Story Market Day

[ComCamGuy]

Silas’ Office


Silas could hear the civilian helicopter inbound. He had to start a lot of things rolling. This whole Frickel thing threw a huge wrench in an already screwed day. He just hung up the phone when Sabine showed up in his office.

Sabine stood in front of the Sergeant Major’s desk obviously confused, frustrated and pissed.

“OK Sergeant Major, somebody want to explain to me why I just medevac’d one of my best friends from the compound?”

“Well, Capt. Frickel did not take his dressing down by the acting commander well. When he was called to task for his actions and comments, he must have seen the writing on the wall. He popped off at the commander, oh, by the way, the acting Det Commander is the acting commander for the whole schoolhouse now, not just our little corner. Everyone was down at the big conference. Anyway, the commander fired him and ordered him to clean out his locker, turn in his gear and be out of the compound by the end of the day. That was where he was supposedly headed. I should have followed him. He evidently blamed Paige for his abrupt end to his career and future in the Marines.”

“You’re right, you should have followed him or had him escorted. You ****ed up and now she’s on her way to the trauma center or the morgue. Now what?”

“Does she have any next of kin nearby?”

“Her boyfriend is an instructor over at the main schoolhouse. I guess I have to go tell him.” Sabine looked almost wooden at this point.

“Shit, is he going to be ok for the hour and a half drive?” The Sergeant Major was concerned again.

“With the way he drives; it will be more like two hours normally.” Sabine shook her head.

She evidently had an idea. “Sergeant Major, the Det Commander is now the boss of the whole base, right?”

“Yeah, what do you have in mind?”

“Our housemate is over in the main comm shop. She could get him there in an hour, if we could get her cut free to do it.”

This sounded more doable than the few ideas he could come up with. Shit! This was a simple one or two phone call solution.

“Give me her name, Paige’s boyfriend’s name and I will get it moving. You give her a call and clue her in on what’s happening.” He watched her write the info on the notepad on his desk. That reminded him. There was more paperwork he needed to do. Frickel opened a huge bucket of worms. He had to talk with Ivar and soon. First, Sabine.

“Sabine, you did a hell of a job in there. I don’t necessarily agree with the scaring the crap out of him with the pistol, though. He was convinced you wouldn’t do it. Flipping the safety off seemed to convince him.”

“Then add idiot to the list of character flaws. How do you think I figured out I needed to take the safety off? If that’s all, Sergeant Major, we both have calls to make.”

Shit! He knew she could have done it! It was only the safety on the pistol that saved Frickel’s life. He wondered if Frickel even suspected how close he came to dying right there in the Arms Room.

Sabine walked out before he could ask her the obvious question.

 

[Texican]

Yep, the Frickel fricassee is coming.

Texican....

 

[FireDance]

Great job on these last two chapters! You managed to put the Frickel rage right back into my jaw even if I did know what was coming. Wow.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Warfare Center Schoolhouse Conference Room


“So, basically, what we are going to do is focus on getting the rescue support group out the door. Then we will look at what we have left and see what we can do. I just spoke to higher about half an hour ago. All classes are put on hold for now. The students already here will stay in place pending determination of the class restart date. If we have good data and we think it’s viable to restart limited classes soon, we will work with them. Until that determination, however, they are here and can be used as manpower to get the rescue group out the door.”

Ivar would have continued but Sgt. Harlan came up and interrupted him. He leaned close and whispered in his ear.

“Sir, there has been an incident. Capt Frickel assaulted the Armorer. She is in bad shape and the MEDIVAC bird is inbound.”

“Damn it! Alright, Harlan, you stick here and listen for me. I have to go up the hill.”

Ivar straightened up and addressed the group.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, I have another fire in need of urine. Capt Brandon will be in charge down here and Sgt. Tyler will be the Senior Instructor, just like you planned. Things needing a bigger decision, pass them up to me or the Sgt Maj.”

And with that, he stormed out of the building.


Silas’ Office


“It’s not like we have classes in the field. You can spare one communications NCO. I need her for another project. Yes, I will return her when I’m done with her.”

Silas hung up the phone and was about to call the boyfriend’s boss when Ivar came into his office.


“Alright Silas, what the hell happened?”

Silas could see Ivar’s temper was boiling.

“Instead of cleaning out his locker, Frickel decided to get some revenge. He went into the Arms Room and haymaker punched Paige from behind, right in the side of the head. He then started kicking the shit out of her while she was down.”

“How the **** did you let this happen!”

“He was all thinking and meek and conniving. He didn’t look violent or pissed. He went to clean out his locker and I let him!”

“What the **** were you thinking? You should have had him escorted all the way. Hell, I should have had him escorted all the way!”

Silas could hear the defeat and guilt in Ivar’s tone. He recognized it well. His own voice had it as well.

“Well, like you always said, it’s like bitching about virginity when you’re already pregnant. Here’s where we are at, Boss. I got Vio…Paige’s housemate picking up her boyfriend and taking him to join up at the hospital. I gave him our direct numbers for problems.”

Ivar put his hand on Silas’ shoulder. He knew Silas couldn’t look at Paige without seeing his own daughter. Damn.

“Send our wonder medic up there too. I want someone there to keep on top of her medical condition. What about next of kin?” Ivar tried to keep him on task.

“She has her Grandfather listed, but he’s up in Washington State and phones in and out of there are screwed for now. We will keep trying though.”

“And where is Frickel?”

“He was hogtied and hand delivered into police custody for his own safety and well-being.”

“That’s probably a good thing. I might have done something rash and violent. I’m going to go to my new office for my afternoon conference call. I’m sure it will be full of good idea fairies and little useful data on what we are to do. Get Sabine headed north and brief me on what else you come up with when I come out of the meeting. If it’s real important, like somebody stepped on a Snowy Plover nest or something, by all means, drag me out of the meeting for my own sanity.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

 

[ComCamGuy]

So Little Time and So much to Do


Silas tried to do twelve things at once. One of his first tasks was to get their Medic headed out to keep an eye on Paige and update them as soon as they knew something.

