Strength of the Pack (22 page)

“Can they understand us in wolf form?” Lucas asked.

“Absolutely.” Noah looked at him like the answer should have been obvious.

“Good work, gentlemen,” Lucas told the wolves. It amused him that they both looked directly at him, ears forward. If it was possible for wolves to look pleased with themselves, these two did.

“Order them to shift back, sir,” Noah said.

Lucas lifted his brows in surprise. “Me?”

Noah smiled. “Why not?”

Glancing from wolf to wolf, Lucas said, “Your mission is complete, gents. Time to shift back.”

The two werewolves ran off in the direction they had come from.

“It’s still going to take them several minutes to calm down, but they need to be near their uniforms when they finally shift,” Noah explained.

Lucas chuckled. “That makes sense.” He sighed heavily. “Okay, Sergeant, let’s go round up the platoon and debrief. I want all after-action reports by the morning.”

“Yes, sir.” Noah turned on his heel and led the way.

Lucas glanced over his shoulder. Stanley was nowhere to be seen. He hoped the events of earlier were long forgotten in the pleasure of their combat victory.

U.S. Marine Corps Combat Post Toscano
Ghowr Province, Afghanistan

It was seven-hundred hours, and Lucas was losing the rest of the battalion in just an hour. They were on schedule for their departure at eight-hundred hours, and Lucas was dreading it.

He’d been up since zero-five, writing his after-action report and compiling the ones from his platoon. He’d emailed them to Captain Stanley right as Vince had showed up to drag his sorry ass to the mess for breakfast.

The two of them were still discussing the day’s duties as they exited the mess hall.

“Lieutenant Young!”

Lucas turned abruptly at the sound of his name shouted in an angry tone. Vince pulled up beside him. Bearing down on them were Captain Stanley and First Sergeant Ayala.

“Yes, sir?” Lucas’ heart leapt right into his throat. Both men’s expressions were thunderous.

“Lieutenant Young, I am hereby notifying you of my intent to impose Non-Judicial Punishment on you for your misconduct during yesterday’s siege of the Combat Post,” Stanley said with great formality.

Ayala appeared to be hiding a smirk.

“I beg your pardon, sir; I don’t understand.” Lucas suspected he knew what this was about, but he was still stunned that the captain would take it this far. “We took some enemy fire, which my platoon quickly and efficiently neutralized. There was no siege.”

“This is precisely the attitude that got you into trouble in the first place, Lieutenant,” Ayala said. He was actually speaking to Lucas as if they were of equal rank, and it chafed. “You’re being informed of your inappropriate behavior, and you’re arguing with your commanding officer.”

“What,
precisely
, did I do that warrants NJP, Captain?” Lucas struggled to keep his voice low.

He caught a slight movement, just over Ayala’s shoulder. The brief flare of anger and encouragement told him it was Noah. He was probably responding to Lucas’ anger and distress. Lucas didn’t dare look at him.

Stanley was red faced. “Yesterday, during the siege, I ordered you to take a specific course of action. You refused that order. As a result, I am charging you with insubordination and dereliction of duty. You’ll receive a reduction in rank and pay, as well as forfeit a month’s wages.”

Rage flared hotly in Lucas’ chest. He knew it was his own, but Noah’s outrage was hovering in the background as well. From the corner of his eye, Lucas saw Madison approach and begin a conversation with Noah.

Lucas focused again on his company commander. First, the man was NJP’ing him for disregarding an
unlawful
order. Second, he was bypassing all legal protocol for the handling of discipline. He and Ayala apparently thought Lucas was stupid and wouldn’t fight back.

“Before you impose any punishment, you have to provide your documentation of evidence,” Lucas replied. “You are required to inform me of my rights, which you have not done. I am also entitled to a hearing before punishment is imposed, sir.”

Stanley gaped at him. Ayala’s face was now bright red as well.

“I’ll await notification of when my hearing is scheduled, Captain. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Lucas stepped around both men, Vince right on his six. He barely managed to keep himself in check as he slowly walked to where Noah and Tim had watched the entire drama unfold.

