"Why me?"
Garrison considered the young man for a moment before he answered with a question of his own. "Why you, because you can't read?"
Chief stiffened a bit. There were a lot of reasons for someone like him to be passed over, that was just one of them, and he was a little surprised it had made the top of Garrison's list. He gave a slight nod, "Lots a other guys good with a knife and a car could." And he waited to see what the Lieutenant would say.
"People like you." Garrison watched the youngster's face harden in anticipation of the slurs and slights he probably was used to getting. "People who can't read or write well, have to depend more on their memory than people who can." He waited for that to sink in a little before he continued. "It's safer to carry what you need to know in your head over there, and that won't be any problem for you." He smiled at the man sitting across from him. "In fact, it'll be easier to teach you to read well, if you want to learn, than it will be to train Casino and Goniff to develop their memories." A tawny eyebrow went up… "I don't supposed you'd like to get involved in coaching them?"
"I bet Actor could handle it," Chief replied as he turned that over in his head. He'd never looked on not being able to read and write as something positive… And he did want to learn, he just wasn't sure he was ready to trust anyone enough to ask for help.
There was a little change on his face, Craig thought, was it interest? Or was it surprise that something others would look down on him for could be useful? And had he just made a joke!? But he wasn't finished explaining his reasoning…. "And I'd hoped, with your background, you'd be used to committing a lot to memory. I know the culture you come from hands their history and myths down in their storytelling."
He was uncomfortable with that. He didn't like to talk about his 'background'. "Wasn't there long enough to pick any of that up."
Garrison shrugged. "You were out there while you were still young, you probably picked up more than you realize. But it's not the stories you might have committed to memory that I was interested in, Chief, it was your training to do it. You also heard more than one language when you were young, so I hoped that picking up what we need to teach you would be a little easier for you than for someone who'd grown up only heard one."
"Like Goniff?"
"Like Goniff…" Garrison agreed. "But I think, from where he grew up, he probably knows some Yiddish." At the other man's questioning frown he explained. "Yiddish is a dialect. Most people think it's sort of a bastard version of German", and he shrugged again. "Which is probably why Goniff can only speak a bastard version of German during his lessons." That got an actual laugh out of the scout…so he did have a sense of humor after all, and the crack about Actor had been a joke.
"What about the rest of it?" Chief persisted.
Garrison rocked back in his chair. "Why you, because you're an Indian? Chief, you could just as easily be Spanish, or Italian, or Greek, or Slavic, or from any one of a dozen countries that's allied with Germany right now."
The young man opened his mouth but didn't get a chance to ask before the Lieutenant continued.
"Why you, because of the reason you were sent up? I can read between the lines, Chief. That first conviction looked like it might have been a set up. And the other times in prison seemed to be mostly self defense." He shrugged and tossed the pen he'd been toying with back on his desk. "Whatever the reasons, your skill with that knife is a skill that I needed, but I didn't want it to come with the type of man who enjoyed using it…and you don't."
Chief took pride in the accuracy he had developed with his blade, but that last comment made him uncomfortable too. He wasn't sure he liked the fact that someone could read him like that. He'd used the ability he had with his weapon as a threat; as protection from others who would take advantage of him if they thought he wouldn't use it, that there was no price to pay...
"You didn't want that kind a man, why'd you take Wheeler?"
"I didn't 'take' Wheeler. I got stuck with him." Craig stopped short of saying that he was just as glad that Wheeler was dead and gone.
The young scout nodded his acceptance of the answers he'd been given and pushed up out of the chair and headed for the door. He got almost all the way out before turning back.
"Warden?"
Garrison looked up from the file he'd just pulled off the stack in his 'In' box.
… "I'd like to give that reading a shot," but he turned again, ready to leave before he got the Lieutenant's answer, because he expected it would be no. That he was just pulling a joke on him.
"Good! I'll get you started. But Actor will probably get involved somewhere down the line. Are you comfortable with that?"