Paige. For all the emotion he was feeling, it might as well BE Violet. Silas was stunned the first time he met Paige. To a father’s eye, he saw all the similarities. The personalities were completely different though. It was like one of those comic book stories where an alternate version of someone showed up from another dimension.

When he picked her for the position, he only saw her file. He knew she was excellent at her job and came highly recommended. Hers was the first item on his and Ivar’s plan to stop losing all their support personnel. They sought out experts in their fields for the particular things they needed like medical support, the armory shop, supply, comms and such. The problem with most of these billets here in their little detachment? A lot of people looked at them as stepping stones to joining the operational units instead of focusing on the current mission in front of them.

Their hair-brained idea? Find the best female candidates within their MOS. They weren’t eligible for the operational unit billets yet, and more likely to work their jobs instead of always playing junior commando and neglecting why they were there.

In this aspect, Paige was a resounding success which led directly to Silas capitalizing on it and bringing in Sabine. Granted, Sabine was also a favor for his sister and brother-in-law, but they didn’t steer him wrong about her medical capability and focus.

Next on their list was the communications billet. Ivar wanted him to start looking since the last three they had all barely lasted four to six months due to a shortage in the force. Maybe Paige’s housemate might be a good candidate.

Paige. Shit, he took a candid picture of her home and showed Amber. Amber was as stunned as he was. She kept talking about coming up to the shop to meet her since she just knew some of it had to be a trick of lighting or photoshop.

First things first. Blanket letter of access as medical liaison for Sabine so he could get her out the door and headed north. Then Amber. He had to call her. He needed to tell her about Paige. He needed to talk some of this through to get himself refocused and back on task.

 

[Griz3752]

So Little Time and So much to Do
Silas tried to do twelve things at once.

If you ride herd on the details, problems usually present their own solutions......usually.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Family is Family


Amber was sitting in her office going through the piles of files when the phone rang. She knew even before she answered it who it was and something was wrong. She was right. It only took a few words beyond hello for Amber to sense the seriousness of Silas’ need for her right now. He wasn’t able to articulate it but she knew the tone. It was a lot more than the generic ‘Fred almost took his foot off with the weedeater’ kind of update.

Fortunately, her schedule had some gaps and cancelations with the crisis unfolding. Even if it didn’t, for Silas she would have made the gaps. For her husband was her first priority and always would be.

She was thankful for right now. Soon things were going to change and she would be less available. It was a tightrope they walked many times with her job and his. She was one of two psychiatrists on base and the only one with her clearance level. It looked like alphabet soup but it was necessary with the patients she saw.

She was a Combat PTSD specialist and working with Special Operations personnel for most of her career and all of her marriage to Silas. Poor Silas, married to a psychiatrist. She knew she could be difficult to deal with, but he wasn’t a cake walk either.

He was always deployed or training. She was always working overtime trying to piece his troops back together but couldn’t tell him any details about what was going on with them. They were both driven by their work, great at their jobs, and probably the only two who were willing to put up with each other’s shit.

She had to go over to his office. Talking over the phone wouldn’t cut it .

 

[ComCamGuy]

Re-Edit #6687

 

[ComCamGuy]

In Silas’ Office

Amber made herself comfortable on the couch next to Silas. She was prepared to hear most anything but as she sat listening to Silas she began to wonder. To say Amber was shocked when Silas told her about the attack on Paige was an understatement. She could not help but think of her own daughter as he spoke. She remembered the picture he showed her. God, Paige looked so much like her.
Silas laid out what went down from the start. From Frickel’s earlier transgression to Paige’s talk with Ivar, to Ivar’s dressing down of Frickel to the attack.

During all of this Amber just listened and absorbed. That was her specialty, after all. When Silas was done, she had a few interesting observational points.

“You know this can’t be the first time Frickel has had anger issues.”

“We didn’t see any in his jacket.” Silas countered.

“You know the sweep it unders that happen just as well as I do. It probably got blown off or his chain got pressured from on high if his uncle is as powerful as you say he is.”

“Maybe we ought to dig deeper.” Silas pondered.

“Too late now. At least you have him dead to rights on the stuff here. The bigger issue is since he has gotten away with it, probably since childhood, he is comfortable and confident. With his personality and all the other factors, the big question is how many converts to the cult of Frickel does he have on base?”

Silas hung his head. He knew she was right. She usually was at this stuff.

“Two days ago I would have said none, but two days ago I would have said nothing like this could happen at my unit.” He took a deep breath.

“So, what do I do to ferret these turds out of my punchbowl?”

“I say start with the people you know are good and loyal, then have them gather more data on who he talked with, hung out with and so on and so forth. Build your lists of those who say what he did dropping stuff off in the Arms Room wasn’t a big deal. Those will be your sympathizers and probably your weak links.” Amber tried to paint a thumbnail sketch of who he should suspect in a way Silas could use.

“That’s a great start. Ivar and I will have to compare notes since he has been here longer. Shit! Maj Kingfisher has been here the longest. He might have some suspicions.”

“Sounds like a good idea, but you better get on it fast before they all bury themselves like chiggers and hide.”

“Yeah, better to snip it now than let it fester more and spread.” He mused. He was startled by her next response.

“Bigger problem, buster. If you don’t isolate your contagion, someone might try to tidy things up and make things easier for Frickel on the stand by eliminating the witness.”

Silas’ blood ran cold and a shiver went down his spine as he felt a sensation of deja vu. He remembered the year and a half he and Amber spent looking over their shoulders while she was testifying in the Zelec case. She was the chief evidence against him and the nail in his coffin at the trial and both sides knew it.

Come to think of it, it was very similar to Frickel’s attitude and events, just not in his unit. She knew of at least two active attempts on her life. He never told her about the third he was able to stop himself. She still carried her pistol years later because of it. No wonder she was so quick to think of Paige’s safety!

“I’ll get right on it digging these guys out. Thanks! I really needed you on this. I don’t know what I would do without you.” He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

“Sure you do. You would have ****ed everything up and Ivar would have fired you a decade ago. Let me know if you need more help. I better let you get to it, mister. I know you still have lots to do. Just don’t make a lot of noise if you finally come home tonight.”

Amber walked out as Silas picked up the phone.

 

[Griz3752]

Might need a tiny edit.

