Chapter 16

I finally got out of the hospital only after a week or so. So as a nice gesture from Hawk he gave me a couple of week's hiatus on my next phase discipline in order to catch up on some important lessons in mechanical training and the rest of my classes.

Of course within that time frame I found out that this place has it shares of cliques. I mean there are only two of them Joes and green shirts. What really sucks for me is my age. Since I'm the lowest man on the totem pole here, being my age it was hard for me to make friends.

Sure I got Strike and couple her friends, but I could tell that they didn't seem that they wanted to hang out with a teenager like myself. I mean I'm eighteen, practically an adult. But that's not how rest of people here sees it.

It's always tuff being the new kid and all. Especially tuff making new friends, I mean a few days ago I was drinking a coke getting to know this green shirt fighter pilot who was only about a couple years older than me. The next week I found out that he was KIA.

And in way it kind got to me, as I felt kind of alone here. I kept thinking about it even when I was at shooting practice with Sergeant Low-Light. I was popping off rounds as usual with my M40 sniper rifle. As I lie down concentrating on my shots, not that I needed to since my natural instinct took over. I kept wondering about my dilemma.

"Sergeant can I ask you question?"" Sure right after you make your next shot kid." I quickly popped off my next round as I knew it hit dead center. "That's another center hit good job kid, now what did you wanted to ask me?"

"Have you ever had a felt like you were out place or something like that Sergeant?"" All the time kid, all the time. "Oh." I look down my scope and popped off another round to hit dead center again. Before Low-Light was about acknowledge another great hit from the kid, he takes notice of his somewhat sadden state.

"That's another good shot kid, by the way what do you mean by feeling out place?"" Well I guess what I'm saying is if you ever felt like being alone here."" Well to be honest with you kid, no."

"When I first got here some years back I was sort of by myself, yet in time I did make some great friends here over the years."" And I'm sure you will too, you just got to give it a little bit of time."" I know it seems like everyone is giving you hard time, but that's only because they want to train you right."

"You are also very young as well and I can see how that might be a problem as well."" Again just give it some time ok."" I guess I will then thanks Sergeant Low-Light."" Not a problem kid, now let's finish this out and call it a day."

I finish out the rest of rifle training with Sergeant Low-Light, while thinking about what he had said. Just give it some time kid. Well how much time am I suppose to give it till I'm twenty, thirty, or forty? Whatever it is, I think it's going to be long haul for me in my case.

Shit even during the rest of the two weeks, I took notice on how different I really was with everyone else. From my taste to music, I would listen to the more current EDM music, while everyone else was wondering what I was listening to. To them it felt like just music that repeated itself with no lyrics.

Yet to me it was cool and catchy. I would often bring my satellite radio on the days that I did mechanical work with Foster and Phillips. Who at first didn't seem to mind, but eventually they got sick of it. Instead most of these green shirts and Joes would listen to country music.

To me they sounded like a bunch of conformists. Heck even my entertainment taste where way off. I would enjoy cheap action movies and television programs. While everyone else either read books, play chess, or wanted to watch sports.

It even got to the point that Strike would rather have time with her friends than with me. So by the time my punishment for the next three months was about to start, the holiday season started to roll in.

Thanksgiving wasn't much; sense it wasn't really a big deal here. I mean some Joes and green shirts would take off for a few days. No Christmas was the huge holiday here.

Just about everyone I knew would take off for a week or two. When it came by I was only done with about an eighth of my punishment. KP duty wasn't that bad. Either it being cleaning dishes to, peeling some potatoes or other veggies.

At least they gave me the option to do it at any time I wanted to do it. So I opted to do it at night before lights out.

When Christmas day came by, the pit was run by a skeleton crew of a few green shirts and some Joes. I even wished Strike a good holiday when she left for the week to see her family in Iowa.

For me as an ok Christmas present, Hawk gave me the week off from KP duty. After Christmas dinner here at the pit, I followed pretty much the rest of the handful of green shirts to the top side. Even with the sun still out it was fairly cold out here.

At least I had a wool standard issue jacket to wear, as most of the green shirts started to pile near by the entrance. In few minutes they started to break out into singing some good old Christmas type songs like jingle bells and silent night.

Most of us were sitting on some picnic tables, while some stand. I really didn't know the words to many of these songs, so I just sat here and listen.

Soon enough one of the older green shirt quartermasters was singing next to me while passing out some cigarettes. When he saw me he held out his pack to me seeing if I wanted one, while singing. At first I was like really are you sure with my expression on my face?

He just motion with his head with approval. I didn't really want to be rude so I took one gingerly from his pack. Wow is I could say to myself. I mean the last time I tried to get a cigarette was from that one Joe who I think his name was Mutt.

Kind of weird I thought since this guy was a dog handler type. His dogs name was Junkyard I think. Anyways some time ago he was passing out cigs to some green shirts and Joes. I just happen to be in the area.

When at first I thought he would allowed me to have one, he did held out his pack to me to take one only to snatch it away from me at the last second. He then slapped the side of my head while saying about how minors should never smoke while laughing at me.

I'm like really man, you know I'm 18 right. It really didn't matter to him as he brushed me off telling me to scram.

