Shattered Dreams and Promises
Disclaimer: Same as before. These little interludes are largely for ideas of mine and usually help transition into the next case.
Leonia - Thanks for your reviews. I think you'll like their upcoming case, which involves events covered in these flashbacks.
C.J. Sandiego - Thanks for all the reviews. I know it must be slightly frustrating, this whole thing about Hal and Diane, but bear with that for one more case....
~ ~ ~ ~
16 September 1999: The little tin building where about a dozen British SAS and SBS (Special Boat Service) troopers who formed the detachment known as F-Company were living was abuzz with the hum of electric fans and the lyrics of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville playing over a scratchy old boom box. A dozen cots covered with mosquito netting were arranged along the walls and several pieces of military kit were in sight. A television set with stacks of videos around it lay in the middle of the room.
Universally British soldiers hated Belize. It was, to them, a jungle mud hole in Central America. Garrison rules were usually quite strict and there was very little to do with one's time off. The little compound in the jungle housed a battalion of soldiers, rotated every few months, this time it was a battalion of Scots Guards, men famed for their fighting skills and named The Ladies from Hell by German soldiers in World War I. It was about a mile or so ringed by wire fencing and had a small swimming pool off limits because somebody decided to defecate in it.
"Mail call!" a British sergeant shouted.
Eagerly, Hal sat up in his cot and grabbed his letters. One was from his mother. The other was from Diane.
"Hey," Digger, one of the ex-Paras (paratroopers) in the unit asked, asked, "Is that from Diane?"
Hal nodded. The other five SAS men in the room were all friends of Hal before he was commissioned as an officer. He really didn't give much thought to sirs and salutes outside the garrison and as far as he was concerned Belize was far from the garrison as one could get.
"At least we could have used the pool if we were here with the last rotation." Lucas groaned from his cot.
"Oi, dick 'ead! Don't blame us for that misfortune." Said one of the SBS lads in the room, "It's not our fault someone decided to shit in the pool before you wankers got here."
Hal laughed as he cleaned his M-16. He, Lucas, Digger and three of the SBS guys had just returned from a four-week patrol in the jungle. They all had longish, greasy hair and weeks of beard growth with congealed sweat, dirt, mosquito repellent and camouflage paint mixed in.
A flash from a camera went off in the room. "Diane's gonna love this snapshot." Jerry, one of the SBS guys, Royal Marines who were experts at small boats and amphibious raids, laughed.
"Go ahead and send it wanker." Hal replied, casually, "Then I'll tell your wife that her hubby shares cot space with a teddy bear when he's on deployment."
"You bloody dickhead!" Jerry replied.
"Hey! Shut the door you lazy pig!" Nels Fritz, a half-German/half-British SBS trooper from Suffolk, shouted.
"Oh you stupid jerk!" Lucas replied, he was on his way out to the showers.
"They should use Lucas as a doorstop, his rear end's big enough." Jerry remarked.
"It's so big, he'll put it in the toilet and won't be able to pull it out again." Digger laughed.
"Up yours Digger!" Lucas replied, giving his mate the bird.
"Hey, could you write this wanker up for sexual harassment Hal? I'm sure words from a first lieutenant carry more weight than those from a lance- corporal." Digger replied.
"Why sure, Lance-Comical." Hal remarked, "You know, since they've made me a rupert I've had to deal with a lot of cracks from you of late. I'm really disliking it."
"Why don't you move in with those ruperts from the battalion then? Sir?" Jerry replied.
"I would but I'd go stark fucking board with those wankers around." Hal replied, "At least you keep things interesting."
"Ah, quit distracting us by buttering us up? What did your ACME detective have to say?" Digger asked.
"You lads never give up, do you?" Hal asked.
"No, we don't." Digger replied. The state of affairs between Hal and Diane had always been something his buddies in the unit loved to mess with him about, in a friendly sort of way. Digger was no exception, he always loved to joke, 'ACME and the Regiment don't mix, mate. You'll be happy if you remember that.'
"You know, I think I'll stick around to here this." Lucas said, going back into the tin shack and sitting on his cot.
Hal rolled his eyes as Jerry asked, "Will someone tell me who this Diane is?"
"Oh God no! Don't get this wanker talking! He'll talk about her all night!" Digger replied.
"Better than hearing the side effects of dinner coming out your arse mate." Chad remarked, "You've got the worst case of gas out of anyone in the squadron."
"The don't fart inside it warning they give for the NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) suits was specifically made for Digger." Hal replied.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." Digger replied, cleaning his M203 (the M-16 with the grenade launcher attachment), and releasing yet another fart.
