Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Storm Crow

Charlie Company Area
15th FSB Operations Area
Fort Hood, Texas
CONUS
4 Feb, 1992
1100 Hours

"Chief?" The voice and the light patting on my cheek made me open my eyes. I was staring up at a cloudy sky, laying on my back on concrete with something under my head and supporting my neck. My butt and the back of my head ached. "Chief, wake up."

I groaned, lifting a hand. "I had a terrible dream."

"You passed out. That chick in the black suit said you fainted," The voice said. Specialist Grant, 15th Armorer and Sensitive Item NCOIC, O Positive, allergic to kiwi, no religious preference.

"I did?" I asked. I went to sit up but the hand on my chest kept me down.

"She said to keep you laying down till she's done talking to the MP's. Do you remember what happened?" He asked me.

I could remember working in my office.

"I was doing paperwork," I said softly. My head hurt, at the base of my skull. A dull throb that told me that my medication was suppressing anger or adrenaline.

"Um, wow, you don't remember anything else?" He asked me.

It was coming back to me. Men in suits. Men with pistols. March being pistol whipped. The slight little man in Captain Jane's office. Little-Bit.

Stillwater.

I rolled over, almost falling off the loading dock, and threw up as the pills combined with the adrenaline in my stomach. I finished throwing up and rolled onto my back before getting to my feet. Leiutenant Bradshaw was standing outside, my knife in his hands. He was slowly cleaning it off with a rag and rubbing alcohol. The door into Charlie Company was closed. Only the three of us were on the loading dock. Grant was in his T-shirt, and when I looked down, I saw that his BDU top and field jacket were what I had been resting my head on.

"That woman in the black suit said you fainted," Grant said. Bradshaw looked up at me, then went back to wiping the blade down carefully.

I nodded, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "I suffered a shock on top of all that adrenaline."

"You've used this thing a lot, haven't you, Chief?" Bradshaw asked, his voice quiet. Usually he was gone from the unit, coordinating other things, so I hadn't really interacted with the man.

"That one or another knife," I admitted. I spit a few times over the loading dock to clear my mouth.

"I've never seen anyone move that fast," He said quietly. "I was standing there, just staring, at those three men while they threatened everyone. You killed them before I could even decide what to do."

I moved up to him, putting my hand on his forearm. When he looked at me I gently took the Gerber from his fingers. "Experience, hardwired reflexes, muscle memory," I told him. "Are you all right?"

"It was so fast," He said, shaking his head. He looked at me. "I've never seen anyone die before."

I nodded slow, keeping my hand on his arm. "It's a shock. First time I saw a man die, I froze up. Are you all right?"

He nodded slowly, looking at his hands. Blood was smeared on them, probably from handling the Gerber.

"Who is that woman in the suit?" He asked softly.

"Nobody," I said. "She's nobody."

He shook his head. "She told the MP's to stand down. That the CIA would handle the deaths and the bodies," He looked at me. "She acted like they're just going to vanish."