Maybe we aught to dig deeper
Maybe we ought to dig deeper

 

[Freebirde]

Time to tap into the most efficient information gathering group on bases, the invisible staff at the O Club, NCO Club, and staff drivers. Frickels of the world do not consider the servant class as people. After being degraded, they should be glad to tell who associates with whom and who are the elitist. You can find out more about how a business is run from the mail room than from the board room.

 

[Griz3752]

Time to tap into the most efficient information gathering group on bases, the invisible staff at the O Club, NCO Club, and staff drivers. Frickels of the world do not consider the servant class as people. After being degraded, they should be glad to tell who associates with whom and who are the elitist. You can find out more about how a business is run from the mail room than from the board room.

Very true.

I closed a lot of deals just by listening to employee chatter and crafting proposals on that Intel.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Silas and Ivar in Ivar’s New Office

“So, you first, boss” Silas said as they both sat down.

“Well, the hit was worse than we figured. The entire coast is trashed and that includes the military installations. All the money saved by not building new buildings and instead slapping new coats of paint and shoestring repairs bit us in the ass hard. The earthquake tore shit to pieces and as everyone who survived it started looking around if they could make it out of the collapsed and sunken buildings, a one or two hundred foot wall of water smashed it into all the pieces. Some of the drone footage looks like …I don’t remember what movie it was but we have major vessels on land in places there used to be houses. The few survivors and satellite imagery shows at least seven waves in the tsunami string hit the southern California coast of at least seventy-five feet tall over a half hour timeframe as various faults ripple-fired with shocks and aftershocks. NOAA and USGS is saying the whole thing was somewhere between 9.3 and 9.7 by their estimates.”

Silas just stared in shock. He knew some of this but to hear it rolled out as confirmed by Ivar? It hit like a freight train and it showed on his face. Ivar continued.

“A lot of areas in the LA basin? When the quakes hit, it shook the ground enough and long enough the soil acted like liquid and a lot of shit sank into the dirt. Houses, buildings, roads and bridges, it’s all junk and unusable now. The places where there was rock like ridgelines and such were the only places things survived in a lot of areas. The center points for recovery efforts in Southern California are going to be places like Twenty-Nine Palms, Ft Irwin, Edwards AFB, MCLB Barstow, MCAS Yuma and the old facilities at George AFB.”

“That’s a long way out. Nowhere closer?” Silas said, thinking of the map in his head.

“Problem is, most of everything closer is wiped. Just about every airfield closer is buckled or suspect. That’s one of the first tasks they have, trying to get a forward operating location closer. Problem is, this same thing is playing out all up and down the coast.”

“Damn. What the **** are we going to do?” Silas asked, truly stumped.

“Us? We are going to sit tight and consolidate what we can and get a good handle on who we have and what we can do. Now your turn. What did you find out while I was off getting thoroughly depressed?” Ivar said, taking a sip of his coffee. He knew he would need it today.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Re-edit #6689

 

[RememberGoliad]

The earthquake tore shit to pieces and as everyone who survived it started looking around if they could make it out of the collapsed and sunken buildings, a one or two hundred foot wall (?) of water smashed all the pieces.

Or....

The earthquake tore shit to pieces and as everyone who survived it started looking around if they could make it out of the collapsed and sunken buildings, a one or two hundred feet of water smashed all the pieces

Not sure which you were going for.... still reading daily. Thank you for your time!

 

[ComCamGuy]

“Well…” Where to start thought Silas. OK, he thought he had it.

“I talked with Amber and she reminded me about protecting Paige from any sort of witness elimination…”

“Wait! Frickel’s still locked up, right?” Ivar interrupted.

“Yeah, he’s still locked up. She reminded me he might have sympathizers and or friends who might try to help his situation.”

“How?”

“Well, she had that case a few years ago… the Zelec case…”

“Oh, that piece of shit! I remember some of the bullshit shaking out around it. I was so glad we had left already when that went down but I forgot you guys were hip deep in that shitstorm.” Ivar said as he sat back.

“Yeah, well you don’t know the half of it. Zelec was locked up but a couple of his minions tried to help him out and get rid of the best witness against him. Amber.”

“****! Why did you guys never tell us!” Ivar sat back up from where he was lounging in the office chair.

“Amber doesn’t like to talk about it and it still keeps her up at night sometimes. There were at least three credible attempts on her life.” Silas paused to take a drink. It felt good to tell Ivar about this finally, but he still hated bringing the whole thing back to the forefront of his mind. Another thing to despise Frickel for; reminding Amber of the Zelec debacle and the terror she was in. He was sure she was probably going to have some gin and tonic dessert tonight, especially since she didn’t expect him home.

“You think Frickel has been here long enough to worry about that?”

“I don’t know but I talked to Kingfisher and have him working the others near Frickel, at least those in the compound. He will find out if there are more in the Frickel fanclub we need to neuter or cull.”

“OK, what else?”

“After Amber reminded me of that cheery concept, I started thinking of where we could ship Frickel’s ass to get him more isolated and out of reach. Jimmy is no longer down at Guantanamo so that’s not an option but Tom’s son is a GS cop out at Dugway Proving Grounds and Tom told me it’s the middle of nowhere. Army base on an Air Force bombing range. I made some calls and we can ship him there for pre-trial confinement to ‘keep him in a neutral environment’. That should keep him well and truly isolated. What’s better, we can send him there in a van right away and get him out of here. I’ve already started lining things up, just need your signatures to finalize.”

“You’re a devious shit. I’m glad you’re on my side.” Ivar added then he remembered something else. “Hey, Veronica is over at Hill AFB nextdoor to the range. Maybe I can get her to pop over and torment him some.”

“If anybody deserves it. Something else, boss.”

Ivar wasn’t sure he liked the look in Silas’ eye as he started talking again.

“I pulled a copy of Kingfisher’s concealed weapon on duty packet and made a new set for Sabine to have with her. I want to leave her up there with Paige to keep the gremlins away and keep Paige safe. Actually I want to keep her whole small crew there to keep them out of reprisal reach while you, me and Kingfisher clean this place out.”

“I don’t know. Why Sabine and not the boyfriend? Henrik, right?”

