LaFiamma? A Marine?
By Etch
Part Four
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What did the hospital say, Gerald?" General Smith asked, pacing back and forth, worried not only about Joseph but Lundy as well.
"I talked with Doctor Baker. LaFiamma evidently got to him before Paddock could rupture any inner organs. He had some minor surgery, should be home in a few days. This Doctor Baker was one of the medical personnel who treated LaFiamma when he was recovered from Lebanon."
"Was he? And what does that have to do with Lundy?"
One day, Carrot Top thought to himself, someone is going to find out that Smith was responsible for LaFiamma's torture in Lebanon. He just wished he had more than a fax as evidence to back up his theory.
"Nothing, Sir. Just thinking about how small the world is. The court-martial is set. People should start arriving about 0700. Hawk checked in a few minutes ago... they have Paddock. LaFiamma is going to the hospital before he comes here. He will be here as close to 0700 as he can be. He said not to start without him. He was bringing some evidence."
"We shall wait for Captain LaFiamma... to start proceedings. "
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Briskly walking into the Emergency entrance of Ben Taub General Hospital, Captain LaFiamma was met by two former Marines of his dressed in brown jeans, brown boots and maroon shirts with an insignia he didn't recognize. The same logo was on the shirts at Lundy's ranch, but he didn't have time then to check it out. Puzzled he asked what it meant.
"It's the world, Sir. The red dots are every place you've ever served. The words say - 'Handsome's Hooligans.' On the back, Sir," Dale Gillbank replied, turning to show his former Captain the back of his shirt. Joe's mouth dropped open, startled to see the words General Smith had spoken to him yesterday now staring him in the face.
S = steadfast
T = tenacious
U = undaunting
D = driven
S = serious
Proud to be a Marine!
"We... were describing you to someone," Gillbank said, turning back to see LaFiamma's surprised look. "And Hummer started putting down all the letters, and well... this is what we came up with. Hope you don't mind, Sir."
Joe turned his head and looked at Hummer, who grinned and said, "It's better than some of the words we came up with Captain. And..." in a quieter tones, Hummerstein added, "all those at the table had... enjoyed your sword... Sir."
LaFiamma didn't speak for several minutes, the two Marines who were with him, and the two who met him at the door began to worry. Their Captain wasn't usually this quiet, and if he was, that meant there was going to be hell to pay. Joe waited until he saw a small bead of sweat start to form on the forehead in front of him. Then the Italian said as he turned for the elevators, "Next time, Hummer... ask - me - first!" The four men were so relieved they weren't going to be reamed up one side and down the other, they completely missed the grin that spread across their Captain's face.
Reaching the elevator, Joe turned back to the foursome. "You guys waiting for the tide to come in... or are we going upstairs?"
"Yes, Sir!" came the unison cry as they jogged to the elevators. "Oh, Captain," Gillbank retorted upon reaching him, "I was sent down here to tell you that a Lieutenant Beaumont was upstairs... being pushy... insisting on seeing Lundy... demanding to know what was going on."
"Damn! Who the hell called her? I was hoping to get through Paddock's court-martial before having to face her."
"Who is she?" Hummer asked, intrigued.
"Gentlemen," Joey said as the elevator came to a stop, "you are about to meet my civilian boss."
"Your boss is a woman!?" Wolf quizzed, a grin starting across his face.
"Wipe that smile off your face, Wolfman! This lady didn't get to be in her position by being a softy," Joey said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slow.
Trotting through people waiting to enter the elevator, Joe sidestepped an older man and came face to face with Lieutenant Joanne Beaumont.
"LaFiamma!" The brunette groused obviously frustrated with getting nowhere in regards to information about Lundy.
"What the hell's going on here?" she asked, gesturing toward the Marines congregating in the hall. "The hospital called to say one of my men had just been flown in by military helicopter. Why can't I get information about Lundy?"
"Ma'am?" Joey answered quietly, not wanting to make a scene.
"Don't ma'am me, Sergeant!" Joanne growled trying in vain to stare down her handsome detective.
"Joanne..." Joey replied quietly, "Right now, I am on administrative leave from your department. I am in the Marine Corps... I am a higher rank than you. My General has given me certain orders that I must obey. He takes precedence over anything you... or I, may want. Levon is a material witness, and a victim of an assault done by someone the Marines have been after for a long time. I cannot allow you to see him, or talk with him. There has been a Marine..., and an HPD officer with him since he arrived."
"A Cop? What cop?" The brunette demanded stepping closer.
