Chapter 12

Flashback – Ben and Jack – on the way to the hospital

The driver yelled at me but I couldn't hear him. I ducked back inside and asked, "What the hell did you say?"

He held up a pair of hearing protectors and said, "You did a hell of a job but you forgot these. How are you ears?"

I complained, "No shit Sherlock - thanks for being about ten fucking minutes too late. My ears are ringing like the church bells in Moscow."

I couldn't believe it when the Captain complained, "Sgt. Blaine, watch your language."

I suddenly had a great idea and responded, "Sorry Sir! My ears are fucked up and I can't hear a fucking thing. Please speak a little fucking louder."

The Captain repeated even louder, "Sgt. Blaine, watch your language!"

Yeah, this was working great! I replied, "Sir, I still can't fucking hear you."

The Captain gave up and yelled to the corpsman in the back, "Check Sgt. Blaine's ears."

I moved back to my seat while the corpsman came over, grinned at me and asked, "How bad are your ears?"

I grinned at him, slid the window closed so the Captain couldn't hear and answered, "They are a little fucked up, I was just giving the Captain shit."

The corpsman smiled at me and said, "Yeah, I could tell you two got along like oil and water and he seems to be a huge pain in the ass. Okay, we will start a chart on you. Let's document this and see if we can't give the Captain some more shit." He began the paperwork.

We finally arrived at the hospital and even though there was a line of ambulances, it moved right along. We finally arrived at the door and the back was opened. I grabbed my rifle case and jumped out while a couple of guys hauled Jack out on the gurney. The corpsman was talking to what looked to be a doctor. Then Captain M came to the back of the ambulance and ordered...

Flashback – Captain M – Sgt. Reynolds' MRI

Now was my fucking chance. If I could prove that Sgt. Reynolds was drinking on the flight, the court-martial would automatically follow. I came to the back of the ambulance and ordered the two men taking Sgt. Reynolds out on the gurney, "I want a blood alcohol test done on this man immediately."

A doctor walked up, glared at me and said, "Who died and made you the king around here? Unlike America we don't perform unneeded and useless tests here. I can see from his chart that this man was injured because of something foolish you did and I'm not going to help you cover your ass. I also see from his chart he has a priority listing for the MRI machine. However, we have other more critical patients who must us it first. So you three will need to patiently wait your turn."

Sgt. Blaine yelled, "Thank you doctor!"

I glared at Sgt. Blaine and asked, "Well, can we at least check this Sgt.'s hearing?"

The doctor took Sgt. Blaine's chart from his free hand (the other was holding his rifle case), looked through it and commented, "Captain, you seem to have a knack for letting the men under your direct command become injured by your..."

I interrupted, " ... What the hell are you talking about..."

The doctor pointed to his rank and said, "Captain, do you see these birds on my shoulders? I am a doctor but I still outrank you and I sure as hell didn't give you permission to talk let alone interrupt me."

I felt that I was being setup as he continued, "Captain, my medical staff is excellent and they never forge charts. The chart says that Sgt. Blaine's hearing was damaged because he was not provided with the normal hearing protectors that all gunners are supposed to wear. This happened while he was under your command so it is your responsibility."

I countered, "I was never informed of that requirement for the gunners."

The doctor looked down his nose at me and commented, "Captain, I know you're not a moron so do I really have to tell you that ignorance is not an excuse? Assuming you don't aggravate me any further by demanding useless tests on the Sgt.'s, such as the blood alcohol test you demanded, I will see what I can do to keep you from getting in trouble. You three wait for your turn on the MRI machine and try not to get into any more trouble."

The doctor left and I wanted to kill him. I took a look at Sgt. Reynolds grinning face and I demanded, "Sgt., what the hell is so funny?"

Flashback – Jack and Ben – at the hospital waiting for the MRI

I found it extremely entertaining that the doctor ripped Captain M a new asshole, and I guess because of my partially inebriated state I let my face display a grin. The Captain saw it and gave me a ration of shit about it so I lied through my teeth, "Captain Sir, I was not grinning because of what just happened, I was grinning because I am a little high from the medication the corpsman gave me."

Banzai thankfully added, "Yes Sir Captain Sir! They even gave him more medication on the way to the hospital because he was in pain as the ambulance juked around during the firefight."

I added more fuel to the conflagration, "Plus, I was burnt by a fucking piece of hot brass that fell into my shirt and that hurt like hell."