Silas cringed inside. He wasn’t sure how much to tell. Actually he knew he couldn’t tell most of it.

“I can’t explain it all right now but I can tell you with all my heart and being, Sabine is more than willing to kill to protect Paige, without hesitation or second guessing. To get an idea of her nerve and presence under pressure, pull up the link to Paige’s camera feed. The sticky on your desk has the timecode. After you sign the paperwork, I’ll pull a pistol and drop the gear and permit off with her this evening when I go see Paige. She’s still in surgery last I was able to find out.” Silas hoped what he told Ivar was enough. He wasn’t going to reveal any of Sabine’s secrets. He owed her that much.

“Get the paperwork done and get up there. You are now the Armorer until we get some of this shit pile troweled smooth. Oh, don’t get used to collaborating with Kingfisher too much he will have his hands full to the brim running the main school area starting Monday. He will be pretty scarce around here for a while.” Ivar said as he booted the computer on his desk. He looked over at Silas.

“Silas! Go get the paperwork done and get out of here. The longer you sit there drinking coffee, the longer it will take me to do my shit and get out of here. Sofia already told me dinner was in the fridge, she wasn’t waiting up. I don’t want it to be breakfast not dinner. Go!”

Silas stood up.

“Sure thing, boss. Paperwork is in your in box waiting for your signature. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes to pick it up. I’ll also start a second pot of coffee for you.” Silas said as he walked out of the office.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Or....



Not sure which you were going for.... still reading daily. Thank you for your time!

Re edited it

The earthquake tore shit to pieces and as everyone who survived it started looking around if they could make it out of the collapsed and sunken buildings, a one or two hundred foot wall of water smashed it into all the pieces. Some of the drone footage looks like …I don’t remember what movie it was but we have major vessels on land in places there used to be houses. The few survivors and satellite imagery shows at least seven waves in the tsunami string hit the southern California coast of at least seventy-five feet tall.

 

[Cohickman]

I was stationed at Edwards for 5 years. Plenty of space but infrastructure is old. EPA told us in the 80's not to drink the tap water!

 

[ComCamGuy]

I was stationed at Edwards for 5 years. Plenty of space but infrastructure is old. EPA told us in the 80's not to drink the tap water!

kinda like the runways we operated from for desert storm. As long as there is concrete for the planes (or in the case of Edwards, dry lake bed) we would build the base around it


drove up the hill many times to edwards. I was there for George closing, Norton closing, March realining and so on and so forth

 

[ComCamGuy]

Silas’ House


“What are you doing here?” Amber asked Silas as he came into the kitchen from the garage.

“I live here.” He said as he was walking through the kitchen.

“Smartass! You know what I mean.” Amber was standing at the counter listening to the popcorn in the microwave.

“I figured to come home, get a quick power nap, take a shower then head out to go check on Paige.” He said from the living room.

“How long should I let you nap?”

Three or four hours. Probably when you come to bed, I’ll get up. I took your advice to heart.”

“Sounds like you’re pretty smart to do so, but which advice was that?”

“The bit about warning the rest and worrying about Frickel having minions. One of the things I’m doing this evening is arming the group at the hospital.”

“Is that legal off base?”

“I gave Sabine paperwork before she left making the hospital her place of duty until I tell her otherwise, so on base, of base, she’s still on the government dime and under my jurisdiction. Or at least that is the way I’m explaining it to her.”

“That should cover her bases. Now, how about your bases. Are yours covered?” Amber said as she sat down with her bowl of popcorn and her laptop.

“Sure it is. Ivar told me it was legal.” Silas grinned.

“Great! So, who does he have to blame above him to keep the shit from splattering him?”

“He’s got the DoD regs and such. Big thing is, we don’t want anything more happening to our people and we will keep things so befuddled everyone has a band-aide for their backsides. Speaking of protecting backsides, it might be a good idea…”

Amber cut Silas off. “Don’t worry, I have big ugly with me.” She raised the hem of her sweater revealing the butt of a pistol tucked into her waistband.

This made Silas both happy and sad. He was happy his wife was able to protect herself and had thought through everything enough to have already armed herself, a habit she was in more and more ever since the Zelec case.

He was sad thinking about the more recent past events that had her needing and using the family heirlooms. He could still smell the rain and the black powder of that night.

The pistol tucked in her waistband, no holster, just tucked as designed, was a serious anachronism. He remembered when they were dating and she had shown him it, and its mate, because she had two of them.

They had gone shooting because he worried for her and about her with some of the patients she was seeing. He wanted to teach her how to shoot. She told him he was far too late. She got taught by her father, a Federal Marshall. She was more than willing to go to the range and shoot with him, though.

At the range, his jaw dropped. It took him a good twenty minutes to figure out what they even were.

“Where did you get those and what the hell are they?”

“Daddy’s back-up pistols.” Amber said with a grin on her face.

He looked at the two lumps on the table. They were revolvers. Big Revolvers at that but he wasn’t sure what kind, what caliber how old, none of it.

“OK, you got me. Again, what are they?” He inclined his head and motioned to ask permission to pick one up. He turned it around and around.

“What caliber?”

“45 Long Colt, but I have to make sure not to use any too powerful. I was told +P stuff was too strong.” She said as she watched him turn the pistol over and over in his hands like a kid with a new bug to play with.

“You do know you are missing half your trigger guards, right?” Silas said. He knew it was a thing back in the thirties, popularized by one of the Colt guys.

“Yup, my great grandfather made them this way for my dad and grandfather, who was a Deputy Sherriff in Wyoming, I think.”

Silas looked some more. The hammer was bobbed, so double action only. The front sight had a big wide blade with a gold bead on it. The barrel couldn’t be more than three inches, and the sighting groove down the top was filled in with what looked like yellow highway paint, complete with the glass reflector beads in it. The round butt of the ivory grips felt good in his hand but he was curious about the rounded metal thumb-shaped piece sticking up from between the right grip and the frame by an inch or two.

“What’s the deal with this?” he said, pointing to the metal tab thing.

Amber picked up the other one from the table and shoved it into her waistband.

