or twenty of them. The two of them headed out with Trent following behind them. He would need to keep Sonny in line. Full Metal went off to pick up Mickey before he would join them at the Bulkhead. Derek went to inform Alpha of the news, while Yoder headed out to go and see Ali. He needed to see Ali and hope he could make this pain go away. Brock left with Cerberus, but he didn't go far, just the cage room. Blackburn knew that after this Bravo would never be the same.
XXX
It was roughly seven hours later when the front door to Clay's house opened and Emma walked in. Derek had gone to pick her up at the bus station for him while he stayed with Mickey. Most of the guys were drunk, but Derek had offered to stay sober so he could drive anyone home. When Emma had texted that she was almost in town Jason had asked Derek if he could go and pick her up. Jason would have, but he was on his fourth drink and just couldn't bring himself to get up off the couch yet. He knew once Emma got home that he would have to inform her and Mickey of Clay's death. He would be keeping the fact that it was most likely suicide from Mickey, he didn't want to confuse him or upset him more then he already would be.
"Dad, did you find him?" Emma asked, as she came around the corner.
"Ya baby. Mickey!" Jason called out. He needed to do this now before he ended up having to have this conversation twice.
A door opened down the hallway and Mickey came out of it, joining them in the living room.
"Come sit down guys." Jason said, as he moved over on the couch so each one of his kids could sit on either side of him.
Emma sat down on Jason's left as she spoke. "What's going on dad?"
"Ya, you get Full Metal to pull me out of school and then you tell me when I get here, you'll tell me what's going on when Em gets here." Mickey said.
"I know. Something happened to Clay. And there's no easy way to tell either of you this, so I'm just going to say it. Clay's body was found yesterday. It looks like he accidentally drowned. He's gone." Jason said, fighting back his tears at saying it outloud.
"What?" Mickey asked, with tears building in his eyes.
"No." Emma said, her own tears already going down her face.
"I'm so sorry. His funeral is tomorrow at ten. I know it'll be hard, but we'll get through this."
Jason didn't believe it for himself. He knew the kids would recover from this, but he didn't believe it for himself. His oldest son was gone, he didn't know how to handle that. Mickey buried his face into Jason's side and Jason wrapped an arm around each of his children as they cried. They had just buried their mother last year and now they were having to bury their brother. It was too much for any child to have to go through. Sometime later Mickey left to go hide out in his room at the house, leaving just Emma and Jason on the couch.
"Was it really an accident?" Emma whispered.
"Officially it's being ruled as one, but unofficially it's a suicide. He took his own life." Jason answered, gently.
That brought more tears to go down Emma's face. To hear that Clay had been in so much pain he had opted to take his own life, was pouring salt into the wound. Jason hated that he was bringing this pain to his daughter. He would have given anything to take it away, but he knew only time could do that. So he did the only thing he could do, he wrapped his arms around her and held her until she was ready to face the world.
XXX
The morning for Clay's funeral was surreal to every member on Bravo. They had gotten ready by just going through the motions of it. Sonny was still horribly hungover, but he had managed to shave and get into his dress uniform without throwing up, so he was taking that as a win for the day. Ray and Naima had shown up without the kids, opting to leave them with Naima's mother. Both of them felt like the kids were too young to be sitting at a funeral. Jameelah was devastated last night when Ray and Naima had to sit her down to explain that Clay was dead. She had been up most of the night crying and asking to go over to Clay's to see him again. Jason and the kids were the last ones to arrive, Jason was just barely hanging on. They joined the others just outside of the church and Blackburn spoke.
"A quick head's up, Ash is here. We were told we could not prevent him from coming into the church due to him being Clay's legal father. Though Alpha, made it very clear that he is to not speak at all and to sit in the back. They are going to be keeping a close eye on him."
"He didn't want anything to do with Clay and now he wants to show up and act like the grieving father." Sonny said with a shake of his head.
"I know it's hard, but it's not about him today." Naima said, trying to keep the peace. This was going to be hard enough on everyone.
"Yoder is here with Ali, I told him they could sit up at the front with Bravo. I hope that was ok." Blackburn said.
"No of course. He's Clay's brother, he should be there with us." Jason said.
"Why don't I take Mickey and Emma and go get into our seats." Naima suggested.
Emma gave a nod and she put her arm around Mickey as the three of them headed in.
"Admiral Anderson is going to get started, but he wanted to know if you would like to speak Jason." Blackburn asked.
"I don't have anything prepared, I don't." Jason said, and it was clear he wasn't expecting to have to speak at the funeral.
"I think you should brother. He's your son, no one knows him better then you." Ray said supportively.
"Ya, it should come from you." Sonny agreed.
"Just speak from your heart Boss." Trent added.
Jason just gave a nod and Blackburn could tell he wasn't sure about this.
"We're going to get started in a moment. A quick head's up, the church is full. Everyone from Green Team that Clay went through with are here, Everyone he's helped in the next Green Team are here. Team Three, instructors from Buds and Boot Camp. Plus Admirals, Generals, Captains, Congressmen, Senators, and Aldermen from all over the country. There's over five hundred people in there to pay their respects to Clay."
