The Story Begins (19 page)

“No. It shouldn’t be a problem. As an excellent planner with an incredible ability to adapt and adjust fire, I will be able to take you to Taylor,” said Krappa.

My God! Are you this much of a no-life loser? How rigid and anal retentive can one be? What the hell kind of person talks like that and plans their every day to the point of probably even deciding which bristles will brush over which teeth, marveled Jaden. Besides, did Krappa not just say he didn’t have anything in particular going on in the first place?

AFTER
WORK: “Phase 1 completed,” Jaden said as he got into the car having just dropped off the rental at Benjamin Franklin Village. “Now on to Phase 2. Dude, I really appreciate the ride out to Taylor.”

“Roger.”

“What do you have going on tomorrow?” asked Jaden, not particularly caring for the answer but making conversation merely that time might seem to hasten past.

“A couple of squad leaders and I will be heading out to the firing range to conduct a recon in preparation for weapons’ qualification in the November / December timeframe,” he said, sounding somewhat aloof.

“You’re firing late, aren’t you? It’ll probably be very cold. We’re talking about possibly in December. Are you ready to brace the cold?”

“I’m always ready. It’s our mission to be ready at all times,” Krappa said, his tone austere.

“Mission first, always, huh!” Jaden said light-heartedly, all the while thinking what an uptight, mirthless loser Krappa was. This guy really has no life. No wonder he’s as pathetic as he is, Jaden concluded.

Preparing to make a turn, Lieutenant Krappa reached his left hand over his right on the steering wheel. Jaden noticed a wedding band. He puzzled over what manner character a woman has that she’d marry such an uptight, pompous, and boring ass. Though he believed that such was beyond his ability to fathom, nonetheless, three possibilities he did entertain: kindred spirits, God was punishing her for some unspeakable, heinous iniquity, or he was just one hell of a charity case she obliged herself to, for reasons known only to her.

A bell atop the entrance chimed when Jaden pushed opened the door. A few seconds later, a man came out from the rear office to tend to the lieutenant.

“How may I help you, sir?” However, before Jaden could answer, the man noticed the name on the lieutenant’s uniform. “Ah, Mr. Ramiel, Lieutenant Ramiel, I should say, we were preparing to contact you to inform you that your vehicle is ready for pick up. How fortunate that you happened by today,” the man said.

“Actually, I received a call from this office yesterday morning informing me of the arrival of my car.”

“Are you sure, sir?” the man asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. “Your vehicle arrived just today… about an hour ago or so actually, so no one could have called you yesterday concerning that,” he explained.

Jaden looked at him, baffled. He tried to remember the name of the woman he had received the call from. “I received the call yesterday from a lady named Diya. That’s why I came in. She told me that the car was here and waiting for me.”

“Diya, you say. I’m sorry but we do not have anyone here by that name, sir.”

Jaden was dumbfounded. “I’m sorry! Did you say that you don’t have anyone here by that name?”

“That is correct, Lieutenant. Not in the 15 years that I’ve been here anyway. But we are just talking about yesterday – definitely not since yesterday.”

“This is strange!” the Lieutenant mumbled.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Just very peculiar,” he said. “My car’s here and that’s all that matters, I suppose. Finally, no more out-of-pocket rental expenses out of the pittance I make called a paycheck,” he said, relieved that his vehicle had arrived.

“That’s right, sir!” the man concurred. “Your car is here and now you no longer have to spend money or depend on others. We here at the office have heard all too often how much of a nuisance that can be.”

“Tell me about it! Especially with the dumb ass, the redundancy is for emphasis, I had to put up with to get here,” he bemoaned, a slight underlying tone of exasperation in his tone. “So, what do you need from me before I can drive it off the lot?”

“I’m going to need you to do an inspection of it and make sure that it is in the same condition now as it was when you turned it in for shipping. If everything is in order, I’ll need you to sign a few documents and then you can be on your way.”

“Sounds easy enough, when do we start?”

“I’ll be right back with your keys,” said the individual before disappearing into the same back office from which he had come.

