Troop 18 Page 15

  “Five hours late to roll call, and he’s getting a notation in his file?” Heath said incredulously.

  “He’s getting one last chance, that’s what he’s getting,” Lincoln said. “Feel free to recommend punishment to Sgt. Trokof, but it won’t get us anywhere.”

  “You know my recommendation, Lincoln. Cadet Shipman should be released from his contract.”

  Silence on the other end of the phone. Andy looked up and quickly caught Trokof’s eye before they both looked away. She’d been relieved to hear him adamantly, if quietly, going to bat for the cadet.

  “You’re too close to this,” Heath said when he didn’t get a response. “I don’t think any of you are able to see these cadets for what they really are. Sneaky, manipulative—”

  “Your opinion has been noted, Francis,” Lincoln interrupted, his voice going hard. “Both formally in my report and respectfully in this phone conversation. I am taking your opinion into account, as well as Albert’s and Sgt. Wyles’s. We all agree. Shipman gets one more chance.”

  Superintendent Heath gestured sharply with one hand, leaning forward suddenly, almost lunging for the phone. Then he paused, collected himself, and spoke. “My report will reflect my opinion. You should have it tomorrow, Lincoln.”

  Lincoln was in the process of signing off when Heath stabbed at the disconnect button. Andy refused to show her annoyance, but Christ, she really couldn’t stand this man. Heath stood, straightening out his uniform. Andy immediately pulled herself up from the chair, and the three stood silently, both Andy and Trokof waiting to be addressed. Heath turned to Trokof first.

  “I have no doubt you will find appropriate punishment for Cadet Shipman, Sgt. Trokof. Your reputation in this area is well-deserved, I imagine.”

  Trokof bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. Heath turned next to Andy.

  “I meant what I said earlier, Wyles. Keep your head on straight and turn this thing around. If not for the troop, then at the very least to preserve your own reputation.” Andy said nothing, her eye contact the only acknowledgement that he was speaking. “Personally, I’d rather not have my name anywhere near this shit storm.”

  With that final insult still hanging in the air, Heath left the room. Andy and Trokof stood together, listening to the CO’s heavy tread on the stairs as he left. Then they heard boots on gravel, a slammed door, the hum of a car’s engine, and finally tires spinning loose rocks up and over the hill. Superintendent Heath had left Camp Depot.

  Trokof’s shoulders slumped slightly, and he dropped into the nearest chair.

  “Sometimes I fucking hate cops,” Trokof said. It was so sudden and so unexpected that Andy burst out laughing. With the cadet found, Heath gone, and Trokof seeming back to his regular self, the tension was beginning to ease out of her. She rubbed her temples. Andy knew she should get back to camp, mete out Shipman’s punishment, update the instructors, check in with Kate, and get the troop back on track. They all needed to put this day behind them.

  “I shouldn’t have said that, should I?” Trokof said.

  “I’m not in Heath’s fan club, don’t worry.” Andy wondered if she could take just five minutes and sit with Trokof before heading back up to camp. Just as she was wavering, Kurtz came around the corner with a bottle and three glasses. Without a word, Kurtz cleared a spot on the table, twisted the lid off the bottle, and started pouring. The sharp smell of scotch hit Andy as Kurtz passed the glasses around. Kurtz had always been old school with her drinking.

  “To rising above the assholes,” Kurtz said, holding up her glass.

  “Amen,” Trokof said, with evident feeling.

  Andy somewhat reluctantly put her glass out, clinked with her peers, then tipped the bright liquid down her throat. She felt it burn, her eyes watered, and she knew this was pretty much a bad idea. But sometimes the bad ideas were the best ones.

  “I’ll deal with camp,” she said to Trokof, handing the glass back to Kurtz. “Take a night off, sergeant.”

  Trokof shook his head. “I don’t want the cadets to think I’m hiding out here, Sgt. Wyles. I don’t want them to think they’ve broken me.”

  Andy considered this. “I’ll tell them you’re bogged down in departmental paperwork dealing with CO reports and conferring with HR and the Chief Training Officer. I’ll make them think you’re pissed.”

