Detachment Delta

by Don Bendell

  “No,” he replied, “absolutely not. They were firing mortars at me, not RPGs. Hey, we needed intel right then.”

  She shook her head and then said, “But that is not why I felt safe. I read about your ancestors and figured what pride you must have grown up with.”

  Charlie said, “My old man was a twenty-four-hour-per-day drunk. That is why I don’t often do what I did last night and pour the booze on.”

  She said, “Charlie, lots of Native Americans have alcohol problems. It is still a race of powerful warriors. I want to ask you a question.”

  “What?” he answered, grinning.

  “Do you have big scars on your pectoral muscles?”

  This embarrassed him even more than her asking about his Taliban adventure.

  “Yes,” he said. “Boy, you do research. Don’t you?”

  “I knew you had gone through the Sun Dance ceremony just like your famous ancestor.”

  Sitting Bull went through a Sun Dance ceremony, which actually entailed his arms each being sliced fifty times from each wrist to each shoulder. Blood dripped from both arms, and he hung in the sun all day, both pectoral muscles on his chest pierced by eagle talons, and then awls were stuck through the two holes over each nipple and these were tied to leather thongs which went up over a cross pole, and he was raised up hanging by his flesh until the flesh tore away. During the second day Sitting Bull fainted from excessive blood loss, but received a vision about his victory over the whites in a coming battle. In his vision he saw the wasicun (white men) “falling into our camp like grasshoppers falling out of the sky.” The Sun Dance was totally condemned by missionaries and Indian agents.

  On June 16, 1876, General George Armstrong Custer came to the Black Hills area, with 1,300 men broken into three commands, the main headed by Lieutenant Colonel Custer, another by Major Reno, and a third by Major Benteen. Custer was actually a brevet general in the Civil War, but then retained his true rank in the cavalry of lieutenant colonel. This was only three days after Sitting Bull had endured the Sun Dance ceremony and lost so much blood. Sitting Bull was too weak to fight, but Crazy Horse was the real war chief. He had to go into battle in the older chief’s stead.

  On June 25, 1876, the battalion of George Armstrong Custer ended up in a very lopsided fight. This time there were over 3,000 Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors fighting against Custer’s 250 troopers. His command, all of Custer’s men, were dead in an hour’s time. Some of Benteen’s and Reno’s commands survived, but they were decimated, too.

  The next day, Sitting Bull moved his camp down the river to get totally away from the stinking, bloating corpses and to consider a plan, as he knew the wasicun leaders would now want his blood. He eventually fled, leading his people into Canada.

  Fila leaned across the table and said, “You take great pride in being a Native American.”

  He grinned, saying, “I hate that term. It sounds so politically correct. Being very serious, I am very proud to be descended from Sitting Bull. I am very proud to be a modern-day dog soldier of the Lakota Nation, and I am equally proud to be an American warrior.”

  She said, “Charlie, we are not drinking tonight, and Weasel is not here. I love the poetry of the way I have read some of your people speak and what you said last night. Please tell me something poetic and wonderful and inspirational like the story you told about the eagles.”

  He thought for a minute and grinned, then said, “My grandfather told me this story many times.

  “There was a young Lakota boy named Dancing Hare, and his first cousin and best friend was named Boy Who Climbs Trees. Dancing Hare and Boy Who Climbs Trees were both very adventurous and both were students at the Mission School. While attending the school, Dancing Hare became very excited about the white man he met who was called a missionary. He liked what the man spoke about, and what the missionary said made perfect sense to him. After some months, Dancing Hare became a Christian, and his cousin and best friend, Boy Who Climbs Trees, remained true to his tribal beliefs and was indeed a true follower of Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery.

  “The religion of choice did not matter to each boy, and they respected each other’s differences and opinions. What they really enjoyed more than anything was adventure. They could not wait to grow and hunt game for the family circles and fight in battles and count coup. Both hoped someday to become dog soldiers, the best of the best warriors in their tribe.

