“Shit,” she said softly. “You’re afraid he’s going to turn us away?”
I frowned and then nodded. “Yeah. I am.”
“What will we do if he does?”
“He won’t. But if he does, we’ll figure it out.”
She sighed and looked out the window. I let it drop, not wanting to push too hard. I didn’t want to tell her that, but I also wasn’t going to straight up lie to her if she figured it out on her own. We ate our sandwiches as I drove.
I pulled up the long drive. Ahead, the guardhouse was open and the guard was standing halfway out, a rifle resting on his shoulder. I pulled the truck up and lowered the window.
“Business?” he asked.
“Here to see General Maron.”
The guard raised an eyebrow. “Name?”
“Gates King.”
The guard moved away and looked at a list, He returned shaking his head. “You’re not expected.”
“Listen soldier, I’m one of Maron’s own. I just came back from a tour in Syria, and I need to see Maron today. It’s important.”
“You should have an appointment. I can’t just let you in there.”
“I’m not asking you to. Go and call Maron. I know he gets in early and I know you have a phone.”
He shook his head. “Against protocol.”
“I know it is,” I said. “I trained at this base. Believe me, soldier. I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t have to.”
The man looked at me for a few seconds, and I was convinced he was going to send us away.
“You said your name was Gates King?” he asked.
“I did,” I said.
“You set the course record here, didn’t you?”
I blinked and then laughed. “That still stands?”
“Nobody in my class got even fucking close.”
“Well, how about that.”
“There are other stories about you. They say you were embedded with some local Kurds for two weeks and you trained them well enough to fight back an ISIS force of twice your size. That true?”
“Wasn’t twice our size,” I said.
He nodded. “Okay, sir. I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, but I’ll call General Maron.”
“Thank you, soldier. What’s your name?”
“Reginald,” he said.
“Thanks, Reginald.”
“Sir.” He turned and went to the phone.
“You’re famous,” Piper said beside me.
“Not exactly.”
“Set the course record? That sounds like a big deal.”
“It’s just some obstacle course they make us do before graduating.”
“Still, it’s impressive. A lot of strong guys probably come through here.”
“Probably,” I said.
“I have to admit, now I’m a little impressed.”
I smirked at her. “Don’t pretend like you weren’t already sitting there dripping wet and waiting for me to give you what you want again.”
She gaped at me and went to say something, but Reginald came back to the window.
“General Maron says to send you through,” he answered.
“Thanks,” I said.
“He chewed my ass out, though.”
“Sounds like him.”
Reginald shook his head. “I hope this is important.”
“It really is.”
“Go ahead, then.” He went back into the guardhouse and opened the gate.
I drove on through. We headed around to the right, past the open field where I used to get screamed at by drill instructors and over toward the offices.
Memories came flooding back. Those days in boot camp were some of the hardest fucking days of my life, but they were also some of the most rewarding. I had purpose back then, real purpose, and a group of guys around me with the same purpose. We were a tightknit bunch as all classes tended to be. We were forged through fire and came out harder and stronger on the other side.
So many familiar buildings and so many memories. It was hard to keep it all at bay as I found a spot. It reminded me again of the kind of man I was with the military, of what they turned me into. I had real purpose and strength when I was on a tour of duty. I could help save people, help save my country. I was a soldier out there and I didn’t have to worry about anything else.
I didn’t feel lost out there. I’d sacrificed a lot already and seen men sacrifice even more than I have. It was the price of keeping your country safe and I willingly would pay it at any time.
“Gates?”
I looked over at Piper. I realized that we’d been parked for half a minute and I was lost in memory. She was looking at me with those beautiful eyes of hers, and I was instantly reminded of why I was so torn over this whole thing.