The Grey Man: -Vignettes-

by JL Curtis

  Turning back to the house he continued, “In Nam, I watched seven of the Degar tribesmen I worked with, dressed in their washed out black PJs, set up an L-shaped ambush within five yards of a trail pretty much with no cover. Two squads of VC walked through that ambush before we hit the leadership who were at the back of the third squad. I blew the Claymores and we took out all but about four VC within less than three minutes. And I saw them do it more than once. When I got back to the States, I played a bit at Camp McCall, the Special Forces camp and found that these old Dickies are damn near perfect when they’re about half washed out.”

  Reaching the house, the old man yelled over to Francisco, “Francisco, twenty minutes for you and Toby to get cleaned up, then we’ll ride in and see Jesse and Aaron.”

  As they walked in the door, Juanita said, “I heard that, we taking one car or two?”

  Cocking his head, the old man thought for a minute. “Let’s take two, just in case something comes up and I need to go in. We’ll go hit the burger joint out on the highway after we see them and grab some dinner. I’m sure Angelina will want to fill you in and we can pick up anything you’ll need for when they come home.”

  19 Unexpected Twist

  After finally deciding it was just easier to bring both Jesse and Aaron home in the ambulance, if for no other reason than keeping Doc Truesdale happy, the old man and Francisco had filled Juanita’s shopping list plus picking up beer.

  They beat the ambulance to the house by about fifteen minutes, and managed to get everything unloaded and the furniture moved around before it arrived. Juanita had dinner cooking when the ambulance pulled up.

  Jesse climbed painfully down, and refused to go in until Aaron’s stretcher had been pulled out. She hobbled beside it up the steps and into the house, and then supervised the medics putting Aaron in the bed Matt had formerly occupied. Only after that was done did she finally lay down on her own bed for a rest.

  A couple of hours later, after a good home-cooked meal, everyone was sitting around the table reliving the last few days and the humor was coming out over coffee and pie. A ringing phone interrupted the laughter and everyone looked at each other as folks grabbed for their phones only to realize it was the landline ringing. The old man walked over to his desk and picked it up. “Hello?”

  Suddenly he sat down and grabbed a pencil and started taking notes. “Okay, thanks. So within twenty-four hours you think? Copied all.” Hanging up he turned to the others. “Cell phones off, please. Francisco, can you collect them and put ‘em in the front hall please?”

  A babble of questions started as everybody was turning their phones off, but the old man just held up his hand. Turning back he pulled out an old wheel book, riffled through it and dialed another number. “William Moore, please, John Cronin calling. Yes, I’ll hold.” He said into the phone. A couple of minutes went by with dead silence in the room, to the point they could hear the hold music for whoever the old man was on the phone with.

  “Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got a danger close issue and need some air support. Me and Jesse, and two Marines on orders to Pendleton, but they haven’t checked in yet.” After listening for a minute the old man turned to Matt. “Social?”

  Matt rattled his off, and Aaron did the same, the old man repeated them back over the phone, and said, “Gunny and Staff Sergeant. Alright, I’ll see you when you get here.”

  Spinning his chair around, the old man started to say what was going on when the phone rang again. Grabbing it, he said, “Hello? Yeah, I know who this is…” He listened for a few minutes, and hung up.

  “Okay, it seems we have problem. It appears the Feds are taking the shootings away from the Rangers and are coming after us for either civil rights violation or murder.”

  Leaning back with a disgusted expression, he continued, “Apparently there is a new U.S. attorney out of Dallas who’s out to make his mark, and has the backing of both the DOJ and DHS. It looks like we’ve got maybe a day to get ready for this, so we’re going to go full offense on this. From this point forward, no cell phones on, unless it’s an emergency, no calls to anybody discussing anything about what happened, no interviews, zip nada… I’ve got some help on the way, but for right now we’re on lockdown, and Francisco and Juanita I have to include y’all in that too. I’m sorry, but I can’t take any chances with somebody listening in when they shouldn’t.” He pointed up.

