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

Dammit, Stillwater

Day Room
Barracks Area
15th Forward Support Battalion Area
Fort Hood,  Texas
CONUS
08 February, 1992 - Saturday
1400 Hours

The Day Room was full of people, most, like me, watching TV. There were some guys from Bravo Company playing pool, a couple of guys playing the stand-up video games, Peel was playing pinball, and Tony was playing foosball with that midget girl. The guys from Bravo were supposed to stay down in their Day Room, but they'd come in bitching that their two pool tables were already in use and taken ours over pretty quickly.

I'd had lunch with Chuck at the Chow Hall, but he'd wanted to spend time with his crewmates, something I didn't have a problem with. Stillwater had ordered pizza, even offered me a piece, and eaten in the barracks with Belinda. They'd come in the Day Room about an hour ago, laughing and talking. Belinda had convinced Stillwater to play foosball, and from what I could tell, was beating him soundly.

Belinda laughed at something behind me. She had a nice laugh, and a voice that was pleasant, a singer's voice. I started to turn around, then caught myself. I knew she was playing foosball with him, pretty good for being so short. Tony didn't need me checking up on every little thing he did.

Tony was still enlisted, I was an officer now. He was a big boy and could take care of himself.

"Hey, Sergeant, what's with the short bitch?" One of the guys from Bravo Company asked.

I went still.

"You into kids or something, Sergeant?" Another one said, laughing. "Got a little dick or something, white boy?"

"Got a taste for baldies," A third one asked.

The whole Day Room went still as I stood up and turned around.

The last one, big black guy named Johnson, had stepped up into Stillwater's face. "You into fucking children, Sergeant?"

"I'm not a child! I'm a midget!" Belinda yelled.

"Shut up, bitch, this don't concern you," Willams yelled, shoving her. She stumbled back and landed on her ass.

"Looks like your little bitch fell down," Johnson laughed, looking at Belinda, who's mouth was open in shock. He tried to knee Stillwater in the crotch, hitting the thigh instead.

I'd seen Stillwater twist slightly.

"She like fucking a little girl?" Johnson said, shoving Stillwater, who didn't budge.

Stillwater suddenly moved. He put his hand over Johnson's face, the bottom of his palm under the edge of Johnson's chin. He actually lifted Johnson slightly off the ground, taking a half step forward and driving the back of the larger man's head into the cinderblock wall with a crunch.

aw shit

Before anyone could react he had turned around, driving a knee into Davis's gut, grabbing the back of his neck, and slamming him face first into the ping pong table with enough force that the table collapsed into wreckage around the other man.

Stillwater was still in motion. Wilson and Williams had managed to process what was going on, Wilson getting his hands up as Stillwater grabbed the front of his shirt, slamming Wilson's back against the wall. Belinda had crawled over by the pinball machine.

Stillwater drove a hard right into the other man's face, blood sheeting from his nose as it collapsed with a crunch. Williams moved in on Stillwater as Stillwater punched Wilson in the face again with the crunch of cartilage and another spray of blood. I watched blood follow Stillwater's fist as he pulled it back again, droplets hitting me fifteen feet away.