A Man Called Ghost
Chapter 15
Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez paused before he walked through the doors to JAG. He'd come back from the Gulf on the same flight that had brought Harm back as soon as he was stable enough to travel. From what he'd heard, Gunny figured delete that the Company was going to hide Harm in plain sight. They'd sent him back with the other medi-vacs state-side, and he'd even been checked into Bethesda, albeit in a secured wing with armed guards. Gunny had a week before he shipped back out for the Gulf when his temporary orders to escort Harm home expired, but he knew that there were a few people who needed to hear about the Commander. This wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't the Admiral Gunny was really worried about. He'd witnessed things in Paraguay he was sure that the Colonel and Commander would rather he hadn't, and he knew they didn't know he'd seen those things. He'd also heard the Commander call out for the Colonel in his morphine induced sleep more than once.
With a sigh Gunny pushed his way through the doors leading to JAG ops. Ignoring the looks that those who knew him were giving him, he made his way directly to the Admiral's yeoman's desk. He recalled the girl from the few times he'd met her and he couldn't help but smile.
"Afternoon Petty Officer. I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of the Admiral's time?"
"Gunnery Sergeant Galindez. Good to see you again." Coates smiled as she looked up at the man before her. "I'm not too sure I can squeeze you in, the Admiral's got a busy afternoon and needs to be on the Hill soon. Maybe tomorrow?"
"I don't think it can wait Petty Officer." Gunny said with conviction.
With a raised eyebrow Jennifer Coates looked at the marine before her. She knew only the extremely brave or the extremely stupid stood against a Marine intent on something, but she was the keeper of the gate so to speak, and it was her job to safeguard the Admiral's office. "What makes you say that Gunny?"
With a quick glance around Gunny cleared his throat and leaned a bit closer. "It's about the Commander."
At the Gunny's soft words Jen's eyes grew wide. "He isn't..."
"No, but it was a close call." Gunny said truthfully.
"Does the Colonel know?"
"I haven't spoken to her yet Petty Officer, and I suggest you take that same course. I would like to speak to the Admiral first."
"I'll see what I can do Gunny." Jen said picking up her phone and pushing the Admiral's extension. "Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you but Gunnery Sergeant Galindez is here and has asked for a moment of your time. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Setting the phone back in its receiver, Jen looked up at Gunny. "Go right in Gunny."
"Thanks Petty Officer. I appreciate it, and I'm sure the Commander would as well." Gunny said as he knocked on the door and opened as soon as the admiral barked, "Enter!"
"I'm not so sure about that Gunny." Jen muttered to herself. "But he should be."
"Petty Officer?" Mac's question broke through Jen's thoughts.
"Ma'am. I'm sorry, I didn't see you standing there."
"That's alright Petty Officer. Is he in?" Mac asked with a tight smile.
"He is ma'am, but he's currently meeting with someone." Jen said with sympathy shining in her eyes.
"Okay. Is something wrong Petty Officer?" Mac asked cautiously.
"Why would you ask that, ma'am?"
"You're looking at me a little funny. Is there something I should know?"
"I can't really say, ma'am."
"Does it have to do with the Admiral's surprise visitor? I heard from Harriet that Gunny was here." Mac offered as an explanation when Jen's eyes widened in surprise again.
"It's not my place to say, ma'am. Sorry."
"Jen, do you know anything?"
"I really can't say, ma'am. I'm sure the Admiral will call you if he needs you." Jen tried to get out from under Mac's glare.
"Fine. Let him know I need to see him when he's done."
"Aye, aye ma'am." Jen answered coming to attention.
"Gunny! Long time no see, son." Admiral Chegwidden said holding his hand out to the man who'd just walked into his office.
"Thank you, sir." Gunny said coming to attention before taking the Admiral's hand and shaking it firmly.
"Have a seat Gunny. What brings you by JAG?" the Admiral asked stepping around his desk to sit in the big leather chair once more.
Sitting down Gunny thought about how he should phrase this. From all accounts the Admiral had been something of a bear since Commander Rabb had left. "It's Commander Rabb, sir."
