Chapter 1
Sergeant Barney Norris had the reputation of being the roughest, toughest drill instructor at all of Fort Stone.
Barney, a muscular, brown-haired man who kept his hair closely cropped, had always considered it an insult upon being transferred to Fort Stone. Considered one of the toughest and most unlivable forts in the United States, Fort Stone was buried by itself in what amounted to a mountainous retreat far from the nearest major city. The weather was extremely warm and muggy in summer and piercingly cold in winter. Since Barney was a divorced man with no children or any family ties, he was considered prime bait for being transferred to Fort Stone, where they were interested in training a number of soldiers for the toughest forms of combat.
When he arrived, he was in such a nasty mood that he immediately started taking it out on the soldiers, particularly the raw recruits. He would curse them at the top of his lungs, telling them that they were mamma's boys, denouncing them thoroughly as he let them know just how much he detested any form of privilege or taking it less than one hundred percent. He would put the soldiers through the drills, causing them to grunt and groan, usually leaving them battered, dusty, and so tired that they could barely walk back to their quarters.
"You little sons-of-bitches," he groaned that hot, sultry afternoon. "I'm gonna make men out of you little bastards. Right now you wouldn't even make good pussies. That's what I think of you. But I'm gonna do the impossible. I'm gonna make men out of you. I'm gonna make you do those exercises just the way I do them, and someday you're gonna do them as well. Or at least almost."
He watched with a smirky expression on his face as the young men staggered ever so slowly away, dragging their battered bodies back to their quarters.
Barney Norris took out a handkerchief, mopping sweat from his face. Sergeant Nelson, who was his assistant during the drill, looked at him, shaking his head.
"Barney, don't you think you're getting a little too rough on those kids?" he asked.
Barney Norris took a long, hard look at Sergeant Nelson.
"What the hell's getting into you?" he growled. "Of course I don't think I'm being too tough. Those little bastards are gonna have to learn what it's all about, and I'm gonna have to teach them. I don't care how much they're gonna have to sweat or how bad it hurts."
While Nelson watched with an air of disbelief, Barney Norris walked away. He had already become a legend in his own time at Fort Stone, known by all, begrudgingly respected by all, privately hated by most of his colleagues and detested beyond belief by the young soldiers who were forced to drill under his watchful and imperious command.
During the evenings the young soldiers would often pass the time away doing nothing but cursing Barney Norris as they carefully tried to rub the soreness out of their bruised bodies.
Barney decided that he would go into town that evening, a tiny little way station that was located just a few miles away from Fort Stone. He would stop at the beer bar and guzzle some suds. That was the way he was able to put the fluids back into his system that he'd lost out on the training field on a daily basis.
That evening as he climbed into his battered Chevy Nova, Barney Norris began to think about Mary Grimes. The longer that his mind focused on her, the angrier he became. He felt considerably angrier than he had earlier that day when he had been putting his recruits through their drills and had become incensed over their inability to do the exercises as well as he would have liked.
Mary was the barmaid at the beer bar where he drank. It was a haunt frequented by a number of the soldiers from Fort Stone. It was mainly noncommissioned officers like himself who dropped in. The officers and their families went to a more refined restaurant that served cocktails, situated a mile or so away from the bar where Mary worked.
Barney was beginning to feel extremely agitated at Mary Grimes for the way she had turned him down. He knew for a fact that she had on occasion dated several of the non-commissioned officers from the base, but she would never even give him a tumble. She did her best to be tactful about it, but the answer was always the same. She was either busy, had other plans, or was tired.
That evening Barney Norris was determined he was going to get to the bottom of this terrible problem. He wanted to go out with Mary Grimes, and that was it.
He walked into the beer bar, observing that it was almost totally empty. That made him feel good. Perhaps it would be easier for him to have his heart-to-heart talk with Mary.
Mary was situated behind the bar, staring into space in a state of boredom. She looked just as beautiful as ever with her appealing hourglass figure, her coal-black hair and her perceptive brown eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and some tight-fitting Levis that caused her to look more appealing than ever.
As Barney Norris examined the contours of her beautiful body, his penis immediately hardened inside of his khaki trousers.
Norris plopped himself down on a stool, waiting for Mary to serve him. Ever so promptly she walked toward him.
