The Grey Man- Partners

by JL Curtis

  Aaron nodded, “Yep. What a fu… screwed up situation. Thanks for being the good guy last night. At least we’re all alive this morning.”

  Toad chuckled ruefully, “Yeah, since I’ve gotten off the booze, it’s a world of difference. I was a little worried about you once, but you started drinking water after I refused to give you any more Scotch.”

  Aaron said, “I only remember puking once. I kinda remember being rolled into bed with a trash can next to me.”

  Toad laughed, “Yeah, that was about zero four hundred. You and Gunner were talking past each other and not even realizing it. Sar’Major and Brill were already out, and Gunner Best was on the couch by then. Matt had quit early, I think he left around midnight.”

  Aaron asked, “What were we talking about?”

  “I have no idea. Y’all were both slurring so bad I couldn’t understand anything.”

  Aaron winced, “Where did Gunner Price end up?”

  Toad laughed, “He went face down at the table. His ass is probably talking to him after twelve hours sitting in that damn hard chair!”

  Jesse said, “I’ve got more padding than y’all do, and I can’t do more than about two hours in one.”

  Toad replied, “The Gunners were holding court. If I didn’t know both of them, and just heard some of those stories, I’d be throwing the BS flag. But those two are the real deal. When they go out the door, it will definitely be a loss to the Corps.”

  Jesse said softly to herself, “So will losing Aaron.”

  Aaron asked, “Did you say something?”

  Jesse answered, “Nope, talking to myself.”

  Toad stretched mightily and cracked a yawn, “Okay, everybody is up and mobile. I’m taking my ass to the house and getting some sleep. Tell Matt I’ll see him at the range in the morning.”

  Aaron nodded, “Thanks again, and I will.”

  Toad opened the door and was met by Boo Boo dragging Darlene up the walk, so Darlene just let the leash go and Boo Boo charged into the house, jumping first on Jesse, then Aaron and nosing Jace in a doggie dance to be everywhere, with everybody at once. Darlene came in saying, “Sorry, but she’s got more strength than I thought.”

  Jesse replied, “Down Boo Boo! She didn’t tear anything up did she?”

  Darlene laughed, “No, not any worse than the yard already was. The sitter said they ran around the fence for literally hours, chasing each other. I’m heading back to the house. Mike is down for the count, and I want to get some design work done while it’s quiet.”

  “Thanks Darlene, I’ll check with you later in the week on those figures for last month.”

  Darlene hung her head, “I’ll find them, I swear.” With that, she was out the door.

  Jesse turned to Aaron, “So what is going to happen now?”

  Aaron said, “I’m guessing I’ll do out-processing, just like getting orders, and a physical. Gunner said something about a retirement seminar, but I don’t know. I’ll have to be read out of my clearances, and turn in all my equipment.”

  Jesse asked tentatively, “Do you want to stay here?”

  Aaron shook his head vehemently, “No! I…”

  “Do you want to go to Texas?”

  “I… Jesse, I don’t know. I Just… Don’t know.”

  Jesse took one look at Aaron’s little boy lost expression and came around the table and hugged him tightly, “We’ll figure it out. It’s not a decision that has to be made today.”

  ***

  Aaron ran to the gas station on base, leaving Jesse at the apartment with Jace. Jesse sat on the couch hugging the baby as tears rolled down her face. Oh God, how can I be strong for Aaron, when I don’t know what he wants, and I can only think of getting back to Texas. That’s not fair to him, I know it’s not fair, but dammit, it’s home!

  Now What

  The old man sat at the kitchen table, coffee cup in hand and stared at the throw away phone as if it were a snake. Montoya had just hung up after telling the old man that the missiles and a group of Muslim fighters were on their way to Mexico via ship. What the hell do I do now? Do I call Bucky? They haven’t done shit with the other info according to him. What are my alternatives? The old man groaned and got up, walked around the kitchen closely followed by Yogi, and finally poured another cup of coffee.

  Sitting back at the table, he pulled out his other cell, and punched Bucky’s number in. Hitting speaker, he carefully set the phone on the table. Three rings later, Bucky picked up. “John? What’s got you calling me this time of the morning on a weekend?”

