Letter to a Soldier, part 12
By: Hotaru

Notes: So...I'm thinking of how I should end this...and I don't know what it'll be.


Rebecca sighed deeply. "Wow." She breathed.
"We should go now." The officer said.
"Yeah..I..thanks. I really hope you don't get in trouble."
"Don't worry about it. I'll just say you needed fresh air if anyone sees us."
"Alright."

He led back to her room once the halls were clear. "When you talk to Billy again, tell him Kamikaze Rick gives him his best regards." The man said.
"Rick, is that your name?" Rebecca asked quietly.
"Rick Tanaka. Catch you later."

With a sigh, Rebecca pulled out her cell phone to see if she got a signal. Not to her suprise, there was no service. /I have to call Chris and let him know what's going on./ She thought, biting her lower lip. Standing up, she went to the door to see if anyone was out there. To her suprise, Rick was there, standing guard. She knocked on the glass of the window to get his attention. He turned, and made sure no one was coming down the hallway before opening the door.

"What's up?" He asked quickly.
"My friend was expecting to meet me and Billy today, and I really need to call him and let him know what's going on, but my phone doesn't get a signal in here." Rebecca replied.
"Alright. Hang tight, let me go get permission to take you to the phones, okay? I'll be right back." Rebecca nodded, and went to sit on her bed. /If everything goes well, they'll release me and Billy soon. But, they might take him to trial again. In that case, I'll probably have to testify on his behalf. That guy...Tanaka, he said he knew Billy before, and that he didn't want to be pressured about lying about what happened. He couldn't have been in the same corps as Billy, but maybe he witnessed what happened. If he could testify, that'd be great, but I don't know if he'd be willing to leave the Marines for it./

She looked at the walls of her cell. There wasn't a single window. /It's probably night-time already./ She sighed. A few minutes later, Tanaka appeared. "Okay, let's go." He said, gruffly, as two people in camaflouge passed the room. Rebecca got up silently from the bed and followed him. "You get about ten minutes, so say everything you need to say, got it?" He continued as they walked down the hall way.
"Yeah. What do I tell him? I don't even know where I am." Rebecca asnwered.
"Ragathon Base. Didn't he ever tell you?"
"I think he mentioned it was off of the west coast or something."

They arrived at a group of pay phones, that had a seat, and small curtain. Sitting down in the seat, Rebecca went to close the curtain, but Rick did it instead. Noticing a slip of paper in his hand, she grabbed it quickly. Unfolding it, she smiled. /125 West Longitude, 38 North Latitude/ Picking up the phone she dialed Chris' number. It rang for awhile, before someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Chris, it's Rebecca."
"Oh, God, where the hell are you!?"
"Off the coast of California, is the best guess I can give you. I've kind of been arrested illegally."
"...what?"
"Billy and I were about to leave, when a group of Marine Police Officers practically broke in, and put us into cars. They injected me with something, so I was knocked out, and when I woke up I was here, on Ragathon Base." She explained, making sure to keep her voice down.

"What have they told you?" Chris asked.
"Nothing! They haven't said that we'll be released, or if I will, they haven't read me my rights, so this is illegal, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess. Have they questioned you?"
"Mm-hmm. I told them everything I know, but they still are keeping me here."
"What about Billy?"
"They just brought his Mother in, since she hates his guts."
"Why would they bring her in then?"
"I guess to see if she thinks that he's innocent."
"..so if his own mother, who hates him, believes him, then maybe he's telling the truth?"

"That's what I figured." She answered.
"Alright. Have you called a lawyer or anything?" Chris questioned.
"No. But I do have the coordinates of the base." She whispered lowly.
"How?"
"Don't worry about how. Just get a pen ready."
"Okay, hold on.................alright, go ahead."
"125 W Longitude, 38 N Latitude."
"Give me a second to find whre that is.."
"Ok."

There was silence on the other end for awhile, other than the clicking of a mouse, and the sound of Chris typing. "Okay, got it. You're a little bit off the Northern Coast of California. I'll call you a lawyer, you threaten to sue them, and we'll try to get out there as soon as we can." He replied.
"Okay, hopefully someone will explain what's going to happen. We've been here all day, and I don't know my own fate."
"Don't worry about it. They aren't outside the law, so just..try to stay cool, and--can you call again?"
"I don't know. Maybe, if it's to talk to a lawyer."
"Okay...okay, be safe, kiddo."
"Don't call me that..but I will."
"Bye."
"Bye."

She hung up the phone and put the slip of paper in her pocket. Pulling back the curtain, she stepped out of the booth. "Done?" Tanaka asked.
"Yeah. So can you get...Jones, or whoever it is that's in charge? I need to know if I need a lawyer." Rebecca asked.
"Well, I don't thik you need a lawyer. They should be releasing you before long, but I don't know the details."
"Neither do I. Thanks for your help. Do you..know what's going to happen to Billy?" She said quietly.
"I've heard rumors of there being another trial, but no one knows for sure."
"If there is a trial...would you testify?"
"..."
"I mean..he needs all the help he can get. I believe him, but they might shrug me off as just some naïve girl who's in love or something."
"Look, if I testify..I'll lose everything. This is all I have. They're paying my tuition, pay for my apartment...I didn't tell any one anything when we got back from Africa. I knew that if I did, I'd lose everything."

Rebecca sighed. "How much longer do you have to be in college?" She asked.
"A year or so. Depends how many classes I take. As it is, the most work I could get is bussing tables, or some shit like that."
"There's corruption here. Maybe you should talk to a lawyer, and if they try to boot you, then you can sue them."
"I can't afford a lawyer."
"Just threaten them with one."
"You're getting a little ahead here. We don't even know if there'll be a trial or not. Just stick around, I'll get Jones to come talk to you, alright?"

They arrived back at her cell, and he opened the door for her. "Yeah, okay. Thank you."
"I wasn't here." Tanaka said with a wink.


--A short while later--

Jonas entered Rebecca's room and coughed loudly. She had been sleeping lightly, and woke with a start. "So you're finally back." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"Yes." Jonas answered, sitting at the table.
"So, what's the deal?"
"There is most likely going to be another trial. The court will examine evidence again, Coen will be interrogated again."
"And until then, do I just sit here as your illegal captive. If so, I'm calling my lawyer."
"We'll be releasing you tomorrow. It's already well into the evening, and I'm sure you have no place to stay, right?"
"No. What time is it?"

He looked at his watch. "About eight o'clock. You'll be having dinner soon, and then a team will come in to video tape your interrogation so that it may be used as evidence during the trial." He replied.
"Can I eat with Billy?" Rebecca asked.
"His mother asked the same thing. She's a maniac."
"Oh? I didn't know she was here."
"Yes, we brought her in, and she thinks he's innocent and will testify during the trial. They'll be eating together in the visiting hall. I suppose you can go if you would like."

"Yes, please." She answered. She stood and walked to the door, but Jonas stayed where he was.

"It seems that there will be another trial. I'd suggest your friend gets a lawyer." He said.

"Yeah..."

/It was stupid of me to think they would let him go without a second thought. All I can do now is hire him a lawyer and hope that they find him innocent./