A Friendly Demonstration
Chapter 40
Harm eased himself into the front seat of the pool car and buckled himself in while he waited for Corporal Morrison to walk around to the driver's side. He let her get settled, start the engine and drive off before he spoke. Apart from the exchange of 'good morning' they hadn't said word up until now. But now as she drove the car down the slip road and merged into the London bound traffic on the A40 he remarked lightly, "That's still quite a limp, you've got Corporal."
"Yes sir!"
"And?"
"And what, sir?" she asked, her eyes flickering from the traffic ahead to her rear-view mirror.
"So what happened now? I can't see the Corps being happy with a Marine who stumps along the way I've just seen you do it?"
"They wouldn't be sir, so they've fixed me up with a rehab programme, sir."
Harm creased his forehead in thought, remembering the British Army Medical Corps Colonel at Woolwich saying that there was no remit for the rehab of US Servicemen, "Where?" he asked.
"Mildenhall Air Force Base, sir," Morrison replied, adroitly threading the pool car between two articulated trucks, and breathing a sigh of relief as she accelerated onto an open stretch of road.
"Mildenhall? That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?" Harm queried, "It's about ninety miles each way!"
"Yes, sir. I'm going TAD for two weeks for assessment and concentrated PT, and then two visits a week…"
"For how long?" Harm asked.
"Until I'm back to full fitness, sir!" Morrison replied, but Harm thought he could hear a slight tremor in the young Marine's voice.
"Is it that bad, Jenny?" he asked quietly.
His first time use of not just her first name, but her preferred version of it, caused her to shoot a wide-eyed and totally surprised glance at him, before plain common sense snatched her head and eyes back to the front and to the traffic, "How did…?" she began and then regaining a degree of Marine stoicism she replied, "It might not be that bad, sir. But the Brit doctors have warned me that I risk losing a lot of movement in the ankle, because the break goes right through the joint. And if I can't get that movement back, then the Corps might decide they don't want me."
"Well, in that case you'll have to get that movement back! It's too much of drag training another driver to my peculiar little ways, and I can't keep Martinez out of her office for ever!"
"No, sir! But I have seen her drive. She's pretty good, sir!"
"For a squid?" Harm teased her lightly.
"Yessir!" Morrison replied.
Harm lapsed into silence. He had always thought Morison pretty unemotional, yet the thought of leaving the Corps had brought a tremor into the young woman's voice. Five minutes ago when she had mentioned having to travel to Mildenhall his first thought had been to impact that here travel would have on his budget. Now he was more concerned about her worries of being forced out of the Corps.
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A wreck just past the A40 and North Circular Road intersection had closed one lane of the road and inflicted a twenty minute tailback as the London bound traffic crawled past the police patrol cars and the ambulances with their blue flashing lights, so by the time Harm had arrived at the office he was running about twenty minutes late and in no very good mood about it.
His first appearance, ten minutes later, in the uniform if the day was greeted by the cry of "Captain on deck!" and the immediate cessation if all work as the occupants of the bull pen sprang to their feet.
"As you were!" he growled as he strode across the bull pen in the direction of his own office, causing Legalman Two Helen Lennard, a veteran of JAG HQ at Falls Church to remark to her friend, Legalman Three Tom Byrne, that "The Captain's getting more and more like the Admiral!" she paused and shook her head before adding "God help us!"
"I thought Falls Church was a good billet?" Tom asked as they sat down to their desks again.
"It was the first year or so I was there, before the Admiral's immune system ate his sense of humour!" Helen replied and then having fully tweaked Tom's curiosity, merely laid a finger across her lips and said in a mysterious voice, "Don't ask!"
Tom looked at her helplessly, "God, I hate it when you do that!"
"I know!" Helen giggled and turned her full attention back to her VDU.
Harm strode into the outer office shared by Jen and Julia, waving them both back to their seats as they started to rise, "Good morning!"
"Good morning, sir!" they chorused and then were left looking in surprise at the door to the inner office as it closed behind him.
