The Hermes Endeavor

Chapter 7 - William

Major General William Tipton was not a fan of the idea of American Ninja Warrior filming at Fort Hood. When his superiors first informed him of their intentions, he thought it was a joke. No one was laughing though.

"You do realize this is the ten year anniversary of the shooting, right?" he asked the room.

"Yes – why do you think they want to do it here this year?" was the response he received. Will had been given command of Fort Hood two years ago, and while he appreciated the opportunity, he always wished it was somewhere – anywhere – else. Even now after so many years, he could not walk into the Processing Center without seeing the dead bodies of his unit. So many friends and good men were lost that day. That was the worst day of his life, and even though it wasn't' the case, he felt personally responsible for their losses.

Since then, as his progression quickened from the rank of Captain up to the Major General he was today, he always felt that he was shown favoritism for being there when everything went down. In the wake of the shooting, he was asked to help calm the situation with the families of those that lost their lives, and persuade against the lawsuits that were springing forth. He did as he was commanded, even though it made him sick to his stomach at times. His loyalty and obedience were rewarded with quick promotions to Major and then Lieutenant Colonel in quick succession.

His progression moved a little slower after that, but was still at a faster pace than most of his peers. Rather it was true or not, he always felt like others looked at him as one would a teacher's pet or a rich kid at school.

Those thoughts drove him to work even harder and get his proverbial hands dirty even more. Each new command he was given, his subordinates always grew to if not love him then at least respect him immensely.

As the days grew closer to the famous obstacle course competition happening, he grew more on edge. His fear was that the show would take advantage of the men and women that were here at the time, and prey on their emotions to improve ratings.

When the first group of the studio representatives came to visit the base, he expressed his concern to them. They immediately assured him that was not their intent, and agreed to follow the rules and guidelines he laid out for them. They would not interview anyone living on base that did not take the initiative on their own to sign up for an interview. Furthermore, when they did interview people they would let the interviewee dictate the direction of the conversation. They would also go nowhere near the Processing Center.

With each following meeting with representation from the studio and the show, Will found himself able to relax and trust them more. Instead, he turned his attention to general security and contingency plans for various scenarios he and his commanders came up with. The week leading up to the even went smoothly, and he personally oversaw the setup of the obstacle course as much as he was able to. When the day finally came for the actual event, he felt prepared.

As the spectators and competitors continued to arrive, he and his lieutenants walked the grounds. They urged him to stay in the command center, but Will was always more of a hands-on type of commander. He knew he would feel more secure if he were able to see everything with his own eyes – plus if he stayed on the move, he hoped his mind would not wonder back to that horrible day.

Making his way through the makeshift parking lot, he suddenly felt like he saw a ghost. A face he had not seen in nearly ten years was a mere few yards away from him.

"Ashley Cornell," he called out, startling those in his entourage. The woman turned around, and he smiled as he walked towards her.

"Will, is that you?" she asked with a look of surprise on her face. He felt an urge to hug her, and allowed himself to break character and act on that urge.