"Joey!" Estaban called, stepping out of Lundy's room to look down the hall. "Come quick! Hurry!"
"Estaban! You called Estaban?!" The brunette gasped, watching her detective leave her and jog down the hall.
"HeySu,... take her down to the conference room and keep her there." Joey ordered as he ran toward his fellow detective.
"Estaban? What's up?" Joey gasped, sliding to a halt, putting his hands out to the wall to keep from going through it.
A sheepish grin crossed the Mexican's face. "That Marine said you were in the need of rescuing."
Joe looked Estaban grinning, "He had that right. How's Levon?"
He's going to have a painful butt for a while. Doc said the surgery they did was corrective... kind of like having your hemorrhoids out... that Paddock really have a ten-inch cock? The cowboy just finished giving a taped interview on what happened to a JAG officer. I'm learning all kinds of terms I never knew before. These guys really like you, you know that," the curly-haired detective said as they walked into Lundy's room.
"What? You think just because the cops in this forsaken place don't like me, that that goes for the rest of the world too?" Joe answered, turning a stern face to the Mexican.
"What do you mean, LaFiamma? Everyone likes you," Estaban replied, confused by his friend's reaction.
"That why every Saturday... still after being here this long... cops are still trying to raise money to send me back to Chicago. Don't kid me, Estaban. I've heard them talk about me. Every Marine you've seen today is here voluntarily. Some are still in the Corps, some like me, have civilian jobs. I put out a call for help... twenty-five responded within the first hour. Other than you, Lundy, and Carol... I doubt that any other cop in Houston would come if I put out a call for backup."
"I think you're wrong. I do."
"I need to talk to Levon alone... why don't you go down and join Beaumont in the conference room. And remember..."
"I know, I know... I can't tell her anything," the Mexican cop groused, throwing up his hands.
The woman sitting next to Lundy's bed waited until the detective left before looking up. "Joe... your partner gave a good description of what he remembers... it came in snatches. I know you're going to play this at the court-martial... so I have to tell you...you'd best have someone next to you... to either hold you up... or hold you back."
"Thanks, Lucia," Joey said, watching her get up and walk toward him. "Appreciate what you... what everyone is doing," the Italian responded, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Did you pick up the stuff from my place?"
Standing at an angle in front of Lundy, Lucia's hand slid down her Marine's thigh that Levon's couldn't see, "I always do what I am told, Captain. The unmarked envelope is under Lundy's pillow, just as you instructed, and a clean uniform is hanging in the closet."
Joey stared into Lucia's eyes, well aware of the jealousy and or stimulus it might be causing his partner. "God, you are so delicious!" LaFiamma gasped, grabbing the petite woman her around the waist, lifting her to eye level.
Levon was amazed at what happened next. Astonished that Joe allowed it to happen in front of him. The sight of his lover kissing a woman had the opposite affect than he thought it would. Watching Lucia's tongue came out and teasingly striking Joe's lips, aroused him. Fresh out of surgery, he was getting a hard-on. Then Joe... Joe grabbed her buttocks and pulled her close. One hand on her head, one hand on her bottom, the kiss intensified until the short, blond woman moaned, her body jerking against the Marine holding her.
Slowly letting her slide to the floor, Joey's eyes were still only on her.
"How many times have I asked you to marry me, Joey? How many? I want your babies, damn it! When are you going to understand that the reason I haven't gotten married is because I'm in love with you. YOU!"
"Babe... Levon..."
"I know you love Lundy too. Hell, every Marine here knows he's your main squeeze now. I'll have his babies too if you want... I don't care if he is your lover... I don't care if you have ten lovers... it's you I want Captain. Marry me! Make me pregnant! Keep me pregnant! I want LaFiamma kids to raise. How are you going to pass on your traditions if you don't have kids?"
Joey stared into her fiery blue eyes. [I do want kids. Oh, god, woman, you don't know how I would love to take you up on your offer.] "I'd love to take you up on your offer, Lucia. But Levon would never stand..."
"Keep me out of this, LaFiamma," Lundy suddenly found himself saying. "Hell, I just got out of surgery and watching you two kiss - has given me the hard-on of the century."
Joey turned to his partner, gawking in disbelief.
"Joe - you got the chance to marry a beautiful woman, who obviously loves you very much... and will still let you and me be lovers... go for it. I know Aunt Teresa will be pleased as punch to get some grandkids out of her favorite nephew. I know I belong to you. I can see your love every time you look at me. I got a feeling every Marine here belongs to you. What was it you said when we first became intimate? Italians are hot lovers. It sometimes takes more than one to satisfy them. Well, partner, now you got two. Just don't bring in too many more, okay?"
