chapter 24
BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN
THEY were waiting for him in General Garrison's office; the special assistant to the secretary of defense sitting on the left side of the general's desk and Captain Leland the other. With only one chair remaining, Garrison stood and told everyone to take a seat at the eight-person conference table. The general ambled over to the table. He looked ready to be rid of this entire problem, even though he knew it wasn't going to simply disappear. For now, though, he was glad to have the opportunity to get this man off his base, so he could get back to the business of supplying the men and women with what they needed to wage war.
As reported, Leland was wearing a blue sling. It clashed with his camouflage BDUs and looked a bit ridiculous. Rapp watched the captain slowly and painfully rise to his feet. He was instantly reminded of some huckster plaintiff with a neck brace trying to convince a jury that he was in agony. It took great restraint for Rapp not grab him by the neck and kick him in the ass. Leland shuffled over to the table and carefully lowered himself into the chair to the right of the general. Rapp didn't want to sit, but he knew he had to. He chose the seat directly across from General Garrison so he wouldn't have to look straight at Leland.
"Well," Ridley started off, "We don't have to drag this out with a lot of unnecessary talk. We've taken enough time as it is. Mitch has agreed that he will offer his sincere apologies, and then we'll get out of your way." Ridley looked at Rapp. "Mitch."
Rapp looked down at his folded hands and then traced a finger along fake grains of the pressed-wood tabletop. Without looking up he said, "I'm sorry about all of this."
Ridley looked nervously around the table hoping that would be enough, but already knowing it wasn't. After a long silence he cleared his throat.
Rapp looked up at General Garrison and said, "I'm sorry it had to happen."
"Excuse me?" Leland said in disbelief.
"I'm sorry it had to happen. I wish you hadn't got involved in this."
"That's your apology?"
"Yes," Ridley interceded. "He feels very bad about this. He knows you were simply trying to do your job."
"He doesn't feel bad about what he did to me. The man is a monster... he's a sociopath. He's incapable of remorse."
"What the f*ck do you know?" Rapp asked.
Leland sat back and said, "I told you." He looked at Garrison and added, "This should be referred to the Department of Justice."
Rapp, looking at Garrison, said, "Is he always this big of a prick?"
The general looked up with bloodshot eyes and in a tired voice said, "I wish both of you would give it a rest."
"I have done nothing wrong, sir," Leland protested.
Ridley, sensing that things were spinning out of control, waved a hand to get everyone's attention and said, "Obviously, nerves are still a little raw. I would like to assure you, Captain Leland, that Mr. Rapp will be dealt with harshly. Director Kennedy has assured me that he will be punished for striking you, and..."
Before Ridley could continue, Leland turned to his CO and the assistant secretary of defense and said, "I don't trust any of them. I want to press charges."
"You're a prick." Rapp came out of his chair lightning-fast. "And you have an overinflated sense of how important you are in this whole thing. There's thousands of officers who can do exactly what you do, Captain, and thousands more who can do it a hell of a lot better than you. Look at you." Rapp waved an open hand at Leland. "I twisted your wrist and you fell, and now you're sitting here looking like a wife who's been battered by her husband. Aren't you even remotely embarrassed? You're a damn officer in the United States Air Force. Can you at least pretend to be a warrior?"
"I want to press charges, and I want him thrown back in lockup."
"Shut up, Captain," Rapp snapped. "Me taking that gun away from you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to your dead-end career. If you'd shut your mouth for a minute and listen, you'd realize just how lucky you are. You're going to get promoted to major immediately, and then you'll be on the fast track for colonel. Any post you want, you name it."
"I am not looking to prosper from this."
"He's right, Captain." It was the first words spoken by the assistant secretary of defense. "Secretary England wants you to know he considers your cooperation in this matter a personal favor, as does the president. He knows that Mr. Rapp here can be little rough, but wants you to understand that every American, including you, owes him a debt of gratitude."
Leland felt the room spinning. He was hit with a sudden fever. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It went against everything he'd been taught at the Air Force Academy. Why couldn't his superiors see that this was wrong?
"You say the word, Captain. You want Colorado, California, Hawaii... Europe? You name it."
An exasperated Leland said, "I want justice."
"I told you he was a prick."
Leland looked up to see Rapp talking to the other man from the CIA.
"We're out of here." Rapp looked at Garrison and Roemer. "I'm sorry for all of this. I really am. I never wanted to put the military in the middle of this, but we're running low on options."
"You're just going to let him walk out of here?" a shocked Leland asked.
For the first time, Rapp felt sorry for the young officer. The guy was way out of his league and he hadn't a clue. "Captain, you have to let go of this," Rapp said in an almost pleading voice. "This entire thing is way above your pay grade. I told you not to draw your weapon. I told you I would cooperate, but you wouldn't listen to me. Maybe if you knew where I've been and what I've done for the last eighteen years you could understand why I did what I did. That's about all I can tell you. I'm sorry I had to get physical."
"But you're not sorry that you hit me?"
"I didn't hit you. I disarmed you, and you fell on your face."
"You assaulted me," Leland half screamed.
Rapp was out of patience. "You know what, Captain, good luck with your career. I'm out of here."
"No, you are not," Leland shouted. "General, do something."
The general sighed and put his hands over his face. "Captain, give it a rest."
"But, sir, I must protest..."
Ridley opened the door.
"That's an order, Captain. I want you to wait forty-eight hours, weigh all your options, and then file your official report. Until then, I don't want to hear another word about this issue. Have I made myself clear?"
Ridley didn't wait around for the answer. He pushed Rapp out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. Moving quickly down the hallway, he looked straight ahead and said, "Boy, that went well."
"I told you he was a pain in the ass."
"And you're just a treat to deal with." Ridley glanced at his watch. "Let's hurry. We have a plane to catch."