"Well!" Jen said in astonishment.
"Yeah," Julia nodded.
After that brief exchange both women turned their attention back to their work, Jen casting a surreptitious look at Julia, trying to estimate how the younger woman was feeling this morning. She seemed a little… happier? No, that was the wrong word, she wouldn't really be happy, Jen guessed, until her soldier returned home safely from his deployment, but maybe she was a bit more reconciled to the idea, a little more accepting maybe? Yes, that was it, accepting, Jen decided.
Julia didn't really have time to formulate any train of thought as her intercom buzzed, interrupting any ideas that might have occurred to her.
"Yes, sir?"
"Martinez, could you get me a coffee, please?"
"Yes, sir! On its way!" Julia got up from behind her desk and arched an eyebrow at Jen. Jen nodded thoughtfully, instantly picking up on Julia's non-verbal message, there was definitely something up. Sure, the Captain had been polite as usual, he'd said please, and would undoubtedly say thank you, when the coffee materialised, but he had been so brusque, none of his gently teasing comments about making sure the coffee was drinkable, or if there was any left.
Harm released the call button on the intercom, sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers as he debated his next move. It had been all right using Jen and Julia as stop gap drivers while Morrison had been on hospital leave, but now with Jen having moved off-base, the whole of that burden would necessarily fall in Julia Martinez, and that was not a satisfactory state of affairs, not for an indefinite and possibly lengthy period of time. Reluctantly, because despite her unbending Jarhead façade, Morrison was a damn' good driver, he came to the decision that the Security Detachment would have to find him a replacement driver for the period of Morrison's rehab.
The trouble is, he reflected gloomily, as Martinez had pointed out when she first stepped up as a volunteer driver, thee weren't that many lower rank Marines on the Security Detachment who were qualified to drive in the UK. And that would have to change. But it shouldn't have to be the FJAG Europe who oversaw details like this, this is what he should have an XO or an AO for, precisely to deal with minor, but time consuming details.
With a sigh, he reached for the telephone and checking the number on his VDU he punched it in and waited for the reply, which came after four rings. 'What a surprise!' he told himself sarcastically, just before the voice from the other end of the line made itself known.
"Gutierrez!"
"Good morning, this is Captain Rabb."
"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?"
"I understand I'm about to lose my driver, Corporal Morrison, again. This time for an indefinite but possibly lengthy period."
"Uh… Yes, sir. She reports to the Air Force Hospital at Mildenhall next Monday, sir."
"And you were going to tell me this, when? Why was it left to Corporal Morrison to let me know in the course of conversation?"
"Uh… you should have been informed, sir, of course you should. As of this moment, I don't know why you weren't. But I shall find out and if there is any question of dereliction of duty…"
"For God's sake, man! Don't go making this into a Federal case! Just make sure that in future anything that affects my driver gets to me through official channels instead of scuttlebutt!"
"Yes, sir."
"Good… now, what arrangements have you made for Corporal Morrison's relief?"
"Uh… none, sir. Because I thought that you had been informed, I was waiting for your input. You… uh… might have wanted to continue using your Yeoman…"
"Well, I don't. That was okay for a finite period, but with Corporal Morrison out for who knows how long, it isn't fair to my Yeoman to double-task her. So here's what you're going to do. By twelve hundred today you will have on my desk a list of all E One through E Four who are qualified to drive in the UK and live in on-base housing. From that list I will select one, who will report to Corporal Morrison at zero six thirty tomorrow morning, ready to ride shotgun for a week while Corporal Morrison instructs him or her in her duties. That individual will then be Corporal Morrison's permanent stand in. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, make it so!"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
Harm put the phone down, once more shaking his head. Added to the time lost through the traffic hold-up, the time he had just spent on the phone to resolve something that he shouldn't have to attend to personally had cost him half an hour from his day. And his damned coffee hadn't arrived yet, either!
With an exclamation of annoyance his thumb stabbed for the call button on the intercom, but before it made contact the awaited knock sounded at his door.