LaFiamma looked from Levon to Lucia and back again. "Some how I have the feeling that I've been had." Joey said quietly.
"Oh you been had, boy," Levon said with a grin, "and we're gonna keep on having you."
"Okay, future Mrs. LaFiamma," Joey replied, "when this is over. When I am back to being a civilian... we will talk about how and when this will take place. Now - tell the Marines out there, except the one on the door to meet in the conference room. I want a report before I leave for the Marriott."
"Isn't your CV boss in there?"
"Yeah, and she's going to see this Marine kick some butt."
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"Estaban, what's going on around here?" Beaumont quizzed as the Hispanic detective walked into the room.
"Lieutenant, remember when the Feds practically closed us down when that radioactive rock was found," Estaban began, watching her nod in agreement, "Well... this security... these Marines... it's ten-fold."
"And that is all the man can say," Hummerstein said, coming in behind Sergeant Guieterrez, followed by several other men all dressed in fatigue pants and maroon shirts. "Captain LaFiamma will be in shortly. He will fill you in as much as he can before he leaves to take evidence for a court-martial."
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"God, Joe... I thought I would be jealous watching you two kiss... but feel me... if you got the chance... for kids... "
"I told you, Levon Lundy... you are mine. No one is going to displace you out of my bed... out of my life. God, I wish I had ordered protection for you last night."
"Joe, it wasn't your fault," Levon rasped slowly, his fingers wiping the tears off his partner, his lover's face. "The lights were off... they wouldn't have come in if I hadn't opened the door. Was... to anxious to see you. Love you so much."
"You're talking too much, partner," Joey said, leaning forward to plant a short kiss on his lover's swollen bottom lip. "Oh, cowboy... I love you so much. When Cardinal and Warsaw called Smith's suite to say that Paddock had taken you into the house... I was so frozen with rage... I couldn't move. The visions I was having weren't good."
"You were... were you..." Lundy's voice faltered, he had no problem watching Joe bring a woman to climax in front of his eyes, but in bed with a black man was something he couldn't fathom.
"Yes. I was in his bed. We were making love... while you were being raped," Joey admitted, watching a sadness cloud his partner's face.
"I thought I hated the man -- but when I saw him yesterday... everything we had ever done together rushed through me. I can't explain it, and I know you will never understand... the feelings I have for the man. I owe my life to him... just as I owe my life to you. But after one of my nightmares in his bed, our love making changed. The bond between us just grew. Seeing him yesterday was... was like Caroline suddenly appearing back in your life. I know you would want to be with her... but I also know you wouldn't be able to give me up."
"You know I ain't much for sharing, Joe. And sharing with Lucia is one thing... but a black man. I guess... guess I'll just have to learn to stand in line."
"Stand in line?"
"One of the Marines in the elevator said you were so beautiful, so sensuous... he wouldn't mind standing in line, if all he could have you for was one hour a year. That just being with you, having you touch him would be worth the wait. Ther' ain't no way I'm gonna let you go, LaFiamma. No way," Levon choked his throat raw from anesthetic, and talk.
"I know, partner," Joe replied, standing, looking down at the curly haired blond, "And I don't plan to let you go. You're under protective custody of the Marines... and will be for the next few days. There will be a Marine... a medic in here at all time... and one outside the door. We'll talk later tonight."
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Lieutenant Joanne Beaumont sat in the hospital conference room her hands around a Styrofoam cup filled with lukewarm coffee, feeling the eyes of nine Marines on her. She was just about to ask Estaban a question when she heard one of them say, "ATTENTION!" and the clicking of eighteen heels echoed around her. Joanne looked up to see LaFiamma walking toward them. She watched him stop half way down the hall to talk with a very petite woman with short blond hair, wearing a white navy uniform. The woman barely came up to Joe's shoulders.
"How many people did you beat up to get this assignment?" Joey asked Lucia quietly.
"Only one, and I told him when I got back I would be resigning because I would have a wedding to plan." Lucia answered with a smile.
"Pretty damn sure of yourself."
"When a woman is in love, she pulls out all stops. Once I found out where you were, I began my own investigation, Mr. Detective Sergeant. And, I knew if I could convince Levon that he was still safe with you, and you with him, that... well, I wasn't going to lose you again Captain."
