Karma is a real bitch
"Major Craigg, this is the General's secretary. General Tillman would like to see you and your security guard in his office."
"Yes, Ma'am. When should I be there?"
"I would say, fifteen minutes ago."
"We are on our way."
Maxis chuckled, "Well that didn't take long."
Five minutes later we walked into the front office of the base commander to see a Sergeant under arms from base security and the Lieutenant at the desk who waived us on through with a warning, "Stormy weather, Sirs."
Jake nodded. "Thanks for the heads up, Lieutenant."
We walked in to find our smart ass, nose swollen, and uniform still bloody asshat sitting with his back to the wall across the room, a stern-faced JAG officer standing next to him. We stood before the desk and reported.
"Major Craigg! Care to give me your side of the story? The Major here is filing battery charges against your bodyguard. I'll have you know, such things are not going to be tolerated on my base!"
I handed 15 separate and signed witness notes to the General, "Sir, I believe these witnesses will easily refute whatever the Major is alleging. Fact is, he forcefully put his hands on Maxis to push him out of his way, and, after a warning, he tried a second time. "
"Maxis, in self-defense, disabled the Major and released him after an apology. If charges are appropriate, the Major," I pointed to the smart ass, "is the one who should be charged."
General Tillman looked at Maxis, "We both know he couldn't have hurt you. Why this?" Tillman asked as he pointed to his handiwork.
"General, I am and was introduced as Major Craigg's security detail. I was verbally and physically challenged by the Major there. To be effective at my job, there was no way I could just stand there and do nothing. That would have made my job a hell of a lot more difficult in the future."
"When the Major made a second attempt to push me, I pulled him off balance and lifted him up off the floor. I did release him on the way up and it was unfortunate he landed face first on the floor. But frankly, he is lucky I didn't take it personally."
"And you think these witness statements make it all okay?" The JAG officer asked.
"Actually, I have the classroom surveillance video as well as my body cam video to back up those statements, Sir. If you will turn on your monitor on your computer I will play them for you side-by-side."
Tillman turned on his computer and even before he could put in his password, Maxis was streaming the videos on his screen with sound. "How the hell are you doing that!" He asked as he listened and watched the videos.
Tillman chuckled menacingly before hitting the intercom function on his phone, "Lieutenant, have base security come in."
When he entered, under arms, General Tillman pointed to the Major in his chair, "Major, you are hereby charged with conduct unbecoming and two counts of battery against an embassy staff member. Sergeant, place him in custody, take him to the hospital to have his nose set, and lock him in the Brig."
The JAG officer asked, "Who will be filing the charges, Sir?"
The General responded, "I am. His actions will not be tolerated on this base. Major Craigg, Mr. Maxis, I wish to extend my apologies for the Major's actions today."
The smart ass Major resisted arrest but the Sergeant was expecting it and swiftly had him under control as they left the office with the JAG officer in tow.
After the door closed, Tillman smiled and looked at Maxis, "I am in your debt, Maxis. That Major has been a pain in my ass since day one. Dumb ass thinks he is the General stationed in the Pentagon instead of his father. This will be all I need to get him kicked out of school, off my base, and out of my hair."
Maxis smiled, "In all honesty, Sir, I took the time to review all his interactions and your notes on your computer about him during the class lecture during my security scan of the room for possible threats. I determined with an 87.46 percent probability you would appreciate me taking him down a notch should the opportunity arise."
"No shit. How the hell do you have access to my secured digital files?"
"I am sorry, General, but that is need-to-know."
"Maxis, those were my personal notes on my secured computer. I need to know."
"I am very sorry to have to disagree with you General. I am sure if you take it up with your superiors you will find they are in full agreement."
Tillman leaned back in his chair for a moment. "Both of you stay available should I need to discuss this further. You are dismissed."
As soon as they were out the door, Tillman was on the phone to SECDEF.
0o0
"So, you are telling me he has compromised the secured base systems and is doing unauthorized background checks of everyone who comes in contact with Major Craigg in real time?"
"Yes Sir. That is exactly what I am telling you. And when he was physically confronted, he defended himself but did not overreach. He went to the edge, but he did hold the line with an appropriate response."
"Did you get a copy of the videos?"
Tillman looked at his home screen and noted the video file, opened it, and saw both videos running side-by-side, "Yes Sir, I have them."
"Send them to me, please. Oh, and General?"
"Yes Sir?"
"Prosecute the asshole. From what I can see, he has been a pain in the ass of every officer who has had him under their command."
"With pleasure, Sir."
0o0
Charley and his team were decked out as if on mission for the war game. The objective was to move unseen and capture the flag in the center of the now abandoned camp. They started at the edge of the property opposite the cave.
Their opponents did not know their attack vector so Charley was confident his boys, a hand-picked, highly trained crew of the best of the best, would easily defeat two of the city slicker security dudes who literally just got off the bus.
The squad was in full battle dress with paint, paintball guns, and Gillie suits which they had adapted to the local fauna. The squad moved into the tree line and disappeared into the forest.
They moved like shadows, in no rush. The object was to win, not race to the finish. After the fifth hour Charley called a halt for a 5-minute rest. Contrary to the movies, a stealthy jungle creep was not a cake walk. Every step was calculated and performed with precision to create no sound to give away their position, every movement orchestrated with the intent to blend in with the natural movements of their environment.
After their rest, they scattered and moved out again, walking through the forest like ghosts.
The two bots adjusted their adaptive camo skins so they were invisible, as if they had the Spec-Opps invisibility ponchos on and silently slithered away into the woods. They quickly scanned their surroundings, listening for holes in the music of the forest with their highly augmented hearing.
*Something bearing 13 degrees true, 50 yards out. Let's flank and investigate.*
Ten minutes later the two bots had found the blue team and watched from each side as the spread-out group inched right past them. When the last two had passed, each bot reached out and pinched a paint ball right in front of their faces before grabbing them, so they didn't fall and alert the rest of the team.
The two soldiers were pissed, as in fry an egg on their heads pissed. But, in the spirit of the exercise and as disciplined as they were, they didn't alert as they were silently laid down in the brush. When the rest of the team was out of sight they quietly got together and one asked, "Did you ever see them?"
"Nope. Didn't hear them, either."
The first one then sighed and whispered, "Well, we might as well follow well behind and pick up the rest of the team as they are taken out."
The two bots were really enjoying taking out this crack team of special operations boys two at a time. Silent kills each, repeated another two times until only the Lieutenant was left. The bots took the Gillie suits of last two and took up their positions flanking the Lieutenant for the last hour until they reached the perimeter of the encampment.
Charley called the two standing next to him closer and signed that one two-man group was to move in alongside the mountain, the second group of two were to move up next to the access road, and the three of them would take the center. The two bots, figuring out real time what his hand signals meant, moved slightly to either side and repeated the hand gestures as if the rest of the team was still there, keeping up the illusion, and then joined Charley as they carefully wound their way past all the camp perimeter traps.
Charley new his team and knew the other two sets of men in his squad were working through the sides of the camp as his team worked their way through the center until the flag was in sight, just 50 feet away from their location. He could not shake the feeling they were being watched, though. Something wasn't right so he had the team wait while his senses scanned the area for anything amiss.
Finally, Charley gave hand gestures telling one of the men to go get the flag while the other two of them gave cover. The bot nodded, smiled to himself, making sure his Gillie suit hid his face. He looked left and right, then ran to the flag, grabbed it, and returned without incident.
Having won the game, Charley stood and walked over to the command pavilion and walked into the door with a big smile on his face. His two comrades following close behind.
