No Return

4

The big brown, that’s what one of Wes’s old friends used to call the desert. And that’s exactly what it was. Vast and tan. The dirt, the bushes, the birds, the rocks, everything variations on the theme.

Wes had never intended on seeing it again. Not in person, anyway.

But time had a way of changing things, and when the assignment for the “High Desert” episode had come up, Wes had realized it would be his opportunity to do something he should have done a long time ago.

When they’d arrived the night before, they had entered the valley high on the western edge, driving along the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Below them, the eastern half of the valley had been lit up like a squashed ball of Christmas lights, a glowing oasis in an otherwise dark landscape. At night the city of Ridgecrest was indistinguishable from the adjacent Navy base at China Lake.

The moment Wes had seen those lights, his chest muscles had begun constricting tightly across his ribs as if they were trying to crush him. In his ears, blood had thundered past, sounding like the rapids of the Kern River. He’d glanced around to see if anyone had picked up on his distress, but the others had been either staring out the window or half-asleep.

The next morning the town had looked somewhat diminished. There was just no way to hide all the brown from the sun. And while Wes’s tension had mellowed, it hadn’t gone away, becoming a low simmer he was unable to shake off.

“You grew up here?” Danny had asked incredulously as they’d driven through town that morning on their way out to the Pinnacles.

“It’s got its good points,” Wes had replied.

“Name three.”

“The people are nice. Air-conditioning is a given. And you always know someone who has a swimming pool.”

Danny had snorted.

“I don’t know,” Alison had said from the back. “I kind of like it. Looks homey.”

“It was,” Wes had said. For a while, anyway.

Now that the sun had set on a day none of them could have ever expected nor would ever forget, Wes wondered if there was any way he could just return to Los Angeles. Not even back in his hometown for twenty-four hours, and a fighter jet-an F-18, he’d learned from the medic who’d patched him up-nearly killed him.

If that wasn’t an omen, he didn’t know what was.

He had just stepped into the shower when someone pounded on the door to his room. He tried ignoring it, but whoever it was wasn’t giving up.

“I’m coming!” he hollered as he climbed back out and threw a towel around his waist.

He pulled the door open. Danny was standing there, his arm in the air ready to knock again.

“What?” Wes asked, pissed.

“Uh … hey. Just wanted to let you know we’re all meeting at the cars in ten. Going to grab something to eat.”

Wes stared at him, saying nothing.

“I … uh … I thought you’d like the heads-up. Maybe we can get a drink, too. Don’t know about you, but I could sure use a beer or three.”

Wes shook his head and shut the door without replying.

“Does that mean you’re coming or not?” Danny called through the door.

Wes got back into the shower, letting the hot water stream over his head. He knew the others were going to want to know what he’d seen. They’d want to hear details. And if it didn’t happen tonight, it would happen tomorrow.

Better to get it over with now.

He finished his shower, pulled on some clothes, and was at the SUVs only a few minutes late. With the exception of Monroe, everyone was already there. But that wasn’t surprising. She seldom joined the crew after hours.

Dione looked at Wes. “So, where should we go?”

“What do you mean?”

“To eat,” she said as if he were dense as a brick.

He shrugged. “Hell if I know.”

“Come on, Wes, we’re starving,” Tony Hall, the crew’s production assistant, said. Dione had kept him running errands all day, so he’d missed all the fun at the Pinnacles.

“It’s been seventeen years since I’ve been here,” Wes said. But no one in the group seemed very sympathetic. He dug deep into his memory. “Uh … if it’s still there, John’s Pizza’s not too far away.”

“John’s it is,” Dione said.

John’s was still there. Unfortunately, though, the beer and the pizza didn’t last long enough for Wes to finish telling them about the crash. So, at Danny’s suggestion, they stopped off at a bar within walking distance of the motel named Delta Sierra.

“That booth’s empty,” Alison said, pointing across the room.

Danny laughed as they sat down. “Check this out.” He pointed at the table. It was glass topped, and underneath was a large piece of paper with the words pilot lingo in bold on top. Term number one, printed larger than the others, read:

DELTA SIERRA-Dumb Shit

The aviation theme didn’t end there. The walls were covered with framed pictures of pilots and planes and hangars. And prominent on the list of drinks were a Bogey Shot, a Flattop Martini, and something called a Hornet in a Cage.