“What the fuck is going on, Lucas?” Noah demanded, his voice low and angry.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Vince answered. “The captain is going to NJP the LT for refusing an order yesterday.”

“You’re fucking kidding me?” Madison demanded. “That wasn’t an order he had the authority to give. You can’t be disciplined for refusing it.”

“This is the ‘nothing’ I asked you about yesterday, isn’t it?” Noah asked.

“I thought it was nothing at the time,” Lucas replied.

Vince interjected. “He tried to impose punishment without a hearing.”

“Christ.” Madison rolled his eyes. “This guy’s not fit to command the two of you. Listen to me, Lucas. You have to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Santos before the battalion pulls out.”

Lucas shook his head emphatically. “I won’t compound this by violating the chain of command. I’ll deal with it at the hearing.”

“Which will be a kangaroo court without someone to intervene,” Noah said.

“The two of you are entirely too valuable to the Corps for them to chance leaving you in the command of someone as inept as Stanley,” insisted Tim. “You need to tell Santos what’s going on. Don’t make it about you being NJP’d. Emphasize the fact that you were ordered to force the True Alpha to call the Pack so they could be used as cannon fodder.”

A chill ran the length of Lucas’ spine as he thought of Noah, injured or killed in combat. He’d be damned if he was going to let that happen. Their jobs were dangerous enough; Lucas wasn’t going to let his company commander make it even more so.

“What can the lieutenant colonel do?” Vince asked suddenly. “Won’t it just be the LT’s word against the captain’s?”

“No, it won’t.” Tim replied, smiling like a shark. “I was there.”

“Well, thank Christ for that,” Vince sighed.

“More importantly, Noah and Lucas are going to form a united front,” Madison continued.

“We already are,” Noah replied firmly.

Lucas’ stomach tightened pleasantly. “What does Sergeant Hammond have to do with this?”

“The two of you are going to tell Santos that Stanley is a threat to the entire Pack, as well as to the two of you and your pairing,” Tim explained.

“Why would that even work?” Lucas demanded.

“Just trust me.” Madison nearly pleaded. “You have to get to the lieutenant colonel now. Before the battalion pulls out. Noah and I have your back, but you have to be the one to get us in front of Santos. You have something he needs, Lucas. Don’t forget that. Use whatever this thing is between Hammond and you to your advantage.”

Lucas took a deep breath as he considered Tim’s words. He looked at Noah and found him already watching Lucas. He knew that Noah would back his play. When he focused, Lucas could also tell that Noah wanted him to do this. He was as convinced as Madison that this was the right move.

“Vince, make yourself scarce,” Lucas ordered, wanting the Gunny out of the line of fire if this went the wrong way.

“Yes, sir.” Vince strode away purposefully.

Lucas led Noah and Tim into the main building. The offices that the battalion was vacating were bustling with activity as everyone prepared to step off in less than thirty mikes. He approached the Second Lieutenant who was functioning as the Lieutenant Colonel’s Administrative Aide.

“Please tell Lieutenant Colonel Santos that Lieutenant Young needs to speak with him before he departs,” Lucas said.

“There’s no time, Lieutenant. We’re pulling out in less than thirty,” the young officer replied.

“I’m aware of that,” Lucas managed to keep his voice steady. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t urgent. Please advise him that I’m here on Pack business.”

The lieutenant looked unsure. Stepping off was obviously the priority, but what Tim had said about the importance of the werewolf pack seemed to be panning out.

“One moment, sir.” The second lieutenant ducked quickly into the lieutenant colonel’s small office.

Santos appeared in the doorway almost immediately and waved Lucas and the others inside.

“Is something wrong, Lieutenant?” he asked impatiently.

“Very wrong, Lieutenant Colonel, sir,” Lucas replied firmly. “I’m afraid my company commander is going to get Sergeant Hammond and the other werewolves killed.”

