Lean on Me (35 page)

“
These bunks weren’t made
for people my size,” White Boy said. “Fatties, yes. If you’re fat,
this is perfect for you. But me? It sucks. Too wide; too tall; too
big.”

Leena chuckled and lay back against her
bunk. They were staying on the ship tonight to talk to a flight
crew due in the morning. According to the Captain, the flight crew
had dropped off a team of Marines for one of these missions. Zack
and Cliff were flying in to talk to the pilots early tomorrow.
Leena sighed.

“
Will you be offended if I
sleep on the floor?” White Boy asked.

“
Offended? No.”

“
No leering,” White Boy
said.

White Boy got out of the bunk above her. She
hooted at him as he passed on the ladder.

“
Very funny.” He reached up
to grab his pillow and blanket above her. “Why aren’t you asleep? I
thought being on a ship was
amazing
. Your
favorite
place in the
world
. And crap like
that.”

“
I thought so too,” Leena
said.

“
Oh.” White Boy threw his
pillow and blanket on the floor. “Sorry.”

“
It’s my first time on a
ship since the
Comfort
,” Leena said. “I keep thinking about what happened, you know,
when I was in the box? And the way the guys looked at me? Everyone
knows. Did you see that weirdo who kept trying to get to us? I
didn’t realize it but everyone knows. Fuck.”

She hit the bunk above her. White Boy lay on
the floor.

“
You want to know what I
saw?” he asked. “Or you want me to just listen? I never know the
difference, so I usually ask.”

Leena didn’t respond.

“
I’ll just listen,” White
Boy said.

Leena hit the bunk again.

“
I still did the wrong
thing?” he asked.

“
No,” Leena said. “I’m
upset.”

“
Oh.”

They fell silent for a moment. White Boy
stretched to his full length. He rolled over to fall asleep when he
heard Leena crying.

“
Hey,” White Boy sat up.
“Are you crying?”

“
Uh huh.”

“
You wanna come down here
and sleep with me?” he asked.

She didn’t respond. He could hear her crying
in the bunk above him.

“
That’s what my Yvonne does
when she feels upset,” he said. “I won’t try anything; I know
you’re gay and stuff. I mean I don’t care that you’re gay and
stuff. And you don’t have to tell me and I won’t ask. Plus, we’re
teammates and that’s against the rules and Alex would kill me.
Trust me, she’s more than willing to kill me; maybe Trece first.
Yeah, she’d kill Trece first but I’m definitely second.”

Leena continued to cry.

“
My Yvonne went through
some stuff like you did. She gets all upset and can’t reason and
stuff. She likes to be held for a while.”

“
Yvonne went through…
stuff?”

“
You’ve met my Yvonne,
right?” White Boy asked. “She’s tiny. She was easy prey in junior
high and high school. She had a shitty family and a bad time with
her mom’s brothers. She was like a bird when I met her – very
jumpy. Like you get sometimes. She’s better now. Hey, maybe that’s
why Alex always asks me to guard you.”

“
She is?”

“
Who is?”

“
Yvonne. She’s
better?”

“
She’s better,” he said.
“Her life is stable and secure. She’s in control at our house.
Plus, knowing Luz, you know Trece’s wife, she learned to be tough.
Of course, Alex talked her into getting a black belt in karate and
I bought her a handgun. That’s what she tells me: ‘Don’t fuck with
me, Blanco. I can kick your ass and shoot you when you’re
down.’”

She had no idea if it was true, but the idea
of tiny Yvonne holding her own with her giant bodybuilder husband
made Leena chuckle.

“
Very funny,” White Boy
said. “Wait ‘til she threatens you!”

Leena laughed at him. He chuckled. Leena
climbed out of her bunk, grabbed her blankets and joined White Boy
on the floor. She lay next to him until he tugged her over to him.
She rested her head on his shoulder.

“
This is nice,” Leena said.
“I’ve seen the LC do this with the Rasmussen. Vince says it’s not
sexual. I didn’t believe him.”

