The Cost of Doing Right

"Mr. Eckrich, this is Mr. Quinn. He's here about Brian," Sally said as she opened the principal's door.

"Come in, Mr. Quinn." Paul Eckrich remained seated and pointed to the chair facing him. "Please take a seat."

Sonny stayed on his feet. "Where's Brian? Is he okay?"

"In another room. We must speak first." Paul opened the folder and said, "I see you are listed as his secondary emergency contact. My assistant tried to reach his mother, but she didn't answer."

"Stella's in the air, so her phone is off. I'm sorry it took me a while to get here, but I was out in the training field when I received the call there was a problem with Brian," Sonny explained, then repeated his unanswered question, "Is he alright?"

"Please sit." Paul pushed up his glasses.

"I ain't sitting until you tell me if my godson is okay."

"He's fine. You said Ms. Spenser—"

"Mrs. Spenser."

"Quite right, she's a widow, right."

"Yes." Sonny moved to the seat, not impressed by the principal.

Studying the burly man wearing a dirty uniform, Paul hid his dislike. "Mr. Quinn, I'll come straight to the point. This school has zero tolerance for fighting or violence of any kind toward other students or teachers. Therefore, Brian will be suspended for two weeks."

"Fighting. Who did he fight with? What caused it?"

Again ignoring the queries, Eckrich continued his spiel. "He will be required to attend a conflict resolution course before he can return."

"A what course? What the hell?" Sonny's ire grew along with his volume.

"Lower your voice." Paul moved a pamphlet across the desk to the sailor. "This explains the non-violent resolution counseling and gives you the number to call to set up a session."

Sonny stared at it in disbelief.

Paul added, "Children must be taught resorting to violence is never the option."

Sonny snorted. "Violence is sometimes necessary and warranted. What started the fight? Who was involved? Are they receiving the same punishment?"

"I can't reveal the other parties or their consequences. And it doesn't matter what caused the altercation. We have a zero fighting rule and don't condone vio—"

"Yeah, I heard you twice the first time. However, I disagree with you. Did you ask Brian why he got into the fight? Cause I gotta tell you, that boy has a head on his shoulders and isn't prone to rash actions."

"Sign this form acknowledging you were informed of our policy and the requirement for Brian to return to school once his suspension period is concluded." Eckrich pushed a pen and sheet of paper to the man, then called out to his assistant. "Sally, would you bring Brian in?"

Sonny wished Stella was already back from her conference. He didn't know whether or not he should sign the paper. He debated a few more minutes, then said, "I'll take this for Stella to review. It will be up to her whether or not Brian attends this course." Sonny waved the glossy pamphlet.

Hearing a noise to the side of him, Sonny turned, and his jaw about dropped when he spied Brian. The kid's shirt was torn from the neck to mid-torso and was speckled with droplets of blood. Clay's thirteen-year-old son held an ice pack to his left eye and sported a split lip. Anger surging, Sonny stood. "I thought you said he was okay! That doesn't look alright to me."

Moving to Brian, Sonny shifted the cold pack away to take a gander at the eye, finding it red and swollen. "Hey, Kid. Looks like it hurts."

"I'm fine," Brian insisted.

Sonny bit back a comment about how much that sounded like Clay. "Doesn't look like it to me, Champ. Did the nurse check you over?"

Brian shook his head.

"Who gave you the ice?"

"My English teacher, Mrs. Beller."

Pivoting to glare at the high school principal, he said, "Do you have a nurse?"

"Not today. She called out sick," Paul said.

"Then how the hell can you sit there and tell me he is okay if no one checked him over?" Sonny guided Brian to the chair he had vacated and had him sit. Using his SEAL first-aid training, Sonny lightly examined the cheekbone, then moved over the rest of Brian's body, noting the beginnings of bruising on his arms and chest. Luckily, he didn't find anything that needed immediate attention.

Both uncomfortable and glad his uncle was here for him, Brian quipped, "You should see the other guys."

Sonny halted and peered into the blue eyes. "As in more than one?"

Brian nodded.

"How many?"

"One at first, but then two others joined. I could've licked them all if Mrs. Beller hadn't stopped me."

The cockiness so reminiscent of Clay, Sonny's curiosity grew. "Why did you fight them?"

Without a hint of remorse, Brian said, "I was protecting Zoya."

"Who's Zoya?"