  Trokof laughed. “You’re going to lie, Sgt. Wyles?”

  “I’m quite good at it, Sgt. Trokof,” she said, with a straight face. The scotch had made its way into her belly, warming her in a way only good scotch can.

  “Need a ride back to camp, Andy?” Kurtz said, pouring another drink for Trokof, ignoring his feeble resistive gestures.

  “No, I’m going to run,” Andy said decisively. “Shouldn’t take me long to get there. Need to burn the scotch out of me, anyway,” she said, grinning. It felt good to have camp back to themselves. No, things weren’t going well and no, she wasn’t any farther ahead and yes, she had yet again pissed off her CO. But they could get Camp Depot back on track. They had to get Camp Depot back on track.

  “If Dr. Morrison has cleared Cadet Shipman, he can be on mess clean up for the rest of the week. By himself. If he elicits help from his troop, that will count as his third mark on his file,” Trokof said, his face serious. They both knew it was nothing more than a show of authority and would mean little to the cadet. Hopefully, the threat of a third strike against him would change his behaviour. And hopefully, God, please hopefully, would serve as a warning to the other cadets.

  “Done. See you tomorrow. Thanks for everything, Kurtz.”

  Kurtz waved away the appreciation as she handed Trokof his next drink. “Don’t worry about it, kid. You guys are providing a great deal of entertainment for this retired officer.”

  Andy laughed and left the two of them to work on that bottle of scotch, thinking maybe it was just what Trokof needed tonight.

  Andy was barely past the garage, heading out to the meadow when she heard insistent honking behind her. She looked back down toward the house to see Zeb behind the wheel of the Yukon, waving at her to come on back down. Andy hesitated for only a second. She’d really wanted to run, to physically vent the tension of the day. But Zeb probably felt entirely out of the loop, and this could be a good time to try to mend fences with the young constable. Andy waved back and approached the Yukon.

  “Thought the timing might work out to give you a ride back up to camp,” Zeb said, reversing back down the driveway with a little less caution than Andy would have preferred.

  “Thanks for thinking of me.”

  “Is the CO still here? Heath?” Zeb said as he paused to check for traffic on this dead stretch of road.

  “No, he left about twenty minutes ago,” Andy confirmed, not voicing her opinion of Heath. She didn’t trust Zeb the same way she did Trokof. “Did you want to hear the details?” At his vehement nod, Andy filled him in on what had happened while he’d been wandering the back roads of Clearwater down into Kamloops. When she got to the part about the phone conversation with Lincoln, Heath’s recommendation, and Trokof’s punishment, Zeb shook his head in disbelief. Andy wanted to hear his opinion, totally unsure which side he would take in this. “What is it, Zeb?”

  “It just seems like they’re getting a lot of chances.”

  Andy said nothing, though her heart sunk a little. She really needed the team, the whole team, to be pulling for these cadets. And if Zeb thought Shipman should be going home…

  “It’s good he’s staying,” Zeb said quickly, as if he hadn’t managed to express himself properly. “It’s good he’s back, it’s just…” Zeb trailed off, clearly struggling to put thoughts into words. The gravel road ended, and Zeb pulled sharply to the side, next to the bus. He killed the engine and handed Andy the key. Andy took it without a word, allowing Zeb a moment to line up his thoughts.

  Zeb moved in his seat, fiddling with the gear shift, locking and unlocking the doors in quick succession, leaning forward
to check his parking job before finally turning to Andy. “Sometimes too many chances can fuck a guy up, you know? Make him wonder where the boundaries are. If Depot is supposed to be teaching these guys rules and limits and all that, aren’t we kind of…” he waved his hands at Andy, frustrated he didn’t have the words.

  “Contradicting ourselves?” Andy suggested.

  Zeb pointed at her quickly, his shoulders tight and high. This guy really couldn’t sit still. “Contradicting ourselves. Exactly. Aren’t we doing that?”

  Andy gave him a genuine smile. “I think you just summed up what the entire team is trying to figure out, Zeb. Maybe we’re getting it wrong, but we’re trying our hardest to do right by this troop.”