"Holy shit." Full Metal said, shocked at the large number of people that had come out to say goodbye to Clay.
"It's a lot. More than anyone expected." Blackburn agreed.
"They're probably here as some type of photo op." Jason said, disgusted.
"Maybe, I don't know. What I do know is that the people who knew Clay the best are the ones that matter. Don't worry about anyone in there that didn't know him, focus on the ones that did." Blackburn said, hoping to avoid a fight today.
The guys gave a nod and Blackburn led the way into the church. He made his way towards the front where the others were while the guys got ready to bring Clay's casket down the aisle. Jason went in front with Ray beside him, followed by Sonny and Trent, then Brock and Vic at the back. In front of all of them though was Cerberus. He would be leading the way. Brock was going to leave Cerb at home, but he knew how much Clay meant to him and how much Clay loved him. It didn't feel right leaving him behind today. When it was time, they slowly made their way down the aisle to the sad music playing in the background. Once at the front they placed the casket down and made their way to their seats. Admiral Andersen walked over to the microphone.
"Good morning we come together today to say goodbye to a good man. Clay Spenser had often shared a seat at my diner table. He was a rare man that didn't see color, race, gender or sexuality. He saw people, each unique and special. When my son, my only child, came to me and told me he was gay I didnt handle it as well as I should have. I didn't really say anything, I just got up and walked away. We were living in California at the time, I went to the shooting range on base where Clay was. I had heard about a young gun making one hell of a name for himself. We didn't say anything for an hour and then finally he broke the silence. Asked if he was allowed to ask me a question. I remember it was such a weird way to word the question. I asked him why he asked me if he was allowed. Clay just simply said a lot of officials hate being asked questions, he found it was better to ask first before asking the question. I told him to ask away. I wasn't expecting him to be so straight forward." Admiral Anderson said with a warm smile.
"He asked why I was so pissed off. I told him I wasn't mad, just upset. I ended up telling him that my son had just tokd me he was gay and I didn't know how to feel about it. I expected for him to move on, to not comment. But he did the exact opposite. He looked me right in the eye and said, ya so? Just like that, as if I had told him it was going to rain. I told him it wasn't that simple and he asked me the one question that changed everything. Was he happy. We had a long conversation after that about how as parents you perceive your child growing up to be a certain way and when they throw you a curveball it can be hard to accept. To Clay it was as simple as my son being happy. Once I was able to see his point of view, I agreed with him. I went home that night and told my son I wanted to meet his boyfriend, that he would be coming over for dinner tomorrow night. Clay had become a fixture in my life and in my son's. When my son got married, Clay was standing up there with him as a groomsman.
Clay was a man that instilled change within you. He was a man that could take something complicated and simplify it. A man that you respected and you relied on. He holds multiple service medals and accommodations. He led over fifty missions while in Team Three and became a valuable member of Bravo Team. He was brave, courageous, intelligent and he was honest. His honesty was a breath of fresh air on any given day. He had no problem telling you exactly what he thought or what you needed to hear.
His death is a tragedy that this world has to carry. We have lost a man full of potential. A man that could have changed this world and the military. His death is a loss that we will all feel for many years to come. I know my family will always feel the absence of his presence. Before his death, the paperwork for a Bronze Star with Valour was still being processed to be awarded to Clay. I am proud and honored to present to you all Clay's fifth Bronze Star with Valour. He was to receive this due to acts of heroism on an operation in Yemen that could have resulted in the death of civilians and Tier One operators. And on behalf of the Commanding Navy Force I am proud to present this Bronze Star with Valour to Petty Officer Clay Spenser."
Admiral Anderson went over and placed the Bronze Star on top of the casket. Everyone within the navy also picked up on the new title of Clay. He had been promoted to Petty Officer. Admiral Anderson went back over to the podium and spoke again.
"While on tour with Team Three, they were often playing music and a few of them sang. Team Three has given us a video of the last tour they were on together. They felt it was appropriate to share it here today with all of you. Afterwards, we will hear from Bravo's leader, Jason Hayes."
Admiral Anderson went and clicked place on the laptop that was off to the side connected to the main screen within the church. He then went and took his seat as the video played. They all watched the screen as they saw Clay, Yoder and Brian sitting in chairs around a fire. They could hear the others from Team Three as well in the background. Yoder had a guitar and he started to play. To their surprise Clay began to sing.