  “Juanita, having said that, would you please go call Becky on your cell and invite her and Jose for dinner? Tell her dinner is at seven please.” As Juanita walked out of the room, the old man turned to Matt. “Do you and Aaron have points of contact at Pendleton? Or whatever the new term is?”

  Matt looked at Aaron who nodded. “Yeah, usually we have sponsors from the gaining command, and I know mine. Aaron do you know yours?” Aaron shook his head. “Not personally, but I know him by reputation.”

  “Okay, we’re going to probably need those when Billy gets here, so Matt if you could round those up it would be appreciated.”

  Matt helped Aaron to his crutches and out to the old house and found his orders. Once he got back in the house, Aaron decided he needed to take a pain pill and get the leg elevated for a while, so Jesse got a glass of water and brought it to him. Matt’s first thought was that Jesse was really the one that needed to be in bed, but he realized he wouldn’t get anywhere with that. Surprisingly, Jesse came in, didn’t say a word and lay down with Aaron, and within five minutes both were asleep hands intertwined. Matt finished copying the information from Aaron’s orders and turned the light off on his way out. He gave the old man the information, and decided to go for a walk, just to get some time to think. Matt had never been in a situation like this and wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

  A couple of hours later, as everyone was sitting down to eat, Rex suddenly bolted for the front door barking. The next thing heard was a booming voice, “I’m gonna sue your dumb asses if this mangy damn dog bites me!”

  Laughing, the old man called Rex back and stood up to meet the man that strode through the door. At all of 5’6” tall, with a grey pony tail and dressed in a western shirt, jeans and boots he didn’t match the voice that came from him. “Staff Sergeant William H. Moore reporting as ordered Sir! And by God I told you one of these days I’d have to bail your ass out! Francisco and Juanita, I’ve got a nice little ranch that needs a manager; as soon as these two go to prison, you’re hired!” Looking at Jesse he said, “Damn girl you look like shit! Which one of these is your boyfriend so I can take him down a notch or two?”

  Jesse got up slowly and walked over to him and hugged him. “Uncle Billy, he didn’t do it, and I got him shot, so I’m the one that needs to be taken down a notch or two.”

  The old man and William H. “Billy” Moore shook hands and backslapped one another as Juanita set another place at the table.

  Walking to his place, Billy shook hands with the sheriff, Matt and Aaron, and said, "No more talk now, I need to replenish my strength after this arduous day of dealing with the philistines.” He sat down and then proceeded to eat as much as Matt did. After dinner and dessert, Billy asked for a cup of coffee and said he’d be right back. Matt and Aaron both looked at the old man and Matt asked, “Is that who I think it is? That big time criminal lawyer from Houston that’s on TV all the time?”

  Aaron chimed in, “I thought he was bigger, he’s just a little shit.”

  About that time, Billy walked back in with a bulging briefcase. “I heard that callow remark, but from Marines I would expect nothing less than foul language and uncouth behavior as becomes their low IQs.”

  The old man smiled. “Shaddap and sit down, Billy. Yes, he is a little shit, and a mean one at that. And he’s the original guardhouse lawyer come to life. This little shit was once an honest Green Beret, who took a sadly wrong turn and left us working class folks for the halls of academia and money.”

  Putting his hand over his heart, Billy feigned pain and agony saying, “Sticks and ston
es, but those damn arrows hurt! You sir I will not defend, but everybody else I will, and you’ll pay for them all.”

  Flopping the briefcase on the table, he asked, “Cells phones off and out of here?” After everyone concurred, he drug out a yellow pad covered in notes, and his personality underwent a significant transformation from happy go lucky to deadly serious and he seemed to assume a much larger stature. “Okay, poking around a bit unofficially, Jose, you’re about to lose all of the evidence. John and Jesse,they’re going to confiscate all your guns. They are also going after your cell phones, cell phone records, and all radio communications. And, Jose, you’re going under the microscope for letting evidence get away so to speak for turning the map, address and cell phone from Perp number one to the DEA.”

