“I’d like to think about it, sir,” I said.
“Shit, Ed, you are so much a Marine. Do you not have any humanity left at all?”
“Sir, I’ve had it with humanity, I’ll die with my boots on, once a Marine, always a Marine – Semper Fi,” I replied, grinning.
He picked up the phone and dialled a number.
“Mickey? It’s Rick Masterton, yes, Colonel Rick Masterton. How are you?”
“Good, now, do you remember Ed Ryan?”
“Yes, the son of a bitch who nearly killed Major Jackass. That’s the guy.”
The Colonel looked at me and smiled, “He remembers you,” he said.
So he should, as we once had a real asshole of a Major, Major Jackson was his name, but we all called him Major Jackass. He was determined to have Mickey on anything, as he just hated his guts for some reason. One night I saw him lurking in the bushes outside the base, just waiting for Mickey to return from a long-term drinking session. Mickey was twenty minutes after his time, so, if his usual routine was being followed, would be totally blasted. Jackass had blacked up, so as not to be seen.
I was guard commander at the time so, pretending I did not recognise him, I challenged the man in the bushes and, as he was slow to react, I beat seven bells of shit out of him. By the time he made his identity known, he was a hospital case and Mickey rolled past the gate and drunk as a skunk, but in the clear.
“Well, Ed has been given some thinking time, and I’ve given him eight weeks off. Is he someone you could use on one of your contracts?”
“Okay, right, No that’s fine, I’ll tell him, so on Monday at the Flying Fish. No problem, thanks Mickey, now take care of our boy. Bye,” the colonel hung up.
He handed me a note with a name of a bar, and a phone number on it.
“He is down at the Keyes, ten hundred hours on Monday, there’s a job if you want it, be there, and you have a job. It's for six to eight weeks, so I will see you when you get back. If you like it out there, then call me, and we will see what we can do. You're eligible for a pension, and you have a lot of life left in you,” he said.
I looked at the piece of paper, and then at Rick.
“Thanks Rick, I appreciate it,” I said, dropping the formality of the corps for the first time in my life. Rick was surprised, realising how much I dreaded the outside world.
“No problem Ed, as I said, you and I go way back.”
We shook hands, and then I came to attention once more.
“Will that be all, sir?”
“Yes, thank you Ed. Enjoy your leave,” he said.
“Yes sir. Thank you sir,” I said, turned about and marched out.
* * *
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted the job. After all, it was just perpetuating the lie. I was a Marine, yet I was the other thing too. I was shit scared of having it take over, as I had come to love the life I despised, and feared the life for which I’d always yearned, but denied myself.
I returned to my quarters and packed a bag. I had half a mind to mosey on down to the Keyes, as it couldn’t hurt; I had nothing else to do. I threw the bag into the back of my Ford Mustang and drove out of the gates. It was a nice drive, so with the soft top down I made the most of it. It was getting late when I pulled off the road at a motel in northern Florida. It was in the middle of nowhere, with trees and scrub all around it.
There was a diner the parking lot, so I checked into the motel and then walked across the parking lot, easing myself into a booth in the diner. It was a quiet evening, with around eight or ten other people having meals, so with subdued conversation, no blaring music and the gentle aroma of decent cooking wafting from the kitchen, I felt relaxed.
“Hi there, how are you tonight?” asked the heavy blonde waitress. She had the name Carole on a name badge.
“I’m just fine thanks, Carole. You seem quiet tonight?”
“Yeah, well, some days are better than others, you know how it is?”
I ordered a steak and some fries and a beer, and sat back and closed my eyes for a moment. I was getting old. My eyes got tired after I drove a long way these days.
When I opened them, a man was sitting opposite me. He looked to be in good shape for a man around fifty, with steel grey hair and dark grey eyes. He was wearing an immaculate grey suit, which made him look like an executive. This was weird, as there were several unoccupied booths, so there was no call to encroach on mine. Besides, I hadn’t felt the booth or table move when he’d sat. I frowned, and was about to say something when he spoke.
“Sergeant Edward Ryan. I apologise at approaching you like this, but sometimes, needs must,” he said, he had a very neutral accent, New England or perhaps even British.
“Who the hell are you?” I said.
“My name is Michael. I have a proposition for you.”
“How the hell did you know where to find me?”
“Ah, tricks of the trade I'm afraid,” he said, looking at the menu.
Carole came with my beer. After depositing it on the table, she asked Michael if he was ordering.
“Just a coffee, please,” he said.
“Who the hell are you?” I repeated, as Carole waddled away.
“I told you, my name is…”
“Not your name, I don’t believe that in any case. Are you with the Government?”
Michael looked at me. He had very odd eyes. They were very grey, but so dark as to be almost black.
“No sergeant, I am not with the government. But I do represent authority, of sorts.”
“What authority?” I asked, intrigued despite myself.
“An authority that can justify offering you some gainful and very profitable employment. Your experience and, ah, unique personal qualities make you perfect for our agency.”
“What qualities, what agency?”
“Ed, you don’t mind if I call you Ed, do you?”
“It’s my name.”
“Ed, let me just say that there is nothing about you that we do not know, and I mean nothing. You’re a courageous and highly decorated Marine. You have served your country faithfully and well. But you also are unfulfilled and frustrated. You are fearful of that aspect of your life that you have hidden for so long coming to the fore, and causing you more distress. Need I really go into details?”
It’s not often that I’ve felt afraid, but now was one of those few times. The icy tendrils of uncertainty and fear tickled my spine, and I swallowed.
Before I could say anything, Carole brought my steak and his coffee. I waited for her to leave us. I was curious as well as not a little afraid. Who was this guy, and how did he know things that I had told no one about?
“How do you know so much?” I asked.
“It’s our business, Ed. But there’s no need for alarm, we are not in the business of divulging such information, and neither do I mention it in order to coerce you to do anything you do not wish to.”
“You said our and we, just who the hell are you?”
“Just eat your food, I’ll explain when you’re done,” he said
I ate my steak without tasting it. It was a little tough, but I was hungry. He sat watching in silence, sipping his coffee and smiling enigmatically.
I drained my glass, waved at Carole and ordered another.
“So, what is this proposition?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
He looked at me, nodding, as if he knew I would be interested; smug bastard.
“It will be worth your while, and you would still be in the Keyes for Monday.”
I frowned.
“Excuse me, but this is sounding just a little weird,” I said.
He said no more, but simply watched me finish my steak and drain my second beer.
“Come with me,” he said, standing up and leaving the diner.
I paid for my meal and his coffee, stood and followed him into the parking lot.
“Hey, you owe me for the coffee,” I said, as I almost had to run to keep up.