"Commander Rabb is no longer at this duty station, Gunny." The Admiral said harshly. "In fact he's no longer Commander Rabb. If you're looking for him I suggest you check his apartment, but most don't have any luck there either."
"He's not in his apartment, sir." Gunny said simply. He wasn't about to tell a two star that he was being an ass.
"Well if you know that Gunny, I'm sure you know where he is."
"Bethesda, sir." Gunny offered. The Admiral hadn't asked where Harm was, but Gunny knew from the sudden cooling of the Admiral's attitude that he was masking something.
"What's that Gunny?"
"The Commander is in Bethesda, sir."
"And how would you know that?"
"I've been with him since the evac chopper picked him up, sir." Gunny offered without going into details. "He was flown back with a group of casualties last night."
"I thought you were in Iraq with your unit."
"I was, sir. We're the ones who picked up the pieces." Gunny swore to himself when he thought of how that was going to sound.
Silently, the Admiral regarded the man in front of him, but his mind was on another man, a man he had thought of as a son for so long now. A man who he couldn't tell how he felt, or even show it, damn it. "How bad?"
"Bad. He was pretty torn up when we got to him, sir. Got caught too close to an explosion, had an assault round lodged in his shoulder, and from what the doc said, his leg is pretty much useless. Apparently he had a chunk of frag stuck in his leg and kept walking on it. Doc said it shredded some of his muscles pretty badly."
Gunny watched as a transformation took place on the Admiral's face, hearing his words, the stoic mask the Admiral had put up when Gunny first mentioned Harm, crumbled as the worry and fear he felt made themselves known. This was soon quickly replaced with anger. "Damn it, what the hell was he doing?"
"I'm not too sure, sir. But whatever it was, it allowed him to bring out two hostages the terrorists were going to execute for television. Honestly, I don't think that was his mission, more like a target of opportunity." Gunny answered sincerely.
"He always has to be the hero, doesn't he?" the Admiral sighed after a moment.
"It's who he is, sir. And those two people would surely be dead if it wasn't for him. Apparently he stopped the execution as it was beginning."
With a sigh the Admiral pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Does Mac know about this?"
"I came right in to see you, sir."
"Good. She doesn't need to hear this yet."
"But sir..."
"Damn it Gunny, I'll decide how to break it to Mac. I wouldn't want it coming from anyone else. What more can you tell me?"
"Not a lot Admiral. He's in a lock down wing at Bethesda with guards. Not sure how long he's going to be there, but I can't see the Company sending him back out anytime soon. Not with his leg and all the damage he took."
"Sounds like we're going to have some trouble getting in to see him."
"You're going to go see him, sir?"
"Gunny, that is none of your concern. Now I believe you did what you came here to do, and I believe I need to speak to Colonel MacKenzie as soon as I figure out what I'm going to say."
"With all due respect, sir, I'd like to be here when you tell the Colonel. Maybe I can answer any questions she has."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea Gunny."
"Please, sir. There are also some things I need to tell Colonel MacKenzie alone, sir."
"What kind of things Gunny?"
"Sir, I think that's for the Colonel to hear."
"Gunnery Sergeant, you are flirting with insubordination."
"I know, sir. And you can proffer charges later if you're inclined. But right now I need to talk to the Colonel."
Picking up his phone, Admiral Chegwidden did something he rarely did. He called one of his officers directly instead of sending his yeoman. "Mac, could you come to my office please?"
Both men then sat silently until Mac knocked on the door. Instead of calling for her to enter, the Admiral looked at Gunny with a question in his eyes. Nodding, Gunny stood up and went to open the door. Coming to attention he nodded crisply at Mac.
"Ma'am."
"You the Admiral's doorman now Gunny?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow. The whole thing seemed strange to her. First the Admiral called her directly, called her Mac, and now Gunny was acting as a butler.
"Come in Mac." AJ said evenly. "Take a seat, both of you."
"What's going on, sir?" Mac asked curiously.
Waiting until both the Gunny and Mac had taken their seats AJ pulled off the glasses he had just put back on. "Mac, the Gunny has some news that I think you should be made aware of."
"News, sir? Gunny?" Mac asked hesitantly.
