Viper Team Seven (The Viper Team Seven Series Book 1) (8 page)

Thursday, March 13
^th
– 1100 hours

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Parks hurled the
last box into the bed of his truck. He pulled up the tail gate and looked at
all the boxes of gear he previously had in his office. It was amazing how he
had fit all that into one office. That was his specialty. He could fit a lot of
stuff in a small space. Parks secured the boxes by tying them together, and
then to the hooks on the inside of the truck bed. He used the spare rope he
always had in his truck, specifically for occasions like this. Parks always
tried to be prepared for the worst, and every now and then he’d be caught off
guard. But not today.

After making
sure his truck was locked, he walked back toward the building, saluting a lieutenant
colonel as he walked by. Parks opened the door, walked the long hall, turned
right into a short hall, walked down five doors, and then turned into his
office. He could walk that stretch blindfolded he’d done it so many times.

Once inside, he found the broom and dustpan, and swept the office clean.
There wasn’t much dirt on the floor, so he was done in a flash. He then stepped
back and looked over the office. It was completely renovated, clean, and good
to go. Satisfied with the job he’d done, Parks turned around and headed for
Johnson’s office to let him know that his office was in tip-top shape.

*          *          *

At 1400 on the
nose, the change of command ceremony began. Every one of Parks’ Marines was
present. Bravo Company was called to order by First Sergeant Bingham, just as
planned, and Parks was standing with his company, front and center. All two
hundred Marines of Company B stood at attention, their eyes staring directly
ahead. Everything was in order. The Marine narrator began the ceremony with the
proper formalities, and then he stated that, “At this time, Colonel Johnson
will award Major Parks with the Meritorious Service Medal.” Johnson walked up
to Parks and pinned on the red and white medal, then the two shook hands. Parks
knew that this was probably the last time he’d shake his friend’s hand or see
him for a long time. Maybe even forever. Colonel Johnson must have been
thinking the same thing because he clasped his left hand over both of theirs
and nodded his head in a way of showing his gratitude and farewell.

The colonel
turned and walked back to his position and then Parks knew it was time to say
farewell to his men. Taking in a long breath, he did an about-face and looked
directly into the eyes of the men he’d served with, fought with, and respected
more than any other unit he’d commanded. “Marines of Bravo Company,” he began. “It
gives me great honor to see this entire company in formation, one last time. It
reminds me how we have been through hard times, and daring situations, but we
have withstood all the blows dealt to us.”

Parks paused and
let his next heart-felt words come. “This company has discipline, courage,
respect, and the highest regard for our country, more so than any other unit
I’ve ever seen. It has been a true honor to command and fight alongside great
men like each and every one of you. But like all things, the time must come for
an ending. The time is here when your commander must leave, and a new commander
must step up and fill his place. I have every faith that all of you will give
the new commander everything you gave me.” Parks searched everyone’s face and
started to feel more than ever that he did not want to leave. “This nation has
been bettered by your unfailing service to her. Likewise, this Marine has been
bettered by your unfailing loyalty to him.”

Parks could feel
his heart pounding, but no one would ever guess by looking at his calm,
collected appearance. He still had a lot to say, but he didn’t know how to say
it in a way that would do this outstanding company justice. He tried his best.

“In every
Marine’s life, there is a unit, a place, a base, whatever it may be, that
stands out in his mind as being the best in his career. The unit that stands
out in my mind for being the greatest, is this company. Why? Because not only
does every individual here give their all for what they believe in, over and
above the call of duty – like every Marine in our great Corps does – but your
commitment, courage, and call to serve our country, is greater than any unit
I’ve seen. We all believe in keeping the United States a free land, and I have
seen all of you fight and risk your very being for that belief. I am touched by
your dedication.”

“As a final
statement to you, Bravo Company, I choose to wish all of you the most of God’s
blessings, and the greatest success in your careers as Marines. You all deserve
it. You are the finest bunch of Marines I have ever commanded.” Parks knew this
was it. “Semper Fi Marines.”

With that, Parks
did an about-face and waited for Captain Harrison to come out of the ranks and
stand next to him. As the captain came up to his position on Parks’ left, the
narrator introduced him by reading the change of command orders which stated that
Parks was being honorably relieved of command, and Harrison was being honorably
given command.

