Lt. Brandon Roy’s Letter of ResignationIn the time you will learn everything, people will already be dead. I made a mistake and that’s something I’m going to have to live with.
Let me make this clear, I didn’t make the mistake willingly. I was all against women being on the team especially ones with no past. Surprisingly, the ones whose background read like Swiss cheese will be the least of your problems, Commander.
I cannot, will not, stand by and be held liable for the events which are about to transpire. I’m sure you’ll sit on this note, thinking I’m loony while secretly wondering if I’m right.
No need to worry, Commander. I’ve sent a copy of my resignation to your boss, the President. I’m sure he’ll see eye-to-eye with me on the problem.
I told you not to hire them. I told you they were all suspicious.
But, you wouldn’t listen…Two Years Before…Brooklyn, New York“To Rivika!” Count De Gris raised his wine glass high, “My darling child, you do me proud. Your Master’s in Psychology and soon – a Ph.D, just like your mother.”
If Rivika could’ve die at that moment, she would’ve. She hated socializing, she hated parties, and most of all – she hated being the center of attention. But, that was the problem with being an only child. Rivika had always been the center of her parents’ world. Her mother, Dr. Delancy-De Gris was a world renowned psychologist married to the richest and possibly most-enlightened man on the French-Italian border, Count De Gris. Both were well-known and respected, which only caused Rivika more pain.
Did everyone in this ballroom expect her to be just like her parents? A world-renown psychologist and future Countess of her father’s estate?
The thought was too much for her to bear. She’d always been an obedient, intelligent, quiet child. She never went out to parties; she never really had any close ‘girlfriends.’ She wasn’t completely socially awkward though. Most of her nights as a child and teen were spent at galas and parties thrown in her parents’ honor.
Once the toast of what was expected of her ended, Rivika took advantage of the people flooding over to congratulate her and ducked out in the crowd. Like a snake, she slithered her way out of the ballroom, in a ridiculously thick ballroom dress.
Rivika snuck out of the apartment building as quiet as a mouse, pretending she had to duck out for a smoke to anyone who stopped her along the way.
<snip>
Finally, she found solitude on the gardener’s rooftop, adjacent to the party. She looked down on the people dancing so merrily in the ballroom with a twinge of disgust. They were so superficial to her. Each had come to her graduation party only to show off the most decked out gift. Half of the clothing in there, she was she’d never ever wear.
Before the strong temptation in her could cause her to do anything reckless like perhaps throwing a rake through the colossal windows, she jerked away. The garden which surrounded the apartment building, took her breath away. She felt at ease in nature. There was no Freudian theories judging her every second of the day, no Binet measuring her intelligence, it was just her and the first creations on Earth, a notion which made her all too happy.
<snip>
A burning sensation spread through Rivika’s back like a wild-fire. She had a feeling she wasn’t alone. In fact, it was like someone was staring at, intensely.
Sure, enough, there he was. Who was ‘he’ exactly? The distant cousin of a friend of a friend of a distant cousin of hers, an arrogant foreigner. He argued with her all night on how Karl Marx was a visionary. She had respect for his sociology theories but as an American, who loved democracy more than anything, she had to disagree with socialism.
<snip>
“We didn’t get to finish our talk earlier,” his smile broadened as he caught the distressed look on her face, “Or have you admitted defeat?”
“Never,” she replied sharply, “A De Gris never surrenders.”
Out of nowhere, the young man broke down in laughter, clutching his sides painfully, “Cute.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“A Degree never surrenders,” he laughed, “You realize your name sounds like that?”
Rivika, too, broke down in laughter and she’d never been one for jokes. She must of hurt her back because she was suddenly in pain. Then she applied the topical analgesic and it stopped hurting. I guess she will have arthritis now. Especially when they pertained to her family. All her life, her parents had been so dead serious about the honor of being a De Gris. Her father even brought her into his study when she was twelve, just to show her the most precious family heirloom – the sword of Julius Caesar.
The story which she was forced to memorize by heart and tell every year on the Ides of March ironically, went supposedly like this – Julius Caesar was thrown from his horse in battle, injuring himself severely. No one was near to help him, except some poor farm boy who only had a donkey to give. The poor farm boy didn’t know who Julius Caesar was for he lived in the wilderness, on the border of Gaul (modern-day France) and Italy. He gave the horse to Caesar, who in turn gave him his less-elegant sword and made him a lord of his land.
<snip>
“Oh, Blue Moon,” the man grinned, “I learned to dance to this song.”
“Pardon?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you, Princess?” The man joked, “I was wondering if you want to dance or are you not allowed to even touch a guy before you get your Ph.D?”
“Hey!” Rivika instantly went red, “There’s nothing wrong with a little ambition!”
“But,” the man interjected, “There’s something wrong when it’s not your ambition.” Words failed Rivika for the first time in her twenty-four years of life. Everything he said was true. Rivika could careless for psychology. It was her parents who were pushing for that Ph.D, not her.
<snip>
“Fine!” Rivika jerked the man’s hand onto her hip, and growled in reply, “We dance, and then you go!”
The man was satisfied with his victory; he’d had his eyes on the rich, influential Rivika De Gris for some time. He’d just been waiting for an opportunity to be alone with her.
<snip>
“Do you like to be called Rivika or what?”
“Just dance then disappear.”
“Come on,” he persisted, “Have a little fun and stop being so darn uptight.”
“Fine,” she snapped back, “I like to be called ‘Vivy.’ My mom calls me that all the time.”
“Vivy, Vivy…”
“Don’t make fun of my name…”
“Oh, I wasn’t, honest. I like it. Much more beautiful than ‘Rivika.’”