Upon hearing the clicking of heels, Lucia whispered, "your men want to show your CV what you're really made of."
"Yeah, it's about time I started cracking the whip around here." Joey said, watching her tilt her chin up, he obliged with a quick kiss on the lips. [That should give those sword swallowers something to think about. Maybe I should start my own harem here.]
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Briskly walking to the conference room, closing the door behind him, LaFiamma scanned the room, barely glancing in Beaumont's direction.
"SIR! May I remind the Captain that a chopper is standing by at the heliport to transport you to the Marriott? You need to be there in thirty minutes... Sir." Jake Hummerstein replied, his jaw tense, hoping he would not get the brunt of General Smith's anger if LaFiamma were late.
"All the evidence in here, including the tape that Lundy just made?" Joey questioned; nodding to the briefcase Hummer was carrying. Seeing a nod of approval, LaFiamma continued. "Report... Shadow."
"Searched Lundy's meadow for anything else PD may have dropped, nothing was found, Sir. The San Antonio Cowboy's son lives in Galveston, and both of them will be staying at the house to care for the place and the horse."
"Periwinkle?"
"Detailed report is there on the evidence found in Lundy's bedroom, and front porch. Fingerprint report included also. His... the... mattress, Captain, it needs to be incinerated... we need your permission. Replacement for it has already been found and will be delivered tomorrow. Sir. The room is being thoroughly cleaned, Sir."
"You have my permission to destroy the mattress, " Joey said quietly. "Reggie."
"We had a news copter hovering for a while. Called Houston Space and Hobby Airport that we were doing maneuvers and to designate his area a No-Fly zone for three days. The perimeter has been secured. Sir."
"Anything I need to know about before I leave? What about Lundy's protection here? HeySu?"
"Schedules have been made, Sir. Two on the door, a medic inside. Rotating schedule, four hours on, four hours off."
"Jingles? Trap? Any of you that are still in the Corps have any problems with staying through the week?"
"No, Sir, Captain," Jingles replied, speaking for the group around him. "For most of us, Sir... we printed out your Code Red alert. Took it to our C.O.s, explained that you were the Marine that allowed himself to be captured in Lebanon so the president's family who had taken a wrong turn could get away, and we were immediately assigned to you for TDY."
"You're the Marine they thought was dead and was carried home in a body bag!?" Lieutenant Beaumont gasped, raising to her feet. "Brad's brother - was one of the pilots in that chopper."
"SIT, LIEUTENANT!" Joey barked sharply, before the full thrust of her words hit him.
"Brad's brother... was one of the pilots?" LaFiamma answered in a barely audible croak, watching her fall back into her chair.
Slowly recovering his composure, Captain LaFiamma looked up and said, "You have a big mouth, soldier!"
"Sir, every man that has ever served with you is proud of the sacrifice you made to allow that family to get away."
"Sacrifice! You call what I did a sacrifice!?" LaFiamma yelped, boring his eyes through Shadow's skull. "Stupidity, that's what it was. I will be glad to give you the nightmares I have where I wake up screaming white as my sheets reliving the torture they put me through. You think Lundy is hurt bad? It's a piece of cake compared to what I went through for ten days! The assault team that rescued me, put me in a body bag because they couldn't find a pulse. I'm just damn lucky they didn't put me in the cargo hold! If I hadn't started sneezing from the cold, I would have been buried alive in some grave in Arlington!" Joey snapped, cutting his words short, upon seeing the reaction of his words on the faces of his men.
"I'm sorry... I apologize for that," LaFiamma replied quietly backing away from the conference table. "I just assume it was common knowledge about how I was found."
"No, Sir. We were just told... that... that you were alive. And would be hospitalized for a while." Jingles answered, swallowing, fighting back tears of remorse, thinking of the pain his Captain might have suffered.
A hint of a smile began to creep into the corner of the Italian's mouth. He realized his Colonel was right. All the men who answered the Code Red call came because they wanted to... not because they were ordered to. Joe heard Hummer remain him of the time as he looked down into the face of his civilian boss.
"Joanne..." LaFiamma began slowly, knowing he was going to be late for the court-martial, but also knowing they would not start without him. "As I told you before, I out rank you right now. Levon is the only live witness we have that can testify against a man who has killed at least one other person that we know of...and who put a very promising young Marine into a mental ward afraid of his own shadow. Later today... tomorrow... when I am able to. I will give you a written report... as much as I can tell you... about what is happening."