  The sheriff started. “Billy how in hell do you know about that?”

  Billy just looked at him. “Now, Jose, you know my sources never reveal themselves.”

  The sheriff just shook his head. “Okay, so what do I do?”

  “Nothing, you turned over all the information to DPS and the Rangers, so it’s not your call and there is nothing you can do, but they are going after the fact that the scene was cleared in a quote inordinately short unquote amount of time. I think they’re going to accuse the Rangers of a whitewash, even though they brought in a couple of folks from Austin rather than using the local Ranger.”

  The old man interrupted. “Well, Billy, Clay did that on his own, since he knows all of us and figured he’d be accused of bias, and I sure as hell couldn’t investigate my own shooting scene. But he did do the initial evidence and photographic collections along with the DPS investigator.”

  “I know, but you know when the Feds want to screw with you, they’ll find a way. Hell, they’d have had that scene locked down for a week!” Turning to Matt and Aaron, Billy said, “Okay, Gunny, can I call you Matt?” Matt nodded. “You will be on the road by zero six hundred in the morning for Pendleton, and Aaron you will be on an air ambulance at zero six hundred from the airport here for Carlsbad, as that is the closest field to Pendleton. It has been determined you are in need of further examination and care.” Holding up a hand to forestall the Marines and Jesse’s protests, he added, “I talked with the JAG[17] at Pendleton, Colonel Powers and he feels they need to get y’all in house so to speak, so they can cover you when the shit hits the fan. Matt, they may try to come after you for murder one, even though Jose has told everyone you and Aaron both were deputized. I need you guy’s socials and full names to pass to the good Colonel. Francisco can you find somebody to drive Aaron’s truck to California?”

  Francisco nodded and disappeared out the back door. “John, I need a check dated… oh, let’s say three weeks ago for $5,000 as a yearly retainer fee, and when the crap hits, say you want a lawyer and Jesse you do the same. Jesse, you are under medical care, so do not allow them to get you by yourself for any reason. Juanita, are you still a qualified home health nurse?” Juanita nodded, and Billy walked over to the kitchen phone. Dialing a number from memory, he waited then spoke, “Doc, Juanita is still qualified, so you released Jesse to her care twenty-four/seven, also the air ambulance will be at the airport at zero five thirty, and I’d appreciate it if you were there.” Hanging up, he turned to the old man. “John, refer all calls to me and or the sheriff. Expect to get raided and all your guns taken so I’d move any good ones somewhere else. And by that I mean not to Francisco’s house. I’m betting they will search the entire property. Jose?”

  The sheriff nodded. “I can take care of them, John, and I have just the place.”

  Reaching in his brief case, Billy pulled out eight cell phones and handed them around.

  “Okay, clean phones, Wally World specials. GPS is disabled. All of ‘em are programmed with the other seven numbers plus number ten goes to me. John you get one, Jesse you get two, Francisco three, Juanita four, Jose five, Becky six, Aaron seven, and Matt eight. Keep these but don’t use ‘em unless you absolutely have to.”

  Closing his briefcase Billy got up and walked to Jesse, giving her a wordless hug.

  Shaking hands with the others, he started walking out the door. “We’re gonna be in a battle folks, and I can’t predict how it’s going to end, but I will do my damnedest to knock this shit down as soon as I can.” The old man walked out with Billy and wrote him the check as asked, and with that Billy was gone.

  Everybody nodded and picked up their phones and just looked at each other. Then Aaron asked, “Jesse is he really your uncle, and is he always like this?”

  Jesse leaned back in her chair. “Well, actually he’s not, but he’s always told me to call him Uncle Billy. He and Papa go back to Vietnam I guess, and apparently were stationed together. I think Papa saved his life or something like that, but I just know he shows up here once in a while and that’s the only time I ever see Papa take a drink. I went deer hunting with them once, and I know Uncle Billy can shoot too!”