Fifteen minutes later Jaden once again found himself sitting comfortably in his own vehicle on his way back to his quarters. While he drove he thought of Lieutenant Krappa and was flabbergasted as to how one could behave so bizarrely. Krappa, he decided, had to be a curse to his parents. He hypothesized Krappa’s kinfolk had coerced him to attend a military college for naught save hopes of a war arising anywhere posthaste. Deciding that he was being mean-spirited, he desisted from thoughts so cruel.

16

A Deployment on the Horizon

A COUPLE OF
DAYS LATER: Sore following yet another excruciating drill with Captain Peterson, Jaden couldn’t have been any happier knowing that the rest of his day was to be spent at his desk tending to matters which required hardly any moving about; he was to be engrossed in creating an equipment status report and an equipment maintenance work plan for the commander, which only necessitated that he use his hands for the keyboard and not falling asleep at his computer.

Jaden had come to learn that his predecessor, Lieutenant Moore, had not been very keen on his responsibilities, which was part of the reason Moore was assigned to the unit no longer. Now it had fallen upon Jaden to conceive then create a plan that ascertained that all of the unit’s equipment operated optimally. Manifold weapon systems, vehicles, radios, computers, night-vision devices, tents and other equipment had lain in disrepair for a time, and with the inevitability of mobilizing to a war zone at some point, it most assuredly was an imperative that the unit be ready to execute orders within the 72-hour window constructed within its design.

He was just about to conclude his formulation when his cell phone buzzed. It was Dave. “Dave! What’s up, dude?” he said, his agony evident in his voice.

“Are you all right? You sound pained… like your whole body’s been pushed beyond its limits, again.”

“That’s exactly what it is. Another morning from hell it was,” he apprised his friend.

“Was it just you again or the entire company this time?”

“No. Once again only I had the dubious honor of working out with Lucifer’s spawn. I swear he’s trying to break me. I’m among the few who have kept up with him so far. I’m not sure if he’s doing this to make me even better or if he feels like maybe his losing his physical dominance over the unit. The longer you work yourself out, the more your body is supposed to gradually adjust to the conditioning, right?”

“I guess.”

“Well, that’s not happened for me yet with this demon-inspired regimen.”

“Sounds rough, dude...but hey, better you than me, right?”

“Screw you, man.”

Dave laughed.

“I hope… no, I pray to all that is holy that this one-on-one PT crap comes to an end. I kid you not, what we did at Fort Benning… the so-called ‘Home of The Infantry’ compared to this here is like child’s play. I swear I’ve never been in so much physical agony. I’ll be spending the entire evening in the tub once I get home – which, unfortunately, is still several hours from now – I’ll be filling it up with warm water and just stay in there for hours before wrapping my entire body in some cold-hot patches before hitting the sack.”

“I’m curious, is he a body builder, or does he take part in those strongman competitions?” inquired Dave.

“I don’t know… he’s of average build so I don’t think he’s a body builder. I do know that he used to be a Master Fitness instructor, and to be one of those I’m guessing you have got to be in some serious shape.”

“That explains it!”

“Yeah, it does. Anyways, so what’s up, dude? What’s going on in Baumholder?”

“Not much of anything! All it is around here is work, home, work, home, work… well, you get the picture.”

“All too clearly! That boring, huh?” Jaden asked as he recalled when his peers at Fort Benning had been very intrigued by his duty station. His good fortune was not lost upon him; he was profoundly appreciative that he was not at a remote and secluded assignment. “So, any word yet on your car?” Jaden asked.

“I got off the phone with that office about half an hour ago. They couldn’t give an exact date regarding when it will be available for pick up but said that it’s on the inbound shipment, which should be here in a little over a week, two at the most,” Dave shared. “But you know what?” Dave asked, sounding dispirited all of a sudden.

That definitely did not sound good, Jaden thought. “I’m afraid to ask,” he answered anxiously.

“Nothing official yet but I may not get to enjoy riding around for some time yet. It’s sounding more and more like my unit will be heading out to the desert in the very near future. I’ve heard maybe in as little as a month,” Dave said.

“I was afraid you’d say something like that,” Jaden said. Now he too was feeling disheartened. “What’s the hold up on the official word?” he asked. “It’s got to suck being in suspense all the time.”