"Agreed, LaFiamma," Joanne Beaumont said seriously eyeing her new lieutenant. "If you're going to be taking over part of my duties, I guess I had better get use to backing off and letting you do them"
"Okay, you cub scouts hear this!" Joe barked, nodding to Hummer to be ready to move. "Starting at 0800 today, the uniform of the day is Charlies ... or - Blues C or D...these shirts you're wearing are fine for field training, and sports. BUT... do you want to show these red-necks what kind of Marines you really are... or what Girl Scout troop you're from?"
Coming to attention, they said in unison, "Marines, Sir!"
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Watching his lover leave the room, Levon reached behind him to fix his pillow and his fingers jammed into a paper object. Half turning in his bed, the Texan retrieved the large nine by twelve manila envelope. Curiously looking inside, he recognized some of the papers that Joe had had on his kitchen counter. Bypassing those, his fingers pulled out a smaller envelope marked, 'Attention: Captain Joseph A. LaFiamma.' It had a pentagon seal under the name. Levon didn't know why, but urgency in his gut told him Joe needed to know this before he left. Unwinding the string, Levon gingerly let the pictures inside along with a letter slide onto his lap.
The Marine on duty in the room hadn't really been paying much attention to what Lundy was doing until the man gasped in pain.
"OH MY GOD!" Levon gasped, looking up to see a Marine in his face. "Get LaFiamma in here quick!"
"Sir, he is just leaving for a court-martial."
"GET HIM IN HERE NOW! TELL HIM IT'S ABOUT HIS INCARCERATION IN LEBANON!" Levon yelled, shoving one of the photos into the man's face.
The Marine fell back, stunned... staring at his Captain, half-naked, chained to the floor.
"NOW, MARINE!" Levon shouted with such force that the guard on the door burst into the room to see what was happening.
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"If you don't have them with you, beg, borrow or... liberate one. No uniform... no hospital duty. Let's go Hummer... tell that copter to warm up." LaFiamma said turning toward the door which had already been opened for him. "One more thing... Estaban, Joanne... nothing said in this room... leaves this room."
"CAPTAIN, SIR?" The medic called, still visibly shaken by the photo he had seen, came to a running stop next to LaFiamma. "Sergeant Lundy... you need to see him right away!"
"I don't have time now." Joey said, his head turning half over his shoulder.
"Sir...you... he... pictures...of you in Lebanon... chained... sir!" The Marine gasped breathless unable to describe his feelings.
"WHAT!!?" Joey gasped, tilting his head forward, hearing but not believing what he had just been told.
"I... only saw one... there's pictures... a letter...I think you better come, Sir."
Joe turned to Hummer, "Call Gerald, tell him the Lab messed up some of the evidence and it has to be run again. Tell him I'll be late. Then come to Lundy's room."
Looking past Hummer's shoulder, Joe watched some top Marine brass getting off the elevator. "Find out what they want too."
Joe heard his name called as he hurried down the hall. Too much was happening, too much. He heard orders to 'stop' and still he proceeded down the hall, nodding to the Marines who opened the door for him.
"What do'ya got?" Joey asked, staring at the pile of photos on his partner's hospital bed.
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"You... Marine... go after that man!" A tall, thin, man with gray around his temples ordered.
Instead, the opposite happened. Beaumont and Estaban watched as a wall of nine Marines stretched across the hall blocking the passage of anyone including hospital personnel.
"That man disobeyed a direct order, gentlemen. You willing to take...." The man's whose nametag said Butterfield began.
"Only half the men you see here are in the Corps, General. And yes, everyone would stand in his place any day, anywhere. He's done that for us on more than one occasion." Shadow shot back.
"At the moment, Sergeant Lundy," Hummer began, only to be cut off sharply by Butterfield.
"I don't give a damned about what happened to some Houston cop! That officer disobeyed a direct Order!"
Joanne and Estaban stepped back into the shelter of the conference room as the nine Marines circled around the Pentagon brass.
"That Houston Cop!" Hummer continued his voice tight, "is Captain LaFiamma's detective partner! We are here to protect him... as well as Captain LaFiamma... and we don't give a damn what repercussions you or your office or the Pentagon does about it."
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"You're not going to like this, Joe. There's a letter here from someone at the Pentagon named Butterfield... and a stack of photos... all of them about you being tortured in Lebanon... just like you described to me... the letter gives an 800 number to call. The... the letter says they have proof that Smith orchestrated the whole thing."
