Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.

Outside Tom's apartment, Martin wiped the body of the Cadillac and asked Paige, who had no intention of helping at all:

"I have a question, Mr. Page."

"When you were in community college, didn't the faculty there teach you to think for yourself?" Paige looked at Tommy, who was walking and chatting with a young man in the backyard in the distance, and replied with a blank face.

It was Tommy's brother Tony, who had come all the way from Maryland, and his girlfriend, Ashley, was in the backyard next to him, setting up a grill with Sophia, Vanessa, and the maid Dorothy.

Hearing the other party's reaction, Martin stopped wiping, threw the soft cloth in his hand towards the body, and turned to look at old Page:

"That's why you're notorious in the black community of Los Angeles, Mr. Page, your lack of affability is just a question, and there's no need for me to feel like I'm in police custody every time I spend time with you? You can't just smile and say, hey, Martin, nice to meet you, what do you want to ask me? Instead of telling you with a straight face, you charged that damn stun rod again, and if you don't obey, help me recharge it in time! ”

"When black people disguised bombs as gifts and sent them to the police station, I lost the ability to smile at black people, especially when I had to remember that time when I took a meagre portion of my weekly salary to send to the widow and two children of my deceased colleagues." Page glanced at Martin, then looked into the scenery in the distance.

Although Martin knew Page's past, he had never lived in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and he had not witnessed Paige's behavior when he killed someone, so he couldn't understand the fear of the black people there for Peppa, in his opinion, although Paige was always straight about himself, he was definitely not as exaggerated as outsiders proclaimed, and he was an old white bastard who had no other strengths than killing people.

Martin nodded understandingly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Page, really, but not all blacks are that kind of villain, such as me, did I give you a gift, a high-definition enlarged version of the "Lincoln Declaration", to remind you at all times, Lincoln has declared that blacks are free, in the United States, blacks and whites are equal, you can't call me at every turn!" And, in addition to the manifesto, there is also a good bottle of wine. ”

"You mean you found me with a bottle of whiskey? If you don't remind me, I didn't even realize it was a gift, and the bottle of wine supermarket is said to be on sale for only seven dollars. Page glanced at Martin: "You reconciled with the white man, and to express sincerity was to use seven dollars of whiskey to try to be friends with him?" ”

"To return to my question, speaking of which, Miss Sophia O'Connor, is the boss? Secretary? Assistant? Assistant? Lover? During this time, I've seen Earl's secretary, Rick's secretary, and their work is not as exaggerated as Sophia's, you look at her, she's going to help the boss with some work, and then she's going to help the boss with the backyard barbecue at this wonderful time of the weekend, and she's more like the boss's wife than that Miss Farrell. Martin looked at Sophia and asked Paige curiously.

The whole company, he is already familiar with it, but he doesn't know Sophia's identity, you know, in the company, the secretary is not a senior manager, but in BT, Sophia's secretary is just the opposite, with the title of a secretary, but looks like Tommy's wife, when he is away, everything is handled by her.

"I don't care who she is, but if my boss is willing to keep my bank account full of money like Miss O'Connor's, I can do anything for him at any time," Paige said. ”

"Is the boss a poison X? I mean, the richest black people I've ever seen in Miami make a lot of money off that stuff, and the boss is generous, a lot like the nouveau riche. Martin picked up the rag and continued to wipe the body: "I'm not saying bad things about the boss, he takes a lot of care of me, but...... I was afraid that one day the police would take him away and end my life at this point. ”

"Drug dealers don't make as much money as their bosses."

"Don't talk nonsense, unless the boss swallows the money in his mouth, and then keeps pulling out the gold, otherwise it is impossible to earn more than the drug dealer, although he keeps saying that he will not give me a salary, but I receive checks every week, in this world, good people like the boss can't make a lot of money, good people can't make money, that's what the black brothers in Miami said."

"So when the boss makes money, it already shows that either your fellow black man is not right, or the boss is not a good person in your eyes."

"Mr. Page, Martin~" Dorothy in the distance came over and ended the argument between the two: "Miss Sophia said please arrange the car and driver, she will accompany the guest Miss Hull to go shopping in the afternoon, and after the arrangement, we will come over to taste the barbecue together." ”

……

Tony is about to finish his studies at the Naval Academy, and in addition to accompanying his girlfriend on a simple trip to Los Angeles, Tony's main problem is to discuss with his brother what he will do in the Navy after graduation.

Other students who have not obtained a letter of recommendation and are admitted to the Naval Academy on their own merits are free to choose whether to join the Navy after graduation, while he has no choice at all and must serve in the Navy for at least three years.

