Here's Chapter #6. I haven't posted one of those all purpose disclaimers in a while so let me do that now: I don't own, I borrow. I wish I owned Sgt. Scream but sadly a number of laws and precepts of reality vs. fiction keep me from keeping Sgt. Hotness in the closet for personal enjoyment. Drat.
"Read anything good lately Lieutenant?" Captain James Baron's highly developed stalking skills were not rusty. He had managed to sneak up on 1st Lieutenant Kai Benally as she read the upside down literature on his desk without alerting neither her nor his XO, typing away with like a madman, of his presence in the tent. She didn't quite jump but it was clear his question startled her.
"Yes Sir, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife" Baron stared her down, awarding mental points for the smooth save.
"Vietnamese counterinsurgency; not bad."
"Surprisingly relevant, Sir. I'm almost done if you want to borrow it." Baron sat down. He delayed further dialogue on purpose then changed his mind.
"Weiss," he said to his XO "round up my squad leaders. I think it's time to introduce Lieutenant Benally into polite society." The tapping on the keyboard slowed down as Weiss absorbed the information then stopped when his brain sent all the proper signals to his arms and legs. He made a left for the first of four stops.
"Take a seat Lieutenant; I'm getting a crick in my neck" She did. "What do you think about Bina?"
"I think we were too hasty in turning it over to the Iraqis and it shows."
"Tell me why Lieutenant." Baron popped a piece of hard candy in his mouth, butterscotch, and reclined his chair. "We both know you weren't reading my shopping list."
"The ink isn't even dry on all the handover coverage and they already have a General, all the brass under him and at least three news networks wringing their hands. Meanwhile, the story on Thamir is about to break, we haven't had eyes and ears in Bina for two weeks and getting them there now makes us look like assholes."
"Anything else?" He asked.
"You mean why no one's wondered how a man who evades capture for three years gets picked up in a coffee shop by an off duty cop without a single shot fired?" Baron didn't let his face betray his agreement. Playing devil's advocate was too much fun.
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar ma'am."
"And sometimes it's a really big dick Sir," she said springing to her feet as the non-commissioned part of the meeting came into view. She had four folding chairs lined up beside hers when they trickled in. Baron rearranged the papers on his desk for two minutes giving the NCOs plenty of time for a silent and not so discreet sizing-up of the commissioned oddity.
"At ease, sit down," he ordered. "As you know, the seven of spades in your deck of cards, Husam Thamir Ibrahim al-Sadun, was apprehended in Bina a week ago today. Two days ago the chief of police refused to turn him over to coalition forces claiming that Bina has the right to prosecute him for crimes committed in their jurisdiction.
"Al-Jazeera," he continued after emptying half a bottle of water without putting the rim to his lips "is holed up with Thamir in his brand new cell at the city jail and Sgt. Murphy; you are familiar with Miss Gilchrist from SCN Network vying for the same story. Before we move north, we have been tasked with security for a second meeting on Wednesday when Lieutenant Colonel Lyle is gonna try to convince the chief that it's in his best interest to hand over their prisoner.
"Lyle will have his own men pulling personal security so you'll be setting up roadblocks at every access point to Bina and monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic. That'll be anything or anyone that moves. If it's going in or out, we know about it. You'll be working under Lt. Benally on this one; she's been assigned to first platoon in Lieutenant Hunter's place.
"I want you in place tomorrow before first prayers. Your squads have patrolled Bina and trained its police force for a month so you'll be on familiar ground until Thamir is in US Army custody. Any questions?"
Each head before Capt. James Baron nodded a quick no and ignored the growling stomach he placated with more water. The sky outside was thick gray slate tinted pink at the horizon and having skipped lunch, Baron was ready for his first ever ass-dander free dinner in… much longer than he cared to count.
"All right, dismissed." There was shuffling and more furtive looks towards Lt. Benally as the squad leaders dispersed and Baron long gone when she found herself alone in the command tent. Bored of waiting for the lean, wiry Corporal charged with finding her a bunk for the night, she ran to catch up with SSgt. Silas on his way to the mess hall.
"Hold up Staff Sergeant," she said to his retreating back.
Silas did. He looked Benally up and down from the confines of the type of face that usually won the World Series of Poker while her interest became entangled on the signpost behind him pointing towards twenty major cities in the continental United States. Lt. Benally righted the wobbly sign and proffered a semi-clean hand to shake once the wooden arrow showing the way to Phoenix, Arizona was correctly positioned again.
"Yes ma'am." He shook the hand briefly.
"I want to get your thoughts on the garment manufacturing sector of The Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands Staff Sergeant." Kai managed this straight faced, keeping up good eye contact and nary a stray chuckle as she spoke.
"Ma'am?"
"In the interest of brevity Sergeant," she said in the same serious tone but obviously meaning it now "you and I both know my tenure with Bravo Company will be a short one and now is a good a time as any to tell you I know you know I know I don't know."
Silas gave her another brief, puzzled ma'am.
"Man woman or goat, Sergeant, no newly minted officer knows shit about leading twenty-three men anywhere no matter how much he shines his pretty butter bars. The stupid ones would rather die than admit this, the smart ones will know to listen to their platoon Sergeant specially if they happen to be on their third tour with all their fingers and toes accounted for. I'm not stupid Sergeant."
SSgt. Silas was temporarily disarmed. Lt. Alexander Hunter was hardly the norm in the Army, there was intelligent life in the Officer's club and Captain Baron was living proof in the mess hall with the food he'd been longing to taste for over an hour now, but very few were so quick to realize they should look to NCOs for advice let alone pointers on little things like leadership and strategies that worked in real life. Unsure of what to say, he went with the truth.
"I'm glad to hear that ma'am."
"Sunrise is scheduled for 0540 tomorrow Sergeant, don't let the bedbugs bite."
My editor cut my namesake's bit; just said it was non-plot-advancing slough and deleted 200 words!
Thy Author and Editor Meany, pout.