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"And then what happened?"
"Well me and him dove down to take a look. He had a rope with him attached to the rig. We got down there and I guess he thought that it looked safe because he started tying it up with the rope. I swam in to help and..."
"Go on," Olivia urged.
"Well the thing – that is the sub, slipped. Next thing I knew my oxygen tank was wedged between it and the rocks. I was stuck. So Clint pulled out a knife, cut me loose and bunnied me back to the surface. Oh bunnying is --"
"I know what it is," Olivia cut in. She was a bit more short with him on that one than she had intended, but that was only because she was distracted. Unfortunately the story matched the one that Randall had told her. It was one that didn't look good for Clint. "I'm going to ask you something Brian and I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me. Did the submarine look stable when Clint started to secure it? Was there any perceived danger?"
If Brian had looked nervous before, this time he looked like he might pass out. The amount of sweat poruing from his brow was so much that it looked as if he'd just run a mile. Meanwhile his eyes darted across the cafe like he was looking for an excuse to leave. "Ahhhh...." Was all he could get out.
"Brian. I need an answer," she pushed.
"Well... I... at the time I thought it looked a little bit unstable. Plus there were the torpedoes on the side --"
"What torpedoes?" she cut in. No one had mentioned torpedos to her earlier.
"The live torpedos. They were half the reason the submarine was caught. If I was being honest... maybe... Maybe it wasn't as safe as it could have been – but that doesn't matter. I mean I got out of there thanks to Clint. He didn't mean for..."
As Brian rambled on, Olivia stopped paying attention. She felt the blood drain from her face as her heart sank. Whatever way Brian may have tried to spin it, and clearly he was trying to make Clint sound as innocent as possible, it was clear that Clint was as guilty as sin. She knew that he liked to play the hero where he could, but this was something else. In her professional opinion he had put Brian's life in danger. In her professional opinion he needed to be reprimanded.
Unfortunately her professional opinion wasn't as important to her as it would have been a week ago. If it were anyone else she would have prosecuted without a moments thought. But it wasn't anyone else. It was Clint. And because it was Clint she had no idea what she was going to do.
"Clint isn't going to get in trouble is he?" Brian asked. She hadn't even realised that he had stopped talking.
Shaking her head to snap herself back to it, she looked up at Brian. "I'm not sure Brian. I'm really not sure."
--
Five minutes later and Olivia was on her way back t
o her lodgings. She barely remembered leaving the café and she wasn't even sure if she had said goodbye to Brian or not. She was far too preoccupied with thoughts of what she was going to do.
Really she could just do nothing. It would be only too easy for her to conclude that there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute and to leave it at that. But then again...
Unfortunately Olivia just wasn’t that type of person. She had a career to think of too and she knew coming to that conclusion would make her look weak. And she knew that looking weak was the last thing that she wanted, considering that she was trying to become a Navy SEAL.
It was thus with a foggy head that she crossed the docks towards where she was staying while in Pearl Harbor. And it was because of this state of mind that she was only vaguely aware of the voice calling out to her as she walked. As she was on the docks, she at first assumed that it was just a sailor or two, cat calling her. So she ignored it. It wasn't until the voice grew louder and more persistent that she finally turned around to see who it was.
She shouldn't have been surprised to see Lieutenant Randall hurrying toward her. There was a definate skip to his step and she got the distinct impression that he had been waiting for her to finish her meeting with Brian. In fact she was sure of it.
"Ms Conway, I was hoping I could have a quick word with you?" he asked, pulling up beside her. Olivia chose to keep walking as he did. She had no desire to stand in the middle of the docks and chat where everyone could see them.
"Should I be recording this conversation?" She asked. She said it half jokingly, but something told her that Randall's sudden appearance wasn't official in nature.
"There's no need to be like that," he assured her. "I was just made aware that you met with Brian Fischer. I was wondering how the meeting went."
"I'm afraid that's between me and Brian. You will receive a full report when I finish my investigation." Of course that was what he was after. She wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Randall had tried to coach Brian in his answers too.
"Listen," he pulled up, indicating for Olivia to follow suit. She really didn't want to but she also wasn't going to be rude and continue walking. "I have a proposition for you."
"OK," she said curtly.
"I know what Fischer said to you. I know because he told me what happened and I trust that he told you the same thing. My concern is that you might interpret the evidence a little more... with a little more leniency than others would."
"Lieutenant Randall, I assure you that I will only interpret the evidence as it is presented. In fact I really don't know what you're implying."
"OK, OK. I believe you. I do. I just wanted to let you know that I was recently speaking to you C.O. Boothes. We're old buddies, go back quite a way we do. He was telling me about your ah... about your desire to join the Navy SEAL program."