“The way Daddy showed me to carry it, the gun goes inside the pants, the hook goes over the waist of the pants and between the bulge of the cylinder and the hook, and it’s going nowhere.” She had a grin on her face as she showed him how simple it was.

Many times from that point on she would have it whenever they thought there might be danger or when he was away from home. She had it with her that night in the park. The night she proved to herself she was able to defend her life and take another. The attacker lived, but only because the trauma hospital was only five minutes away.

Silas knew Amber took the carrying of her pistol seriously. He knew she had it on now because she felt it was necessary. He better remember to update her paperwork so she was legal on base with it as well.

“Monday I’ll get you a new set of paperwork for your pistols.”

“Sounds like a good idea. If you’re going to nap, you better get to bed.” Amber said as she started working on her computer.

 

[ComCamGuy]

1902 Colt Alaskan with a full 'Fitz special' done to it is what Amber has the pair of

 

[ComCamGuy]

 

[ComCamGuy]

On the Road


The nap did him good. The food didn’t. It made him sleepy and groggy, not good for driving. To counteract this, he made a giant mug of coffee to sip as he drove north. There were no urgent messages on his phone when he got up so he took that as a good sign and enabled him to not drive like a maniac on the way to the hospital. Finally he arrived at the hospital.

As he got out of his car he checked to make sure he had everything and left nothing in plain sight through the car windows. No reason to add break in to the shitshow today.

Messenger bag with contents for Sabine, check. Paperwork for the hospital for coordination, check. Both cell phones, check. Reading glasses for the fine print, check. Little Colt Mustang inside the waistband appendix carry, check. Spare mags in front pocket, check. Time to head to the door.

 

[ComCamGuy]

In the ER, Early Morning


Silas went into the ER and started looking around. Right away he saw Sabine standing next to the nurses’ station with a cup of coffee. He was a bit surprised she was in her khakis complete with all her ribbons, and it was a crapload of ribbons compared to most people. The Special Ops community was used to having more ribbons than they could usually keep up with, but hers looked right to be there with them.

He saw her do a double take when she first saw him. He could see the fatigue on her face and in her stance and posture. She was worn out but was refusing to show it. He walked over as she spoke.

“What are you doing here Sergeant Major?” She asked when he came up to her.

“Looking for you, Chief. What’s the word on your patient?”

“I spoke to the Doc about an hour ago. He came out and briefed me before going back into surgery. They were not sure she was going to make it to the table. It was touch and go. It seems one of those kicks connected just right with the spleen. She took more units of blood to stabilize than my last IED victim with inguinal blast damage. She got a couple of units in the helicopter, plus at least ten in the ER, and I’m not sure how many once they wheeled her up. They removed the spleen. This will impact her ability to fight infection in the future at least some. She has bruising to her liver, but most of the time, they leave it and treat non-operatively, at least for the liver. The ribs are going to be a danger for pneumonia since it will hurt to breath. She will get stabbing pains with anything other than shallow breaths.” Sabine stopped so he had a chance to absorb what she described so far before continuing.

“The one that worried them is her head wound. She had a skull fracture, non-displaced. If he had been able to kick her one more time anywhere around her head, it would have been all over. The neurosurgeon is still in there working, but the game plan right now, unless he finds something else, is to leave her in an induced coma for a week or so, depending on what they find and how she responds to everything they are going to do. She is intubated and, on the ventilator, which will help the pneumonia and the rib issue. Unless you have an issue, I would like to stay up here with her and her boyfriend and our other housemate at least until they bring her back up, unless it goes past a week.”

The Sergeant Major thought about all the elements Sabine rolled out. Her request to stay in place actually lined up perfectly with what he already planned and had arranged. He smiled at Sabine. She needed to know he was pleased with her actions and assessment of the situation.

“Request granted. In fact, I kind of need you here. You are an unimpeachable defender of Paige, quite literally. The Commander and I are going through the unit, scrubbing everyone. That attitude exhibited by the Captain can be like syphilis. It infects all who play around with it. If you told me last week this was going to happen, I wouldn’t believe you. Instead, we are where we are now. I have found one or two more potentially sympathetic or supportive of the Captain. If his witnesses could be intimidated or compromised, then he could throw doubt on his position. The task would be easier if the victim wasn’t able to refute any of the horrific things she supposedly did to him to provoke this final action of his out of self-defense.”

He could see the shock and disbelief on Sabine’s face, quickly replaced with anger and fury. She lashed out.

“Don’t tell me this asshole is going to get away with any of this!”

Silas knew what Sabine’s concerns were. He already knew quite a bit about her background, a lot more than most. He knew this whole event would push a lot of her buttons and he had to reassure her it would be the same as what she went through, not that he knew any of the details of Sabine’s other than the broad strokes his brother-in-law told him.

“No, he’s not getting away with anything. I am concerned he might try, though. He has some powerful connections politically. I don’t want him to get his hands on her though. Your duty position for the next week or so will be here. I have hijacked the two who helped you to fill in for any medical emergency until you are back. Their class has been pushed back and we are not sending any med gear or support from the compound with the crew headed to San Diego. I have something else for your use here in your current assignment.” He pulled the small brown messenger pack from his shoulder and handed it to Sabine.

“That should make you feel a little better. Don’t forget your earlier lesson from this morning. Here are the instructions.” He reached in his pocket and handed her a small leather wallet.

Sabine opened it up. Inside was the small id card giving her the authority to conceal carry a firearm in conjunction with her duties as required. She looked in the messenger bag. Silas knew she was seeing a couple different holsters, several magazines and a mid-sized pistol he had scooped up in a raid on the Arms Room. She looked up from the bag to see his worried face mirroring her own.

“You sure about this?”

Good, Silas thought. She takes this shit serious like she should. He knew he was making the right choice. He could see the glimmer of the woman he saw in the video from the Arms Room. He knew if the time called for it, she would charge the hounds of hell for her patient. Shoot, he read enough of her medal write-ups to know she already has on more than one occasion. He smiled at her question.

