Home Goes The Warrior (13 page)

Again the pause. “My plan is to assign you as the Combat Systems Officer. I will leave the warrant officer, CWO-3 Tim Connors, there as your assistant. He can continue doing the job, and you’ll be free to chase ghosts for the FBI. Of course, you’ll have to do some token work to keep the disguise in place, but I think Connors will probably do most everything anyway. That’s just the way he is. In the meantime, if you need anything from me, just holler. I’ll be here for you when you need me. Any questions?”

This time Lee didn’t wait for the captain to catch his breath. “Yes sir. I’ll need to get around the shipyard and meet people. Can you send me around to meet people and disguise it as an official indoctrination? You can say that, since I’m not an EDO, you’ve decided to give me a shipyard-wide training period. I’ve put together a list of shops and offices in the shipyard where I’d like to meet the people and see their operations. If you put this out at a staff meeting or something, then I’ll schedule myself and grudgingly do the training that you’ve assigned.”

The captain’s demeanor relaxed and he actually laughed aloud. “Grudgingly, eh? I like that. Let me see your list.”

Lee handed it to him. “There may be other places that you’d recommend. We can add to the list wherever you think we should.”

Captain Jones scanned the list, then bent his head to study it closely. “How did you come up with this list, Raines?” Lee noticed that he had dropped the more formal “Lieutenant” and “Mr.” from the name. Perhaps he’d finally made a bit of an impression on the older man?

“I just sat down with a shipyard phone book and worked out the places where I thought a scam could be run, or helped to run. But we should probably also add the production department shops that work on the combat systems equipment, since I’m going to be assigned to Code 190.” The captain made notes in the margins of the sheet in front of him.

Finally he looked up. “Raines, this makes a lot of sense. I have a weekly staff meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. Please attend along with Connors. I’ll introduce you then, and we’ll let them know about your indoctrination.” He paused for a long time, obviously lost in thought. Lee didn’t interrupt. Finally, the captain skewered Lee with a look that betrayed the fact that Warren Jones was a lot smarter than the jolly giant he let the world see. “I may have to revise my thoughts on this investigation of yours.” He waved the list Lee had given him. “This tells me that you’re a lot more ready for this job than I expected you to be. Now I’m interested, and I’ll be watching to see what happens. Please let me know if you need help.”

Again the characteristic pause, which Lee was starting to suspect was just a ruse to allow the captain to gather his thoughts. “Why don’t you drop in on the combat systems office this afternoon and get settled there? They’ve been told that you’re coming, so they’re expecting you. I’ll see you at the meeting in the morning.” He reached out to shake Lee’s hand and gave him a hearty, “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Raines!”

Lee exited the captain’s office and asked his secretary, a tall competent-appearing woman, where he could find the combat systems office. He was surprised to find that it occupied the building next to the one he was in. In fact, he found out later that the captain could see into Lee’s first-floor conference room from his second-story office window.

Lee walked next door and entered his new office building.

“You must be Lieutenant Raines! We’ve been expecting you! Welcome to combat systems!” The voice startled Lee, hitting him before his eyes had adjusted to the gloom of the old office building. Smiling, he shielded his eyes and peered at the person greeting him.

“Hello. Glad to be here!” His eyes slowly came into focus. The woman who had greeted him was coming toward him holding out her hand to shake his. She was a medium-height, big-boned person, but her sweater and mini-skirt clearly showed that she wasn’t overweight. Still smiling, Lee took her hand and shook it, covering it with his left hand in a very friendly gesture. She smiled at this and then pulled back.

“My name is Jane Herperowski. I’m your secretary, but you have to share me with Warrant Officer Connors and the Chief Engineer, Mr. Eckert. Come on in and I’ll get you settled. Conner and Eckert are at a meeting out in the shipyard, so you have some time to get your act together before they show up.” This all came out in a steady stream as she led him in to an office just to the right of the doorway where he’d entered.

Lee’s office was in the front of the building on the opposite side of the reception area from the desk where Jane had been sitting. He noticed immediately that, from her seat, she would be able to watch everything that happened at his desk unless he closed his door.
I’ll have to watch and see if this is a problem.
He didn’t like the office layout, but now wasn’t the time to start making abrupt changes.

