Faithful Valor, page 8
“I’m doing it right now. Right now. Please just put him down.”
“Get your ass back to wherever you came from and get me a copy of the videotape of the last twenty minutes. Understand me?”
He nodded. “Don’t come back out here until you have that copied for me.”
Nic set him on his feet and unclenched her hands from his shirt.
“Now, for you two sorry excuses for soldiers.” Nic stepped toward them with her hand out. “IDs. Now.”
Nic looked at the broken counter and then back to Mrs. Patel. She shook her head. Assholes. A family just trying to make a living.
“What unit are you in?” Nic’s hand was out, still waiting for their ID cards.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, dyke? We don’t have to tell you jack,” the brick shithouse said as he took a step toward her. When she didn’t move, she caught his hands clenching into fists. His buddy stepped up behind him.
“Don’t add assaulting a superior officer to the list of crimes you’re going to be court-martialed over.”
“You ain’t no officer. What, for the gay army?”
Nic smiled. She’d dealt with the few whispers about her sexuality behind her back. Confrontation wasn’t an issue for her, but assholes like this were. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her wallet and jerked out her Military ID.
“That would be Colonel Dyke to you men.”
Nic wanted to laugh as their faces melted with the news. Her ID showed proof of her rank and their stupidity.
“Let me give you some advice, gentlemen, and I use that term loosely. You represent the United States Military when you are out on the economy. As a representative, you need to be on your best behavior because you represent us all when you open those redneck mouths.” The brick shithouse stiffened as his face contorted into a grimace. “I am not easily intimidated, but Mrs. Patel is when some shaved-tail assholes come into her shop and get caught stealing. See, she’s just trying to make a living. Aren’t you Mrs. Patel?”
“Oh, yes, Miss Nic.” She held the phone in her hand and didn’t look at the men.
“So, you’re taking food out of her family’s mouths when you steal and you’re presenting a really bad image of the US Military. The only solutions for this incident are either you give me your ID cards, or the police come and arrest you for theft, assault, and vandalism. They’ll call your first sergeant or platoon leader and you’ll be released into his or her care, then you’ll face court-martial and probably charges in the civilian world, then your career is over.” Nic snapped her fingers. She was getting impatient waiting. “A dishonorable discharge is just as bad as going to prison, boys. You’ll never own firearms, not that I think you should considering your tempers, and your total lack of respect for different cultures, and you won’t be able to get a job, either. Choice is up to you.”
Neither soldier moved.
“Mrs. Patel?”
“Yes, Miss Nic?”
Nic nodded at the phone. “Please make that phone call.”
Benji came out of the back room with a disc in his hand. “Here you are, Colonel.”
“Thank you, Benji.”
He’d calmed down considerably now and he bowed his head. “I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just that this is my parents’ store, this is all they have. They’ve worked so hard…I mean, you know. You’ve shopped here enough.”
Nic patted the young man on the back. “I know, but you wouldn’t be helping them if you went to jail, now would you?”
“No, of course not.”
One of the guys groaned and whispered something about camels and intercourse.
She narrowed her eyes at the men. “You know that old saying when you’re in too deep, stop digging? You need to shut up.”
“Thanks, Benji.” Nic waved the disc. “I appreciate your help.”
Looking back at the two men, she put her hand out again. “It’s either you two, me, and your commander, or the police. You decide.”
The young man in the back whispered something to the brick shithouse. Fishing their IDs out of their wallets, they handed them over to Nic. She thought she heard one of them mumble, “Bitch.”
“Unit, gentlemen?”
“Private First Class Sinclar. US Marine Corps, Charlie company attached to the POM, Presidio of Monterey.”
Nic gave him a look when he didn’t finish the sentence correctly. “Ma’am.”
Nic looked at the other ID card. “What about you, Moffett? I’m sure your mother and father would be so proud of you right now, wouldn’t they?”
“Ma’am, Private First Class Moffett, US Marine Corps, Charlie company attached to the POM.”
Nic strummed the IDs across her fingers, walked around the men and assessed them. What a disappointment. “What language are you studying?” She prayed they didn’t say—
“Arabic.”
Great, so these yahoos would be deployed to a powder keg with their racist attitudes. Well, maybe she was wrong. Maybe they weren’t racists, just bad at making decisions when it came to their shopping experiences.
“Who’s your commanding officer?”
“Ma’am?” The skinny one paled.
“I don’t speak Arabic well, but I can give it a try if that would help.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. Now who is your commanding officer?”
“Captain Goodwin, ma’am.”
“Expect a phone call from Captain Goodwin tomorrow. Dismissed.”
“Wait,” one of them said, pointing to his ID in Nic’s hand. “How are we supposed to get back on base?”
“Hmm, not my problem.” Nic didn’t feel sorry for the men, but she was pissed that they hadn’t exhibited better social skills. “I’ll see you tomorrow in Captain Goodwin’s office.” Grabbing the brick shithouse before he could leave, she turned him around.
“Did you pay for the damages?”
“Ma’am?”
“Mrs. Patel’s counter and the beer bottle you shattered.”
