to sit down and study the two files. Quickly perusing Coughman’s, he saw Shaw’s illegible scrawl, indicating he’d read and understood the orders before transporting the prisoner.
Shaw barely breathed as the captain read through his file. Sweat beaded, then ran down his temples. Did he dare wipe it away? One look at the captain’s dark, angry face and Shaw remained at attention, not moving a muscle. Couldn’t he do anything right?
After five minutes, Ramsey looked up at the sweating private. “What made you join the corps?”
Stunned by the unexpected question, Shaw stared at Ramsey momentarily, then jerked his eyes away. “Wha— sir?”
Patiently, Dan repeated, “Why’d you join the corps, Shaw?”
“Uh…well, sir, I wanted training. My friend’s family said education was a key to success, so I oughtta get some kind of technical training I could use on the outside once my enlistment was up, you know?”
Dan’s gaze fell on Shaw’s grades. They were just this side of failing in all categories. “Motor pool would have been your best bet, Shaw. Brig chasers are a breed apart, and they’re highly intelligent men and women. Also, unless you’re planning on being a prison guard when you get out, this job isn’t going to help you toward your goal one iota.”
Shaw remained frozen. “Yes, sir, I know, sir.”
“Do you know why I called you in here?”
“Yes, sir,” Shaw mumbled.
“You screwed up on taking Coughman to TI. I suppose Lieutenant Wood set you straight on correct regulations regarding transport of a prisoner?”
Ashamed, Shaw nodded and swallowed hard. “Uh, yes, sir, he did. He, uh, was really mad about it, sir.”
“Don’t you think he had a right to be?” Dan shouted.
“Yes, sir, I do!” Shaw’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with sincerity. “I’m really sorry, Captain. I promise, it won’t happen again! I just didn’t read that set of orders close enough. Coughman was my first real chase, sir. Before, I always paired up with another, experienced brig chaser. I—I guess I got overexcited or something.”
Dan leaned forward, his voice grating. “Shaw, marines don’t get excited when trouble happens. You got that? You stay calm, cool and collected.”
“Yes, sir…”
“I don’t like being brought to task by another officer over one of my men, Shaw. Especially a navy officer. That’s embarrassing.”
“Yes, sir…”
Exhaling hard, Dan glared at the young private. Shaw was sweating so hard that large, dark splotches showed beneath each of his arms. A part of Dan took pity on the kid, but another part didn’t. Shaw could be killed if he didn’t make this lesson stick. Regulations were in place to make transporting a prisoner as safe as possible for the brig chaser and the civilian population alike. A little fear was good for him. It might keep him alive. “All right, Shaw, I’m giving you one more chance.”
“You are?” he gasped.
Dan made his face hard and merciless. “You screw up so much as an inch out of line, Shaw, and I’m going to make sure you get transferred out of my division and into someplace where the sun doesn’t shine until your enlistment’s up. You got that?”
“Yes, sir! Loud and clear, sir! I won’t let you down, sir!”
“I hope,” Dan whispered gruffly, “for your sake, Shaw, you don’t. I don’t ever want to see your face in here again on charges like this. Now get out of here and study up on the regulations for transporting prisoners. You are to know them by memory. Once you’ve memorized them, you are to repeat them verbatim to Sergeant Donnally. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Dismissed!”
Shaw did an about-face and left his office, and Dan leaned back in his chair. A knock sounded on his door. He glanced down at his watch. It was 1700. Already angry, he snarled, “Enter!”
Sergeant Joe Donnally entered.
“What the hell happened to you?” Dan asked, sitting upright in the chair. Donnally’s face was a mess of bruises and he had a long cut leaking blood down the right side of his jaw.
Sheepishly, Joe handed over his report and pressed a green handkerchief to his face. “I mixed it up with a couple of marines over at San Onofre, Captain. A couple of PFC’s discovered some illegal aliens hiding behind a supply Quonset hut and were beating the hell out of them when I arrived. I ordered them to stop.” Donnally shrugged his broad, powerful shoulders, stiffness apparent in them. “When they didn’t, I waded into the fray, sir. Wetbacks might be entering this country illegally, but they don’t deserve to be beaten to death. It’s all here in my report.”
Disbelief edged Dan’s voice. “Why didn’t you stop at the hospital first and get that face taken care of?”
“I figured you’d want to know what happened over there first, Captain.”
“Sergeant, your report can wait until later. Get your butt over to the hospital emergency room, pronto.”
“But, sir—”
“Dammit, Donnally, don’t argue with me! My people come first. You should have had the good sense to get treatment. You could have radioed me from the truck and detoured to the hospital. I’d have approved your request.” He gave the report a disgusted look. “This damned report can wait.”
Contrite, the sergeant nodded and came to attention. “Yes, sir.”
“You can fill me in on the details tomorrow morning at 0800, Sergeant.”
“Very well, sir.” Joe reached for the doorknob.
“Who won?”
“Sir?”
Dan motioned to Donnally’s swollen and bruised face. “It was two against one. Who won?”
It hurt like hell to grin, but Joe did anyway. “Captain, you know brig chasers don’t take crap from anyone.” And then he added respectfully, “Sir.”
Suppressing a smile, Dan kept his face carefully neutral. “I’m glad to hear you were the victor, Sergeant. Now disappear and get that mug of yours taken care of. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Joe quietly shut the door behind him. He pressed his damp handkerchief against his jaw, suddenly realizing the front of his uniform was splattered not only with his blood but with the blood of the other two men. Ramsey was proving to be a damn good officer and man—a far cry from Captain Jacobs, who’d hated Hispanics. If this incident had happened under Jacobs’s command, the sonofabitch would have considered it open season on illegal aliens. And he certainly wouldn’t have cared if Joe had lived or died, much less gotten over to the hospital to take care of his facial injury. At least Ramsey put his men first and the incident they were involved in second.
Rose gave him a wide-eyed look as he walked through the
