Seawolf Mask of Command (22 page)

“So, how’re you getting along?” Penny asked, changing the subject. “It must be something being on board. Is it all you hoped it would be?”

Kristen felt a smile form on her face. “It’s great; better than I’d imagined.”

“Really?” Penny asked, a bit surprised and motioned toward Kristen’s face where the faded bruises still lingered. “It looks pretty rough too me.”

“It’s nothing,” Kristen insisted, running a free hand through her hair and pulling it back from her face. Kristen had given up just about every feminine pursuit in order to reach her goal. Dating, relationships, school dances, everything had become secondary to graduating at the top of her class from Annapolis and then pursing her goal of serving on a sub. Her long hair was the only vestige left of the little girl she’d once been.

“Anyone giving you a hard time?” Penny asked, suddenly sounding a bit like a female panther defending a cub.

“Everyone’s been wonderful,” Kristen tried to lie, unsuccessfully.

“Jason says differently.”

Kristen hesitated for a moment. Her trust issues meant she tended to be tightlipped. “Maybe not everyone,” she allowed.

Penny leaned in close again and offered, with a reassuring pat on the back, “Don’t worry, Sweetie. Jason says you’re doing just great.”

Of all the officers, the XO was the one Kristen trusted the most. There didn’t seem to be any malice in the tall African American. But still, Kristen wasn’t so sure. “I wish I could be as certain.” The Harley returned, and Kristen considered Brodie through the window. “I think the captain would prefer if I weren’t on board.”

“What?” Penny asked immediately as if the thought was ludicrous.

“He’s…” Kristen caught herself before she revealed her true thoughts. “What I mean to say is he is a fantastic officer, and I know I’m lucky to be on board, but sometimes I think he’d prefer it if I were on another boat.”

“Nonsense,” Penny replied flatly. “If Sean didn’t want you on board, why did he call up Mark Beagler and ask him to assign you to the
Seawolf?”

“What?” Kristen asked, shocked by the revelation. Admiral Beagler had said nothing about such a phone call. She assumed the decision placing her on the
Seawolf
had been arbitrary. “He asked for me?”

Penny nodded. “Sure did. Mark, Sean, and Jason were stationed together on the
USS Ohio
and have been friends for years. Sean was here with us watching the news when it was announced the President was letting you serve. Sean just picked up the phone, called Mark in Hawaii, and asked for you to be sent here.”

Kristen sat a bit dumbstruck. It made no sense. The captain had clearly gone out of his way to set her up to fail the engineering exam, which meant he didn’t want her on board. “Why?”

“There’s no telling, honey. No one ever knows what’s going on in Sean’s head. But trust me, if he didn’t want you on board, you wouldn’t be there.” Penny sounded certain.

Kristen knew this was true. Few captains could just call up an Admiral and get rid of a troubled officer. But Brodie was one such man. But it was inconceivable that he’d asked for her by name considering everything else he was dealing with at the moment. “I guess I just don’t see it.”

“Not to worry, honey,” Penny assured her again. “He likes you and so does Jason.”

“He sure has a strange way of expressing it. He hardly talks to me.”

“That’s just his way. Sean’s never been much of a talker, especially about himself,” Penny explained. “But trust me, there’s a whole lot going on just beneath the surface.”

Kristen gave Penny a curious look as the motorcycle returned yet again.

Penny shrugged. “I’ve known Sean for over fifteen years. Heck, I probably know him as well as anyone alive, but I couldn’t tell you the first thing about him prior to when we met. He has no family that I know of,” she explained. “I mean, he never talks about anything before he joined the Navy. He never goes on leave except to spend time with us or go for a ride on that bike of his. Heck, the running joke at the officers’ club used to be that Sean was made at Electric Boat in Groton with the rest of the submarines.”

Kristen’s curiosity was piqued. She saw Penny’s smile fade as she looked out the window with a hint of concern. “What?” Kristen asked.

“We’re both a little worried about him,” Penny confided as she watched Brodie playing with her children on the lawn.

Kristen raised a curious eyebrow, “Why?”