"When we were young we were the ones
The kings and queens oh yeah, we ruled the world
We smoked cigarettes man no regrets
Wish I could relive every single word
We've taken different paths
And travelled different roads
I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old
And when you're in the trenches
And you're under fire I will cover you
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
Oh brother, we'll go deeper than the ink
Beneath the skin of our tattoos
Though we don't share the same blood
You're my brother and I love you that's the truth
We're living different lives
Heaven only knows
If we'll make it back With all our fingers and our toes
5 years, 20 years, come back
It will always be the same
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I would give you my lungs so you could breathe
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
And if we hit on troubled water
I'll be the one to keep you warm and safe
And we'll be carrying each other
Until we say goodbye on our dying day
Because I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I would give you my lungs so you could breathe
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
I've got you brother-er-er-er
I've got you brother-er-er-er"
The video ended with a close up of Clay smiling and looking at the camera. The video had pushed all of the guys over the edge. The tears they had been fighting back had broken free. Seeing Clay smiling and laughing one last time had cut deep. His son, the lyrics he sang, cut them down to their core. Because it was true, every single word he just sang was true and it was a reminder that they had lost him.
Jason made his way up to the podium. He still had no idea what he was going to say, but he knew he needed to say something. He stood there looking around the room, taking in the faces of everyone he could see. He was surprised though to see so much emotion on their faces. That video of Clay singing on his last tour with Team Three had moved everyone to tears, especially those that served. Jason cleared his voice before he spoke.
"When I got here today and discovered how many Upper Brass and political figures were here, I was mad. I thought they were here for a photo op, just another excuse that they can use to try and make themselves look better. But standing here, looking around this room, I can see I was wrong. I see all of these powerful people, people that could destroy careers with a stroke of a pen. I see fearless men that will run head on into danger without a second thought for their own life. And everyone sitting in this church, are in tears over the loss of Clay. When Clay comes into your life one of two things either happen, you hate him or you love and cherish everything about him. For those of us who have been blessed and lucky enough to know him, we all know just how wonderful of a man he was.
Clay was proof that you could come from nothing. Be surrounded by death and darkness and still grow up to be a good person. He joined the military because he wanted to help make this world a better place. He didn't want to leave this earth without knowing he had done some good to change it. And he has. He changed it through all of the charities he has helped over the years. By eliminating targets that were a threat to thousands of lives. But most importantly, he helped this world by the change he made in all of us. Clay made you want to be better. He made you want to do better. Whenever it was said it couldn't be done, he proved you wrong. He was not only the brains of Bravo, but also the heart. He took a team and turned us into a family.
He became a kid brother, an uncle, a big brother and a son. My son. He had a smile that could light up a room and his laugh was contagious. If you knew him, you knew he was never far from a good book, and most of the time they were in a different language. He asked an insane amount of questions, his favorite was why. He believed that curiosity and creativity should never be told no. That asking questions was how we learn and through learning you generate a better understanding of the world. Once you have that understanding, you can then make strides to change the world.
This world is a darker place now that Clay is no longer within it. The lives of the people he touched will feel the loss of his potential and his amazing light. There is a hole now in the family, one that can never be filled. Clay wouldn't want us to be sad though, he would want us to celebrate his life and keep his memory alive. The best way any of us can do that is by living our lives how he would have wanted us to. By being brave, generous, kind, and fighting to make the changes this world needs. Through us his light will keep shining. Every soul we save is one that Clay saves. That is the best way we can honor him."
Jason paused as he turned to look at the casket before he spoke. "You will always be loved. You will always be missed and you will always be our Bravo Six. You'll always be my son."
Jason reached over and touched the casket for a moment before he picked up the metal star and went around and banged it into the lid. One by one the members of Bravo stood to do the same thing. Once the stars were in place the music started and they took up their positions. Cerberus led the way back down the aisle and out of the church. The other teams followed behind them and saluted as Clay was loaded into the hearse. Bravo then saluted as it drove away. The funeral was only half over, they now had to head to the cemetery for a graveyard burial. Everyone that was welcome at the burial got into their vehicles and made the drive over. Once there they all stood and watched as Clay was lowered into the ground buried. The whole process only took an hour, but Bravo couldn't seem to bring themselves to leave. Naima had already taken Emma and Mickey back to the house. Ali had gone with so he could keep Emma company while Yoder went to the Bulkhead for a drink with the teams to toast Clay. Ali would have loved to join them, but he didn't want to put any stress on Yoder. He was proud to be gay, but Ali wasn't stupid he knew people had a hard time with accepting him. Today and tonight was about Clay and Ali didn't want it to be tarnished by someone giving them problems. Plus, Ali did like Emma and he knew she could use a friend tonight.
"We should get going." Ray said.
They were all standing there looking at Clay's grave. Cerberus was laying on top of it whining. They could tell he was crying and they didn't blame him.
"Ray's right, everyone will be waiting for us." Trent agreed.
"Come on Jace, it's time to go." Full Metal said, as he placed a hand on Jason's back.
Jason just gave a small nod. He didn't want to go, it felt like he was leaving his son behind. Brock went over to Cerberus and bent down, he pet him as he spoke.
"Come on boy, we have to go."
Cerberus whined, but he didn't move.
"I know, I miss him too. But we have to say goodbye. We'll come back and see him soon." Brock promised.
Cerberus reluctantly got up and followed Brock. He wanted to stay with Clay though and Brock was well aware of it. Unfortunately where Clay went was the one place in this world where they couldn't follow. One day, one day they would get to see him again, until then they would have to keep living and hope they make him proud.