Page 52 of Nash Falls

“Went both ways. He did the full ride, mustered out as a sergeant major. I did my time and come back home. But we always kept in touch no matter what. When he got transferred here to finish out his stint, I moved here, too. So did a bunch of the old guys from the war.”

“You must have really bonded for all of you to do that.”

“Hell, he saved all our butts over there. Your daddy was a professional soldier. We were all just tryin’ to survive. None of us would be here ’cept for Ty.” He took another swig of beer and eyed Nash with interest. “You read the letter yet?”

“How do you even know about it?” demanded Nash. “Haveyouread it?”

Shock shook his head. “Ty told me he was gonna do it. Man say he gonna do somethin’, he do it.”

“I haven’t read it yet. I just got it today.”

Shock burrowed down in the comfortable chair. It was actually a chair and a half, which was why Nash had directed him to it. Even so, with Shock seated there, it was difficult to glimpse very much of the chair.

“You think Ty hated you, right?”

“No, I didn’t think it. Iknewhe did.”

“Based on?” asked Shock.

“My life.” Nash set his beer down. “Look, is there a point to you coming here? If so, I’d like to get to it. I do have some things to do before an appointment I have tonight.”

“Oh, right, I forgot, you a big shot. Not much time for us plebes.”

“Come on, I know you can do better than that in the insult department if you really try. I mean, you set such a high bar at the church. You can’t bring your B-game now. It makes you look downrightsmall.”

Shock smiled broadly and it added creases and dimples to the man’s face that both relaxed and enhanced it, Nash thought. It was suddenly a nice face, a kind one. And that thought confused Nash because he had always believed that Shock was neither nice nor kind.

At least to me. He obviously worshipped my father. Like everyone else.

Shock said admiringly, “A fine stinger. You good all right. On fire with your barbs.”

Nash decided to throw him a bit of a curve, and he was also interested in the answer. “What were you studying in college?”

“Finance.”

Nash looked surprised, but Shock didn’t look the least bit surprised at Nash being surprised.

“You thinkin’ I was a football jock, right? How else a brother gettin’ into college back then, right? Especially one my size.”

“No, I was…”

“I’m just pullin’ your chain, Walter. Ididplay football. Started my freshman year. But back then it ain’t like it is today. Army didn’t give a crap that maybe I had a shot at the pros. And back then the pros didn’t pay shit anyways. No, I was lookin’ at a job on maybe Wall Street. Be one of the first Black men to make his mark there. But I got shot up in Nam, so there went my football scholarship. Got back to the States and found out my GI Bill benefits were basically squat. So bye-bye college. I went to work at crap jobs so my family wouldn’t starve, and then took control of my life and ended up doin’ what I did.”

“Which was what, exactly? Dad never said.”

“Private security. Ty was the one who encouraged me to do it. When he was home on leave he helped me with the paperwork, gettin’ my company set up. Even made some calls to his friends in the defense sector who’d done really well. My first clients came from there, in fact. I guess when it comes to savin’ your own ass and bein’ tough they think Black dudes know their shit. Only time my skin color helped me, come to think.”

“Private security meaning what exactly?”

“Seventies were some crazy times, man. Patty Hearst gettin’ snatched by the Symbionese Liberation Army and then robbin’ banks. Oil Getty’s grandson gettin’ grabbed in Italy and losin’ an ear. So rich people were on edge ’bout that stuff. And lots of American executives were gettin’ kidnapped and held for ransom, especially down in Latin and South America. That shit happened all through the eighties and on. So they and their companies hired me to show them how to stay safe. Self-defense. How to break free from restraints, talkin’ their way out of bad situations. Threat assessments so you don’t get in those situations in the first place and also by practicin’ hypervigilance for yourself and your family. Basic and then advanced weapons trainin’. Martial arts, hand-to-hand, whatever it took to stay alive and out of harm’s way.”

“So using your skills from the Army?”

“Me and your father was Green Berets. Delta Force didn’t come into being until after the war was over. If Delta had been a thing, me and Ty woulda been part of it. We were just cut out for the crazy shit.”

“They talked about your Green Beret experience at his retirement party. The places you went to and the things you did while you were there? You were both lucky to get out of southeast Asia alive.”

“Nearly sixty thousand of us didn’t,” retorted Shock.