"Augh! You wanker! Warn us before you do that shit!" Harry, another SBS soldier shouted.
"One of these days Digger, one of these days, you're gonna fart, light one of your disgusting cigarettes and blast yourself to kingdom come!" Chad remarked.
"Anyhow, what did Diane have to say?" Digger asked.
"C'mon, if the fact she had a boyfriend when we were stationed in Tidworth made you run off and do Selection to escape the grief, she had to be somewhat important." Lucas said.
"What?" Harry said.
"It was a long time ago. It was about a year after Diane and I had met. Shortly after I fell in love with her, she asked me if I'd met Chris, her boyfriend." Hal replied.
"That's when I said ACME and the Regiment don't mix mate." Digger said.
"I wasn't in the Regiment yet wanker." Hal replied.
"Ah, anyway, I like to say if you decide to involve yourself with someone from ACME, bollocks to the relationship." Digger said.
"So what did she say?" Lucas asked.
"She said yes." Hal said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Wonderful mate! Wonderful!" Lucas said, genuinely happy for his friend, "It'll work out, despite Digger's gloom and doom prophesying. You two have been pretty close friends for years."
"Eight if I recall correctly." Hal replied, grinning happily.
"That means I get to plan the bachelor party." Digger replied.
"No! That means I do!" Lucas replied.
"You wankers! We're not getting married!" Hal replied, "We're just going to her parent's cabin...."
"....For two weeks of sex with no strings attached." Digger remarked, imitating Diane's voice.
"No you idiot!" Hal replied, laughing with Digger, "For two weeks of just us so we can talk about, well, if a relationship is possible."
"Then what did she say yes to?" Jerry asked.
"I said, before we left eight months ago, that I'd give her the length of my tour in Belize to think about if we could start a relationship again...." Hal replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
16 February 1999: "Diane?" Hal said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure." Diane replied, "I was just getting ready to leave for the day."
"Over dinner." Hal replied, "On me."
'He can be so sweet sometimes.' Diane thought. "Sure."
They made their way to the pub and sat down at a table in the corner. Hal knew damn well why his heart was in his throat at the moment. The low light levels in the room couldn't disguise what a beautiful woman Diane was. She was an inch or so shorter than Hal, with short, auburn hair that was almost brown in its color. Her eyes were a deep shade of brown, and now were like those of a doe, big and beautiful. She was slim, athletically figured. She was an avid swimmer and soccer player.
'Who Dares Wins. The Regiment's motto. Remember that.' Hal thought and said, "Diane, remember how I told you I felt more for you than friendship several years ago?"
"I do." Diane replied. That had been seven years earlier, where Hal had confessed to having feelings for her. He had also said that he didn't expect her to leave her boyfriend at the time because of those feelings and in fact expected the friendship to end. She could tell Hal had been heartbroken when he left to go run Selection for the Special Air Service.
She felt her heart pounding in her chest then. Since that day they had remained friends but it took two years for them to fix the friendship to a point where they were willing to talk to each other again without any sort of weird feelings or discomfort. But what did Hal have to say, "I remember, Hal, but what do you want to tell me?"
"Diane. Over the years we've become closer friends, despite everything else that's gotten in our way." Hal began, "What I'm trying to say is that I still have feelings for you. I tried dating other women after I told you how I felt, but it never worked out."
"Hal..." Diane replied.
"Wait, please." Hal replied, "I know you're not involved with anyone right now, so you don't have that to worry about. I'm also not pressuring you in any way. If you don't even want to be friends anymore, I'll understand."
"Hal, this is just so sudden." Diane replied, "Even if I've always known even before you confessed about how you felt that you've felt something more than friendship for me."
"I'm scared too, Diane. I'm just as scared I might ruin our friendship. I know the only thing I can offer you is my heart, to be either broken or for you. But just for argument, what if it could work? Do you think we could ever be more than friends? Do you think we could have that sort of meaningful relationship?" Hal replied.
"I don't know what to say, Hal. On one hand, we're friends, and on the other you've kept these feelings secret for years. What's to prevent such secrecy from you again?" Diane replied her eyes moist.
Hal reached across the table to dry her tears, "Diane that's why I wanted to talk. I don't want to keep secrets from you anymore. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything of that sort, unless you want it."
"Hal, I still don't know how to answer that question." Diane said, getting up to leave, "I need some time."
"Wait." Hal replied, following her outside, "Diane, I didn't say I needed an answer right this minute. I'll tell you what. I'll give you the length of my deployment to Belize to answer that question. Do you think we can have a relationship?"
