Page 37 of Salute, To Bravery

I hated this fuckin’ place. Sand for fuckin’ miles and then mountains. The scenery never changed, and I was as bored with it now as I was the first week after seeing it. We were returning from patrol, there’d been rumours of insurgents nearby, but we’d found nothing.

Denning sat quietly in the back, her eyes scanning the horizon, much like DiMarco beside her.

Rogers and Foster whispered between themselves, and I experienced a kick of envy and happiness.

Foster, after having been attacked by a couple of drunk grunts whose asses she’d kicked, had approached Rogers to take her virginity.

Maelstrom, sitting next to me, had been put out.

He’d a well-deserved reputation as a ladies’ man.

But Foster said she didn’t want a man whore who wouldn’t cherish the gift she offered him.

I thought it’d been harsh, especially when I saw the expression in my best friend’s eyes.

Hurt had shone briefly in there, and it made me question how Maelstrom felt about Foster.

But, surprisingly, Foster and Rogers had formed a relationship.

Nobody commented, but it was obvious they were together.

Maelstrom kept his eyes peeled for any sign of an ambush. The man no longer resembled the teen who I’d joined up with. We were in our twelfth year of serving and trying to decide whether to join up for a fourth term.

That was a decision we’d all make together.

We’d turned thirty now, and we’d saved a shitload of money between us.

We lived at base in a bunkhouse (when home), ate at the mess hall, and therefore our outgoings were low.

Every single one of us squirrelled a good eighty per cent of our wages away.

The time was coming when we’d either sign back up for a fourth tour or move aside and live like civilians.

That was a strange notion. It unsettled everybody.

Be a civilian again? How? Our formative years weren’t great, and the army and the division we operated in had regimented our adult life.

Captain Shere had recruited us to be a special ops team that nobody knew about.

The training we’d gone through would and had broken many, but we’d thrived.

And since then, we’d rescued countless armed forces personnel, taken out strongholds and committed quite a few assassinations of threats to our country.

It may seem strange, but none of those bothered me or my friends.

We were still as tight as ever despite what we’d seen and done.

People thought we might be too dependent, but honestly, who the fuck cared?

Even the other teams didn’t operate as well as us, and we weren’t universally liked by them.

However, the grunts we shared a base with loved us to bits.

We received better shit than they did and didn’t hesitate to share when possible.

Not everybody got the good stuff. And unlike the other teams, we mixed with the grunts and base personnel.

Maelstrom stiffened as we both caught sight of a glint of light shining off of something.

We both came to attention, which alerted everyone else.

Guns rattled as everyone got ready. If this were an ambush, they wouldn’t take us so easily.

I slowed the GMV-S we rode in so Maelstrom could look for mines and IEDs.

He’d a special talent for finding them. Rogers slipped up to man the .

50 calibre Browning M2 machine gun. As we crept forward, I pointed to where the beam of light had been seen, and Denning kept a watch in that direction.

I radioed into the base, letting them know what we’d seen and to monitor us if possible. Lately, our fuckin’ tech had been glitchy, to say the least. Everyone was tense but battle-ready.

“Stand down,” Denning murmured as her eyes narrowed in on something.

“What is it?” Maelstrom demanded.

“Take a look, Sergeant,” Denning replied and passed Maelstrom her binoculars.

Maelstrom looked and then laughed.

“What is it?” I asked as I monitored the road.

“That lad from the local village, seems he’s cleaned his truck up,” Maelstrom said.

Everyone partially relaxed, but we didn’t relax our guard until we hit camp.

“Captain Travers would like a word, sir,” a private said, approaching as we climbed out of the GMV-S.

I wiped sweat and dust from my face and nodded.

The grunt saluted and walked off. Inwardly I smirked; once that had been me.

As an enlisted man, the highest rank I could achieve was Sergeant Major of the Army.

However, somehow, Captain Shere had overstepped that rule, and I ranked First Lieutenant.

