Faked Ch. 01

She released her grip from my waist and kissed me on the cheek," good luck, I am praying for you and Momma. I am leaving now. Mom is waiting for you in your office."

As I entered my home, it seemed so eerie and quiet.

I headed towards my office and then stood outside the door. I sighed, took a deep breath, and slowly turned the door handle. Opening the door, I could see Kat sitting in my chair at the desk staring at me, showing no emotion. God, I wanted to run over to her, grab her, and tell her how much I love her.

Instead, I sat down on the chair across from her on the other side of the desk. Katrina showed no emotion. Her eyes were staring at me. She finally moved her lips in a monotone voice and stone-cold expression, "David, you get one chance and one chance only. One lie, one omission, and it is over."

I shook my head up and down, letting her know I fully understood what she wanted. I decided I would sit up in my chair and never took my eyes off her. Instead of acting like a beaten puppy, I wanted her to see me as strong not a wimp. I refused to cower in front of her. "What do you want to know, Kat?" I asked.

"First, use my full name, only my friends use Kat, and right now, you are not my friend do you understand?" I nodded my head. Again Katrina explained, "I want to know every detail."

I looked her straight in the eyes and started. "We had gone and played golf that day. Afterward, we showered and cleaned up. We then went into the clubhouse for dinner."

Trying to keep from losing control of my emotions, I slowed down. "After dinner, we went to the bar, and we were served expensive Brandy and had a cigar Randall had brought out some of his private stock. He opened the box, and I picked out my own, and the others followed.

From there, I remember just snapshots of what was going on. I remember loud music and girl's faces. The next thing I remember was waking up at the Hampton Inn across town off I-20. I do not remember how I got there.

I woke up naked, and this girl was smiling at me. As soon as I regained my senses, the first thing I did was run to the bathroom and throw up. I came out, she got dressed, and then left. I check my wallet, $300 cash was missing.

My phone was ringing, and it was Randall. He told me to stay put, and he would come to get me. I couldn't go anywhere anyway didn't have a car. I told him what happened. He told me he wouldn't say anything. He wanted to cover for me so I wouldn't ruin my marriage. I told him no, I wouldn't tell you a lie, even by omission.

I told him to tell you the truth if he was asked about it." I was close to pleading, " Listen, I love you more than life itself. I am here to tell you I don't remember anything after that second brandy. That is the absolute truth. I do not remember. I am telling you this one time, and one time only, please believe me when I say this, I do not remember what happened. I will do just about anything you ask me to do to fix this."

She sat there staring at me," David is there anything else you want to say?"

I replied, "No dear, I do not. That is all I remember."

"Well, I will let you know your statement matches Randall's story. Just to let you know, I told him if he didn't cooperate, we're finished."

"The only thing that he told me you were all for going and that you were drinking at the strip club, and you had one particular girl you were paying attention to. They were doing their thing, and they looked around, and you were gone. They figured you went to the restroom. About two hours later, they went looking for you and couldn't find you anywhere."

I breathed a sigh of relief until she turned the computer screen around. I grabbed my mouth as she laid my trash can on top of the desk. I stuck my head into it and threw up. " David," in the calmest, sweetest voice I have ever heard, "You lying piece of shit!"

She clicked it on the computer, and the video started to play. The brunette was riding on top of me as I played with her tits. I told her she was a better fuck than my wife and sure as hell a lot tighter. It went on for ten minutes with me berating Katrina and telling the girl how much better she was than Katrina.

Katrina hit the button, "You lying bastard!" She was screaming and yelling at me at the top of her lungs. You lied and talked that way about me, the mother of your children."

I was shocked and confused. I didn't remember any of it.

"David, we're getting divorced. I received this video today. They said they wanted $50,000 or they would leak the video to the press. And your career would be ruined."

"I would post it myself if we didn't have kids. I want everything, including your soul. Also, do not forget I get half your retirement. I am filing under irreconcilable differences. I do not want you to lose your job because the kids will need your support payments. But you will have to handle the blackmail, now get out before I kill you. If you try to fight it, I'll go nuclear on you and destroy your career."

I was in shock from the video. At this point, I heard about every other word Katrina said. I stood up, determined to take it like a man. "Katrina, I will resign and live in fucking poverty. I'll never submit to blackmail."

