Taz & Kodak III

Metal Peace

Chapter 16 – Soldiers, Cowboys, and Private Investigators

Kathleen brought the coffee pot to refill the coffee cups.

“Dinner will be on the table in twenty-five minutes. The biscuits are baking.”

“And my mouth is watering,” McCoy said.

“Mine too,” the general said, leaning to kiss his wife as she poured his cup full. “Too bad I couldn't make you my aid while I was on active duty. You make a mean cup of coffee, Women.”

“That's just the beginning of my skills,” Kathleen said, kissing her husband.

“So what put Taz on your radar screen in the first place? I guessed the magazine article started it. I took the liberty of rereading them again before going to the mesa. John Wayne never looked so fierce as Sgt. Tazerski and his B.A.R.”

“I learned about Taz after he was lost in the bush. I saw the cover of Time of course. I read the article after the scuttlebutt had him M.I.A.(missing in action). I ordered him found, after the Pentagon expressed an interest in him. Taz might still be lost if not for Time magazine and my order.”

“Wonderful piece of generaling, you ask me, General.”

“He was in my theater and I called his commanding officer to encourage him to spare no resources in finding the lad.

“He was back to our lines in short order. Not just him but his photographer too. Few riflemen travel with a publicity agent. War may be hell, but there are times it's too strange for words.

“It was Kendall who explained they were lovers, which, after some thought, probably isn't as rare as having your photographer with you.”

“It was a first for me,” McCoy said. “I'm still not sure how it works. I can't think of how to ask questions about it. I should know about it. I'll be dealing with every kinds of people as a cop,” McCoy said.

“As clever as I am, it never occurred to me a man could have a male lover, and I've led men my entire career. I don't recall the subject coming up before. It's an indication of how below the radar they fly.

“We come in two genders, variances are bound to occur. The majority of us being a certain way, people who aren't don't talk about it. Not to me anyway.

“And since it was Kodak's picture that made Taz famous, there was no reason not to let him continue in that capacity. Any replacement the army assigned would have been kept at arm's length by Taz, and we didn't have to pay Kodak. That made Kodak just fine with the army. That way it was a lot less likely anything suggestive might be photographed.

“I was the general who would wrap the boy in a red bow as the face the army wanted to put on the war. I did as the army asked me to do.

“I met with the sergeant a couple of times. He was an unassuming lad, which simplified my mission. Being a general, I'd wine and dine the boy, dazzling him into submission. I'd sell him on selling his soul to his dear old Uncle Sam.

“He listened as if I was a high ranking officer. I took him to a special spot where they knew how to prepare steaks aged and shipped from my ranch. A perfect touch for celebrating a young decorated hero back from the front. He read me just fine, thank you very much. He kept it simple, enlisted man to general. I was too busy charming the lad to pay any attention to his posture. If I had, I might have been ready for what was coming.

“Taz was nineteen. He's not smart intellectually. I attribute this to a lack of education, not a lack of aptitude. He's smart instinctively, identifying an ambush before walking into it, even one a general carefully set up for his benefit.”

“He didn't trust you?” McCoy asked.

“Not a smidgen. He knew I was up to something. How could he? I'd never been involved in this sort of thing before. I was winging it.”

“Few soldiers think the army is sending them on a tour of anything but the foxholes at the front,” McCoy said.

“Even while being wined and dined, especially with a general blowing smoke up his ass. Taz sensed danger and he had a way of leveling the playing field, generally speaking.

“While I buttered him up, my waiter dropped a couple of two pound steaks in front of us. Beautiful meat. I watched Taz's eyes as he saw the best food he'd ever seen. I've already got him smoking a fine Cuban cigar and drinking a water glass with 30 year old bourbon in it. With all this going for me, Taz told the general in charge of the Pacific theater a story, his story in fact. Hell, all he's said until then is, 'Yes, sir.' A little story can't hurt.

“That's when the sergeant got the high ground away from the general.”

