"Dad, I need your help," Gary tried to have his voice sound surer of himself than he was as he pleaded into the phone.
As a rule, he avoided calling in favors to his old man; this was an exception. His buddy was in trouble.
He could hear the heavy pause on the other end of the line. His father let out a breath, "I'm listening."
Gary let out a breath of his own. His father wouldn't appreciate him beating around the bush. He had always gone for the meat of any problem. Bullshit wasn't something he'd ever tolerated. "Ken fucked up," he supplied. "He got in with a bad lot of some guys trying to make a score in El Salvador in the middle of an op. I don't know or want to get into details of how much he was directly involved with, but he did tell me he wasn't the instigator, and he knows what he did was wrong. He's about to be dishonorably discharged and court martialed."
There was no response from the other end of the phone.
"Dad, I don't want that to happen to him."
"Depending on what he did, I may not be able to do much. He may need to live with the consequences of his actions."
"Dad, please?" Gary pushed on. "Can you at least try?"
There was another thick pause on the other end of the line.
"I know he's been a good friend. I'll see what I can do. But I expect, at least, that his military career is over."
"Thanks, dad. I understand. I just don't want his life to be over as well."
Gary knew well that he and his family were privileged. Growing up in a family that was part of Mid-Atlantic old money defiantly had its perks. Military and high-level government connections also sweetened the deal. But he had also been taught not to rely on the silver spoon in his mouth. He had been expected to work his way up through the Air Force ranks just like anyone else. That being said, he wasn't oblivious to the fact that his last name opened doors literally everywhere for him. He also knew that there were times to call in a favor. Saving his best mate from his own stupidity was one of those times.
In the end, his dad, Lieutenant General James O'Neill, had called in an overdue favor to Army General Kay Patterson. Ken had been discharged from the Green Berets under the designation of 'Under Other than Honorable Conditions'. It was the best anyone could do given the circumstances. Gary had been more than appreciative. Ken hadn't been court martialed. Things could have turned out a lot worse.
He hadn't seen his friend since the incident. Ken had called him afterwards, he had been angry, which Gary had expected. He wasn't even surprised that a good portion of that anger had been directed towards him. Processing emotions had never been a strong suit for his friend. Eventually, he hoped that Ken would figure out that the anger belonged directed inward, and that his friend would realize that he owed him, and his dad, and their family a debt of gratitude, once again. Not that that was why he had done it. Sure, its parents had taught him the subtle art of business arrangements and making deals, but when it came to Ken, his motivations were purely brotherly.
Speaking of business dealings, this weekend was sure to be full of them. He would also be seeing Ken. It was the Cummings / McCallister wedding. He was one of the groomsmen and Ken was attending as Nora Haywood's plus one. It was supposed to be the socialite event of the season for the Maryland elite. Two of the oldest families uniting in holy matrimony and all that. Gary was just hoping that he could make it through the weekend without pissing his friend off further. He may have been the one of Irish descent, but Ken's temper had him beat by a far more than a mile. The fact that he had trouble keeping his eyes off of Ken's latest conquest wasn't going to help matters.
Nora was a bombshell. She was probably the closet thing Gary had ever seen to his dream girl. She was tall for a woman, he guessed somewhere between five seven and five nine, wavy full medium length blonde hair, sparkling impossibly blue eyes, and her body, God! She could stop a man in his tracts. Hourglass figure with a set of very full tits that he had to force himself to tear his eyes from. She was also, currently, his best friend's girlfriend. Nora was also no airhead. She was a Wharton grad; her family had their hands in a string of shopping malls, two hotel chains, and a private security firm, and she was already following in the family biz footsteps. Gary had admired her for years. He had never had the courage to ask her out. Ken had had no such hang ups. He had to hand it to his friend. Since they were preteens, Ken had always had a sixth sense when it came to women.
Following Ken's discharge, Gary's mom, Jean, had reached out to the Haywood family, knowing about the security firm division. Jean ran the business side of the O'Neill family. James O'Neill's father, Gary's grandfather, was an Irish immigrant who had built one of the most prominent freighter ship building companies on the east coast from next to nothing. That, plus several side endeavors, were what, to this day, kept the O'Neill family fortunate afloat, pun intended. Jean had the desire, the skills, and the training to continue running the company, so that her husband could follow his love of aviation into becoming a high-ranking Air Force officer. Grandfather had always complained that a career in the Navy would have likely brought more back profits back to the family, but the military connections were well used, nonetheless. Gary was an only child, like his dad, and had been informed since he was young enough to understand that finding a suitable mate to continue the O'Neill legacy was expected.
The Haywood's had no problem hiring an ex-Green Beret, discharged under questioned circumstances, especially on the recommendation and request of the O'Neill's. Ken had been flown to New York, put up in what was considered a modest apartment for their circle, but beyond average for Ken, and started at his new job within a week. His military training, attention to detail, ability to see three steps ahead of anyone else, and his seamless people skills had earned him a promotion within a month. Nora, he had gotten to agree to a date with him within fifteen minutes of meeting her. She worked in the family's hotel division. She happened to be coming to the security firm to meet her father for lunch when he was at the office for a scheduled monthly meeting.
That was one of Ken's greatest skills, winning people over to get what he wanted. He didn't always succeed with men that could just as hardheaded as himself, but those situations were the exception. His own family had taken him under their wing when Gary had met him at a summer camp. The camp was well known in the area for privileged boys to spend summer weeks learning archery, sailing and other preppy boy skills. Ken was there on a scholarship. Having lost both parents at the age of three in a car crash, that he had survived, he was an orphan, in and out of various foster homes. A social worker had seen it as an opportunity to channel some of his aggression towards some more worthwhile pursuits. Gary and Ken had been inseparable after that. They taught each other how to be a man from both sides of the tracks. Ken technically remained in foster care until he was of age but spent most nights at the O'Neill house. Since it was the first time that they at least knew where he was most nights, and was mostly staying out of the trouble, the social workers had turned a blind eye.
Gary had followed his dad into the Air Force and Ken had enlisted in the Army, his eyes set on the Green Berets. Going into two separate military branches, they hadn't seen that much of each other in recent years, but they had kept in touch. They had also had several epic nights when leave time had synched up, meeting up for nights on the town, wearing their uniforms of course. Gary knew he was the better looker but Ken more than made up for it with charm. Between the two of them, picking up girls was akin to shooting fish in a barrel. Gary was more than looking forward to tossing back a few with his bud at the open bar this weekend. This time, they'd be in tuxes, not uniforms. Gary doubted that would diminish his chances.