From the subdued faces of the team members, Chief Trotter sensed that the team knew that they had little control over the outcome of the investigation. Having no control over a situation was uncomfortable for SEALs, and this was clearly impacting the group.
“Okay, so the upshot is that this unit is likely going to be reassigned. We may even be merged with another unit. It is possible we may be broken up and sent separately to other units. You all know this is a reality of our situation. Most likely, we will stay within the same SEAL team but will be assigned to a different unit. It is highly unlikely that Bryant will return to this unit, and it is a possibility he will face court-martial,” Chief Trotter explained.
A collective groan erupted from the group.
“That’s bullshit!” was heard from at least one sailor.
“Bryant had every right to pound Lawrence into the dust!” Richards shouted. “I wish I could break Lawrence’s jaw again.”
Chief Trotter raised his hands. “That’s enough! We are SEALs. We don’t have to like what the brass does, but we have to accept it. We are committed to what we do, and that’s all. We will be stuck here in the barracks until the investigation is over. After that, we will be getting back aboard a ship. We will see how that turns out. Meanwhile, I want us to act like a team. I don’t want to hear you bellyaching, and this place will be shipshape. I will let you know when you are to be interviewed. They should start in a couple of days.”
After Chief Trotter left for his separate quarters, the men began to talk. Initially, it was to complain about their circumstances. Then it became more of a condemnation of Lawrence.
“He’s the reason we are in this situation,” Rick Allen, the radio carrier, stated. “I don’t blame Shawn for taking him out.”
“If only there was a way to prevent Lawrence from claiming it was an assault. Maybe that would change the outcome here,” Richards opined. “If only there was a way to let Lawrence know that we were ‘uncomfortable’ with the consequences of his interview,” he continued, using air quotes to emphasize the word uncomfortable.
The room got quiet. They began to look at one another with the sense that their minds were working on Richard’s idea. Deppard looked at Richards with a Mona Lisa–like smile.
“You know, I met a nurse at the Acey-Deucy club two nights ago. Not bad-lookin’ either. I wonder if she could get us in to see Lawrence and let him know how fucked up we think this is,” Deppard said.
“That would be fucked up,” Richards argued. “If the brass found out, we would be in such deep shit we couldn’t breathe.”
“Maybe we could use your nurse to get a message to him though,” Rick Allen chimed in. “It couldn’t be written down. It would have to be verbal.”
“You mean ‘oral,’ don’t you? Verbal just means about words,” Richards corrected.
“Oh, Mister D-I-C-K-tionary, don’t you know every fucking thing!” Allen countered sarcastically.
“Okay, can we agree that we could at least get a message to Lawrence? And that it should be o-r-a-l,” Deppard replied.
Everyone chuckled as they nodded approval. “Sounds good to me,” Richards said.
“So what’s the message?” asked Allen.
“It can’t be anything too blatant, and it should be something simple that he will know is a veiled threat,” offered Richards.
“How about some Navy slang?” suggested Deppard. “Something like FUBAR,” he added.
“I don’t know. That doesn’t convey the message that we will be unhappy and might take it out on him. It feels too general to me,” explained Richards.
After a while negotiating, the team came up with “another fine Navy day,” a phrase that represents the opposite of how it sounds. They followed it with, “It could get even finer, so hope you get better soon so you can enjoy such a fine Navy day!” The team agreed that if they got the same message under the same circumstance, they would recognize it as a threat. They also knew that Lawrence might imagine all the possible things that might go wrong in future missions. Negative events that might be personalized for him.
Later that day, the message was delivered by the nurse to Lawrence. The nurse did not really understand the underlying message, but when she whispered in his ear, the look in Lawrence’s eyes and his furrowed brow suggested it was not all that positive.
Lawrence wanted to swear, but the doctors said he would not be able to say anything for another week. Images of the SEAL team unit floated through his mind. He imagined that he would not be welcomed back to the team if he said something that damaged Shawn Bryant’s chances of being exonerated. He gritted his teeth and grimaced in pain. His thoughts whirled back to Bryant, something that had been occupying his thoughts every minute from the time he awoke from his surgery.
Bryant really needed to have his ass kicked! There is no way that fucking dog was worth what I am going through. I want another shot at that son of a bitch! Internally, he smiled at his double entendres. It would be so simple if I just told the investigator that Bryant attacked me and that I didn’t try to fight back. That would be the end of Bryant’s military career. Very appropriate. It’s what Bryant deserves! But if I read the message right, those jerks in my unit will set me up if I give the investigator what he needs to fry Bryant. What will they do.? There have been stories of teams that abandoned a team member to the Taliban. That’s a death sentence, or worse! Fuck! I can’t even imagine that.
Lawrence recycled those thoughts over and over. The tension in his body increased, and the pain in his jaw was becoming unbearable. Eventually, he thought, I’ll find another way to fuck Bryant up. If I get the chance, I’ll screw them all, one at a time if I have to.
The pain became too much. He hit the nurse’s button. When she arrived, he noticed it was not the same nurse that had delivered the message. He asked for more pain meds, and he was soon feeling more relaxed and drowsier. I’ll get them. Payback is a motherfucker, he thought as he slipped into a hazy oxycodone slumber.
Chapter 5
Exoneration
Captain Ericson stared out the small-pane window onto the drill area in front of the grouping of K-Span buildings that housed the administration officers. His eyes were vacant. After a minute of this, he abruptly turned and walked briskly to his desk. Next to a box filled to the brim with papers needing attention was the manila envelope that held the results of the investigation. He opened the envelope and slid the papers out in front of him one more time. This was the fourth time that he had examined the contents of the envelope.
Since the meeting with Lieutenant Commander Stevens, Ericson had made several phone calls and considered his options for both Lawrence and Bryant. It was an easy, obvious decision that, at the very least, both would have to be transferred and to different units, if not different teams. One of the other officers he consulted suggested that he discharge Bryant but agreed it didn’t make sense, given his stellar military record. The other three he consulted with recommended that both Bryant and Lawrence be placed on probation with a reduction of pay for three months, then transferred. That was assuming Lawrence was not interested in filing charges against Bryant and that he substantially agreed with the other information in the report. If he objected or claimed