“
When you’ve been through a
lot of shit, another warm body next to you in the dark can be real
comfort,” White Boy said.

“
Real comfort. Yeah,” Leena
said. “Almost makes me think about switching sides.”

“
Sides? You mean not be gay
anymore?” White Boy asked. “Why would you do that?”

“
No idea.”

White Boy snorted a laugh.

“
All right,” Leena said.
“Lay it on me. What did you see?”

“
I saw people totally
jealous of you,” White Boy said. “They were like, ‘She’s a Mineman?
She’s like me? And she gets to work with the Fey?’ I know you had a
rough time, but you’re a rock star now. Everyone wants to work with
the Fey. Seriously.”

“
Why?”

“
Look at our life from the
outside,” White Boy said. “We are on active-duty pay and off-base
pay. We know our kids and our kids know us because we’re home a
lot. We travel the world when we want to, where we want to. We
don’t have to go some place to kill random people on someone’s
random order. We actually get to save soldiers and help other
people. I mean, I could go on and on. That’s not to mention just
the star factor. Alex is the shit. You’ll see. People fall over
themselves when she’s around. Zack too.”

“
Like a rock
star.”

“
Right,” White Boy said.
“You know how we couldn’t keep Alex safe at Walter Reed,
right?”

Leena nodded against his shoulder.

“
That’s because no human
being or fleet of human beings can sort out the fans from the
crazies,” White Boy said. “That’s why the team is so distant. Sheer
numbers of fans. Easier just to keep everyone away.”

“
You don’t think they
know?” Leena asked. “You know about me being held in that box and…
everything.”

“
If they do, it gives you
serious tough gal stripes,” White Boy said. “Most people would
snivel away to hide in a corner. You’re here, ready to work, ready
to ask tough questions, and ready to find lost soldiers. That makes
you just that much cooler.”

“
Oh,” Leena
said.

“
Didn’t think of
it?”

“
No.”

“
Sometimes it takes an
idiot to reveal your own idiocy,” White Boy said.

“
Yvonne?” Leena
asked.

“
Alex’s sister Samantha,”
White Boy chuckled.

“
Gorgeous woman. Wicked
tongue.”

“
She’s been hurt bad,”
White Boy said. “I think you pretty girls suffer more. You’re
tempting. Everyone wants something from you.”

“
From me?”

“
Oh don’t even pretend,”
White Boy said. “I know you’re gorgeous. You know you’re
gorgeous.”

“
Thanks, I
guess.”

“
You want me to find the
guy you think is weird? Have a talk with him?”

“
Would you?”

“
First thing,” White Boy
said. “And don’t worry. If anyone gets past the lock on the door,
all of our belongings, and whatever other booby trap you set, I’ll
kill them.”

“
You will?”

“
Sure,” White Boy said.
“I’m not Alex. I’m a soldier. I kill people.”

“
Somehow, that’s
comforting.”

“
It is for Yvonne too,”
White Boy said. “I think that’s weird, but she’s female
and…”

He shrugged.

“
Everything female is
weird?”

“
Do
not
tell Alex I said that,” White Boy
said.

“
My lips are sealed,” Leena
said.

“
Sleep?” White Boy
asked.

“
You mind if I stay here?”
Leena asked.

“
Nah,” White Boy said. “I
fart when I sleep.”

“
Loud or
stinky?”

“
Both. It’s the
diet.”

“
Good to know.”

White Boy was sound asleep before Leena
relaxed. As she’d learned in therapy, she went back through the day
and all the interactions. Viewing events through his lens, she saw
how people were nervous and excited to meet them. She nodded
slightly. He was right.

“
Thanks,” she
whispered.

He farted and she smiled.

FFFFFF

Seven hours later

Wednesday morning

November 4 – 7:11 a.m. EST (4:11 a.m.
PST)

Over the Atlantic Ocean

Alex felt the bed jerk, then jerk again.
Reaching her hand out for Max, she found herself alone on a
litter.