"I'll let you know." Diane replied, as they stood in the light underneath a London street lamp.
They went back inside and had dinner, and talked like the two old friends they were. "I'll walk you to your car." Hal said, as they finished dinner.
He opened the door for her and helped her into her coat. They walked again through the light of the street lamps and Hal opened her car door for her at the curbside. Under the lamplight they kissed each other, slowly and tenderly.
"Hal?" Diane asked.
"That was if you had any doubts as to the truth of how I feel about you." Hal replied, "My apologies if I was out of line."
"No," Diane replied, "I actually liked it."
Hal smiled back at her as he walked to his own vehicle and drove back to the camp, knowing he was due to fly out to Belize that night.
~ ~ ~ ~
28 September 1999: The rain fell that night, as though heaven itself was crying. Hal hadn't slept much since the last night. Diane's funeral had been a damn hard affair to go through. He had felt like a machine about to fly apart, even though his mates tried to help him through it. Even Digger quit making jokes for one day, which was all but amazing. That had been five days ago.
Hal stood in front of Diane's grave that night, the rain soaking his clothing. He didn't care for that. The water mingled with the last of his tears. "Diane. Remember how I promised you my love months ago?" Hal began, as he knelt in front of it, leaving a bouquet of roses at the foot of her headstone.
"I keep my promises, Diane, and I give you a new one. I'll find whoever did this to you, I swear an oath." Hal began, "And you should know that I never take oaths lightly."
Lightning flashed at the gravesite as Hal made his promise, "And you shall know that his remains will never be found when I'm through with him. Consider this great labor of mine, my love, as my way of keeping my promise."
Hal turned away and walked off through the cemetery. The gravestone reading Diane Schonke, January 21, 1976 - September 19, 1999, Much Beloved and Missed By All, bore mute testimony to the promise of the grief stricken lover who's love lay six feet underground in the cold earth.
~ ~ ~ ~
18 May 2000: "Ivy, what's wrong with Hal?" Zack asked, "He doesn't look so good."
"Maybe it's the new case we've just been assigned. I don't know. But all I know is something's been bothering Hal about this since we were assigned the case." Ivy replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (This is to shed some light on Hal's issue with Diane.)
Disclaimer: Same as before. These little interludes are largely for ideas of mine and usually help transition into the next case.
Leonia - Thanks for your reviews. I think you'll like their upcoming case, which involves events covered in these flashbacks.
C.J. Sandiego - Thanks for all the reviews. I know it must be slightly frustrating, this whole thing about Hal and Diane, but bear with that for one more case....
~ ~ ~ ~
16 September 1999: The little tin building where about a dozen British SAS and SBS (Special Boat Service) troopers who formed the detachment known as F-Company were living was abuzz with the hum of electric fans and the lyrics of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville playing over a scratchy old boom box. A dozen cots covered with mosquito netting were arranged along the walls and several pieces of military kit were in sight. A television set with stacks of videos around it lay in the middle of the room.
Universally British soldiers hated Belize. It was, to them, a jungle mud hole in Central America. Garrison rules were usually quite strict and there was very little to do with one's time off. The little compound in the jungle housed a battalion of soldiers, rotated every few months, this time it was a battalion of Scots Guards, men famed for their fighting skills and named The Ladies from Hell by German soldiers in World War I. It was about a mile or so ringed by wire fencing and had a small swimming pool off limits because somebody decided to defecate in it.
"Mail call!" a British sergeant shouted.
Eagerly, Hal sat up in his cot and grabbed his letters. One was from his mother. The other was from Diane.
"Hey," Digger, one of the ex-Paras (paratroopers) in the unit asked, asked, "Is that from Diane?"
Hal nodded. The other five SAS men in the room were all friends of Hal before he was commissioned as an officer. He really didn't give much thought to sirs and salutes outside the garrison and as far as he was concerned Belize was far from the garrison as one could get.
"At least we could have used the pool if we were here with the last rotation." Lucas groaned from his cot.
"Oi, dick 'ead! Don't blame us for that misfortune." Said one of the SBS lads in the room, "It's not our fault someone decided to shit in the pool before you wankers got here."
Hal laughed as he cleaned his M-16. He, Lucas, Digger and three of the SBS guys had just returned from a four-week patrol in the jungle. They all had longish, greasy hair and weeks of beard growth with congealed sweat, dirt, mosquito repellent and camouflage paint mixed in.