When the orders
were finished being read, First Sergeant Bingham walked back and retrieved the
company’s guidon and brought it to Parks. As he reached out and grasped the
pole, he felt a mixed sense of pride and sorrow. He felt like he belonged with these
Marines, not over at the Nation’s capital. If he had it his way he’d stay here
for the rest of his career. The pride he felt, however, was subduing the sorrow.
He felt proud that he had the chance to command these Marines. All of them were
true heroes, and he was honored to stand with them and say that he had fought
with them.

Parks and
Harrison both faced inboard with perfect timing. Loosening his grasp on the
flag, Parks extended it to his XO. The captain reached out and took command of
the flag while simultaneously taking command of Bravo Company. The two men faced
forward again and First Sergeant Bingham took the guidon from Harrison and
brought it back to its bearer.

The narrator
began to read the message from Colonel Johnson to Captain Harrison, in a clear
voice that rang throughout the entire parking lot. “Welcome aboard, Captain Joe
M. Harrison,” he read. “It is my honor to see Bravo Company’s commander change
from one good Marine to another good Marine. You have received this command
because of your excellence in service, and I know you will keep up the good
work in your new position. May the Lord bless you in your commanding endeavors.
Semper Fi Marine. Signed, Colonel Johnson, U.S.M.C.”

The narrator
looked up from the paper and then Parks and Harrison turned to face the
company. It was the captain’s time to speak and he began by saying how he was
looking forward to commanding them, and how he would lead them to the best of
his ability. Parks had every confidence that he would do his best and he would
succeed. As Johnson had put it, he was a “good Marine.”

When finished
with his speech, Harrison called out in a commanding voice, “First Sergeant, take
charge of the company, carry out the plan of the day.”

It seemed as
soon as the change of command ceremony had started, it ended. Everything was
done and official. The new commander of Bravo Company was Captain Harrison, and
Major Keith Parks was headed for Washington D.C.

Sunday, March 16
^th
– 0800 hours

Richmond, Virginia

Parks looked out
the window of his truck and yawned. He had been up since 0330 preparing for
this trip, and he was just now feeling the effects. He was stuck in a traffic
jam, and trying to stay awake, which was becoming a difficult task. The days
until departure had expired, and now he was heading for his new duty station. After
the change of command ceremony the evening had been filled with the movers packing
his belongings in boxes, as he tried to keep out last-minute, necessary items
for his trip and first few days in D.C. By the next evening, everything was
packed and put in the moving truck, which would arrive in D.C. about the same
time Parks would. Since he didn’t have a house yet, Parks planned on staying a
few nights in a hotel and putting his household belongings in storage until he
secured a place.

The only things
Parks had brought with him in his truck were his uniforms, a couple changes of
clothes, his toiletries, his firearms, and
Germ-X
. One thing he had in
the vehicle that he hoped he wouldn’t need was his personal protection sidearm,
a Colt .45 single action revolver, which was stashed in the glove box. Parks
was not about to take any chances while in and around the D.C. metropolitan
area. There was too much crime for comfort, and the only way to not be a victim
was to have a means of defense. For a strong Second Amendment supporter and
concealed carry permit holder like himself, that meant a pistol. He loved the
old-style revolvers and there wasn’t any other pistol he’d rather have with him
for defense than a Colt .45. The gun had been given to him for a birthday
present from his parents when he was still a young boy. From years of hard
practice, he had learned to shoot it accurately, and now, twenty years later,
his marksmanship skills could save his life.

The sun began to
rise higher in the sky, and his mind wandered to the future. He wondered what living
in D.C. would be like, how his new boss would act, and what his new job would
require him to do. Questions like that didn’t have answers yet, but they would
soon enough. Tomorrow, Monday the 17
^th
, he would report to the
National Security Advisor for duty, and then he’d have answers. It was evident
to Parks, however, that he was going to have to work on Saturdays, and maybe Sundays
too. This job was probably going to be more than a fulltime deal.

The golden
arches of McDonald’s passed by and invited him to breakfast. He had already
eaten this morning however, so he resisted the temptation and focused back on
the road. Again his mind wandered as he inched forward in the wall-to-wall
traffic jam. He thought of how much fighting had taken place in this state
during the Civil War, and how the Confederate States of America had made its capital right here in Richmond. It was hard to believe that about a hundred and
fifty years ago, the Nation had rebelled against itself.