“Sure am, Chief. Once Paige wakes up, she will be getting the instructions as well,” pointing at the wallet. “Until this whole thing is sorted, the Commander is fully committed to the safety and wellbeing of his troops, period. With you guys up here out of the picture, it keeps you guys safe as we clean house. Capt. Frickel should be already in a prisoner transport van on his way to a holding facility at Dugway Proving grounds over in Utah. I explained he couldn’t be held at Fallon due to the spec ops units there. I wanted him far away and middle of nowhere as far as his political support and resources were concerned.”

“Why there?” A smirk starting creeping onto Sabine’s face.

“Army base without a lot of the people he might know. Far enough away he couldn’t cause more shit here. Navy guy in the middle of nowhere on an Army base in the middle of an Air Force bombing range. Who’s going to look for him there? Meanwhile, we can clean out the garbage here. Can you do the job I need you to do here?”

“You knew the answer before you asked. I’ll call you when we get more updates.” Sabine said with a smile on her tired face.

 

[ComCamGuy]

On the Way Home


Silas thought it was a lot of driving for all of fifteen minutes face to face with Sabine, but it was an important fifteen minutes. Now the big debate with himself. Go to the shop or go back home. It was a Saturday but he had a lot of crap to pee on before it flared up and burned everyone involved.

He started prioritizing things in his head as the miles ticked on. Setting up the transport and getting Frickel the hell off the base was mission one. He had to touch base with Kingfisher to find out any other rats in the woodshed he needed to flush out. Call that second priority. Figure out a new org plan? Three? Four? Shit! He didn’t know. Finally he gave in to the inevitable.

“Silas, Vegas I take it since Tijuana is smashed?” Ivar said as he picked up the phone.

“Boss, we need to pow wow to get our game plan in order.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Your house is more centrally located if Sofia is up for visitors.”

“Does Amber want to come?”

“I’ll call her next. I was thinking the four of us and Kingfisher so we can lay thing out and move them around the board some to solidify positions before Monday.”

“Hang on” and the phone was silent for a few minutes before Ivar came back.

“Alright. Sofia’s up for company. Even better, she feels like cooking. You get to bring the main ingredients though. Call Amber and see if she wants to come over. I’ll call Kingfisher then start the charcoal for brunch. We can knock out some phone calls while the food cooks then eat. If we haven’t solved the world by then, we can re-engage after food.”

“Right. Five Porterhouses. If you think of anything else I need to pick up, just text me. I’ll call Amber and get the meat.”

“Sounds like a plan. Grab a loaf of Italian bread while you’re there.”

“OK. See you soon, Boss”

A lot better than eating fast food at his desk at work and getting half as much done, Silas thought as he called Amber.

 

[ComCamGuy]

At Ivar and Sofia’s House


The five of them sat around the table. This was a familiar setting for all of them. The house might have changed, the table might have been swapped out a few times, but this group of five has done brunches like this off and on over at least the last fifteen or so years.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have to weigh in anytime soon. Your French toast is murder, pure murder!” Kingfisher said. This got a chuckle out of everyone around the table. His frame was thin and has been ever since they knew him. The idea of him worrying about a weigh in was ludicrous. One of the stories he used to tell was having to eat like a pregnant horse when he went to his inprocessing to the military so he would make the minimum weight cut off.

“It’s OK, I have an in with the guy on base who schedules the weigh-ins. I’ll give you some warning.” Ivar said as he worked on his plate of campfire hash browns and his steak.

“Did you guys get enough plotted out or do you have to do more work?” Sofia asked they guys.

Before they could answer, Amber interjected.
“What she wants to know is if it’s mimosa and beer time or do you guys still have too much to do?”

“I’m still trying to nail down the transport. A couple of guys are giving me the runaround and I don’t trust them.” Silas added.

“If one of them is Dixon over at the cop shop, he’s…well..I wouldn’t trust him with a bag of garbage, much less anything more important if he could manipulate the situation to his own advantage. He’s always holding our guys to the strictest interpretation of the letter of the law to make us look bad while he bends, flexes and flat out ignores anything the main base guys do to avoid giving his boss a smudged reputation.” Kingfisher said as he poured another cup of coffee.

“I’ve heard he wears shoulder pads in his uniform so his boss has a comfortable place to sit.” Ivar added. At this, Sofia almost spewed her mimosa as she started laughing.

“Sounds about like what I’m getting.” Silas said.

“Shit, Kingfisher is his new boss and Ivar is Kingfisher’s. You would think he would want to get in good with the new boss.” Amber pointed out.

“Problem is, I think Frickel’s uncle already has been working on him.” Kingfisher said.

“Screw it, Fire him or go around him.” Sofia said.

“We need to get Frickel out of here and quick before he gets any more help in screwing up the case against him.” Ivar exclaimed.

Silas thought a moment. They
all did. Finally he had an idea.

“Boss, I got an idea, but you won’t like it.”

“At least tell it to me before I hate it.”

“You said Veronica was up at Hill, right?”

“Yeah. What are you thinking?”

“She’s a DoD cop. We know there’s no way she would ever help him, even if it wasn’t us calling. We can talk to her boss and see if we can borrow her for a prisoner transport since we are so short-handed. We pay for everything and so on and so forth.”

Ivar was silent for a few moments, thinking on it.

“We probably couldn’t get them to give up two and she couldn’t do it by herself and we can’t send anyone from our compound. She is only half a solution. I think you have a good idea but I don’t think it will work. We need two.”

“I bet Violet isn’t busy.” Amber said, a grin spreading on her face.

Everyone looked around the table. They might be able to do this. It could work. Time to make a couple quick phone calls to see if they could put the wheels in motion. Ivar would call Violet’s unit and Kingfisher would call Veronica’s. Time was of the essence. If they could steal them for this, they would have their solution!

Amber cleared the table while Sofia made more mimosas.

 

[Griz3752]

There's nothing like a quality meal supported by a complimentary wine to fuel the engines

 

[ted]

Thank you.

 

[Sportsman]

Well, I've been missing from Part 6 until now. Although I was having the jitters from lack of recreational reading, I'm now all caught up and doing well. I appreciate CCG carrying on for everyone while I was unable to read and comment the newly minted words, but I'm now back and all caught up.

Thanks for stacking up those chapters while I was unavailable. It's kinda nice to read a bunch without having to hang around on any cliffs! And now I'm back in the fold... crying MOAR! But seriously, who drinks mimosas? Although there are ladies at the table, these guys sure seem like scotch drinkers to me.

