by T. E. Cruise
She noticed Andy looking at her, then Robbie, and back again, trying to figure out what was passing between them. Then Andy curtly addressed Robbie: “Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Why don’t you just get the hell out of here?”
“Easy, pal,” Johnson cautioned. “You’re talking to a superior officer.”
Robbie said, “I see the little man is having an ice-cream soda to console himself over his whipping. Are you sitting on a pillow, little man?” He winked at Gail.
Andy warned quietly, “You’re not in an airplane now. Beat it, before I knock you flat on your ass.”
“Jesus, Andy!” Johnson gasped.
You can say that again, Gail thought. A lowly lieutenant just didn’t speak to a major that way. She watched anxiously for Robbie’s reaction.
Robbie’s eyes met hers. “And you!” he snapped. “Tell me, what’s it like being with brand X after you’ve had the real thing?”
Andy jumped up to shove Robbie away from the table. Gail sat frozen, her hand to her mouth: Robbie looked ready to belt Andy. But then Robbie looked around, noticing how the people at the surrounding tables were watching.
“This is not the place,” Robbie quietly told Andy. “Would you care to step outside, little man?”
“After you, Major.” Andy nodded grimly.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Gail commanded. “I won’t have this.” She realized that she would have to tell him about her previous relationship with Robbie. It would be humiliating for her, but at least it might defuse the tension. “Andy, there’s something you need to know—”
“Stay out of this Gail,” Andy cut her off.
Robbie’s eyes had widened as he stared at Gail. “You mean he doesn’t?”
She shook her head, realizing that Andy was so angry that he’d been totally oblivious to the admittedly cryptic exchange just now between herself and Robbie.
“Well, are you coming, or have you chickened out. Major?” Andy demanded.
Gail felt a momentary surge of hope as Robbie shook his head. Robbie seemed to have cooled down now that he realized that Andy was in the dark concerning the history between himself and Gail.
“I’m not going to fight you. Lieutenant,” Robbie said, turning away. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m a black belt in karate.”
Thank you, God, Gail was thinking, but then Andy had to go and say to Robbie, “What you are is a black belt in being an asshole.”
Robbie whirled, hissing. “You just never know when to quit! Outside then! This won’t take long!”
“Will you two please stop behaving like spoiled children!” Gail began.
“Stan!” Andy interrupted. “Stay here with Gail. See that she doesn’t follow us.”
“You can’t keep me here against my will!” Gail said indignantly.
“Lieutenant,” Robbie addressed Johnson. “You will keep the sergeant here. That is an order.”
“Yes, sir, Major,” Johnson said reflexively. He turned beseeching eyes toward Gail. “I’m sorry. Please, just sit.”
“After you. Major,” Andy said evenly.
Gail watched helplessly as the two men threaded their way past the tables out of the ice-cream parlor.
(Four)
Greene lead Andrew out the ice-cream parlor’s front door. They stalked silently to the alley behind the building, where the streetlights barely penetrated the shadows cast by the dumpsters and garbage cans arrayed against the building’s wall.
“I believe this is private enough for what we have in mind,” Greene said calmly.
“Fight’s on!” Andrew growled, hunching his shoulders and clenching his fists.
Greene brought up his own hands to defend himself as the two of them began circling. Greene was sorry things had come to this, and sorry in the first place that he’d come to the ice-cream parlor where he’d known he could find Andrew and Gail. Greene had come wanting to rub Gail’s nose in the fact that she’d chosen the lesser of the two men, but it had taken the wind right out of his sails when he’d realized that Andrew knew nothing of Greene’s past relationship with Gail, and that Gail obviously didn’t know that he and Andrew were related.
Thinking about it now, it all made sense, Greene decided. Gail was not the kind of girl to talk freely about her past, and why would Andrew have brought the matter up? Early on in their shared history, the two half brothers had agreed on one thing: to deny their filial existence to each other and to as much of the outside world as was possible. Greene never talked about Andrew in terms of the kid being family, and suspected it was vice versa on Andrew’s part.
