Enforcing Home (27 page)

“Morning Cecil, looks like it’s going to be a blister of a day.”

Cecil looked up and smiled. In the way of some old men, he stood with his hands on the back of his hips and looked up. “I think you’re right. Sun’s gonna boil all that water off and it will be like a damn jungle.”

“The rain was nice; but it comes with a price,” I replied with a chuckle.

Cecil turned and looked back towards the armory, “You boys get a delivery this morning?”

“They brought in a field hospital and some other stuff.”

Cecil nodded, “That’s good. Them poor people are sufferin’ something terrible up there. When I saw those birds coming in, it reminded me of a little mountaintop firebase I was on in Vietnam. We called them things shit hooks,” he laughed. “I hated riding in them. Just seemed unnatural that the thing could or should fly.”

I laughed, “I know what you mean. They say the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly. Guess no one ever told them.”

Cecil gave out a laugh. I liked him; he was an easy person to be around. “You just out inspecting the crops this morning?” He asked me.

“No; actually, I was looking for you.” I looked around at the small patches of planted ground. “I really don’t think this is going to be enough for everyone here.”

Cecil snorted, “Hell no it ain’t! I tried to tell that snot-nosed Captain up there; but like all brass, he won’t listen. You hang some color on an asshole’s collar, and he thinks he knows it all. Sad part is they usually don’t learn until people are dead.”

“How much land do you think you could plant?” I asked.

Cecil shrugged, “No limit really. The deciding factor is fuel, manpower and seed. We’ve still got quite a bit of seed.” Cecil winked and leaned in close, as if he were about to offer up a secret. “I’ve found more seed, by the way.”

Surprised, I asked him, “Where?”

He smiled broadly, exposing large white, straight teeth, “That’s a need to know-only basis. And you don’t need to know, Sheriff.”

I chuckled at him. “As long as you know, I don’t give a shit.”

“And that’s how it should be!” He barked in reply.

“I’ve got an idea about a place we could plant. It’s a lot of beautiful open land.”

“Where you thinking?”

I pointed north, “You know where that big piece of property is on forty-four just east of nineteen?”

Cecil nodded. “Yeah; on the north side of the road there across the road from the Trout Lake Center.” He paused and shook his head, “You ever hear of a dumber name for a lake in Florida? Trout Lake. There ain’t no trout in that damn lake!”

He cracked me up, “You’re right about that. Always thought the same thing. But that is the place I’m talking about.”

Cecil rubbed his chin as he thought about it. “That’s awful far from here. It’d probably get picked clean before we ever got the first bean from it.”

“I’ve already talked to old Snot Nose. They’ve agreed to station some soldiers there to provide security. We could also move some folks in there to tend to everything.”

Cecil’s eyes went wide, “I’ve spent my time sleeping in a damn Army tent. I ain’t doing it!”

He really was funny, “I didn’t mean you. You go up there and get it going. Use some folks from town here. Once the seeds are in the ground, you can just go up and check on it from time to time to make sure everything is going smoothly.”

Cecil calmed down a bit, “That sounds alright. For a minute there I thought you were losing your fool mind.”

Laughing, I replied. “Can’t say that isn’t happening, but I’m not trying to get you to sleep under canvas either.”

“We need to go take a look at the land. I’ve seen it a hundred times, but never actually looked at it.”

“Come on; let’s get a ride.”

We walked back to the armory. I found Sarge at the Hummer piling ammo cans into the back. When he saw us, he bellowed, “Where the hell have you been?”

I laughed, “You ain’t my daddy. I don’t have to tell your old ass what I’m doing.”

“Thank God! If I knew I was responsible for bringing something as ugly as you into this world, I’d cut my pecker off!”

“You done?” I asked with a smile.

“We need to get this shit loaded up. That damn Sheffield is trying to keep all my shit, and I ain’t having it!”

Cecil smiled, “Morning Top.”

“Morning Cecil,” Sarge replied curtly.

