The two creatures looked confused by his statement and went silent.
“I’m out of here. Remember what I said. Stick to base, keep insignia on at all times, avoid restricted areas, and you’ll be just fine. I’ll see you Monday morning.”
Mitch turned and grabbed Parker. She giggled as he tore her away to the jeep they had waiting.
“Where we heading, Sir?” she jested.
“When was the last time you kicked back on a beach, Sergeant?”
She smiled in response. Half an hour later they were at San Onofre, laying in front a beach hut they’d not seen since long before the war had begun. They knew that come the evening it would be a hive of activity, but until the end of the working day, they could enjoy the peace. Time seemed to pass them by as they relaxed and slowly fell into a deep sleep.
The constant bleep of Taylor’s communicator caused him to spring up. He hit the answer button and responded in a croaky voice.
“Taylor.”
“Mitch, you want to get your ass over here now. MPs are here with a particularly abrasive son of a bitch. They are trying to arrest our two alien friends.”
“What? Why?” he asked.
“Nothing they have done. Apparently, they’re acting like they are hunting for spies.”
“Christ, Eddie, where are Jafar and Tsengal now?”
“I hid them in a maintenance room, but they’ll not last long there. I sent the MPs packing, but they’ll soon be back when they find out the two of them were supposed to be here.”
“Alright, you just hold on. Do not let any bastard touch two of our own!”
“You got it, but you hurry on up here now. I can’t fight them off alone.”
Taylor leapt to his feet, which caused Eli to rouse and sit up with a smile. She looked disgruntled and disappointed that he was in such a flurry during their only leave in over a year. Then she noticed the concern in his face and quickly rubbed her eyes and tried to come to.
“What is it?”
“Jafar and Tsengal, MPs are trying to arrest them!”
She sighed, and he already knew she was put out by his support of the creatures. She shook her head in disapproval, but that only served to anger Mitch.
“Those two are part of us. Would you leave any other one of the Company in such a time?”
“No, but they aren’t one of us, are they?”
“People have said the same about female soldiers and black soldiers not so long ago. They stand with us, and that’s enough for me.”
“For Christ’s sake, will we never get a break?” she complained.
“Do what you like, but I’ll not leave them behind.”
He pulled on his shirt and buttoned it quickly as he rushed to the vehicle. Eli watched him leap aboard in a furious manner, speeding away from the tranquil paradise she had so recently been enjoying.
“You fool,” she whispered.
Taylor was already travelling well over the speed limit by the time he passed the gates to the road, and dust and sand swept in through the open sides of the jeep. His shirt was only half buttoned, and he was still wearing sandals. It was far from the well-kept image he maintained on base, but there was no time to change.
“God damn fucking bastards,” he yelled to himself as he hit the wheel of the car.
“I go for two God damn minutes, and they try to fuck us in the ass.”
Taylor had no love of the MPs, few did, but he genuinely had more than enough reasons to want to shoot some of them. Many despised him because of his combat record and all the glory they felt it brought. It was an envy he had to deal with on a regular basis.
Mitch could feel his head pounding as his anger and rage built. He reached the base gates in half the time it had taken the two of them to get to the beach. The dusty jeep came to a halt at the guard post, and a Corporal stepped forward to check his ID. The man looked suspicious of Taylor’s rough appearance, as he rightfully should be.
The Corporal desperately wanted to say something about his ill disciplined attire but looked to the rank on his shoulders, and knew he could not risk insult if Taylor really was what he was claiming.
“Identification, Sir?”
“For Christ’s sake,” he muttered.
Taylor reached into his pocket and fumbled around for his card that had seen so little use. He’d long forgotten what life was like at home.
“Here,” he snapped, passing the man a bent identify card. It was heavily worn and slightly burnt in one corner. The guard looked in shock at the card and took it suspiciously from his hands. Taylor sat impatiently.
“Well, come on, I haven’t got all day,” insisted Taylor.
“Uhh, yes, Sir.”
The man lifted his scanner, twisting the bent card to make it read properly and stood surprised as Mitch’s name and identity was displayed. There wasn’t a marine on base that didn’t know the name.
“Major Taylor, sorry for the delay, Sir.”
Mitch snatched the card from the Corporal’s hands and put his foot to the floor. The jeep raced forward and narrowly made it through the gates. They were only half open when he squeezed through. The Corporal shook his head in astonishment.
“Crazy bastard.”
Taylor’s jeep slid around the first corner, and he was quickly able to open up the throttle and tear across an open road towards Rains’ hangar. He slammed the brakes on and slid to a halt at the open doors where the pilot sat with his feet up as if it were any other day.
“Where are they, Eddie?”
The Lieutenant took another sip from his mug, not affected at all by the Major’s flustered state. He sighed and turned to Taylor, signalling over his shoulder with his eyes and a nod. Taylor turned to see three military police vehicles approaching. He snapped back around.
“We can’t keep them hidden forever,” mused Eddie.
Taylor shook his head. He knew his old friend was right, but it weighed heavily on his conscience that he would have to give up his own men, without them committing an offence. He turned back and stood confidently upright, glaring at the approaching vehicles. His right hand instinctively reached down to his thigh to rest on the pistol that had lived there for the last year, but it was nowhere to be found. He looked down in shock at the realisation that he was unarmed.
Caught without a weapon, for God’s sake, he thought.
The recent peace had let Mitch slip back into an easy life, not yet earned. He coughed to clear his throat and prepare himself for the assault of the MPs. The three jeeps slid to an abrupt halt less than ten metres from his position, and eight soldiers leapt from them. At least they were officially soldiers; Taylor could never see them as such.
“I am Captain Ames. We are looking for the two aliens under your command, Major.”
Taylor grimaced. He had hoped they were unaware of who he was. He quickly realised that they were well informed, and he was not going to talk his way out of it.
“On what charge do you wish to arrest men under my command?”
The Captain squinted in surprise at Mitch’s description of the creatures.
“The alien soldiers known as Jafar and Tsengal are soldiers of an enemy army which sought to conquer this world. The reason for their arrest should not need explanation.”
Taylor’s face turned to bitter anger.
“I do not need reminding what this war was about. I fought it whilst you lay about polishing your pretty uniforms. I will not surrender any under my command without just cause.”
Before the Captain could respond a door opened behind Eddie, and they all stopped to look. The two alien soldiers step out from hiding. The MPs quickly lifted their handguns.
“Whoa!” yelled Taylor. Tell your men to stand down!”
He looked back to see the two creatures stepping slowly towards the group, without showing any signs of