And now here the two of them were, shuffling around, eyeing each other like nervous bantam roosters newly deposited into the cockfighting ring. Neither one of us really wants to fight, Greene realized.
Greene was about to suggest they knock it off when Andrew made his move. Greene had been expecting the kid to clumsily swing at his jaw, or else try to punch him in the stomach: that’s what your average person did in a fistfight. What Greene was not expecting was Andrew’s surprisingly adept roundhouse kick. Andrew’s torso bent sideways and his leg came around straight and true to catch Greene square in the chest. Greene staggered back but managed to remain on his feet.
“Say, kid, you’ve had some martial-arts training, haven’t you?” Greene remarked, brushing the dirt from Andrew’s shoe from his red ascot.
“Some,” Andrew nodded. He was back in his guarded, semicrouch position. “What do you say? Want to quit before you get hurt?”
Greene laughed. He moved toward Andrew with his own hands slightly lowered in order to lure in the younger man. Andrew took the bait, dancing in to throw a punch at Greene. Greene easily deflected the punch with a sweeping, outside-middle-area block, and then countered with a punch that caught Andrew’s shoulder, followed by a side foot thrust to the side of Andrew’s knee.
Andrew’s leg folded and he fell hard against the garbage cans, sending them clattering as he sprawled to the pavement in a pool of sticky, empty, cardboard ice-cream tubs and banana peels.
“That’s always been your problem, Andrew,” Greene taunted. “You start out okay, but then you get cocky.…” He trailed off abruptly, feeling shaken, remembering how others had used to criticize him the very same way.
Andew was up on his feet, wiping as best he could the sticky, melted ice-cream residue from his uniform. He was shaking his head, looking groggy, but he gamely advanced on Greene while executing a flurry of front snap kicks and karate punches.
Greene backpedaled, bouncing lightly on the soles of his feet with his hands on his hips, merely swaying his body from side to side in order to avoid being struck. Andrew was totally overmatched, Greene realized as he dispassionately observed Andrew’s karate form: the kid’s technique was perfectly good. It was just that Greene had enjoyed the benefit of many more years of training and sparring experience. Andrew could no more touch Greene on the ground than the kid had been able to touch him in the air.
Andrew was slowing down a bit. He was breathing heavily, his kicks were losing their snap, and his punches were growing limp.
It was no fucking wonder, Greene thought. The kid had been windmilling around like the guys in those kung-fu flicks when they speeded up the cameras.
Greene saw an opening and executed a lunge, driving the point of his elbow into Andrew’s solar plexus that left the kid gasping. Greene snapped out a karate thust to Andrew’s stomach, doubling the kid over, and then moved in, feinting a left toward Andrew’s chin. When Andrew brought up his hands to block the phony punch, Greene danced around him, turning sideways and stepping in close in order to drive his elbow into Andrew’s kidney. As Andrew grunted, arching his back, Greene spun around to slash his open hand against the side of Andrew’s neck.
Andrew’s eyes rolled up and he crumpled, semiconscious. Greene moved quickly to catch him so that he didn’t strike his head against the pavement.
“You’ll be okay in a few minutes.” Green laid him do
wn on his side in a relatively clean spot in the alleyway and then straightened up, backing away. “Fight’s over.”
“No,” Andrew called weakly, forcing himself up on his elbows.
“Stay down!” Greene said sharply.
“I won’t lose to you,” Andrew managed, his speech slurred and his eyes still rolling. “I won’t lose! Not twice in one day!”
Greene stood transfixed, staring down at his defiant half brother. The sense of personal déjà vu, of looking in a mirror, was awesome and overwhelming.
“Stay down,” Brody said.
“I don’t lose,” Greene replied…
This had all happened before, Green realized, thinking back some three years to the Mayaguez incident, when the Sea Bear’s air boss had wiped the mats with him in the aircraft carrier’s gym.