A flash from a camera went off in the room. "Diane's gonna love this snapshot." Jerry, one of the SBS guys, Royal Marines who were experts at small boats and amphibious raids, laughed.
"Go ahead and send it wanker." Hal replied, casually, "Then I'll tell your wife that her hubby shares cot space with a teddy bear when he's on deployment."
"You bloody dickhead!" Jerry replied.
"Hey! Shut the door you lazy pig!" Nels Fritz, a half-German/half-British SBS trooper from Suffolk, shouted.
"Oh you stupid jerk!" Lucas replied, he was on his way out to the showers.
"They should use Lucas as a doorstop, his rear end's big enough." Jerry remarked.
"It's so big, he'll put it in the toilet and won't be able to pull it out again." Digger laughed.
"Up yours Digger!" Lucas replied, giving his mate the bird.
"Hey, could you write this wanker up for sexual harassment Hal? I'm sure words from a first lieutenant carry more weight than those from a lance- corporal." Digger replied.
"Why sure, Lance-Comical." Hal remarked, "You know, since they've made me a rupert I've had to deal with a lot of cracks from you of late. I'm really disliking it."
"Why don't you move in with those ruperts from the battalion then? Sir?" Jerry replied.
"I would but I'd go stark fucking board with those wankers around." Hal replied, "At least you keep things interesting."
"Ah, quit distracting us by buttering us up? What did your ACME detective have to say?" Digger asked.
"You lads never give up, do you?" Hal asked.
"No, we don't." Digger replied. The state of affairs between Hal and Diane had always been something his buddies in the unit loved to mess with him about, in a friendly sort of way. Digger was no exception, he always loved to joke, 'ACME and the Regiment don't mix, mate. You'll be happy if you remember that.'
"You know, I think I'll stick around to here this." Lucas said, going back into the tin shack and sitting on his cot.
Hal rolled his eyes as Jerry asked, "Will someone tell me who this Diane is?"
"Oh God no! Don't get this wanker talking! He'll talk about her all night!" Digger replied.
"Better than hearing the side effects of dinner coming out your arse mate." Chad remarked, "You've got the worst case of gas out of anyone in the squadron."
"The don't fart inside it warning they give for the NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) suits was specifically made for Digger." Hal replied.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." Digger replied, cleaning his M203 (the M-16 with the grenade launcher attachment), and releasing yet another fart.
"Augh! You wanker! Warn us before you do that shit!" Harry, another SBS soldier shouted.
"One of these days Digger, one of these days, you're gonna fart, light one of your disgusting cigarettes and blast yourself to kingdom come!" Chad remarked.
"Anyhow, what did Diane have to say?" Digger asked.
"C'mon, if the fact she had a boyfriend when we were stationed in Tidworth made you run off and do Selection to escape the grief, she had to be somewhat important." Lucas said.
"What?" Harry said.
"It was a long time ago. It was about a year after Diane and I had met. Shortly after I fell in love with her, she asked me if I'd met Chris, her boyfriend." Hal replied.
"That's when I said ACME and the Regiment don't mix mate." Digger said.
"I wasn't in the Regiment yet wanker." Hal replied.
"Ah, anyway, I like to say if you decide to involve yourself with someone from ACME, bollocks to the relationship." Digger said.
"So what did she say?" Lucas asked.
"She said yes." Hal said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Wonderful mate! Wonderful!" Lucas said, genuinely happy for his friend, "It'll work out, despite Digger's gloom and doom prophesying. You two have been pretty close friends for years."
"Eight if I recall correctly." Hal replied, grinning happily.
"That means I get to plan the bachelor party." Digger replied.
"No! That means I do!" Lucas replied.
"You wankers! We're not getting married!" Hal replied, "We're just going to her parent's cabin...."
"....For two weeks of sex with no strings attached." Digger remarked, imitating Diane's voice.
"No you idiot!" Hal replied, laughing with Digger, "For two weeks of just us so we can talk about, well, if a relationship is possible."
"Then what did she say yes to?" Jerry asked.
"I said, before we left eight months ago, that I'd give her the length of my tour in Belize to think about if we could start a relationship again...." Hal replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
16 February 1999: "Diane?" Hal said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure." Diane replied, "I was just getting ready to leave for the day."
"Over dinner." Hal replied, "On me."
'He can be so sweet sometimes.' Diane thought. "Sure."
They made their way to the pub and sat down at a table in the corner. Hal knew damn well why his heart was in his throat at the moment. The low light levels in the room couldn't disguise what a beautiful woman Diane was. She was an inch or so shorter than Hal, with short, auburn hair that was almost brown in its color. Her eyes were a deep shade of brown, and now were like those of a doe, big and beautiful. She was slim, athletically figured. She was an avid swimmer and soccer player.
