CHAPTER 1: THE RIGHT MOVES
Three days earlier…
Mary and Monica were at the hospital. Monica was about to have her mastectomy and was ready to rid herself of the cancer. Mary promised to be there for her before and after the surgery, and was by her side at that moment. The doctor walked in to talk to his patient.
"Okay, Monica, things are looking great," he said. "We will begin to prep you for surgery soon."
"Okay, doctor," said Monica.
"How long will the surgery take?" asked Mary.
"About a couple of hours," the doctor answered. "You ay want to go get something to eat while it's going on."
"I can't eat, doctor, knowing my Monica is going through this," said a worried Mary.
"It's okay, Mary," assured Monica. "Once this is done and after the chemo, I should be back to normal in no time."
"The nurse will be here to wheel you down to surgery soon, Monica," said the doctor, who then left the room.
"You're doing so good dealing with this, Mary," said Monica.
"You've been my rock for a long time, Mon," said Mary, "I have to be yours in your time of need." They both kissed each other. The nurse walked in.
"Okay, it's time, Ms. Woodburn," she said to Monica.
"I'll be here after you come back, Mon," assured Mary.
"I know you will, my love," said Monica. After one last kiss, Monica was wheeled towards surgery for her mastectomy.
In another part of town, Kevin's court martial was just beginning. He was standing before a military judicial tribunal and was about to give his plead.
"Private First-Class Kevin Ray, you are charged with desertion and conduct unbecoming to a Marine," said the commanding officer overseeing the court martial. "How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," said Kevin.
"The defendant will be remanded to the Mendelson Brig until the trial begins," said the commanding officer.
"All rise!" called the bailiff.
Kevin was escorted back to the brig. Charlie just happened to be there for the beginning of the proceedings. He looked to his left to see Kevin's mother Martha in the gallery. He decided to talk to her about Kevin's situation. As they were exiting, he stopped her.
"Mrs. Ray?"
She looked over and saw Charlie standing there. "Sergeant Brown!"
"Just was wondering how you were holding up."
"I'm just a wreck over this, sergeant." Martha was wiping away tears. "We raised Kevin to do the right thing and not only does he go AWOL, but tries to rob a bank! I never thought he go this route!"
"Forgive me for asking, but, where's your husband?"
"He's back in Billings. He's pretty much disowned Kevin."
"I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. Here's my card with my number." Charlie handed Martha a business card.
"Thank you, sergeant. You are obviously a good man. I just wished that Kevin could have seen that."
"I think he knows. He wouldn't have let me talk him out of the robbery if he didn't see that." And Charlie and Martha went their separate ways. Charlie worried about her, though. What Kevin did was heavy on her mind, and with good reason. As bad as the robbery goes, desertion in the military is a much worse offense than even outright murder. Kevin would be lucky to get prison time if convicted.
NEXT CHAPTER: RECOVERY