Now, as Greene stared at Andrew, who was struggling to continue the fight, he remembered how he himself had been pitted against a seemingly insurmountable foe. But there the similarities ended, Greene brooded, for Brody had shown mercy toward him, while he’d been acting hard as nails toward Andrew. Greene recalled the valuable lesson that Brody had taught him: Life is not about learning, but remembering. Well, wasn’t remembering what he was doing now?
“Andy,” Greene murmured.
“What?” He sounded amazed. “You know, Robbie? I don’t think you’ve ever called me anything but dirty names and Andrew.”
“Andy, I…” Greene was having trouble finding the right words, and then, before he could summon up what he wanted to say, he heard noise coming from behind. He turned to see Gail Saunders come running into the alley.
“What have you done to him, you bullying bastard!” Gail cursed at Greene as she ran to where Andrew was lying.
“I’m okay,” Andrew muttered, sitting up.
“You sure?” Gail’s tanned legs flashed beneath her white dress as she knelt to put her arm around him.
Andrew nodded. “The worst damage is to my pride.” He glanced at Gail. “How’d you get away from Johnson?”
“I dumped your ice-cream soda in his lap.” She shrugged. “It kind of distracted him.” She glared at Greene. “But you! You son of a bitch! If there was anything still between us, it’s gone now. You can be sure of that!”
“I’ve been sure of that for a while.” Greene realized he felt sorry about it, but it was so.
“It’s your loss!” Gail snapped.
“I know that too,” Greene acknowledged softly.
“What’s going on here?” Andrew demanded. “Is there something I should know?”
As Greene walked away, he heard her explanation.
“I’m so sorry, Andy! This is all my fault! Major Greene and I used to go out. Yes, it’s true, he’s been picking on you because he was jealous of me seeing you, and—Andy? What is it? Why are you laughing?”
“Gail, honey, this isn’t about you.”
“Huh?”
“Robbie and I have been tussling like this since I was born.”
“Huh? Are you telling me that you two guys know each other?”
“Gail, Robbie’s my brother…. Gail? Now, why are you laughing?”
(Five)
The trailer Andy shared with three other members of his squadron had fold-out furniture, a galley kitchenette, a small bath, a cramped seating area, and light-blue walls with wood-grain vinyl trim. In the way of entertainment there were a few paperbacks, some tattered skin magazines, and a radio just now turned low to a rock station that was playing the Eagles’ “Hotel California.”
The trailer’s lights were off. Several lit candles stuck onto jar lids were scattered about, casting their lambent glow. A soft breeze rattled the rattan shades over the trailer’s screened jalousie windows, and every now and then a strong gust would cause the candles’ flames to waver, casting long shadows and creating a strobe effect over the narrow bed where Andy lay cradling Gail in his arms.
“I want you to know I usually don’t sleep with guys this early in the relationship,” Gail murmured dreamily.
“I feel like we’ve known each other a long time,” Andy said.
“I guess we have,” she agreed, “… in some ways.”
Andy buried his face in her hair, inhaling the entwined scents of herbal shampoo and the salty tang of her lathered body. Her musk was all over the twisted, sweaty sheets.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Gail asked.
Andy smiled. “I was thinking that I’d better remember to change these sheets or else my roomates will go crazy.”
“Oh, God! You’re terrible.” she trilled, nudging him in the ribs.
“Ouch!” Andy winced. The spot she’d caught was still sore from Robbie’s elbow strike.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Gail said quickly. “You poor baby.” She gently stroked his side. “It still hurts, huh?”
Andy nodded. “Of course, I only lost that fight in order to garner your sympathy and thus lure you to my bed.”
“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “And I’m sure that if you could have only kept the fight going a little longer, Robbie would have worn himself out using you like a punching bag.” She flipped over on her side on the narrow bed in order to nestle like a spoon against him. “By the way, where are your roommates?”
“Well, Johnson is probably at a dry cleaners….”