But anyways I took the cig from this cool green shirt and held it while he lit. I took my first drag while tasting the tobacco. Of course I had enough sense not to inhale the smoke, since I didn't want to get addicted.

I sat here for a few minutes smoking my cig while listening to some Christmas carols. Next thing I know another green shirt comes by to sit next to me. "Hey kid is this seat taken?"" Nah man go on right ahead."" Cool thanks kid."

This other green shirt who sat next to me was a rather skinny dude with some brown hair. "It's a nice don't you think kid? ""Yeah it's nice, just a bit cold I suppose."" I always like it when we greenies have these small get togethers even on the holidays."

"It sort of means that in a way we are all in this together."" Huh I guess so mister."" Oh I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself to you, my name is Roger."" Well nice to meet you Roger, most people call me kid, but my name is Mark, or Private Mark."

"Say Roger I think I've seen you before, do you work with the quartermaster?"" Actually kid I'm a cook here at the pit."" Oh, huh I guess I haven't seen you there before since I've been doing some Kp." "Yeah I usually work with the line cooks, that's why you don't see me often."

"Say kid, would you like to meet some friends of mine here at the pit?"" Yeah sure why not, it's not like I got anything else better to do."

In few seconds we left only to go over a few tables down. Soon enough I came to a table towards the end. There was a much older man with some grey white hair; he had a rather pale complexion with some wrinkles near his eyes. To me he seems to be a little bit heavy set.

The other guy that sat next him was another green shirt, who like roger was skinny as well only he had a completely shaved head. All in all I think Roger and this other guy had to be like mid thirties to me. "So kid this old bastard right here name is pops while this skinny bastard is Thompson."

"Hey nice to meet you two."" Likewise kid," pop's said with a gravelly voice. "So why do they call you pop's is that a Joe name?"" Actually kid my full name is Paul post."" Everyone one calls me Pop's because I'm literally the oldest green shirt here at the pit."" I'm also the head cook."

"Quiet Thompson over there works in communications here."" Say kid I see you spitting up a storm from smoking that cig right there. ""You look like you could use a drink."". If you got some pops then that'll be cool then."

He pulls out a thermos of his while pouring it into a plastic cup that comes with it, while handing it to me. Without much thinking I take my first drink, only for my eyes to wide in shock to what I just drank.

It was none other than my grape wine drink that I made a couple of months back. Pop's who was across from me just smiled." Whoa where did you get this?"" Well kid if you didn't know better that was your grape wine from your personal stash."

"I guess you don't remember that day in the mess hall, we were the ones that poured your drinks to the rest of the Joes and staff."" After tasting it myself I couldn't just the pour the rest of it down the drain."" I also saved a little bit of your peach fire pruno, if you would like some."

I took one large gulp to finish off my grape wine, just so I can have a taste of my peach pruno. To which Pop's happily obliged. Awe man it was just like I remember before my stash got raided. It still burned of peaches.

"I guess my first question is how much you saved, because if so I would like to buy it from you. ""Well I'm sorry about that one kid; because I was order to pour almost all of it down the drain by some watch full eyes."" What I have here in my flask and thermos is all that is left."

"Oh," as I looked down with a crestfallen look to my face. "I guess my question to you kid, if you could would you make it again?" I looked up again in an instant to see Pop's eyes wondering what his angel was at.

"What are you crazy hell no." "If I did it again I'm pretty dame sure they will kick me out of here."" Well hypothetically speaking kid, what if you had a place from prying eyes."" You think you would do it again."

"Hypothetically, I guess so….what are you getting at by the way?"" Well kid, I got a bit of proposition for you that can make you a lot of money."" Uh ok I'm listening. ""The plan is simple I want to commission your help in making me some hooch for sale."

"Like how much ten twenty gallons?" Pops just gives a small chuckle. "No kid you think too small."" I'm talking about at least a few hundred gallons."" But not this pruno, I'm talking about corn whiskey."

"Uh ok I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, I don't know how to make whiskey and two I don't know if I should be having this conversation with you."

"Ok kid let me start over with you. ""Oh by the way do prefer for me call you kid or by your other name?"" Well I never really like to be called kid, but somehow I kind of grown use to it."

"Ok kid in about the next few months they are going to retire me."" What I mean by they, I mean the superiors here at the pit."" I'm nearly fifty years old with load of medical problems."" Unfortunately my benefits are what you can say are a mere pittance."

"I have this project of wanting to make some serious money so that I can have an ok retirement."" If you must know all three of us at one time were becoming Joe's here."" Unfortunately it was never meant to be."" We all got some fairly serious injuries that benched us in some sort of way."

"The retirement benefits here at the pit are very different between greenies like me and you and for the Joes."" To put it in a nut shell, if you're a Joe you get better perks."

"Awe man that really sucks I suppose."" But suppose if I were to help you out."" How the heck am I suppose to make all this stuff in the kitchen?" Pop's once again laughs. "Again kid I got that covered."" If you partner with me kid along with roger and Thompson here whatever money is made will be split four ways evenly."