"Enter!"
On the word the door opened to admit Julia Martinez bearing the longed for coffee, and almost as if by magic Harm could feel some the tension ooze out of him, "Thank you, Yeoman Two, I feel better already!"
Julia tentatively offered a smile, "Yes, sir," with the Captain's current uncertain mood she figured a neutral comment was the safest response she could make.
Harm nodded, but as Julia was about to turn and head back towards the door, he took her by surprise, "Just wait up a second or two, please Yeoman Two?"
Julia turned back to face him, and instinctively braced up, "Sir?"
"How are you feeling today? I spoke with Captain Shephard last night and she tells me that Three Eight Regiment has been warned for deployment, is that what upset you yesterday?"
"Uh… Yes, sir… Uh… that is no sir. I… I wasn't really upset, just a bit concerned about John… uh… about Bombardier Walker, sir. I know you probably think that's dumb, sir, I mean this will be his third tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he's come home safe the other two times…"
"No, I don't think it's dumb, Julia. I have a very good friend, we used to fly together. She's now back at sea on a deployment, and I am concerned for her. Similarly, Captain Shephard's brother is deployed, he's the XO on a British Destroyer on anti-piracy patrols off the east coast of Africa, and she's concerned about him. So it's perfectly natural."
"Yes sir. And sir?"
"Go ahead?" Harm invited her.
Julia looked a little uncomfortable and a tinge of pink rose to her cheeks, as she took a breath before she said, "I'm sorry about yesterday, sir. But Jen – Legalman One Coates – told me about the way Lieutenant Sims thinks about things, and she's right. So I'm going to follow her way of thinking, and I won't let the terrorists win by being afraid. Sir."
"That's good to hear, Yeoman Two," Harm smiled, "Now… do we have any mail I need to look at this morning?"
Julia allowed herself a grin, it sounded as if the Captain was getting his normal good humour back while the change in the way he addressed her let her know that the informal moment was over, "Coming right up, sir!"
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Julia duly delivered the first sight folder to Harm and on returning to the outer officer, she grinned across at Jen. I don't know what was up with him when he first came in, but whatever it was, I think he's over the worst of it now." She hesitated a few seconds before she made the decision to carry on, "He was pretty good about my mood yesterday, said he didn't hold it against me, and it was understandable that I was worried."
"Ah… you told him about your soldier's possible deployment?" Jen asked, hoping that Ham hadn't mentioned her name.
"No… Captain Shephard, his… I don't really know what she is… girlfriend? But that sounds weird. Anyway, they've been dating, and she was in the same regiment as Johnny still is, and when they spoke last night she told him about the deployment, and I guess he just put two and two together."
"Yeah, he's pretty good at piecing the evidence together!" Jen smiled with a sense of relief albeit tinged with guilt. To her mind, lying, even in a good cause, was not a good thing. However Julia seemed satisfied with the explanation that Harm had given her, and the two women quietly devoted themselves to work.
Their peace was disturbed about twenty minutes before midday when they simultaneously became aware of a visitor walking into the office. Looking up Jen's jaw dropped open in surprise as she saw Victor, in his Alphas, a file folder tucked under his arm, as he halted in front of Julia's desk, "Good morning, Petty Officer. Is the Captain free?"
"One moment, please, First Sergeant…" her eyes searched for his name plate, "Galindez." She pressed the call button on the intercom, and as she did so, Victor turned his head slightly and sent a slow, broad wink in Jen's direction.
Jen stared at him aghast for a second or two, and then as the colour flooded her face she hastily averted her eyes and concentrated on the VDU in front of her, barely registering Julia's voice in the background.
"Captain, sir. First Sergeant Galindez from the Marine Security Detail would like to know if you can spare him a few minutes."
"Send him on in, Yeoman Two!"
Julia smiled as she heard the pleasure in Harm's voice, "Aye, aye, sir!"
Victor nodded, turned away from Julia towards the inner office door, and took the opportunity to flash a wicked grin at Jen which had the unfortunate, for her, effect of deepening her blush.
