Chapter 3

As we walked into the JAG office, I said, "Hello again, Sgt. Rester, we have a 00:30 appointment with Colonel Lane."

"I believe he is expecting you, I'll let him know you're here. Just a moment, please."

Sgt. Rester went in the hallway door and came back five minutes later, and said: "Follow me please; the Colonel is ready for you now."

Tony and I went into his office and sat at the two chairs in front of his desk. He was on the phone, but about to hang up. We kept quiet and waited our turn for his attention. He soon hung up and turned to us. He had acknowledged us at first, then turned away to complete his call.

"Sgts. Cummings and Mancini, it's so good to see you again. Boys, I have some good news and some even better news for you. Then I have some great news for the both of you."

"Let me start with the good news. Your lawyer in Florida will take your case for the divorce pro bono. His name is Walter Groenblat; he does the civil work, and Ernest Stein does the criminal cases, so no worries there. Also from the information that Mr. Sterling has obtained, there will be no question of infidelity and adultery. With the evidence so far, there should be no contest, especially since you are a military man on overseas assignment. Now for the even better news, your company is not going to be a part of the divorce, except that she will have a claim to a part of the company. That isn't as bad as it sounds, however. Because her actions are the reason for the divorce that will be considered by the judge; and since her name is not listed as an officer the company, her claim is fragile. Florida is not a community property state, but it does have a marital and non-marital property clause. Because you started the company while you were married, she is entitled to some compensation, depending upon the ruling by the judge. Mr. Groenblat is pretty sure that the judge will award her some monetary value for her work as an employee of the company. Is your wife paid by the company, or do you both share the profits?"

"Colonel Lane, we both get a salary from the company; all profits go into a trust fund for our son's college education. We keep a certain amount out for maintenance and supplies, but the rest goes into the trust. Why?"

"Son, you have to be the smartest husband I know, or you have a great advisor. With the company set up like that, she can't touch a bit of the assets; they all belong to your son and the executor of the trust. Who is that, you or your wife? Please tell me it is someone else."

"Actually, it is his godfather, Don Sterling. It's in our wills that if anything was to happen to us, he would take over the company, the custody of Sean, and be executor of our estate, as well as the trust. You know I'm not even sure Vickie remembers that we set the trust up. We can put money into it, but we can't withdraw any until Sean is eighteen."

"My God, Boyd, who had you set this up this way?"

"My dad did. He told me that that would be the best way for Sean to have the money when he needed it for college."

"What a stroke of genius. Your dad was right; this trust is foolproof and only the executor or the parent can get the money for college for your son."

"Well, it's actually for any and all of our children. I seem to remember that Dad had it written so that it would apply to all children, born of the union of Boyd and Victoria Cummings."

"Oh wow, that means that even if Vickie had another child by someone else, they wouldn't be covered by that part," said Tony.

"So long as we could prove that the child was not yours by a DNA and blood test."

"Oh my God, I just had a thought, what if Sean is not mine? Oh, God, I don't want to even think about that." I broke down then.

The Colonel was on the phone in a moment, as soon as he found the phone number he was looking for. "Walter, this is Charles Lane again. Is there any chance we can get a DNA test run on the son, Sean Michael? - Yeah, saliva would be good. – check with the birth hospital; see if they did a work-up on him when he was born. A lot of hospitals do that now. - Yeah ... do you have a copy of the trust fund set up for the boy's college? - Good, read it through very carefully. I think we have an iron clad document for that and Boyd tells me they both get paid a salary from his cleaning company and all profits go to the trust. – Yeah, very smart move. – Uh huh - Yes - No - Alright, you get back to me as soon as you can. - Thanks ... you too. Bye."

"Boyd, I'm more surprised by you and this case, the more I find out. Now the great news. You two leave on a mission tomorrow night, and you should only be gone about three or four days. You will get to calm way down before you're done with it, then maybe a day here and you are homeward bound for fifteen days leave. Now, I can swing Tony too, if you think you will need him home with you. I can tell that you two have bonded into a partnership that is going to be a little hard to break up after this is all over."

"Colonel, as much as I would like Tony to come too, I don't think that is fair to him and besides Don will be there for me. Don and I met in basic training and we've been together since. He's kind of like my brother, or maybe my twin. But not like Tony and me, we're like twins for sure."

"I think anyone can see that is true. So what is the verdict, is Tony going or staying?"

"Sir, if I may say something on my behalf. I would love to go with Boyd, but I met someone yesterday. We have a lot in common, but I'm not sure where we are going with this, so if it's all the same to you, I would like to stay. I don't have a girlfriend back home, either home; McGuire or Patrick, and I would hate to lose this opportunity because I left for a while. I hope you understand, Boyd."

"Tony, I would never forgive myself if I ruined your chance with Amy. She seems like the right girl for you. Growing up fifty miles apart gives you guys so much in common to start out with, that I can't, in good conscience, be that selfish. Stay; and I hope that there is something good for you to tell me when I get back here."

"Oh yes, before I forget, I need you both to sign this fax document. Boyd, where is says your name and today's date, and Tony where it says 'witness name'. I'll fax this back to Walter and we can work on getting Victoria served."

"Can we wait on serving her until I get home? I think I would like to surprise her with it after I get back home, like maybe fifteen minutes after I walk into the house."

"Oh man, Boyd, that is cold," Tony said.

"I just want to see the look on her face when she reads the papers. I think that will be some payback for the surprise I got with Don's phone call."

"Tony's right, that is cold, but I heartily approve. If you can take a picture of her face, I would like to see that. That might give me a little boost in the payback department, even though it will be by proxy."

"No problem, Colonel, I'll make sure that happens, just for you. But if her reaction is like I think it will be, I may blow it up to eleven by seventeen and hang it in the living room."

"I'm not too sure that would be right; what would your son think of that?"

"I guess you're right, Colonel, but it sure would remind me that not all women can be trusted."

"I think that is a very true statement. Well, I have more work to do, so why don't you two go back to your tent and see about some sleep. You may not get any for the next few days. I don't really know all the particulars of your next mission, but Major Kelly assured me that you two were the only ones to accomplish this one. So, good hunting and come back so we can get you on a plane ride back home."

"Thank you, Colonel, for everything you have done so far, and everything you still have to do. I'm not sure I really deserve all this help, but I thank you and I'm sure if my son knew, he would thank you too."