Taking a deep breath, Leigh Ann looked up at Brad. "I want to go with you. Please."
"Okay," Brad replied without hesitation. "I'll let them know that I'm going to fly commercially."
Harry frowned. "You better watch your six."
Brad nodded and faced Leigh Ann. "Where are you staying?" "In a motel near here, and I've got a rental car."
"Okay," Brad replied with a smile, "we'll grab your luggage, check out, and head for the airport."
Brad turned to Hutton. "Harry, will you call North Island, and let them know that I'm taking an airliner to Washington?" "Sure," he grinned. "Give 'em hell."
"Yeah," Brad chuckled. "What can they do? Make me a captain and send me to Yankee Station? You guys take care of each other."
WASHINGTON, D. C.
After the long flight, Brad and Leigh Ann checked into the Hotel Washington. They ate a late dinner, followed by a nightcap in the quiet cocktail lounge. Their relationship was on solid footing again, but the stress and uncertainty of Brad's difficult situation dulled the elation.
Exhausted by the tedious trip from San Diego, Leigh Ann and Brad succumbed to their weariness shortly after midnight. Collapsing on the ornate bed, they held each other, then fell asleep with Leigh Ann's head on Brad's chest.
After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Brad and Leigh Ann walked down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
Instead of experiencing pride, Brad had a gnawing feeling inside. His anguish was fueled by a mixture of sadness and loathing. The decisions that were being made in that building were causing untold lives to be lost in a protracted, senseless strategy of slow escalation.
He steered Leigh Ann back past the Treasury Building, crossing the street to enter Sherman Park.
"Brad," Leigh Ann said as they crossed another street and walked into Pershing Park, "what do you think will happen in the meeting?"
"Hearing," Brad squeezed her hand affectionately. "This is not a good-old-boy town meeting."
She tugged on his arm. "Okay, hearing. Will you be in any jeopardy?"
Brad thought about the various possibilities. "The way I understand this, your friend Senator Kerwin is basically using me as the kindling to start a roaring blaze."
Leigh Ann pulled Brad to a halt. "What do you mean? Arlin Kerwin is one of the most respected politicians in Washington. I don't think he would do anything to hurt you… or me."
"Leigh Ann," Brad replied, taking both of her hands. "My handler, the lieutenant colonel I called from San Diego, couldn't say much over an open phone line, but he painted a clear picture for me."
"What did he tell you?" Leigh Ann asked, motioning toward a park bench.
"I don't know the whole story," Brad answered, sitting beside Leigh Ann. "Apparently, there has been a lot of feuding between Capitol Hill and the White House about the direction the war has taken.
"It seems as if," he continued, lowering his voice as a couple walked past, "certain individuals, including Senator Kerwin, have been waiting for an opportunity to catch the administration with their shorts down."
"Brad, I am really sorry for getting you into this. I didn't know that everything had worked out so well for you and Harry."
Brad smiled and put his arm around her. "I told you not to worry. My incident, and the subsequent cover-up, is the catalyst Kerwin has been waiting for. If, in some small way, I can help expose the madness in the White House, the better off we'll all be."
Brad chuckled and shook his head. "Believe me, when Kerwin starts digging, he won't quit until he has all the answers, or he surfaces in China."
"That's what bothers me," Leigh Ann said with a hint of sadness. "I don't want to see you used, then discarded."
Leaning over, Brad tilted Leigh Ann's chin up and lightly kissed her. "Let's have some lunch before I have to report to the colonel."
Brad paid the taxi driver, then walked into the hotel lobby. Leigh Ann was sitting in a chair, looking radiant in a beige dress with brown accessories.
"How did it go?" she asked, rising to greet him.
"Fine. The colonel is a nice guy, and we had a cordial chat. He told me when and where I have to be tomorrow, then encouraged me to hold my ground and tell it like I see it."
"Is he going to be there with you?"
Brad gave Leigh Ann a wry smile. "I don't think so. I would imagine that anyone remotely connected with me will be hunkered down in a bunker tomorrow."
Leigh Ann impulsively kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be there."_
Brad laughed out loud.
"What's so funny?"
"Ah… I'm not sure I can withstand any more of your help." Leigh Ann looked hurt.
"I'm kidding… just a little humor."
She gave him a thin smile. "I am sorry, and I'd like to make it up to you. How about if I take you to dinner?"
Brad cocked his head. "You're going to take me out for dinner?"
"That's right, flyboy," she said with a look of determination. "I learned a lot about being independent from a guy I once met in Hawaii."
Brad raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"
"Yes," she smiled demurely, "and afterward, I have a stimulating evening planned."
Chapter 44
Brad donned his tunic and adjusted his tie, then glanced at his watch for the fourth time in ten minutes. He dreaded the next few hours more than he had ever feared anything.
Turning, he saw Leigh Ann smooth her conservative suit. She, too, looked nervous. How different from the sensuous, confident woman he had known in bed.
"Leigh Ann, you don't have to attend this hearing. It's closed door, and you may have to sit outside for who knows how long."
She walked to Brad, then kissed him, careful not to disturb his uniform. "I happen to be in love with you, and I want to be by your side, or as close as possible."
"Okay," Brad replied, looking at his watch. "It's time to go to the gallows."
Arriving fifteen minutes early, Brad and Leigh Ann walked up the steps to the imposing building. After Austin identified himself, he and Leigh Ann were allowed to go to the area outside of the room where the hearing would take place.
They took seats outside the room, and silently watched a number of people shuffle in and out of the hearing chamber.
Brad started to speak to Leigh Ann, then stopped abruptly. Ogilvie, from the State Department, accompanied by Captain Emmett from CINCPAC were approaching them.
"Great," Brad said quietly to Leigh Ann, "here come the two sweethearts who grilled me on the ship."
"Who are they?"
"I'll tell you later."
Emmett sat down without acknowledging Austin, while Ogilvie, wearing the same rumpled suit he had worn on the carrier, walked toward the couple. Brad rose to face him.
"Captain," Ogilvie said testily, "you've opened a real can of worms, and you're going to rue the day you blew the whistle."
Bristling, Brad thrust out his jaw but refrained from replying. Ogilvie spun around and rejoined Emmett.
Precisely at 10 A. M., the doors were closed. The waiting area became as quiet as a tomb. Ten minutes later, Brad was called into the hearing.
Ushered to a long table, Brad stated his full name, then remained standing and swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He observed Arlin Kerwin, who reminded him of a simpleminded country humorist he had seen on television. Appearances, Brad thought, can be deceiving.
"Son," Kerwin said in a friendly, fatherly manner, "we're here today to establish exactly what happened at Phuc Yen, and why there is an ongoing attempt to conceal what happened."
Brad silently nodded.
"There aren't any members of the service present," Kerwin continued in a congenial tone, "so you needn't be intimidated. I want you to tell this committee precisely what happened, and what consequences you faced. We are going to get to the bottom of this matter, so don't leave anything out. I've got the dates, so just tell us the facts."