  The old man sighed, “Bucky, my CI called this morning. Apparently, those missiles I told you about are on the way to the cartels, along with an unknown number of Muslim fighters and/or clerics. They’re supposedly landing in Mexico next month.”

  “Shit,” was Bucky’s immediate response. “I’ll put this in the system, but without correlation…”

  “Yeah, I know. Without correlation, it goes nowhere. And before you ask, he didn’t know the name of the ship, nor where it was leaving from. He didn’t even know the exact date it left.”

  Bucky said, “Well, that doesn’t make it any easier does it? I’ve got to go in this morning anyway, so I’ll push the rope again.”

  “Thanks. Wish I had more info to give you,” the old man replied.

  “If you find out anything else, let me know. You know they’re going to ask again for your CI…”

  The old man snorted, “Yeah, and you know the answer already. And offerin’ him money won’t do any good, nor will offerin’ me any either.”

  Bucky’s sigh came over the speaker loudly, “I know, I know. It’s not the old days. Hell, if it was, we’d just put a team together and go do this ourselves. You going to be around today?”

  The old man said, “I’ll be punching some cows today, need to check the pastures and get up on Diablo before he forgets he’s a riding horse.”

  Bucky laughed, “That damn horse is the devil incarnate! He’ll kill anybody else that tries to ride him. Stay safe.”

  “Wilco. You do the same.” The old man punched off the phone and leaned back in his chair. The old days. Yep, we would have done it ourselves. Hell, it wouldn’t take a lot of people. Maybe six… seven… Overwatch, spotter, four shooters, a scout… What am I thinking? I don’t see Bucky being allowed to do that, so what do I do? Do I give up Montoya?

  The old man growled, causing Yogi to jump up and start barking, “Yogi, down! That was me you dumb dog.” Pushing back from the table, he got up and emptied the coffee pot, washed the breakfast dishes, and threw some lunch and dog biscuits in the saddlebags laying on the counter.

  Walking back to the office, he strapped on his gun belt, took his radio off the charger and shoved it in its holster on the belt. He picked up two extra magazines and grabbed his hat off the stand. Bouncing the mags in his hand, he walked back to the kitchen, deposited them in the saddlebags and pulled a personal radio out of the rack on the counter.

  Flipping it on, he checked the squelch, then clipped it to the saddlebags as Yogi danced around at the door. The old man sighed, picked up the saddlebags and slung them over his shoulder, “Yes Yogi, we’re going out. You’re going to be a tired puppy by the time we get back.”

  As he was saddling Diablo, Ricky came around the corner of the barn, “Senor John, where do you ride today?”

  “I’m going to check the north forty, want to see if we can move the cows back over there. I’m just putting some saddle time in on Diablo so he remembers he’s a riding horse.”

  Ricky snickered, “Diablo allows you to ride him Senor, we both know that.”

  The old man grumped, “We’ll see if he allows me to ride him, or puts my tired old ass in the dirt today.” Picking up the reins, he led Diablo out of the corral, “You better stand back, he’s liable to be frisky this morning.”

  Ricky stepped back, “I will stay here until you get back Senor, but I did promise mama I would come in for dinner this evening. And a bunc
h of us are going to the movie tonight.”

  The old man swung up on Diablo, quickly got his seat and hung on as Diablo started prancing and dancing around the yard. He pulled the reins saying, “Dammit, settle down Diablo! I’m not in the mood to get bucked off this morning!” Once Diablo quieted down a little, he glanced at Ricky, “You okay for money?”

  “Si, Senor. I still have money left from my paycheck! I’m working on saving for a car now, so I put half my check in my savings account and don’t buy much stuff anymore.”

  The old man nodded, “Good plan. I should be back in a couple of hours. I’m on channel five on the radio if you need me.” Touching Diablo lightly, the old man went out of the yard at a gallop, Yogi chasing them hard, as Ricky’s laughter drifted after them.

  ***

  A quarter mile later, the old man gently reined Diablo in, “Okay boy, you’ve proved you can still run. Now, let Yogi catch up, his legs are shorter than yours.” Diablo flipped his ears and neighed, almost like a laugh, but settled into a trot, much to the old man’s relief. He looked back and could see Yogi catching up quickly.

