by Dave Hazel
“I agree. I know that place changed me. I need to go back there Myk. You need to--”
There was a sudden knock on the door. The door opened before Boris went to answer it. Captain Roberts had been allowed into the room by the on-duty dorm monitor, who had to have been ordered to open the door. “I thought I would find you here,” he said and smiled happily to Mykal. William acted as if he had no regard for the fact that he violated Boris’s privacy.
“If a way does come up to go back, please let me know,” Boris begged as if Captain Roberts hadn’t appeared. “I don’t wanna stay here anymore. You gotta promise me.”
“If something comes up I promise I’ll let you know. Don’t count on it, cuz I don’t want your hopes crushed buddy.”
Captain Roberts looked surprised by the conversation he stumbled upon and was glad he told the dorm monitor to just open the room door. He seemed more than just mildly interested.
“I need your help to go back Myk,” Boris repeated out of his drunken desperation and didn’t seem to care that the privacy of his room, his own little world, was invaded when William barged in before permission had been granted to enter. “You can help me.”
“Look Boris, I wish I could. Towbar would give anything to be able to go back to his world. But there is no way to go back unless we stumble upon the green fog again,” he sighed.
“Is there a way back to Towbar’s world?” William inserted himself into the conversation. He tried to mask his excitement.
“No. If there is a way, we don’t know about it,” Mykal answered. Mykal gave William a perturbed glare. William heard him say countless times publicly there was no way to return to Towbar’s world. William had been with Mykal every step of his whirlwind tour.
“I would like to go. Out of curiosity,” Captain Roberts explained, but he didn’t sound genuine.
“You’d run the risk of getting killed or getting stuck there for the rest of your life,” Mykal replied as if William hadn’t thought it through.
“I would be willing to take that chance.”
“Me too,” Boris said and flopped lifelessly on his bed. His bottle dropped harmlessly to the floor.
“Boris, are you gonna go to sleep now?” Mykal asked and picked up the near empty bottle to set it on the lamp stand.
“I can’t. I gotta get up and get to work,” his muffled, slurred, voice barely escaped the pillow his face buried into.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll let them know you’re not going in today. You sleep it off and I’ll talk to ya later. After you get up and get cleaned up. I want you to come to dinner with me and Pam tonight, alright?”
A muffled snore escaped the pillow. Boris passed out.
“He’s out cold,” William said and looked around Boris’s room. An arrogant smirk of disgust formed on his face that rubbed Mykal the wrong way. “I don’t understand how they live like this.”
Mykal bit his lip and wanted to erupt. William just took a degrading shot at one of his best friends. “Let’s go. Wha’d you want me for?”
“I need you to come with me. You need to sign some papers. I need you to say yea or nay on some personal appearances for next week. I thought this would have wound down some time ago, but I can honestly say we haven’t even peaked yet,” William said and smiled happily like a rock star’s manager whose hits keep climbing the charts. “The General is excited that the next leg is to take this tour around the world. The buzz generated thus far is unbelievable.”
“Well I don’t wanna talk about it,” Mykal’s mood changed as they left the dorm room. “I’m getting sick of all this shit,” he grumbled. “I want my life back.”
William smiled. “We’ll talk about all that in time. For the immediate future what we need to do is…”
2.
“Come on Myk, give a little more of yourself,” William begged with a ring of disappointment to his words.
“Look, damn it, I just gave you eight non-stop weeks of my life. Not one damn break. Just the way you friggin people wanted it. I didn’t complain at all. I did every friggin TV show, every radio show and public appearance several times a damn day. I did every damn interview you set up and I didn’t complain once, even when they were back to back. I’ve met fifty million people and had to shake hands and do autographs for hours on end. I never complained. Not once! Now, I wanna spend some time with my family. I give and give and give, and it’s never enough. All you want is more,” Mykal raised his voice showing his heated anger. He didn’t care that he disrespectfully addressed an officer, a captain, in the United States Air Force. His anger had reached the breaking point. “And now you want me to zip around the world like my family doesn’t even exist. I’m getting pissed off. I mean really pissed off, damn it.”