"One of my brothers in the SSD at the Naval Academy, whose father worked in the Department of Navy Veterans Affairs in Washington, said to me that if I wanted to, I could be assigned by his father to the U.S. Naval Legislative Affairs Office in Washington as a warrant officer assistant, and I didn't need to go to various bases to serve, and I had more access to the big guys, and that office was the functional department responsible for communication between the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Congress, and my brother gave me that opportunity and chose to serve on board the ship." As Tony and Tommy walked, they talked about their situation:

"There are two other options, one is to return to Rhode Island, you know, there is a Navy military base there, I can go to work there at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Ship Systems Engineering Station, Ashley would love to see me go back to Rhode Island to serve, after all, that's our hometown, and the other is to go to Philadelphia to serve in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, mainly to maintain those ships that were stored in Philadelphia after World War II, to ensure that when war breaks out, those huge junks can be reactivated and put into the battlefield as soon as possible."

Tommy crossed his arms and nodded slightly as he listened to his brother's introduction, but he was not in a hurry to give his advice.

My brother seems to be mixing well in the Naval Academy, these three service options are very good choices for most Naval Academy cadets, first of all, they all have a common feature, that is, the outbreak of war, these three work units do not need to go to the front line at the first time, all of them work in the rear, and unlike those bases far from the mainland of the United States, they have served for several years without holidays to return to China to visit relatives.

The Warrant Officer Assistant in the U.S. Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs seemed to be the best option, but it was even more difficult than David Schaeffer's previous internship assistant for a senator in Washington, D.C., and in short, working in that office meant that Tony could spend his days with the Pentagon's Admiralty and the U.S. Congress.

Rhode Island Naval Base, the warmest choice, Rhode Island is the hometown of his two brothers, the U.S. Navy Base Atlantic Fleet Ship Engineering Station, I went there, mainly responsible for the regular maintenance of the Navy's ships, there is no urgency, I can get off work on time leisurely, and go home every day to have dinner with my family.

The U.S. Navy's Atlantic Reserve Fleet in Philadelphia, the safest option, guards the U.S. Navy's scrap garbage for the U.S. Navy, and makes sure that in the event of war, those old ships can get out of the docks and bluff.

"Of course, going to Washington is a very good choice, if I finish the Naval Academy myself, I will go to Washington to work, I will try to shoot the sycophants of those big people, and slowly entangle them like a vineman, until they become a symbiotic system with me, but you can't, Tony, those old guys are not rookies at the Naval Academy, and they won't become good brothers with you because of a few glasses of spirits and your overtures, it's not for you, the main thing is that you have no roots, and there is no one at home to work in the army as your reliance, I don't have a business with the Navy at the moment, so there's no way to provide you with a better follow-up there, and if you choose there, you'll probably be serving tea and water in the office for three years, and then retire at the end of the term, or go to another place to start anew. Tommy spoke to Tony:

"Unless you accept the advice I gave you earlier and break up with Ashley, then I will help you find a suitable father-in-law, so that you can go to Washington to comfort ......"

Tony interrupted Tommy, "I'm not going to break up with Ashley, just like you won't break up with Ortilia, Tommy, she's already a woman in the Hawke family." ”

"Very good, then cross out the choice of Washington, Rhode Island Military Base Ship Engineering Station, let's put it this way, if you choose to go back to your hometown, it is equivalent to giving up your entire career with a moment of pleasure, it is indeed suitable for you, like you used to repair cars, deal with all kinds of machines every day, and then leave work on time, but deal with machines, do not deal with people, there is no chance of promotion, those cold opportunities will not award you honors." Tommy didn't insist, he knew that his brother had inherited his father's affection, and decided that a woman would no longer be in trouble.

Hearing his brother's words, Tony asked, "So, only Philadelphia is left?" ”

"Philadelphia, if you can make a lot of money for the U.S. Navy to sell that garbage to other countries, you have a chance to climb quickly, but that's another way to get promoted in the Navy, you help the Navy bosses make money, and the Navy bosses give you medals, once their corruption scandal is discovered, you will be thrown out and sacrificed, which is also suitable for me, not for you, and now, there is no need for us to choose this dangerous way, we are not short of money." Tommy shook his head and dismissed the third option.

Hearing that all three choices were rejected, Tony frowned slightly, and reminded Tommy, "Tommy, Rhode Island and Philadelphia are the best choices I can get for the honor I received at the academy. ”

Tony's college experience is no match for his brother's experience at Stanford, and all he can boast about at the Naval Academy is two grades.

