The Med

The Med by David Poyer Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: The Med by David Poyer Read Free Book Online
Authors: David Poyer
after the court-martial?”
    â€œYou don’t know what it’s like.” His voice hardened, and she felt afraid, a little. He never spoke to her like that; it was another side of him, the Navy side.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œForget it. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
    â€œDan … don’t clam up on me. Don’t pull that Academy bullshit. It wasn’t your fault! There’s nothing to prove! The Board said—”
    â€œI don’t care what they said! I keep thinking—damn it, I knew the maneuver was risky. I was only an ensign, but if I’d spoken up, argued with the captain, it might, it might not have happened.”
    â€œDan. Don’t, please. They cleared you and the man above you.”
    â€œThe Board hung it on Captain Packer because he was dead and it was neater that way. But none of us on the bridge came off clean, Susan. With that letter of reprimand in my jacket my career is shot unless I pull four-ohs from here on out.”
    â€œThen why are you worried, if he likes you?”
    â€œIt’s nothing I can pin down. He just lets things get on his nerves; he worries, all alone there in his sea cabin … then he gives these crazy orders. He ridicules the officers on the bridge, in front of everybody. He treats the chief staff officer like a plebe. I’ve never served with a guy like this before. Commodore MacInroe would tear your ass off if you screwed up, but at least you knew where you stood. He wanted a tight squadron, good performance, and he knew what he was doing. I try to give Sundstrom the benefit of the doubt. He’s only had the job three, four months. But he seems to be getting worse, not better.” He fell silent, still looking out to sea, toward the ship that was swinging now into the wind. “Don’t worry. I can take him all right. But sometimes I wonder … if something happens while we’re here in the Med, I hate to think what it’ll be like with him in charge.”
    â€œDon’t say that! I don’t want to hear about that. Nothing’s going to happen, is it?”
    â€œNot that I know of. But that’s what we’re here for, Susan.”
    â€œI don’t know what you’re here for. I don’t know what business the Navy has this far from America anyway.”
    They both sensed the argument coming, and neither of them wanted it; they dropped the subject tacitly. She turned to look across the bay. “There’s yours—the big one,” she said. “And that other one—didn’t you say there were six ships in the squadron? Where are the others?”
    â€œYou don’t put the whole task force into the same place for liberty, not in the Med. The port authorities don’t like it, too many sailors at once. And it’s not a good idea if we’re attacked.”
    â€œWhere are the other ships?”
    â€œScattered around. Guam and Barnstable County here … Newport and Ault in Naples … Spiegel Grove and Coronado in Palermo … Charleston in Civitavecchia. We’ll join up after the port visits for the next exercise.”
    â€œI’d like to go to Greece. And maybe one of the islands, look at some of the digs. Moira’s on a project in Cyprus. She wrote me about it.”
    â€œOur next port is Iskenderun. Turkey. I guess you could go through the islands on the way.”
    â€œAnd Yugoslavia…”
    â€œI don’t think that would be a good idea.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œIt’s a Communist country, Susan.”
    â€œSo what? They allow tourists.”
    â€œYou say that like it doesn’t matter.”
    â€œThat they’re Communists? Dan, don’t be ridiculous. You act like we were at war with them, or something.”
    â€œI just don’t think it would be a good idea.”
    â€œWell, is Turkey any better?”
    â€œThat’s a good question,” he said,

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