Page 54 of Metal & Mud

"Of course, of course," King said, not worried at all. After all, not only was he an equal rank to Huffman, but had seniority on him as well. "But I'd say it's equal levels of error here. So." He raised his voice, "just who is your commander, Captain Huffman?"

The National Guard officers on the other end of the room finally paid attention to the situation, and a moment later a National Guard lieutenant colonel came over, his blue eyes curious. "Brad Mercury, battalion commander. What can I do for you, Captain?"

"There's no reason for you to get involved sir," Captain Huffman said quickly, clearly not liking the escalation. "I was just telling Captain King and his troops that..."

"That I'm an ate up unprofessional idiot with the IQ of the nacho cheese sauce," Sabby interjected, causing Logan's fist to ball up. He hadn't heard that particular insult before he'd gotten involved.

Colonel Mercury lifted an eyebrow. "Is that so, Captain?"

"Sir, I might have been a bit direct with the staff here, but..."

"You called my sister a bitch," Adams growled, and Colonel Mercury's eyebrows knit. "Sergeant Jessica Adams, sir."

"I see," Colonel Mercury said, sighing. He looked at Huffman, and Logan could understand the expression on the man's face. On one hand, he didn't want to eviscerate an underling, especially an officer, in front of another unit. Especially not enlisted troops.

On the other hand, there was an issue to address, one that transcended rank and dealt with personal insults beyond the Army.

"Captain King, why are you and your people here, anyway?" Colonel Mercury asked finally. "Just curious."

"It's Specialist Davis's last day in the unit, sir," King replied. "Major Kirk decided that a little time together was better than them all painting the walls of the barracks."

"Ah," Mercury replied.

"Sir, please!" Huffman said. "This PFC here is the guy I told you about. He attacked me in the parking lot of this very bowling alley!"

"You threw the first punch," Logan growled. He looked at Mercury, and squared his shoulders. "Your then lieutenant was a jackass to Sabby that night as well, sir. I didn't start the fight, and I tried to deescalate the situation. But I damn sure ended it."

"And yet it seems to not be over yet." Mercury stroked his chin. Glancing over his shoulder, he nodded to himself. "Captain King, I think I have a proposed solution. Seems Captain Huffman and PFC..."

"Goodman, sir."

"PFC Goodman have some beef to settle," Mercury finished. "And this could ruin more than a few careers. I don't want that, neither do you. So instead of that, how about we settle this here and now."

"I'm down with that." Logan smirked. "How?"

"Well, when I started in the Army we'd just go behind the motorpool, take off our rank, and the two of you'd beat the shit out of each other until you had it out of your systems," Mercury said, and Logan's smirk grew. "That's not this man's Army any longer, son."

*Oh damn, I think I just got sonned*, Logan thought, but Mercury's expression said it wasn't over yet.

"So here's the deal. Captain Huffman's a pretty decent pool player. So Goodman, you and Huffman play nine ball, best of five series. Loser buys beers for the room, and we squash this."

"A moment, sir?" Sergeant Adams pulled Logan aside. When they were out of earshot, she whispered to him, "Can you take him?"

"I'm a math major who's been hanging out in a bowling alley for the past few weeks, remember?" Logan whispered back. "I know those tables pretty well. Come on, Sarge. I know we both want this guy's ass for what he did to Sabby, but paperwork gets swept into files. This way I can put this guy in his place in a way that counts."

"If you can," Adams said. "Are you sure, Logan?"

Logan smirked. "I'm playing for my girl's honor... Jess. That's motivation."

"Then go kick his ass." Adams punched him in the chest, "or I will."

"Nope," Logan said quietly. "Mercury's right. This ends today."

Adams nodded, and they returned to the group, where Logan stepped up. "I'm game, sir. Loser buys the beer."

Logan offered his hand to Captain Huffman, who was suddenly the focus of everyone's attention. It was time to 'nut up or shut up,' as Logan used to say in college. Finally, he stuck out his hand, and they shook.

"Good," Colonel Mercury said. "Then let's get those uniform tops off, approach the table like a pair of men, and get this settled. I'm tired of this particular headache."

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