BELONGING: Hope, Truth And Malice (Beauty 0f Life Book 3) Page 30

  But Walter didn’t know Blaze that well and he interpreted the look to be protective of Dan. He thought, Nice to see that Captain Blain is still fiercely protective of Dan. Choosing him for this detail had been the right call. The General’s concern that the friendly fire incident had changed their relationship was unwarranted, at least from Blain’s perspective.

  Gambrill realized that Dan probably wasn’t even aware that Blaze and Winds were here. From where Dan had been standing just outside the door, his three former unit mates wouldn’t have been visible to him. When Dan had seen Patch in the ravine, he’d blanked out. It would be interesting to see how Dan reacted when he found out everything they’d done for him yesterday. Hopefully, it would mend some wounds for all four of them.

  “Well, let’s see where to start? Ok. So, I was the best man at William and Yvonne’s wedding. Still not sure how he got her to marry him. Yvonne was all bright and full of laughter and William was a dour man who never really showed his emotions to anyone.

  “Dan was born about ten months later, a honeymoon baby most say. Then two years later little Sara came and Becca four years after Sara. All three kids took after their mother’s personality. Bright, outgoing, full of smiles and mischief. You know, just happy kids.

  “Dan and Becca had their father’s blue eyes, and Sara’s eyes were emerald green like her mother.” There was a quick intake of breath from Bram as he thought of Sara Clarry’s eyes. Alpha Team’s eyes quickly glanced at him thinking the same thing, but no one interrupted Gambrill.

  He was saying, “Physically, Dan takes after his father in many ways. Rugged looks, untold stamina, and hard to kill.”

  Patch snorted at that comment, didn’t he know it. Blondie was one hell of fighter—he should’ve been dead several times. Dr. Pastore had called Blondie an outlier—his survival was way outside statistical odds—thank God!

  The same comment filled Blaze and Winds with rage because that was exactly what they thought the SOB was trying to do, kill his only son.

  Gambrill was unaware of their rage because he had looked over at Dan thinking, Too many close calls. Damned hard to kill. Thank God!

  “William was a Major when Dan was born. I don’t know the full details, but when Dan was about one, William was nearly killed in France when his unit was in charge of security for Colonel Grasett while he attended a summit. By all accounts William should’ve died, but he didn’t. He had Yvonne and Daniel to live for and that was a strong motivator for him to fight to hang on.

  “He had an extended recovery period and loved spending time with Daniel—time that he hadn’t had when he was on duty. When William returned to active duty, he was promoted to Colonel. Tom Sutton had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel while William was recovering. They filled the leadership vacuum created by the deaths of Colonel Grasett and Lieutenant Colonel Elkin in France when William was also hurt.

  “When Dan was five years old, William was promoted to Brigadier General. He was being groomed to eventually take over for General Craymuier. That’s when things started to change.” Walter stopped as sadness over what they’d all lost because of William’s damned attitude toward raising Dan. He considered what to say next and popped a timbit in his mouth, chewed slowly, then washed it down with a sip of coffee.

  Blaze stared out the window trying to contain his fury. He really could care less about the General’s meteoric rise to power. Sure, he was the second youngest man to make full General, facts Blaze knew. But that didn’t mean the General was a good and honorable man—he was far from that as far as Blaze was concerned. Because a man that treated his son like General Badass treated Blondie was definitely not an honorable man.

  Trying to recall the good, Walter thought about the General’s pride in his son. Gambrill shared, “Dan was six when William started teaching him how to shoot. Got him his first rifle that summer. He got a kick out of being able to take Dan to the gun range, Danny was such a natural—he took after William in that manner. William had been a sniper when he first joined Special Forces. He preened like a proud papa the day his eight-year-old son bested some of the experienced marksmen in a friendly competition.”

  Walter chuckled. “I remember him telling me it kind of pissed off some of the guys to be bested by an eight-year-old. But he said most of them took it in stride and he thought some of them actually missed on purpose.”

