Poetic Justice

Chapter 3

3

It was a warm, sunny day as the coffin was gently lowered into the ground. Tanya had received the folded American flag, the honor guard had fired the twenty-one g*n salute, and the lone piper had played the last post.

I heard the thunder from the west as six F-18 Eagle fighter jets approached. One of them suddenly pealed away and the remaining five thundered overhead in the Missing-Man formation.

One thing had to be said about the Military, they knew how to say goodbye to their fallen heroes.

Back at base we all gathered at the NCO’s mess to give Fred a proper send-off in true Ranger tradition. There were plenty of toasts and after a couple of hours I felt a little light-headed from all the alcohol I’d consumed. I was never a big drinker but it felt good to numb the pain a little.

Tanya came over to say goodbye and I asked if she needed a ride home.

“All sorted, my dad’s taking me home.” She said.

She gave me a worried look, “I don’t think you should be driving anyway.”

I protested, “I’m fine.”

She gave me a light kiss on the cheek and I watched as she went over to her dad. They left a few minutes later and I suddenly felt the need to be alone. I walked back to my quarters hoping that the night air would clear my mind a little. My leg was healing nicely and I was able to walk without the aid of a crutch. Once in my room, I flopped onto my bed and before long I was out cold.

I woke around three in the morning in a cold sweat. The nightmares were becoming more frequent and more intense. I dreamt that Fred and I were in a helicopter that had been hit by enemy fire. As he fell out the open door I managed to grab his wrist. He looked up at me, pleading with his eyes to not let go. Suddenly blood started pouring out his neck from a gaping wound. Try as I might, I was unable to pull him to the safety of the chopper. He was slipping from my grasp and finally fell away screaming into the darkness. That’s when I had awakened with a jolt.

Every night since he’d died it had been the same. I was in situation where I couldn’t save my best friend.

I knew I should probably see a therapist or something, but my mind and ego told me that would be a sign of weakness.

The next day I was driving over to the base hospital to have the stitches removed in my leg when my cell started ringing.

It was Colonel Waters. He said there were two civilian gentlemen in his office and they needed to speak to me urgently.

I immediately did a u-turn and headed back towards the base administration buildings.

I entered the CO’s office a few minutes later and fired off a snappy salute.

The two men introduced themselves as attorneys from the Canadian law firm of Henley, Walters & Smith. I wondered what the heck they wanted with a U.S. Army Ranger. They asked if there was someplace private to talk, so I led them to the officer’s break-room which was unoccupied at this time of the morning. Once we were all seated in comfortable chairs around a large coffee table, they gave me the startling news that was to drastically change my life.

First they gave me the sad news that my aunt and uncle had died in a tragic plane crash in the wilds of Alaska. Well, it would have been sad, if I knew what the hell they were talking about. As I informed them, both my parents had no siblings, so how could I possibly have an aunt and uncle.

Then the next bomb-shell. Apparently, someone named Robert Channing from Alberta Canada was my father’s brother. As I politely pointed out, if this was true, wouldn’t they have the same last name.

Not necessarily, they replied, Robert Peterson had legally changed his name to Robert Channing when he got married, many years ago.

All this had supposedly happened long before I was even born. My head was swimming with so many questions, I didn’t know which to ask first.

The bottom line, they said, with the Channing’s having no heirs, and me being the oldest son of my father, the entire Channing fortune had been left to me.

Still unable to wrap my head around what they had told me, I asked what they meant by fortune.

They explained that, following detailed instructions in the will, they had sold off all of the Channing’s assets and had a check for me in the amount of a little over sixteen billion U.S. dollars.

“Nice joke”, I looked around the room for the hidden cameras.

“It’s no joke.” One them reached into his briefcase, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me.

It was a cashiers-check drawn on Chase-Manhattan bank with so many numbers on it my vision got a little blurry. The exact amount was; sixteen billion, one hundred and twenty two million, four hundred and fifty one thousand, three hundred and twenty five dollars and fifty five cents.

I sat, dumbfounded, staring at the check as if I were in a trance. After what seemed like an eternity one of the lawyers cleared his throat and suggested I place a call to my father. That might dispel any doubts I had and perhaps give me some clarity on the current situation, he explained.

That seemed like reasonable suggestion, so I reached for my cell-phone and dialled my father’s number.

He answered after a couple of rings in his usual brusque manner. At first, I was at a loss as to what to say.

“Dad, do you have a brother?” I eventually blurted out.

“Brad, is that you?” He replied.

“Of course it’s me. Did you hear what I asked?”

He gave a long sigh and asked, “How did you find out?”

I explained the situation as briefly as I could, which still took a while.

He then told me the story of what had happened forty-five years ago. He sounded truly saddened to hear of the death of his long-lost brother.

“How do you possibly just pretend you don’t have a brother?” I asked, totally shocked by what he’d told me.

“You don’t understand.” He replied. “Our father was also in the army and was a strict disciplinarian. He considered Roberts actions to be that of a traitor and forbade anyone in the family to have any contact with him.”

He went on to explain that after his father’s death twenty-five years ago, he thought about trying to find his brother. He felt guilty and ashamed at the way they had treated Robert and just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“If my mother had still been alive I probably would have, but she passed away five years before my father. She always resented my father’s actions towards Robert. Theirs was never a happy marriage after that.”

“So you were never aware that your brother was a rich, successful Canadian Oil Billionaire? I asked.

“Not a clue, but then I’m not surprised. He was highly intelligent and very driven.”

“But why not leave the money to you?”

“Probably thought I still wanted nothing to do with him, I suppose. Can’t say I blame him.” My father’s voice conveyed his sadness.

“Well, I’d better go now. I’ll give you a call later, when I’m done with these guys.”

I returned to my chair, “Well, it looks like you guy’s weren’t joking after all.”

They placed some documents on the table and requested that I read through them and sign the bottom of the page. It was basically just an acknowledgement that I had received the cashiers-check, as well as a copy of my uncles will.

The two lawyers stood and one of them handed me a sealed envelope with my name written on the front. “Your uncle left this for you. Here’s my card if you have any questions.”

“If I were you I’d hire an Investment Advisor.” The other one said.

“Thanks, I’ll do that.” I replied. I showed them out of the building, said goodbye, and walked towards my car. I was still trying to process everything that had just happened.

As soon as I got back to my quarters I poured myself a stiff drink, sat on the bed and opened the envelope.