“Sean’s life has always been about the boats and being at sea. I mean, his entire career was a superhighway to command. He was deep selected twice for promotion ahead of his peers and got his first command when most officers his age were on their department head tours. But that’ll all be over soon. This is his last patrol, and we aren’t too sure what he’s going to do with himself once his days of driving submarines come to an end,” Penny tried to explain. “All Sean ever wanted was to be on a sub.”

Kristen understood the feeling. “But with his record, I’d think he’s guaranteed a spot as a squadron or group commander, if not a tour as a missile boat captain.”

“Sean has never been happy behind a desk, and as for a Boomer,” she added knowingly referring to a ballistic missile submarine, “Jason says that’ll never happen.”

Kristen thought she knew why another at-sea command was unlikely. Brodie already had more time as a sub captain than most officers dreamed of. He’d commanded the
Seawolf
for nearly four years. The Navy wouldn’t likely give him another boat.

But Penny offered Kristen a bit of insight she’d yet to consider. “Sean’s always been a bit of a rebel for the submarine service,” she explained. “Jason says the powers-that-be may like his aggressiveness when driving a fast-attack boat, but they’re a bit wary of ‘letting him off the leash’ if you know what I mean.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m not following,” Kristen replied. Brodie had always appeared as steady as a rock. He hid his emotions behind a perfect mask of command. Other than the eccentric hair, and his draconian work ethic, he was the perfect officer. His record bore this out.

Penny hesitated, not certain she should say more, but then leaned a little closer. “Sean’s got a bit of a temper on him that he works hard at to keep under wraps.”

Kristen nodded in understanding. “I think I saw it the other day when Martin was late for the morning meeting.”

Penny looked at her like she was joking and asked, “What?”

“The other day, Danny was late to the morning meeting….”

Penny patted Kristen’s arm and shook her head. “Jason told me about what happened, and that’s nothing, honey,” she confided. “Trust me, I’ve seen Sean mad and what you saw was nothing.”

Out on the yard the two boys had pinned Brodie to the ground while Jasmine, cackling hysterically, tickled him.

“It’s a little hard to believe,” Kristen admitted.

Once more Penny hesitated. They’d been talking for nearly two hours and had grown comfortable with one another. Penny glanced toward the living room where, judging by the roar, Navy had just scored another touchdown. Certain no one else was listening, Penny scooted her chair closer to Kristen.

“We were all stationed in Norfolk a few years back. Sean was the XO of a boat, and Jason was the chief engineer. Anyway, Jason was gone on a two-week training program with General Electric for something to do with the reactor and left me and the kids home alone,” Penny explained softly. She paused and looked back toward the living room to make certain no one had appeared behind them and might overhear. “One day my car wouldn’t start, so I called up Sean who came over about an hour later with his bag of tools and went to work on it. We lived in a good neighborhood, but even nice neighborhoods have their share of jerks. Anyway, this real piece of work liked to race down the street in his hotrod. Jason had talked to him a few times and explained that with so many kids playing in the neighborhood he should slow down but….” Penny paused and looked out the window at her children.

“He didn’t listen, did he?” Kristen asked, seeing the kind of fear on Penny’s face only a mother could ever have.

Penny shook her head. “No, not until he came tearing down the road and clipped Mark as he was riding on this little bicycle Sean had given him the previous Christmas.”

Kristen could see, even years later, Penny was still terrified of the memory and what might have happened. “He was all right, wasn’t he?” Kristen asked, looking out the window at the boy who looked perfectly healthy as he wrestled with Brodie.

Penny nodded and wiped at a few tears welling up in her eyes. “Yeah, he was wearing a helmet, and the bastard just clipped the rear of his bicycle. Other than some crying and a few bruises, Mark was fine,” Penny explained. “But then this jerk got out of his car and started yelling about how I should keep my ‘effing brats’ off the street and how I’m an idiot for not watching them better. Then he threw in a few choice expletives about what he thought of me and my race….”

“I’m really sorry, Penny,” Kristen offered, seeing how even years later the memory was still hard for her.

Penny nodded, wiped her eyes clear, and then took a deep breath to calm herself. “I was a wreck. Mark was crying and this big ape was cursing and calling me a nigger. Then, out of nowhere, Sean appeared. With the jerk screaming at me and Mark crying, I’d forgotten Sean was in the garage.” Penny shook her head as she recalled the story. “I never saw anything like it.”