Maelstrom held sergeant, and the rest ranked as corporals.

None of us really wanted to progress beyond where we were.

Plus, we had the decision to make on whether we stayed after this tour.

I nodded to the team and headed straight towards Captain Travers. Travers was the base commander here, and while we didn’t answer to him, we still reported in. It was a matter of courtesy and good relations. Our purpose was to protect them, but we might need their help one day.

After reporting, I ambled to the bunk room that was ours. It was nothing more than a shack, but it provided a roof over our heads. I was unsurprised to find it empty, apart from Maelstrom.

“Okay?” he asked without looking up from his e-book reader.

“Yeah, just wanted to know what we’d seen, which was nothing,” I replied and sat at a table where there was a covered plate. “This mine?”

“DiMarco fetched it for you,” Maelstrom replied and waited for me to begin eating.

“What’s up?” I mumbled through half a sandwich.

“Got an unpleasant sensation, Tommy, we shouldn’t sign up again,” he announced, and my spine prickled. We didn’t use first names anymore. Not unless it was serious and we wanted someone’s attention. The fact Maelstrom was using mine meant he was really bothered.

“Talk,” I asked, taking another bite. I was starving but could eat and listen.

“Ain’t got much to go on. Just a bad feeling that’s eating me. Every time we go out lately, my skin is crawling. One of us or all of us ain’t coming back,” Maelstrom said.

“I hear you. What’s your plans for civilian life?

Maelstrom wouldn’t be approaching me with this unless he’d a plan in mind. The question was, what was it, and would it suit us all?

“Maybe security or private investigations. Shit, Tommy, we can open a gun range, I don’t care, but we can’t sign up again,” Maelstrom insisted, and this time I heard the emotion in his voice. This was really bothering him.

“Fine. I’ll inform the others we aren’t signing up,” I said.

“Easy as that?” Maelstrom looked surprised.

“You got a gut feeling, I’m not going to ignore it.

The army’s had twelve years. That’s plenty.

Also, I get the inkling Rogers and Foster want to become official.

Can’t exactly do that out here. We’ve earned some peace and relaxation, Jake,” I replied, his name sounding strange on my tongue. I frowned.

“Yeah, Tommy doesn’t seem right either,” Maelstrom said, and we both laughed.

“What about an MC?” I suggested, and Maelstrom’s eyebrows shot up.

“A biker gang?” he asked.

“No.” I scowled and shoved the last of my sandwich in.

I chewed and swallowed quickly. “A club, not a gang. We all love riding, we’re going to stick together, why not build a club?

How about we open a couple of businesses and use the club to recruit former armed force members? We can do charity rides and shit.”

Maelstrom thought it over.

It was a good idea; I just hoped he’d accept it. To him, MCs meant drugs, gun running and so on. His father had joined one before killing himself, drugged up to the eyeballs on an illegal drug run. It was karma at her best.

“We could make that work,” he finally replied.

“We’ll tell the others together. Get them to figure out what type of business we want. We can pool our savings, and we’d have plenty. DiMarco has that land his grandfather left him in South Dakota. We’ll head there and set up. It’s close to Box Elder, which has an Airforce base near it, I think.”

“Not sure,” Maelstrom said.

“There’s some sort of base there. Maybe we can open a bar to catch the service personnel. They’d be more likely to visit one run by brothers than not,” I stated.

“Good idea.”

“Guess it’s down to me to tell the rest? Where are they?” I asked.

Maelstrom broke into a grin. “Where do you think?”

I groaned. The camp provided a space for us to relax.

We played soccer on it or basketball, anything really that gave us some exercise.

And Kaitlin, with her competitiveness, was a nightmare.

The base knew not to challenge her, but inevitably, they ended up facing her on the field.

I shook my head and hoped she’d not pissed too many off.

Denning

I sat and listened to Anders and Maelstrom and wondered what I thought about becoming a civilian again.

Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought.