  “There was one major difference, though, and that was Dancing Hare always believed in winning and would never admit defeat. Once when wrestling with Fights the Badger, he would not give in when put in a painful hold and actually had two of his fingers broken, but he would not quit and he would not cry. Boy Who Climbs Trees, however, would give in easily in games and wanted to give up and do something else if he started losing.

  “One day, the two boys decided to hunt coyotes far away from the safety of the tribal circle of teepees, their neighborhood. While they moved through a wooded draw, Dancing Hare heard a strange noise and held up his hand. Then they saw them, a band of Pawnees, wearing war paint and carrying many weapons. The boys were afraid and knew they must hide in a safe place, but where?

  “Boy Who Climbs Trees said, ‘We will be killed or captured!’

  “Dancing Hare said, ‘No, we will not. Do not give up so easily,’ but while he ran, he prayed harder than ever before.

  “Finally, he spotted a cave ahead and ran into it, followed by his whimpering friend. Dancing Hare discovered another cave entrance. It was actually shaped like a horseshoe with two holes opening in the side of a draw. They hid inside and saw the Pawnee war party far off studying their tracks, which they’d tried to hide.

  “Then they saw a mighty bear startled by all the commotion run out of the trees and straight toward them. It headed right at the cave and Boy Who Climbs Trees yelled, ‘Run! He will eat us!’

  “Dancing Hare said, ‘No, stay put and do not move. If you run, the Pawnees will surely catch you.’”

  Charlie also fascinated her with his dramatic hand gestures as he told the story.

  He continued, “The bear ran into the cave and turned to face in the direction of the danger behind him. He lay down. At the same time, Boy Who Climbs Trees, crying, ran as fast as he could out the other cave entrance. Dancing Hare saw him get captured almost immediately by the band of Pawnees. They looked at the cave entrance, but the leader said they should not bother the mighty bear they saw run into it, or they might be killed. They rode off with their captive, tied and bound.

  “All good Lakotas bathed often and would keep their hair and skin shiny with bear grease made from bear fat. This smell kept the mighty grizzly calm in the cave, and he did not smell Dancing Hare and did not look around and see Dancing Hare. A few minutes after the Pawnees rode away, the grizzly emerged and ambled away towards the trees.

  “Hours later, scared but safe, Dancing Hare trotted towards his village but looked up at the sky and smiled. He knew then that what many like his cousin Boy Who Climbs Trees would see as nothing but a bad thing, could turn out actually to be an answer to a prayer, but dressed as something scary. The rest of his life, he would always look for the good news hiding inside the bad news. Now he would summon the dog soldiers to go and rescue his cousin.

  “That was the day that Dancing Hare was saved by the bear who came there by prayer.”

  “That was terrible,” she said, laughing. “What happened to Boy Who Climbs Trees?”

  “Probably got killed,” said Charlie. “I don’t know.”

  She slapped his arm and said, “I’m just teasing. I love the story. I wish I could have seen you go through the Sun Dance ceremony. I bet you were very brave.”

  “Naw, I was pretty much of a wimp.”

  She said, “Do they do it the same way as they did in your ancestor’s day?”

  “No, they don’t,” Charlie said. “They cut the pecs with a scalpel and swab the skin with alcohol first. The awls they put through the slits are st
erilized, too. Let’s forget that. I want to hear about you.”

  After the dinner, Fila wanted to see his home, so they went there. She was enthused to see it was so clean, and commented on it.

  He laughed, saying, “I have a housekeeper, Mabel, who keeps this place straightened up pretty good. Her husband is on his fifth tour in the Sandbox.”

  “SF?” she said.

  “Nope.” He laughed. “A big, overweight, gray-haired old leg truck driver that they cannot keep out of the big trucks no matter what rank he is.”

  She laughed, picturing the man and loving his enthusiasm for his work.