She giggled. “You should have seen his face when I dumped that soda in his lap. It’s funny now, but at the time I was really pissed off when you and Robbie ordered me to stay inside. When I was a little girl growing up in Motion, South Carolina, I never could cotton to folks telling me what I could or couldn’t do. That I couldn’t help out my daddy at his garage in town, for instance. That it was unseemly”—she spat the next word—”unfeminine for me to want to fiddle around with engines. Everybody kept telling me about how I was meant to become a schoolteacher, or a nurse, or a ballerina or some such shit.”
Andy laughed. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
“Ugh, men!” she fumed. “Andy Harrison, you’re better than most, but that still leaves you an insufferably smug dolt.”
“Yes, Miz Sergeant, ma’am.”
“Shit up and kiss me, you sex object, you.”
Andy kissed her, pleased to have been able to get her off the subject. Just like Grandma Erica, Gail was a real women’s libber, a bra burner, not that Gail’s delicious tits needed one. Andy did respect her for her accomplishments, but sometimes she got a little too strident. However, he’d learned that if he was careful about it he could kid her out of it.
“I gave my other roommates a quarter,” Andy said. “And sent them to the movies.”
“Huh?”
“Remember back at the ice-cream parlor when you were worried about how badly I’d been hurt in the fight, and insisted on driving me home? Well, from the way you were babying me, I kind of had a hunch we’d end up here, so when I excused myself in order to clean up in the men’s room I took the opportunity to make a phone call to tell my roommates to clear out.”
“Oh? And they listened to you?”
Andy nodded whimsically. “It’s like an unwritten social contract that whenever single guys room together, all the rest have to clear out if one guy gets lucky.”
“Hmm. and do you often get lucky?” Gail demanded teasingly.
Andy lifted her hair to kiss the nape of her neck. “Never this lucky.”
“You’ve got an answer for everything, haven’t you?” She didn’t particularly sound like she was complaining. “Oh! What are you doing to me? And whatever it is, don’t stop!”
Andy was gently rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger while he stroked her long, supple thigh, tarrying his palm at the sleek curve of her hip. She had a marvelously toned body thanks to her strenuous work climbing around on scaffolding hefting heavy jet-engine parts. She was firm with muscle where other girls were soft, and that had initially been disconcerting to Andrew. Making love their first time tonight, Andy had felt like he was in a wrestling mat
ch. Gail had not been shy about making clear what she wanted, at times literally manhandling him into the desired position…. But then it had been challenging fun at last pinning her down, and she had surrendered deliciously. Together the two of them had really set this old trailer rocking and creaking on its springs, and when they’d orgasmed together, Gail had howled so loudly that her cry had been answered by a far-off coyote. That had reduced the both of them to an endless bout of helpless laughter.
On the radio, “My Girl,” by the Temptations, was seguing into “Silly Love Songs,” by Paul McCartney and Wings. They listened quietly to the music for a few moments and then Andy gently turned Gail around in order to kiss her. He saw the sad look in her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked, concerned. “Are you having second thoughts about coming here?”
She shook her head. “No, I wanted this as much as you.” She sighed. “I was thinking about the story you told me concerning you and your brother.”
“Half brother.”
“Oh, Andy! How sad it all is! I wish I could do something.”
“I appreciate that, but you can’t,” Andy replied. “When it comes to Robbie and me, it’s the Hatfields and the McCoys all over again.”
“There’s only one way there’s ever going to be peace between you two,” Gail said. “You’re going to have to beat him at his own game. You’re going to have to come out on top during Red Sky.”
“I agree with you, but I’m not sure I can beat him,” Andy replied. “I had no conception of how good he was until I tangled with him in the air today.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gail insisted. “You just have to recognize your own abilities and stop letting him psych you out.” She paused. “That may not be as difficult as you think. I think you’ve begun to psyche him out.”
Andy shook his head, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Gail shrugged. “It’s hard to explain, but back in that alley, just before he turned away from us, I caught a glimpse of something in Robbie’s eyes. It was…” She paused, shaking her head. “I’m not sure what it was, but somehow I got the impression that a part of him wants you to beat him.”