Santos’ eyes narrowed. “That is a mighty serious accusation, Lieutenant. I trust you have something to back it up.”

“Yesterday, while we were taking enemy fire, Captain Stanley ordered me to require Sergeant Hammond to call the Pack in order to neutralize the situation,” Lucas replied succinctly. “Sergeant Hammond already had two werewolves coordinating with human heavy weapons gunners when this order was issued. Enemy fire was already diminishing.”

“Obviously you did not follow this order, Lieutenant,” Santos said.

“I did not, sir. To do so would have violated the trust between Sergeant Hammond, his Pack and myself.” Lucas paused. “As a result, today Captain Stanley informed me that I was being NJP’d for insubordination and dereliction of duty. He attempted to impose punishment without a hearing, sir.”

Santos’ gaze shifted to Noah and Tim. “Did the two of you witness these incidents?”

“I did, Lieutenant Colonel, sir,” Madison answered.

“Sergeant Hammond?” Santos prompted.

“During the incident itself, Lieutenant Young’s distress was strong enough to distract me from my duties as a Marine, sir,” was Noah’s reply.

Santos’ jaw clenched. “Lieutenant Keller,” he called loudly. When his aide entered the office, he said, “Have Captain Stanley report to me, immediately.” The aide left on his errand and the Lieutenant Colonel turned back to Tim. “Captain Madison, how are you finding the accommodations here at the post?”

Tim looked as confused as Lucas felt. “They’re adequate, sir. But I’m a Marine. I make do.”

“Lieutenant Young,” Santos faced Lucas, “has Captain Madison been helpful in providing information and instruction on being platoon commander to a pack of werewolves?”

“He has, sir. Immensely so,” Lucas answered. “I’ll be sorry to lose him when the battalion steps off.”

“Maybe you won’t have to,” Santos replied enigmatically.

Stanley and Ayala appeared in the doorway. “You asked to see me, sir?” The captain’s eyes darted around the room then back to the lieutenant colonel. The first sergeant just looked nervous.

“Lieutenant Young, was First Sergeant Ayala present during yesterday’s incident?” Santos asked.

Lucas kept his eyes on the lieutenant colonel, not daring to glance at Stanley. “No, sir, only Captain Madison.”

“Ayala, you’re dismissed,” Santos ordered.

Both Stanley and Ayala looked like they wanted to argue before realizing who they were addressing. Ayala left silently.

“Captain Stanley, do you deny ordering Lieutenant Young to force Sergeant Hammond to make his entire Pack shift?” Santos demanded.

“No, sir.” Stanley didn’t look entirely sure.

“You’re aware that ordering an entire Pack to shift in a situation where human resources are adequate to deal with it is a violation of the USCMJ, correct?” asked the lieutenant colonel.

The captain appeared nervous. “Lieutenant Colonel, the combat post was under siege.”

Santos’ expression darkened. “Captain, if that skirmish was your idea of a siege, you won’t be able to handle a real one when it finally comes.”

This pronouncement left Stanley looking stunned and confused.

Lieutenant Colonel Santos turned to face Tim. “Captain Madison, I know you’ve built a solid relationship with Echo Company, but I need you to take over Fox. You’ve got the most knowledge and training regarding the werewolves. Lieutenant Young needs you as a resource.”

“Yes, sir.” Tim replied.

Lucas was speechless. He’d anticipated that he and the Pack would be reassigned outside of Fox. He hadn’t anticipated Tim being torn from his command.

“Sergeant Hammond,” Santos said. “Do you approve of Captain Madison taking command of Fox Company?”

“I do, sir,” Noah answered easily. “He’s helpful to the lieutenant and doesn’t cause him any distress that distracts the wolves from their duties. He’s a solid Marine, sir, and a good officer.”

Lucas knew those last two items were the greatest praise Noah would ever offer up.

Santos turned back to Stanley. “You and I, Captain, are going to have a very long talk about the implementation of punishment without the proper process. Gentlemen,” he said to the three of them. “You’re dismissed.”