Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (9 page)

Col. Stokes knew it was time to spend more
time with his family.

+ + +

The Stokes family packed up and relocated
back to Nashville, Tennessee, a few weeks later. Through teary
goodbyes with lifelong friends and an emotional change of command
ceremony where Col. Stokes was awarded the Legion of Merit and a
Bronze Star, the Stokes clan moved on, uncertain of the future.

Cal Sr. used his considerable accrued leave
time to reach out to his numerous contacts in the civilian world.
Throughout his time in the Corps, he’d come in contact with various
influential individuals both on the national and local scene.
Although his skills from the Marine Corps didn’t equate to one
particular job in the civilian world (not many regiments to command
on Main Street U.S.A.), his Marine determination knew he would find
something.

He spent his days making phone calls and his
nights and weekends with the family. Most time devoted to the
family found Cal and his father bonding and figuring out each
other. There were camping and fishing trips. All the while, Cal’s
father treated his son like a man and started to relay life’s
lessons.

Cal’s spirits and attitude improved. He’d
needed his father and once again things felt right in the
world.

Not long after settling in the Nashville
suburb of Franklin, TN, Cal Sr. was hired by a local government
facility as a consultant to evaluate the facility’s security and
operations. The contact had been arranged by an old friend now
serving at the Pentagon who had sung Cal Sr.’s praises to regional
director in charge of all of Tennessee state’s federal
facilities.

Although he’d never done anything like what
he’d been hired for, the money was right and like a true Marine,
he’d figure it out as he went.

Long story short, after evaluating the
facility, interviewing employees, cataloging procedures, and simply
observing for six weeks, Col. Stokes delivered his thirty page
summary to the regional director. The director was very pleased
with the recommendations and asked Cal Sr. to stay on-board to help
implement his suggestions.

Cal’s father didn’t want to be employed by
the government, so instead he asked if a new consulting contract
could be drafted for the follow-up work. The director agreed and
Cal Sr. spent the good part of the next six months retraining the
facility staff and implementing the upgraded security protocol.

During the entire process he made it
absolutely clear that the job would not interfere with his home
life. He insisted on leaving no later than four thirty each day in
order to spend time with Cal. It was a habit that he’d continue
until the day he died.

Throughout his first consulting gig, Cal Sr.
began to see the possibilities in the world of national and
international security. He’d recognized the rise of international
terrorist cells during his time in the Marine Corps. He’s lost
friends in the Beirut bombing. Col. Stokes knew it wouldn’t be long
before those attacks hit American soil.

Over the next couple years he formalized the
structure of Stokes Security International. He leveraged his
abundant contacts within state and federal agencies to help win
jobs that included law enforcement training, security analysis, VIP
protection, etc… Over time, his staff grew as did his reputation
for being absolutely dependable.

He refused jobs that would take him away for
long periods of time. He refused offers from certain Middle East
governments with reported ties to developing terrorist
organizations. While no longer an active duty Marine, Col. Stokes
still felt an intense desire to protect and defend the United
States.

Along the way, he hired former military
officers and enlisted men to be part of the growing SSI. He soon
became known within certain circles as the man who gave second
chances. Col. Stokes knew from experience that everyone has at
least one bad day and sometimes good troops fall by the
wayside.

His first “second chance” hire, strangely
enough, was Cal’s cousin Travis. At the time Travis was a Navy
Lieutenant serving as a platoon commander with the SEALs. A highly
intelligent young man (Rhodes Scholar in college), and an
impressive athlete who’d started at defensive back on Ole Miss’
football team for four years, Travis seemed to be on the fast track
to Navy stardom.

That all changed when he found out that one
of his SEALs was beating his wife. A deeply honorable man, Travis
confronted the enlisted man. During the short conversation the SEAL
admitted to abusing his wife and told Travis it wasn’t any of his
business.

Although the sailor outweighed Travis by
almost fifty pounds, he still found himself waking up inside a San
Diego hospital with a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, a cracked
jaw, four broken ribs, a broken leg and one helluva headache.

Travis, after calling the ambulance, turned
himself in to the Shore Patrol and was confined at the brig until
the unconscious SEAL could wake up and testify against his platoon
commander.

The man decided not to press charges but the
damage had already been done. By turning himself in, Travis had
admitted his guilt. There was nothing the Special Operations
community could do except let him leave the Navy quietly. At least
it was better than spending more time in the brig.

Cal Sr. found out about the incident from
his brother, Travis’ father. He invited Travis to fly out to
Nashville to spend a little time with family. During the two-week
stay, Cal’s father introduced Travis to the inner workings of SSI
He never made it seem like he was courting a new employee; instead,
he quizzed Travis on how SSI could improve its operations.

By the end of the visit, without prompting,
Travis made up his mind. He asked his uncle if he could join the
company. He explained that he would rather sweep floors for his
uncle’s company than to beg for work elsewhere.

Needless to say, Cal Sr. took him up on his
offer. Instead of starting Travis as he’d requested on the bottom
of the totem pole, the CEO of SSI took Travis under his wing. For
the first year he rarely left Cal Sr.’s side. Some people called
Travis “The Bodyguard” but he served as more of an aide and
apprentice. Travis would later admit that the time spent with his
uncle and his family probably saved him from a depressive fate.

Never a word was said by the rest of the
company staff other than to give the new man a friendly ribbing.
Many within SSI came from similar backgrounds and circumstances. It
was the former Marine turned CEO who had helped many of his staff
over the years. They respected their leader’s decisions and
believed in his vision.