"Are you sure, sir?" Gunny asked the Admiral. After all he'd just said he should be the one to break the news to Mac.
"No I'm not Gunny, but you felt that you had the obligation to bring the news. Mac, I'm going to get us some coffee, I'll be back in a minute." The Admiral said standing up from behind his desk. Damn it, he just couldn't find the words to tell Mac that Harm was right now laying in a hospital and no one knew anything beyond what Gunny had reported.
"Sir!" Mac protested standing up. There was no way in hell she'd let the Admiral bring her coffee.
With a gentle pressure on her shoulder, the Admiral forced Mac to reclaim her seat. "Sit Mac, talk with the Gunny. I'll be back in a minute."
As the door closed behind the Admiral, Mac turned to face Gunny. "Gunny?" she prompted.
Reaching up Gunny did something very unusual for him. He rubbed his hands on his face and when he looked at Mac, she saw how haunted his eyes were. "I...ma'am, I don't know how to start."
"What is it Gunny?"
Taking a big breath Gunny decided to start at the beginning. "Five days ago I was in country ma'am. My squad was doing helo mounted patrols and we'd just hit our halfway point when this big explosion could be heard, even over the rotors. Suddenly there was this huge pillar of smoke to the north of us. We didn't know what was going on ma'am. We hadn't heard of any big ops in progress, and ma'am, this had to be big. Real big."
As Gunny paused in his story Mac nodded to him. "Go on Gunny. I assume you have a point to your story?"
"Yes ma'am. Anyway, we got an all net broadcast shortly after that, maybe half an hour after the explosion, maybe a bit more. Our pilot and the crew took the transmission and we started making our way towards the smoke. At first we thought we were going in to provide support ma'am, Air Cav style. When we got a bit closer the LT got it out of the pilot that we were going in to extract three bodies. We set down about a half mile from where the explosion had taken place; looked like a compound of some sort. The LT sent us out on a grid search to look for the three who'd called for extraction."
Taking a breath, Gunny paused to look at the Colonel and recognized the look in her eyes that told him she knew where he was going. "Ma'am, I was with the team that found him."
"Harm?" Mac asked hollowly, blinking her eyes against the swell of emotion. "Was he, is he?"
"No ma'am. But I think he might wish he was when he wakes up. It was pretty bad ma'am."
"Bad?"
"From what our corpsman could determine ma'am, he'd been caught too close to the explosion. The two people with him think he set it off, so he must have known he was too close. He was hit pretty bad with the shrapnel ma'am. Oh ma'am I'm so sorry."
Mac took a deep breath and nodded briskly. "Go on Gunny."
"He'd been shot up as well ma'am, the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. They couldn't get it out until we got him back to base and by then infection had set in. Ma'am, I'm so sorry, but the worst is his leg. He had a piece of grenade fragment in his leg and it looks like he kept walking on it for a good couple of hours. The Doc at base said he'd torn up the muscles in his leg something fierce ma'am." Gunny finished quietly.
"Is that it Gunny?" Mac asked woodenly. She couldn't believe her own words. This man had just told her that the man who'd been her best friend for half her adult life was in a hospital torn up and bleeding and she asked if that was all?
"He woke up once on the chopper ma'am. He was lucid enough to recognize me. And make a joke ma'am. They've got him in Bethesda now, in a secure wing."
With a deep breath Mac decided she needed to get away, to lock herself in her office before anyone saw her collapse. She couldn't let them see her cry again. With a brisk nod Mac stood up. "Thank you for your efforts in bringing us this news Gunny."
With that Mac strode across the Admiral's office to the door as fast as she could. As she was reaching the knob Gunny called to her, "Ma'am?"
"Yes Gunny?"
"Ma'am, he's been pretty out of it for the last few days; the docs have kept him shot up with morphine. But ma'am, he kept asking for you, even when he was unconscious." Gunny added softly.
Biting her lip, Mac yanked the door open and pushed past the Admiral as he was reaching for the door.
"Colonel?" he asked, as she stormed past him.
"I'm sorry, sir." Mac blurted out, continuing until she got to her office. Slamming the door behind her, she slowly slid to the floor with her back against the door, finally letting the tears come.
