Day 19-6
The large group of men, Buck leading them with excited barks and jumps, is coming up the path. The first thing I notice is the expression on LT's face. That's how a kid must look that's come face to face with the real Santa Claus. He is walking beside his brother Frank, deep into a conversation about something. No doubt what that is about.
"Hey, Chase," Cut hollers from about three-hundred feet out, and I get up off the bench, as does General Lancaster. "We brought home the lost sons."
"See that," I shout back. "What took you so long?"
"Ah..." He walks up, with a squint at Lancaster and one over to the door where Colonel Wise steps out at the moment. "Just thought we'd take our time. Enjoy the scenery, you know?" Cut gives me a hardly noticeable wink, and I get the meaning.
"Sergeant," Wise steps beside me, gazing at the group of men, "if you don't mind..."
"Thomas," Lancaster breaks in, "just give these guys some time. Let them get a bite to eat and relax a little. You can debrief them later."
Thanks, General, I think to myself, then say aloud, "Colonel, they have really been through a lot. I'm sure they will be happy to answer all your questions later." A quick look of understanding with Cut. We have to come up with something real fast. He gives me another furtive wink. Looks like he already did.
"Yo, Chase!" Lieutenant Hughes motions to me, from where he, Jimmy and Frank are standing.
"Excuse me, Gentlemen," I apologize toward Lancaster and Wise, then walk over.
"Chase," LT starts real low, but with a grin, "man, what a trip!" He shakes his head.
"Pretty wild, eh, LT?"
"Wild ain't even the word for it, Chase. Anyways, listen a minute. We come up with a resolution for the problem."
"You have?" I inquire, wondering just which one of the problems he is talking about.
"Yeah! And after what I have seen, man...well, let's just say we can never ever allow any of this to get out."
Oh, that problem, I think, giving him a nod of agreement.
"Now, here's the scoop. I had a little talk with these guys here before we left. Most of 'em have agreed to keep their mouths shut anyways..."
"Most of them? LT, we can't..."
"Oh, just hear me out, Chase."
"Sorry! Go ahead."
"There's only a couple that needed a little convincing, and I took care of that."
"How?"
"I told 'em," he grins mischievously, "they were all under presidential orders to keep absolutely quiet about this, and if anything ever got out they'd end up in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives, faster'n they could say shit."
"And they bought it?" I ask in amazement.
"Sure they did, Chase," he grins again. "Besides, it wasn't all a lie anyways. I got connections, and Frank helped convince 'em of that."
"Great! That solves one problem anyways," I muse.
"Why? What's the other?" Lieutenant Hughes frowns.
"Well," I rub my forehead, "how we gonna explain where they been all this time?"
"Oh, that ain't no problem either, Chase." Now he is back to grinning. "They just got lost up here, being real confused and disorientated."
"Bull! Nobody's gonna buy that, LT. Fifteen grown men, all runnin' around up here for a year like a bunch of lost puppies? No way!"
"Ah, quit bein' so skeptical, Chase. Trust me. I'll take care of it."
"You gonna feed that story to Lancaster and the Colonel?" I squint.
"Sure!" he declares matter-of-factly. "I have one hell of a way, convincing people of the truth."
"I hear that." Now I am grinning too, at last. "Thanks, LT, I owe you one."
"Good! How about a gallon of Wild Turkey?" he snickers.
"You got it, man."
"So, what's next?" He rubs his hands together, looking around.
"Well, the General and that EPA guy 'bout had a fit when I showed 'em those chemicals," I inform him. "Roberts said it might take a while, but he'll make sure it gets taken care of. He's talking about puttin' that whole area here under quarantine."
"That would help," Frank Hughes throws in and grins. "Might have to relocate your camp a little though."
"Ah, I ain't too worried about that damn camp," I smirk. "It's about ready to fall apart anyway. But you're right. If they close the place up, that would definitely help."
"Well," LT shrugs, "we just gotta make sure it happens then."
"Let me guess. You got connections, right?"
"Right!" he answers sly. "One can never have enough," he adds sarcastically.
"Looks like. Now, I just need you to pull one more string," I muse, with a glance at Chief who has quietly watched the whole conversation.
"What's that, Chase?" Lieutenant Hughes inquires, following the direction of my eyes.