Alison touched Wes on the arm. “Maybe we should have gone somewhere else.”

“Why?” Danny asked. “This place is great.”

“That’s because it was obviously named after you,” she scoffed. “I was just thinking that after the day we’ve had, maybe someplace a little less aircraft oriented might be better.”

Anna smiled at Wes. “We don’t have to stay.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s fine. Besides, Danny’s buying.”

Laughter all around.

Danny grinned. “I don’t believe I actually promised that.”

“I don’t care if you promised or not, it’s what’s going to happen.”

More laughter.

When things settled down again, Danny said, “I’ll tell you what surprised me most out there today. I thought that plane was part of the Air Force, then all of a sudden we were surrounded by all these Navy people … sailors … whatever you call them. Since when is the Navy in the middle of the desert?”

“China Lake’s a naval base, Danny,” Alison said.

“Yeah, but where’s the water? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the Navy’s thing boats?”

“The Navy needs a place to test its planes and weapons,” Wes said. “So they set up out here a long time ago. Nothing better than the empty desert to drop a bomb in. And it’s ‘ships,’ not ‘boats.’ ”

“Seriously, Danny,” Dione said. “It was all in the episode brief.”

“Like I’m the only one who never reads those.” He looked around the table for support, but everyone stared back at him like he was an idiot. “Okay, fine. Sorry.”

“I think it’s time for that first round?” Dione suggested.

“Right.” Danny climbed out of the booth.

“Take Tony with you,” Alison said. “So they won’t card you.”

“Ha-ha,” Danny said, glaring at her. Though he was twenty-seven, he had one of those baby faces that made him look like he was barely out of high school. By comparison, Tony, a couple of years younger, actually looked like he was in his late twenties. As Danny turned for the bar, he motioned Tony to join him. “You can help me carry the drinks.”

As soon as they were gone, Alison and Anna decided to make a pre-drink trip to the ladies’ room, leaving Dione and Wes the only ones still at the table.

“Don’t spread this around yet,” Dione said, “but the office wants us to try to make up the time without adding a day.”

“Did you expect anything less?”

“I was looking at the schedule, and I think if we cram two of Tuesday’s interviews into Monday, we’ll be able to do it.” She gave Wes a hopeful look. “Might mean working an extra hour, though.”

Wes shrugged. “I could always use the overtime.”

“It’s just an hour.”

“Easy to say with your cushy staff job. Freelancer rule number one: Get paid for every hour you work.”

She gave him her best puppy-dog eyes, which only caused him to sneer. With a chuckle she shrugged. “Hey, it was worth a try. I guess it’ll be cheaper than shooting an extra day. I really should charge the Navy for the lost time.”

“Seriously, Dione. We saw someone die today.”

“I know, I know. I don’t really mean it. It’s just that officer taking our footage pissed me off.”

“He didn’t take it. He asked for it, and we gave it to him.”

“Ha! If we hadn’t, I’ll bet he would have taken it.” She looked around. “Get this. I talked to the office, expecting them to be as upset as I was, but they were all like it was no big deal, and that we’d done the right thing handing it over. Come on. Doesn’t anyone have any journalistic integrity?”

Wes stared at her, smirking. “Uh, not sure you know this, but we shoot vacation spots. We’re squeezed between a show called Quest for the Perfect Cocktail and Tanya Takes a Trip. Where, exactly, does journalistic integrity fit in there?”

As Dione scoffed, Danny and Tony returned carrying several drinks. They weren’t alone, either. Behind them were two men wearing jeans and button-down shirts, but giving off the obvious vibe of military.

“This is Lieutenant Wasserman,” Danny said, nodding his chin at the man closest to him. “And this is Lieutenant … uh …”

“Jenks,” the other man said. He held out his hand to Wes. “Just call me Ken.”

“And I’m Reid,” Wasserman added, also shaking Wes’s hand.

“I overheard these two guys talking about the crash, and told them we were there,” Danny explained. “They wanted to meet us. Well, you specifically, Wes.”

“Danny mentioned that you tried to get the guy out,” Tony said, then mouthed behind Danny’s back, “Sorry.”

Wes cringed inside.

“Your friend here told us you actually got up next to the cockpit,” Jenks said. “Is that true?”

