Sniper Elite: One-Way Trip

CHAPTER 25

Gil parked the Humvee in front of his quarters and went inside. The bullet wound to his ass was throbbing like hell, and he was still smarting over the bullshit debrief with Lerher, but this was mostly due to a bruised ego now that Metcalf had fixed the problem. The incident with Steelyard was already forgotten. SEALs were harsh with one another from time to time, like wolves in a pack snarling over a fresh kill. It was rare that anyone was ever bitten, and hard feelings rarely endured. Steelyard had his reasons for the way he handled certain situations, same as Gil. They were warriors, not grade school teachers.

He found his satellite phone and sat down on the edge of a chair, debating whether to call Marie, debating because he didn’t want to talk to her — he needed to, and he rarely felt that need while on deployment. Such a need bespoke of an emotional vulnerability, and a man couldn’t afford emotional vulnerabilities in this environment. Still, a need was a need, and unfilled needs could fester into larger problems. He made the call, knowing it would be about nine o’clock in the morning back in Montana.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby, it’s me.”

“How are you?” she asked, sensing at once a heaviness in his voice.

“It’s been a rough day.”

She knew better than to ask specific questions, but she didn’t much care. “You didn’t lose anyone, did you?”

“No, nothing like that,” he said, his voice sounding thin to him.

“Well, I’m glad you called,” she said, giving him time. “Oso just came into the kitchen. I think he can tell from my tone when I’m talking to you.”

“I refused to carry out an immoral order.”

“Well, good for you. I’m proud of you.”

“I never thought I’d…” He gritted his teeth, hard put to conceal his emotions.

“It’s nothin’ to be ashamed of, baby.”

He gripped his temples. “Listen, baby… you may hear somethin’ on the radio tomorrow… or see somethin’ in the paper… I dunno… but don’t worry. I ain’t involved in anything right now… not for at least the next forty-eight hours.”

“I never listen to the news when you’re gone. You know that.”

“Well, in case some dumbass calls or somebody says somethin’ at the store. Humor me a little, will ya?”

She laughed softly in his ear. “Aye, aye, sir.”

He simmered down at the sound. “I just don’t want you to worry.”

“Well, that’s an easy fix,” she said helpfully. “Take an assignment at Hampton Roads until your enlistment’s over.”

He lowered his head, knowing he’d walked right into it. “I’ve got three more years until my twenty, baby. I’d lose my mind at Hampton Roads.”

“All right,” she said evenly, “then stop sayin’ you don’t want me to worry. A forty-eight-hour reprieve ain’t nothin’ to me, Gil. I don’t take no comfort in it. If there’s an emergency ten minutes from now, you’ll be the first one on the damn helicopter, and you know it.”

“Damn, woman. I called you ’cause I was feelin’ down.”

More of her gentle laughter. “How ya feelin’ now?”

“Like paddlin’ your backside.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’re callin’ me from the moon,” she said breezily.

He laughed. “I ain’t that far.”

“Well, you’re far enough all the same. What time is it where you’re at, anyway?”

“Nice try,” he said.

She laughed again, enjoying teasing him. “I’m a trier, you know that. Mama says hi.”

“Give ’er my love.” He glanced up to see Steelyard through the window, coming toward the building with his cigar glowing. “Listen, baby, I gotta go. I love you.”

“Got your boots back on the ground now?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right then. Love you, too.”

He was off the phone a few moments later and opening the door for Steelyard. “They about ready to go over there?”

Steelyard grunted as he stepped into the room. “Nothing left to do but roll the birds onto the tarmac. You don’t have any booze hidden around here anywhere, do you?”

“Ain’t I in enough trouble?”

“Shit, Gilligan, you came out of this smelling like a rose.”

Gil put his hands in his pockets. “Would you have shot ’er, Chief?”

Steelyard snatched the cigar from his teeth and looked him in the eyes. “I’d have blown her shit away.”

Gil nodded and looked at the floor.

“And then I’d have spent the rest of my fucking life waking up to her face,” the older man went on. “So what’s that tell you? Anyhow, you made sure that’s not going to happen to you. Listen, I support whatever keeps my SEALs alive and out of trouble. That’s what I told Metcalf, and that’s what I’m telling you. So let it go — it’s over. I told Crosswhite what’s up, and he understands why I jumped your shit. I didn’t want him thinking you’d gone soft.”

“Hell,” Gil said. “He knows I’d never beat up on an old man.”

“By the way,” Steelyard said. “The Iranian broad went into labor half an hour after surgery… so congratulations. It’s a boy. Damn kid will probably grow up to hunt your ass down in twenty years. That or drive a nuke into Times Square.”

Gil smiled. “Ever heard the parable about the partisan and the horse?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the damn thing.” He stuck the cigar back into his teeth. “Don’t play granddaddy with me, boy. What you know about life, I can fit under my foreskin.”