  Fila was drawn to the bright light and colors in the dark corner of Charlie’s living room. The house was very masculine, and he had a nice collection of Western art. There was American Indian memorabilia displayed throughout the small house that was fascinating to her. In the dark corner was a giant aquarium with fish of vibrant colors she had never seen before—shiny blue and black fish, a bright yellow and blue, barber pole-looking fish that seemed like they could be shrimp, a sea horse—and beautiful coral and vegetation. There was also what looked to her like a giant octopus with many tentacles and a small fish swimming right in the middle of it.

  “This is amazing,” she said. “I have never seen an aquarium this large in a home before, and the fish are beautiful.”

  He said, “It gives me a lot of tranquility. It is a hundred-gallon saltwater aquarium. That is called a blue tang, that is an angel fish, those are coral shrimp, that is of course a sea horse, and this is called a clown anenome. That is a clown fish, and the anenome is poison to all the other fish that come around it. The clown lives in it basically.”

  She just stared into the water and felt his presence behind her. Her breath caught a little. Gently, he touched her shoulders and slowly turned her around. His right hand came up, and softly, the back of his hand rubbed along her cheek, and she almost purred.

  Even more gently, he caressed both cheeks and pulled her slowly forward. He bent down and kissed her full on the lips, but even more softly than he had touched her cheeks. The kiss got more passionate, but he was playful now with the kissing and totally different than all the men she had dated before, who, by this time, would have been trying to get their tongue down her throat. Her heart pounded. She had never had feelings like this before, for any man.

  He said, “Let me show you my bathroom. It is down the hall, second to the last door on the right.”

  She was appreciative, as she went to take care of her personal needs, check her makeup, and give herself a quiet pep talk.

  Charlie went out his back door with a pair of scissors in his hand and returned with a large deep red rose. He carried it in his left hand and started breaking thorns off of the stem.

  She came out of the bathroom, saw him down the hallway, and smiled, then turned and walked into his family room. He joined her on the couch. They kissed passionately again, and he leaned back.

  He said, “We have got a problem. We are partners, and we are going into a very dangerous situation.”

  She said, “I agree totally. We have to be able to rely on each other and be mission-oriented, but there’s another problem.”

  Charlie said, “Coming off as husband and wife and not two operators pretending to be husband and wife.”

  “Exactly,” she replied. “So what do we do?”

  “Let’s sleep on it. I have a guest bedroom with everything you need down the hall where that sliver of light’s coming out,” he said. “Because you are my partner, I will always be totally honest with you, Fila. From all I have seen of you so far, I will have no problem pretending you are my wife.”

  She blushed and kissed him softly, then headed toward the bedroom and in a husky voice said, “Good night, Charlie.”

  He smiled, saying, “Night,” but he wanted to punch something.

  “Why didn’t she reciprocate?” he wondered. He felt she was attracted to him by the way they kissed, but why hadn’t she at least said, “I could stomach posing as your wife”?

  CHARLIE was upset at what he was seeing. He watched while Fila prepared for bed, amid horrendous thunder and lightning flashes outside. The scene was very tense and very scary, and the lights flashed on and off on several occasions. Fila started getting really nervous and checked in the closet, under the canopy bed, behind the curtains, and there she found one window unlocked and quickly locked it. Several things were amiss in her bedroom, which seemed to scare her even more. Finally, after making a thorough search, she seemed satisfied that her room was secure. She nervously laughed at herself, removed her gown, and got under the covers, lying on her side.

  As she reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, she rolled on her back and finally looked up at the ceiling of the canopy bed. She was speechless, as she looked straight up into the smiling evil face of a killer, spread-eagled and holding himself on the frame of the canopy roof by firm hand- and footholds. It was Officer James Rashad, whom Charlie had killed, but he was alive now somehow. Large knife in hand, he dropped onto the now-screaming beautiful Fila and plunged the knife into her body over and over in a passionate rage.

  Then there was silence, as Rashad, breathing heavily, slumped over her lifeless, bloody body, sitting astraddle the victim. There was total silence now except for the heavy, labored breathing of Rashad, as Charlie could not scream.