Jane’s chatter never eased as she led him into his office. “I’ve copied the organization chart and put together a briefing packet for you. There are brief bios of each of the division managers, the action items from our recent staff meetings, and a bunch of other stuff that I thought you might be interested in seeing. Whenever you want, I can take you around the office and introduce you. Just let me know.”

She paused, and Lee finally got an opening. “Thanks, Jane. I think I’ll look over your info packet first. Then I’ll give you a holler, and we can look around. Thank you for putting this all together.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be at my desk if you have any questions.” With that she left, half-closing the door on her way out.

Lee peeled his coat off and tossed it over a chair in front of the desk. Then he sat and began seriously studying the information that Jane had prepared for him. The organization chart drew his attention first. There were four divisions in the combat systems office; weapons division, electronics division, engineering division, and coordination division. Additionally there were three staff positions reporting to him: Executive
Secretary Jane Herperowski, Chief Engineer Roy Eckert, and Chief Warrant Officer Tim Connors. From the looks of it, he and Connors were the only military people in the organization. All the rest were civil servants ranging in grade from GS-4 typists to the only GS-14, Roy Eckert. There were 155 people in the organization.

Turning away from the organization, he then went through the papers Jane had assembled. He found that he had three personnel recruiting actions to handle, as well as one discrimination complaint. Nothing unusual there. Then he went through the weekly reports that each division prepared. He found that the ships under overhaul in the yard were mostly in reasonable shape, with nothing he could see that was abnormal in their overhauls. One of the ships in the DLG modernization program, USS King, was reporting some pretty serious problems with the overhaul of its Terrier guided missile systems. That caught Lee’s eyes. The FBI had suspected financial irregularities in these ship modernizations and now the combat systems office’s reports were telling him that all was not well here. Perhaps he needed to take a long hard look at this ship.

His musing was cut short by the boisterous return of Eckert and Connors. “Yo, Janie! Did you miss us?” The man doing the talking was wearing Navy khakis, so Lee assumed he was the warrant officer, Connors, that the captain had told him about.

Jane shot back immediately with, “Why? Did you go someplace?”

Connors was a trim, athletic-appearing man of medium height, but what caught the eye about him was his flaming red hair. It was matted down right now, having just emerged from under a shipyard hard hat, but Lee could tell that it was a good bit longer than that of most naval officers. Eckert, on the other hand, was a tall, good-looking man with dark hair and a bashful smile that right now was turned to catch the banter between Connors and Jane.

Lee stepped out of his new office to meet the two and obviously startled them. Connors recovered swiftly and came forward with his hand extended. “Lieutenant Raines, I assume? I’m Tim Connors.”

Lee took the proffered hand and smilingly answered the query. “Yep, I’m Lee Raines. Glad to meet you, Tim.” Then he turned to Eckert and this time took the initiative, holding his hand out to the taller man. He noticed that Eckert seemed a bit tense, possibly apprehensive. He looked somehow
very tentative as he slowly came forward. But once he had shaken Lee’s hand, he seemed to relax somewhat and was very cordial as he spoke.

“Hi. I’m Roy Eckert. I’m happy to meet you.” He then seemed to withdraw, standing behind both Connors and Jane, who had come forward as if to perform the introductions. Lee had the passing thought that either Roy was very shy or he was somehow dreading having Lee in the office.

Lee took the initiative and said, “C’mon in, guys. I’m tired of reading about this place. I’d like to hear your thoughts and start learning something about reality here.” Connors grinned at him and followed him into the office. Eckert was right behind him.

Jane stuck her head in long enough to ask, “Can I get coffee for any of you?” Receiving a negative response from everyone, she closed the office door and left them.

Eckert took a chair in front of the desk as Lee walked around the desk to take his seat. Connors, headed for the other empty chair but noticed Lee’s coat, casually slung over the back of the chair.

Lee noticed it at the same time and held out his hand. “Here, give it to me and I’ll stash it back here.”