“I don’t have that kind of money, ma’am.”
“Well, I’m sure we can work out a payment plan to get this fixed, right Mrs. Patel?”
“Oh, it’s no bother, Miss Nic.” She waved her hands.
“Well, it’s a bother to me, Mrs. Patel. We’ll get this sorted.”
“Are you forgetting something, gentlemen?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared them down.
“We apologize for the damages, Mrs. Patel.”
Mrs. Patel nodded, but didn’t say anything. Thankfully. Nic didn’t want them thinking they were getting off with just an apology.
“Dismissed.”
“What about our beers?”
“Really?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The men ran once they were through the doors and jumped in their car.
“Oh, Miss Nic, I’m so sorry.”
“Mrs. Patel what do you have to be sorry for? I’m the one that’s sorry. They were assholes. I apologize on behalf of the Marine Corps, and we’ll get this taken care of immediately.” Nic lifted the disc. “Tell Benji thank you for the evidence. I appreciate it.”
“I’m so sorry about Benji. He gets so steamed sometimes. You know?”
“I know, but he can’t come running out here with a baseball bat. Next time they could have guns and he could get shot.”
“I know. I’ve told him over and over again, but he’s young and always ready to fight. I don’t understand it.”
“Is he your only child?”
“Yes, we could only have one. I’m blessed to have Benji.”
“Well, he’s young. Give him time.”
“I hope you are right, Miss Nic.”
“Okay, well I better pay for these and get home. Claire’s going to wonder what happened to me.”
“How is Miss Claire and Grace?”
“They’re good.”
“Such a lovely family you have.”
“Thank you. I am blessed.”
Walking out of the store, Nic realized she’d handled a confrontation without her PTSD flaring up. Maybe things were looking up.
Nic stood in the hallway of the headquarters building of the Defense Language Institute on Presidio of Monterey. Checking her watch, she made sure she was on time. Early was better, and she was in fact almost fifteen minutes early.
0900 hours on the dot.
She’d also made it a point to come in uniform. She wasn’t about to be dismissed in civilian clothes. Besides, the uniform and rank had meaning in this world. In the civilian world, not as much. Nic had called Captain Goodwin, leaving a message on his phone about the incident yesterday afternoon. She’d received a return phone call within the hour, and he wasn’t happy. The men had already told him their version of the story and made Nic out to be the bad guy. She wasn’t worried and frankly didn’t care how pissed off Goodwin was. Once he saw the evidence, he would be apologizing to her for his attitude and accusations he’d made over the phone. Twirling the disc around her finger, she smiled. Always be prepared.
The door to Goodwin’s office opened and a secretary stepped out. Looking at Nic’s name tag, she said, “Miss Caldwell, you’re early.”
Nic pointed to the birds on her shoulder so the young woman could see them. “Colonel Caldwell.”
“Yes, Colonel. This way please.”
Entering the office, Nic noticed she wouldn’t be meeting Goodwin alone. The two asshats from the shopette jumped up and stood ramrod straight, eyes ahead. They were dressed in their Service C uniforms, looking very tucked away. Clearly a ploy to try to present a different picture than the one they had displayed yesterday.
“At ease, gentlemen.” Nic stood in front of the seat across from the desk as the other two took the seats along the wall. The captain still stood and extended his hand. “Colonel Caldwell. I’m Captain Goodwin.”
“Captain.”
Nic sat down and looked at the captain. She pulled the two men’s military IDs and set them on the table in front of her.
“Thanks for coming over, Colonel Caldwell. I’m sure we can clean this up pretty quickly. I understand after talking to you yesterday and then talking to Sinclar and Moffett that there was a misunderstanding yesterday at the…Patel Shopette.”
Nic cocked her head and frowned at the captain. “I’m not sure what you’ve been told, Captain, but this wasn’t a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding is when you accidentally pick up a stout beer when your friend said get an ale. A misunderstanding isn’t when you put a forty-ouncer in your jacket so you don’t have to pay for it.”
“I’ve spoken to my men and they tell me that the reason the counter broke was because you took the bottle from them and slammed it on the counter, demanding they pay for it.”
“I see. Lying is punishable by the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. You understand the UCMJ, gentlemen, right?” She gave them a side-eye glance before looking at Goodwin. “Isn’t that correct, Captain Goodwin?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. I’m glad we are all in agreement.” She pulled the disc out of her hat and placed it on the desk next to the ID cards. “Let me express how disappointed I am, Captain, that you failed to get both sides of the story before making a judgment.”
“Ma’am, let me assure you that I am on a fact-finding mission here. These are my men and I have spoken with them extensively about the incident. If you have proof that they are lying, then we can look at that proof. I’ve sent their platoon leader over to the Patel Shopette to get her side of the story. He should be back in time for the meeting.” He looked down at his phone. “I’m not sure what’s holding him up, but he should be here soon.”
“Well, I have the surveillance video of the incident here. You don’t mind if we look at it while we wait for him, do you?”
“Not at all, Colonel.”
“Good. Do you have a conference room with a project screen and a DVD player or laptop attached to one?”
