Chapter Five—July 4th
Don't weep for me
O'land of the free
When it was my time to fall
'Twas for my country's call
(-The Fallen Soldier by Patricia Krull)
()()()()()()
"You didn't have to ride with me," Jim looked up at the younger man. He winched as the doctor gently cleaned the human bite on his wrist. "Blair, you could have gone with Chuck and Dad to the opening of the Memorial."
"We're partners, Jim," Blair looked pale. He kept his eyes averted from what the doctor was doing.
"It's a good thing that your tetanus shoot is up to date." Doctor Row carefully bandaged the now clean wound. "Human bites are notoriously bad. The human mouth has a lot of bacteria." He pulled a pen out of his pocket and scribbled a prescription on a prescription pad. "I'm going to give you a prescription for an antibiotic that you've taken before. With your delicate system I want to ward off any infection." He turned to Blair. "Keep an eye on Jim. Any sign of an infection bring this stubborn man in."
Blair nodded. "I'll watch over him." He protectively tightened his grip on Jim's shoulder.
Jim smiled half amused and half comforted by Blair's declaration. A thought occurred to Jim. "Doc, did Pink come into see you?"
A troubled look came over the doctor's face. "I guess that you hadn't heard." He sighed looking all his forty-five years. "Poor little thing," he shook his head. "It was the hazards of her trade. She managed to crawl to the Grapevine Ministries' Shelter about midnight. Pink died an hour later. I'm sorry."
A stony mask slipped over Jim's face. "I see," it came out more harshly then he'd intended.
Doctor Row wasn't fooled. He calmly handed the written prescription to Blair. "Stop at the hospital pharmacy for Jim's prescription. Most of the pharmacies in Cascade are closed today. Why don't you take a few minutes in the chapel before you head out?" He quietly started to leave.
"Wait," Jim took a breath. "If no one claims Pink call me. I'll arrange her burial."
"Grapevine Ministries is going to take care of her burial. However," Dr. Row added. "The headstone is an expense that they can't afford."
"I'll take care of it," Jim said firmly.
Blair gently massaged Jim's shoulder. "I'm sorry about Pink."
Jim nodded. "I know that I can't get them all off of the street." He let out a sigh. "Let's get back to the station and fill out our paperwork. At least with all the information we gathered from Cindy, Heather and the tapes from the stores this group of Travelers isn't going to be doing any more crime in Cascade for a long time."
Jim and Blair arrived to find a television playing in the Major Crimes bullpen. Several detectives were watching the ceremony. "You missed your dad introducing Master Sergeant Reilly," Rafe had his printed report in his hands.
"I'm recording it," Blair pulled up a chair by Jim's desk.
On the television screen the audience was applauding. Henri walked back to his desk. "Jim, are you going to go by the beach to watch the fireworks? The fireworks are supposed to be spectacular this year."
"Too noisy," Jim shook his head. "Besides it sounds too much like a battle to me," Jim went to his desk. Henri and Rafe exchanged meaningful looks. Most of the bullpen was aware that Jim had served in the Army Rangers. Everyone quietly went back to work.
It was much later when Jim and Blair pulled up in front of the new 'Freedom Memorial'. For a moment they sat in the pickup. Stars filled the clear night sky. A gently breeze stirred in the warm night. Lights set in the ground shone on the slabs of black marble that stood arranged in a semi circle. A few people were quietly walking around the Memorial. Two uniformed guards stood watching the visitors.
"Thanks for coming with me, Chief," Jim said softly.
"I'm your friend, Jim," Blair answered just as softly.
Jim got out of the truck. He walked through the Memorial passing each slab. The largest one was dedicated to the War of Independence. The black marble slab stood in the center of the semi circle. Like all the rest of the Memorial slabs it had been cut at an angle at the top. Jim's sensitive fingertips traced over the words of the Declaration of Independence carved into the cool marble. Blair stood quietly at his side.
Several people passed them. A teenage girl noticed them. She followed as they walked to the marble dedicated to World War Two. Jim paused to trace his fingertips over his grandfather's name. He straightened his shoulders and walked over to another marble memorial.
Blair was amazed that Jim found a name or two on each of the more recent memorial slabs. More visitors drifted through the memorial. A number caught sight of Jim. His photograph had been on the early and late night news. He was Cascade's own hero.
Noticing the growing number of visitors around him Blair looked at his watch. "Jim, there are going to be fireworks over the Memorial in five minutes," Blair warned.
