One day later, Fort Bragg
“Come in, Jorgenson”
Trautman closed the door behind him, and he did it trying to look the darker he could.
After sitting behind his desk, the colonel stayed silent for long and on purpose, just to make sure the guy got nervous, and for good.
He was planning to look the guy straight into the eyes while talking, but Jorgenson was faster then him, like he couldn't stand the wait to start talking.
And that was no good sign at all.
“Am I in trouble, Sir?”
“I don't know yet”
Jorgenson swallowed and Trautman added:
“I won't use no circumlocutions, private Jorgenson. It's simple to say: I have been asked to throw you out. And I would like to know from you why that happened”
Jorgenson lowered his eyes.
“A general asked you that, I think”
Trautman was surprised by the way Jorgenson was sure about it and resigned to it, as if he was just waiting for this to just happen one day.
And so, it suddenly became obvious that something was very wrong.
The order of getting rid of private Jorgenson came from the highest levels of power... Just like a matter a matter of national security, which it wasn't for sure.
But double crossing a simple marine was no matter for the big-wigs at all, for god's sake...
The big-wigs used to ruin the lives of journalists, politicians and men of power, not to simple marines ones which were no-one's sons, and had no role at all in the challenge for careers.
The smell of burning coming from Jorgenson's problem could be smell one mile away... Which was the reason Trautman had summoned him there that night; to just know the truth.
“Now talk, Jorgenson”
But he just continued staring at his own feet in silence, like a punished kid.
“Don't waste my time, son”
At that point, Jorgenson closed his eyes.
“The matter's name is Mary Williams, sir”
Williams... - Trautman thought.
Williams, just like the general who gave him the order - and using no circumlocutions while saying it - of rejecting Jorgenson for no reason at all.
Hearing that, someone like Trautman needed no other explanations to understand everything, and he barely stopped himself from laughing in front of the kid's face.
A general's daughter, my god, Jorgenson... You are dating with a general's daughter, for Christ's sake.
Fuck... I mean, kid... I understand that it's the sixties with the hippies, the free love and so on, but for Christ's sake... Did you really needed to get into trouble with a general's daughter?
Trautman barely avoided the laughs and Jorgenson, who still had his eyes lowered to the floor, didn't noticed anything.
You must be crazy as a coyote and I mean for real, Carl Jorgenson – Trautman thought.
Then, overcoming a very great difficulty, he erased the barely noticeable smile on his face and went back into the shoes of the adamant colonel.
“Are you doing things seriously with her, boy?”
“We are going to live together as as soon as I am sure to be admitted inside the SOG”
It was something already, but not enough, for the colonel.
“Answer the question, boy”
“More than anything else, Sir. I care about her more than myself, my health and my life. I didn't even want to try this sick selection program for deranged people, if you let me speak freely, sir”
“No offence taken, recruit”
“... The point is that I had no other choice. We are going to live together very soon, and her family won't give us a single dollar. We will be on our own. I need to move forward with my career. I need the secret services”
Trautman got speech-lees.
Was this guy really real?
No one goes through a selection program like the one Jorgenson had just passed... Just because of a girl. It wasn't just enough.
The need for money, the buying of a house... None of these things used to last more than just a couple of hours under Trautman's clutches during the selection process.
No...
If there was something that no one could stand without a real inner motivation pushing him forward, was Truatman's personal selection program.
What soldier had to do to get inside the SOG was a matter of faith, not a task, a duty, or a job neither.
And then, of course, Jorgenson had lost his self-control when he hit Ortega with a fist during the selection process.
That was the proof a full mental failure... But he wasn't the only recruit who made a mistakes like that during the selection process, and that was a fact.
Every single recruit had a single moment of proper and real delirium at least, near the end of his personal selection program. That was one of the reason it was so harsh: to see their behaviours after they were broken already.
Barry didn't even noticed the instructors patrols incoming to capture him, Danforth and Krakauer tried to fight against ten instructors instead of surrendering, Coletta risked a death by exposure and Rambo almost wept.
All in all, Jorgenson always proved himself an extraordinary guy, just like all of the others who passed the selection, and if he really had gone trough that kind of hell just for a girl's love... Jesus. His love must have been an exaggerated one.
But fuck, Jorgenson: the general Williams...
What a breed of an enemy you made yourself, for just being a marine?
But then, the recruit stopped his thoughts.
“If the problem is the sucker-punch to Ortega...” he said, but Trautman raised his hand and stopped him immediately.
“As far as I am concerned, you both passed the selection program, just like all of the others. And this is the only thing that really matters, for me”
“Sir, I...”
“Everything's fine”
“But the general....”
“I am going to teach you now something I don't use to talk much about, Jorgenson.
One of the most difficult duties in the soldier's job, is understanding when your officers gives you a legit orders, or not. It took me a whole life-time to get that and this, I can assure you, this is one of those orders nobody can give me for sure”
“But this will create you many enemies between the bigwigs, sir”
“Ah! You don't know me, son... I have them already, and much more than you can possibly imagine. Anyway, the last year in this month, we couldn't even create a single Baker team, so I won't lose a recruit that had passed the selection just because a fucking general don't want him to date his daughter. A daughter of age, I hope...”
“My god.... yes, sir. But... ”
“Pass the course, Jorgenson. This year of training won't be a problem for you: from a physical point of view, you are far better than the most and I got this already. But you will also have to pass some theoretical and practical exams too, and those will be a matter of head, not muscles. With the physical selection process passed, the worst part is over, but you can still be rejected, all of you can. But you are well aware about this...”
“Sir, I...”
Trautman stopped Jorgenson before he could thank him. That would have been too embarrassing
“That's all” he said.
“Yes sir!”
Since he couldn't thank him, Jorgenson moved slowly, like if he was trying to wait a little bit.
Trautman noticed that so he added:
“I won't betray you Jorgenson. But your destiny is at your hands only, son”