Chapter 15
Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez paused before he walked through the doors to JAG. He'd come back from the Gulf on the same flight that had brought Harm back as soon as he was stable enough to travel. From what he'd heard, Gunny figured delete that the Company was going to hide Harm in plain sight. They'd sent him back with the other medi-vacs state-side, and he'd even been checked into Bethesda, albeit in a secured wing with armed guards. Gunny had a week before he shipped back out for the Gulf when his temporary orders to escort Harm home expired, but he knew that there were a few people who needed to hear about the Commander. This wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't the Admiral Gunny was really worried about. He'd witnessed things in Paraguay he was sure that the Colonel and Commander would rather he hadn't, and he knew they didn't know he'd seen those things. He'd also heard the Commander call out for the Colonel in his morphine induced sleep more than once.
With a sigh Gunny pushed his way through the doors leading to JAG ops. Ignoring the looks that those who knew him were giving him, he made his way directly to the Admiral's yeoman's desk. He recalled the girl from the few times he'd met her and he couldn't help but smile.
"Afternoon Petty Officer. I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of the Admiral's time?"
"Gunnery Sergeant Galindez. Good to see you again." Coates smiled as she looked up at the man before her. "I'm not too sure I can squeeze you in, the Admiral's got a busy afternoon and needs to be on the Hill soon. Maybe tomorrow?"
"I don't think it can wait Petty Officer." Gunny said with conviction.
With a raised eyebrow Jennifer Coates looked at the marine before her. She knew only the extremely brave or the extremely stupid stood against a Marine intent on something, but she was the keeper of the gate so to speak, and it was her job to safeguard the Admiral's office. "What makes you say that Gunny?"
With a quick glance around Gunny cleared his throat and leaned a bit closer. "It's about the Commander."
At the Gunny's soft words Jen's eyes grew wide. "He isn't..."
"No, but it was a close call." Gunny said truthfully.
"Does the Colonel know?"
"I haven't spoken to her yet Petty Officer, and I suggest you take that same course. I would like to speak to the Admiral first."
"I'll see what I can do Gunny." Jen said picking up her phone and pushing the Admiral's extension. "Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you but Gunnery Sergeant Galindez is here and has asked for a moment of your time. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
Setting the phone back in its receiver, Jen looked up at Gunny. "Go right in Gunny."
"Thanks Petty Officer. I appreciate it, and I'm sure the Commander would as well." Gunny said as he knocked on the door and opened as soon as the admiral barked, "Enter!"
"I'm not so sure about that Gunny." Jen muttered to herself. "But he should be."
"Petty Officer?" Mac's question broke through Jen's thoughts.
"Ma'am. I'm sorry, I didn't see you standing there."
"That's alright Petty Officer. Is he in?" Mac asked with a tight smile.
"He is ma'am, but he's currently meeting with someone." Jen said with sympathy shining in her eyes.
"Okay. Is something wrong Petty Officer?" Mac asked cautiously.
"Why would you ask that, ma'am?"
"You're looking at me a little funny. Is there something I should know?"
"I can't really say, ma'am."
"Does it have to do with the Admiral's surprise visitor? I heard from Harriet that Gunny was here." Mac offered as an explanation when Jen's eyes widened in surprise again.
"It's not my place to say, ma'am. Sorry."
"Jen, do you know anything?"
"I really can't say, ma'am. I'm sure the Admiral will call you if he needs you." Jen tried to get out from under Mac's glare.
"Fine. Let him know I need to see him when he's done."
"Aye, aye ma'am." Jen answered coming to attention.
"Gunny! Long time no see, son." Admiral Chegwidden said holding his hand out to the man who'd just walked into his office.
"Thank you, sir." Gunny said coming to attention before taking the Admiral's hand and shaking it firmly.
"Have a seat Gunny. What brings you by JAG?" the Admiral asked stepping around his desk to sit in the big leather chair once more.
Sitting down Gunny thought about how he should phrase this. From all accounts the Admiral had been something of a bear since Commander Rabb had left. "It's Commander Rabb, sir."