“Sergeant Graves, remember who you’re speaking to,” William reminded him. He looked around to see if others could hear him.
“Right now I don’t give a shit. I’m gonna blow my friggin top,” he raised his voice and stood up throwing his chair backward. “You friggin lied to me,” he snarled with a hateful glare and pointed a threatening finger in the direction of William’s face.
Captain Roberts jerked in shocked surprise. “Do I need to call the SPs? That constitutes a threat.” William nodded to the tip of Mykal’s finger.
“I don’t care,” he snarled again. “You wanna lock me up? After all I’ve done for you? Go for it,” he angrily called William’s bluff. “And I promise you I’ll be done for good, and I’ll make sure Towbar is done for good too. Do you wanna go back and explain that to General Jefferson and the rest of ‘the Crowns’?”
‘The Crowns’ was the pet nickname and inside joke Mykal came up with, to William, for the Generals and any higher ranking personnel who had a part in the media whirlwind that controlled Mykal’s life.
“Let’s calm down Myk.” William said and raised his hands. “What’s wrong?”
“No! I’m not gonna calm down. I’m tired of being jerked around and lied to. I don’t care what your rank is. I wanna spend time with my family,” he said sharply with a raised voice and slammed his fist onto the table top.”
William rose and backed away to ensure he stood far enough from Mykal’s reach should Mykal lash out. “Okay, okay. We’ll take a break,” he suggested and looked surprised at this side of Mykal. “Let’s calm down before things are said or things happen that we can’t un-do. Okay? Come on Myk, take a seat and let’s talk. I would never do anything to cause you any harm and you know that. Come on, please, sit,” William offered with his extended hand when he sat back down.
*******
William knew he couldn’t allow ‘Mykal and Towbar’, the ‘golden goose’, to walk away. He would be blamed by the Crowns since it’s his responsibility to ensure their compliance and participation with the heavy demands of the media blitz. William knew he should have been careful about allowing their friendship to develop during the wild touring schedule. He blamed himself for Mykal’s lack of respect toward him.
*******
Mykal joined him and sat. “Now, I’m telling you what I want,” he demanded firmly. “I want two weeks undisturbed time to be with my wife and kids. Two weeks minimum! Thanksgiving is coming up on the 24th and I wanna spend time with my family. That means no phones, no letters, no nothing,” he emphasized by jabbing his index finger onto the table top. “I want this damn schedule to ease up so I can have a little time to myself,” he repeated and emphasized his point with his hostile tone. “If you don’t give me what I want then I’ll say screw you, screw them, screw the Air Force, screw all of it,” he growled while clenching his fists tightly.
“Okay, we’ll work through some of this,” William offered to cool the heated situation. “Try to keep in mind the fires are hot,” he added with excitement. “The people are eager to get close to, and get a piece of, Mykal and Towbar. So it’s not just for the Crowns. It’s for the public. The people love you and Towbar and they have grown to love your story. This is giving the peopl
e what they want, not what I want.”
“Right now I really don’t give a shit cuz I’m tired of being lied to. I’m tired of being jerked around like some little freakin’ monkey boy,” his voice hissed and he slammed his fist on the table top.
“Don’t take this attitude Myk,” William warned calmly and looked around to ensure others didn’t see Mykal’s display of disrespect.
“No, don’t you take this attitude,” he paused to show he was drawing a line in the sand. “I mean it. Don’t you push me,” he threatened.
“You made your point,” William humbly dipped his head to passively relax the situation. “Now explain to me what’s going on. Why the sudden outburst? What got you so angry?’”
“I’m pissed off.”
“Okay. I clearly see that. What brought this about?” He probed. William felt confident he could pacify Mykal and then mend the problem, thus keep their military ‘gold mine’ pumping out great PR for the Air Force.