"Good evening, Sergeant," she greeted Barney with a smile.
"Let's knock off the sergeant stuff tonight, huh," Barney shook his head wearily. "Just call me Barney. I'm sick of this damned Army. As far as I'm concerned, they can take it and Fort Stone and shove it up their asses."
"You must have had more than your share of nasty pills today," Mary laughed.
"I get tired of this god-forsaken wilderness and having to growl at these poor damned kids. You know, sometimes I feel sorry for them."
"That isn't the way I've heard it," Mary said.
"Just what have you heard?" Barney looked up at her curiously.
"Well, I just hear these guys talk around here when they get drunk. Especially some of the young guys."
"So what do they say?"
"I don't know if I should tell you."
"Bullshit. You know me. Hell, there's no way to penetrate this tough hide."
"Basically they say you're a son-of-a-bitch. They say you drive them into the ground."
"So they're right on both counts," Barney Norris said. "And to think that you were afraid to tell me. Hell, I'm a guy who always faces the realities. I'm paid to be a son-of-a-bitch. Somebody's got to whip those kids into shape. It's just that sometimes I get tired of yelling at them. I'm not gonna tell them that, though. I've got to keep on their asses. Whether they curse at me or not. I'm a mean bastard, just like they said. You can't always believe what you hear, but that time they were telling it straight on."
"All right, Mr. Mean Bastard. I take it you want a beer?"
"Not just a beer," Barney Norris briskly corrected. "Fix me a whole damned pitcher. And get yourself a glass, too. You're welcome to drink from it."
"I don't drink much on duty, thank you. I don't drink beer much anyway."
"Okay, so I'll drink the pitcher myself. I'm as thirsty as hell."
The next few minutes, Barney Norris consumed two pitchers. During that course of time Mary Grimes was conversing a good deal with another one of the sergeants from the Fort, a man Norris knew just barely. The longer she talked to him, the more Norris seethed. Yes, he thought, he would have to have it out with this chick.
When Norris finished his second pitcher, the other sergeant left. He bid Barney good-bye as he walked out the door. Barney nodded.
Now he could talk to Mary again. He motioned for her. Immediately she moved toward him.
"Yes," she said. "Can I help you, Barney?"
"Yeah. What time do you get off tonight?"
"Ten o'clock."
"How about us going out to a couple other places, having a few drinks, driving around and having some laughs?"
"I'm sorry. I'm awfully tired tonight."
"Come on now. Don't hand me all this bullshit. You're always tired or you're going somewhere."
"I'm sorry, Barney. I just happen to be tired tonight."
Mary walked away. Barney took his right hand and clenched his fist. He thought about slamming his rock-hard fist down on top of the bar, but decided against it. No, this time he would pursue a little more subtle attack. After having one more pitcher of beer, Barney Norris got up from his stool and walked toward the door.
"Good-night, Barney," Mary called out.
Barney looked back at Mary Grimes and smirked. If there was one thing he hated, it was the thought that somebody thought they were better than he was. He got the distinct feeling that Mary had heard so much in the way of negative static about him that she considered him nothing more than a brutal animal. That was the reputation he carried with him throughout the whole base, and she heard much the same from soldiers who drank at the bar.
As Barney walked into the warm, muggy evening air, he looked at his watch. It was just a few minutes before ten. He knew that Mary drove a Volkswagen, which was always parked in the lot behind the bar.
He walked quickly toward that parking lot, standing in front of the Volkswagen. He lit a cigar, smoking in a rapid fashion. He just had time to finish smoking the cigar when he heard the sound of the door of the bar closing. He saw the Jight go on. Mary had closed at ten and was now in the process of going home.
Or at least that was what he had thought. Now he was having second thoughts as he observed a tall, slender man with glasses walking with her toward her car. He knew the man by the name of Slim, and he didn't really care much for him. He got the feeling the man was always trying to get next to Mary, and since he had been trying to score with Mary himself, he naturally considered the man to be a competitor.
As they moved ever closer toward Mary's Volkswagen, Norris's body stiffened. If there was one thing he was going to do right at the start, he was going to scare this flake away.
"Barney?" Mary looked at him with surprise as she and Slim stopped just a few feet away from him.