"Commander Rabb is no longer at this duty station, Gunny." The Admiral said harshly. "In fact he's no longer Commander Rabb. If you're looking for him I suggest you check his apartment, but most don't have any luck there either."
"He's not in his apartment, sir." Gunny said simply. He wasn't about to tell a two star that he was being an ass.
"Well if you know that Gunny, I'm sure you know where he is."
"Bethesda, sir." Gunny offered. The Admiral hadn't asked where Harm was, but Gunny knew from the sudden cooling of the Admiral's attitude that he was masking something.
"What's that Gunny?"
"The Commander is in Bethesda, sir."
"And how would you know that?"
"I've been with him since the evac chopper picked him up, sir." Gunny offered without going into details. "He was flown back with a group of casualties last night."
"I thought you were in Iraq with your unit."
"I was, sir. We're the ones who picked up the pieces." Gunny swore to himself when he thought of how that was going to sound.
Silently, the Admiral regarded the man in front of him, but his mind was on another man, a man he had thought of as a son for so long now. A man who he couldn't tell how he felt, or even show it, damn it. "How bad?"
"Bad. He was pretty torn up when we got to him, sir. Got caught too close to an explosion, had an assault round lodged in his shoulder, and from what the doc said, his leg is pretty much useless. Apparently he had a chunk of frag stuck in his leg and kept walking on it. Doc said it shredded some of his muscles pretty badly."
Gunny watched as a transformation took place on the Admiral's face, hearing his words, the stoic mask the Admiral had put up when Gunny first mentioned Harm, crumbled as the worry and fear he felt made themselves known. This was soon quickly replaced with anger. "Damn it, what the hell was he doing?"
"I'm not too sure, sir. But whatever it was, it allowed him to bring out two hostages the terrorists were going to execute for television. Honestly, I don't think that was his mission, more like a target of opportunity." Gunny answered sincerely.
"He always has to be the hero, doesn't he?" the Admiral sighed after a moment.
"It's who he is, sir. And those two people would surely be dead if it wasn't for him. Apparently he stopped the execution as it was beginning."
With a sigh the Admiral pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Does Mac know about this?"
"I came right in to see you, sir."
"Good. She doesn't need to hear this yet."
"But sir..."
"Damn it Gunny, I'll decide how to break it to Mac. I wouldn't want it coming from anyone else. What more can you tell me?"
"Not a lot Admiral. He's in a lock down wing at Bethesda with guards. Not sure how long he's going to be there, but I can't see the Company sending him back out anytime soon. Not with his leg and all the damage he took."
"Sounds like we're going to have some trouble getting in to see him."
"You're going to go see him, sir?"
"Gunny, that is none of your concern. Now I believe you did what you came here to do, and I believe I need to speak to Colonel MacKenzie as soon as I figure out what I'm going to say."
"With all due respect, sir, I'd like to be here when you tell the Colonel. Maybe I can answer any questions she has."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea Gunny."
"Please, sir. There are also some things I need to tell Colonel MacKenzie alone, sir."
"What kind of things Gunny?"
"Sir, I think that's for the Colonel to hear."
"Gunnery Sergeant, you are flirting with insubordination."
"I know, sir. And you can proffer charges later if you're inclined. But right now I need to talk to the Colonel."
Picking up his phone, Admiral Chegwidden did something he rarely did. He called one of his officers directly instead of sending his yeoman. "Mac, could you come to my office please?"
Both men then sat silently until Mac knocked on the door. Instead of calling for her to enter, the Admiral looked at Gunny with a question in his eyes. Nodding, Gunny stood up and went to open the door. Coming to attention he nodded crisply at Mac.
"Ma'am."
"You the Admiral's doorman now Gunny?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow. The whole thing seemed strange to her. First the Admiral called her directly, called her Mac, and now Gunny was acting as a butler.
"Come in Mac." AJ said evenly. "Take a seat, both of you."
"What's going on, sir?" Mac asked curiously.
Waiting until both the Gunny and Mac had taken their seats AJ pulled off the glasses he had just put back on. "Mac, the Gunny has some news that I think you should be made aware of."
"News, sir? Gunny?" Mac asked hesitantly.
