SEALs

Chapter Nine

There was a large map on the far wall and after checking it over I found out where I was headed. Taking the hall to the left, I followed a few people down and to the right until I came to a few office doors. Each had a nametag of a Commander on them and it wasn't long until I found Highland's. Swallowing, I summoned up my courage and knocked.

"Come in," his gruff voice shouted.

I opened the door, sticking my head inside to see him surrounded by paper work. He looked up, his studious expression turning into a full out glare.

"Davis," he barked. "Sit down."

I jumped inside, closing the door before sliding into the chair across from him. He continued to stare at me, the rage evident in his eyes. Oh God. I'd done it this time.

"Thought you could get away with it, huh?" he questioned.

I swallowed. "Away with what, sir?"

Highland grunted. "Don't act all innocent, Davis," he snapped, pointing an accusing finger at me. "I know what you did that day when you were supposed to be protecting the president. Do you understand what this could turn into? For you and your team mates?"

My eyes went to the ground. "Sir, this is all on me. I should be the one who is punished."

He snorted. "Very noble." Highland lifted a piece of paper on his desk to read from it. "This could go to a court martial. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice you could be charged with absence without leave. Insubordination and willful disobedience to your commanding officer and ending it all with robbery, damage and destruction of military property." He whistled lowly and clucked his tongue. "Quite a list. You should probably find a JAG before they throw you right into Leavenworth."

The shiver that went through my body must have been evident because he laughed. Leavenworth was a military prison in Kansas. Not some place I wanted to end up in.

"You look a little worried there, Davis," he said with a grin. I knew he was having fun torturing me. "You want to go to prison?"

"No, sir," I mumbled. All that courage I had entered the room with was gone. He'd had broken me down.

Highland stared at me for a long moment before he sighed and tossed his papers aside. He slowly rubbed his temples before looking up at me again.

"With these papers I could send you to Leavenworth," he sighed. "But…you are a good solider, Davis. One of the best I've met, I'd say. You have great leadership skills and are very brave." He groaned. "And you did do the mission…even if it took you longer to get there than others."

"I am sorry, sir," I said truthfully.

He frowned. "You're not even giving excuses…" he said, almost sounding amazed. I kept my mouth shut. Leaning back in his chair he rubbed his face, looking tired. "I've decided to not go ahead with the charges."

I looked up at him, shocked. He wasn't pressing the charges against me? "What?" I asked in complete surprise, sounding like an idiot in the process.

He chuckled humorlessly. "Don't think you're getting away that easily," he said. "I am charging you for destruction of military property. You'll be given a hefty fine but that's it."

All I could do was stare at him in shock. I never thought he'd be this kind to me. I should have been given a court martial and put in jail for everything I had done but he was letting me go. Was he not the bad guy I had painted him as? Had I got him all wrong? My eyes strayed to the picture frames that littered his desk. In each was Highland and his family, and he was smiling in every one of them. Like the picture on the edge of his desk, which revealed not a commander but a father. Two little girls, with their hair in pigtails and their two front teeth missing, were holding on to him and grinning widely. In another photo was Highland and what must be his wife. I now noticed how decorated this office was with family pictures. I even noticed the ring on his finger. He wasn't just Commander Highland, he was an actual person.