"Just one more," Jim answered. He walked to a much smaller memorial. Bravo Team was carved on the marble. Jim silently stood before the list of his men. The teenage girl who'd been silently following them came forward to stand at Jim's side.
A Cascade news van pulled up in front of the Memorial. The reporter was hoping for a final shot to include on his report for the morning's news. Fireworks usually guaranteed air time. He noticed the crowd and finally Jim. A smile quickened on the reporter's face. He hurried over with a cameraman in tow.
Jim had stepped forward. Carefully he traced his fingertips over the carved names of his each of his team and the helicopter pilots. When he was finished Jim reached into his jacket pocket. He removed a small box. Kneeling down Jim placed seven silver stars on the ground in front of the Memorial to his men. Standing up he saluted them.
"You're Captain Ellison," the teenager looked up at Jim.
Jim looked at the young woman. An old worn looking Army jacket hung over her slender shoulders. The name Brothers was stenciled on the pocket of the jacket. "You're Diana Brothers," Jim smiled. "You're Mark's daughter."
Diana nodded. She reached up to touch an Army dog tag that hung on a silver chain around her neck. "I'm going to be a student of Rainier University this fall. When I heard about the Memorial I came up early."
Neither Jim nor Diana noticed the reporter or his microphone.
"Your father was a good pilot and a good man." Jim drew in a breath of the night air. "He made every effort to try and save us after we were hit by a missile."
Blair was aware of the growing crowd and the reporter. Minutes were ticking towards midnight and the fireworks display. "Jim," he whispered. "The fireworks are going to be going off."
"How did he die?" Diana looked up at Jim.
Jim having heard Blair had stared dialing his hearing down. "Mark and Pete knew that if we went down hard everyone would die. You hit the ground with enough force and spines snap." Jim drew in a breath not noticing the reporter or the growing listening crowd.
"Mark and Pete managed to maneuver the dying Huey in the trees. We broke branches going down." Jim's eyes were distant as he again heard the screams of both his men and the dying Huey. "I remember hearing someone praying the 91st Psalm. There was the metallic scream of the Huey, the sounds of trees snapping, and the smell of fire. The Huey was spiraling down. Then everything was dark and silent. When I woke up I was laying on someone. It was Ramirez. He'd been burned to death by the fire when the missile hit us. I had cracked ribs. Somehow three of us survived. I was the least hurt. I carried everyone out."
Jim looked down into Diana's tear filled eyes. "If your father and Pete hadn't made the decision to use all of their strength to put the Huey into the trees, we'd have all been killed on impact. Your father gave his life to save us. I never got the chance to thank him." Jim leaned down and gently kissed Diana's forehead. "Thank you."
The pressure on Jim's back from Blair's hand was all the warning Jim got to dial his hearing to zero as the first of the fireworks exploded overhead. Jim blinked against the flash of light. He didn't hear the applause. Dialing down his eye sight Jim looked up. More fireworks were exploding over the Memorial.
Diana leaned against him crying. Blair warped an arm around Jim's waist. They all stood together. Jim and Blair watched the fireworks overhead. "I don't think that I've ever liked fireworks as much as I do now." Jim was unaware that the sensitive microphone held by the silent reporter had picked up all his words.
The feeling of the presence of others caught Jim's attention. He looked around. As the fireworks lit up the Freedom Memorial he thought he saw seven other men. Jim blinked and they were gone. He shook his head thinking that he'd imagined it. Diana snuggled against him. Blair stood silently looking skyward.
The reporter was now quietly adding a few words to his report knowing he'd scored a piece that would be seen by most of Cascade in the morning.
The next morning the major news networks picked up the film report of Jim and the fireworks. Included was the photograph that appeared in the Cascade newspaper. A resourceful photo editor had manipulated the photo of Jim kissing Diana's forehead so that it appeared that Jim and Diana were standing alone in front of the Memorial with fireworks exploding over them. He titled it A Hero's Gratitude. The editor would take credit for adding the ghostly images of the seven soldiers standing at attention. He never told anyone that he had nothing to do with the addition. They had appeared in the final print.
THE END
()()()()()()()()
Author's notes: A story on the Travelers appeared on Sixty Minutes. A news report on the growing violence of girl gangs was the basis of the Sea Hags. The Army Rangers made their first appearance during World War Two.