  Recalling Yvonne’s displeasure over the same event, Walter continued, “Yvonne wasn’t happy with it, though. She felt that at six Dan was too young for William to be taking him to the range every weekend. By the time Dan was seven, they’d go to the range several times each week. Yvonne argued with Will over it, but William wouldn’t back down.

  “William was stupidly headstrong and insisted that it was never too young for a boy to learn that skill and that Broderick males were military men, always had been always would be, generation after generation. William felt it was his duty to prepare Dan for life in the military and that Dan’s training needed to start young so it became second nature and would protect him.”

  Sadness entered Gambrill’s voice as he shared, “That was the reason that Dan was only ever allowed to call him ‘Sir’ and had to stand at attention or parade rest when speaking with him. From the time Dan was five years old William ruthlessly drilled into him that he must always follow orders and that not doing so was a failure he wouldn’t accept or tolerate.”

  Gambrill stopped to take a drink of coffee. He wondered if he should really be sharing this kind of detail, but decided to continue. “Unfortunately, he was a misguided man and would verbally dress-down Dan like he was a soldier when the boy got into mischief or didn’t follow an order. Sadly, Dan learned early on to turn off his emotions quickly if the General was around.

  “Dan was smiles and laughter when it was just his mom and sisters. However, he would flip a switch to soldier mode when the General was present. It’s truly sad. William’s actions originated from love for his son. He had simply wanted to prepare Danny for the harsh world of a soldier. But William couldn’t see what he was doing was so very, very wrong until it was too late.”

  Walter sighed and took another drink so he could compose himself. “It was the day that Sara died that showed him how wrong he had been. It was the day he lost not only his little girl, but also his son. It was that day he finally realized that he’d broken the father-son relationship between himself and Dan and all that remained … all that existed was a general-soldier one.

  “William is a hard and proud man who rarely openly expresses emotions, but he does feel them deeply. I know he’s still guilt-ridden for what he did to Danny and he has tried so hard to mend things over the years.” Walter stopped and looked directly at Blain.

  “Bullshit! That man is a sadistic bastard and if I wouldn’t be court martialed I would’ve beat him to a bloody pulp for all the shit he put Blondie through. No one that loved someone would do those things. You have no idea how hard Brody and I worked to keep that kid’s soul intact,” Blaze roared, having heard enough. He stood and stormed from the room.

  Remembering his duty, Blaze stopped at the door just long enough to say, “Winds, watch Blondie. I need a break,” then strode furiously outside.

  Everyone was feeling stunned by what they’d heard and by Blaze’s outburst. It was a lot to digest. It was clear the relationship between Dan and his father was complicated.

  Nick rubbed his face several times then said, “Let’s take a much-needed break. We can continue when Blaze returns.”

  Everyone nodded. Nick, Loki, and Bram stood and paced slowly to stretch their legs as their minds churned. Gambrill stood, walked to the windows, and stared aimlessly at the scenery. Ray leaned back in his chair and made his body relax taking shallow slow breaths.

  Lexa turned to stare at Dan. He had as complicated of a relationship with his family as she had with hers, maybe even more so. Lexa noted that Dan appeared flushed, even though it was a bit hard to tell with all the bruising. She was
glad when Patch went to check on him.

  Patch felt the heat radiating off of Blondie and pulled out his tympanic ear thermometer. He took Dan’s temp and didn’t like the results. Patch mumbled to himself as he pulled out his phone and dialed. When it was answered, Patch got right to the point. “Dr. Fraser, its Jim Shea. Dan has a fever.”

  Dr. Fraser answered his phone and listened, then asked, “How high?”

  Patch replied, “It’s at 102 right now. I’m pretty sure he needs antibiotics and something to bring down the fever. Could you arrange to send them over and few more bags of saline?”

  “I’ll order an antibiotic and fever reducer. I didn’t see any signs of infection in his wounds, so I need you to monitor them, especially the bullet wound. I know you know what to look for. Are the rest of his vitals good and are you still at TRF headquarters?” Fraser asked.

