He worked with a team, yet they worked separately or in pairs. In the last few months before his departure, it seemed the unit became a revolving door of strangers who kept to themselves and did their jobs. As an extrovert, Cole didn’t appreciate the atmosphere. Sensing Cole lacked something, Brody became his new companion. When they brought the dogin after his handler got injured and later died, he became Brody’s supporter. He stayed an extra six months and cared for the dog until they allowed him to take Brody home.
Brody, for his part, coped with his loss by randomly acting out and stealing things. Cole found it funny until he found Sergeant Ford’s love letters to his girlfriend amongst the pile. Those never reappeared, but he carefully returned the missing items to their rightful owners. His respect for his boss turned sour after learning the man was married with three kids. Loyalty always remained at the top of his list when it came to picking girlfriends. The military’s divorce statistics only cemented his view.
“No, asshole. Why didn’t you tell me this at the morning meeting?” Leo snapped at Whiskey.
“The shipment didn’t arrive until later and you placed the order. I’ve spent the last two hours trying to see if we can return some of them,” Whiskey explained. “Apparently, you ordered them on sale and they don’t want to take them back.”
“Shit,” Leo uttered, wiping his forehead. “How much did it set me back?”
“Yeah, tell him, Whiskey. Catherine will have him on latrine duty for a couple of months. We’ll see who suddenly wants to trade jobs then. Didn’t she tell you to stop doing the inventory after the last batch of diapers showed up?”
Leo sighed heavily. “Patch, do you need a session with your fiancée? You seem to forget where you are and when to control your mouth.”
“Nope, boss. I’m only stating facts,” Patch said, sitting down.
Leo wiped his hand down his face, staring at his corpsman.
“As you can see, we’re a fine oiled machine,” Leo said, turning his attention to Cole. “I encourage my men to speak out when we have an issue. It keeps harmony among us, except for Patch. He has a big pie hole and never learns when to shut up.”
“Hey. You can’t say that to me. I’m the best corpsman you got,” Patch stood up for himself.
“You’re the only one,” Leo reminded him. “If only Doc didn’t have a circus and a hospital to run,” he whispered to the ceiling.
Cole smothered the laughter as he watched the men pass along the cream and sugar for the coffee. One man left something at the counter and without getting asked, another brought it over. The team appeared amused by the banter and not in the least disjointed by it, sending the message Leo ran a tight ship. The men respected him and he listened to them.
“From your left, we have Candi’s new husband, Archer, Whiskey, Ragu, Shadow, Taco, Sparky, Bear, Saint, and Michael. He’s a pediatrician by day and moonlights with us when needed. Sparky recently joined the team and can answer any questions you have about joining us. She can provide an unbiased view.”
“They’re all assholes,” Sparky spoke up, making Leo stare once more at the ceiling.
“Everyone, meet Cole and Brody. He’s interviewing for the K-9 training position. As we discussed, I have some new contracts coming in, and the dogs might come in handy. We checked his references and all but one came back with glowing remarks. The last one returned with a list of grievances toward him. Do you have a problem following orders?”
Cole froze on the spot. “No, sir,” he replied, recalling the names he listed as references.
“It seems your Sergeant felt differently.” Leo pulled out a file in front of him and opened the folder. “It appears he didn’t like how you agreed to extend your tour by six months. He found you lacking as a team player and said you didn’t meet his expectations over the last few months in particular.”
Cole’s mouth shot open in surprise. He did everything to the letter and never uttered a single word about the extramarital affair of Sergeant Ford. Why did the man give him such adeplorable review when Cole never said anything to anyone about the things he knew? He disagreed with the man’s actions, but confronting him might have destroyed his chances to bring Brody home with him. He refused to leave his buddy behind.
“I…uh…don’t know why he’d say such a thing,” Cole stuttered, at a loss over the betrayal.
Leo slid another folder toward him. In it, he found pictures of Sergeant Ford with another airman. Then, he flipped to photos of his family playing in their yard. “We take accusations seriously around here. Something seemed off about his review, seeing as all the others came back with glowing recommendations. You’ll find Bear loves a good needle in the haystack. He discovered this. Did you report him?”
Cole shook his head, already feeling defeated. “No. He had the final say on whether I could bring Brody back with me because he reported to Colonel Rutherford. It’s challenging to bring these dogs home. The cost alone can be significant. If you’ve done your homework, then I suspect you already know I’m not his original handler. John and I worked with Brody together before they got assigned to one another. When he died, I nursed Brody back to health. He missed John and suffered from traumatic injuries. I refused to leave him there.”
Leo nodded. “Above all, we stay loyal to one another and to our families. We respect your decision. However, we disagreed with your sergeant’s handling of the matter. Since you didn’t go through the proper channels, we sent the information to his colonel, and he’ll be dealt with. As of yesterday, his wife caught wind of his affair through another military wife. She has currently packed up the kids and left for her mother’s.”
Cole sat back, shocked and in disbelief. These men didn’t play around when it came to the job yet seemed to still hold themselves to a higher standard than what he witnessed during his tour.
“I don’t know what to say. I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Cole said, glancing around at the table. His eyes widened when his gaze fell on Scarlett. She stared right through him as if she were blind.
“Tell me, did he spot the blind one yet?” she loudly whispered. “Please tell me he stopped at Taco. With the way he’s always dazed and confused when you say the word taco, I gotta sporting chance.”
“Heeeey,” Taco whined. “It’s not my fault Tess ran out of breakfast burritos this morning before you placed your order. Don’t take out your hangry on me.”
“All right, Sparky,” Leo rolled his eyes. “She recently joined the team and it appears Team Asshole has already corrupted her. As you can see, she’s a ginger on top of it. We’re all doomed.”
“Team Asshole?” Cole asked.
“Team Hawk officially. We want to welcome you to join us if what you witnessed here today feels comfortable. The team voted to give you a shot,” Leo announced. “From what the guards told me, you already came prepared with boxes loaded in your truck. By the way, the tin of cookies you left in your front seat disappeared when the Russians searched your vehicle. I’m sorry. We don’t take chances on the mountain after some recent activity. They have searched through your belongings.”