I stood up and started toward the door when I heard a lamp from my desk smashing into the wall, right next to my head. A shard nicked me. She felt like he deserved more, but that nick would be a start.

I stopped and opened the door slowly with showing no fear. Without turning around, I walked out of the room where my soon-to-be ex-wife was still cussing at me. I slowly shut the door behind me.

I had gone back to the hotel. Lucky for me if you want to consider it luck. I knew things might go south, so I had packed an extra suitcase and placed it in my government vehicle.

It was around 8 p.m. when I got a call from the Base Fire Marshall. "Colonel, we received a call to your residents. Your car was in the driveway, was engulfed in fire by the time we arrived." "I will be there in a few minutes. Major thanks for the call."

I arrived in less than five minutes to nothing left of my Chevelle. Even the tires had melted into a pile of rubber that resembled black tar. The house was empty. I went through all the rooms and noticed all their stuff was gone. I finally sat down, put my face in my hands, and cried.

The only thing that kept me going during the following week was an IG inspection coming that required my full attention. I had not heard from Kat about any of the blackmail. I was hoping they got nervous when they found out who I was and let it drop. And the fact that I already told Katrina so they couldn't black me over that.

Thursday morning, I received a call from the front gate, "Colonel, this is Sgt. Morales, we have gentlemen here to see you." I sighed, knowing what was coming, and my stomach knotted. "Sergeant put him on the phone."

"This is Colonel Baxter. I assume you are here to serve me?"

"Yes sir, I am," came back the man's voice.

"Can you meet me at the Tap Room about halfway down Military Drive in 10 minutes?" I asked.

"Yes, I can," replied the man.

"Good, I will be there in twenty-minutes." acknowledging his answer.

As I drove over to the location, you know what is coming, but you pray that it won't happen. You pray to God for a small miracle, but it was not to be. I was served.

I read over it and decided to save a few bucks. Pulling out my phone, "Is a Mrs. Thaxton there, please? Tell her Colonel David Baxter would like to speak to her."

A harsh voice came back over the phone. "Hello, this is Mrs. Thaxton. Before you say anything, I recommend you get a lawyer."

"Mrs. Thaxton, that will not be necessary. I agree with everything. Can I come by and sign them in front of you and a notary. How about three tomorrow afternoon." Since my car was undrivable now, I had to get a rental to meet her. I'm not allowed to take a government car off base for private matters. Don't say shit about me going off-base that morning.

I walked into the office of Mrs. Elizbeth Thaxton, attorney at Law. The receptionist was on the phone. After a few minutes, she hung up and asked, "may I help you?"

"Yes, will you please tell Mrs. Thaxton that Colonel Baxter is here to see her?" The young lady told me to have a seat on the couch, and she would inform Mrs. Thaxton, I was here. Ten minutes later, I was escorted back to her office.

I stuck out my hand to introduce myself, but Mrs. Thaxton just ignored it. I thought to myself, what a bitch. I stood there until she looked up, "Mr. Baxter, I still recommend you get a lawyer. If not, I'm going to rake you over the coals.

"Mrs. Thaxton, she can have everything you are asking for in the divorce. Katrina can have it all. I am the one that messed up, not her. Trust me when I tell you this. If this situation had been reversed, I would have crucified her in every way known to man."

"Mr. Baxter, just to let you know, I do have that thumb drive and will not hesitate to use to destroy your ass. To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed that you are not fighting it. I wanted your ass on the stand."

David sighed, "Mrs. Thaxton, you can't do anything to me that I haven't done or said to myself. I am dying inside and still don't know what happened that night. The last thing I remember was having some goddam bloody brandy and smoking a cigar, and the next afternoon when I woke up, I was in a hotel with a woman."

Sit down, Mr. Baxter, "You're telling me you don't remember anything."

"No, Ma'am, not a clue of what happened."

"I have people use the 'I was drugged routine all the time'," she explained. "Why should I believe you?"

"I wasn't drugged. I couldn't have been. My drink was served from the same bottle as everyone else's. I saw it poured. And I got the first choice of glasses. I never went to the restroom, and my glass was never out of my sight."