"Are you sure, sir?" Gunny asked the Admiral. After all he'd just said he should be the one to break the news to Mac.
"No I'm not Gunny, but you felt that you had the obligation to bring the news. Mac, I'm going to get us some coffee, I'll be back in a minute." The Admiral said standing up from behind his desk. Damn it, he just couldn't find the words to tell Mac that Harm was right now laying in a hospital and no one knew anything beyond what Gunny had reported.
"Sir!" Mac protested standing up. There was no way in hell she'd let the Admiral bring her coffee.
With a gentle pressure on her shoulder, the Admiral forced Mac to reclaim her seat. "Sit Mac, talk with the Gunny. I'll be back in a minute."
As the door closed behind the Admiral, Mac turned to face Gunny. "Gunny?" she prompted.
Reaching up Gunny did something very unusual for him. He rubbed his hands on his face and when he looked at Mac, she saw how haunted his eyes were. "I...ma'am, I don't know how to start."
"What is it Gunny?"
Taking a big breath Gunny decided to start at the beginning. "Five days ago I was in country ma'am. My squad was doing helo mounted patrols and we'd just hit our halfway point when this big explosion could be heard, even over the rotors. Suddenly there was this huge pillar of smoke to the north of us. We didn't know what was going on ma'am. We hadn't heard of any big ops in progress, and ma'am, this had to be big. Real big."
As Gunny paused in his story Mac nodded to him. "Go on Gunny. I assume you have a point to your story?"
"Yes ma'am. Anyway, we got an all net broadcast shortly after that, maybe half an hour after the explosion, maybe a bit more. Our pilot and the crew took the transmission and we started making our way towards the smoke. At first we thought we were going in to provide support ma'am, Air Cav style. When we got a bit closer the LT got it out of the pilot that we were going in to extract three bodies. We set down about a half mile from where the explosion had taken place; looked like a compound of some sort. The LT sent us out on a grid search to look for the three who'd called for extraction."
Taking a breath, Gunny paused to look at the Colonel and recognized the look in her eyes that told him she knew where he was going. "Ma'am, I was with the team that found him."
"Harm?" Mac asked hollowly, blinking her eyes against the swell of emotion. "Was he, is he?"
"No ma'am. But I think he might wish he was when he wakes up. It was pretty bad ma'am."
"Bad?"
"From what our corpsman could determine ma'am, he'd been caught too close to the explosion. The two people with him think he set it off, so he must have known he was too close. He was hit pretty bad with the shrapnel ma'am. Oh ma'am I'm so sorry."
Mac took a deep breath and nodded briskly. "Go on Gunny."
"He'd been shot up as well ma'am, the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. They couldn't get it out until we got him back to base and by then infection had set in. Ma'am, I'm so sorry, but the worst is his leg. He had a piece of grenade fragment in his leg and it looks like he kept walking on it for a good couple of hours. The Doc at base said he'd torn up the muscles in his leg something fierce ma'am." Gunny finished quietly.
"Is that it Gunny?" Mac asked woodenly. She couldn't believe her own words. This man had just told her that the man who'd been her best friend for half her adult life was in a hospital torn up and bleeding and she asked if that was all?
"He woke up once on the chopper ma'am. He was lucid enough to recognize me. And make a joke ma'am. They've got him in Bethesda now, in a secure wing."
With a deep breath Mac decided she needed to get away, to lock herself in her office before anyone saw her collapse. She couldn't let them see her cry again. With a brisk nod Mac stood up. "Thank you for your efforts in bringing us this news Gunny."
With that Mac strode across the Admiral's office to the door as fast as she could. As she was reaching the knob Gunny called to her, "Ma'am?"
"Yes Gunny?"
"Ma'am, he's been pretty out of it for the last few days; the docs have kept him shot up with morphine. But ma'am, he kept asking for you, even when he was unconscious." Gunny added softly.
Biting her lip, Mac yanked the door open and pushed past the Admiral as he was reaching for the door.
"Colonel?" he asked, as she stormed past him.
"I'm sorry, sir." Mac blurted out, continuing until she got to her office. Slamming the door behind her, she slowly slid to the floor with her back against the door, finally letting the tears come.