He then thought
of the tragic day of September, 11
^th
2001. What a day it was. It had
shaken the U.S. like no other time in history. For years following, nothing had
ever made up for the attacks on the trade centers. Sure, there was the War on
Terrorism, which he’d taken part in, but the war had not been taken seriously
for many years. And then President Winnfield had taken office and everything changed.
The War on Terrorism was taken to a new level and victory was achieved in
record time. But in corners and caves, terrorism still lurked. The terrorists
just had to be more careful and they needed to cover their tracks even better
than previously done, but they were still alive. Nothing would ever completely
eliminate terrorism unless the root of the problem was eliminated from the
earth for good. The mindset of jihad was still taught and practiced, and would
be until it was finally destroyed. So far, no country had accomplished that
mission, but if any nation could do it, it would be the United States of America, and if any man could lead to that achievement, it’d be U.S. President Mark
Winnfield.

“What I’d give right now to have a donut,” Parks said aloud, knowing that
even though he was hungry, he could not go anywhere to eat because he’d run the
risk of not being able to get back on the road due to the intense traffic jam.
Instead, Parks grabbed his pocket-size
Germ-X
. He poured out a generous
amount and rubbed it in his hands. He was slightly addicted to using
Germ-X
.
It was so clean and fresh, so invigorating. Parks always had a bottle or two in
his pocket, vehicle, and house, always at the ready if he needed a hand cleansing,
which he usually did. “Extra
Germ-X
” certainly lived up to his nickname.

*          *          *

After about
seven hours of driving, he was worn out and ready for a nap, but he was
beginning to drive into the outskirts of D.C. He still needed to get deeper
into the city and find a hotel room. The rest of the day would be used for
house hunting and going to his rented storage unit so the moving crew could
unload his household goods there. Parks didn’t really want to do those things.
He wanted to go site seeing and enjoy the historic places in and around the
area. But first things first, and the first thing that needed to be done was to
find a hotel room and then a house. 

As he drove further
into the city, he scanned the area, trying to find a clean looking hotel. When
he finally decided to try a newer looking Holiday Inn Express, he pulled off
into the parking lot. As he did, seemingly a hundred horns blasted from behind
him, obviously upset that he slowed down to make the turn.

“You impatient
people,” Parks grumbled to himself. He was becoming frustrated with how thick
the traffic was and how everyone was in such a hurry. It most certainly was a
big change from Camp Lejeune, and he wasn’t liking that change much.

Parks got out of
the vehicle, slammed the door shut, and double-checked to make sure it was
locked. Satisfied that it was locked tighter than a drum, he went inside the
lobby. He walked up to the counter and saw that no one was there so he grabbed
a napkin from a pile that was folded nearby and with it, rang the little bell
that would signal his presence.

A lady in her
twenties came out from a back room and stared at him.

“I’d like a room
please,” Parks said after a few seconds of silence. “Do you have any?”

The lady nodded
her head and asked for the specifics of what he was looking for. After Parks
told her, she set him up with a second story room and handed him the card key. Reluctantly,
he grabbed the germy key and shoved it in his pocket.

“Thanks,” he acknowledged,
turning and walking toward his truck.

When he reached
his vehicle, he grabbed his suitcase and a few of his firearms, and headed for
the lobby again. Parks quickly walked up the staircase to the second floor and
turned right down the long hallway. When he found his room, he unlocked the
door and swung it open. Like most Holiday Inn Express hotels, the room was
large, well-furnished, and best of all, very clean.

Pleased with his
choice, Parks flung his suitcase on the cot in the corner and set his guns down
on the bed. Then he went back to his truck to grab the rest of his gear.

When everything
was in the hotel room, he locked the door and bolted the top, just to be sure
he was secure. Next, Parks did a thorough inspection of the room to make absolutely
positive everything was perfectly clean. To his great relief, it was, and now
he could relax.

Minutes later, Parks was sound asleep.

*          *          *

Parks jolted
awake. It took him a second to remember that he was in a hotel room in
Washington D.C., but when he did, his eyes shot over to the digital clock on the
nightstand. It was already 1300, and he was late.

Standing, he
tucked in his short-sleeve, light blue, collared,
Nike
shirt and made
sure he had his truck keys in his pocket. Rubbing his eyes, he walked out the
door, made sure it locked, and then headed for the staircase. He never took
elevators if he could help it. The buttons he had to press were so filthy, and
likewise some of the people that went in the elevator.

After descending
the stairs, Parks walked outside to the parking lot. Clouds were spread across
the sky, and rain was threatening to fall. It felt significantly cooler now
that the sun was hidden.

As he climbed into his truck and headed for the storage unit, he hoped that
the movers wouldn’t be there yet. They said they’d arrive at around 1300 to
unload all of his belongings, but Parks wanted to be there the minute they
were, just to oversee the ordeal.

