Fifteen minutes was all it took for Trautman and Garner to declare Operation Black Spot closed and dismiss both the liaison officers and the base's joined personnel as well.
When the time came for goodbyes however, there was no hand shaking, nor pats on the back.
Considering the strength of the attack, the base's defences had held up well, yet there were heavy losses and in Vietnam, it had been a long time since the idea of having fought well could be a consolation for anyone.
A few minutes later, Garner and Trautman were walking down base corridors once again, but this time heading silently towards the exit. Before walking out the door, Garner stopped Trautman with a gesture.
“We got through that fast” he said.
Trautman nodded but looked like he was thinking about something else.
So Garner added:
“Samuel... We could have lost both bases”
Trautman didn’t reply.
“It could have ended up a lot worse that it did. More than one of the brass heads would have enjoyed seeing us torn to shreds, and you know that”
-
That’s true – Trautman thought.
It was even worse than that.
Because no matter how cruel it might sound, Garner was playing it down, and by a lot.
Trautman had managed to hide it from everyone - Garner included - but the truth was that general Loyd had sent the two Baker teams into such a conventional, full-front battle to fight alongside regular soldiers because that wasn’t the Baker teams’ specialty in the first place.
In fact, the two Baker teams were experts in guerrilla warfare, not total warfare.
Maybe, Loyd simply imagined they wouldn’t have excelled in that kind of operation but nothing else. He’d probably done it without really realizing it.
But then again, maybe He’d done it on purpose.
Perhaps Loyd had risked sending all of them (or almost of all them) to their deaths on their very first mission.
On the other hand, maybe, just maybe, it was how He’d hoped to get rid of Trautman's program (and his career) over night.
In the end, four or five more deaths - or even just permanent injuries – would have been more than enough to end the Baker team program for good.
Making Trautman's experimental project look bad also meant making the colonel's whole view on the war look bad with it.
It went without saying that the colonel's career was obviously moving forward at the expense of Loyd's if you took into account that they had opposing viewpoints on everything.
The Loyd issue was something Trautman had to put off however, at least for now, just like he had to forget about losing Mac Daniel to friendly fire.
Trautman swallowed.
One enemy at a time – he thought.
The real ones first.
-
Trautman headed for the exit and Garner followed behind him.
“One more thing colonel, regarding Jorgenson… Are not we going to tell the guys about it?”
“Not yet, Garner. The entire team made it home despite all expectations, and I want to keep it that way, at least for tonight. Let’s just let them celebrate”
Garner nodded thoughtfully, while the two of them continued down the corridor.
Trautman looked at him, and then added:
“It's not lying. I simply want them to feel like they’ve won, at least tonight. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“Of course I can, Samuel. That way they can celebrate a win. Otherwise...”
“Exactly”
Trautman reflected further, and then added:
“In all actuality, both teams really did win despite the losses. Last night those sixteen guys were on a rampage Goddamn it. And they did it on both bases”
Then, out of nowhere, the colonel suddenly seemed to come back to life.
He stopped and turned to Garner.
“Don't you get it Garner? Do you realize what those guys actually did last night?
Especially Baker team B's performance. Their defence was...”
“Like never before. No one in Vietnam had ever seen that kind of defence before”
“And the next morning, they volunteered straightaway for another high risk mission. Even the wounded ones did. Even Eagle did”
Trautman nodded.
Then Garner said:
“We’ve never had men like these before colonel, never. And the credit is all yours, Trautman, it’s your program”
Trautman’s face lit up momentarily, but his enthusiasm and the light in his eyes lasted just that. As soon as he shared these last words with his friend, his thoughts went right back to team A’s losses, and to the painful agony Jorgenson was now facing, only minutes before death.
That was why shortly thereafter, his face went serious again.
“Everyone's performance was extraordinary and yet, it wasn’t enough” he said.
“That's because nothing's ever enough in this fucking war,” Garner immediately answered.
“Not even being the best is ever enough in this frigging war, right, colonel?”
Trautman smiled bitterly.
“I said that, didn’t I?”
“Of course you did, colonel”
“Yeah...”
They started walking again down the corridor towards the exit, but when they got there, Trautman stopped again.
“I need a drink,” he said.
“Don't you want to de-brief the brass heads right away?”
“Not this time, Garner, not really. We can do it tomorrow. What I could use right now is a drink. Do you want to join me?”
“I can't. I still have a million things to do”
“Okay then, I think that’s all for today”
Trautman then waved goodbye to Garner and went outside on his own.
Just as Trautman found himself alone outside however, he changed his mind.
Instead of heading for the bar he made his way back to the hospital base, to see Jorgenson one last time before he died.
Don't do it – said a voice inside him as he walked at a brisk pace.
With all the politics behind that operation and everything else on his mind, Trautman was so enraged already that meeting Jorgenson that last time would have simply made the situation worse.
He was about to blow.
Don't go– that voice insisted.
Let it go.
He knew that visiting one of his men on their deathbed was a big mistake, but not going would have been worse.
Heart in hand he walked into the hospital tent.