  At the gate to the north forty, the old man reined Diablo around, opened the gate with a shove, and then walked him through it. Reining around again, he grabbed the mid-point of the gate and said, “Step. Step. Step,” until he could lean over and close the gate. Diablo flipped his ears again, and shook his head as if saying, yes, I still know how to step so you can close the gate.

  The old man rode across the north forty, mentally cataloging the grass and checking the fence line he could see, crossed through two more gates and lanes, and rode into the pasture where the cows were. He threw a leg around the saddle horn, fished around in the saddlebag and pulled out a sandwich, along with a treat for Yogi, who lay panting by Diablo.

  As he ate the sandwich, he watched the cows moving with the wind and eating or watering at the stock tank. Finishing up, he dropped the sandwich bag back in the saddlebags, took a drink from his canteen, got back in the stirrups and stood up to stretch. Looking around, he smiled at the beauty of the day, a few puffy clouds and a light wind blowing just enough to keep the flies down, but not enough to move the cows too much.

  Days like this, it was a pleasure to be out riding. But he’d done the bad weather too, and knew it was always the luck of the draw. No wonder those old cowboys that had worked the ranch when he was a kid looked as old as they did. Doing this all day, every day, in all kinds of weather would age a man in just a few years.

  Taking off his hat, he wiped a sleeve across his brow, and rolled his shoulders to get the kink out of his back. Resetting the hat, he kneed Diablo around and retraced his steps back to the North forty. This time he rode the fence and checked the creek to see that everything was okay. Yogi jumped into the creek, chasing a fish, but never caught him, causing the old man to laugh at him. Coming out the gate, he paused, then turned north and rode to the graveyard.

  At the graveyard, he got down with a groan; ground reined Diablo and walked slowly up to the graves. He sat on the big rock just beyond Amy’s grave and took off his hat, suddenly feeling like he was in church. Nervously playing with his hat, he said, “Well hon, I’m still alive. Never thought I’d last this long, or it would be like this. Looks like Jesse is coming home sometime soon, with what is happening with Aaron, and I think she’s going to take over the ranch. Jace is getting big, and he’s a handful. Looks a lot like Jack, which ain’t a bad thing. Times are changing Amy, and not for the better. I wish you were here so I could talk to you. Jack, I think you and Pat would be proud of Jesse. We did our best to raise her the way we raised you.”

  The old man got up slowly, still fiddling with his hat he continued, “I’m in a quandary, not sure what to do.” Walking slowly over to stand in front of Francisco and Juanita’s graves, he went on, “Partner, I think I know what y’all would say, go do it. I know you’d both back me, laws be damned. Hell, we did that a time or two back in the day.”

  The old man said a quick prayer for all of them, crammed his hat back on and grabbed Diablo’s reins. Climbing back into the saddle, he realized tears were rolling down his cheeks and he angrily swiped at them with a shirtsleeve. I must be getting senile, I’m crying like a damn baby. Reining Diablo around, he trotted out of the graveyard and back to the house.

  Ricky met him at the corral gate, and the old man told Ricky gruffly, “Take the truck and go on to your house. I’ll groom Diablo. I got him lathered up, I’ll clean him up.”

  Ricky looked sharply at the old man, but wisely answered, “Si, Senor. I will be back tomorrow.”

  The old man groomed Diablo, gave him some molasses feed, and cleaned all the tack before he headed up to the house. He was surprised to see the sun setting as he closed the corral gate. Damn, I’m not even paying attention to what’s going on around me. My SA is sucking hind tit today. “Yogi, come!”

  Yogi came loping around the corner of the house, his tongue hanging out as if he was laughing as he bumped the old man’s leg. Opening the back door, he let Yogi in, dropped the saddlebags on the counter and deposited the personal radio back on the charger. Emptying the saddlebags, he hung them on the hook by the back door, then walked down the hall to the office and took off his gun belt and hat, hanging them on the stand.

  He made a stop by the bathroom, washed up, and fed Yogi, then started looking for something to eat. Nothing really struck his fancy, but he didn’t feel like leaving the ranch either. Digging around in the freezer, he found a chicken potpie, shrugged and threw it in the oven. At least it wasn’t that noodle crap that Jesse had seemingly existed on for a year or so when she was a teenager…

  ***

  Sunday morning the old man woke up before sunrise as usual, and took his first cup of coffee out on the porch, as Yogi ran around the yard to see if any intruders had snuck in the night before. He still couldn’t make up his mind, and hadn’t really slept all that well, as nightmares vied with the current situation for his attention.