  “Yeah, I know what to look for. I’ll call if I see any signs of heat, swelling, or discharge from his wounds.” He quickly took Blondie’s pulse and then reported, “No change in his other vitals, they’re all good and yes, we’re still here. Thanks,” Patch finished, hung up, then started to leave the room.

  When she overheard Patch’s conversation, Lexa had laid her head on her arms on the table and closed her eyes, thinking sarcastically, This just keeps getting better and better. She sat up just as Patch was about to exit the room. “Where are you going?” she inquired.

  “Want to get some damp paper towels to cool him,” Patch replied.

  “I can do better. We have lots of fresh towels and washcloths in the locker rooms. I’ll go grab a few and some cool water. Also, we have some instant cold packs in our first aid kit. I can get them if you think they would help,” Lexa informed him as she headed to the locker room.

  “Thanks, that would be great. An ice pack for his wrist would be good,” Patch replied as he went back over to Dan. “Blondie, always giving me trouble. One problem after another. Always testing my skills. You know, it’s okay to stop it now,” he jokingly said to Dan as he squeezed his left bicep.

  Winds rose and strode over to Jon, who was standing at the doorway looking in the direction Blaze had taken. Winds was just as angry inside. Hearing about the General made his stomach churn and he wished he could storm out too, but one of them needed to stay and protect Blondie.

  Stopping next to Jon, Winds said, “I’ve got to stay with Blondie or I’d go after him. I know how he feels right now. Perhaps you could go for me? I think you two are a lot alike and he could use someone that understands how he thinks right now.

  “Give Blaze ten minutes alone to calm down, then talk to him please. He’s not much of a talker, but he just might with you. If that Davis guy shows up, we’ll make him wait until you two are back.”

  Jon nodded affirmative and slowly started from the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  July 16

  TRF HQ – Rooftop – 8:50 a.m.

  As he exited the stairwell, Jon stopped. He’d looked for Blaze out front, and when he didn’t find him, decided to check the roof. Seeing Blaze pacing on the rooftop reminded him of how Dan always came here to calm down.

  Blaze clenched and released his hands several times as he paced back and forth. Each time he stopped in front of the air handler, Blaze looked like he wanted to punch it as his fists closed and his arms came up, but then he released them and pivoted to pace back to the other side of the roof.

  Jon understood that emotion because he knew the unbridled rage that came when he was powerless to protect the people he cared about. Jon waited for the onslaught of emotion to subside. Jon figured he would only end up getting decked if he tried to intervene right now.

  Slowly Blaze got control of his rage and he stopped pacing as he approached the air handler for the umpteenth time. He turned, leaned his back on the air handler, and slowly slumped to the ground with his knees bent and his forehead in his right palm.

  Jon checked his watch. Yep, ten minutes, Winds knew Blaze well. As Jon approached slowly, he thought again about Dan, and how this was his favorite place to sit. Jon slid down next to Blaze. He sat silent, not pushing, just wanting to let Blaze know he wasn’t alone.

  After a long time, Blaze blew out a ragged breath and turned his head towards Jon. He looked long and hard trying to read Jon’s face, then said, “I hate the General so much. For six hellacious years, we protected Blondie as best we could. But there were things that were just beyond our control—my control. The General put Blondie through hell repeatedly. I can’t accept that the man loves Blondie no matter what Gambrill says.”

  He sat silent for a long time. Minutes ticked by slowly. An expression of deep sadness covered Blaze’s face as he shared, “Blondie doesn’t know this, but I know exactly how many kills he had to make in those six years. That number would make a stone man weep with despair. When he was with us, we tried to limit the hits to his soul. However, when the General ordered him to join other units it was very hard on him.

  “You see, Blondie had to prove himself over and over, putting himself at risk countless times. He carried a target on his back just because he was the General’s son. Many people thought he got special treatment. HA! Yeah, special treatment, my ass—Blondie was used and abused by that damned man. The General is a cold-hearted bastard and Blondie never got down time. When my unit was down, Blondie was assigned to another unit temporarily.

