Free A Servant of the Company by Alan Cooke Page B

together and chuckling to himself. Life could not get any better. Walking past his own barrack block he entered the next. He knew Henderson’s room, all he had to do was find the right key from the bunch he had been given. The first one he tried fitted. Entering, he quietly closed the door behind him. Drawing the curtains, it now felt safe to put on the light. Although he hadn’t seen anyone about, this visit had to remain unnoticed. The room was tidy with belongings both military and civilian stored carefully. He opened a locker and on a shelf spotted just what he was looking for. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he used it to lift the small box on to the bed. Opening the lid, he took some white tablets from his pocket dropping them into the box before returning it to the shelf. Wiping the door surface where he had touched it, he then switched off the light. Opening the curtains carefully, he checked that the area outside was clear before heading back towards the door. Once again he wiped any area that he might have touched. No-one would ever know that he had been there at all. There was one more thing to do, and that was a job for early morning. ‘Now for a good night’s sleep.’ He laughed as he thought that his sleep would not be as sound as Henderson’s, but would be much more enjoyable.
    At 6 a.m. he was up, dressed in a track suit and ready for a two mile run before breakfast, but this time he would take a different route from his usual one. Picking up Henderson’s keys he headed for the sick quarters. When he got to the entrance he stopped, bent down as though picking something up, and looked around as though searching for the person who might have dropped it. Entering the building and seeing a duty nurse he called out, ‘Has anyone lost any keys? They were on the ground outside, could be one of the staff or a visitor, maybe dropping them in the dark.’ He wanted to plant ideas in the young girl’s head, and with luck the keys would be traced to Henderson. “Have you had any comings and goings?’
    ‘The M.P.s brought someone in last night, apart from that it’s just the duty crews going off and coming on. Thanks anyway for bringing them in.’
    ‘You’re probably right, it’s either your lot or the M.P.s.’ The idea was planted. He didn’t give his name, turned to the door and with a wave was gone. The girl would not remember him, the keys were now on her mind, and she would find the owner. He knew the type, honest as the day is long, and full of self righteousness.
    As Steve stood before his Commanding Officer, the evidence against him was damning. Had there not been drugs found in his room, the charge might never have been brought. Other soldiers had been found in similar circumstances but had their not guilty plea accepted because the drug had been administered without their knowledge. In his case there were three factors against him. The drug tests on him were positive, drugs had been found in his room and finally, there was a witness. Another N.C.O., Corporal Jennings had seen him passing money to two girls in a pub and watched as tablets changed hands. When Jennings was asked why he had not reported it that evening, he had said that he did not want to believe what he had witnessed. Only when Corporal Henderson had been charged had he realised the truth, and then thought of the honour of the Regiment, and the effect a drug taking N.C.O. could have on the soldiers in his platoon. The evidence was the final nail in the coffin in which Steve’s military career would be buried. He could not prove that the evidence against him was false, but continued to deny any involvement with drugs. The verdict could not have gone any other way. He felt sick and totally helpless. It must be a bad dream, but he knew it wasn’t. The career he loved, the future he had planned and most importantly, his mother’s trust in him were all being totally destroyed, and there was nothing he could do about it. He