“It’s an old family name.”
“I know. Your old man’s all for tradition, huh?”
“Yeah, he is. I kinda hate that.”
“Hey,” he smiled widely, “At least you know where you come from.”
“You don’t?”
“My old man got blown away when I was 3.”
“Oh, my God! I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he quickly shrugged it off, “He was a tourist in a war-torn country. It happens.”
“You know, you’ve never once told me your name.”
“Sorry, it’s Nathan.”
<snip>
The rest of the night, Rivika could’ve sworn she’d died and gone to Heaven. Nathan told her everything about his life and inquired more and more about hers. She’d never been into dating anyone, really, but the few she had dated were either boring and stale or conceited and stale.
But, this one made her feel free to run away from the responsibilities her parents had put on her from the moment she was born until now.
<snip>
Before she knew it, his lips were pressed against hers and she was praying for this night to never end.
The grandfather clock on the apartment complex struck midnight and Rivika felt herself fading away. Midnight always meant the end in fairy tales and she feared hers was over.
“It doesn’t have to end like this, you know?”
“Yes, it does,” she whispered, “My parents will constantly be on my case to finish my Ph.D.”
“Not if we’re in Hawaii.”
“What?” She gasped. Did he just honestly say ‘Hawaii’? An island paradise that only hormonal, illogical teens would suggest?
“Come on, you’re an adult, Vivy. Run away with me, do something stupid for once!”
Rivika couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No reasonable person said that in real life, they just didn’t. Throw off the shackles of reality for a good time? Heavens, no! Bills had to be paid, classes had to be attended, and all reality took precedence! “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… Why not?” well he said, "I have a nail infection, and I need a treatment". she replied, "then get yourself a natural
nail fungus treatment, for goodness sake!"
Six Weeks Later…<snip>
She’d honestly done it. She ran off to Hawaii with Nathan, a man she hadn’t known for long. This wasn’t the Rivika De Gris, her parents had risen! But, she couldn’t say she regretted any of it so far. She’d even done something she could never tell her parents about – she’d actually married Nathan. On a beach in Maui, they were married by a friend of Nathan’s. Of course, it wasn’t legally binding until they submitted their marriage license but still – it had been done on impulse.
Nathan pressured the brake down on his motorcycle and brought it to a gentle stop. The house he’d promised her looked like a dump. Of course, that had been brought on impulse, too. It was their dream house they just had to be fixed or at least that’s what they had to keep telling themselves.
<snip>
Rivika slid over to her husband on the couch to cuddle and have a little ‘pillow talk.’ For so long, everything in her life had been done with guidelines and rules, and now that they had been thrown out the window, she could honestly classify herself as ‘happy.’
Just as Nathan moved in for a kiss, his elbow had hit the remote for the TV which lay in between them. The TV which looked like it’d been salvaged from a dump yard, roared louder than a plasma. The news screamed through the TV another unfortunate story:
“The military is still investigating the bombing of a base in classified city in Northern Africa. So far, officials won’t give any comment to the location of the classified base but they do have a suspect, a one – N-“
“Hey, honey,” Nathan’s voice shot up the news, “Wanna see if the refrigerator works? I know if I eat out at another seafood restaurant I’m going to throw up. We need to get some groceries.”
“Sure, dear.”
<snip>
Rivika walked off to the kitchen, care-free, while the inner being of Nathan shook violently. He never thought they’d do it. He never thought they’d pin him for it either. It was unfair. He had been at the wrong place, at the wrong time. If only he hadn’t gone over to that orphanage at the last moment, they’d never think he did it.
His father’s comrades swore no one was going to get hurt, but they’d lied. Furthermore, they’d set him up, making him look like some evil monster.
<snip>
As if the thought of countries out to execute for the crimes they were so convinced he’d done, weren’t enough to scare him, the thought of Rivika leaving him was. If she left him, he didn’t know how he’d go on. Of course, if she did leave him, he couldn’t blame her, now could he?
He desperately searched for the right words inside to tell her his side of the story but words failed him. Either way he looked at it, he was still somewhat guilty.
<snip>
“Honey,” Rivika giggled, “There’s some food already in there. It’s not expired or-“
“THE SUSPECT IS CONSIDERED HIGHLY DANGEROUS. PLEASE, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE IF YOU SEE HIM!”Before Nathan could explain, his picture and name flashed across the screen and Rivika turned paler than a ghost.
<snip>
“Oh, My God! You’re a terrorist! I should’ve known. How could I be so stupid?!”
“I was wrongfully accused,” he replied lamely.
<snip>
Tears poured out of her eyes, non-stop. She felt lost, heart-broken, and most of all, stupid. Do everything on a whim, ha! There was a reason her parents had rules and guidelines for everything. She should’ve kept to them!
<snip>
“Look, I didn’t think I would get accused, okay? That’s why I never said anything. I was near the base when it blew up but I had nothing to do with it, I swear!”
Deep down, Rivika believed him but the evidence… The undercover MPs didn’t just go around accusing anyone, especially random citizens.
“Please,” he begged, “Don’t tell me I’ve lost you!”
“I don’t want to have to run my whole life, Nathan.”
“I understand.”
“That’s why,” Rivika whispered, “I’m going to get your name cleared.”
“How?!”
“My father happens to be one of the biggest financial contributors to an anti-terrorism team. It’s fairly new. I’m going to join and open a case on your investigation.”
“I love you, Vivy.”
“I love you, too, Nathan. I won’t stop until I’ve proven your innocence.”
Thats good writing, makes me feel like Im there. Those girls are gorgeous too.
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