*          *          *

Parks pulled his
truck up alongside his small storage unit. The moving truck was already there,
and the crew was about to unload. This was the last thing Parks wanted to do
right now but he knew he had to.

“Any specific
way you want us to put it in there?” the Hispanic mover asked as Parks walked
up to him.

Parks shook his
head. “Just throw it in there. Well, you might want to do it nicer than that,
but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah I got it.”

Raphael Ramos was
the leader of this moving crew, with fifteen years of experience to his credit.
Parks knew that he had done a good job getting Parks’ belongings into the truck
so he had no doubt that he’d do a good job getting them out of it.

“
Let’s get to
work,
” the mover commanded his crew.

Four other men
began to transfer the items to the inside of the storage unit as Ramos
supervised.

“You got a Coke
or something man?” Ramos asked Parks. “I haven’t had anything to drink since
three hours ago.”

Parks wasn’t
entirely sure if that statement was supposed to impress him or not, so he just
went to his truck and fished out a few bottles of soda that he’d bought
specifically for this occasion.

“Here you go,”
he said as he tossed Ramos a bottle. “You can tell your guys there’s more where
that came from.”

“Gracias señor.”

Parks set down
the remaining sodas and grabbed himself one. After taking a drink, he set it
down on his truck’s tailgate, and went to help with some of the heavy items.

After several
minutes, most of the heavy furniture was put away, but one large thing still
remained. “You up to giving me a hand with this?” Ramos wondered as he patted
Parks’ large, green gun safe. “It was pretty heavy going in if you remember.”

“I remember. It
only weighs about a thousand pounds though, and if your dolly wheel wouldn’t
have been flat it would have been much easier.”

Ramos quickly
defended himself. “Aye, I didn’t know the wheel had a leak in it until that
heavy thing got on the dolly. It wasn’t my fault. And if you remember, you were
the one who said we could still get it in the truck.”

Parks walked to
the safe and jammed a dolly underneath it. “I did say something like that,” he
admitted. “But it was the truth; we still did get it in here.”

Ramos mumbled
something to himself and then helped Parks carefully tilt the enormous object
back. He then began to push it off the ramp as Parks balanced it. Halfway down
the ramp, Ramos hit a groove in the metal which made the safe jolt to the right
and threaten to tip.

“Aye no!” Ramos
yelled, watching the safe begin to tip but not wanting to let go of the dolly,
fearing that would make the matter worse.

Parks leaped to
the right and slammed his shoulder against the safe, hoping to deter it from falling.
The safe would have fallen to the ground had Parks not done that, but it was still
heavy for him just to block it, and he wondered how long it would be until
someone came and helped him. Parks felt the safe begin to crush him and he
groaned as he struggled to keep his position.

Just in time,
one of the younger movers ran up and helped push it back straight on the dolly.
Parks wanted to take a breath but he knew he still had to help Ramos get the
safe into the storage unit. So without a word spoken, the three men pushed it
into the back corner and unloaded it there.

“Man you’re
strong,” Ramos told Parks, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Sorry about
that.”

“No, no, you’re
fine,” Parks confirmed, feeling like his bones had been crushed a bit. “Good job.”
Then he turned and walked to his truck so he could get a drink. Ramos copied
him.

Looking over at
the busy highway, Parks blindly grabbed the Coke that was resting on the
tailgate nearest him and took a drink.

“Hey señor, that’s
my Coke,” Ramos interjected.

Parks looked
over at the mover and half-smiled. “No it’s not. I set mine right here,” he
said, trying to convince himself that was the truth.

“No, I set mine
on the left side and you set yours on the right. The bottle you’re drinking
from now was sitting on the left side.”

Though Parks
hadn’t seen Ramos set his bottle down, he suddenly remembered that he had
indeed set his on the right side of the tailgate, and he stopped breathing at
that memory. His face turned sheet white. Without a warning, he keeled over and
started to gag. He felt like he wanted to vomit but he hoped he wouldn’t.

The shocked
Ramos came up and began patting him gently on the back. “Hey man, it’s only
backwash. I brushed my teeth, don’t worry.”

It only made
things worse. Parks was disgusted with what had just happened and he was now
beginning to freak out. He had no idea what germ-infested things were in the
bottle of Coke that he had drunk. And it wasn’t like Ramos looked like a clean
individual. He had a greasy head and he looked very unhygienic.

Finally Parks
regained his composure and straightened to a stand. He felt embarrassed for
having reacted in such a way but he couldn’t help it. Taking long breaths he
looked Ramos directly in the eye.