Page 118 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

“No,” General Winter agreed, and a faint shadow came over his features.

“But there have been complaints about him in the past. Never this egregious, or you would have never met him in the first place. But let’s just say that between a suggestive history and now two eyewitnesses?

I wonder if, when this becomes public, we might not find a few more coming forth. ”

“Jesus Christ,” Carter muttered, feeling like the earth had slipped from beneath his chair.

“You can thank him if you wish,” General Winter said, and Carter swore he heard amusement in his voice.

“And while you’re at it, I would pass a word of thanks to Private King, who took a great risk stepping forward and telling the truth.

And should you find out who breathed a word to her over this private matter, thank them as well.

Oh, and spare thanks for Staff Sergeant Marshall while you’re at it. ”

That got Carter’s attention. “What? He can’t stand me either!”

“Staff Sergeant Marshall is a hard man, and he doesn’t tolerate trouble on this base, which is precisely why I placed him where he is.

But he’s a fair man.” General Winter frowned.

“That does not mean he is not capable of making mistakes. His willingness to make quick judgments and stick with them is one reason, along with other traits, that he leads our policing force. That said, it does…lend a certain quickness to judging people unfairly as well.”

“No kidding,” Carter muttered, not wanting to interrupt the general but unable to help himself.

The general snorted. “Indeed. And hopefully, he’s learned a lesson from all this. As I said, he’s a fair man underneath it all, and after a newfound wealth of information, his opinion changed.”

Carter straightened. “Information? What information?”

“Now, I’m not quite sure where he attained the information, but he provided me with a few.

..interesting tales of things you’ve done outside this base.

Enough to know this is not your first time defending someone at great risk to yourself, nor is it your first time dealing with,” General Winter’s lip curled in distaste, “such ugly situations either.”

Marco. It had to be Marco who had told Marshall about the woman on the street. It was the only way the man would know. No one had identified him, and no cops had ever shown up to confirm. The only source of the information had been Marco.

“Oh, what I would give to know what realization just struck you,” General Winter said with a wry smile.

“I’m...I’m cleared?” Carter asked in sudden understanding.

“Technically, I’m the one who determines if the charges are valid and sends my decision for a hearing up the chain.

And I’ve determined, from all the evidence put forth, that you are, in fact, innocent of the charges.

After this meeting, you will leave this building and no longer need a cell,” General Winter informed him.

“Holy shit,” Carter whispered.

“Holy shit,” General Winter agreed, smiling brilliantly.

“I thought…” Carter began, shaking his head.

General Winter continued to smile. “I know what you thought. And I’m glad you were wrong. Just as I’m glad I was right about your being here.”

Carter blinked. “Sir?”

“I have found that I have a very good sense of people, even those I’ve never met.

This isn’t always true. One need only look at Sergeant Reynolds to see how I can easily miss things.

Yet, when I’m right, I am completely and totally on the nose.

When I caught wind of your predicament, pushed around from place to place, causing trouble wherever you went, I realized I wanted you here. ”

“Why?”

“Because I had a good feeling about you. There was no way someone as apparently difficult as you could have worked well with different teams like you had. And I’ll be honest,” General Winter said with a smirk, “if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that the men other Generals, or those further up the line of command, don’t want to deal with are those I want here. ”

“Are you insane?” Carter asked, blanching when the words hit his ears.

To his surprise, General Winter chuckled. “Possibly. Christian has certainly accused me of it before.”

Carter squinted. “Christian, sir?”

General Winter tapped his ring finger on the desk, earning a knock as the metal band hit the wood. Carter blinked. He hadn’t even noticed the nondescript band on the man’s hand when he entered.

Carter took a deep breath, hesitated, then held his lips together. He didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth or shoot it in the foot by voicing the burning question in his throat.

General Winter, however, tilted his head. “Speak freely. You’re practically exploding from holding yourself back.”

“It’s just,” Carter said, forcing himself to hold the older man’s gaze. “If you wanted me here, if you thought I could do well here because you thought I was good…why Marshall? Why Reynolds? Why never say a word to me the entire time I was here until the shit hit the fan…sir?”

For a moment, Carter feared he’d gone too far and that his reprieve would be ripped out from under him.

The soft lines on General Winter’s face deepened, and the blue of his eyes turned to ice.

Then his shoulders fell, and Carter realized he wasn’t seeing anger, not at him anyway, but something directed inward.

“Staff Sergeant Marshall made an error of judgment, and we’ve talked about that,” General Winter explained.

