Chapter 4

11:25 Thursday, August 1^st, 1991

Oakland Yacht Club

1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda CA, 94501

"I guess it's time for me to do some of that mentoring thing I was talking about," Deb told Lenore. She flashed a dazzling smile at the Chief. "Don't leave," she said, as the perceptive man was about to depart toward the galley with the lunch dishes. "You're a co-mentor," she said, with a girlish laugh.

Lenore shook her head, smiling. If I didn't know better, I'd say Deb was flirting with Chief Kostowe. At Kostowe's raised eyebrow, Lenore finished the thought. It looks like the Chief is surprised, too.

Deb's expression became serious. Lenore realized the time was at hand to talk of the future. Taking a deep breath, she began. "Okay, Deb. The Gunny means a lot to me, and so do all the people I've met here. I want to stay here, with the Gunny. Now, I'm going to school at the Sterling Community College, back in Texas, and it's only because I was drifting, looking for a purpose."

She saw Deb understood, so she continued. "Now, the men in my life have influenced me pretty strongly. The Gunny, the Chief, my Daddy, the Admiral, and my scrawny little hopeless-loser of a brother, who suddenly turned into a noble warrior, all of them have. This girl can only hope to be as good a person as them."

Deb nodded, holding Lenore's gaze in her own. "And Sandy?" she breathed.

Lenore nodded. "And, then there's Sandy." She gave a small laugh, and said, candidly, "I want to be like her, Deb. Tall and strong, and totally committed to her goals. Everyone wants to have Sandy on their team." Lenore watched Deb as she said this, and was unsurprised to see something like longing in Deb's eyes.

Deb nodded again, giving Lenore the oddest sensation that Deb knew what she was thinking and had confirmed Lenore's guess. Lenore let her off the hook, though. "So ... I asked the Gunny at supper the other night if I would make a good officer if I had both him and the Chief here for guidance." Kostowe had watched the whole interaction, and Lenore was sure the older man hadn't missed any of the byplay.

The other woman smiled. "You know I think it's a good choice, Lenore. And, of course I'll help you make it happen. Have you given any thought to the branch of service?"

"Navy or Air Force," Lenore supplied immediately.

Kostowe sat up. "Not Coast Guard?"

Lenore was slightly surprised, then considered it for a few moments. "Small boats, Chief, and it'd be helping people. But it's ... I don't know. Not something I'd considered."

He rewarded her with a smile. "One way to put it is the difference between police and firemen and soldiering."

She nodded, then, firmly. "Navy or Air Force."

Deb cautioned her, "Flying is a man's game. You'd have a struggle the whole way."

Lenore shook her head. "Flying would be fun, but that's ... not what I pictured myself doing."

"The modern officer's time is filled with huge amounts of accomplishing paperwork for the sake of satisfying paperwork. Successful officers figure out which paperwork to satisfy, and which to delegate. Many, maybe most, spend very little time in direct contact with those they command."

She gave Kostowe a small smile. "Chief, as a woman and enlisted, how long would it take me to make Chief Petty Officer, where I commanded a deck?"

"Touché, Lenore."

Deb nodded. "The Air Force might be a faster way to advance in your career, Lenore. It's a bit more corporate-like, though, and you could spend a really long time in one job if you don't find ways to excel and be noticed."

"Okay," Lenore sighed, "Marines and Coast Guard are out, and I don't think the Army's right for who I want to be, and maybe not the Air Force."

"Changing the subject slightly, she said, what about college?" Deb held a slightly amused tone in her voice for the obvious segue.

"I'm not sure. I have two big criteria – one, it's within daily commute distance of the Gunny, and two, it's got an ROTC program."

Deb laughed outright, pleased at the response. "Okay, then one of the state schools. If you establish residency in California – have a driver's license, for example, and register to vote, you should be able to get in-state rates. How are we going to pay for whatever school we pick?"

Lenore sighed. "And that's the problem. Dad and Mom are tapped-out right now, trying to leverage everything to buy the vineyard and make improvements to it to get faster return and pay down the debt they'll take on. My oldest brother will buy the ranch from them, to get them some of the cash, and a lot of the ranch's operating money is tied up in livestock and futures, so there's not much there." Lenore looked at the pair of faces across the small table the Chief had set up on the deck, and shook her head. "I'm willing to go far into debt with student loans, but I doubt I'll qualify for any financial aid with my parent's last-year Adjusted Gross Income." Lenore referred to the taxable income line on the IRS 1040 income-tax form, used by financial-aid administrators to determine the amount of aid granted a particular student.

"One way would be to get married," Kostowe said, quietly. Deb watched Lenore keenly for her reaction.

"We promised we wouldn't, Chief." Lenore was troubled. Sighing, she offered, "I'll ask the Gunny if we should ask my Daddy. Maybe he'll relent if he lets us get far enough to tell him why."

The Chief stood. "Miss Collins, would you please go inspect the bow mooring cleat? I should think it would require at least five minutes."

Lenore bit her lower lip, but stood up immediately. "Aye aye, Chief", she said. I don't think I did anything wrong, so he must want to talk to Deb without me in hearing distance. With a fluttering in her stomach, she looked at her watch as she stepped over the rail onto the ladder, unobtrusively marking the time.

Kostowe waited until the boat moved as Lenore's weight left the ladder. Deb was watching him expectantly, so he began without preamble, "You're thinking Intelligence? Your old position in DIA was years ago, and you left as a junior officer ahead of scandal. You've probably got just enough influence to be listened to politely if I do what I'm thinking of."

Deb drew air in sharply, then let it out, a prolonged exhalation. Kostowe watched her nod, slowly. "You're right, Chief," she admitted. "I never knew I was so transparent to you."

He reached to her, touching her hand gently, "You were young, once, Deb. And Barbara adored you once, as you must have adored her." He left his touch on her hand, and returned to the earlier topic. "Deb, you can turn a meeting with ONI to your and Lenore's advantage, and if you play it very well, you might be able to help Sandy and Ben, too. And I believe I know you well enough to know that such is your motivation and would be enough reward. The Sparks girl is out of your reach for any more than that, and you know this is true."

"I really have no secrets from you, do I?" Deb's voice had a hitch in it, and her nostrils flared as she dealt with sudden unexpected emotion. She searched his face, apparently looking for any hint of condemnation or ridicule, and found none, only a steady regard.

"Okay," she breathed. "Okay."

Kostowe nodded once, sharply, and withdrew his hand. "I trust you and Lenore will speak to the Gunny tonight. I will arrange a meeting next week for you and I, in Washington, with ONI. You and I need to have my will and insurance and account beneficiaries updated and notarized on Monday, and I will name Lenore my next-of-kin and sole beneficiary. This boat will decede to her. This should give us a strong bargaining position. Please spend the next few days working out our requests and strategy for the meeting."