  “There was nothing I could do about it. The orders came directly from the General. When Blondie was with the other units, we never knew if they had his back. Usually, they didn’t. He was with another unit when he was captured. The green Sergeant discounted Blondie’s input for his perch. He was ordered to a position that wasn’t defensible and left on his own for three days with no one checking on him.

  “Once he was with a unit that flat out tried to kill him. They choked him out and left him to die. I’d call it justice that they paid the price for that with their own lives. If Blondie had been with them, he would’ve seen the ambush they walked into.

  “Then there was the time when he was out in the field for seven days and had to take out thirty-two targets.” Blaze banged his head lightly on the metal air handler behind him as frustration built again, “That time the unit he was with forgot he was with them. Bastards! From his perch, Blondie saved their asses when they bugged out because they were overrun by a much larger and well-armed group than they’d anticipated. Bastards ran scared and they left without him. Blondie had to hike over sixty kilometers back to the base camp alone, through hostile territory, with no supplies left. No water, no food, and no ammo—he’d used it all to save their asses.

  “I reported their actions to the Major and the bastards didn’t even get a reprimand. Something like that had to be reported up to the General. I still can’t believe they got off scot-free for putting Blondie at such risk. The General did nothing. His son could’ve died—Blondie was alone, unarmed, and in hostile territory—and the General did nothing to the bastards who left him.

  “When we found him in the mess tent, Blondie was so close to the edge. The kid eventually told us that he didn’t tip off the edge because some guy had offered to help him and talked to him about TRF before we found him. Blondie was shocked by the offer of help because no one but us gave a damn whether he lived or died. The kid said the TRF sounded like a good place to be.”

  Blaze put his head on his knees. His doubts and questions resurfaced in his mind. What kind of blackout protocol was this? Was Blondie on a mission? What kind of mission would involve the ruse of Blondie being with the TRF? A mission was the only thing that made any sense at the moment. But his mind couldn’t discern what was really going on.

  Jon had listened to everything Blaze shared. He sat quietly assessing all he’d heard. Damn. He found his respect for Dan going up many notches. How the hell did Dan go six years without a break?

  Part of one of the early discussions that Nick had with him when he was being a stubborn ass and needed to change his
attitude towards Dan filtered into his mind. Neither quite knew what Dan’s comment meant at the time, but now Dan’s statement that at least Alpha Team didn’t try to kill him made sense. Shit!

  He wondered about Dan’s father now. Could the General really be that callous towards his son? It didn’t jive with what Gambrill was saying. Who was right and who was wrong? Could Walter be blinded by an old friendship? Could the Captain be misinterpreting things? Jon had no idea what the truth was—it was a real puzzle.

  But one piece fell into place as words from Trevor’s story matched up with words Blaze said. The pieces fit together and he made the connection. Quietly, Jon said, “So, that’s what they meant, it confused Trevor a lot. Gonna have to reintroduce those two.”

  “What? Trevor? Reintroduce who?” Blaze questioned.

  “Yeah, Trevor—he’s on Echo Team, but has been out on leave as long as Dan’s been here. He just got back to duty a week ago. At the command post yesterday, we heard Trevor recount an encounter he had with Dan when he was a MP in Kandahar. Trevor said it stuck with him because it was so intense that he couldn’t forget it. He still wondered what the numbers meant when one guy yelled to others, ‘found Blondie, seven and thirty-two’. He thought it was some unit code. You also went into action fast when you heard Patch yell ‘found Blondie’, yesterday,” Jon said shaking his head and thinking, What a small world—a damned small world—it was.

  “It was our code. Shorthand for how bad physically and mentally things were for Blondie,” Blaze stated flatly.

  “So, I gather the first was how many days in the field and the second how many kills,” Jon replied solemnly, only getting a nod of agreement from Blaze.

  Sorrow etched itself on Blaze’s face as he confessed, “In the end, even we, his brothers, utterly failed him. Blondie left us because we failed him when he needed us the most. I was the one that relayed the all clear order that resulted in Blondie shooting Brody.”