“
She’s coming around,”
Vince said.

“
Vince? Where’s Max?” Tears
fell down her face. Not quite conscious, and in tremendous pain,
she began to sob. “What happened to Max?”

Vince sat down on the litter. She felt him
rub her upper back.

“
Max is alive,” Vince said.
“Nothing happened to Max.”

“
He has to be dead or he
would be here. Where’s Max?”

“
He asked me to give this
to you,” Vince said. “I’m going to put some ear buds
in.”

“
But Vince, where’s Max?”
Alex’s face was a mask of deep sorrow.

“
He had to leave,” Vince
said. “Remember, we went through this a few times at Walter
Reed.”

“
Walter Reed?” her big
brown eyes blinked at him. “I was at Walter Reed. You were at
Walter Reed. But Max couldn’t be there all the time
and
be a partner at his
law firm. I made him go home. John too. But I didn’t make Max go
anywhere this time. Tell me, Vince. You have to tell me. Is Max
dead?”

“
No,” Vince leaned down so
his face was close to hers. “I’d never lie to you.”

Her hand touched his face. He nodded his
sincerity.

“
Listen to your heart,
Alex,” Vince whispered. His voice was kind but firm. “If something
was wrong with Max, you’d know.”

“
I don’t want to live
without Max,” Alex said.

“
Let’s hope to God you
never have to,” Vince’s hand caressed her head. “Listen to your
heart. Close your eyes and listen.”

Alex closed her eyes and focused on the
place Max lived inside her. Her hand went to her heart.

“
He’s sad too. Misses me
too,” Alex said. “He’s at our apartment in Washington.”

“
Alive?”

“
Alive.” Her face still wet
with tears, Alex smiled. “I’ll listen.”

Vince stuck the ear buds in her ears and
turned on the iPod.

“
Alex.” Alex sighed at the
sound of Max’s voice. She closed her eyes and rested against the
litter. “A sailor broke into Leena and White Boy’s room last night.
White Boy told the sailor to give one reason why he should let the
sailor live. The sailor said he knew where a SEAL team was when
they were captured. That’s why he was trying to talk to them
yesterday. Leena thought he wanted to get to her. She’s still a
little paranoid. He wanted to tell someone but wasn’t sure who. He
told his command and they said to hold onto the information until
he could find someone trustworthy to tell.”

“
Trustworthy?” Alex
whispered.

“
Right. The trust is worse
than we thought,” Max’s voice continued on the recording. “He has a
friend on the team. They went to basic together. After the flight
crew dropped the team, the SEAL checked in every day by phone. I
guess they’re in the same fantasy football league. The SEAL told
his friend that they would be out of pocket for two days. The
sailor was to watch his fantasy football team. Because they talked
on the phone, the sailor was able to track the signals. He has a
good idea of where the team was when he talked to his friend. The
sailor is a navigator so he was able to project a two-day
journey.

“
The sailor thinks they’re
on a Somalian pirate ship.”

“
Oh fuck,” Alex jerked to
full alert. She sat up in her litter and gasped in pain. She fell
back to the bed.

“
Joseph said you had some
agreement with the pirates or at least the ship he thinks the men
are on. Trece and Vince packed you up for travel,” Max said. “They
picked up a SEAL team at Norfolk; some of the guys you met when you
went to the island. You’re on a plane to Bahrain.

“
MJ was at Fort Bragg. He
was able to get to you before you left. He has instructions from
the doctor. You’re not supposed to walk for at least a day,” Max
said. “The doc was able to do a lot and believes that in a week or
so, you’ll be pain-free; at least for a while; years maybe. But
today and tomorrow are going to be rough.

“
I know you want to plan on
the plane, look at the men who are lost, and get ready. But you
need to sleep. When you’re done listening to this, MJ will put you
out again. You’ll be in better shape when you get to
Bahrain.”