“You told me you were my friend. You told me it was ‘They and Them’, the Crowns, who was pushing you to get me to keep up with this dog and pony show or else.”
“I am your friend,” he exclaimed with surprise.
“The hell you are. You are the ‘They and Them’, the friggin Crowns, who has been riding my ass this whole time. You never sent out any of those letters I wrote, did you?” He queried catching William off guard. He watched William’s response closely for lies.
William twitched and his eyes widened as if he had been caught doing something wrong. “Er, ah, um, well yes. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would you ask that?” He asked and his face reddened.
“I’m done! We’ll talk later. Cuz I’m gonna lose my damn cool. You just friggin lied to me again.” Mykal said and stood to leave. In his anger he was tempted to walk out and never return. He wanted to confront William about the letters William was supposed to have sent for him. Mykal wanted to know about the letters and phone calls he should have received but never got them. Mykal needed to do some thinking. He knew responding to these issues in anger might result in him breaking his unwritten contract. If he ended his arrangement with William and the Generals he didn’t know how it would impact his life. He feared the Crowns would play “extreme hardball” with him.
The Generals knew the house he moved into had been given to him as a gift, though on paper he rented from his in-laws. They knew all three of the brand new 1984 vehicles; a Cadillac Fleetwood, Chrysler New Yorker, and Toyota Celica Supra for Pamela, had all been given to Mykal. All the appliances and furnishings for the house; given to them because of his sudden fame and rise to stardom. As an active duty military serviceman, Mykal knew he couldn’t legally accept such gifts. They could nail him to the wall for a host of other gifts and cash gifts he took.
“Alright, we’ll talk later. We’ll get everything sorted out. You’ll see,” William extended his hand to shake but Mykal walked past him refusing to shake. “I’ll call you tonight Myk,” William said but Mykal ignored him.
Mykal put his parka on and walked out of the building. The blinding bright sun forced him to squint. It always amazed him how bright and sunny it could be and at the same time be bitterly cold. Three airmen approached him and though he was in civilian clothes they recognized him. They proudly saluted him though salutes were required for officers in uniform only.
“How you guys doing?” He smiled as a blast of cold North Dakota air hit him in the face.
“Great. How about you Sergeant Graves?” One of them replied. “I love your story man.”
“Everyone does,” another added. “It’s like we know you Mykal. Keep up the good work.”
“Myk, you’re making us proud to be in the Air Force,” the third said. “Is there any chance of ever going back? We’d like to come along and help finish off the Sosos.”
Mykal couldn’t keep from laughing. It seemed like he heard similar questions hundreds of times a day. “Thanks guys, there’s no way of ever going back,” he replied with a friendly smile. “At least not that we know of. I really appreciate your offer to go there, but I’m not sure I’d ever go back even if we had a chance to return.”
“We respect that,” the first said as they continued to the building Mykal exited. “Really Myk, you make us proud to be airmen.”
“I appreciate that, guys. I really do.” Mykal got into his Cadillac and his anger over William’s lies returned. He had spent the past half hour with William arguing over his schedule and upcoming plans that the Crowns had for him. ‘I’m tired of being away from my family,’ he thought as added fuel for his anger at William. ‘Phone calls in the middle of the night to Pam just ain’t cutting it. I miss her and I miss my two lil’ buddies.’
“The fact is, ‘They’ don’t understand or ‘They’ just don’t give a shit,” he said out loud while starting his Cadillac. His smile broadened at the thought of Pam waiting patiently for him. Pam knew and understood that life for them and the kids would be better in the long run. Pam didn’t care that he became a national hero and people all over the country wanted him for public appearances and wanted his attention. Mykal warmed all over inside with gratitude for having a wife who understood that this was not his doing. ‘I really love her and I gotta make sure she sees that I do,’ he thought joyfully. ‘I gotta have a few days to clear my head with just me, Pam and the boys.’