Thank you.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Well, I've been missing from Part 6 until now. Although I was having the jitters from lack of recreational reading, I'm now all caught up and doing well. I appreciate CCG carrying on for everyone while I was unable to read and comment the newly minted words, but I'm now back and all caught up.

Thanks for stacking up those chapters while I was unavailable. It's kinda nice to read a bunch without having to hang around on any cliffs! And now I'm back in the fold... crying MOAR! But seriously, who drinks mimosas? Although there are ladies at the table, these guys sure seem like scotch drinkers to me.

Thank you.

its breakfast time , hence mimosas since it’s juice and healthy and shit, and they still have work to do

scotch is for when they are done (or a water glass of Baily’s for Amber, her fav)(or tequila for Sofia)

 

[ComCamGuy]

Later that Day


Amber and Sofia spent most of the afternoon hanging out, kibitzing, delivering beers and figuring out dinner while the guys were making phone calls, drawing diagrams and flow charts and basically tearing apart the entire base’s organization and rebuilding it from scratch. They were used to it having witnessed it many times, just not on this scale.

Amber and Sofia had to laugh as their suggestions were used against the various people on the other end of the phones. Between the psychological manipulation and trickery tactics of Amber and Sofia’s hard-nosed shark in bloody water robber baron ruthlessness, the guys had all the support and back up they needed.

Amber would never use things revealed in the confidence of her sessions but could take descriptions and such given to her and pose potential methods to get the positive outcome they needed. Sofia had no such moral restrictions. She helped volunteer at the school events sometimes and was always a ready ear for a needy spouse. In short, she knew the dirt on everyone and wasn’t afraid to give it to Ivar, Silas and Kingfisher to use. With such open source info, Amber was doubly lethal.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any inside data to work with at Veronica’s and Violet’s units. Instead, their tools were imperativeness, obscurity and the general stance of ‘look, the boss said to get this done, contact these guys, get these people if you can and tell them we will pay for everything’.

Kingfisher’s job getting Veronica was fairly easy. He was able to explain the need for short notice prisoner transport to Dugway which was in their neck of the woods, after all. He laid out his problem of no manpower, no transportation assets not committed to the rescue and he couldn’t risk bringing in people from Fallon for the same reasons plus the need to keep their prisoner isolated from other Navy personnel because they were worried about accomplices. When asked about why Veronica specifically, Kingfisher told the OSI Detachment Commander she was by name recommended for this task and was familiar with and worked well with the other member of the transport team.

Ivar’s was a little more work. He wanted to let loose of as few details as possible to keep any of the plan making its way back to any of Frickel’s network, either before or after it was Silas who gave him the answer and the tool to push for her specifically.

“Tell them she was recommended for this sensitive escort mission due to her experience on the Lioness teams and she was specifically recommended by name from a former teammate” Silas said. Ivar noticed the somber and serious tone when Silas said this.

“I didn’t know she was a Lioness.” Ivar said softly to Silas.

“Two tours, one early and the second time in the Lioness training team in country.” Silas looked around and grabbed another beer.

The mood in the room darkened. Sofia was the one to ask the question.

“What’s a Lioness team?”

Kingfisher fielded this one.

“Officially, the Lioness Program attaches female Marines to combat units to search Iraqi women and children who may be trying to smuggle money or weapons through security checkpoints in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ‘lionesses’ also train Iraqi women how to conduct proper searches on other women and how to defend themselves if need be. In reality, it put them in front line combat rolls before they lifted the restrictions. The Army has them too, but they use the more sterile ‘Female Engagement team’ for them. We worked with some of them a lot depending on what we were doing downrange.” Kingfisher looked over at Silas. “Your little nuclear vixen a Lioness? How come you never told us?”

“Because she never told us and, therefore, I never knew to tell any of the rest of you. One of these days she might feel like it, but until then, let’s let her keep her secret, OK?” Silas said, hoping they would let it go. He especially didn’t want Sofia or Amber to ask too many questions. He knew as well as anyone that worry can happen retroactively.

Ivar could understand what Silas was wanting. He knew Sofia wouldn’t like any of the details of Veronica’s last Africa trip. The one she didn’t talk about. The one he had to hear about from a helicopter pilot friend of his who wanted to check up on Veronica when he got to the states. He told Ivar about picking her up, wild-eyed, fierce and spattered with blood on the outskirts of a town he couldn’t pinpoint. The friend was just looking to touch base and see how she was. Ivar told him she hadn’t told him about the incident and please don’t tell her he told him either. Now he was seeing the same thing play out on Silas’ face.

Amber saw the look on both Silas and Ivar’s face. She saw the worry blooming on Sofia’s and then there was Kingfisher’s. She had known him long enough to read emotion on even his stoic demeanor. He was sorry he explained as much as he did. He was sorry he worried Sofia. Amber to the rescue.

“OK, Sofia, let’s let these guys get to their calls while we work the lasagna and raid the liquor cabinet.”

 

[ComCamGuy]

Late that Night

“So, you get everything done so you can come to bed?” Amber asked Silas.

“Yeah, I’ve got more phone calls to make in the morning but tomorrow should be a lot lighter workload.” He said as he shut off the lights in the living room.

“Is she going to have time to stop by when they get here?”

“I don’t know, but maybe she can swing through here after they get done in Salt Lake.”

“You do know, mister, it’s pretty cruel bringing my baby daughter all the way across the country, right to our little base and not set up a visit.” Amber gave him her patented pouty face.

“I know, but I don’t get to see her either.” Silas countered as he went into the master bathroom.

“Doundthalm on?”

“What was that?” Silas replied from the bathroom.

“I said ‘did you need the alarm on?” Amber said as she came into the bathroom.

“I probably ought to. I have to call Sabine in the morning.”

“OK. If you get up before it goes off, don’t forget to shut it off. I don’t have phone calls and fully intend to sleep in.” Amber said as she walked back to the bedroom.