The second and probably more important
reason, was that the entire company harbored a deep and open
respect for the Stokes family. Col. Stokes was a tough man but a
fair man. He always made time for his family and was known for
walking the halls and kicking his employees out so they could spend
time with their own loved ones.

Every person up and down the chain felt like
they had earned the title of SSI employee. The feeling was very
similar to the young man crossing the parade deck and finally being
called a Marine. It was an atmosphere that Cal Sr. worked hard to
foster from the beginning.

Other key players in the SSI family also
came from employment similar to Cal’s cousin. There was the
logistics chief, Martin Farmer, a former Marine Master Sergeant
who’d been relieved of duty after falling deep into alcoholism and
depression upon coming home from deployment to find his wife
sleeping with the Marine next door. There had been no violence,
only the swift decline of a man once revered by his peers and now
hindered by the bottle.

Farmer’s crusty old Sergeant Major was the
one to give Col. Stokes the heads-up. The Sergeant Major and
Colonel had served together on two separate occasions and held each
other in high regard. So when the phone call came from his former
Marine, he was glad to help.

He’d reviewed the Master Sergeant’s record
that, minus the present problem, was exemplary including two
meritorious promotions. Next he hopped a flight to Camp Lejeune and
was formally introduced by the Sergeant Major.

Col. Stokes recognized the pain in the man’s
eyes and made a deal with him. He would pay for the man’s
rehabilitation and counseling. At the end of the program if Farmer
came out clean, he would be hired at SSI. Like most Marines, MSgt
Farmer was a proud man and fully appreciated the helping hand he’d
received. He flew through recovery and reported in to work ninety
days later, right after a brief stop in North Carolina to finalize
his divorce.

MSgt Farmer became one of Cal Sr.’s
brightest stars and totally revamped SSI’s logistics division. It
seemed early on that Col. Stokes had an eye for talent.

All along the way, Cal Jr. became a welcome
aide to the SSI CEO. He’d often sit in on high level meetings and
interviews. Sometimes he was in the room; other times he was next
door listening through the conference intercom system. Cal learned
that his father was a special man that invested in his fellow man
first in order to better himself and others. Cal learned that his
father had a special place in his heart for those in need of a
second chance, but that second chances always came with
stipulations. Cal Sr.’s sense of morality was strong when it came
down to the activity that caused any potential employee to get into
trouble.

He remembered the time an old friend had
gone out on a limb for a certain Navy Master Chief. Apparently the
two didn’t quite know each other but somehow the Master Chief knew
enough people to get referred to Col. Stokes. The story Cal Sr.
received from his old friend differed drastically from the story
that finally came out of the ill-fated Master Chief’s mouth.
Apparently the sailor believed that ANY first infraction warranted
a second chance in the mind of the founder of SSI. He soon found
out otherwise.

It quickly surfaced that the man had twisted
his story in order to gain sympathy with his former commander. The
commander (an old friend of Col. Stokes) took the man for his word
and was more than happy to pass along a supposedly trust-worthy
sailor to his buddy.

It turned out that the man had severely
beaten two young sailors who’d just reported into his unit.
Apparently alcohol was involved and what started as an innocent
hazing ritual soon turned violent.

Sitting in front of Col. Stokes, it was
obvious the sailor still held no remorse for the situation. He
actually had the audacity to blame the Navy for accusing him
unjustly. Little did the man know that Col. Stokes held no room in
his world for bullies and liars. The man was swiftly escorted out
by Travis and two other former SEALs, and a report was submitted to
Col. Stokes’ friend which he in turn filed with the Navy.

It was during this altercation that Cal
finally understood his father’s true sense of right and wrong. He
believed that any abuse or offense against a lesser human being was
morally wrong. At the same time, Cal Sr. did believe that there are
times when a man must take the law into his own hands as long as it
was the right thing to do.

Cal asked his father about this supposed
duplicity and he’d listened as Cal Sr. calmly explained that
although America was the best country in the world, even America’s
laws were not always fair to all and oftentimes sheltered criminals
for the sake of due process.

His son knew his father approved certain
covert missions for various government agencies that, if seen by
the liberal media, would be criticized as being barbaric and
unconstitutional. Each of these undertakings was always scrutinized
for its ethical basis by the headquarters team at SSI. A mission
was never green-lighted if the outcome and the methods did not live
up to SSI’s high moral standard.

Col. Stokes would later
solidify his belief with a motto he would dub
Corps Justice
.

BRIAN
: So
let me get this right, this company is gonna be yours?

CAL
: Well,
I guess technically it is mine.

BRIAN
: Holy
shit! You’re like a billionaire!

CAL
(sheepishly): Not really. I guess you’d call me a
multi-millionaire. Don’t spread that around.

BRIAN
: Are
you kidding me?! No one would believe that a dumb grunt like you is
a billionaire anyway.

CAL
:
Millionaire!

BRIAN
:
Whatever. It’s all the same.

CAL
: Do you
want to hear the rest of the story of not?

BRIAN
(snootily): Alright, go on Mr. Billionaire.

Cal ignored the comment and continued.

CAL
: So my
Dad taught me that many worlds exist within the law. He learned
early on in the security business that he would have access to
certain intel that could benefit others for good and bad. His deep
sense of moral duty kept him from profiting from the bad side. At
the same time, he knew there was a huge gray area left for him to
interpret.

BRIAN
: I’m
not following you.

CAL
: OK. I
remember Dad telling me the story of the first instance when he hit
a real gray area. On a certain job a few years back, one of his SSI
passive surveillance teams found out that a neighbor of the target
was running an illegal prostitution and drug ring and that both the
woman and drugs were being supplied from Taiwan.