"I need you to..." I break in mid-sentence because Jimmy shakes his head, suddenly looking rather upset. What the...? You readin' my mind, Chief?
"You need me to what?" Lieutenant Hughes questions nevertheless.
"Never mind, LT. I'll tell you later."
"Alright," he consents, but with a curious squint at Jimmy. "Guess I better go talk to the Brass anyways. Fill 'em in on the little details they need to know." Now he is smirking again.
Thanks, LT!
"Chase!" Jimmy pulls me off to the side, with a quick glance over toward Cut who is talking to General Lancaster however and doesn't see it.
Guess you're on your own this time, Chief, I think, but help out when he hesitates. "Jimmy," I get his attention, "you knew what I was gonna ask Billy?"
He gives me a concerned look, and I continue. "Right! That thing about the missing evidence. Since you know who is responsible, I thought maybe he could pull a few strings and..."
"No!" he interrupts hard.
"Why not?" I press the issue, getting an angry squint in return.
"These people don't care," he finally answers. "They kill anyone..."
"Look, Jimmy," this time I cut him off, "I understand you are worried, but we would have a good chance of nailing Micheals, if we just...what?" I ask irritated, since he is shaking his head again. "Damn it, Jimmy, if you know who is behind it, then we'n take care of the whole thing, instead of letting someone else get by with murder," I snap, barely keeping my voice down.
Apparently Cut finally noticed our little one-sided argument. "What's the problem, guys?" he inquires, stepping beside us.
Chief flashes both of us an irate glare and walks off.
"What the hell was that all about, Chase?" Cut frowns after him.
"Hell, I just tried to get it through to his stubborn skull, that Billy could probably do something about catching the son-of-a-bitch who let that evidence disappear when Steve..."
"Are you nuts?" he almost yells, then quickly lowers his voice. "Damn, Chase, you don't understand."
"No, apparently I don't," I answer, with kind of a sneer.
"Look, man...shit!" He shakes his head in exasperation. "Didn't I tell you before, it's gotta stay between us? If anyone finds out that Jimmy knows who's behind it... Damn, Chase, he's got a wife and a baby to worry about."
"Yeah, but..."
"Oh, but your nose in somethin's ass!" he snaps. "Man, these bastards don't give a fuck who they blow away. He's already gonna have to watch his back, and if Micheals somehow gets off again..."
"I don't think that's gonna happen, Cut," I break in. "I think Wise and Lancaster found out enough to put that son-of-a-bitch away forever."
"Man, I sure hope so," he sighs. "Just do me a favor, and lay off of Jimmy about that shit. He's already worried about tellin' us at all."
"Hell, how's I supposed to know, Cut? I's just tryin' to help," I mutter frustrated.
"I know that," he assures me calmer. "But you gotta understand Jimmy's position too. Hell, I didn't even know about all this until it came out up here."
"And he probably never would've said anything about it if we hadn't pushed so hard, right?"
"Right! That, and he's worried Micheals is gonna get away again."
"Not in this case, Cut."
"I sure hope not, Chase. Now leave it alone, okay?"
"I will. Go tell Jimmy I'm sorry...again!"
"Nah, you tell 'im yourself," he answers dry, then leaves me standing there.
Great! And I'm so good at apologies, I think, looking around for Chief. He isn't too far away, about twenty yards, leaning against a tree. I know damn well he's caught the whole conversation, readin' our lips.
I grin uneasy, but walk over anyways. He turns his head the other way. Guess I deserve that. Just go ahead and ignore me. I sigh in frustration and lean up against the tree beside him. So how am I gonna say this? I don't have to.
"Chase," he starts instead, looking over, "I'm sorry."
"Gees," I let out a long breath, "you are sorry? Damn, Jimmy, I'm the one who needs to be sorry. Look, I didn't think. I..."
"Chase," he interrupts me with a rueful smile, "forget about it ."
"Just like that?" I squint embarrassed.
"Yes! Just like that."
"Man!" I say only the one word, meet his eyes, and we grin at each other.
He pushes off the tree, then turns back for a moment, handing me something. "Harry says hello, and this is for you."
What the...? A strand of hair, dark brown color, about three inches in length.
"From Harry?" I inquire.
"No," he smirks, "from the girl. She says, don't be nervous anymore."
"Gees," I snicker as understanding sets in. The little one that had hugged me. I curl the hair around two fingers, and deposit the ring in my wallet. Just in case I ever need to convince myself that all this actually happened.