"No way." Joey answered, staggering toward the wall, blown away by the information being revealed to him.
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"Captain LaFiamma has all the information in the packet we sent."
"The one Smith gave him... name and numbers of us... and Smith's Last Will and Testament."
"There was more in it than that. We put things in that General Smith knew nothing about."
"Well, if there is more, he hasn't had time to look. Paddock... ah, Lieutenant Paresley attacked Lundy late last night. LaFiamma's been a bit busy."
"Well, gentlemen, the information in the packet contains proof that General Smith, then Colonel Smith, not only orchestrated LaFiamma's capture, but gave instructions as to how he was to be tortured. We have learned your Captain is not the first Marine that this has happened to."
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"Three Pentagon brass got off the elevator when I started down here. I can smell them anywhere. I would bet one of them is Butterfield," Joey replied, shivers running through him as he moved to the chair next to Lundy's bed, to get a better look at the photos on the bed.
"God, I can't believe this," Joey replied, standing, he turned toward the door just as Hummerstein and Brigadier General Lance Butterfield walked in. Tired and worn out from no sleep, Joey was beginning to wish he hadn't volunteered so readily.
"So... explain this." Joey said to Butterfield, pointing to the photos strewn across Lundy's legs.
"We have hard-rock evidence, including a video, that your capture... how you were cut off from the presidential party... your torture... the tattoo... all were done at the direction of Colonel G.W. Smith. Our informant says you refused Smith of something... something he wanted... that he was furious with you. That he specifically told the President you were the man for the job, and than put together an elaborate ruse to trap you and teach you a lesson."
"Who's your informant?" Joey asked, figuring it had to be Gerald. He was the only man who knew Smith's every move.
"You know, I can't tell you that, Captain." Butterfield replied, raising an eyebrow.
"How did Gerald get this information?'" Joey persisted. Picking up the letter Levon had read to him, Joey continued, "This letter says there are videos tapes. What video tapes? Of Lebanon? You telling me the bastard... besides forcing me to have sex with him... also got his kicks out of watching me be tortured."
"You've had sex with him?" Butterfield croaked, leaning forward into LaFiamma's face.
"Every Marine that is here with me, plus half my unit was forced into a sexual liaison with him... and believe me, it was not our choice!" Joey said his voice tight, an anger moving through him hotter than what he felt when he learned Paddock had Lundy.
"Would they give us a statement?" Butterfield asked looking from Hummer to LaFiamma. "Not recorded. No action will be taken against them. We are merely trying to collaborate what our informant has told us."
"Hummer, ask them to come in." The Italian said quietly.
The Marines walked in slowly, some had already changed into their uniforms, and a few were still in fatigues. One by one they walked in, moving along the wall opposite Lundy's bed, glancing to their Captain, the brass, Hummer and back to their Captain. Joe began signing to them ... explaining what was going down... what was being requested.
Butterfield gave LaFiamma a questioning look. Joey answered the look. "We've been in some tight situations where even a whisper would have given us away. I never took a man out on any mission unless he had his sign language down pat."
One by one seven Marines explained what Smith wanted them to perform ... oral sex... with him or someone else, anal sex... with him or others, biting, slapping, all except Joe had felt Smith's wide black leather belt on their buttocks. Joe only explained a couple of the things he and Smith did, Levon knew it was more, much more. Then all eyes were of R.G. ... Reginald Gregory ... the third.
"Renegade?" LaFiamma asked quietly, moving across the room to stand next to the man. Something in how the man looked told Joe that R.G. had suffered more.
"Captain... I can't. I can't!" R.G. cried, bursting into tears.
Tenderly touching the man's shoulder, his thumb lightly pushing R.G.'s chin his way, Joe asked quietly, "Forget about them... just - tell - me."
"He... he bragged about having an aristocrat in his family of men. Just because I was named the third... he figured my family was somebody. You... you know I been trampled on all my life. There's... there's not even an R.G. the first in my family... my mother just thought it would sound good. When I was transferred into your Unit it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I learned things... languages... how to care for people... everyone told me you were the best... and they were right... you are."
"What about Smith?"
Only Levon seemed to notice that Joe's thumb was stroking down R.G.'s throat, or if they noticed, no one said anything. [I wonder if this guy will be a member of Joe's harem. He sure needs mothering.]
"The... the first time...he wined and dined me... asking me if it was equal to him. I didn't tell him I didn't know a wine glass from a water glass. Later... he... he had me up against the wall, was trying to unbutton my shirt. I... I told him I wasn't that kind of man. He started laughing so hard, I thought he was going to collapse. He waved a wrinkled copy of the letter I wrote you. The... the one that was in the package you got when you were in Chicago."