Still standing in front of the door he caught his lower lip between his teeth and studied the floor between his feet, and for a moment he thought about telling the Lieutenant to forget it. Christine had tried... Chief still remembered her frustration and disappointment in him when he didn't improve. And it was one thing for the Warden to know, but Actor? He'd hold it over him. He'd tell the others and they'd all make a big joke about it. He thought about just walking out the door because he'd be better off if he just forgot the whole thing….instead he turned back, "Long as Casino isn't in on it."
Garrison smiled. "He doesn't have to know anything about it… Unless you want to tell him yourself." He put a hand up to stop the young man when he turned to leave again and reached out and thumbed the button on the intercom sitting on his desk. "Sergeant Major, would you come in here please?"
The tinny reply of 'Yes Sir!" was still echoing around the office when Rawlins arrived.
"Would you take Chief into the library, please, he's going to pick out some books." To cover the British Non Com's astonishment he addressed himself to his scout. "The family library has quite a selection, from all over the world. Pick out one or two you recognize if you can find them. I want to see what you read as a child." He turned his attention back to Rawlins, "Point him at the children's books, the American section Sergeant, it will save time."
Chief trailed Rawlins down the hall to a set of tall paneled doors, he waited as he found the right key, unlocked them and pushed them open. Dim light seeped into the room around the heavy curtains that seemed to make up the middle portion of the opposite wall. Rawlins crossed the room and gathered one of the curtains in an arm and walked it back, revealing glass doors that were topped by windows that went almost to the ceiling. The light spilling through the glass revealed a room lined with floor to ceiling shelves, and the shelves were set with books…. More books than Chief thought he'd ever seen in one room in his life.
Most of the books were leather bound, the titles lettered in dimly glowing gilt, but the section the Sergeant Major was directing him to held volumes bound in various colors of cloth or marbled hard paper. This collection was on the lower shelves in a corner near the windows. Chief had to crouch down to child's level to read the titles. After looking for a minute or two he found one he thought he recognized. Tipping it off the shelf he flipped it open, yes, he knew this one by the drawings inside. Straightening up he scanned the other shelves, ignoring the impatient sounds coming from the British soldier waiting by the door. For some reason he was drawn to a section of books over by the fireplace. Another search found the one he was looking for, and he slid that one off the shelf and into the hand that held the first. Turning he walked past the Sergeant Major, made his way back down the hall while the NCO was busy locking up, and stepped back into the Warden's office. When the Lieutenant looked up he sat the books on the edge of his desk and slid them towards him.
Garrison took the books into his lap and leaned back in his chair. He dismissed Rawlins when he arrived in a huff, and told him to close the door.
"The Wonderful Wizard of OZ?" Craig smiled at the illustrations as he thumbed through the pages. "Might be fun," he told the group's scout. "I didn't get much of a chance to read children's books." When he saw the next offering he sat forward and let out a low whistle. "A lot of family's start their kids on this, but I'm a little surprised you picked it out."
Chief gave one shoulder a fractional shrug, "Teacher at the school used to read the stories to us out of it. She gave me an old one, but when she left they said I stole it, and they took it back… I left school right after that, so I didn't get to finish it."
The book creaked when Garrison opened it, there was a soft thump and a flutter of pages as the front cover came to rest on the desk blotter. A slight aroma of dust and old leather wafted upwards. The Lieutenant carefully turned the tissue thin pages. "Chief, this is the Bible… No one 'finishes' reading it."
Garrison stood up and set the children's book on top of his filing cabinet. He'd have to read a few chapters ahead so he'd know what was going on in case Chief asked any questions. "I think we'll start with Oz…", turning he held the other book out to the young man. "But you can take this one with you if you want to."
Chief looked at the book for a moment and started to reach for it, but then shook his head as his hand slowly dropped back to his side. "You better keep it for now. Don't want anybody to get the wrong idea." With that he stepped across to the door and opened it. Rawlins was standing right outside, that was no surprise….
Craig watched the door close and stood there for a moment thinking about the young man who had just left. He sat the Bible atop the book already resting on his filing cabinet and considered the two volumes for several seconds before turning back to the work on his desk. He didn't care what anyone else said or thought; he knew he'd made the right choice.
Yes, this is part of a larger piece, but I thought you might enjoy seeing it here for now. Maybe some day the rest will come to join it...retirement is coming!