  Suddenly, from off-camera, a voice yelled, “Cut,” and the very bloody Fila sat up immediately and, laughing, slapped Rashad on the arm and said that he bumped her ribs with his knee when he dropped, and it really hurt. He laughed and apologized, then teased her, playfully tickling her. Charlie was suddenly there and walked up from off-camera and yelled, “Print!” shaking hands with both actors, and then gave her a kiss and looked all around at a large film crew, lights, and entire set.

  Another voice from off-camera now yelled, “Cut!” and Pops, wearing a director’s beret and ascot, walked into the scene and started talking to Charlie and the two actors, as in a broader view Charlie now saw that the first crew and he were also part of the movie and Pops and his bigger crew were obviously the real director and crew. He told Charlie that he should have yelled, “Print!” right after yelling, “Cut!” It now became very clear to Charlie that Pops was directing a film about Charlie directing a suspenseful movie.

  James Rashad came over to Charlie, and they shook hands.

  Charlie said, “Hey, you are an American. I am really sorry I had to kill you, man.”

  “Oh, that’s okay, Charlie,” Rashad said. “You saw I was going to kill the woman you love. But I was just acting. I wasn’t going to kill her.”

  Charlie got angry and said, “Yes, you were. You had a Stinger, you son of a bitch. You were going to kill plenty of women and children.”

  Rashad started laughing and Charlie sat up, looking all around. It was morning.

  He got up, moaning from his daily aches and pains, hobbled into his bathroom, and said to himself, “Damned nightmares! Wonder if antiwar protestors have nightmares about being beat to death by flowers and cardboard signs.”

  Fila was up and drinking coffee. They ate and showered, and she wore one of his shirts over a pair of women’s jogging shorts that had somehow appeared in his apartment. He gave no explanation of how they got there, and she did not ask. He took her to her house, where she changed, and they headed to Bragg.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Getting Serious

  HE called Pops before they showered and was just getting a call back on his cell. He hung up and smiled at her.

  Charlie said, “We’re going to the compound. Pops and Weasel have been busy.”

  “What’s up?”

  He replied, “They would not let us load out of Simmons Army Airfield at Bragg, because you are a female, and there aren’t supposed to be any female HALO jumpers in the army. We’ve got the use of St. Mere Eglise Drop Zone’cause there aren’t any drops there today, but Pops worked it out on an aircraft and even a jump maste
r for just you and me, girl.”

  “Great, but what is the deal? What did he work out?”

  He said, “Let me surprise you, okay?”

  They arrived at the compound and immediately went to the tarmac where two Little Birds were parked.

  Charlie introduced Fila to a tall, slender black guy with dreadlocks and a graying beard.

  “Booty, this is Dick ‘Coon’ Turner,” Charlie said as they shook hands. “Coon, this is my partner, Booty. She is C.A.G.”

  “Hey, nice to meet you, Booty,” Coon said. “I see how you got your nickname.”

  She grinned and flipped his bearded chin with her index finger and said, “Yeah, and I see how you got your nickname, too, Holmes.”

  “Touché,” he said, with a deep-voiced chuckle.

  Fila said, “We’re going to HALO out of Little Birds?”

  Coon said, “Yes, ma’am, the MH-6J model there has a ceiling somewhere a little above fourteen grand. Pops does not want you two jumping O2 today, so we are to drop you at ten thousand feet. The chief is going to start warming up that Little Bird over there.”

  Coon waved and a chief warrant officer in a flight suit came jogging from one of the buildings. They all waved at him, and he waved back. He had flown Charlie on many training missions as well as flying Fila on several different ones. The man always had a smile on his face.

  Charlie and Fila escorted Coon to a small hangar-type building close to the House of Horrors, and they went inside and changed into jumping suits. Both were given ram-air chutes, and they headed toward the tarmac, where Coon would give them his official jump master briefing.