"A new girl in one of my classes. They were picking on her, and I told them to stop."

"Are they in your class?"

"No, they're all seniors."

Sonny's eyes widened as he gazed at the freshman, who skipped a year, which meant he fought boys four to five years older and much larger than himself. Clay would've been proud—Sonny was.

"How did it come to blows?" Sonny reached for a tissue from the box on the desk and dabbed at Brian's lip as it started bleeding again.

In the background, Paul was becoming nervous. He wanted them gone. "I think you need to take Brian home now."

His turn to ignore, Sonny prompted Brian. "Take your time. I want to understand what occurred. You told them to stop, and then what?"

"Well, I came around the corner just in time to see Evan push Zoya really hard. She hit the back of her head on the wall and started crying. Then he shoved Zoya again and called her a stinking Muslim as he yanked off her hajib."

Sonny blinked but held his tongue as Brian continued. He needed the whole story before he reacted.

"Evan is a bully. He picks on anyone weaker or smaller than him. At the start of the year, he went after Cameron. Cam had to change schools because Evan and his pals tormented him about his speech impediment. The principal did nothing to stop them after Cam reported it to him. I couldn't let them hurt Zoya."

"What happened next?"

"I stepped between Zoya and Evan and told him he needed to walk away and leave her alone. That's when he hit me here." Brian pointed to his eye. "I hit back. Bullies need to be confronted. Unless someone takes a stand, they will continue to harass and hurt others. He came at me again, but I ducked, and his hand hit the brick wall. He started screaming that I broke his hand, but he was the one who threw the punch.

"I clasped Zoya's arm and tried to leave, but Evan's buddy grabbed my shirt and pulled, ripping it. Told Zoya to run and find an adult, but his other buddy tripped her. When I went to help Zoya up, he kicked me, knocking me down. All three came at me, and, well, I started swinging to defend myself and give Zoya time to get away. When Mrs. Beller arrived, she pulled me off of Evan."

Proud of Brian but also dumbfounded by the chain of events, Sonny patted the teen's knee. "Did you tell this to Mr. Eckrich?"

Brian's shoulders sagged. "I tried, but he wouldn't listen and told me it didn't matter why I was fighting. He said fighting is always wrong."

Sonny stood and pinned Eckrich with a death glare. "Let me see if I have this straight. You are suspending Brian because a severe lack of supervision led to a situation where he was forced to defend his classmate and himself from three older boys who assaulted a young lady because of her faith. You further disregarded the safety of the students in your care by allowing ongoing bullying to occur with no consequences. And to top it all off, you don't even bother to find out what caused this incident?"

Nervous under the heated glare, Paul reiterated, "We have a zero—"

"You have zero common sense. That's what you have. I want the names of the boys who attacked Brian and Zoya. I'll be calling the police and filing assault and battery charges."

"That won't be necessary. They were suspended for two weeks also. Besides, I can't give you their names. It is a violation of privacy rights," Paul said.

"Oh, yes, it is necessary. You are punishing my godson for defending himself and a friend from three thugs. That don't fly in my book." Sonny pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Eckrich asked.

Sonny didn't answer but dialed, and when the call connected, he said, "My name is Master Chief Quinn, and I'm at my thirteen-year-old godson's school. He's been assaulted by three students, who might be eighteen, in an unprovoked attack. I want to file charges against them. He's got visible injuries, and the school administrator failed in his duty to ensure he was checked out properly. We'll wait here for an officer to arrive." Sonny went on to give the address and name of the principal.

Hours later, Sonny sat on the counter in Stella's kitchen as Trent took a peek at Brian's eye, although he had the kiddo examined at the hospital to ensure Brian was truly okay. With them in the room were Jason and Brock. Ray would've been here, but he was elected to pick Stella up from the airport and give her a rundown of the day's events.

Sonny still couldn't believe the insanity of the school's policies and the total lack of common sense or concern for the safety of the kids from predatory behavior. When the police went to take Zoya's statement, they learned Evan's taunting was singularly depraved. The eighteen-year-old miscreant had been cornering her for the past month when no one was around.

Evan repeatedly told Zoya all Muslims deserved to be dead and he'd be happy to make her a suicide bomb so she could blow herself and her family up. The sad kicker to this horrid affair is Zoya's father, a second-generation American, had served with distinction as an interpreter in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Lieutenant Ahmed had died six months before Zoya was born when an extremist clacked off an S-vest.