One was at West Point, a two-day Sandhurst military skills competition in which cadets from military academies from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom participated, in which his Naval Academy's nine-member cadet officer squad defeated the defending champion Royal Military College of Canada and eliminated the strongest opponent for the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Later, in the battle for the championship and runner-up, because of the previous physical exertion and excessive attrition, although he won the division with West Point, he was defeated by West Point and finally won the runner-up.

With this runner-up, Tony received the Cadet Officer Teamwork Medal from the Academy.

The second achievement is that he led the brotherhood to organize the SSD Naval Academy Branch, and took the initiative to launch a promotion activity called Men's Character on campus, advocating that the male cadets in the Naval Academy should not force the female cadets to do certain things, but learn to respect women, even if it costs a little money.

As a result of this activity, SSD received a character award from the school, and one of its leaders, Tony, received a leadership commendation letter written by the dean.

It may sound like a character activity, but in reality, it is not easy to promote respect for women in military academies full of male scum.

So under the leadership of Tony, SSD, which mainly uses money ability to socialize with beautiful women, launched the men's character activity, and the academy and the navy both grabbed a weapon in their hands when they were in a hurry, and directly declared the SSD's club behavior to the outside world as the spontaneous behavior of the boys of the entire academy, saying that our boys respect women very much, and all scandals are the result of malicious exaggeration, and they are more willing to spend money to socialize with girls than the various forced behaviors rumored outside.

It is also with these two honors that Tony can choose where to start his naval career before he officially graduates.

"I noticed on the news that the number of warships launched by the U.S. Navy this year has reached 594, which is only 6 short of the 600 warships proposed by Reagan when he ran for election to catch up with and surpass the Soviet Union, but the problem is that although there are many warships, there are not enough matching officers and soldiers, and there are a lot of shortages, so if you graduate as a second lieutenant and take the initiative to apply to serve in these warships or naval overseas bases, you can get more opportunities for promotion than at home." Tommy turned his head and looked at his brother:

"And your attitude of taking the initiative to apply for boarding or being stationed overseas is convenient for me to get the U.S. Navy Overseas Service Medal and the U.S. Navy Midshipman Honor Graduation Ribbon when you officially graduate through former Secretary of the Navy Thomas Hayward, don't underestimate these two bands, they will always be written in your file and life history, telling everyone in the United States that you have taken the initiative to apply for overseas service for this country."

Tony was a little stunned, then lowered his head and said reluctantly, "Tommy, are you sure you can't help me find a place in the country?" I'm not afraid of dying in war, I'm just ...... Do you know? If I go overseas, it may take years before I have the opportunity to go on vacation. ”

"Hawaii, I'll ask Jim to go back and help me donate money to Thomas Hayward's foundation, and ask the former Secretary of the Navy how the fleet serving in Hawaii is, and how about choosing a beautiful enough warship?" Tommy didn't pick up his brother's words, but said with a smile: "I will buy a big house in Hawaii and give it to Ashley, so that Daddy, Becia, and Ashley can go there for vacation at any time, and live as long as you want, and promise not to let Ashley accompany you to live in the poor officer's dormitory." ”

"Last question, why do you insist that I go overseas to board the ship?" When Tony heard his brother's arrangement, he didn't continue to question it, after all, this guy had already taken out the money to buy a property directly in Hawaii, take his family over for vacation, and relieve his homesickness, which was already happier than 99% of the navy members.

Tommy looked at the barbecue crowd in the distance, and said softly: "Because the news in the newspaper, and what you just said, are telling me one thing, that is, the United States is about to break out a war overseas, if you stay at home, how can you have the opportunity to get those medals that only officers who participate in the war?" ”

"You mean the previous naval archer operations in the Persian Gulf? Will provoke a war with Iran? Tony didn't make a fuss when he heard Tommy say that there might be war overseas, because the U.S. Navy's various military operations overseas were uninterrupted.

Not long ago, the U.S. Navy sent six warships, four aircraft and two special teams to attack two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf, occupying and then igniting oil wells.

The reason was that Iran had previously attacked a Kuwaiti cargo ship protected by the U.S. Navy.

"I don't know what kind of war it is, but no matter what war breaks out, as long as it is not a war with the Soviet Union, you don't need to worry about dying in battle at all, on the contrary, among the 594 warships of the US Navy, a bunch of medal winners will be born, otherwise why do you think that brother of yours gave you the opportunity to board the Washington office and chose to board the ship by himself." Tommy turned around and looked at Tony earnestly:

"He may have given you this very precious opportunity for ordinary people out of friendship, but only if his father provided him with a better choice, and obviously, boarding the ship was the better choice."

(End of chapter)