“I really couldn’t say for sure but based on the word circulating, sounds like there’s some kind of a conflict in the rotation schedule affecting my brigade and one other. Word has it that once that’s been de-conflicted, both brigades will then be notified as to which will be moving out first. I sure hope we’ll be the one to relieve them rather than being the unit ordered out first!” Dave wished. “Ah, what the hell, man!” he then said, ceding his lot to fate. “If it happens, it happens. What can one do? That being said let’s talk about something else; no sense in getting down over what you have no control over, right!”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” Jaden agreed.

“Doing anything over the weekend?” asked Dave.

“I’m not sure yet. I was thinking of taking one of those weekend tours the USO coordinates. I was thinking about maybe going out to the Black Forest,” Jaden shared.

“Oh yeah! I was actually thinking the same thing, not the Black Forest but one of the other ones, just not sure which. There are so many tours and I have no idea where I’d like to visit first.”

“Even if you do deploy, you’ll still be back with enough time left in your tour to see it all. Just get a bunch of different flyers then pick one out randomly. That’s how I’d do them if I wasn’t sure where to go first,” Jaden simplified.

“Simple but effective,” Dave agreed.

Jaden’s desk phone rang. “Dave, hold on. Good morning, this is Lieutenant Ramiel, how may I help you?”

It was Captain Peterson. “Jaden, how far along are you with the document? I’ve got Poop-maker breathing down my neck, wanting to know our equipment plan,” the Captain said.

“I’m just about done, sir. I can have it up to you in 15 mikes,” replied Jaden.

“Roger that. In addition to an email attachment, please get me a hard copy as well; my printer is out of commission. By the way, tell your supply sergeant that I will personally kick his ass in every direction of the universe if he doesn’t get me a new printer soon, despite the fact that he’s unaware that it is broken,” the Captain joked.

Jaden laughed. “Wilco, sir,” acknowledged Jaden before hanging up. He returned to his conversation with Dave. “Dude, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back later. I’ve got to finish this write-up for the CO.”

“Yeah, I heard – what write-up is that?”

“Basically, it’s the operational rate of our equipment and what my plan and timeline are to get the non-mission-capable equipment functional again,” explained Jaden.

“Okay, sounds good.”

“Out here!” Jaden said then hung up.

17

A Curious Encounter

Jaden had been
in Germany for a little over three months and realized that unless he did something different, his being in Germany would really be no different than if he had opted for a stateside assignment. The scene was unchanging; it was always Americans all around, day in and day out; at work, his neighbors, at the Post Exchange, just about everywhere because his dealings were entirely on American installations. Why limit myself to what I already know when there’s an entire culture to get to explore and people to meet? he thought.

He decided that his first step towards changing his very limited exposure to German culture would be to rent an apartment off-post, just as Lieutenant Krappa had done. Returning to the office that had initially assigned him his quarters, he was referred to a different section whose main function was facilitating off-post rental agreements with local landlords.

He signed in on the roster and just as he was about to have a seat, a lady walked out of the office.

“Hello,” she said, smiling.

“Hi.”

“You must want an off-post place to stay?” said the stern-looking yet soft-voiced, middle-aged woman.

“You must have read my mind!” he joked.

“Do come in, young man.”

He followed her to the transparent cubicle that was at the very end of a huge office room divided into several cubicles, all of which were transparent. What’s the point of even dividing the workspace into cubicles if you’re not going to have any privacy, he wondered.

“Please have a seat,” she offered.

“Thank you.”

“My name is Mrs. Kusch.” She looked towards his uniform name tape for his; however, Jaden had his arms crossed and his hand hid some of the letters of his name. “And what, may I ask, is yours?” she said pleasantly. “I can see that you’re a lieutenant but can’t see the name.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” he apologized, lowering his arms. “Please call me Jaden.”

“Would you not rather I address you by your rank and last name?”

“No. All that formal crap is just that – crap!”

She smiled. “Well, we certainly do not want crap now, do we?”

“Nope!”

“So, we’ve established that you’d like a place off-post, now we just need to determine what exactly you have in mind.”

“Well, I’m kind of new in town so don’t know much yet about the place. But I’m looking for something close to work, which, by the way, is at Coleman Barracks,” he explained.

“Okay. Let’s go see what’s posted on the announcement board. Please follow me,” she said, grabbing a pen and pad as she rose.