"Awe man I don't what I'm getting myself into, but I could use some new friends and maybe the extra cash, so I'm in." We shook on it then and there.

At first I really I didn't know what I got myself into, but my fears where later put aside as I got some new friends to hang out with. And my new friends, both Roger and Thompson were pretty cool to me. They would introduce me to some other green shirts here at the pit.

One of the benefits of that was that I actually got to meet a few people that shared the same taste in music and free time. In a way I now feel more of a part of crowd than ever before. I hung out more with these guys than I did with Strike or much less my teachers here at the pit.

When it came time to make the so call whiskey that Pop's wanted me to make, I thought it was going to be here on base at the pit. But nope they had it out in the desert near some small town.

The perfect cover for this operation was that I was to come along with the head Kitchen boss and lead cooks to get food supplies. Basically I help out with loading and off loading of food stuffs. Since Pops was the senor man here no one really question him.

He would often tell me that Road Block would try to run his kitchen. He was a very nice guy to me, but I could see some of the resentment that Pops had towards him. It's that sort of mentality that some random Joe could just walk in to your work space and shit all over it without any retaliation from the staff or higher ups.

Because after all you're the low man on the stick. Since I was on KP duty for the next three or four months, Pops insisted to Hawk, that he would personally make sure that I will fulfill my punishment however Pops see fits. As always Hawk agreed to Pops demands.

So getting excursion time off the pit was not an issue so as long it was towards my Kp duties. Man Pop's had this all planned out to a T. Basically about two or three times during the week I would come along on these supply runs that would last fairly all day.

Basically it was a ruse in that while most of the staff would load and off load food, I and Pops would go out to an abandon area of town. Roger would keep an eye out with the resupply, while Thompson who worked in communications would keep Pops up to date on any information. Especially if they were to get surprise visits from some of the Joes to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

Well basically Pop's wanted me to make a corn mash whiskey. I was able to get a crash course on it from pops and a couple of history books from the Pit common room. All in all it really wasn't all that hard to make, only just a little bigger of an operation.

Like I said making the mash was the easy part as we would make loads and loads of this stuff. We would spend a total of about a couple of weeks making the mash. By the third we would have added the water and loads of yeast.

Of course during that same time we would get here early to spent time cooking this stuff with a constant heat. Pops actually paid off a local in the area to watch the whiskey mash as it cooked while we couldn't be there. Of course with the promise of letting this guy have a 10 gallon barrel of his own in the end of the process.

Pops would take the extra precaution to make sure that my face wasn't exposed to the stranger at hand, in case Pops got busted. So in the process of four to five weeks we started to barrel this stuff up in 10 gallon wooden barrels. Apparently we bottle up close to seventy 10 gallon barrels, which is around 700 gallons of corn whiskey.

Since this being a dessert and all heating the barrels came easy. Once the operation was done I still had about a couple of weeks left on my KP punishment. Yet Pops was cool that he would often let me goof off in the kitchen either by just hanging out or doing some minor chore like change out napkin dispensers.

Man three months of KP blew by quick; it was close to April now. My birthday came and went in January with some happy birth days from some of the Joes and green shirts that I knew best. I'm 19 now. Roger later told me that Pops last day was around early May.

So about a week before Pops was to leave for good, I met up with him along with Roger and Thompson on a lazy Sunday.

"Hey kid how have you been?" "I've been doing fine." "Oh by the way I was able to find a buyer for the whiskey."" We made a pretty hefty profit." When Pops told me that they made some money on the whiskey, I was thinking of a rather decent amount of money like of few thousand dollars.

"So how much did we make like fifty or seventy five thousand?"" Once again kid you think too small."" We made about five million. ""Wait, you made what again!?"" Keep your voice down kid." I just nodded with agreement.

"We made five million off of this."" What no way you guys made that much."" No we did in fact I got your share right here." Pops literally handed me a duffle bag that had some weight to it. When I opened the zipper up, my eyes just widen in complete shock.

Just loads hundred dollar bills. I was so excited, but at the same time I was scared. I mean I can't be seen with this kind of cash here at the pit. Awe man I'll get in all sorts of trouble.

"Look pop's it's nice that you guys made shit load of money, but I can't be seen here with all this cash." "Hey don't worry kid I got it covered as well.""To put it in simple terms kid I'm going to have your money stashed away in a special account, preferably offshore."

"Before I leave I will leave you some special instructions just meant for your eyes only."" And one more thing kid we couldn't have done this without you.""So we all want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ""So wait are all of you leaving then?"

Roger spoke next, "that's right Mark we now have a secure future within our grasp."" I always wanted to become a Joe, but now I know that will never be."" Instead I look forward to living abroad with a much brighter future."

"One more thing Mark you have greatest potential of become a Joe here, so don't waste ok." Thompson just smiled at me; I could see that he really didn't have a going away speech for me. So in the next two weeks I spent as much time with my green shirt friends as I can, till their time came to leave.

I then looked at the instruction card that Pops left me as it had just a series of numbers on here. I think it was a phone number. When Pop's left the pit here they really didn't say so much as a goodbye to him. Yet I said my goodbyes to him and my friends. Maybe one day I'll see him again.