"I am going to go and report the incident to my superiors tomorrow. What if I have a mental issue and I blacked out and can't remember what I have done. It could lead to people dying. It will be the end of my career anyway."

Mrs. Thaxton asked. "Mr. Baxter, has anyone tried to contact you about the CD wanting money?"

"Mrs. Thaxton, I refuse to be blackmailed. If I hear from them, I will have to get the NCIS involved. I think they might have been scared off. If Katrina hears from them, let me know, please."

"You know between the child support and the spousal support, you will pay about $4000 a month," explained Mrs. Thaxton. She was going to ask for 100% of the assets. But I warned her that the judge would probably reject it.

"Go ahead and give her the 95%. I want to keep my burned-out car and personal items. She looked at me weirdly. "My Chevelle accidentally caught on fire the night Katrina left." Her eyes widened as I said it.

"Well, Mrs. Thaxton, This is the death knell for my career. I will be losing my command over this. And when my promotion cycle comes up, I will be passed over for promotion. That will signal the end. I will then have to go back to court to reduce my child support and alimony. When I retire, I will not be making near as much as I am now. And to top it off, she will get half ofmy retirement anyway."

Will you please talk to her for me and ask if I can have more favorable visitation rights. I would appreciate it. I will take any more she is willing to give me. I signed the papers as is and left.

"Mary,"

"Yes, Mrs. Thaxton."

Get me, Mrs. Baxter, on the phone, please."

"Katrina, This is Beth. Can you come back over today? Your husband was here earlier. I need to talk to you, please."

Two hours later, "Mrs. Thaxton, Mrs. Baxter is here." "Send her back, Mary."

Katrina walked in, and Mrs. Thaxton invited her to sit on the couch.

"Listen, Katrina, something, doesn't feel right here about your case. You know how I feel about cheating husbands, especially after what mine did to me. But something is not right here.

I have had men confess on the stand to me, and I could tell they were telling the truth. I have had men lie to me about being cheaters, and I could tell they were lying. But I have never had a man admit he was cheating on his wife and when I look at him, and I felt he was lying. Your husband might be confessing, but subconsciously he doesn't believe it."

"I think you two need to try counseling. Something is not right here. I feel it."

"Beth, I appreciate what you are saying, but I just got back from having that video analyzed, and it is not fake. I had two experts here locally here verify it. File it. David and I are through."

The separation was official three days later, and the divorce would be final in 90 days.

The following morning, I was sitting at my desk, trying to keep busy. Because of everything going on, I had the attention span of a fruit fly. "Colonel," came over my speakerphone. "Yes. Sgt." I answered. General Mitchell is on the phone.

Lucas Mitchell was a senior when I was a freshman at Annapolis. He was my Brigade Commander back then. Lucas played right outside linebacker as a senior, and I started as the right defensive end as a freshman. He was also my commander in Afghanistan and boss now. And not to mention my best man at my wedding.

I answered the phone, "Good Morning General."

"Goddammit, David, what in the fuck happened. This report reads like a fucking Greek tragedy."

"It was all in my report Sir," I informed him.

I want your ass up in D.C tonight, David. We'll eat dinner. Let's see if we can salvage this dam thing. If we can't, you know what this means?"

"Yes, Sir, I do. I'll be up there by 7."

Walking in the Stoking Goat restaurant, I saw Luke sitting, waiting for me. He waved me over and stood up, and we shook my hands. "David, you don't look good. I heard she took you to the cleaners."

"No, Luke, she didn't. I gave it to her. I am the one at fault here. It looks like I destroyed everything we had." I was starting to choke and tear up, trying to hold it together.

"David, you were the fair-haired child of the corp. You were going to be promoted to General. Your next assignment was to be in Washington at the Pentagon. You were the hope of the Corp to become Commandant and the Head of the Joint Chief of the Staff, someday. Are you sure you weren't drugged? It sounds like it to me."

"Luke, there is no way that could have happened. I had the choice of glasses, and everyone drank from the same bottle poured randomly. I never let my glass out of my sight. After the bar, I don't remember anything except for brief flashbacks, but they don't make sense."