“Did the captain strike him?” Kristen asked and glanced out the window. Brodie was still wrestling gently with the three children who were doing their best to tackle him. He certainly didn’t appear violent; just the opposite in fact.

“Oh, yeah,” Penny replied with an expression that made it clear Kristen couldn’t possibly understand. “I mean he hit that guy like a tornado. Before I knew it, Sean threw the guy onto the hood of his sleek little hotrod and just started beating the fire out of him.” Penny paused for a moment, remembering the event years earlier. “I mean he went berserk. It took both neighbors as well as COB who lived up the street to pull Sean off the guy.”

Kristen sat quietly, thinking about the revealing story. She glanced out at Brodie once more. Jasmine hung onto his arm and dragged him to the ground as if she might be strong enough to manage the feat. Kristen hadn’t noticed how big Brodie was. But she now saw his broad shoulders and the thick wrists. He was powerfully built, and if angered….

“Wow,” Kristen managed. “Who would have thought?”

“Not me,” Penny agreed. “Once he finally calmed down, he mumbled something about not liking bad manners or drunken bigots and then never said another word about it.” Penny then added, “And I haven’t asked him about it either.”

“It’s hard to imagine,” Kristen pointed out as she nodded her head to where the three children had once more pinned him to the ground, “when you see him like that.”

Penny nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I know what you mean. He’s never once given me a reason to think he might be prone to violence, and he’s an absolute saint with the kids. But I don’t ever want to see him like that again.”

Kristen now recalled the various warnings she’d been given about her captain and understood. They changed the subject, shifting to more pleasant topics. They were discussing the billeting arrangements for Kristen on board when she noticed the woman who’d been hanging all over Terry appear out on the lawn.

“What’s she doing there?” Kristen asked.

“She probably wants a ride,” Penny replied.

Kristen watched for a moment as the woman talked to Brodie. For a reason she didn’t understand, she became angry. “She came here with Terry,” Kristen offered.

“Well,” Penny whispered with a friendly smile, “Terry isn’t exactly a choir boy, my dear.”

They watched for a few moments as the brazen woman talked to Brodie. Kristen felt herself growing more uncomfortable with each second. She glanced back into the living room, afraid Terry might observe what his date was doing and grow angry. The last thing the crew of
Seawolf
needed was trouble between two officers.

“My God, she’s hitting on him,” Penny said incredulously at the woman’s audacity. “Do you believe this girl?” After another minute of discussion, apparently the woman got what she wanted as Brodie climbed aboard and she slid on the back behind him.

“You don’t think they’re going to….” Kristen asked uncomfortably.

Penny shook her head. “Not if I know Sean,” she assured Kristen. “The only thing that girl’ll be riding of Sean’s is his motorcycle.”

Kristen felt the discomfort fade as Penny’s comment caused her to chuckle, and then laugh out loud. Something she couldn’t remember having done in a long time. It felt good, she decided. And as Penny had predicted, after less than two minutes, Brodie returned. The woman tried to reengage him in more conversation, but Brodie seemed more interested in the children and was soon giving them more turns on the back of his hog.

The game ended an hour later, and Kristen knew it was time to head back to the
Seawolf.
COB would soon be finished with her makeshift quarters, and Kristen was anxious to move on board permanently. “I guess I’d better be going,” she said to Penny as they walked back into the living room where the other guests were preparing to leave. “It was really nice meeting you, Penny,” Kristen told her new friend sincerely. “And you have a wonderful family.”

Penny gave Kristen a reassuring hug. “You hang in there, honey,” Penny advised her. “All us girls are counting on you to keep these men out of trouble.”

“I’ll do my best,” Kristen replied and pulled her smartphone from her pocket to call a taxi. Kristen might have been able to hitch a ride with one of her fellow officers, but she wasn’t about to ask any of them and put them on the spot with their wives.

“Who’re you calling?” Penny asked.

“Uh,” she paused her dialing, “I don’t have a car, so I came here in a taxi,” she admitted softly.

“Well you’re not going back in a taxi,” Penny said definitively and turned to look for her husband. “Jason?” she called loudly to be heard over the television and the crowd.

“It’s all right,” Kristen assured her, not wanting to cause any trouble. “Really, it’s no big deal.”