His emotions did a sudden 180 degree turn. ‘Man, I’m friggin pissed,’ he fumed while waiting for the heater to change the air inside the roomy luxury car. ‘I’ve done back flips for these damn people, and now I find out that William and the Crowns, are trying to cut off all my ties to my friends and the others from Towbar’s world.’ Mykal’s closest friend next to Towbar would be Boris and now it seems Boris was about to hit rock bottom in his life. He hated to see Boris in his drunken self-loathing condition, especially since William and or the Crowns, made it appear Mykal turned his back on his friend. “So many damn fires to put out,” Mykal said out loud. He exaggerated a sigh and shook his head. “So many friggin people to satisfy.”
After talking with Boris, Mykal would have to do some damage control with those who are jealous of his rise in fame and popularity. He understood their jealousy. He seemed to get all the breaks, seemed to be doing well financially, materially and socially. Even some officers and higher ranking NCOs had no shame in being star struck and mesmerized in his presence. The media built him and Towbar up to rock star status. The other returnees all felt like discarded trash. He would also have to fix the problem between him and William. First priority was to help get Boris out of the miserable condition he was stuck living in.
Sitting in his brand new Fleetwood waiting for it to warm up, Mykal felt guilty. To others he seemed to be living the rock star life, but he didn’t want all that had been thrust upon him. He only wanted to be a homebody to enjoy his lovely wife Pam and his two precious little boys. If the jealousy and resentment of the others grew, Mykal knew it could really turn ugly for him if some of the hidden dark truths of Towbar’s world came to light. He had to come up with ways to appease those who felt slighted.
‘I’ll have to deal with it later. Gotta focus on Colonel Parker right now.’ Driving across the base Mykal rehearsed some of the things he wanted to tell Colonel Parker. ‘If it comes down to it and he wants to be a prick about it I’ll threaten him with my friends General Jefferson and General Solley to make him change his mind about Boris. What is so damn hard about moving the poor guy to a different Squadron and giving him a real job?’
His primary objective with Parker was to change Boris’s situation so Boris doesn’t drink himself to death. ‘Boris deserves a decent job rather than the odd jobs the “goons” are stuck doing.’ Goons are the people given menial tasks to keep them busy until separation from the Air Force. Goons are usually ‘problem children’ on the way out with weeks to go.
Mykal heard a siren and looked in the rear view mirror to see a Law Enforcement vehicle speeding up to
him with red lights flashing. “Damn it,” Mykal yelled. He slapped his steering wheel and quickly pulled over. “They’re screwing with me already. That friggin William!”
Two Law Enforcement vehicles, military police cars, rushed past him creating a sense of relief. ‘I guess William didn’t call LEs on me. Yet!’ Mykal laughed at himself. ‘I’m starting to get a little paranoid,’ he mused and looked in his rear view mirror to make sure there weren’t other police cars coming to harass him.
He continued his way to building 631 and adhered to the strictly enforced speed limits of 25 mph. ‘In case William did say anything, I’m not gonna give them any reason to start busting my chops.’ Mykal felt confident his little speech for Parker, tucked neatly inside his brain would be convincing and wouldn’t escalate into him pulling his trump card of calling on his two friends who happened to be a couple of three star Generals.
Mykal thought through the discussion with Boris, and if all the other survivors ended up hating him, fine, he could live with that. But he couldn’t bear to lose his friendship with Boris. He wouldn’t tolerate Boris being mistreated and made fun of. Before going to Towbar’s world, Boris was looked upon as a nerd and an oddball. Boris had difficulty making friends and was socially inept because of his somewhat shy disposition. While in Towbar’s world Boris lost Denny who was not only a close friend but a father-like figure. More devastating Boris lost Kurt, his best friend of all.
It infuriated Mykal to know that people picked on and bullied his friend while being forced to do degrading and humiliating jobs. ‘If that friggin William wouldn’t have kept the letters from me, I coulda ended this at the start.’ Mykal decided he would take Boris with him and Towbar on the next tour around the country and around the world. He would find some type of job for him. ‘If the Crowns don’t agree to that, then I’m done.’
