Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(2)

“Sergeant Foster,” she began, “I’m Lieutenant Mathers, with the JAG office. I’ve been assigned as your defense counsel, and I’ve just started working on your case. Looks pretty nasty, so far. Can you tell me your side of the story?”

“I’ve already told it several times. Isn’t it in the file?”

Mathers nodded. “I read it,” she said. “Reading a formal statement and hearing it straight from the man’s mouth are two different things. Personally, I’m inclined to think that I can discern the truth more easily by watching your facial expressions while you speak. So how about it? Gonna tell me what happened?”

Noah shrugged his shoulders. “I had been assigned as a sniper that day,” he said, “to provide covering fire as my unit moved in on what was supposed to be an outpost of ISIL terrorists. Instead, the lieutenant and the platoon found a number of civilian females, and decided to let off some steam with them. Some of the girls, judging from their bodies after I got there, looked to be as young as twelve, maybe thirteen, and only one of them was still alive by then. Lieutenant Gibson had called me down from my position and offered me the opportunity to join in the fun with the last one, but instead, I attempted to put a stop to the situation.” He smiled, sarcastically. “The lieutenant didn’t want to hear my objections.

“ ‘Sergeant Foster,’ he said, ‘these are ISIL sympathizers, and as such they are to be treated exactly the same as enemy combatants. As it happens, we decided to attempt interrogation and met with resistance. Now, I’m offering you the opportunity to engage in some interrogation of your own.’

“I stared at him, and tried to figure out what was going on. I said, ‘Lieutenant, we can’t be doing this.’

“He acted like I hadn’t said anything of importance. ‘And why not, Sergeant?’ he asked. ‘Do you see anyone else around here, to make any objections? How I run my unit is up to me, and this looked to me like an opportunity to let my men get some much-needed R&R. There’s one left, are you going to take advantage?’

“I looked down at the girl that was being held by both arms, and I could see the look in her eyes, pleading with me to do something to save her life. I turned back to the lieutenant.

“ ‘No, sir,’ I said. ‘I can’t be a participant—’ but he cut me off. He held up a hand to stop me, then called out, ‘Anyone else?’ When no one answered, he looked back at me, shrugged his shoulders, and then shot the girl through the head.”

“Wait a minute!” Mathers said. “You’re saying your platoon leader actually murdered this girl, right in front of your eyes. Is that what you’re telling me?”

Noah looked at her, one eyebrow lifted. “I thought you said you read my interrogation report? That would’ve been in it.”

Mathers nodded slowly. “Go on,” she said.

“Well, I stepped back, because I was startled at what just happened. The guys who had been holding the girl, they jumped back, wiping off the blood that splattered them, and I stared at them all.

“ ‘Have you guys gone nuts?’ I asked. ‘Are you all crazy?’

“Lieutenant Gibson turned around and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, and pulled me down so that he was looking me dead in the eye. ‘Sergeant Foster,’ he said, ‘you will stand down. What happened here today was something these men have needed for a while, and something that will stay between us all. Not one word will be said when we get back to the rear, do you understand me? Not one single word.’

“I looked down at the girl he had just murdered, and then at the bodies of the others who had been with her. I doubted any of them was over sixteen, and probably were out there doing whatever their fathers had told them to do. Now, they were all dead, raped and murdered by a bunch of guys I thought I knew, guys I had fought beside, people I trusted. And the one who should have kept them all under control was the one who told them they could get away with it, and even he participated in rape and murder. Hell, even while I stood there protesting what he was doing, Lieutenant Gibson murdered that last girl right in front of me.”

“And that’s when you took action?”

“Yes. I did what, to me, was the only logical thing to do. I drew my side arm and shot him the exact same way. Corporal Mathis objected—he said, ‘Jesus, Sarge! What the hell,’ or something like that, and I started yelling, ‘Just stop it! I want all of you to just stop, right now. What you’re doing is wrong, and could be construed as an act of war against Iraq itself. These are civilians, the people we’re supposed to be here to protect.’ I kept my service pistol in my hand, as I looked at Mathis and the others. ‘I have to make a report on this, and I want to know who was actively involved before I got down here.’

“Mathis stood there for a moment, with Gould and Lindemann beside him. He said, ‘Foster, come on, man, Jesus, Sarge, you can’t report this! Okay, things got a little out of hand, but God, you just killed the lieutenant!’

“I said, ‘Corporal, what I’m seeing here is the rape and murder of civilian girls, some of them barely even old enough to be classified as teenagers. I think that’s a little more than just things getting out of hand. When we get back to the rear, I’m going to have no choice but to place you all under arrest and file a complete report.’