Rusty

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The team had landed back in Virginia Beach at the Naval Air Station. The debriefing took much longer than usual because what was supposed to have been an in and out simple extraction turned out to be anything but. We were part of The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group or what we referred to as DEVGRU. Most civilians knew us as Seal Team Six, only that wasn’t exactly correct. Seal Team Six had been disbanded in 1987 when Seal Team 8 and DEVGRU were formed. However, the moniker stuck, especially with the media. So most people still went with it.

Our mission had been to drop into Iran, rescue two hostages, and then get to the border of Afghanistan for an airlift. Only it didn’t quite happen as scheduled. The first problem came when one of the hostages ended up being critically wounded, which we hadn’t been aware of. Then our extraction vehicle didn’t show. From there, things deteriorated. We couldn’t get air support without Iran’s knowledge, so we were on our own for twelve hours. What had looked like a piece of cake was a FUBAR like I hadn’t seen in over two years.

We finally were able to get the wounded stabilized with the assistance of Dr. Traitor and then made our escape to the border using the vehicle he so kindly lent us. It was touch and go all the way. A bird finally showed up to take us to the base at Bagram. We made it by the slices of our asses.

The explanations to the superiors went on forever. They couldn’t understand why it went south so fast. And honestly, neither could we. It was like someone was expecting our show up. And Dr. Traitor’s help only added to that explanation. It was too late for guessing games now. We were done and gone. Each of our written reports were expected by tomorrow. I couldn’t wait for the couple of weeks leave I had coming up.

My foster sister, Velvet, had been begging me to visit her in California. She was a famous actor now, and had changed her name to Midnight Drake, and her husband, Harrison, owned a PR company that specialized in shining up tarnished images in the entertainment industry. That’s how they met, in fact. They were both so busy, though, and they’d recently had a second child, that going out there wouldn’t exactly be the needed R&R that my mind and body craved. I would make it a point to head out there in the near future, but right now, I’d stick around here. Maybe head to the beach for a few days or go inland to fish the rivers. I wasn’t sure, maybe do some exploring of the local towns around here that I’d always had wanted to do but never got around to.

“Hey, Garrett? You up for a beer?” Greg, one of my teammates asked.

“Sure, man. But I want to get that report written first, so I’ll meet you out.”

“Sounds good. See you later.”

I grabbed my gear, closed my fenced-in locker, and headed to my truck. The drive home didn’t take too long. Traffic out this way wasn’t bad, and I was determined to finish my work.

Happy I’d gone through the drive-thru of a local eatery on the way home, I pulled out the food and chowed down. I was starved, having not eaten since before lunch. Then I opened my secure laptop and went to work. These briefs were so damn tedious, I was careful to include every detail. It took me longer than I expected, but I didn’t hit send. I wouldn’t do that until I read it with fresh eyes in the morning.

Then I left for the local hangout to meet the guys. When I got there, it was obvious they’d all had a few. Maybe more than a few.

“So, Garrett, don’t you have leave coming up?”

“Yeah, next week.”

“Whatcha got planned?”

“Nothing so far.”

“You gotta get out of here,” Wilson said.

“Oh, I plan to. I just don’t know where yet. Maybe I’ll go fishing.”

“Too bad duck season isn’t here yet. My wife’s uncle has a place not too far from here.” Wilson held his arm out like a shotgun and took aim.

“Hey, I’m up for that anytime, man.”

We drank a couple more—well they did—and I gave them all rides home. I was wiped.

After I brushed my teeth, I flopped on the bed. The last thing I remembered was thinking heaven. My lids slammed shut the minute I hit the pillow. Sleeping on those military planes sucked.

My internal alarm clock woke me at six a.m. For once I wished I could sleep longer. But that would never happen. My need for food and coffee didn’t allow it. The refrigerator was empty, so I hit the shower and headed to the local cafe. They pretty much knew me here and greeted me with a cheery Good morning.

I took my usual seat at the counter and my coffee cup was filled immediately while the waitress asked if I wanted my usual.

“You know it, ma’am.”

“I’ve missed you. You’ve been away.”

Laughing, I said, “Are you always this observant?” It wasn’t that difficult since I ate here pretty much every morning.

“No, I just notice when my Seals are absent. Been on a mission?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Hope it went well.”

I dipped my head. She knew I couldn’t say anything and she never pressed. Her name was Dottie and she was probably my mom’s age … if my mom hadn’t drunk herself into an early grave.

A few minutes later, a piping hot plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and two biscuits appeared in front of me. “Here you go, son.”

“Ah, thanks. This looks great.” Then she refilled my empty cup.

“Anything else?”

“No, this is perfect.”

She smiled and left me to eat. I polished my plate and left her a large tip, exactly like I always did. As I was walking out, she hollered out her thanks.

When I got back home, I double-checked my brief to make sure it was clear, concise, accurate, and error free. When I was satisfied with it, I hit send. Then I set off to the base. The rest of the week went easy. Nothing unusual popped up, which was nice. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my leave.

On Friday, I double checked to see if my leave was still approved. Still not sure of what I would do, I went home to make some plans.

I googled things to do in the area and landed on a couple of small towns, but one called Drummond seemed intriguing. It was an old railroad hub that had apparently been developed into an artsy place with some bed and breakfasts, local shops, and a museum chronicling the railroad when it was a major mode of transportation. The town fascinated me with its antique stores, locally made furniture, and shops that catered to local businesses. It was less than an hour from here so if it turned out to be a bust, I could always head back home.

I made a reservation at a cool looking inn for the following week and decided to check it out. Who knows what I’d turn up?