Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (3 page)

BRIAN
(chuckling): My ass. All right, Marine. Let me go get a
wheelchair and we’ll head down to physical therapy.

As Brian left to retrieve the wheelchair Cal
started to pull himself up and out from under the covers. He was
still in intense pain. Hell, taking a couple shots was never a
vacation. Luckily that dumbshit gang-banger had missed anything too
vital. Apparently the EMT’s and ER staff had patched him up pretty
quickly. It also hadn’t hurt that he had been shot at point blank
range. Better than taking a round at 100 yards.

By the time Brian returned Cal had managed
to work up a sweat but had slipped his legs over the side of the
bed and was in the process of putting on his hospital slippers.

Shit, rehab was going to be a real
bitch.

T
he
Marine Captain had some time between phone calls so he decided to
peruse the day’s news on the internet. “
The Drudge Report”
was set at his
homepage and he did a quick scan of the day’s top stories. Capt.
Andrews (Andy to his friends) was trying to kill time in an
otherwise boring day. He paused a quarter of the way
down:

Navy Cross Marine Loses Fiancé in Bloody
Gang Attack, Hero Kills Four With Bare Hands

Despite the recent conflicts overseas there
still weren’t many living Marines wearing the nation’s second
highest award for gallantry in battle. He knew two personally.

The Captain clicked on the article link and
started reading:

In a rare act of restraint, Nashville police
have somehow kept a recent bloody attack out of the local and
national spotlight. What was initially reported as a mugging gone
wrong now seems to be much more.

This publication initially reported that an
unidentified man and woman were mugged on Second Avenue in downtown
Nashville. The man has been identified as former Marine Staff
Sergeant Calvin Stokes. Through our contacts in the military
establishment it has been confirmed that SSgt Stokes was honorably
discharged from the Marine Corps earlier this year. Even more
interesting is that SSgt Stokes is a bonified hero having received
the Navy Cross for gallantry on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

Our next segment will have the award
citation in its entirety. Our sources have been able to tell us
that SSgt Stokes was awarded the Navy Cross for saving the majority
of his platoon after being ambushed. Still unconfirmed is whether
SSgt Stokes also killed twenty enemy combatants during the
firefight.

What we can tell you about this most recent
attack in Downtown Nashville is that SSgt Stokes’s fiancé, Jessica
Warren of Franklin, TN, was killed along with four members of the
local gang N.O.N.. Still unconfirmed is the status of a fifth man
who was apparently blinded during the downtown battle.

Police confirmed that SSgt Stokes is the man
responsible for killing the four men, blinding the fifth and
wounded a sixth. The method of wounding is still unconfirmed but
initial reports from eye witnesses point toward SSgt Stokes using
his hands and a knife for the majority of the attack.

SSgt Stokes is currently being held in the
intensive care ward of Vanderbilt University Hospital. He is said
to be in stable condition.

We do know that local police and the
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) are searching for Dante
West, the alleged leader and founder of N.O.N.

All this begs the question: “What happened
in that alley?”

This publication is still sifting through
various eye witness accounts and speculation. If you have any
additional information on the attack please contact us through our
website or 24-hour hotline.

ANDY
(muttering in disbelief): Shit.

He picked up the phone on his desk and
dialed information.

ANDY
:
Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee,
please.

T
he
phone next to his bed rang. Cal picked it up and answered by
habit.

CAL
:
Stokes.

BRIAN
: Hey,
Cal. You’ve got a call from Headquarters Marine Corps. Some Captain
says he know you. You want me to tell him you’re out for a
stroll?

CAL
: He
mention what his name was?

BRIAN
:
Yeah. Captain Andrews.

CAL
: You
can patch him through.

Capt. Andrews had actually been Cal’s
platoon commander on his last two tours in Afghanistan. Capt.
Andrews had then been First Lieutenant Andrews and one of the
Marines Cal had saved in that damned ambush. Andrews had
reciprocated on their next tour by carrying a badly wounded Stokes,
then a Sergeant, out of another firefight. For that action, and for
saving a bunch of Marines and Afghan soldiers, Capt. Andrews had
later also been awarded a Navy Cross.

The phone clicked through and Cal heard the
voice of his former platoon commander.

ANDY
: You
there Stokes?

CAL
: Hey
Captain. Didn’t know they had you riding a desk at Headquarters.
You playing butler for the Commandant?

ANDY
: Very
funny, Stokes. No, they’ve got me sitting here waiting to take a
platoon at Eighth and I. And didn’t I tell you not to call me Sir
or Captain? We’ve been through too much for that, brother. Call me
Andy.

Capt. Andrews real name was Bartholemew G.
Andrews. For obvious reason he didn’t want to be called Bartholemew
or the even more heinous Bart. As a result, all his friends
shortened his last name and just called him Andy.

CAL
: Hard
for me to turn that switch off…Andy.

ANDY
: Just
heard about what happened to Jess. I can’t tell you how sorry I am,
Cal. If I’d known sooner I would’ve flown out. Anything I can
do?

CAL
: You
think you can get the Commandant to get me out of this
hospital?

ANDY
: What
kinda shape you in?”

CAL
: Not
too bad. Up and walking. Don’t really need to be here.

ANDY
: If
you’re still anything like you were a couple years ago that
probably means you’re pretty beat up. Weren’t you the dumbass that
snuck out of that hospital in Germany and tried to stowaway in that
C-130 on its way back to Afghanistan dressed like a Navy
nurse?