“He knows some of this is ours,” I said.

“Yeah; well he’s suddenly got a fat fucking head about things,” Sarge spat back.

Doc walked up with a couple of boxes under each arm, “Here are some med kits to take back to the ranch.” He tossed the boxes into the back of the truck.

“They giving you any trouble?” I asked.

Doc looked up and shook his head. “No; they’re great folks over there. There are a couple of engineers here too. They’re helping set up the clinic tent now, and said they need to get with you after that.”

“Alright; tell them I’ll find them later.”

“Come on Morgan; we need to get the rest of what’s ours,” Sarge barked.

“Calm down. It isn’t us versus them. We’re all in this together,” I replied as I followed him.

At the edge of the parking lot, the pallets that came off the chopper were being sorted. Sheffield and Livingston were there directing the action. Sarge moved in like a bull in a china shop and grabbed a large green case.

“Hey! That stays here,” Sheffield shouted.

“Like hell is does!” Sarge shouted back. He tilted the case to expose the label, “You don’t even have a damn Goose to fire these with!”

“Like you do?” Sheffield shouted back.

“Of course I do! What the hell do you think I requested the ammo for?”

Sheffield shook his head, “What? Where the hell did you get it?”

“None of your damn business. These are mine and I’m taking them.”

This was going downhill fast. Like Christmas morning at an orphanage; get it while the gettin’s good. I stepped between them.

“Come on Captain; you know we went to Camp Riley and requested all this stuff. We made sure to get you guys some supplies; but we need ours as well. We’ve already had one run-in with a DHS MRAP. If the Apaches hadn’t arrived, we’d have been toast. This is to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Sheffield threw his hands up, “Fine! You two sort this shit out!”

Sarge stiffened and looked at Sheffield. “Awe, poor fucking baby! You going to take your ball and go home now?”

That did it. I watched as Sheffield’s head turned red. The blood boiled up out of his collar and over his ears.

“What’d you say to me? You seem to forget First Sergeant that I’m a Captain in the United States Army; and you will address me accordingly!”

All work had stopped as everyone within earshot was now watching the show. Sarge guffawed, “And you seem to forget
Captain
that I’m retired and don’t give a fuck!”

Sheffield lunged for the old man and crashed into me. Sarge likewise went for Sheffield. I pushed Sheffield back and turned to face Sarge. He was looking right through me with a crazed expression in his eyes. He tried to go around me and I grabbed his rifle and used it as a handle to swing him back around. With the two separated, I started shouting.

“You two, knock it the hell off! What’s wrong with you guys? We’re on the same team here; we’ve got to work together or we’re all screwed! I don’t care which one of you has the bigger pecker, and neither do the people here! You fuckers made me Sheriff; so knock it the hell off, or I’ll lock both your asses up!”

Both men stopped and stared at one another. Sheffield looked around at the supplies scattered around, food, ammo, medical equipment and other gear. He rubbed his temples for a minute then looked at Sarge.

“I’m sorry for being a dick. There’s just so many people to take care of; it’s stressing me out.”

“Hell, I know that. That’s why I requested all this. We didn’t get everything; but we got more than I thought we would. I know you don’t like me Captain; but I really am trying to help you,” Sarge replied.

“It’s not that I don’t like you. You’re just a little cavalier in your attitude. I pity the COs you worked for.”

“Some people talk; some people do. If the machine gets in the way, go around it or through it. I don’t care which. I take care of my people, by any and all means at my disposal.”

“I know,” Sheffield replied.

He stepped towards Sarge and stuck his hand out. Sarge spun his heels to face away from him. I rolled my eyes and thought,
aw shit, here we go again.
Sarge looked at the soldiers still gawking, and shouted, “Company! Form up!” The soldiers shared looks around, but no one moved. Sarge gritted his teeth, “What the hell’s wrong with your booger eaters? I said form up!” As a Chinese fire drill erupted before me, Sarge continued to shout, “Move! Move! Move!” Once the troops were formed up, Sarge called the assembly to attention.