#####
Chief and I return to the camp together, getting a questioning look from Cut as we walk up. I have to ignore it though, because Lieutenant Walker steps beside me.
"Sergeant!"
"Yes, Sir?" I turn my attention.
"I just wanted to say thanks." He holds out a hand and I shake it.
"You are welcome, Sir. But I'm not really the one who deserves the credit."
"Oh, don't sell yourself short, Sergeant," he smiles. "I don't know how you convinced ...well, you know who I'm talking about. How you convinced him to let us go, but..."
"I didn't, Sir," I interrupt him quickly. "That's what I meant with not deserving the credit."
"But then, who?"
"Look, Lieutenant, I couldn't talk our friend into anything, anymore than you could yourself. To be honest, I took one hell of a gamble on the matter, telling you all you could go home before I even had the slightest idea how to break it to him."
"You mean..."
"Yeah," I laugh contritely. "I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Jimmy is the one who convinced him, while I was still inside talking to you guys," I admit, with a motion of my thumb over at Chief.
"Well," Walker smirks, "I guess I need to shake his hand too then. But thanks anyways, just for coming to look for us."
"On that you're definitely welcome, Sir." We shake hands once more and salute each other.
Then he turns and walks over to Jimmy.
Lieutenant Hughes lays a hand on my shoulder from behind. "Well, Chase, I guess that's all taken care of."
"What is, LT?" I ask, turning.
"Colonel Wise and I gonna take these guys home."
"You are? Today?" I raise an eyebrow in surprise since this is news to me.
"Yeah," LT grins. "Figure we get 'em off your hands. That cabin is just a little too crowded, and the guys agreed. They can't wait to get out of here. Lancaster thinks it's a good idea too. He called us in some transportation from Lewis. They oughta get in by the time we make it down-town. We gonna set up a vehicle relay station, just outside of Paradise."
"What about Micheals and the other agents?"
"Well, Chase," his grin widens, "I thought I'd leave you that pleasure. You gonna get to be their escort."
"Oh, thanks a lot, LT," I roll my eyes. "Just what I's looking forward to."
"I bet you'll be real happy when I tell you, you gonna enjoy the General's company for another day too."
"I will?"
"Yup!" he smirks. "He wants to make absolutely sure everything goes right. So him and Roberts are staying until you guys get all your stuff together and are ready to head out."
"Wonderful! You sure know how to spoil a party, man. And I thought we'd get rid of that whole bunch, and spend a couple more leisure days up here," I sigh.
"Nah! But I tell you what, Chase, when you get down, stop by Frank's house. Cut said he knows where it's at. I'll be there for at least another week, spend some time with the family while I'm in town. We'll have us a party there. What you think? Sounds good?"
"Sounds great, LT," I finally grin too.
"Just don't forget that bottle of Turkey. Remember, you owe me," LT snickers.
"Right! I better bring two, unless you want me to come without Cut."
"What about me?" Cut inquires, catching the last part of our jest.
"Oh, nothin', " I say, trying to keep a straight face. "LT just invited us to his brother's house, but I's a little worried about bringin' you along."
"Why?" he queries, stepping right into it.
"Well, Cut," I give it my best to sound serious, "every time I take you somewhere, I gotta take you there twice. Once to apologize."
"Huh?" He doesn't get the joke, and neither LT nor I can explain since we both bust out laughing.
"Oh hell, Chase, kiss my Okie ass! You too, Billy!" He turns and walks off, still grumbling under his breath.
"Boy," Lieutenant Hughes chuckles, holding on to my shoulder, "he stepped right into that one, Chase."
"Yeah," I snicker. "I got him with that five times by now, and he still don't get it."
"You two haven't changed a bit," LT shakes his head, still laughing, but then he turns serious all of the sudden. "Alright, Chase, listen. I gotta get these guys outa here. All them little problems we talked about are taken care of, and should there be any more, just let me know, okay?"
"I will, and thanks again for your help, LT. We couldn't have done it without you," I answer equally serious, shaking his hand, then saluting.
He returns the gesture, then grins again mischievously. "Oh, and Chase," he lowers his voice to a whisper, "take it easy on the General, will ya?"
"No problem. I promise I'll behave," I snicker, and he turns to gather the other men.