'Who Dares Wins. The Regiment's motto. Remember that.' Hal thought and said, "Diane, remember how I told you I felt more for you than friendship several years ago?"
"I do." Diane replied. That had been seven years earlier, where Hal had confessed to having feelings for her. He had also said that he didn't expect her to leave her boyfriend at the time because of those feelings and in fact expected the friendship to end. She could tell Hal had been heartbroken when he left to go run Selection for the Special Air Service.
She felt her heart pounding in her chest then. Since that day they had remained friends but it took two years for them to fix the friendship to a point where they were willing to talk to each other again without any sort of weird feelings or discomfort. But what did Hal have to say, "I remember, Hal, but what do you want to tell me?"
"Diane. Over the years we've become closer friends, despite everything else that's gotten in our way." Hal began, "What I'm trying to say is that I still have feelings for you. I tried dating other women after I told you how I felt, but it never worked out."
"Hal..." Diane replied.
"Wait, please." Hal replied, "I know you're not involved with anyone right now, so you don't have that to worry about. I'm also not pressuring you in any way. If you don't even want to be friends anymore, I'll understand."
"Hal, this is just so sudden." Diane replied, "Even if I've always known even before you confessed about how you felt that you've felt something more than friendship for me."
"I'm scared too, Diane. I'm just as scared I might ruin our friendship. I know the only thing I can offer you is my heart, to be either broken or for you. But just for argument, what if it could work? Do you think we could ever be more than friends? Do you think we could have that sort of meaningful relationship?" Hal replied.
"I don't know what to say, Hal. On one hand, we're friends, and on the other you've kept these feelings secret for years. What's to prevent such secrecy from you again?" Diane replied her eyes moist.
Hal reached across the table to dry her tears, "Diane that's why I wanted to talk. I don't want to keep secrets from you anymore. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything of that sort, unless you want it."
"Hal, I still don't know how to answer that question." Diane said, getting up to leave, "I need some time."
"Wait." Hal replied, following her outside, "Diane, I didn't say I needed an answer right this minute. I'll tell you what. I'll give you the length of my deployment to Belize to answer that question. Do you think we can have a relationship?"
"I'll let you know." Diane replied, as they stood in the light underneath a London street lamp.
They went back inside and had dinner, and talked like the two old friends they were. "I'll walk you to your car." Hal said, as they finished dinner.
He opened the door for her and helped her into her coat. They walked again through the light of the street lamps and Hal opened her car door for her at the curbside. Under the lamplight they kissed each other, slowly and tenderly.
"Hal?" Diane asked.
"That was if you had any doubts as to the truth of how I feel about you." Hal replied, "My apologies if I was out of line."
"No," Diane replied, "I actually liked it."
Hal smiled back at her as he walked to his own vehicle and drove back to the camp, knowing he was due to fly out to Belize that night.
~ ~ ~ ~
28 September 1999: The rain fell that night, as though heaven itself was crying. Hal hadn't slept much since the last night. Diane's funeral had been a damn hard affair to go through. He had felt like a machine about to fly apart, even though his mates tried to help him through it. Even Digger quit making jokes for one day, which was all but amazing. That had been five days ago.
Hal stood in front of Diane's grave that night, the rain soaking his clothing. He didn't care for that. The water mingled with the last of his tears. "Diane. Remember how I promised you my love months ago?" Hal began, as he knelt in front of it, leaving a bouquet of roses at the foot of her headstone.
"I keep my promises, Diane, and I give you a new one. I'll find whoever did this to you, I swear an oath." Hal began, "And you should know that I never take oaths lightly."
Lightning flashed at the gravesite as Hal made his promise, "And you shall know that his remains will never be found when I'm through with him. Consider this great labor of mine, my love, as my way of keeping my promise."
Hal turned away and walked off through the cemetery. The gravestone reading Diane Schonke, January 21, 1976 - September 19, 1999, Much Beloved and Missed By All, bore mute testimony to the promise of the grief stricken lover who's love lay six feet underground in the cold earth.
~ ~ ~ ~
18 May 2000: "Ivy, what's wrong with Hal?" Zack asked, "He doesn't look so good."
"Maybe it's the new case we've just been assigned. I don't know. But all I know is something's been bothering Hal about this since we were assigned the case." Ivy replied.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (This is to shed some light on Hal's issue with Diane.)