I’d certainly not experienced Maelstrom’s concerns, but I was bored, but not by the army.

The way we lived wasn’t for everyone, that was certain.

A lot of soldiers suffered homesickness and depression.

We always watched over those who didn’t receive mail or letters from home.

We deemed them a higher risk of depression as they felt so isolated.

But I’d had enough of the sand, the harsh hot wind, the cold nights, and going without.

The others teased me, but I loved my bubble baths and bath bombs.

I adored beautifully scented shower gels.

But that wouldn’t be enough compensation for giving this up.

This was all we knew; how would we cope?

That worried me. It wouldn’t be easy to slip back into mainstream life.

We all had signs of PTSD; they may not be full-blown, but they were there.

Even on base, we slept with our weapons at our sides and one eye open.

How would that translate into living like normal people?

The camp suggestion interested me. We’d not have to deal with idiots who could trigger one of us.

As everything was about comfort and easy access back home, we could easily have what we needed delivered and stay away from people.

The others might talk about opening a bar, but that wasn’t a great idea for me.

Truthfully, I hated people. I was sure I’d find something to do, but being around pricks who’d no idea what the army entailed made me want to rip their heads off.

Self-entitled jerks meant nothing to me except target practice.

Curious about what the others were thinking, I glanced across to Foster and saw the hope on her face, although she was trying to hide it.

Nobody had seen the relationship between her and Rogers coming.

We all knew how choosey she was, and being a virgin at twenty-seven had bothered her.

So, picking Rogers and then building something with him had surprised everyone.

Theirs had been a slow burn, but they were stronger for it.

At first, Rogers had kept trying to protect her, which led to Foster kicking his ass. Now he was back to respecting her skills and recognising she wasn’t the little woman who needed protecting; they were fine.

Sure, I’d had a few flings, but I ensured the men involved knew I was scratching an itch and nothing else. The guys had done similar, but Foster was different. That was because of what had awaited her if we hadn’t joined. And that girl had guarded her virginity like it was the gold in Fort Knox.

Was Foster dreaming of her and Rogers settling down together? I glanced across at Rogers and saw his gaze was firmly focused on Foster. There was a strange look in his eyes. I recognised it, but not in one of us. Rogers was thinking of the future and the white picket fence.

Shock hit me hard because I’d not seen it coming. I wasn’t jealous, and overall, after studying my feelings, I was happy for them. But becoming Mr and Mrs Civilian had never crossed my mind, but it clearly had for Rogers. Wow!

I caught Maelstrom’s eyes, as he looked away from Foster and Rogers. He held mine for a few seconds before he glanced away. And again, I was shocked. There was pain and jealousy in his. Damn, I’d never seen that coming; Maelstrom had feelings for Foster, but was keeping them silent.

Respect rose inside me. Burying his emotions would hurt Maelstrom, but he was doing so out of love for Rogers. My sympathy went out to him.

Despite his reputation, he was more than that.

Maelstrom had always felt deeply, and I didn’t doubt that some of those women he’d slept with he’d cared for.

But he was pigeonholed into the man whore role, and nobody took him seriously.

Shit, I even knew one woman who’d asked him if he bought his bed buddies dinner.

Maelstrom was more than his dick. The bitch had needed a real slap, but Maelstrom had stopped me.

“What do you think, Denning?” Anders inquired, and I glanced up.

“Whatever the majority votes on, Anders. I don’t have an opinion about this one way or another,” I replied.

Anders held my gaze, and I let him see that this didn’t really bother me. All that mattered was staying together. Finally, he nodded.

“Okay, Denning,” he drawled before turning to DiMarco.

Denning, I wouldn’t be Denning or Corporal in civilian life. Damn, I’d be Sophie once again. A fleeting frown crossed my face. I didn’t know who Sophie was. Sophie Denning was someone I didn’t recognise. Denning was a soldier. How interesting, I mused, this would be a journey of discovery.