The Colonel is driving towards the Officers Club ready to settle a score. He’s weaving and is only about a quarter a mile from the club when he hears the news report on the radio. He pulls over shaking. They’re talking about Will, his son, the son he disowned and hasn’t seen in almost three years. The report says “The American working for Private Ops Security International in Iraq whose body was found six days ago has been identified as Will Green, a former Navy SEAL from San Diego, California. He had been missing for over a week and it was thought he may have been badly injured and kidnapped or killed after an ambush and road side bomb attack on the convoy he was protecting. Will Green, is the son of retired Marine Colonel William Green and his wife Esther of Oceanside, California. The Colonel lays his head on his hands that have a death grip on the steering wheel. The reporter briefly mentions Will was a decorated Navy SEAL having served one tour of duty in Afghanistan and two deployments in Iraq. As the Colonel hears the reporter describe the controversy surrounding Will’s involvement in the Coronado homicide and his discharge from the Navy several years ago, the Colonel cusses and turns off the radio. His mind is racing and he knows he’s not thinking straight. He sits in his car for a moment and then rolls the window down once again. He puts the car in gear and heads for the main gate. He’s not sure where he’s going but he knows he has to get off the base and maybe have one last drink. The Colonel couldn’t deal with what happened to his son three years ago and can’t go through it all again. The emptiness he’s feeling now dwarf’s all of the resentment he had been feeling toward Will when he disowned him. He’s never been able to admit to Esther or even to himself how much pain he’s been living with after rejecting his only son, the son he loved, the son who needed his father’s support. He also could never bring himself to forgive Will for doing what the Navy said he did with his SEAL teammate and those three women in Pacific Beach. The Colonel thinks back to that day in the Navy hearing room. He was disappointed and embarrassed and acted in anger when he disowned his son. Now he wonders to himself how he could have ever said those words. The Colonel says out loud, “I was wrong.” Ever since Will joined P.O.S.I. and left for Iraq, those last words to his son have eaten the Colonel up inside. He remembers every word that was said that day and the look on his son’s face. The Colonel now knows they were the last words his son would ever hear from him. He remembers shouting. “You aren’t my son. I wish you’d never come back from Iraq. It would have been better if you’d been killed there. I don’t know you, I’m not sure I ever knew you. You can’t be a son of mine. You aren’t my son, never were and never will be. You’re not my son.” As the Colonel’s car disappears into the night and the fog he sadly admits he got his wish. Bryan and Paul go to their car and on the way Paul calls the north gate. He identifies himself to a Marine guard and asks if they’ve seen a dark blue Explorer exiting in the last fifteen or twenty minutes. The Marine answers, “We got a call from the on duty MP’s a while ago asking the same thing. It’s been a real slow night and there hasn’t been any car like that in hours.” Paul asks the Marine to stop any car matching the description and check the drivers ID regardless whether it’s entering or leaving the gate. He also tells the Marine “Hold the driver if it’s Colonel Green and use extreme caution if it is him, he might be armed.” Paul tells Bryan “There hasn’t been any sign of the Colonel leaving the north gate.” As they start the car and fasten their seat belts, Paul calls the main gate and provides them a description of the Colonels Explorer. He asks if they’ve seen any car exiting the base that matches the description. The Marine tells Paul there was a car that just left the base minutes ago and it was a match. Paul asks how many were in the car and did they get a look at the driver. The Marine confirms there was just the driver and he was an older male. He adds the driver was driving a little too fast as he approached the gate and they had to caution him to slow down. “Did you get a good look at him?” “Yes sir, I did.” “We’re headed your way, and I have a photograph I want you to check out. Do you think you could identify him again?” “That’s affirmative. I had to step out in the middle of the road because it looked like he wasn’t going to stop when he approached us. He finally did but as a result I got a good look at him. He was old and in a big hurry. He didn’t look well and seemed agitated. I let him continue after telling him to slow down and take it easy.” “Did he say anything to you or do anything out of the ordinary?” “No sir, he did not. He just nodded and waved. I’m sure I’d recognize him again if I saw him.” Paul tells the Marine they’ll be there in three or four minutes. He and Bryan now know they’re only minutes behind the Colonel. As they approach the main gate they’re debating whether they should head north to San Clemente or go back into Oceanside to see if they can spot the Colonel’s car.
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