Epilog from KING OF THE HILL
The Morning After
By LM
Dawn was
breaking and the early morning light, gently, persistently nudged Steve to
wakefulness. He turned to look at the clock. It read
He poured the boiling water
into his tea bowl that now contained tea leaves and he watched as the leaves
swirled in the hot water.
The leaves started as tight spirals but when mixed with the hot
water slowly began to uncurl and in a few minutes flattened out, relaxed. He hoped the tea
would have the same effect on his own confused thoughts. He picked up the tea bowl, relishing the
warmth of the bowl in his hands and walked over to his lanai and opened the
door completely. The humidity had died
down from yesterday and a pleasant breeze full of the restorative fragrances of
the island greeted him as he stepped on to the lanai. He took a deep breath, and exhaled
slowly. He sat down, took a slow sip of
his tea, savoring the flavor momentarily, in his mouth
and closed his eyes to think.
Steve prided himself on his
self-control, his discipline on the job. He liked to
think of himself as caring but able to bury those emotions and still operate
efficiently when needed to get the job done. So how come he had lost it yesterday,
and in front of his men, in front of people who looked to him as being a
professional and a leader able to handle every situation. He had lost his self-control and he
was practically hysterical for a while.
He had lost precious time through his outbursts time that could have been more effectively used to work through the
many obstacles that lay in his path.
He had been able to contain himself while
walking into the hospital and getting the first on-site report on the
situation. He was still calm and focused
when he looked down the corridor to where Dan was held
hostage. He had called to Dan. Initially, he received no response. His anxiety heightened, he became desperate to hear from
Danno. Wanted to know that he was still alive. He called again this time almost pleading
with Danno (or was he pleading with God) for an answer. When the answer came, he was both relieved
and terrified. A
tired, familiar voice called his name down the corridor. Called his name and then started to say
something. At the time, the second word
from Dan’s mouth barely registered with him at least on a conscious level. But now it did. He said, “Steve, don’t” before he was cut
off. Don’t what? Don’t leave? Don’t come down the corridor? The sound of Dan’s voice caused his barely contained
emotions to break free and unleashed a wrath that he did not know he
possessed. It had startled and scared
him. And the intensity still scared him. He lashed out at the lieutenant for letting Danno lie at
the end of the corridor shot and alone and later accused one of the doctors of
leaving Danno there to bleed to death.
His men urged him to calm down but he wouldn’t
listen. The fact that they were in a
hospital didn’t matter to him and he went so far as to
order tear gas before he was able to regain control and think rationally.
Steve took another deep
breath and another sip of tea. O.k., his
behavior was somewhat out of line yesterday but he would get over that. What was done was
done. It had all worked out in the
end. They had gotten to Danno in time
and he had come out of surgery in good condition last night. He hoped that his men would understand. He liked to think that he would feel that way
if any of his men were in such a situation but the strength of his emotions had
caught him completely by surprise. Why
were they so strong? He had only really
worked with Danno for a short period of time. Their
relationship mostly centered at the office during long working hours. They each had their own social lives that
they lived separately. He had
hand-picked the young man because he was bright, had numerous talents as a
sharp-shooter and an explosives expert, was eager to please but no “yes-man”,
loyal to a fault and he was in Steve’s opinion, moldable. In short, everything that Steve thought he
wanted in a second in command. In fact,
Steve was so confident that Dan was a known quantity that he felt completely in
control of the situation.
But was he really? Why did
Dan have this effect on him?
Steve slowly finished the
rest of his tea thinking that he would come to no conclusions this morning. He went back to the kitchen and cleaned up
his dishes. On his way to the bathroom,
he walked across the living room to the phone.
He dialed the hospital and asked for an update. Dan had had a quiet night and the nurse said
that the doctor was pleased so far with his progress. He
was still not awake but she promised to call Steve as soon as he woke. Steve hung up the phone, satisfied and yet
not completely. In the bathroom, he
decided that he had had enough introspection for one day and went through his
morning routine without a troubled thought.
After all, Dan was o.k.
Everything was fine.
In the bedroom, Steve picked
out his beige suit and a crisp white shirt.
He pulled out a favorite tie and caught himself whistling while he tied
the tie. He could not help but be in a
good mood.
Steve picked up his
gun. Normally, he put it in his holster
without thinking but this morning he paused and looked at it closely. It was the only gun he
carried but Dan carried a small pistol with him for protection even when
he was off-duty. They had found the gun
yesterday in the hospital room. Auston had it
and had pointed both guns at Steve when he came through the window
impersonating an army corp man. It was that picture of him being
lowered into the window of the hospital room by helicopter dressed as a corp man that had made the local newspapers. They had covered the unusual story with
relish and proclaimed Steve a hero. But Steve suddenly realized that there was another hero in
this story. Dan had had his gun and
probably had an opportunity to shoot Auston and yet
he didn’t. Steve
tried to imagine the situation. On the floor, shot and bleeding
badly, Dan probably tried to reason with his attacker. Failing that, and possibly realizing that Auston was now living in another world, he would have
pulled his gun. He could have shot Auston but he didn’t. Something stayed his hand and prevented him
from taking the life of the injured and confused marine even at the risk of
losing his own. Steve put his gun in his
holster and headed for the door. He would stop at the
hospital on his way to work just to reassure himself that all was well. There was a spring
in his step and he could not suppress a small smile. He did not understand his emotions from the
previous day much better than he did when he first awoke but he knew one
thing. The strength of his emotions and
reactions were justified given the very special life that was at stake.