Jake set a bowl of ice cream down in front of Brian. "This will make the inside of your mouth feel better. And it tastes good too."

One worried eye peered at his uncles around him since the other was now swollen shut. "Will my mom be mad at me for fighting?"

"No!" rang from four men.

"Really?" Brian scooped up a small bite.

Sonny pushed off his perch, turned one of the chairs around as he pulled it close to Brian, then straddled it. "Let me ask you a few questions."

"Okay."

"Did you try to defuse the situation with words first?"

"Yeah."

"Were the bullies bigger and older than Zoya and you?"

Brian nodded with a mouthful of strawberry ice cream, that did soothe the cuts inside his mouth.

"Did they hurt her physically?"

"Yes. Three times."

"Who threw the first punch?"

"Evan."

"Did you try to leave?"

"Uh-huh."

"Did you do or say anything to provoke them?"

Brian shook his head.

"Then why would she be mad at you? You did everything right."

"But I'm suspended."

Sonny sighed. "Sometimes doing right has consequences, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it."

"I don't understand."

Though Sonny had the perfect example to convey his meaning, he believed Brian was still too young to tell him all the details of how his dad died. Clay had done the right thing by helping the suicidal vet but was punished in the worst possible way for helping someone. Sadly, doing right didn't always end right. Struggling to find a proper example, Jason came to the rescue.

"It's like when I revealed my TBI. It was the right thing to do, but it cost me my career." Jason didn't add that he still wished he'd done it sooner because Clay wouldn't have been on that mission to cover for him and would likely still be here and be the one having this conversation with his son.

Brian's head bobbed. "Or like my dad talking to the vet into giving him his pistol so he wouldn't commit suicide, but then the guard shot Dad without asking what was going on because he was holding a gun."

"Y ... you know about what happened?" Sonny asked as he shared shocked glances with the others.

"I was curious, so when I was at the library a year ago, I searched for news stories. My dad did the right thing, and he paid the price … like me … but I'm not dead."

"Thank God for that," Stella said, having slipped in without the guys noticing her. She overheard from the point of the loud 'nos' from Jason, Brock, Trent, and Sonny.

"Mom, you're home." Brian hopped out of his seat and raced to hug her.

Stella's arms encircled her son, and while she held him, her eyes scanned Clay's team. "Thanks for being here … again."

"Are you mad?" Brian asked as he pulled back.

Stella lightly touched the discoloration around her boy's eye. "Not at you. I'm very proud of you." She crouched and added, "Your dad would be too." She kissed his cheek, then stood. "How about I order pizza for everyone?"

Two weeks later, Brian walked into the principal's office with Sonny and his mother. He took the stupid training, which he could've taught, with one exception. The course emphasized running away and never hitting back. Brian couldn't and never would ascribe to that notion. With that mindset, one would let bullies and criminals ride roughshod over others—and he wanted to protect people like his father.

Brian held out the paper to Mr. Eckrich, showing he attended. "Sir, I understand the policy, and I don't plan on fighting, but if someone needs my help, I will always do the right thing, even if it costs me. We live in America, where men and women have laid down their lives to protect our freedoms. Zoya shouldn't have to be scared of coming to school because of her religious beliefs, and you should've stopped those bullies."

Paul opened his mouth to respond, but Stella cut him off. "My son is as courageous as his father was, and his uncles are. His role models seek peaceable ways to resolve issues but are not afraid to stand up for themselves or others and use force when necessary. Brian assures me he will not throw the first punch, but he has my permission and blessing to always defend himself, regardless of your unjust policy that punishes the innocent in the same manner as the perpetrators."

Sonny popped a toothpick in his mouth and remained silent as Stella eloquently ripped the incompetent administrator a new asshole. She demanded all allegations of wrongdoing in Brian's school file be amended to show he acted selflessly in the defense of another student. The mama bear had a backbone of steel and could handle this situation without his help, but Sonny was there simply because he wanted to be. He loved Clay's son like one of his own and would always stand in Brian's and Stella's corner, watching their six.

.

Note: One of my sons endured the consequences of the stupidity of zero-tolerance policies back in the 90s. They didn't work then and still don't work. A person has the right to defend themselves. When my son was suspended after being sucker punched for no reason and hitting back, he had our full support, and we told the principal we stood behind his action. It didn't change anything at the school, but at least my son knew we backed him.