“That aside, the rest of the situation rests on my shoulders. I did not see Sergeant Reynolds for what he was, and looking back at the signs, in the chaos that often bubbles beneath the surface of running Fort Dale, I missed a particularly rotten tree in the forest. I have no one to blame for how long he was allowed to run free or for the damage he caused but myself.”

Carter shifted uncomfortably in his seat but kept his peace with a simple nod.

He didn’t think it was entirely fair for the general to place all the blame on himself.

Reynolds had the lion’s share of that. Yet he understood all too well what it was like to allow the burden of blame to fall on your shoulders, sometimes placed there by yourself.

“Another mistake in judgment on my part,” Winter continued, watching Carter, “was my belief that you should be left alone.”

“Why?” Carter asked softly.

“I saw enough of the report from the field that had you sent back. I’ve been doing this for a long time and can read between the lines of an official report better than anyone.

Half your team was killed in action over bad intel.

Your team retreats, and suddenly, you’re being accused of breaking rank, insubordination? I can do the math.”

Carter nodded, throat tightening at the man’s words. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

General Winter leaned back. “My point is that after all that and how you were treated, I suspected the last thing you wanted was to have more high-ranking officers insert themselves into your life. So, I had you come here after repeated incidents at other bases, and I chose to stay distant in the hope that without interference, you would flourish.”

Carter snorted, staring at the desk. “Not sure how well that worked out, sir.”

“No,” General Winter agreed. “Which was my mistake. I should have recognized you needed a high-ranking officer’s presence if only to tell you that I did, and do, believe in you. You should have known there was someone on your side willing to go to bat for you.”

Again, Carter only nodded, wishing he could tell the general that this moment alone was enough. General Winter had screwed up in his own way and had made bad calls, but he was not only owning up to them but willing to do what it took to clean up the mess that resulted.

And he believed in Carter.

“My point,” General Winter continued, “is that I’m glad about my feeling. This incident alone tells me I found myself another good man. A man willing to defend others, even if it means he risks everything. That is what a good soldier does, Corporal Grant, and never forget that.”

“Yes, sir,” Carter said through a tight throat, staring adamantly at the desktop.

“Right,” the General proclaimed. “First things first. I’ll need you to give your witness report on the matter. Then, I think you’ll be due for a nice break. Two weeks leave will do you well, and I advise you to spend it with someone or somewhere special. Get your head on straight.”

Carter nodded, listening to the man and eager to get started. He was distracted for several minutes, trying to pay attention to the questions, but all he could think about was Marco.

“Staff Sergeant,” General Winter called.

The door swung open, and Marshall walked in. “Sir?”

“We no longer need to keep Corporal Grant here. Please see him out and come back when you’re done. You and I need to discuss a certain Sergeant,” General Winter told him.

Carter stood up, saluting the man once again. “Thank you, sir.”

General Winter smiled. “No, thank you. Dismissed. Enjoy your leave.”

Carter waited until he and Marshall were down the hallway and hopefully out of earshot before turning on the man. “Why did you help me?”

Marshall pulled his phone out, tapping at it with a snort. “Because it was the right thing to do. Marco told me everything, with a fair bit of yelling, I might add. And then made sure Dean and I helped find the private.”

Carter reeled back. “I’m sorry, what?”

Marshall looked up, a small smile pulling at his lips. “It was Marco. He all but beat Dean and me over the head with the most convincing case of your personality and character. And then, with a little bit of info from Dean, he found and sat down with King. It was him, Carter...and you.”

Carter shook his head, finding it difficult to believe.

There was definitely more to the story and probably a few steps he couldn’t even imagine.

But in the end, it was Marco, that impossibly sweet, gentle, and yet fierce man.

The whole time Carter had been with him, he’d only ever thought of how he could defend Marco and fight for him.

He never imagined Marco would fight for him too.

“Where is he?” Carter asked faintly.

“We kept him at home, just in case.”

“In case it wasn’t enough.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going,” Carter said, turning.

Marshall snorted. “Yeah, you are. But first, you’re going to shower and change. And then Dean is going to drive you over there.”

“I don’t?—”

“And Private King is with him. She’s been given leave too and spent the day with Marco. She wants to see you,” Marshall told him.

“I…” his head spun, but he nodded. “Okay.”

Marshall brought his hand down on Carter’s shoulder and squeezed.

“And I know it’s not worth much, but I’m sorry.

I was wrong about you, and that’s my damn fault.

I’m glad to have you as a part of this base, and I’ll be glad to have you around if you should stick with Marco.

We need a few more people in this stupid, crazy family we have. ”

Family. Now, there was a word he wasn’t ready for.

But Marco? Oh God, he was ready for Marco.