“What did he tell you?” McCoy asked.

“It was simple, to the point, and left me with nothing to say. We aren't having steak tonight. I don't mind telling you, it ruined my appetite.”

“I'm not easily discouraged from taking nourishment,” McCoy said.

“Nor am I,” Gen. Walker said. “As he cut large bite sized chunks out of his steak, when he began to talk. As I said, he hasn't said anything about himself. Everything I know about him, I read in Time.

“He said he was ten. He was at the grocery with his father, Tinytown U.S.A. I don't remember where. He tells me he has a grandmother, half Cherokee. She watches him sometimes. He mentioned no mother, and he goes to the grocery with his father and he waits outside.

“I didn't ask him any questions about himself. I sensed he didn't come up easy. I'm selling him on what I haven't pitched to him yet. He acted as any enlisted man would in the presence of an officer. It's all I had to know, when he gives me something to chew on.

“While his father was inside the market, a younger smaller boy came up and dropped a quarter into the slot and began riding the horse in front of the A&P. Taz said he wanted to ride that horse more than anything, so he took the smaller boy off the horse. He climbed on in mid-gallop.

“When his father came out, he read the situation, seeing the crying child nearby. He knew what Taz had done, and when he yanked Taz off that quarter horse ride, he broke his arm in three places.”

“Jesus Christ,” McCoy gasped. “His father did that to him?”

“Indeed. I'm not done. His father wasn't done. His father took him to the emergency room, seeing no way around it. The arm went in too many directions to pass as being in fine working condition.

“A few hours later Taz had a cast from his shoulder to his wrist. When his father got him home, he beat him because the doctors doubted his story about Taz falling down and being a thoroughly uncoordinated child.

“Taz refused to cry when his father beat him, which made his father even more angry. Taz took pride in making his father angrier after that. No matter how hard his father beat him, or what he beat him with, Taz would not cry.

“One day when Taz was mostly grown, his father had been away for some time, maybe a year or more. Taz lived with his grandmother at these times. When his father came home, One day he came at Taz with the razor strap he liked to use on him.

“Taz faced his father for the first time, eyeball to eyeball, as he raised the strap to strike him. Taz told him, 'You can hit me with that if you want, but I'll kill you if you do.'”

“His father never beat him again. They never spoke again. He was fifteen or sixteen and joined the army in a year or so.”

“My God,” McCoy said. “Someone should have shot his father.”

“You'll get no argument from me. I'd shoot him. If you watch Taz use his left arm, it has a little hitch in it. It doesn't quite work right, but he goes on with his business. He's apparently used to how it works.

“That was Taz's childhood, McCoy. He was made tough by one brutal old man. That's the first thing he told me about himself. He knew I was listening. I'm sure many of my men have it tough as kids. I'm not made aware of it and it's not what a general is there for. I'm not a shrink. From what Taz told me, I wouldn't have made it as a shrink.

“He didn't know it then, but he earned my respect with that story. I made up my mind to protect Taz, when and where I could. We had no way of knowing we'd become as close as we've become. At that moment, Taz had the world by the tail, but the ride would end one day.”

“Hard to believe he became a war hero after that upbringing,” McCoy analyzed. “Serial killer maybe.”

“Taz sipped the bourbon, puffed the cigar, and ate his steak. I'm sure he was pleased with himself. He looked it. He put the general in his place, he did. Not easy for an enlisted man to do.

“I put my cigar out in my steak. I'm not squeamish or stupid. I realize many homes leave something to be desired, but Taz's story hit home. He was ten. I can't imagine treating a child the way he was treated. That was Taz's life, before the army, before Kodak. It's what he told me, and here we are, McCoy.

“If I hadn't been doing what I was doing, I could have let go of it. This time it wasn't quite so easy to tell myself 'This is the way of the world I live in,' but it wasn't something I let slide. I couldn't ignore it. He didn't realize it, but he'd made it personal.