  He finished the first cup of coffee as the sun poked over the horizon, washing the land in the grey light of early morning and promising a clear, if cold day. Moping around the kitchen, he cobbled together breakfast, fed Yogi, and took a turn through the barn checking the horses. Knowing Ricky wouldn’t be back until later today, he decided to run into town and pick up a few things he needed and go by the office.

  It only took a minute to grab his gun belt, hat and radio, and after a minute decided to take the cruiser rather than the Suburban. Loading Yogi in the car, he headed into town and straight for the office. Pulling in, he got Yogi out, let him visit his tree, and came in the back door. Turning the corner, he stuck his head in dispatch, “Morning, Annetta. You got anything I need to know about?”

  Annetta flipped through the log, “Nothing Captain. What brings you in today? You need me to babysit Yogi?” Hearing his name, Yogi sidled up to her and laid his head in her lap, prompting laughter, “You want skritching, Yogi?” She ruffled his fur and scratching the top of his head, as Yogi leaned against her, tongue hanging out.

  The old man laughed, “Can I leave him with you for a few minutes? I need to check a few things.”

  Annetta nodded and the old man headed for the kitchen. Pouring a cup of coffee, he sniffed it and decided it wasn’t that old. Sipping carefully, he went to his office and fired up the computer. As he waited for it to complete its boot sequence, he skipped through the paperwork in his in basket, and didn’t see anything of import.

  Once the computer was up, he logged into EPIC[24], and started digging. An hour later, he came up for air, and cussed softly under his breath. It appeared even though Bucky had pushed the CI info up the chain; it had never been entered into the intel system in any way. Leaning back, he rolled his shoulders to stretch, got up and went to the bathroom. Coming back, he refilled his coffee cup, and glanced at the clock.

  Figuring Clay would be up and getting ready for church, he sat back down, hit speaker and dialed Clay’s home num
ber. Ronni answered, and the old man asked for Clay. He heard Ronni yell, “Clay, John for you. Now don’t y’all pull some crap and disappear on me. We’re picking up Eddie and Iris in thirty minutes.”

  The old man chuckled, and finally heard a harried, “Hello?”

  “Clay, it’s John. No emergency, just a few questions if you have time. I heard Ronni’s comment.”

  Clay laughed ruefully, “Yeah, she’s on a roll this morning. Iris has finally convinced Eddie to go to church, and she is going to make that happen. What’s up?”

  The old man leaned back, “Have you gotten any I&W about Muslim clerics, or Muslim fighters coming across the border? Or any indications of the cartel’s increased weapons capability?”

  “Not a lick. Hell, you can’t even find anything about those we caught down on the river. Why?”

  “I’m trying to follow up on something I’ve heard about some movements both Los Zetas and Sinaloa are making.”

  Clay sighed, “John, what are you not telling me?”

  The old man slumped in his chair, then said, “Clay, I’m just afraid they’re gonna target anybody with a helo. Guns, missiles, hell who knows what they’re getting their hands on!”

  Clay replied, “Ain’t gonna make a difference. I gotta go do the job. I’ll be as careful as I can, but I can’t do anything else to mitigate the risk, other than stop flying.” The old man faintly heard Ronni say something in the background, and Clay said, “I gotta go. Lemme know if you get something more substantial.”

  The old man replied, “Will do. Say hi to Eddie and Iris for me.”

  Clay laughed, “I will, we need to get together soon. Hey, there’s a homicide conference at the end of the month. I’ll call you.”

  The old man shook his head, now more conflicted than ever. Shit! Apparently, they’re not even putting a whiff of anything to do with AQ or radical Islam on any of the intel sites, and even the unofficial word isn’t getting passed. Damn them all! Pushing back from the desk, he got up slowly and picked up his hat, set it on his head and squared his shoulders. Walking into dispatch he said, “Okay, I’ve done all the damage I can, I’m heading for the house. I’m going to run by the grocery store on the way. You need anything here?”