“Contrary to my actions here this morning, I have nothing but respect for Captain Sheffield. He is the CO of this post and will be addressed and treated accordingly.” Sarge spun on his heels again to face Sheffield. “Captain Sheffield, I apologize for my actions this morning.” With that, Sarge snapped in a crisp salute.

Sheffield looked at him for a moment, and I prayed he’d return the salute quickly. After a moment, Sheffield came to attention, “Your apology is accepted First Sergeant.” Sheffield dropped the salute, and Sarge did likewise. He then spun on his heels to face those assembled, “Diiiiissmissed!”

The assembly broke up and everyone got back to work; though the display obviously confused some of them. Sheffield walked up to Sarge and offered his hand again, “Thank you for that show of support.”

Sarge grabbed his hand and pulled him in close. With a wink, he said, “Don’t get used to it.”

Sheffield chuckled, “Believe me, I won’t.”

“Are you two done with the pecker-measuring contest now? I’ve got things to do,” I said.

Sarge smiled a sickly sweet smile at me that I knew to be complete bullshit. “Of course, Sheriff; what can we do for you?”

“I want to take Cecil to look at some new dirt for planting.”

Sarge clapped his hands, “Let’s go then!” Then his expression changed. An unnerving look I couldn’t quite place. “Lock my ass up, huh?”

“In a heartbeat. I’ll knock you in the head and throw your old ass in the hoosegow.”

Sarge’s eyes narrowed. “You’d have a better chance at getting a job as a break-in man at a whore house!” Then he smiled and slapped my shoulder. “Come on; let’s go look at your patch of dirt.”

Mike was rummaging around in the garage. Bucket in hand, he went through the tools on the tidy workbench. Finding something that caught his eye, he’d hold it up and inspect it. Then he’d steal a glance at the figure hanging from a rope in the center of the garage, and drop the tool in the bucket. In true Sarge fashion, he’d had the guys truss the man up. They had to open the scuttle hold to the attic in order to hang the rope from a truss; but it worked out, and he was now slowly swiveling back and forth.

The man watched Mike, but tried to remain calm, at least outwardly. He knew the kinds of things he’d done to people. Mostly just for fun. These guys were going to want answers; and it certainly appeared they intended to get them. But he wouldn’t make it easy on them. Sure, they’ll get what they want; but they damn sure were going to have to work for it.

Mike picked up a medium-sized pair of Channel Locks. Opening his mouth, he tested to see if they would grab a tooth. Of course he knew they would; and he also knew there was very little chance of that actually occurring……… but it looked good. Seeing they could clamp on, Mike smiled at his prisoner before dropping them into the bucket with a clank. It had the desired effect; and the man spoke for the first time.

“Why don’t you just get on with it already?”

Mike held a finger to his lips and shook his head.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” The man asked.

Mike tapped his finger to his lips again, then waved it at the man.

The man struggled for a moment, though it wasn’t much of an effort. With his feet a full foot off the ground, all he could really do was gyrate his body a little. “Come on! What the hell!”

Mike carried the bucket over and set it down so his prisoner could see into it; though far enough back that he couldn’t get to it with his feet. He looked the man in the eyes, smiled broadly, and walked into the house. His actions had the desired effect as the man stared down into the bucket. His mind raced with the possibilities of the instruments displayed before him. But one in particular put real fear in him. Lying on the top of the pile was a drywall saw. Its jagged shark-like teeth glared at him; and he could already feel it tearing its way inside him.

Thad and Danny took turns in the hole. They’d decided to dig a conventional latrine. Dalton had suggested a basic slit trench to make things easier. Luckily for the girls though, they disagreed. Dalton stood watch for them as they worked on the side of the road not far from the bunker. Thad had suggested putting the latrine in the woods a short distance from the bunker, but Dalton overruled that idea, pointing out it had to be within eye and earshot.