Page 1 of Saving Veronica
Chapter 1
Finnegan Larson entered the bar with his best friend, Patch. He removed his full pack and sat down heavily, heaving a huge sigh of relief. After ordering a beer, he looked around and spotted a table with six men. Finn knew instantly that they were military. He nodded to them, and before his beer arrived, the men invited him and Patch to join them. He groaned as he picked up his pack to join them.
“Afternoon, the name’s Wolf, you coming or going?”
“Going. All the way home. We’re done.”
The men around the table nodded. “As I said, I’m Wolf, this here is Abe, Cookie, Mozart, Benny, and Dude.”
“I’m Finn, and this here is Patch.” When the man named Wolf frowned, Finn, grinned. “Finn is short for my real name, Finnegan. Patch is... well, he’s been our team’s medic for the last few years.”
The man named Cookie snorted a laugh, “You ‘patch’ them up and send them on their way?”
“Yep.” Patch only gave a one word answer as he sipped his beer.
“How long you been here?” Wolf asked, as he studied the two men that looked like they’d been pulled through the desert by their ankles.
Finn and Patch exchanged frowns, then looked off into space. Wolf began to get worried until Finn turned to him, and said, “Forty or forty-one months, I’m not sure.”
“Holy shit, at once? You haven’t been home in over three years?”
“No,” Patch spoke for the first time. “Like Finn said, I was the medic on the team. We’ve been going through the villages outside the safety zone, to make sure there were no more IEDs or mines. Seemed like we’d get one village cleared, then a month later, there was terrorist activity again.” He downed the rest of his beer, then sat there in silence.
It was several minutes before any of them spoke. “I probably know, but what unit are you from?”
“We’re SEALs.”
“Figured as much. When do you go home?”
“In about a week. Waiting to meet up with a few more men, then our mission will start. So, where is home? Do you know what you’ll be doing when you get out?”
“The great state of Montana.” Finn smiled. “Can’t wait to be there and see nothing but that big beautiful blue sky. Going to take a couple weeks off before I have to report to work.” When the others frowned, he sighed. “My family is rich, like uber rich. It seems like my great-grandfather, and my grandfather have the golden touch. Whatever they invest, the money triples, or quadruples within days. Instead of lording it over anyone that we have money, about three years before my greats passed, they started a foundation.”
“For?”
“They donate money to the needy. But it’s not always the big guys they donate to. Because I’m in the military, they donate to the Wounded Warrior Project every year, along with other military agencies... even to the local VA, but they also like to give to the little people.”
“What do you mean?”
“Instead of donating to the huge national chains you always see begging for money for so much a month, which, by the way, the CEO pockets his thirty percent on the dollar before the money even reaches the places that need it. We donate to the locals.”
“I still don’t understand.” Wolf sat back and frowned at the other man.
“Take the big animal shelter. The CEO takes money before it’s filtered down to be used for the animals’ care. Why throw money at something that won’t benefit the animals? We at the Larson Foundation will go to the local animal shelters, talk to the people in charge and ask what they need. It’s been known that we have gone out and bought thousands of dollars’ worth of blankets, food, toys, and we’ve even donated enough money to the vet for spaying and neutering hundreds of animals.”
“And because you buy the stuff and donate it, no money exchanges hands.”
“Correct. Other than the vet sending us the bill for the spaying and neutering the animals from the shelters. Oh, and for their shots.”
“Wow, and you’ll be going to work for them?”
“Yes, eventually I’ll be taking it over. Grandpa wants to retire. Dad will take over for him, I’ll take over running the foundation from Dad, but not until I get home, relax, and learn the business.”
“That’s good, at least they’re giving you time to get your head on straight before you start.” Wolf said, and turned to the other man. “What about you, Patch? What will you be doing?”
“I was a third-year medical resident before I joined. I’ve been in for seven years. I’ve been talking with several hospitals back home, which is also Montana. Finn and I grew up together. But, I’ve got interviews set up next week.”
“What would you be doing?” The man named Mozart asked.
