Finding Faith

Chapter 1

       Johnny sat in his cubical looking blankly into his blacken computer monitor, observing the reflection of the lights and coworkers rushing by. Johnny is able to hear the multiple conversations taking place outside the view of this reflection, as his mind wonders to the memory of a war Iraqi night in July 2004.

     Johnny is standing watch on top of his Light Armored Vehicle (LAV), an 8 wheeled, armored truck with an open back carrying an 81 mm motor system. Johnny sits next to the 240 facing the Syrian border which is just a berm of dirt in the mile of the desert. On the Iraqi side is a small white building with 15 Iraqi border patrol police (BPs), while on the Syrian side is a wooden watchtower with Syrian soldiers. Both sides of the border are equipped with small bed white Toyota trucks to patrol their side of the desert.

      Johnny is tall, standing at 6 foot. He has an athletic build, which stems from his high school days of swimming, and track. His high causes Johnny to tower over the 240 weapon system; making look and feel awkward. Johnny decides to sit on the grill of the LAV with his rifle to his side, and able to easily jump into the Turret behind the 240.

      The company Johnny is the Euphrates River, in Western Iraq, working along the BPs to prevent insurgents from entering Iraq from Syria. Johnny has been on the border for 4 months and has captured multiple sheep and cigarette smuggles crossing into and out of Iraq. Most of arms smuggling and the insurgents crossing takes place at night, causing the Marine Corps and Army units to sit on the border watching and hoping to catch insurgent and terrorist fighters crossing.

     There is a faint green glow coming from the night vision goggles Johnny is using to observe the dark night Iraqi dessert. To both side, right and left he is able to the silhouettes of other armored vehicles; as he scanned the night. To his right, he hears a series of AK-47 fire, as he quickly turns his 240 into the area of the gun battle. Johnny is able to see red tracers in the area of the BP station, as chatter takes over the silent radio.

"Black 5; Red 3... there is shooting by the location of the BPs."

"Roger that Red 3, don't engage, Break, it's the Syrians, let the Iraqis take care of it."

"Roger the Black 5 copy all"

      Johnny moves his 240 back into position as he scans and keeps an eye on the gun battle nearby. The shooting doesn't last long, "Fucking hajis," Johnny says to himself he continues checks the time, "no fucking trigger discipline."

"You going to be late again," a voice says quietly from behind him; bringing Johnny back to the present.

"Nope," Johnny stands up and does a quick look around to get oriented with his surroundings.

    Scott stands at the entrance of the cubical, "this is a daily thing," Scott tries to make himself sound stern, "you get two 15 minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch, there is no reason to be daydreaming at your desk."

     Scott is a short fat 28-year-old hippie that was promoted to sales team lead to quickly. A 28-year-old that is still living in his mother's basement smoking marijuana and eating potato chips while playing video games.

      Scott never went to college and barely made it out of high school, due to his enjoyment of smoking Marijuana in the bathrooms. He paid other students to do his homework, with the paycheck he received from Burger King, a job he still talks about, They wanted me to stay, but it was time for me to move on," he is heard saying to his team, believing he is God's gift to employers.

     Today, as every day, Scott looks like he just rolled out of bed with a wrinkled, half untucked yellow button shirt. Jeans that drag on the carpet, as they hang below his waist, making Scott look more like a bum then a gangster; which is what he was going for.

"I thought you Marine boys are supposed to be hard workers and discipline," Scott comments to Johnny as they walk past the employee of the month and year brass plates, "but I don't see your name up here." Johnny tried to Scott comments as he continues, "I am on both, three times for the monthly, twice for the yearly," Scott smiles a dumb grin, "I guess I will always be better than a Marine."

"Not looking for awards," Johnny says in a monotone voice, "Stopped expecting participation awards after t-ball."

    The two walked quietly past empty cubical, as Scott attempts to not show Johnny that his last comment hurt. The walked into the large corporate training room at the end of the room of cubical and took the first available see each of them saw, Scott went towards the front while Johnny gravitated near the back. Seeing a large screen with a powerpoint slide on it which read, "KNOW YOUR PRODUCT," in red lettering on a white background, "power point makes you stupid," Johnny thought to himself, as the corporate training started her biweekly class.