Connors moved to hand him the coat and then stopped cold. “Holy shit, man! Three Good Conduct Medals, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a bunch of Vietnamese medals! A former enlisted man with real hero credentials! What the hell are you doing in this place?” His expression was one of amazement. Suddenly Eckert was also attentive, staring at the rows of ribbons on the jacket that Connors was holding.

“C’mon, Tim. Give me the coat. It’s no big thing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all.” Lee reached across the desk and took the coat, casually laying it across a bookcase behind his desk. But Connors wasn’t about to let the subject die. “Seriously, Lieutenant. What’s the deal. Usually if an officer is transferred to a Navy yard, they’re either EDO’s or technical people like me. My background is in Navy electronic systems. But EDO’s and technical people don’t end up with Silver Stars. So what’s your story?”

Lee smiled at the redheaded man and leaned back in his chair. “Hate to break your bubble, Tim. I’m a former missile fire-control technician who somehow got picked to ride a river boat in Viet Nam. At heart, I’m
just another technical geek. Since I left ‘Nam, I’ve done a tour at the shipyard in Bath, Maine, and another tour as a fire-control officer on a guided missile cruiser. According to BUPERS, I’m here because I’m familiar with shipyards and missile guidance systems. Does that answer your questions?”

Connors seemed to relax in his chair, nodding in response to Lee’s question. Surprisingly, it was Eckert, with a big grin on his face, who spoke next. “Great! Our biggest problem in this shipyard is with those Terrier missile systems. Our shops are screwing them up right and left, and we’re running our butts off trying to find the problems and fix them. It will really help if you understand those things and can articulate our problems to the rest of the shipyard. Whenever we try to get anything done there, the shops just lie and the command doesn’t know who to believe. Welcome aboard, sir!” Lee was amazed at the change that had taken place in this man. The apprehension was gone and pure enthusiasm seemed to radiate from him. The missile system problem was obviously very important to him.

“I’ll do my best, Roy.”

That was enough for Eckert. He was totally helpful from that moment on. The three men spent the better part of the next hour discussing the problems that the combat systems office was encountering on ships in overhaul. Lee was relieved to find there weren’t any problems that were particularly unusual. He felt comfortable dealing with all of them and both Connors and Eckert seemed to be exceptionally competent individuals. All told, he reflected, the situation could have been a lot worse.

It was early afternoon when Eckert suggested that he take Lee around the office to meet the various division managers and other key people. The next couple of hours were spent doing this. By four o’clock, Lee had met so many people that his head was reeling and he called a halt for the day.

He went back to his front office and looked up Connors. “Tim, the captain asked me to come to his staff meeting tomorrow morning along with you. But I’d like to see the ships before I go to the meeting, particularly USS
King (DDG-41)
. All afternoon I’ve been hearing that the
King
may be behind schedule. I’d like to see it for myself. Would you mind coming in a bit early so you can give me a guided tour?”

“No problem, boss. Why don’t we meet here at about 6:30 in the morning? I’ll have the coffee on.”

Lee had to smile at that. “You’re a good man Tim. Don’t worry - I’m not going to do anything this gung-ho very often. I just want to get a feel for things before the meeting. But now I have to go check in at the BOQ and get unpacked. It’s been a long day already, believe it or not. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Lee stopped and thanked Eckert for his help. Then he threw a stack of his briefing paperwork in a cardboard box, put on his jacket, and turned to leave the building.

Jane stopped him with, “Mr. Raines, will you be in tomorrow morning?” Lee realized that he had completely forgotten to let her know his plans. She obviously needed to know in case anyone was looking for him, so he spent a few minutes letting her know about his schedule and making sure that his oversight didn’t generate any discord. He had a feeling that she could be either a real asset or a real obstacle, and he was going to make sure that she stayed on his team.

Lee checked into the BOQ, getting a small three-room suite that had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom with a lounge/study area. It was older and a bit rundown, but it would do for a while. He unpacked his gear and changed clothes before walking over to the officer’s club for a quick burger. He spent the rest of the evening studying the documents from the cardboard box.