"Wait a minute!" LaFiamma yelped, looking up at the eight men along the wall then back to R.G.
"Is this the package Smith sent? The one with the presidential letter in it?" Joey asked seriously. He saw some shocked looks on the faces of his men as they began to realize he had never received it. "The package was never delivered to me. I've never seen it."
"What! Where is it? We got to find it?" Renegade cried in a feverish tone. "When you were still in the hospital in Germany, Smith would... He... he's strong... he doesn't look it but he is. He grabbed me... threw me to the floor... kneeled on my back... grabbed my arms...I don't remember how...but I ended up shackled to a chair. My fly was open... my shirt open...a... a... OH, GOD, SIR! " Reggie cried out, grabbing LaFiamma around the shoulders, burying his black hair against his Captain's neck. "He... he showed me the video of you... being tortured.... Three times I had to watch it! Three times I heard you begging for your life! Every week I had to go to his place. Every time he'd read the words that were in the letter and he'd laugh. We got to find that package, Sir, we just got to!"
Straightening some, but not letting go of his Captain, Reggie sobbed between tears, "He told me that if I didn't do what he wanted... that would happen to me... that he could arrange anything. I... asked some of the other guys... if Smith had showed them his special video... none of them had seen it, or if they did, they didn't say so."
It was so quiet in the room, for a moment Joey wondered if anyone was even breathing. He pulled R.G. to him, cradling him in his arms, using the words his partner had said to him yesterday, Joey whispered, "It's okay... he's not going to hurt you anymore."
"Joe," the Houston cop totally forgotten by all by LaFiamma said. "I'll take care of R.G, you and your Marines got work to do."
Folding Reggie into the chair next to the bed, Joe smiled as he watched Levon's mother hen instinct take over.
"Okay, Butterfield, Smith talked me into ten days of TDY... tell me what is going down... and what we can do about it. Two questions first... Smith said he has cancer and could be dead next week... true or false. Question two - he left me a copy of his Will, which leaves me an estate but also says I have to do two weeks of duty at Quanto every year... true or false. And if true... why?"
Butterfield folded his arms across his chest one arm then reached up to his chin, the hand covering his mouth. [Everything I have read about this man is true. He is a rebel. His men are loyal to him to the end. He has been through hell, yet he covers his anger and is gentle as a lamb.]
"Well, Captain... you will have to blame the two weeks at Quanto on the Marines. We did a survey a couple years back. Even though, covert operations aren't suppose to exist anymore, we all know they do. One of the questions on the survey was in regards to instructors... and how better to prepare men for the unexpected. Your name... was Number One on half the answers we got back. We even talked to some of the men who filled out the survey... we found out some things about you we didn't know. Don't worry they were all good," Butterfield said, watching the frown cross LaFiamma's face.
"When we heard that Smith was leaving his entire estate to you, including the house he had built here in Houston ..."
"Wait a minute! What house in Houston?" Joe questioned, surprised that Smith would be coming to Houston without him feeling the man's presence.
One of the other Pentagon brass that so far had said nothing, whispered into Butterfield's ear. "It's out near a place called Wild Flower Meadow..."
"Wild Flower Meadow? That's my land!" Lundy retorted loudly, his hand still stroking the shivering Reggie.
"Why would Smith build me a house? Why would he leave me anything? Why not leave it to his ex-wife, or aren't they on speaking terms?" Joe asked, getting more and more suspicious of his old Colonel.
"Wife?" General Brown quizzed, giving LaFiamma a questioning look. "Smith has never been married."
A murmur went around the room. "You saying he was never married? He gripped about his wife all the time. That she didn't understand the Corps. They got divorced after only a few years of marriage." Joey said, answering for every Marine in the room.
"Believe me, I have done a thorough check of George Washington Smith. He has never been married, or even engaged. Regarding your house - I would say he built it out of guilt. Probably for what he had put you through. Discovering you had suffered far more than he imagined you would. The three of us have seen the video R.G. mentioned. How Smith could watch it ... and know that he was responsible - is beyond us. Brown here was with him when the news came that you had been found. Smith collapsed when he heard you were being brought back in a body bag. He was in the hospital for three days. He didn't hear until later that you were alive, not by much, but alive."