For once she wished she could wear her hair loose at work, at least then it would have functioned as a veil to literally hide her blushes, as it was, Julia saw her heightened colour and asked anxiously, "Jen are you allri…" and then she seemed to make the connection, and stared speculatively at Jen and then at the door through which Victor had just disappeared. "Jennifer Coates! You sly Legalman you! You and the First Sergeant? I don't believe it!"
Jen just looked at her helplessly and then, still flamingly crimson faced, snapped, "Oh… shut up will you!" and then was forced to glare at her friend while Julia collapsed into helpless giggles.
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Harm stood as Victor approached his desk and held out his hand, "Victor, good to see you again! It doesn't happen often enough! What can I do for you?"
Victor took Harm's hand in a firm grasp and smiled easily, "More what I can do for you, sir!"
"Well, sit down man, and tell me all about it – whatever it is. But… before you start, can I offer you a coffee?"
"Uh… no thanks, not for me, sir. I doubt that the coffee… anyway it's only a few minutes to chowtime and I'll grab a cup then!"
"Okay… so what brings you all the way up here?" Harm asked, letting the typically Marine slur on Navy coffee pass.
"I heard about the goat-rope with the news of Corporal Morrison's treatment not getting to you. Corporal Szaskiewicz will very shortly be regretting that! But I've brought you a short list of Marines who are cleared to drive. I thought it might speed things up if I was to give you an insight into any one of 'em."
"Good thinking…" Harm approved, "Let's have a look then."
Victor opened the folder and pulled out one sheet of paper and passed it across the desk to where Harm could take a look. He whistled in disbelief, "Only five names?"
"There are a couple more, sir, but they are bad apples. In fact for one of 'em, I'm trying to think up a good enough excuse to get rid of him. Those names there, though, they've all got good, clean page elevens…"
Harm's scanned the list and then his face cracked into a grin as one name caught his eye, "What can you tell me about her, Victor?"
"Her, sir? What's so special about her, sir?"
"You don't recognize the name, Victor?"
"No, sir, sorry, it doesn't mean a thing to me!"
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Jen opened the door, and then gave a squeak of surprise as Victor stepped through, hooked an arm around her waist and while he back-heeled the door closed, swept her in and kissed her thoroughly.
Jen, finally released and allowed to get her breath back, stared at him, half wanting an immediate repeat performance, and half wanting to tear him a new six. It was the sight of Victor's smug grin that turned the tables.
"You needn't think that one little kiss like that is just going to wipe the slate clean, mister!"
"Slate? Why? What have I done?" Victor asked spreading his hands innocently.
"You know damn well what you've done!" Jen exclaimed, "Turning up like that at work, without letting me know you were coming, and then winking and grinning at me like that! And you only showed up to embarrass me and I was completely embarrassed, and now the worst thing is that Julia has put two and two together!"
"And is that such a bad thing, querida?" Victor asked gently, his hands finding hers.
"No… if course not," Jen sighed, "but I would have likes to enjoy just being us for a little while…" she hesitated and bit her bottom lip, "It was kind of sweet, a bit like... l… a bit like… a…"
"Go on," Victor encouraged her softly.
"If you must have it!" Jen snapped, "You'll probably think it was dumb, but it was romantic, like having a secret, forbidden love!"
"No… I don't think it's dumb… I think it's like you, soft, sweet and tender…"
Jen's sense of humour was tickled, "You make me sound like a prime rib-eye steak!" she spluttered.
"Hey, nothing wrong with that!" Victor defended himself, "I like prime rib-eye steak, a lot!" he added meaningfully, "And besides, you are wrong about a couple of things!"
"Like what?" Jen challenged as she allowed him to lead her by the hand towards one of the arm chairs.
"Well…" Victor said as he sat down in the chair and tugged at her hand so she sat on his knee, "Firstly, I didn't turn up at your office solely to embarrass you. I was bringing the names of some prospective drivers to the Captain!"
