America 1982-Chapter 419 - 58: What’s the Problem?
Although Dennis was utterly disparaged by Tommy, sounding as if he had incurred the wrath of heaven and the hatred of man, in reality, within the military, that guy was like a fish in water just as he was in high school. In high school, except for his teachers who hated him, everyone loved him. It was the same in the army, where, aside from his superiors who disliked him, one could say that he had friends everywhere.
For example, his black classmate from West Point Military Academy, Glen, who had been under Dennis’s "tutelage" for four years, had been the subject of bets more than once by the brothers from West Point’s SSD on when Glen would no longer be able to bear Dennis’s discrimination and exploitation and shoot him. But four years had passed, and each time, Dennis walked away with all the money.
Wherever he went, Dennis always brought along his black friend Glen. While other black officers of the same period were still namelessly grinding away to build their credentials, thanks to Dennis crazily dragging Glen along every time, Glen now had two commendations from superiors. This meant that he could get promoted faster than many of his black peers who, like himself, had experienced bullying and discrimination from whites during school.
In Glen’s words, since black people would always face discrimination from whites, at least that damn Dennis, after discriminating, would remember to bring him along for the glory, whereas with other whites, after their discrimination, there were no benefits at all.
Although Tony was his own brother, Tommy had to admit that when it came to forming cliques and networking within the military, Tony fell far short of Dennis. Tony had a very steady character, the kind of person you could always trust, someone who would complete any task given to him on time.
On the other hand, Dennis was erratic and flamboyant. His modus operandi was always in a state of Schrödinger’s cat; until the very end, you would never know whether he was successful or a failure. If he succeeded, don’t get excited, because he might have left things half-done and brought a load of trouble. If he failed, don’t be surprised, because that was his normal level. But sometimes, even a failure might turn into a good thing because of his remedial measures.
Just like in high school, if Tommy was preparing to have a fight with a few classmates who had a beef with him, and he told Tony, Tony would definitely protect Tommy behind him, walking in front to take the punches from the opponents on behalf of Tommy.
But if Dennis was his partner, then chances were, Dennis, the idiot, would have Tommy and Pam meet the opponents while he told them he was lying in ambush to observe. Then when Tommy and Pam were chased and beaten by a group of guys, thinking Dennis was looking for an opportunity, in reality, that bastard took the opportunity to sneak away and hit on one of the opponents’ girlfriends who happened to be free. After their side, bruised and battered, managed to chase away Tommy and Pam and went back to see their girlfriend, they would just discover Dennis pulling up his pants and climbing off the girlfriend.
To Tommy and Pam, Dennis’s actions were clearly despicable, but the aftermath was that the angry opponents couldn’t resist beating up Dennis. In the end, it turned out to be a win for Tommy’s side, because Tommy, Pam, and Dennis each ended up with one discipline record for fighting, but the idiots on the other side got two in a short period of time and received a harsh punishment of suspension from the school and disappeared from the campus.
So, it was simply impossible to define whether this guy had done something right or wrong.
As the brothers Tony and Tommy chatted about Dennis’s anecdotes, they searched for prey, roaming the hunting grounds until noon. Aside from a turkey, Tommy had no other gains, and after Tony had bagged three deer and a few turkeys, he stopped and headed back to the leisure area to savor the delicacies made from his own catch.
Sitting in the rattling off-road vehicle on the way back to the leisure area, Tony asked Tommy, "Now I maintain relationships with those comrades, but how should we maintain them after we part ways? I can’t possibly call them up one by one every time I’m on leave and invite them to New York for a vacation, can I?"
"Wilson Block, former Army Lieutenant Colonel, ever heard the name?" Tommy asked, yawning.
Tony shook his head, "No."
"He’s involved in the preparation of that new company you proposed. If I can settle things with his daughter, making our relationship more stable and trustworthy, I’m planning to ask him to set up a club. Maybe it’ll be called the F-117 Club? After all, the F-117 is the only stealth fighter jet in the world. You, Dennis, and even Pam, all the comrades you like, will be invited to join the club. This way, even if you each go to different units, you can still maintain friendships through such a club, and if any issues arise, the club can offer help and minimize personal friendships," Tommy said sluggishly, resting his feet on the opened car window:
"Wilson Block is the most suitable candidate, whether in terms of the military rank he held while in service, his social status, and his age after retirement. Mr. Thomas Hayward is too old, he doesn’t have much to talk about with you young people. But Wilson is different; he’s not even fifty, and he’s ambitious."
Tony glanced at Tommy, "So, you’re making your chasing after other women sound so noble and serious?"
"Would you like to fool around on my behalf? If you’re willing, I can start acting like a monk who has renounced women," Tommy turned to his brother and asked.
"Let’s change the subject," Tony took off his beanie, placed it on his face, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes.