Captain M switched his looks between the two of us and threatened, "Sgt. Reynolds, if you weren't injured we would 'take a walk' together."

I knew what the hell that meant - it was in open invitation for some one on one, hand to hand combat. Hell, I wished I wasn't hurt because I would have taken him up on that in a New York minute.

Banzai piped up...

Shit! Major ... I mean Captain M wanted to 'take a walk' with Jack! I did some checking on the Captain and he was supposed to be damn good at martial arts. Jack was too fucked up right now to take him up on it but I was surely not. So, I loudly volunteered (to stay in character with my hearing damage), "Captain Sir, since Jack can't 'take a walk' with you, I would be more than happy to take his place."

The Captain glared at me and answered, "Sgt. Blaine, while I can afford to damage your spotter, I was told the Old Man has some plans for you so I can't afford to damage you. Therefore, our walk will have to wait until later."

I continued to pretend to have hearing issues and said, "Sir! I couldn't hear you, could you please speak the fuck up!"

The Captain repeated himself and yelled, "Sgt. Blaine, while I can afford to damage your spotter, I was told the Old Man has some plans for you so I can't afford to damage you. Therefore, our walk will have to wait until later."

I grinned at the Captain and answered, "Yes Sir, however when that time comes I will be your Huckleberry."

The Captain asked, "What the fuck does that mean?"

Jack grinned at the Captain and answered...

Hells Bells! With the way Captain M was hated after fucking up so many of us on the fight, I could make a small fortune selling tickets to a fight between Banzai and Captain Asshole.

I was disappointed when Captain M backed out of the fight because I would have made big bucks so I tried to put my fortune back on track and taunted, "Captain Sir! That's a phrase that Banzai uses from the movie Tombstone. Doc Holliday says it right before he drills Johnny Ringo. It means he's going to kick your ass!"

The Captain glared at me and answered, "Sgt. Reynolds, I highly doubt he could kick my ass - many have tried and all have failed."

I laughed and continued the taunt, "That's only because you've never fought Banzai, he's undefeated."

I heard the cash register drawer slam closed when the Captain laughed and answered, "Good try Sgt. Reynolds but I'm not going to fight him now. When I damage him I would be in more trouble than I am already in."

I figured I would get in one last barb when I said, "Yes Sir! I do know you really fucked up on the flight when you injured so many Marines and then fucked up again by not having Banzai wear the hearing protectors. That's like ... What two strikes? So one more strike and I guess they would do what? Send you back to Thule?"

I guess I went a bit overboard because the Captain lunged at me...

Jack was giving the Captain a huge ration of shit but he finally went too far. The Captain lunged at Jack but I intercepted his hand, twisted it around behind him and had him in a hell of an arm bar.

The Captain fought to get loose and swore, "Sgt. Blaine, get your fucking hands off of me."

Jack egged me on, "Break the fucker's arm Banzai."

The other patients in the hallway, who observed what happened, started egging me on even more, "Yeah, break the bastard's arm ... He fucking deserves it for fucking us up on the flight ... Rip his damn arm clear off and beat him over the head with it."

I calmly replied, "Sorry Sir for laying my hands on you, however I cannot let you injure my spotter especially when he's still strapped to the gurney and can't defend himself. If you wish to press charges against me, then go for it. However from the sound of things, I don't think you would have many witnesses in your favor."

The other patients continue their catcalls, "That's right you fucking bastard ... The bastard Captain started all of it ... Sgt. Blaine was just defending himself..."

Captain M wisely submitted, "Okay Sgt. Blaine, I'm not going to press charges and I'm not going to injure Sgt. Reynolds. Now release me - and that is an order."

I released my arm bar on the Captain but expected what happened next...

Flashback – Captain M – waiting for Sgt. Reynolds' MRI

Son of a bitch! I lost it when Sgt. Reynolds kept taunting me. When I went to slap the shit eating grin off his face, Sgt. Blaine grabbed my arm and put me in a hell of an arm bar. I hoped the other Marines in the hallway waiting for their MRI's would support me, but most of them were from the flight and verbally expressed their dislike of me multiple times. Too bad - otherwise Sgt. Blaine would have had a one way ticket to Leavenworth. Sgt. Blaine slowly released his arm bar. When my arm was free, I spun around and went for a face strike with the palm of my free hand. The next thing I knew I was flat on my fucking back and everyone was cheering.