CAL
: You
know why I did that, Andy. I had to get back to my
Marines.

ANDY
: I
know, I know. I just want to make sure you take care of yourself.
According to the papers, you got into some real shit.

CAL
:
Thanks, Sir. I just want to get as far away from this place as I
can.

ANDY
: You
talk to the police yet?

CAL
: Yeah,
they sent in some former Army guy. He was alright. Asked me some
basic questions and didn’t press too much. If anything it looks
like the cops here in Nashville take care of the
military.

ANDY
: Yeah,
that’s what I’d heard too. Anybody giving you a hard
time?

CAL
: Had
some random calls from reporters but I’ve got a pretty good former
corpsman that screens the calls for me.

ANDY
: He
the guy I just talked to?

CAL
: Yeah.
Pretty good guy. Speaking of which, could you do me a favor and do
a little digging on him?

ANDY
: I
thought you said he was a good guy?

CAL
: It’s
not that. You know me, never hurts to have a little extra
intel.

ANDY
: No
problem. One of the perks of being close to the puzzle palace is
that I can get the scoop on almost anyone. What’s the doc’s
name?

Cal told him what he knew about Brian, which
wasn’t much.

ANDY
: Give
me a few minutes and I’ll call you back.

The line went dead and Cal hung up as well.
Cal mulled over the conversation.

So Capt. Andrews was at Headquarters Marine
Corps. Large probability that they got him to make that move
kicking and screaming. The good Captain might not look like much,
around five foot nine inches, but he was a helluva shot and knew
how to take care of his Marines. Most people thought he was a
candyass when they first met him because he looked barely twenty
one, but the man was a natural leader. Under the surface lurked a
coldly calculating mind not unlike Cal’s. Maybe that’s why they’d
gotten along.

+ + +

He could still remember the first day when
as a Corporal, Stokes had met then Second Lieutenant Andrews. At
the time Cal was serving his time on the much-loved twenty four
hour duty on a prime Friday night in July. He’d been sitting at the
duty desk counting down the minutes to midnight. Cal had a list of
junior officers that were supposed to report in to the battalion
from the Infantry Officers Course by 23:59. All of the four
reported in at various times during the day except one: a 2ndLt.
Bartholomew Andrews. That was an interesting first name. Probably
some Naval Academy weenie.

The Gunny (Gunnery Sergeant) assigned as the
duty officer was a real prick and wanted to be woken up as soon as
each officer reported in. It didn’t have to be that way, but this
particular Gunny got a kick out of giving young officers grief when
they reported in.

Cal knew why too. The prick Gunny had been
dumped by two Company Commanders for doing a shitty job as Company
Gunny. Now he was assigned to the S-3 shop as some assistant to the
assistant’s assistant. Basically the Battalion staff was biding its
time until they could dump the Gunny on another Battalion or get
him kicked out of the Corps. The Gunny loved to abuse any power
granted to him by the Marine Corps, even the limited power of the
OOD (officer of the day).

Cpl. Stokes had already seen the Gunny give
the other three Second Lieutenants grief over stupid admin stuff.
He’d even watched a poor officer get humiliated because he’d left
one of the copies of his written orders in his car. The Gunny had
the poor guy sprinting back to his car believing that if the orders
weren’t back in under two minutes the Battalion Commander would be
called in to deal with him. That had given the Gunny a real good
laugh. Prick.

Cal wasn’t looking forward to the last guy
getting there. This 2ndLt Andrews had ten more minutes. It was also
obvious that the Gunny was saving the best for last. He’d already
mentioned how he’d like to mess with the guy for having a stupid
first name.

At five minutes before midnight 2ndLt
Andrews walked into the duty shack with his orders ready. He looked
squared away and fairly at ease. Most new Marines he’d seen
checking in to their first unit tended to be more than a little
nervous. This young officer didn’t seem to have that problem.

ANDY
:
Checkin’ in Corporal.

CAL
: Roger
that, sir. If I can just get your orders. I’ve gotta go get the
duty officer to get you logged in.

ANDY
: No
problem.

Cpl. Stokes got up and walked smartly into
the next room that was used for the duty officer and his clerks as
a sleeping area.

CAL
: Hey,
Gunny. That last Lieutenant just walked in.

The Gunny opened his eyes with what looked
like a mixture of disdain and excitement. Yep, he was gonna give
the new guy some kinda shit.

He waited as the Gunny took his time putting
his utility blouse back on and donning his web belt with pistol.
Cpl. Stokes was surprised the guy could even fit into any issued
gear. The Gunny must’ve been well over his allowed weight
limit.

Finally ready, Cal followed the Gunny back
into the duty shack. Not two steps through the door the Gunny
started.

GUNNY
: You
Lieutenant Andrews?

ANDY
:
That’s me, Gunny. Just checkin’ in.

GUNNY
: I’d
appreciate it if you called me “Gunnery Sergeant”, Sir.

That was one of the Gunny’s favorite lines.
Get the young officers off-balance from the get-go.

ANDY
:
Sorry, Gunnery Sergeant. Didn’t mean any disrespect.

Lt. Andrews responded without the obligatory
flush of embarrassment. Cal couldn’t yet put his finger on it, but
he didn’t think this baby-faced butter bar was even close to being
a candyass.

GUNNY
: Says
here you were supposed to report in by 2359, Lieutenant. It’s now
0002.