“I like the kid. He had balls. I'd let the army use him, but I'd be there when the ride stopped. I'd protect him from himself and from the army. I was just lucky to be in D. C. when the time came, but I was there, and I took care of him.”

“Why did he tell you that story, General?”

“It's still all I know about his childhood. I think it was his way of putting me in my place. Why does anything happen the way it does, McCoy? The boy forced me to see him as something other than a soldier I was ordering around. He played along. It was better than fighting a war. He had a something to live for now: Kodak.”

“He's never mentioned his childhood,” McCoy said. “The way he studies me says he isn't big on trust. He doesn't give much away, when he does talk.”

“When he visited Walter Reed that day, and that soldier died, something broke inside Taz. Maybe it was already broken. Didn't matter much, the ride was over and the battle for Taz began. It was Taz's time to come home from war.

“I was doing business at the Pentagon. I assigned Kendall to drive Taz. I was going to the reception in Taz's honor that night. When the wheels came off the wagon, Kendall called me. I excused myself and made arrangements for Taz.

“Kendall had me contact Kodak, once Taz was out of danger. It didn't occur to me. If Kodak hadn’t been there, Taz might not be here. Kodak tethered him to the present and I flew them to the ranch.

“Those boys have found peace on the mesa. Taz is as good a cowboy as I’ve got. That's most of what I can tell you, McCoy. Quite simple really. Two boys meet, fall in love, and live happily on my ranch. The sun still rises. The world continues to turn.”

“Amazing,” McCoy said. “You forgot the part where Taz takes my prisoner away from me. Slade came as close to death as he's ever been. I left Slade's gun on the Jeep's fender. Taz grabbed it and went after Slade.”

“You can take the boy out of the army but you can’t take the army out of the boy. Taz is a trained killer, McCoy. Trained by the finest military the world has ever known. Slade should be dead. Taz's training was to shoot and think about it later. What set Taz off?” the general asked. “Doesn't sound like him.”

“Taz and Kodak hugged. Slade called them faggots.”

“Slade is not a smart man,” the general said thoughtfully.

McCoy laughed.

“I never made a smarter move than when I decided not to court martial your ass.”

“Is that dinner I smell?” McCoy asked.

“You’re a piece of work, son. You’re going to weigh three hundred pounds one day. Mark my word on it.”

“I'll go on a diet, General, after dinner.”

*****

Gen. Walker moved down the steps at the back of the house to meet the boys at the gate before they returned to the mesa.

“Going to need to stop letting you go out alone,” Gen. Walker said, as Taz stood at the gate.

“Your bird dog kept an eye on us, until he got Slade the other day. You think I didn’t know he was around back there? I ever tell you about my neck itching?”

“Yes, you did. Jake Slade had a hard head?” Gen. Walker asked, looking at Taz’s sling.

“I suppose. I’d have hit him with a club, but I didn’t have one. My elbow was handy.”

“McCoy said you almost killed that skunk,” the general said, leaning on the gate, resting his boot on the lowest board.

“Nearly bout. I decided not to. Millions of bad guys. Can’t kill ‘em all.”

“Broken?” the general asked.

“Cracked. The sling reminds me not to use it. Makes Dr. Westphalia happy.”

“You need anything, you know where I am. Kodak, keep this cowboy out of trouble.”

“Yes, sir,” Kodak said.

“McCoy keeps coming up. He saved our bacon, but I think I confuse him,”

Taz said.

“He's young. He doesn't know everything yet,” the general said. “He's trying to figure out what happened in town.”

“I had it in mind to shoot Slade. Figured we were better off with that hombre dead, especially after he called me that name. I didn't is all. You might could say it’s why I like Montana. Damn few assholes to kill. I find one needs killing, I'm not in the mood. You figure I’m getting soft?”

Gen. Walker laughed. Taz smiled. Kodak chuckled at the idea.

“No, I figure you’re just about right, son. As men go, you’re just fine. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. If you do something, I know there's a damn good reason for it.”

