Rigors of Revenge (eBook)

Tank Gunner (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
384 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-9322-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Rigors of Revenge, the tale of a retired soldier, harboring revenge for 50 years, returning to Vietnam to find and kill a murderous enemy. Following a hit and run, Colonel Grady Allen is in a VA hospital PTSD ward where reoccurring nightmares blossom of the murder of Sergeant Tommy Franklin by NVA Captain Vo. Now, 50 years after Tommy's death, Allen has the opportunity to return to Vietnam to find and kill Vo,

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When Henry picked up the phone, he thought it would be Marvin calling about their poker game. He listened to the explanation for the call then asked the ER doctor to hold on.

“Junior, where’s your mother?”

“In the garage, up in the apartment.”

“Go get her. Tell her the VA hospital is on the phone and needs to talk with her. It’s about the Colonel. Your grandpa‘s been in a car wreck. He’s been hurt. They have him in the emergency room.”

Colonel Grady Allen awoke on a gurney, confined to the hard table by three straps of skinned, worn leather. His bed, aligned parallel with a hallway wall, stood outside the huge double doors leading into the busy ER at the Mount Lamar VA Hospital.

“Well, I see you’re still with us, Mister Allen.”

He slid his tongue across dry lips and smacked them together twice before blinking. Eye blinks cleared the blurriness and helped focus on the image of a woman standing next to him.

She was dressed in blue scrubs with a white mesh cover over black cornrow braids. She smiled. Red lips framed perfect, white teeth. Her dark brown eyes pinned him as she plopped an ice pack on his head in front of his left temple. She dabbed moisture from his face and neck with a green surgical towel. With gentle tenderness, she swept at his gray hair, her smile never fading.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m not a mister, young lady. I’m a Colonel. I hope you know there’s a big ass difference.”

“Yes, Sir, I do.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a senior ER volunteer here at Mount Lamar VA Hospital.”

“VA addresses everybody as Mister. Bunch of flakes.”

“That’s how we’re instructed. I’m also a Captain in the Marine Corps Reserve. Eight years active duty. Combat veteran.”

“Good, then address me properly.”

She saluted. “Yes, Sir, Colonel.”

He felt the warmth of humor from her emphasized military posture and response. Allen managed to match her soft smile – which both widened into broad grins.

“I’m waiting for orders from Doctor Pankur to move you to a room. He will be out in just a few moments to talk with you. We were waiting for you to wake up. Sir.”

“My war was Vietnam, Marine. What was yours?”

“Iraq and Afghanistan. Three deployments.”

“What’s your military specialty? Nurse? Clerk? Truck Driver? Thumb Sucker? Sock Folder?”

She laughed. “On active duty I was a gunner on an Apache gunship. I’m also an expert in electronic surveillance, target acquisition systems, and enemy and weapons situational analysis. I have a doctorate in Computer Simulation. I teach Computer Science and Technology Programming at the college. My civilian job is Director, Advanced Technology and Materiel Systems Research. We design and test battlefield electronic gaming systems, virtual reality hardware and software for Army and Marine Corps ground combat forces, and drones.”

“Good for you. My grandson plays with all that crap. Jute is a wiz, smart as a whip.”

“How old is your grandson?”

“Eighteen, almost thirty. That boy scares me sometimes. He’s a straight-A honors student even though he spends hours and hours in front of all his machines and screens. I’m surprised he hasn’t figured out a way to get into the games and be there.”

“Many young men and women joining military service today come in with a lot of gaming and systems experience. The Services are trying to catch up, to maintain their interest and enthusiasm, and connect with them.”

“Yeah. We didn’t have all that stuff in my war.”

“What was your branch, Colonel? Were you a rear area sock folder in Vietnam?” The joshing humor sparkled and flashed in her eyes with the verbal jab. She again swept at his gray hair.

The Colonel laughed. “Infantry. The Queen of Battle. The real deal. We met and killed the bastards on the ground. Not from a million miles away with missiles, rockets, and bombs.”

“Things have changed, Colonel, in the half century.”

Colonel Allen drew in a huge breath and groaned. “What happened? Why am I on this table?”

“A bank robber in a pickup hit your car in the seam of the driver-side door. You were passing through the intersection to enter our Medical Center. He was running from the police and ran through a red light. Of all things, he also was texting and puffing a joint. T-Boned your car.

