Author's Note: This is the conclusion of the story. I hope you can forgive any errors. Thanks for reading.
*****
Through fits of tears, Highrider told me that she and Bundt, last Friday night, had sex together in Bundt's room. As an NCO, she got a private room. Afterwards, Bundt asked if Highrider ever had sex with Glashing. She said no. Bundt talked about how hot Glashing was.
At the party, Bundt told Highrider how to lure Glashing into sex, called them her "turning tactics." Bundt, apparently, enjoyed sex with straight women and had developed an effective method. She taught it to Highrider and told her to try it after the party. And she told Highrider to change the blinds so that Bundt could watch.
Bundt had watched them and left. Highrider was already awake at 0615 the next morning, holding Glashing, when she saw PFC Morales look in the window. It was then that she freaked.
"Morales?" I asked. This was ballooning out of control.
Highrider nodded. "When I saw it wasn't Corporal Bundt, I got scared. I thought Morales would report me, and I'd get kicked out."
I considered this for a second and said, conclusively, "Morales was ordered there by Bundt."
"Why?" Highrider asked, suprised.
I shook my head. "Some other time, Highrider." She put her face in her hands. I said, "You fucking lied to me."
"I'm so sorry, sir," she cried.
"Shut the fuck up so I can think."
I sat down and my mind raced to put it together. Bundt ordered Morales to look in the window because she wanted leverage. Bundt knew what Morales would see—Glashing and Highrider, basically naked in bed together. Morales would report what she saw back to her NCO—Corporal Bundt. Bundt would use that information against Highrider and Glashing.
No. Bundt would use it against Glashing. She'd already had Highrider.
Bundt wanted Glashing.
I got up to leave, and Highrider clutched at me, begging for help. She threw herself at me, taking off her bathrobe.
"Please, sir! Don't leave me this way!"
"No," I said. "I'm leaving. You deserve everything you get." I walked to the door.
"Sir!" she pleaded.
I left and went back to Glashing's room.
Already spooked by my earlier departure, she was pacing the floor when I came in.
"Sir..." she began.
I raised my hand. "Wait, please."
She stopped.
"Did Corporal Bundt ever try to seduce you?" I asked, and then I added, "Not even necessarily seduce, but maybe invite you to her room alone or act strangely? Talk about sex? Anything like that?"
Glashing said, "Yes, sir. She did. More than once."
"Okay, tell me."
Corporal Bundt, a communications Marine, was not in Glashing's section, so opportunities for them to see each other during the work day, other than during formation, were rare. Yet, Bundt often dropped by the Motor T shop and hung out wherever Glashing was working. Any time they spoke, Bundt was making sex jokes or talking about sex.
Twice Bundt had invited Glashing back to Bundt's barracks room, and Glashing suspected her to be a lesbian. At a previous party, Bundt tried to get alone with Glashing, and even went so far as to grab her ass. Glashing told her to stay the fuck away.
"Sir," she asked, "what does Corporal Bundt have to do with all this?"
"I can't tell you now, but I will later. What do you know about PFC Morales?"
"Morales?" she asked. I nodded, and Glashing said, "Not much, sir. She's a pretty shy, pretty quiet boot." Boot—meaning fresh out of boot camp.
I nodded, thinking and rubbing my jaw.
"Is everything okay, sir?"
"I don't know, yet, Glashing."
"I'm scared, sir."
"You've told the truth. There's nothing for you to fear."
"Can you stay with me now?"
"I can't."
I left, went back to the 1stSgt Wolverton's office, and had a closed-door conversation with him. Then, I returned to my quarters and got my tape recorder. I went back to 10th Marines.
PFC Morales was alone in her barracks room when I walked in. She was a frail looking thing. Demoralized, was my first impression of her. She might have been cute, but something inside was eating her up.
I didn't put her at ease. I started the recorder and said. "I'm representing the 2nd Marine Division in an investigation into some matters that occurred on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. As background, I need to understand your relationship with Corporal Bundt."
The second I mentioned Corporal Bundt's name, Morales lost control. Her chest heaved up and down, and she began to cry—a whimpering, sniffling affair.
"Morales, at ease. At ease." I went over to her. "Sit down."
I took her shoulders and set her on the bed.
"Did the two of you have sex?"
"Yes, sir."
"How many times?"
"Three times, sir."
"Did you feel coerced by her?"
"Coerced, sir?"
"Like you didn't have any choice," I clarified.
"Yes, sir."
"Was it rape?" I asked.
"No, sir."
"Are you sure, absolutely sure, it wasn't?"
"It wasn't rape, sir."
"Okay, did she order you to look into Glashing and Highrider's room on Tuesday morning at 0615?"
"Yes, sir."
"Who have you told about what you saw that morning?"
"Only Corporal Bundt, sir."
"No one else?"
"No, sir."
"What did you see?" I asked.
"They were both naked in Highrider's rack. The blanket was pushed down. Glashing was asleep on Highrider's chest. Highrider was feeling Glashing's ti...breasts when I looked in. She saw me and I ran back to Corporal Bundt's room."
"Okay, at ease, PFC. Wait here."
I left to think.
I wanted to nail Bundt, really throw the fucking book at her. But, I also recognized that we maybe had some things in common. She had fraternized, sexually, with Marines junior to her. So had I. In fact, as an officer, my crime was the more egregious. A commissioned officer and two Lance Corporals? Plus, these were the same women I was investigating. It was doubly wrong. Way wrong. Was I any better than Bundt?
What gave me a tiny sense of self-righteousness was the idea that my offenses had not been premeditated. Bundt had planned this thing. Hell, she even had a system for it—"turning tactics"— or whatever. She spent her time figuring out what straight female Marine she could seduce. And for Morales, Bundt had seduced her and then used that to order Morales around, make her help in her plans for Glashing. Bundt had used Highrider, too.
I was also somewhat justified by the idea that I hadn't used coercion—at least, not directly. I didn't order anybody to do anything. And I certainly provided opportunities for them to say no. Had either Highrider or Glashing turned me away, I would not have pursued. Did my rank and position influence them? Yeah, it did, I admitted.
So, why did I feel justified?
I didn't care about lesbians, like Bundt, in the Corps. Honestly, I didn't. Anyone who joined, however, signed a fucking contract—a voluntary contract that said they were not homosexual and that they wouldn't pursue homosexual activities. Bundt broke her word.
What was worse: she incited others to do the same. To me, that was treachery, an offense of the highest order. She used her rank and her persuasive skills to induce others to break their word, destroying their personal integrity. When a Marine loses that, morale is destroyed, and ultimately, our ability to fight and win is undermined.
Fuck, just look at Morales, I thought.
I was no angel, but Bundt was treacherous.
I went back to Morales's room and had a detailed conversation with her. We went through a couple of rehearsals to get her comfortable with her role and her lines.
Morales made a phone call. She did a nice job.
When she hung up, I calmed and encouraged her. Then, I went into Morales's head and waited.
Bundt showed up a few minutes later, barging in without knocking. "What the hell's going on, Morales?" she asked.
"That investigating officer is going to talk to me. What should I do?"
Bundt got angry. "Don't fucking tell him anything!"
"What if he asks about us being together?"
"Lie to him!" Bundt yelled.
"Lie to an officer?"
"If you tell him the truth, we're done for, Morales."
"He's going to ask about what I saw that morning."