“Thanks for saying so, General. I’m a little tired. It’s nice to be home.”

“You go easy, Taz,” the general said. “Take time to heal up now.”

“Thanks,” Taz said softly. “General,” Taz said, hesitating before he sat in the Jeep.

“Yes, son?”

“You’re like the father I never had.”

“Taz, I couldn’t be more proud of you if you were my son,” the general said.

Taz smiled, sitting beside Kodak, looking well worn.

“Thanks, General,” Kodak said, moving the Jeep through the gate. “Tell Kathleen we said hello.”

“Will do. Take care of your cowboy, Kodak.”

“I surely will, General.”

Gen. Walker pushed the gate closed, watching the Jeep ease away. He smiled and turned to walk back to the house. He began to whistle.

It had turned into an unusually beautiful day.

*****

Postscript

Gen. Walker and Angus McCoy sat waiting in the general's office. McCoy was ready to leave for Chicago and they smoked a parting cigar.

“You took Slade down without firing a shot. Pretty damn impressive,” the general said. “I hope all your cases turn out this well, McCoy.”

“Thanks, General. I can hang around here for a year and never figure Taz out. He does what he does and I do what I do. I'll leave it at that.”

“Taz can’t explain why the word set him off. He didn't kill Slade. It is what it is. Taz is Taz.”

“Taz is Taz,” McCoy said. “That sure sums it up.”

“How do you feel about that word, McCoy.”

“Ugly word. If I heard it before, I'd never heard it said that ugly.”

“Say you’re a gay. Say you’re as good a man as any, but a fellow wants to take you down a peg or two. He calls you that name. I can't tell you how I feel about Taz and Kodak being together, but what I see is, they’re happy being together. By God that’s a small miracle. Few people find the happiness those two share, and I bless them for it. I don't need to understand it as long as they do,” the general said.

“That's a good way to put it,” McCoy agreed. “God bless both of them.”

*****

That evening on the mesa.

“Are some of these pictures missing, Kodak?” Taz asked, going through the shootout at the courthouse pictures in the cigar box.

“McCoy took some for Crosby to blow up. That's why the box is out.”

“To tell you the truth, I'm ready to get back to some good old fashion fence mending. Maybe I'm ready to ride fence?” Taz said happily.

“Dr. Westphalia said rest. You do remember him? The big heavyset guy.”

“Yeah, I don't want him riding with us. He's grumpy,” Taz said.

“We can talk about it,” Kodak said with suspicion. “I'll take the horses down to the general's stable if you do more than talk, Taz.”

“That's cruel. You know I won't do anything I'm not ready to do.”

“No, I don't know that,” Kodak said. “You're still favoring that shoulder. I know when you're in pain.”

“What's a little pain? Life is full of pain.”

“Not on the back of a horse it isn't,” Kodak said.

“You're tough on me and me being hurt and all,” Taz said, looking for sympathy. “Maybe we should finish talking in the bedroom. I'm feeling a bit weary thinking of all the things I can't do.”

“You're ready to go to bed. You just got up before we ate dinner.”

“I know. I do my best talking in bed, don't you think?”

“Taz, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you're becoming more amorous since you came home from the hospital.”

“We lost a lot of nights when you couldn't hold me. I missed that. I feel loved when you hold me, Kodak.”

“I love you whether or not I'm holding you, Taz,” Kodak said.

“I know.”

“I was with you every night at the hospital.”

“Knowing you were there helped me, but you aren't packing in our bedroom. It's more romantic when you aren't packing, you know.”

“That's true. Madge isn't in our bedroom either.”

“Do you think we can make up for lost time?” Taz asked.

“I don't think you can catch up on something like that.”

“Can we try?” Taz asked.

“i don't see why not,” Kodak said. “I can't think of anything I'd rather do.”

“I love you,” Taz said.

“I know, and I love you,” Kodak said, turning out the last light.

The End