“Police said the crash must have pushed your body violently to the left because the car’s doorframe had an indentation where your head hit the top of it. You were knocked unconscious. You might have a concussion. The exploding airbag hit you in the face and bloodied your nose. You’ve got quite a knot up near your temple, Colonel.”

“What about the asshole who hit me?”

“Dead. Shot by the police when he pointed his gun at them. He had fourteen bullet wounds.”

“Justice served.”

“Maybe. He was a kid. Fifteen or sixteen. They brought him in here with you.”

“I need to scratch my nose and knee. I can’t move my arms and legs.”

“You’re strapped to the gurney, for your safety and ours. You’re strong for your age. Four of us had to hold you down with great force. You were hallucinating. Something about a battle, a unit was in an ambush. Doctor Pankur has to issue the order for us to release you.”

“What’s your name, Marine?”

“Lilly Marlene. Lilly Marlene Monroe.”

“A double name, like Glenda Sue, Billy Don, Elmer Lou, Edith Fay. Lilly Marlene. I like that name. You have a beautiful smile, Lilly Marlene. Your eyes twinkle when you smile. Please scratch the tip of my nose and rub my left kneecap.”

“Flattery will take you places never imagined.” She withdrew a red bandana from a pocket and rubbed his nose with it until he nodded. Then she massaged his left kneecap until he spoke.

“That’s fine. Thank you, Lilly Marlene. Where are my glasses?”

“You were not wearing glasses when they brought you in. Maybe the airbag knocked them off. They might still be in the car.”

Colonel Allen heard automatic double doors swing open with a dragging swoosh. When he tried to look, pain shot up his neck, stabbed his skull, and electrified his temple and forehead.

He grimaced and lay back on the pillow. “Son of a bitch that hurts. I thought I was going to pass out.”

“So, how’s our patient doing?”

“He’s awake and alert. We had a good chat. Be careful though, he can be grouchy and pushy. Doctor Pankur, may I introduce Colonel Grady Allen, United States Army, Infantry.”

“Retired. I retired from active duty many years ago.”

“Ah, Colonel, is it? Infantry. Infantry have muskets, cavalry have swords. Horses and swords?” Doctor Pankur stood over and peered down at his patient.

“Jesus Christ. Rifles, muskets are long gone. And cavalry had sabers, not swords.”

“Ah, yes. A saber. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to offend. Sailors had cutlasses, knights had swords, cavalry had sabers.”

“You’re a Doctor? You look like an intern.”

“MD, PhD, MS, MBA. All bought and paid for, Colonel.”

“Are you from Pakistan? India?”

“Boston, actually. My parents emigrated from Kenya.”

“You look like a teenager. How old are you?”

Doctor Pankur laughed. “I’m forty. Yesterday, as a matter of time.”

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you.” Doctor Pankur’s friendly face faded. He patted Colonel Allen on a shoulder. His mouth and eyes acquired a professional facade. His voice was flat, authoritative, matter of fact.

“Colonel Allen, you’ve had a bad knock on your head. X-rays show two features I believe are cranial hairline cracks just above and forward of your left temple. Along with the normal and expected external swelling, there also may be some internal inflammation. We don’t think your brain suffered severe injury, although it must have been roughly jostled and shaken.

“We did not detect any enlargement of the brain. But the impact of your head on the doorframe may cause fluid to accumulate and press on your brain. And that’s not good. So, I’m going to admit you to the hospital. We’re going to keep you here for observation a few days.

“Our Admin center passed along your contact information for next-of-kin, and we went through your wallet to check for kin information too. I talked with your son-in-law, and then with your daughter, Marie …”

“Malrie, not Marie. Her name is Malrie.”

“Ah, yes, sorry. I talked with Malrie about twenty, thirty minutes ago and told her you were here with us. She had questions, and I was able to answer most of them.

“Now, Lilly Marlene will wheel you up to Four-B and the Charge Nurse there will place you in a room. While you’re with us, I’ve asked a therapist and a psychologist to monitor you because of your concussion. The other reason I referred these specialists was because you were hallucinating, fighting battles, calling out names. I’m not sure that surfaced because of the head injury. It could have occurred because of other issues, and the specialists can help sort that out. I want to make sure your brain continues to function properly.

“To be on the safe side, the therapist will...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.3.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 1-6678-9322-X / 166789322X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-6678-9322-8 / 9781667893228