Read Online Noble Beginnings by L.T. Ryan - Free Book Online

smiled,
looked to the ground then back up at me. “Christ, Jack, what did you get
yourself into?”
    “We didn’t do
anything.”
    Keller looked
over his shoulder. “Leave us.”
    “Sir, that man
physically injured his cellmate earlier. It’s not safe for you—”
    “Dammit, I said
leave us. Do you want me to kick your ass, Corporal?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Then get the
hell outta here.”
    The MP
disappeared from sight, and the cell door shut and remained unlocked.
    I cast a glance
toward the door.
    “Don’t think
about trying to run, Jack,” Keller said. “Not now, at least.”
    “OK,” I said.
    “And what is
this mess all over your face? And your hair?” He shook his head. “I remember
when you were a clean cut kid. Now you look like… like one of those bums my
daughter used to bring home.”
    “With all due
respect, General,” I said, “I’ve seen your daughter. Do you think she’d be
interested in me with my present look?”
    Keller tried to
look stern, but gave up and laughed. “Sit the hell down, Jack.”
    I sat across
from him and waited for him to continue.
    “I don’t know
where this is coming from,” he said. “But I’m having a bitch of a time getting
you two out of here. Did you piss anyone off over there?”
    “Other than
Martinez?” Jack said. “Not that I can think of.”
    Keller nodded.
“Someone is issuing this order.” He looked over his shoulder, then back at me.
“I talked to someone, someone up high, who admits you had nothing to do with
the murder of that family. Off the record of course.”
    “Of course,” I
said. “You think it’s the CIA then?”
    “It’d have to
be, wouldn’t it?” he said. “Who here would do this? I run the damn show and
it’s not me. There’s no one between us.”
    I nodded. “Have
you spoken to Abbot?”
    “Yeah. Haven’t
been able to talk to him about it yet. But I’ll keep trying. I’m not as
connected as I used to be, Jack. That’s what everyone says, at least.” Keller
stood. Reached into his pocket then threw a pack of cigarettes on the table.
“You keep those, Jack. Maybe you can trade them for something.”
    I thanked him
and rose. He stuck out his hand, palm facing me, indicating I should stay where
I was.
    “I’m working on
getting you out of here. Stay alert, you got it?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    *
* *
    The light in
the cell cut off at ten p.m. The lights outside the cell dimmed and didn’t
provide much illumination through the square hole in the door. I climbed into
my bunk and tried to get some sleep. It didn’t happen. My face hurt. I tossed
and turned most of the night, replaying the events of the past forty-eight
hours, trying to figure out how I got from Baghdad to Camp Lejeune, from a free
man on a mission, to an imprisoned soldier.
    Every fifteen
minutes a patrol passed the door. I’d hear them approach with deliberate steps
on the walkway. They’d reach the door, stop and look in. The room would darken
for five seconds, and then the patrol would back up and move to the next cell.
I thought about getting up, standing at the back of the room, to see what
they’d do. In the end I stayed in bed.
    I dozed off a
couple times, each time the sleep lasted longer than the last. By six a.m. I
was fast asleep when banging erupted against the door, waking me up.
    I sat up,
shaking the sleep away.
    The door swung
open and two MPs entered the cell while a third remained firmly planted in the
doorway, his taser aimed in my direction.
    “What’s going
on, guys?” I said.
    “You should’ve
been up an hour ago, Noble. Get the hell out of bed.”
    They pulled me
down and dragged me out the cell and down hall.
    “Where are you
taking me?”
    They pushed and
pulled me along and said nothing.
    Prisoners
hanging out on the walk parted to the side and ducked into open cells to make way
for us.
    We stopped
outside the head. One MP opened the door, and the other two pushed me inside.
All the showers were running, and the room