"Oh… is something wrong with Corporal; Morrison?" Jen asked in quick concern.
Victor shook his head, "No, except that she's going to be TAD to the Air Force Hospital at Mildenhall for a while for rehab, and the Captain asked the Marines to find him a temporary driver."
"H'mm okay, what was the other thing I got wrong?"
"Well, not wrong exactly, it seems you thought that I thought one kiss would cure all."
"Yeah?" Jen asked suspiciously.
"And what you thought I thought was wrong because I was counting on more than one kiss… like this…" he paused for breath, "And this…"
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Harm took the opportunity while Gill was laughing to take a sip from his wine and settle the phone more comfortably against his ear.
"So… what did the good First Sergeant have to say about the name you picked?" Gill asked.
"Well, he said he didn't know much about her, because he had only been in post a short time, and explained that there were two types of Marines that quickly come to the cadre's notice, the outstanding ones, and the poor ones. And as this particular young woman had not so far attracted his attention, he could only say that she was a good Marine. That wasn't quite enough for my needs – and my curiosity alert was going off, loudly, so we called up her SRB on the computer, and I swear, Gill, I nearly died in the spot!"
"I'm just as glad you didn't," Gill answered comfortably, "but go on with your story…"
"I'm trying, damn it!" Harm protested, but you keep interrupting me!"
"I do not!" Gill protested.
"There! You're doing it again!" Harm laughed.
"Oh… go on!"
"Well, as I said we opened he on-screen SRB and looked at her official ID photo, and it was incredible, it was like going back in time maybe twenty years. I was convinced there and then, but we continued looking, her place of birth - Oklahoma - tallied with what I knew, and then Victor said, 'You know, looking at her, I'd swear she was Native American, maybe not pure, but definitely a lot of Native American genes there! They make good Marines!' That was enough for me, so I told him to have her report to Corporal Morrison tomorrow morning in smart, casual civvies, and I'd give her a try-out as my driver."
"Honestly!" Gill declared in exasperation, "You've told me all about how excited you were and how much of a shock it all was, but you haven't told me why! She's not yours is she?"
"That hurts!" Harm objected, "Do you really think I would desert a woman if I though there was the slightest chance I might have made her pregnant?"
"No, of course not! If you were that sort of man, I would never have been attracted to you! It's just that you're taking such a long time to get to the meat of the story. Now, what is it about this young woman that's got you all so worked up?"
"Her name: Elizabeth Anne Hawkes."
There was a silence on the end of the phone and then Gill's voice, slowly, uncertainly, and even apologetically, "I'm sorry Harm, but you say that name as if it should mean something. But if I've ever heard it, it's completely slipped my mind. If you could maybe give me some context?"
"Do you recall me telling you about how we, my RIO and I had to eject over the Atlantic a few years back?"
"Yes, of course I do! I felt cold just hearing about it!"
"Well, my RIO's name on that flight was Elizabeth Hawkes!" Harm said, as if that explained everything.
"Ah… well… I might have remembered her name if you'd used it, instead of calling her Skates all the time!" Gill laughed, "But even so, this Marine can't be her surely?"
"No of course not, but the name, the photo – she's the spit image of what I imagined a younger Skates would look like…"
"Your Skates daughter, maybe?"
"No… I wouldn't think so. She's a little too old for that, and besides as a single mother, Skates would never have been admitted to the academy. You wouldn't believe how tough the application process is, and the depths of the background checks they do on applicants. And I do know some of Skates family background. Her branch of the family are from Florida's Gulf Coast, but it's a large family on both sides, and I know there's one branch that live on the tribal reservation in Oklahoma. No, my guess is that this girl is related to Skates somehow, and that's enough for me to give her a break!"
"Harm… be careful…" Gill's voice was slightly troubled, "I know you've got very fond memories of your Skates, but just because this girl looks like her and shares her name, it doesn't mean she's the same person."