"Does he have cancer? Yes. Will he die next week? No. Next month? I doubt it. He has a tumor that is inoperable. Doctors don't know when the end will come. Certainly not next week, or next month."
"What about Paddock?" Joe asked, looking at his watch, horrified to see it was going on eight o'clock. "Smith said Paddock was going to Leavenworth."
"That part is true. Leavenworth is expecting him... whenever... and in whatever shape you drop him off. And yes, Gerald is our informant. If you can get him out in one piece we would much appreciate it. General Smith, as of today, has been stripped of all rank. We have made our own arrangements for Smith. And you Captain - are a Major." Butterfield retorted, finishing his say by reaching into his pocket and pulling out two gold oak leave pins.
General Brown stepped forward, "We brought extras along. Just in case you hadn't found yours yet. Every instructor at Opes School is a Major or higher."
It was Lundy who said "ATTENTION!" Bringing Handsome's Marines to attention while the transfer of rank was bestowed.
Joey smiled back at Lundy, "Hey cowboy... you're learning fast." Looking back to the nine Marines around the room. "So, are Handsome's Hooligans ready to start kicking butt!"
"Yes Sir!" A unison cry went up, nodding and saluting Handsome, then the Generals.
"Now if you gentlemen don't mind leaving, I'd like to change into a fresh uniform before I meet Smith," Joey said, nodding to Butterfield.
"Shadow, Hummer and Wolf will go with me in the chopper to Smith's suite. R.G. will stay here with Levon. You can brief the rest on your ride over. Wolf has a sense... just have Jingles stand by the door and relay any messages... just tell him, he'll know what to do."
"Do any of your men have names, Major?" General Brown asked, noticing that none of these Marines worn name plates.
"Names?" Joey quizzed, not understanding the question.
Names. First names! Last names!
"Yes, sir. But... we have gotten so used to code names... I probably couldn't tell you their Christian names... Sir."
Joey walked to the closet next the Lundy's bathroom, opening it he found the fresh uniform he'd asked Lucia to bring from his apartment. Quickly he stripped to his underwear and redressed in the clean uniform.
R.G. was just about to make a comment when he heard Levon sigh. Looking at the Texan, Reggie whispered, "You love him too, don't you?"
Levon turned to the young man he'd been holding, love sickness was written all over his face. [I wonder if I look that bad when I want Joe.] "Yes, son, I love him too."
"When he was holding me... I didn't ever want to let go. If all he ever did was hold me... that would be good enough for me... just to have him hold me." R.G. whimpered, not taking his eyes off Joey.
"What are you two whispering about over there?" Joey asked, straightening his tie. "Damn I hate ties." Joey blustered, walking over to R.G. and allowing him to redo the tie, smiling into the eyes that had shared so much pain today.
"Levon..." Joey replied, moving on the edge of the bed, "Don't want you to worry now, you hear. I'll be well protected." Smiling down at his Texas lover, Joey bent low giving the cowboy a short sweet kiss on the lips.
"Joe..." Levon rasped, catching his breath, feeling the tender touch of his lover's lips on his mouth.
"What? Levon I don't have time for more," LaFiamma replied bending low over the blond, hearing him say that R.G. loved him. Snapping to attention staring from one to the other.
"You wrote a love letter to me, RG?" Joey quizzed, at once recognizing that lovesick forlorn look.
"Oh, yes, sir. I don't need any kissing or fucking. If you just hold me... like you did before... that's all I need. I know Lundy's your man. I don't want..." Reggie stopped, his Captain had backed him to the wall, so he waited. Waited for the lashing to come. Waited to be told to get lost. He wasn't at all prepared for the kiss his new Major gave him. As Lundy before him, Reggie slowly slid down the wall to the floor, his tongue licking the sweet taste of LaFiamma's mouth off his lips.
Moving toward the door, Joe paused just for a moment. "No one else better show up. Three in a harem is plenty in my book."
"From the Marines I've seen watching you, LaFiamma... I'd say we'd better make room for at least one more... maybe two."
His hand on the doorknob, Joey opened the door than paused, turning a stricken face to Lundy. "Levon - that house built by the meadow. Isn't that where we saw George Landon, the demolition expert, working with a crew one week?
Levon started, his eyes wide, "Yeah! He said he had rigged a house for someone who had built a complete house with furniture, dishes, beds, and everything. He wondered why the guy went to all the trouble if he was just going to blow the place?"
"See if Estaban can track him down. I want to know if there are safety devices. See if they can dismantle it. Call me at the hotel."
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End of Part Four