Page 87 of The Flame of Carson
Chapter 19
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“Gage, please tone itdown just a little.I already have a damned headache.As to what happened, this asshat decided to grow a pair and delivered a PIT on my car, and I hit the barrier.Luckily, we weren’t going very fast and no one else was hurt.I’m fine, I promise.”Stacey sighed as Grant helped her into the chair Gage had been sitting in.
“Fine?Babe, you’re...”Gage stuttered.
“I look worse than I am.The doc said other than a sprained wrist and the bruising, I’m good.He didn’t even prescribe anything, but if over the counter stuff doesn’t do it, I can call, and he’ll write me something.So, what have Grant and I missed?Grant said that Ethan found something.”Stacey said.
Gage stood there, a shocked expression as he looked down at her.He looked up and over at Ethan, as if asking for some kind of help.He got nothing.Same with the rest of teammates.He looked back at Stacey and the look in her eyes told him to just suck it up, as she wasn’t budging.Knowing he could not win, he let out a ragged breath.
Stacey reached over with her left hand and took his.“Gage, baby, I promise I’m okay.Sore sure, but otherwise I’m fine.Now, either stand there and let the meeting continue or...”
That was as far as she got.Gage moved, gently gathered her into his arms and before she could protest, he sat back down with her cradled carefully in his lap.“Fine, but I’m holding you to just to prove to myself that you’re okay.”
Stacey sighed and relaxed in his arms, “I can live with that.”
“Ethan, let’s get this finished so I can take her home.”Gage stated, now understanding the feeling he had got at Nick’s office.
Ethan cleared his throat, “All right.So, I saw in your file that you and Anderson got into an incident.Walk me through that.”
“It was maybe two weeks after McCandles announced I was in MARSOC.I was coming back to the barracks with my roommates.We had gone out that night.Dinner, a few drinks.Kinda like a farewell deal.We were about to hit the stairs to our room when Anderson stepped out of the shadows.He looked pissed.Said I screwed him over and I was going to pay.
“Next thing I know, he’s charging me.He hit me with a damned spear move like he was in the WWE or something.We hit the deck and he’s throwing punches, trying to keep me pinned.I flipped him off me and started throwing punches of my own.We got to our feet and the fight was on.My roommates jumped in trying to pull us apart.
“Our fight caught the attention of the others in the barracks, and someone called the MP’s.They showed up and called McCandles and Gunny.We both were written up but because Anderson started it, he was restricted to barracks for two weeks.After that night, I stayed away from him as best as I could.Yet, it seemed like he was always there, glaring at me.I brushed it off since I was out in only a few weeks by then.Why?”Gage asked.
Ethan grabbed the second file on his desk and opened it.He looked at Gage, “I ask because this morning I got a second file from Major McCandles.It’s not yours though.It’s a psych profile.On Anderson.”
“Wait, why would Gage’s former boss send you someone else’s...”Stacey started then stopped talking.
She could feel her eyes widening as pieces began moving around in her head.She thought over what Gage had just told them, and that Ethan had asked about that very incident.Then there was the fact that Gage’s former boss had sent this Anderson guy’s psych profile to Ethan.That could only mean one thing.When Stacey looked up at Gage, she saw that he too had put together the same puzzle she had.In fact, as she looked around at Alpha team, they all had.
“You’re telling me that Anderson is the fucker we’re looking for?”Gage managed.
“That’s what everything is pointing at.McCandles sent a note with his eval saying that a month after you shipped out for MARSOC training, Anderson went ballistic.He was turned down for promotion because of the incident with you.He attacked the 1st Lieutenant,and it took three MPs to pull him off the guy.He was sent to the brig for thirty days and busted down to PFC.”Ethan answered.
“Damn.He got off lucky.Attacking an officer is grounds for a court martial and getting kicked out.”Tony spoke up.
“That eventually happened, minus the court-martial.After his time in the brig, he went for a psych eval.The report basically said that Anderson blamed Gage for not getting into MARSOC.He also mentioned his brother, but Anderson is an only child.The shrink asked him about this “brother” and Anderson said he was a fellow Marine in another unit at Pendleton, but wouldn’t give his name or which unit.
“Anderson says they both were recruited and that because of Gage, they were not getting in together.That Gage screwed up their plans and he was going to pay for that.The shrink recommended that Anderson be dishonorably discharged.Psychologically, he was unfit for service and could be a danger to other Marines and himself.Anderson was discharged dishonorably instead of wasting time on a court-martial, since his enlistment was up about a month after that.”
The room was silent as everyone digested what Ethan had just told them.Gage felt anger, confusion, and a hint of fear creep in.From what he remembered of Anderson, the guy was a whiz at tech stuff, just as good if not better than Tony.Everything started to make sense now.Electronic contact, the cyber filter, staying in the shadows.
“Christ.”Gage breathed.“This...explains a lot.Anderson was very tech savvy back then.I also recall that during some of the recruitment drills for MARSOC, the guy could disappear it seemed.Almost as good as I could when we did the camouflage stuff.”
“So, what are we going to do now Ethan?If this guy really believes Gage is the reason for all this, how do we find him?”Danny asked.
