Su Lynn lay on her mat for a while, but couldn’t sleep. She had been around Ricks overnight before, but now it was different. She sat up in bed and watched him sleep. At one point he began thrashing around and let out a moan. Su Lynn reached over and took his shoulder, steadying him. “It okay. You safe. I here with you,” she whispered to him. Her touch immediately stopped the thrashing. His breathing became steady and she felt his hand rub her arm. “Love you,” he muttered in a groggy sleep.
She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. “I love you, too,” she whispered.
Su Lynn lay her body over his for a moment in a soft hug, then lay back on her mat. She listened to the old woman’s snoring a while longer before sleep finally overtook her.
The letter had been sitting on his desk as he came in for the evening. The ammunition onload at Seal Beach had kept Hammond out of his cabin at meetings both on the ship and ashore. A pile of documents sat on the desk for him to sign or approve. Hammond started working through the correspondence, but his eyes kept returning to the letter. It had a Vallejo return address but not anything official. He returned to the pile. Reports on damage control drills, eight o’clock reports, NALC reports, messages, a firing plan for the gunshot; just the myriad of things that a CO must deal with. But his mind drifted back to the letter.
Hammond finally gave into temptation and opened it. It was handwritten, with a light and delicate hand. It was two pages and he hurriedly flipped to the back to see who sent it. It was from Patricia Crowell. Something about a letter from her excited Hammond. He returned to the first page and began reading.
Dear Captain Hammond,
I hope you don’t think me brash by writing to you, but I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed meeting you at the wardroom dinner. I have grown very attached to the people onboard your ship since we started this venture, but that has been on an official level. Through my office, we have held parties, helped obtain equipment, and done many other things to help get the ship and crew ready for what you are about to do.
It’s interesting to me the difference one person can make with people. As a politician, I aspire to be that for the people in the city. After all, it’s what gets people elected. So you can understand when I notice such things in others.
I couldn’t believe what happened in that wardroom when you came in. Just about everyone there seemed to straighten up a little and show a little more pride. They hung on the words you said and I heard them start talking about how great things were. It was as if everyone’s personality changed when you walked into the room. That was really impressive.
Then we got the chance to talk a little. If you don’t mind my saying, you are a pretty interesting guy. I never met anyone who has done so much. Most of the politicians I have met are pretty dull. They talk about political conquests and campaigns they had. On occasion they might have an interesting trip they went on or luncheon they attended. Trust me, it isn’t much. You, on the other hand, have done things that really made a difference. Most recently you even did things on a political level. That’s a lot more than I ever expected. At the same time, you impressed me a little in another way. As opposed to some of the people I deal with, you can actually put more than two words together in a complete sentence. I saw the smart guy who did all those things I heard about.
I must admit I enjoyed talking with you. Since then, I have been thinking about you a lot and for that reason I decided to write. I hope you don’t mind.
We all realize what you and your crew are preparing to do. I can’t imagine what you will be going through or the dangers you will face. But I hope you know there are a lot of people around here who are thinking about you and wish the best for you. The people are proud of the ship and crew. We all wish you the best.
I hope you don’t mind if I write occasionally. Since I am by myself after hours I have nothing better to do. I’ll keep you up on all the Vallejo gossip and let you know what’s going on. If you want to say hello occasionally, I’m here. Someone should have a friend to talk to.
Just remember people wish you well. I hope we can be good friends.
Sincerely,
Hammond sat back in his chair and let out a long breath. Patricia Crowell was an open and interesting woman. More than that, he had fun around her. He actually didn’t mind that she wrote. It kind of reaffirmed some things he had thought about her. Hammond smiled. It could be interesting.
Hammond looked back at the desk and then at the clock on the bulkhead. It was after 10 pm. He didn’t really feel like finishing the pile tonight. Placing the letter back in the envelope, he placed it in a side drawer. He yawned and then turned out the light and went to bed.
Chapter 11
Gregory Sussman was a low level diplomat assigned to the American Embassy in Beijing. His forte was business negotiations, and he had been working with the Chinese government for several years. Most of the time he negotiated copyright laws — primarily in music and films. China had a plethora of places that copied and sold bootleg CDs and DVDs.
The latest round had to do with fashion design. The Chinese had very good fashion designers, but it was much easier to make copies of popular fashions and sell them on the open market. Unfortunately, China was so far reaching in landmass it was difficult to pinpoint where the manufacturers were located. The Chinese government was not particularly interested in hunting them down. It all brought money into their coffers.
The day had been somewhat frustrating with both sides going over particularly hard points and offering proposals and counter proposals. It was all done in a friendly and amicable way, of course. Never were heated words exchanged. At the end, both sides offered to continue the discussions the next week. The two top negotiators left the room for a media-related statement while the “underlings” cleared the tables.
Greg had just completed gathering the notes for the day when he noticed he and only one Chinese associate were in the room. The associate was eyeing him closely and walked over to where Greg was standing, offering a packet of paper.
“I believe this is something you should have in your notes,” he said with a broad smile.
Greg took the papers and looked at them, expecting they had been retrieved by mistake, but something was wrong. The papers were of an inferior grade to those the Americans used. In addition, he saw something that appeared to be colored with some drawings on it. He opened the packet and stared at what he saw. It was a small map of Korea with all the roads and five places marked along the DMZ. On another sheet was an explanation in perfect English outlining the location of five tunnels that had been constructed by the North. He looked questioningly up at the other man.
“It is hoped that this will demonstrate the close ties my nation has with your nation and its desire to end this conflict amicably,” the Chinese delegate said calmly.
“I am not used to receiving this kind of information,” Greg said. “I am not sure of what to do.”
“We understand, Mister Sussman. We know you are an honored negotiator with no ties with your intelligence gathering brethren. It was decided to pass this information along through less known channels to demonstrate the, shall we say, delicate nature of our relationships in the area. I offer myself as a conduit so that you may pass along additional information and requests from your government. However, please let your superiors know that once the current conflict ends, this cooperation will also be at an end,” he said pleasantly. “You see, I am a negotiator much as you are and this is a different task for me as well. Let us hope this will not mean a change in either of our careers.”