Free Court Martial by Donald E. Zlotnik

friends.”
    “That fucking psychiatrist
isn’t
a friend of mine.”
    Colonel Sinclair tilted his head slightly to one side. He found Barnett’s comment interesting. “Why? Don’t you like your doctor?”
    “Not really. Are you a shrink?”
    “Hardly… I’m an infantry officer.”
    “I can handle that.... I’m recon out of the First Cay.” Spencer’s voice carried his pride in his unit.
    “I know.”
    The question appeared through Spencer’s eyes.
    Colonel Sinclair saw the flicker of mischievous light in Spencer’s eyes and agreed with his son partially: Spencer did look
     like a cocky bantam rooster, but the gleam in the young soldier’s eye reminded the old warrior more of a mischievous elf.
     Spencer was small framed but layered with a strong set of muscles. The young man’s real strength, though, was
inside
the layer of skin, deep inside.
    “My son was on your recon team.”
    A light broke through Spencer’s eyes and the blue brightened as he read the colonel’s nametag. “Reggie?”
    Sinclair nodded.
    “He was just here with the kids!” The natural curl at the corners of his mouth enlarged as he smiled. “Why didn’t you tell
     me right away who you were? I thought you were one of those damn head doctors… man, am I sick of them.”
    “Why are you being kept in here?” Colonel Sinclair looked around the room and asked a blunt question: “Are you violent?”
    “I can be.”
    Sinclair glanced up and saw the mischievous smile again. “You like to jack people around, don’t you?”
    “Some people more than others.”
    “I like you.” The honest, open comment caught Spencer unprepared to answer. Sinclair walked over to the open window and reached
     up to gently shake the Cyclone screen. “This place would
drive me
nuts.”
    “Me too.” Spencer hopped up onto his bed and dangled his feet over the edge. “It was sure good seeing Jean-Paul and Trung
     again. It was nice of you to take them in.”
    “Not really...”
    Spencer stared at the colonel, trying to figure out what he meant.
    “They’ve brought more to my family than they’ve taken from us… much more.”
    Spencer blinked. “Now I know why Reggie and Woods talked so much about you in Vietnam.”
    “Yeah… I met Woods when I was visiting Reggie in the hospital. He was a really impressive soldier.”
    Spencer smiled. “Woods is a pussy!”
    “He sure likes you.”
    “He’s queer.”
    Sinclair laughed at the intimating comment. He knew exactly what Spencer was trying to do.
    “I don’t know what for. You don’t seem to be good-looking enough to attract that kind of person.”
    Spencer knew that the colonel wasn’t going to fall for his game.
    “Woods was really worried about you back there. He felt that it was his fault that you were captured.”
    “He’s overprotective.”
    “He’s a damn good friend.”
    “I know that!” Spencer snapped.
    “Well, you’re going to let him down and Reggie too.”
    “I’ll never let my recon buddies down… never!” Spencer stood up and faced the colonel.
    “How do you think they’re going to feel if one of their
own
teammates turns down a Medal of Honor?”
    “So
that’s
why you’re here!”
    Colonel Sinclair nodded and stared directly into Spencer’s eyes.
    “Well, go back and tell that fucking shrink that it isn’t going to work!” Spencer turned his back on the colonel to hide the
     tears. He was starting to break and he knew it. That bastard was using his friends and their families to get to him.
    “Lieutenant Colonel Martin isn’t the one who sent me here.... In fact, he was very upset when I told him that I was coming.”
    Spencer spun around to check the colonel’s eyes to see if he was lying.
    “I’m not lying to you, Spence.” The colonel used the name that his son used when referring to Barnett.
    The young soldier stared at the colonel and searched his face for any sign that the officer was in league with the psychiatrist.
     Spencer’s lower lip