 

[Sportsman]

Thank you. After decades of marriage, I can only imagine the things I'd always wonder about if married to a psychologist. Always questioning somewhere in the back of my mind if she's manipulating me, even if it's subconsciously. Probably almost as bad as married to a very good actress. "Is she acting, or does she really mean it?".

 

[Freebirde]

"she's manipulating me" is a redundant statement.

 

[FNFAL1958]

"she's manipulating me" is a redundant statement.

I whole heartily agree with this statement.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Late that Night at Ivar and Sofia’s

“So, should I have lunch or dinner ready for the girls?”

“Probably neither. The whole concept is a quick turn. We need to get this ****tard out of here before he poisons the waters anymore.” Ivar said as he was putting the dishes away.

“Surly they can make some time.” Sofia said.

“I don’t know. Maybe but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Well that sucks!”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Did you know about Violet and the lion think before today?” Sofia changed directions again.

“No, Silas never told me.”

“Just how dangerous was it for them over there?” Sofia’s voice was full of concern now.

“However dangerous it was, she made it home whole.” Ivar tried to deflect.

“It makes me glad Veronica’s an Air Force cop and only has to worry about fraud and crap instead of all that open combat stuff.” Sofia sighed.

Ivar thought of all the reports he saw, all the OSI and CID and NCIS overseas teams out away from the big bases and their safety nets of combat support. He thought of the description of his little girl from his pilot friend. ‘wild-eyed, fierce and spattered with blood’.

“Yeah, honey. I’m glad she is safe, too.”

 

[ComCamGuy]

The Next Morning


Silas woke up before the alarm went off. The first thing he did was shut it off, even before crawling out of bed. He was stiff and sore. He could still do long days and sleepless nights of work, but it didn’t mean his body wouldn’t object to it.

He kicked on the coffeemaker he loaded the night before so his first cup would be ready when he came out of the shower. The hot water felt good and helped him to start feeling human again. Next thing? Coffee.

He set his steaming mug down on the appropriately named coffee table in the den as he started with a few morning phone calls to either get or give updates as needed. First up; Sabine and crew at the hospital with Paige.

The phone rang several times before Sabine picked it up.

“Hello?”

Silas thought she sounded different. Pitch? Accent? Then again he had never heard her right out of bed.

“Sabine, I understand things have stabilized on your end. We had some hiccups on our end. The transport to Dugway didn’t happen. I also have two more individuals segregated. There is some other weird stuff going on. You guys are covered for being gone for the week. Stay scarce. I’ll come talk with you guys in a day or two. What do you have for me?”

“Lots of questions that can wait. I’ll call if her situation changes.”

That’s one thing he liked about Sabine. No extras, no histrionics, business time is business time.

“You guys get some rest, I’m going to need you soon, but right now I need you guys safe and on top of the situation with Paige. I’m working to make things safe here. If someone shows up saying they are from me, the confirmation they are from me is artichoke. The hospital security has been apprised to protect her since she is the victim in a federal attempted murder case. You three have access, but no one else.”

Sabine acknowledged him and that was that. Silas moved down the list of other things for the morning.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Ivar’s Office, Monday Morning


“Well, Kingfisher just relieved Dixon of his responsibilities and has him ‘leading’ a resupply and assist convoy far away, so that problem is out of our hair.” Ivar said as he set down the phone.

“Good! The kids made it into town and are at the hospital touching base.” Silas said before taking another sip from his mug.

“What did they stop there for?” Ivar asked.

“They needed a break and it let them see Paige, get a gander at what Frickel did so they were better prepared.”

“More pissed off, you mean.” Ivar leaned back in his chair before continuing “How the hell did we end up with someone like him in our unit?”

“I don’t know, boss, but he will be taken care of. With the cameras Paige put inside and outside the Arms Room, we have his ass dead to rights. He wouldn’t see the outside of a cell for a long time.”

“You don’t believe that any more than I do. Who are you trying to kid? With his connections, he probably won’t get more than ten years unless Paige dies.” Suddenly Silas notices Ivar gets a strange smile on his face.

“Strange thing to be smiling at, Paige dying.”

“Nah, just thinking it might have been better if Sabine remembered the safety, or if Paige had the camera feed up so she could have seen him coming.”

“Hell, if we are going with ‘wouldn’t it have been nices’ how about him trying that shit on someone who could fight back?”

“He’s too much of a coward for that. Instead he goes and clobbers a girl half his size, from behind.”

“Yeah. She’s a real sweet girl. Too. I hate for this to have happened to her.”

“You sure you’re not just protective of her cause she looks like Violet?”

“Guilty, sir, with an alibi. She might look like my sweet little slice of evil incarnate, but I’ve talked with her several times and I know she isn’t Violet. She is honest and open like Violet, but in a completely separate and different way. But you’re right. I saw Paige laying on the deck and all I saw was Violet. I almost took the pistol from Sabine and shot him myself!”

“Well, I don’t think Frickel would have been able to sneak up on her like that.’

“Yeah and if he didn’t drop her with the first shot, Violet would absolutely take him apart!” Silas’ voice was full of passion and rage now.

“Should a, would a, could a. The big thing is to stuff him in a hole far, far away.”
“How’s Kingfisher liking his new job?” Silas said with a grin.

“He’s hating it.” Ivar was grinning too.

“Hating it? He hasn’t been there more than an hour or two? How could he already be hating it?”

“He says it’s like herding blind cats with a flashlight.”

“Well, it will keep him busy.”

“Yeah and he doesn’t like that part. He’s already ankle deep in paperwork trying to sort through all the who is where and who is attached to who And who is responsible for what parts, all at once, with more than half the key players gone and half the ones left resenting him. I almost feel sorry for giving him the job.”

“No you don’t boss. He’s one of the only ones who could have handled it without making a bigger shit sandwich out of it.”

“True. So what other headache do you have for me before I go over ant talk to the clinic commander for his update?”

“I got the initial projections of class capability from next door.”

“Let’s wait a day or two until Kingfisher has a chance to revise them. Next?”

“That was about it. The rest can wait until you get back.”

 

[Chapulin]

I wasn't remembering Kingfisher from earlier in the story. A quick search says we know he is a Major introduced in this Part.

 

[Sportsman]

Thank you. I like the additional "inside information" perspectives.