  Zeb drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He nodded slowly, then more emphatically.

  “Let’s go find something to eat,” Andy offered.

  Zeb grinned and they got out of the Yukon and walked back down towards Camp Depot.

  Chapter Ten

  Andy woke to the sound of the troop gathering in the quad: boots on gravel, a low muttering as two cadets passed outside the cabin, the cushioned slap of a door against its frame. With Kate curled against her side, Andy shrugged down deeper under the blanket, thankful she wasn’t on morning duty today. Kate stirred slightly in Andy’s arms, pushed her head back into the thin pillow and slept on. Andy smiled, savouring the feeling of being cocooned in bed with Kate, their bodies touching at every point. She listened to the low, commanding tones of Meyers’s voice, his words blurred and indistinct. The sound of feet in unison on gravel signalled to Andy the cadets were off on their run. A minute later and camp was dark and quiet again.

  Superintendent Heath had left four days ago. The first night and the following morning had been almost awkward, the troop walking on eggshells around the instructors, waiting for the next step in punishment, the tighter restrictions, the lecture. But Kate, Andy, and the instructors had all decided to carry on, business as usual. Let Shipman take his punishment and stress about his last chance. The instructors needed to move forward with the assumption of good behaviour. Anticipating the next fuck-up was getting them nowhere.

  Kate had cleared Shipman physically, so he was now four days into his punishment. Every meal he was on mess clean-up, a task he clearly didn’t enjoy but did without comment. He seemed no worse for wear from his night time excursion. Petit and Frances on the other hand, stretched out their sick story, Frances even losing a day in the converted infirmary. Kate said it sounded like a stomach bug, but she had no way to confirm it. She recommended a restricted diet, a day off to recuperate and heavy fluids to recover lost electrolytes. Frances was back after a day, his spirits clearly much higher but still managing to look like he’d been the one up all night, not Shipman.

  Andy pulled her thoughts back to today’s tasks: the list of chores, the never-ending grocery list, the urine samples Kate was going to collect and they would drive into Kamloops later this afternoon. Andy made a mental note to check-in with Finns, Jack, and her parents while she was in cell range. She wanted to update Finns, see if Jack had made any headway on the perplexing columns of numbers they’d found over a week ago. Andy also wanted to check in with her parents to see if she had a new baby niece or nephew. She also had a list of items Kurtz wanted her to pick up in town. Andy tracked it all once, then twice, making sure everything was still on her mental list.

  “You’re thinking too loudly,” Kate said, her voice muffled by the pillow and her own sleepiness. Andy hadn’t known she was awake. Smiling, Andy kissed Kate’s shoulder and pulled her in closer.

  “Did I wake you up?”

  “Mmm hmm,” Kate said sleepily, rolling over onto her back. Andy studied her face, the shape of her lips, the faint lines from the pillow on her cheek, her eyes still puffy from sleep. She was perfect. She was beautiful. “Are you thinking about bringing me a coffee?” Kate ran her fingers over Andy’s face like she’d been studying it, too. “You better be.”

  Andy laughed, propped herself up on one elbow and leaned over and kissed Kate. It was a slow kiss, an easy kiss. It was an everything-is-right-with-the-world kind of kiss and Andy felt her own body sigh and relax. They pulled apart slowly.

  “Are we going into town today?” Kate said. Andy could see her body was beginning to wake up, her brain already planning, even before her first coffee. “Is that what you were really thinking about?”

  “Yes, just going over my list.” Andy gave Kate one last quick kiss before pulling back the covers. Kate groaned her disapproval but got up also. As they dressed, Andy went over her list out loud, adding in a stop at the pharmacy when Kate requested it. She was running low on some basics and wanted to pick up a few things to see if she could get Frances’ stomach problems sorted out.

  “So it’s okay that I’m leaving camp?” Kate said, her brow furrowing slightly as she zipped up her fleece. “No one will be on-site.”

  “The cadets are in class all day, no training exercises. It will be fine.” Andy pulled her long, blonde hair back into a low ponytail, wrapping the elastic around four times and pulling it tight.