Wes nodded.

“Said you were trying to get him out.”

“His harness was jammed. If I had a knife, maybe. But …” Wes just let it hang, not knowing how to finish.

“Did you talk to him?” Wasserman asked.

“Briefly. Sort of. He wasn’t in much condition to talk.”

Jenks nodded knowingly. “I don’t doubt that. What did he say?”

Wes adjusted uncomfortably in his seat. “Nothing much. He was in a lot of pain.”

“Did he tell you what happened?” Jenks persisted.

“Look,” Wes said. “I don’t know what to tell you. He basically only acknowledged that he was conscious. I was too busy trying to free him to get into a conversation.”

“Of course.” Jenks leaned back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to push.”

“Thank you for trying to help him,” Wasserman said. “That means a lot to all of us.”

“We won’t bother you any longer,” Jenks added. “But we do want you to know your tab’s on us tonight. I mean all of you.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Wes said.

“We insist.” Lieutenant Jenks held up a hand, indicating further protest was unnecessary.

“Thanks,” Wes said.

They gave Wes a nod, then turned and left.

“For a second there I thought they were going to salute you,” Danny said as he sat back down.

“Well, that was … interesting,” Anna said. She and Alison had returned in the middle of the conversation, but had hung back until the two Navy men had left.

Danny took a swig of his beer, then said, “When I started talking to them at the bar, a couple of the women came over. They were even more interested than our Navy friends.” He leaned toward Wes. “Man, if you play this right, you’re not going to have to sleep alone the whole time we’re here.”

“Danny,” Alison and Anna chided almost in unison.

“So not cool,” Tony said.

Wes shook his head. “Okay, I’ve had enough.”

He motioned for Dione and Alison to get out of his way, then scooted out of the booth.

“I’ll see you all in the morning.” He tossed Alison the keys to the Escape and started across the room.

“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean anything.…”

If Danny said anything more, Wes didn’t hear it.

He weaved through the crowd and headed for the door. As he pushed it open a voice called out, “Wes, hold up.”

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Tony moving around a small group of people standing just inside the entrance.

“Mind if I tag along?” Tony asked.

“Be my guest. But you’re missing free drinks.”

Tony let out a halfhearted laugh. “Sorry about the thing with those guys in the bar. That was all Danny.”

Wes smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I know how Danny is.”

“A deadly combination of harmless and clueless.”

Wes laughed. “Exactly right.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes, the whole time Wes sensing that Tony had something he wanted to say. Finally the production assistant worked up the nerve and asked, “You think we’ll have time to do a little training this trip?”

Over the past couple of assignments, Wes had been tutoring Tony on camera techniques during downtime. “I don’t see why not. That is, if you don’t drop the ball like you did today.”

“Drop the ball?” Tony looked confused.

“What is it I like to have in my hand when I’m drinking my coffee in the morning?”

Tony looked momentarily baffled, then he laughed to himself. “Poppy seed muffin.”

“And what was missing from my hand this morning?”

“A poppy seed muffin,” Tony said. “Sorry. Completely my fault.”

“You want to learn to be a good cameraman, then the first rule is take care of the one teaching you. I’d hate to forget some critical piece of information because I hadn’t had a proper breakfast.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will.”

Once Wes was back in his room at the motel, he lay in bed unable to sleep. At just after 11 p.m., someone knocked on the door.

“Just a minute,” he called out as he pulled on his jeans and T-shirt.

When he opened the door, he found Anna standing outside.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he replied, mellowing.

He pushed the door open wide enough so that she could slip in, then shut it behind her. A few seconds later they had their arms wrapped around each other and were in the middle of a deep, long kiss.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” Anna said when they finally pulled apart.

“I’ve been needing that all day.”

“What you’ve been needing is a slap upside the head,” she said. “I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you running toward the plane.”

“Don’t get all Dione on me,” he said.

She considered him for a moment. “Fine. But if that happens again, and I’m around, you’d better run the other way, or I will personally kill you.”

“I bet you would, wouldn’t you?”

At five foot four, she was a good half foot shorter than Wes. She arched her head upward and kissed him again, her long brown hair falling down her back. She then put her hand in his and led him toward the bed.

“Danny was right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re not going to sleep alone the whole time we’re here.”