Luke shook his head, "David, I hate to do this, but as of now, I am relieving you of command. I will temporally be replacing you with Lt. Colonel Bill Stiff. I want you to report to Bethesda for a battery of tests. I can't have a Base Commander blacking out. What about this blackmail shit?"

"I figured that since I am now getting a divorce and told Katrina what happened, they don't have anything to hold over my head. No one has heard a word from them since the first disc."

"Did you have that CD checked out for fraud?" asked the General.

"Yes, Sir, I did. The video was real."

"Katrina didn't cut you any slack for coming clean?" asked Luke.

"I think she tried. I told her everything I remembered with as many details that I knew. But when that video showed up, showing I knew what I was doing. She figured I was just a liar. After seeing that video, I can't blame her. Luke, I am dying here a little every day."

Over the next two weeks, I had every test known to man ran on me. I was praying for a brain tumor, anything to explain this. They found nothing physically or mentally wrong. Well, except for my depression from the divorce.

I was removed permanently from command and was given shit jobs to handle to the end of my contract when it came up in 12 months.

Katrina took all the stuff that she wanted and removed them from the house. She moved off base to her new home, waiting for the end. I saw the kids as the court allowed. Katrina refused to let me see them more than what was required by the courts. She made sure she was never around when I picked them up.

She did get involved with me when the kids started having trouble in school. Even Carrie was having problems. Other than that, she treated me like the plague.

I finally called to ask Mike if I could come down and talk with him. I felt like a schoolboy going to the principal's office.

Mike was waiting on me on his front porch when I arrived. It was just as tough on me when I told my parents. They were upset that Katrina was being obstinate about allowing them to talk with their grandchildren.

My legs felt like they were filled with lead as I walked up the steps. I walked over, and we shook hands. With a half-hearted smile, I spoke first, "Mike, you wear retirement well."

"It has its moments," he replied.

The screen door squeaked. Maggie, Mike's wife, stuck her head out, "David, would you like some tea?"

"Please," I replied, "I would like that. My throat is parched."

"Mike, if you don't mind, I would like to start, and when I finish, then you can kick the shit out of me. Hell, if you want, you could take the time to cut my balls off. But the way I feel right now, I wouldn't even notice they were gone. If you have any questions ask."

I spent the next hour telling my side of the story, and he never said anything.

"David, I don't know what I could do to you make you feel any worse. It looks like you have done that to yourself. I am proud of you for taking responsibility for your predicament. Are you sure you screwed her?"

"Mike, I took the video and had a local guy check it out, and he said it was real, so I must have. The only thing I am asking is to see my kids more. As you know, they removed me from my command, and I will be getting out when my contract is up."

I am planning on staying here locally and staying close to the kids. Right now, I get to see them at their sporting events and school functions and only what is mandatory by the courts. Can you please ask her to give me just a little grace? I think it will help the kids adjust better to the divorce.

Mike reminded me, "I warned you, David, about what happened if you cheated on her. And to tell you that I am disappointed in you is an understatement in the extreme. But I love those kids, and I agree with you on this. I will ask her to allow you more access to the kids. But trust me, it won't easy. She will not give without taking more from you. She utterly despises you."

From there, I kept track of the calendar of the day that my marriage would end. I never quit praying that God would intervene, but he didn't.

My divorce became final on the third Wednesday in August. My phone rang, and it was Katrina. I answered," hello Katrina are the kids ok?"

"Yes," she replied. "If you would like to see the kids more, you can watch them tonight. Now that Carrie has gone off to college, I have to hire a babysitter. And she is out sick. Here is your chance."

"What time do you want me there?" I asked.

"I am going out at seven. Be here by 6:45," Katrina replied.

I replied, "I will be there."

"Dam, I thought this might be a chance to spend a few minutes with her," my thoughts ran thru my head.

I showed up at her new home in Hilton Head around 6:30. I rang the bell. When the door opened, I heard a scream that rattled my ears. "Daddy" yelled Abby. She jumped up into my arms and hugging and kissing me all over my face. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you to Abby," hugging her tightly. Where is your brother?

She replied, "he is upstairs. Momma is fixing our supper." She grabbed my hand and drugged me in the kitchen. I saw her, she was standing there with her makeup on, and I knew then why she asked me to babysit. It was to rub it in my face.