  They walked in silence to the kitchen cabin, the sun climbing up over the mountain behind them, the sky a confirmed grey in the distance over town. Andy wondered idly which would win out, betting silently on the clouds. She’d lived in BC most of her life. Betting on the clouds was almost a sure thing.

  The kitchen cabin was warm, Trokof greeting them with a soft good morning and Les nodding her hello while stifling a yawn behind her coffee mug. Kate brought their coffees to the table while Andy made two slices of toast for Kate and mixed instant oatmeal for herself. They had a routine now out here at Camp Depot. Everything felt familiar already.

  As Andy stirred her oatmeal, waiting for it to cool, she kept herself on track and listed her priorities in her head. She didn’t want to get comfortable out here. This wasn’t a vacation for herself or the instructors. Certainly not for the cadets. She thought about her initial meeting with Lincoln, how she had to convince him giving the troop some space and not having any other plan was a viable approach to this dilemma. Andy was still convinced this was the best way to go but measuring their success or failure was difficult and intangible. Andy was vaguely aware that Les and Kate were talking, laughing about something over their coffees as they did most mornings. She kept thinking, following each thought to its most logical conclusion. Finally she put her mug down with more force than she intended, causing Kate, Les, and Trokof to look over at her.

  Andy used the break in conversation. “Does anyone know what the weather is supposed to do later today?”

  “Chance of rain this morning, clear by this afternoon, I think,” Trokof offered, sounding tired. Andy looked more closely at him, wondering if it was the overhead light in the cabin or if Trokof looked a little grey.

  “What are you thinking, boss?” Les said to Andy.

  “I know the cadets are in class all day and Kate and I will be in town, but I was thinking the cadets could chop some wood this afternoon and get us ready for a campfire. They’ve had a good couple of days, let’s reward them.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Les said, picking up her coffee mug.

  Andy turned her attention to Trokof, wondering what he’d have to say about a special reward for what should be some basic good behaviour.

  “What are you thinking, Sgt. Wyles?” Trokof said.

  “I want to see what happens when we give the cadets a chance to relax around us. We get to see a little of that at dinner, but only for half an hour or so. Let’s give them some time and space and an environment where they have the chance to actually interact with each other and us.”

  “We aren’t trying to make friends with the cadets,” Trokof said slowly. “That’s a mistake, I think.”

  Andy shook her head. “No, you’re right. That’s not what I meant. I…” Andy stopped, wanting to choose the right words, to make her intentions clear.

  “They’re startin
g to look to you, to all of you, to see how to act,” Kate said, her hands wrapped around her coffee mug. “This,” she continued, indicating Andy’s campfire idea with a nod of her head, “could be a good time to show them what it looks like to be a cop, both on-duty and off-duty, individually and as a crew. They’re sort of blank slates right now.”

  Andy gave Kate a brief, warm smile when their eyes met.

  “But they should be getting that from their peers,” Trokof said, his brow still furrowed. “That’s part of what Depot tries to do, pairing up newer troops with older troops. It’s supposed to be similar to a sibling relationship, the older siblings protecting and guiding the younger.”

  Knowing Kate’s history with losing her younger sister, Andy’s heart ached to see that Kate needed to stop to breathe through the force of the hurt. Then Kate answered Trokof with a question.

  “But do they? Has Troop 18 ever connected with another troop on that level?” Kate said, her voice even. She kept her eyes on Trokof, though she seemed very aware Andy was watching her closely.

  Trokof paused then shook his head slowly.

  “Never,” Les said. “Troop 18 has always been on their own.”

  Kate nodded but didn’t add anything else.

  “We are what they’ve got right now,” Andy said. “And right now we think they’re doing well. Let’s show them that.”

  Andy finished off her oatmeal as Trokof worked through the implications of their actions. He was careful, Andy knew that already. But he was also motivated to do right by this troop. He wanted to give them every chance to prove themselves without overstepping the professional boundary of teacher and student, leader and subordinate.

  “Okay, we’ll try it,” Trokof said. “But whoever heard of a campfire without beer?”