“Certainly,” he said, following her lead. As he followed her out, he looked around the office. He noticed by the name plates on the desks that it seemed like all of the employees were either German or another nationality. He figured that it only made sense that they be at least bilingual given the language barrier between potential American tenants and German landlords. What he found interesting, though, was that behind every single cubicle sat a woman. There wasn’t a single guy there. He thought it must have been one of those occupations which somehow, for whatever reason, was women-dominated; at least in that particular office. Then the most random thought occurred to him. He wondered if there were any male midwives, and if there were, were they called the same.

As they made their way through the cubicles, he noticed a young woman get up from her desk and walk in their direction. She was too engrossed in reading the document she held to notice that the three were on a collision course. She was very beautiful. She wore a black and red skirt that conformed nicely around her midsection and fanned out just below mid-thigh. Her black high-heeled shoes accentuated her slender legs and, beneath her silver-colored blouse, Jaden could only have imagined was a full and beautifully sculpted bosom; that is if he had cared to imagine this. However, unlike a lot if not most guys, Jaden couldn’t have possibly cared any less about her appearance. Nevertheless, there was something about her, something very different that he felt had absolutely nothing to do with how she looked.

Now sensing that others were approaching on the same narrow passageway between cubicles, the young woman raised her head, making eye contact with him. Seeing him she stopped, lowered her eyes, and stepped aside with her head bowed low.

Mrs. Kusch said hi as she walked past her and thanked her for being courteous. She didn’t seem to find the young woman’s demeanor unusual.

The young lady had remained silent though Mrs. Kusch had greeted her. As Jaden was walking past her, she genuflected.

Though that struck him as odd, he smiled. Once he was past her, she continued on her way.

He found her gesture sweet, if old fashioned, and conjectured as to her upbringing. He hoped that she wasn’t raised in a household where she was brainwashed into believing that she should be subservient to men. That fear was quickly allayed when Jaden, looking back at her as he walked out the door, saw her walk past a guy who had stepped out of an adjacent office without any of the behavior that she had displayed towards him. His fear for her may have been mollified but his curiosity was very much piqued.

Mrs. Kusch led him to the board where available apartments were listed and showed him all the apartments that were in neighborhoods close to where he worked. He liked the description of a cozy-sounding, furnished, 63-square-meter one-bedroom in Lampertheim. Mrs. Kusch described the area as mostly residential and quiet, and about a fifteen to twenty-minute drive to downtown Mannheim, and no more than a couple of minutes away by car to where he worked.

Back at her desk, Mrs. Kusch asked, “When would be a good time for you to go and see the apartment so that I may call the landlord and schedule an appointment?”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” he told her.

This surprised her somewhat. “Really? Are you sure you don’t want to see it? See what it looks like and get a feel for just how big it is. Sixty-three square-meters isn’t all that big, my dear. You might find it a bit too small.”

“Nah, I doubt that. I’m single, simple, don’t have much, it’s close to work and the place is already furnished. I’ll be good with it, I’m sure,” he said.

His primary criterion was its proximity to work; everything else after that was a bonus. Mrs. Kusch, however, was adamant that he go see the place first. Although it was ultimately his decision if he really wanted to or not, he acquiesced to make her happy. He reasoned that because she was experienced, it might be that she or her colleagues may have had past dealings involving people who might have liked the pictures shown, or been attracted by something else they may have seen on paper, but then found out that not all was as they had imagined only after it was too late.

While he filled out the initial paperwork, Mrs. Kusch called the prospective landlord and made arrangements to visit the place. After making the coordination, she explained that if he was happy with what he saw, they’d finish up what remained of the paperwork at a later time, which, she explained, would essentially just be getting the landlord’s and his signatures and the Housing Office’s seal.

Once done there on his way out of the office, he had to walk past the desk of the young woman who had lowered her eyes when she saw him. He noticed that her name plate read ‘Angela Schmidt.’ “Have a pleasant day, Angela,” he wished her as he drew near her desk.

She looked up from the myriad documents on her desk and smiled back, after which she bowed her head again, as in a gesture of humility with a mannerism that reminded him of court women of old in the presence of royalty.

I really, really wonder why she does that, he thought as he made his way out of the office.