  Reaching for Aaron’s hand she added, “I don’t want you to go, but if Uncle Billy says it’s necessary, we better get you packed.”

  The old man and Francisco both walked back into the kitchen and Juanita handed them refills on the coffee as they sat back down. Francisco looked at Aaron. “I have a man to drive your truck to California. He will be here at five in the morning. He is my friend and has the identical truck. John, will you buy him a plane ticket home?”

  “Of course, I will. You know that. Hell, I’ll even buy him a first class ticket! Matt, I think if y’all run together and run hard you can get pretty close tomorrow. Can you get Aaron’s truck on base when you get there?”

  Matt seemed lost in thought. “Uhhh, sure I can do that, but how in the hell did Mr. Moore pull all this off in what, four, five hours? Hell, I don’t even know how to get in touch with the JAG, much less who it is. And I’m not sure leaving here is the right thing to do, is it?”

  “If Billy Moore says it is the right thing, then do it,” the sheriff answered. “We’ve got your statements, your phone records, and everything else. Personally, I think he’s right, and just maybe out of sight will be out of mind; but if not, the military does not look fondly on outsiders trying to pin anything on their troops.”

  The old man looked at Matt and Aaron. “I’ve known Billy since the 60s. He was on my A-Team and his specialty was intel and explosives. He’s got connections I don’t even want to think about, and I agree with Jose, you guys need to be out of here sooner rather than later. Matt, if I were you, I’d leave the cell phone off tomorrow just in case, and the more I think about it, I’d look at driving all the way through to Pendleton if you think you can.” Turning to the sheriff, he said, “Jose let’s go figure out what guns I need to move to you, and get that done now.”

  Matt, Aaron and Jesse all got up and Jesse handed Aaron his crutches and walked to the back door with him. Matt looked at Aaron and said, “I’ll be out there at zero five hundred to get your bag, so pack one to fly with and I’ll load whatever you don’t want in the truck.”

  Aaron nodded and shuffled out the back door with Jesse. After hobbling back to the old house and getting into the room, Aaron sat on the bed and asked Jesse, “Is this for real? Isn’t he being a little melodramatic? I mean, coming after y’all and charging Matt with murder? This is the USA, not some fucking third world country! I could believe this happening down range, but not here!”

  Jesse eased down on the bed next to Aaron. “I know. Sometimes I think it’s all a dream, but whoever called Papa didn’t think so, and neither does Uncle Billy, so I’m gonna go with the shit hitting the fan. You’ve got to remember, this is South Texas, and DHS and the Feds have been battling with us for years over the border. Hell, Arizona, too. There isn’t any real security outside the crossings, and you can wade the Rio Grande most of the time.”

  Squirming around to face him she continued, “There are, I think, four Rangers for the entire border, and CBP simply can’t cover all of it; much less the hundred miles inland that’s been
decreed as ‘border’ area. There are thirty-two Texas counties that fall in that area, and there are five main legal crossings in Texas, but there are I think twenty-seven total including worker’s crossings. But according to DHS the border is secure… And if you believe that shit, I’ve got a bridge to sell you…”

  Pushing herself up, she pulled Aaron’s bag from the armoire, poking in it she asked, “What’s clean and what’s dirty in here? And do you want everything here to go?”

  Grunting, Aaron pushed himself up, and quickly sorted through the bag, separating the clean from the dirty. Putting his Glock on top, he asked, “Any chance I can get this washed?”

  Jesse picked up the load of laundry and the pistol case. “Pistol too?” she asked with a grin.

  Aaron chuckled. “Only if it’s the cold water cycle, don’t want it to shrink! Give it to Matt please, and ask him to store it till I can get there. And please come back, I think we need to talk.”

  Jesse just nodded and walked out with her arms full, as Aaron flopped back on the bed and wondered how to say what he wanted to say.