"No, I know that. But I trust Gunny… I mean Victor Galindez' judgement, and if he says this girls isn't a bad apple that's a good enough recommendation for me. Of course, I'll make my own judgement, based on my own assessment of her character, and if I find her lacking, then she goes straight back to the Security Detail, but I've got a good feeling about her. A sort of instinctive reaction, and my instincts haven't let me down yet. After all, they led me to you!"
"That's a fair comment! But do you mind if we close the hangar door now, I want to talk about this weekend…" Harm could hear the smile in her voice.
"Shoot!" Harm invited her.
"Yes, tell Tim, the dinner invitation is acceptable and accepted with thanks. Of course I haven't got a thing to wear to it – and don't tell him that – but I called Sue Marshall, and she's coming up to town tomorrow afternoon, so I'm going to take a half day's leave and then we're going to hit the stores and shop 'til we drop! So, I'm hoping we'll find something suitable!"
"From what you've told me about Sue, I'm sure you will!" Harm laughed.
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Harm nodded approvingly at the two smartly dressed young women who waited for him next to the car. Although both, in deference to Security Regulations, wore civilian clothing, they were neatly, if casually dressed, the only thing that might have been thought slightly unusual were the matching hairstyles, both Morrison and Hawkes having chosen to wear French braids this morning.
Their bearing wasn't exactly conformable with undercover work either, as they both braced to attention and chorused, "Good morning, sir!"
Harm nodded pleasantly as he returned the greeting and once he had done so, Corporal Morrison stepped forward, "Sir, this is PFC Hawkes, as I understand it, she'll be shadowing me for the rest of the week until I head out for Mildenhall, and then steps up as your driver while I'm gone."
"That's the plan, subject to performance of course," Harm smiled at the visibly nervous young woman, "Pleased to meet you Hawkes. Welcome aboard. You come with a pretty strong recommendation from your First Sergeant, so I'm sure you'll settle into your new role quickly and smoothly."
"Aye, aye, sir! Thank you, sir!"
With a smile of triumph Corporal Morrison opened the rear door to the car, "If you're ready, sir?"
Harm gave a resigned shrug and a grin, "You may think you have won this battle, Corporal, but you aren't going to win the war!"
"No, sir, not if you say so, sir!" Morrison said stiffly, but Harm was sure he'd seen the corners of her mouth quirk a little. The he shook his head, 'No, can't be…" he told himself, and ducking under the low roof of the car he settled himself into the rear seat and waited until Corporal Morrison and Hawkes had settled into the front.
The journey into work was uneventful this morning, the quiet only broken by Corporal Morrison's navigational hints to Hawkes. And unlike the previous morning, there were no more delays than occasioned by the volume of traffic, but those delays had been factored into the journey time, and Harm was happy to arrive at JAG by seven fifty hours. Climbing out of the car he turned to Morrison, "Thank you, Corporal. Give Hawkes a briefing on where and when to find you please, and then once you've changed into the uniform of the day, Hawkes, come and find my office." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the wing of the Embassy that housed the JAG complex. "I'm on the fourth floor!"
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Harm's "As you were!" and his casual wave off of the morning courtesies were greeted with relief by at least two of the bull pen crew.
"That's a better start than yesterday!" Tim Byrne said in a voice meant for Helen Lennard's ears only. It was his bad luck that Lieutenant Sullivan just happened to be passing behind his chair as he spoke.
"A better start for who, Legalman Two?" she asked in arctic accents.
"For me, ma'am" Helen chipped in. "My computer was playing up yesterday morning, so Legalman Two Byrne had a look at it for me yesterday afternoon. He thought he's fixed what the problem was, but we couldn't be sure until the system re-booted this morning, ma'am!" she finished breathlessly.
Theresa Sullivan was no computer wizard, buy she'd had a few years of using them, and for some reason Lennard's story sounded fishy to her, but without mounting a full scale inquiry, she was in no position to call Lennard's bluff. "H'mm… very well, carry on!"
"Aye. Aye, ma'am!" both Legalmen chorused and Tom waiting until he was sure the tall brunette was out of earshot said softly, "Thanks, Helen. I definitely owe you one for that!"