"Yeah, pleasant evening, ain't it?" Barney replied sarcastically, staring coldly first at Mary, then at Slim.
"If you'll excuse us," Slim said, smiling nervously as he walked past Norris and toward the Volkswagen.
"I'll excuse you for the rest of the night. I'll excuse you forever if you want to be," Norris said.
"What do you mean by that?" Mary Grimes snapped angrily.
"I mean, I want to talk to you. I want to talk to you right now."
"We have a date," Mary said.
"That's right," Slim confirmed.
"Shut up," Norris eyed Slim coldly. He then turned his attention back to Mary. "That's funny. You told me you were tired."
"I am. Tired of you, anyway. If you really want to know, I didn't have that date scheduled when I talked to you earlier. Slim came in just after you left. But he's a gentleman. He knows hot to treat a lady."
"Horseshit. You ain't no lady," Barney Norris snapped.
"Now let's not hear any more of that kind of talk, Barney," Slim said, his voice trembling with mounting fear, yet feeling that he had to protect the girl he was with.
Barney Norris turned and walked ever so slowly toward Slim, the closer that he moved toward the skinny, gawky man, the more rapidly that Slim's body trembled.
"Let's not have no trouble, Barney," Slim said. "We can handle this like mature adults."
Barney stopped several inches away from Slim. He concentrated his most intense stare on Slim, the same menacing glare that caused the young soldiers to want to run as far and as fast as they could away from this crazy, rock-ribbed drill instructor.
"I see it your way, Slim," Barney Norris said softly but menacingly. "You're so right. We can handle this like adults. I'll tell you how we're gonna handle it. You're gonna just drag your skinny ass on out of here. It just so happens that I've been waiting for a long time to have a talk with this broad. I ain't gonna put it off no more. So just clear on out, Slim, and we ain't gonna have no trouble. I agree with you. No need to do any of this unnecessary fighting. You read me?"
Slim stared nervously at Barney for a few moments, then looked over at Mary. By the time his eyes met Mary's, his expression was one of a fearful and apologetic man.
"I guess he's right, Mary," Slim said hesitantly. "You see, we should act like adults. If we don't, we just get into trouble and do all kinds of crazy things. I'm a peaceful-loving man by nature. There might be trouble if I stick around. Maybe it's better tonight to just let you have your talk with Barney. He seemed damned determined about it."
Mary looked at Slim with disgust. Eventually she shook her head.
"Do as you like, Slim," she said.
"Good-night, Mary," Slim said, turning and walking away.
Norris didn't say a word until Slim had vanished into the distance. He then turned his attention squarely on Mary.
"Let's go over to your place right now," he said.
"I'm going nowhere with you," Mary shrieked. "Just get out of here, you beast. You think you can bully everybody around. Don't confuse me with those poor soldiers who have to take that from you."
"I want you, you little bitch. You're doing it with some of these other guys. Well, you can stop that crap right now. What's the matter. You afraid to take on a real man for a change?"
"You're not a real man. You're a beast."
"Maybe I am. But I'm a proud beast," he grinned.
He moved toward her swiftly, throwing his powerful arms around her body. As Norris held on tightly, he pushed his lips forward, letting them plunge solidly against Mary's.
She tried her best to back away, but the rear end of the car was in her way. He shoved her against the car, holding on tightly as his lips continued to crash thunderously against hers.
At first Mary sought to struggle free from Norris's grasp, but she recognized soon enough that she was powerless in the face of Barney Norris's aggression. After all, he was about as powerful a man as she had ever known.
When he removed his lips from hers, Barney observed just how rapidly Mary's face had turned white. Her lips quivered as she looked at him.
"Please, leave me alone," she said. "I don't want any trouble from you, Barney. I apologize for anything nasty I ever said to you. Just leave me alone. Could you do that?"
"Why sure," he smiled. "I'll leave you alone."
Her expression was one of relief.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now let's get in your car and I'll drive with you over to your pad."
Once again the look of fear crossed her face. By then, however, Mary was beginning a feel a strange attraction toward this overpowering man who wasn't willing to take no for an answer where she was concerned.
Partially out of fear and partially out of a sense of curiosity, Mary climbed into her car. She was willing to drive him to her place.