“Why a conference room?”
“Well, I don’t want there to be any questions about what took place yesterday and on a small screen you might not see everything. I’ve looked at the surveillance footage and it’s quite good. So, do you have a conference room available?”
Goodwin picked up the phone on his desk. “Miss Small, could you see if anyone is in the conference room?”
He set the phone back in its cradle and looked over at the two men. “Gentlemen, you’ll wait here while Colonel Caldwell and I look at the footage.” Walking past them, he lowered his head, glared at the men, and whispered, “You better hope this supports your version.”
“The conference room is ready, sir.”
“Thank you, Miss Small.”
He took the lead and walked through a connecting door on the other side of the office. Nic scooped up the ID cards, her hat, and the disc, and followed him into the conference room. She spotted the DVD player and walked over to it.
“Colonel, first I’d like to apologize for my men’s behavior. It is completely unacceptable.”
“Don’t you want to see the video first?”
“Of course.”
Nic, stuffed the DVD into the player and hit Play. As she watched events play out on the big conference screen, she was grateful that Benji had started it right at the confrontation. She noticed the speaker in the corner of the screen and turned the sound up. The Patels had sprung for the complete surveillance system. Lucky for Nic, it would only seal the younger men’s fate. She watched the events unfold until the real insubordination began.
“Give me your ID cards. You can have them back when I meet with your commanding officer.”
“Fuck you. I ain’t givin’ you shit.”
“Oh, Colonel Caldwell. I get the point. The guys screwed up big time.”
“Sit down, Captain. You haven’t seen the best parts yet.”
Captain Goodwin huffed as he sat back down in his seat. He definitely looked defeated.
Nic paused the video. “Nice, huh? I told them I was an officer at the very beginning of this incident. I gave them every opportunity to do the right thing, but they just kept digging.” She turned back to the player and hit play again.
Nic was glad Benji had left in his apology for how he tried to protect his parents and their store. It perfectly reflected the difference between the two groups of men. One recognized he had acted inappropriately, and the other two just underscored how their entitlement showed a total lack of respect.
Nic paused the video where the two soldiers were chatting. “Right here, Sinclar is saying something to the effect of, this is what happens when you have sex with a camel.” She resumed the video for another few minutes, then stopped again when one of the soldiers on screen was insisting he had no money to pay for the damage.
“You can watch the rest of it when I’m gone. I’d say you have a problem on your hands, Captain. How close was their version of the truth compared to the video?”
Captain Goodwin sat back in his chair, steepled his fingers, and rested them against his lips.
“Look, Captain. I’ve seen men do strange things in combat. I served in Iraq and most recently in Afghanistan. I’ve seen men get fired on, wounded, and blown up, and they didn’t act like this. So, I’m not about to pretend this didn’t happen.”
“I understand, Colonel.”
Nic sat down across from him. She wasn’t about to let him blow her off without finding out what corrective action he planned to take.
“I can put a counseling statement in their file.”
“Not good enough.”
“Colonel, you’re going to ruin their careers before they even get started.”
“Captain, I can’t believe you just said that to me, a fellow Marine.” Nic scowled at the man. “I’ve served with some of the finest enlisted personnel one could hope to serve with. I’ve had to go to men’s families and tell them that the Marine Corps was sorry for the loss of their loved one. Are you seriously going to sit here and tell me that these two yahoos represent the best of the Corps?” Nic leaned on the table. “That you trust these two Marines enough to give them a gun and ship them overseas as translators? Because you know that’s exactly where their next duty station is going to be, right?”
“I get it, Colonel. I get it.”
“Yet you think a counseling statement in their file is enough? They have to be pretty smart to qualify for linguistics. Arabic is a level-three language and one of the harder languages to learn, period. So, they knew exactly what they were doing, Captain.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What do you think their response will be when they get into the field and they have a LGBT officer over them? Clearly, they had no respect for me—they called me a dyke and that I must be in the gay army, right? I caught a big whiff of misogyny rolling off those two men. I would venture to say no woman is safe in the vicinity of those two.”
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” He squirmed and then gave Nic a hard look.
“Is it? Perhaps you can give me a situation where you’ve had to deal with discriminatory treatment at the hands of your fellow Marines.”
“Look, I get where you’re going with this, Colonel, I really do—”
“Captain, you keep saying that, but I don’t think you really understand where I’m coming from. Perhaps you can bring in your XO and we can have a discussion about how the Marine Corps is taking a hard, wide, systematic look at the treatment of women and LGBT servicemembers and civilians in the Marine Corps. And we haven’t even addressed how they treated that shop owner and what they did there.”
“Christ, Colonel. You just aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
Nic was fuming at his attitude. She was tempted to bring him up on any charge she could think of. Of course she wasn’t going to let this go. Women like her deserved better from the Corps, and she wasn’t about to let some Captain sweep this under the rug for expediency and to save his own ass. Further, she suspected he would never be this argumentative with a male superior officer.
“Captain, I’d say at this point that this is above your pay grade. Call your XO and a JAG officer. Now.”