"Yeah, you do! And I will collect!" she said unsmilingly.
Theresa Sullivan continued across the bull pen until she reached the JAG's outer office. "Good morning, Martinez, is the Captain free?"
"Sorry, ma'am, he's got someone with him. But I don't think they'll be too long. Would you like to take a seat?"
"No, no thanks! I've got far too much to do to just sit around – although I'd be grateful for the chance! Can you give me a call when he is free, please?"
"Certainly, ma'am!" Julia watched her go and then breathed, "Ain't love grand!"
Jen looked up sharply, "What did you mean by that?" she snapped.
"Hey, power down, Jen! I was just reflecting on the difference in Lieutenants Sullivan and Tierney since they started dating!"
Jen's hackles started to lie flat again, but she felt compelled to warm Julia, "Don't, whatever you do, let the Captain hear you discuss any of the officers or their private lives. He went through hell in Falls Church because of scuttlebutt, and he will collapse a wall on you if he thinks you're spreading rumours!"
"Really?" Julia asked, slightly incredulous.
"Really!" Jen affirmed with a finality that ended the conversation.
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Harm eyed the young BDU clad Marine who stood nervously at attention in front of his desk. "Relax, Hawkes, at ease, and take a seat. This is just an informal chat so I get to know you a little better!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" PFC Hawkes sat as she'd been told to, but perched nervously on the edge of her chair.
Harm waited until she settled, "Now, let me tell you what I think I know about you, and then you can put me right and fill in the blanks, okay?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, now, you are Elizabeth Anne Hawkes. And it was your name that caught my eye – I'll explain why in a minute or so. You're from Oklahoma, and you're at least part Native American, on your father's side. I apologise, because I've forgotten the tribal name, but your Native American heritage comes from the Kiowa, am I correct, so far?"
"Yes, sir, but how…?" and then her eye fell on Harm's wings, "Oh… you're an aviator, sir! Do you know my Aunt Beth? I mean, you know so much about me, and…"
"Yes, I know your aunt Beth. She's one of my oldest friends in the Navy, and we've saved each other's lives more times than I care to remember."
"Excuse the liberty, sir… uh… If I can speak freely sir, I mean?"
"Yes, go ahead, Hawkes."
"Sir, are you Hammer? If so, Aunt Beth has told me so much about you. She's my favourite aunt, and I was named after her!"
Harm struggled to hide his smile. Two minutes ago the young woman, little more than a girl really, had sat across the desk from him apparently tongue ties and miserably shy, but the magic of Skates' name had transformed her into a vivacious young woman with the schoolgirl's capacity for enthusiasm.
" Yes, I'm Hammer, but your Aunt first knew me with my old call sign, and if she hasn't told you what it was, then I'm not about to self-incriminate! So, you were named after your favourite aunt and my favourite RIO, good. So tell me, with your Aunt Beth – by the way what do they call you at home? Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzie?"
"No, sir, it's Libby. I'd have preferred Beth, but it's just too confusing, and nobody at home has ever gotten used to calling her Skates."
"I see. Well what I was going to ask was, with your Aunt Beth an officer in the Navy, how come you ended up in the Marines?"
Hawkes shrugged, "My family couldn't afford to send me to college, so no degree, therefore no commission. So I went to the recruiting office in Oklahoma City to enlist, but the Navy recruiter was off sick, so I started talking to the Gunnery Sergeant Marine Recruiter, and he convinced me that with a relative as an officer in the Navy it would be better, less embarrassing for us both if I joined one of the other services, and he kind of steered me into the Marines, sir."
"And are you happy with your choice?"
"I guess, so sir. But I'm going to do my four, take my discharge and then apply to the Navy again!"
"Good for you! But I'd keep that a secret if I were you!"
"Oh, don't worry about that, sir! Can you imagine the grief I'd get if the guys in the platoon found out about that?"
"I shudder to think Private, I shudder to think!" Harm joined in with her laughter.