Billy and Will were curious and optimistic that David’s idea would resolve their quandary.  “Yes,” they replied in unison.  Will added, “Any idea would be welcome.”

“Remember,” David warned.  “It’s just an idea.  I don’t know all of the details.  And you should feel free to reject it if you don’t like it.  It’s sort of ... well ... unusual.”

“Go on,” Billy urged.

“Okay.  As you know, I’m assigned to the Motor Pool until my hitch is up in a few months.  Part of my job is to be a driver occasionally for some of the top brass.  That’s key to the whole idea.  One of them is extremely homophobic.  If only he knew his driver was gay!  But that’s another story.  What do you suppose he’d do if he ‘accidentally’ found a videotape of you guys making love?  He would immediately launch an investigation to purge what he regarded as degenerate sinners from the Navy.  I can get the tape into his hands if you’re willing to make it.  As I said, I don’t have all the details worked out but it’s an idea.”

“You’re suggesting we make a porno video?”  Will exclaimed with obvious disgust.  “What Billy and I have and need is LOVE.  A dirty sex video doesn’t begin to show how we feel about each other.”

“It’s really not a porno video,” David said.  “It’s not something to be sold in the back room of sleazy video stores.  I can guarantee the tape will never leave the Base.  It may not even be seen by anyone but the homophobic officer.  I know his style.  He’ll call you into his office and confront you with the evidence.  If you admit right away that you’re gay — and how could you possibly deny it, anyway — he will start the paperwork to expel you from the service.  The worst that might happen is that you’ll be subjected to an angry tirade about being filthy fags.”

“Let’s do it, Will,” Billy said.  “It ain’t the easiest way but there ain’t no easy way.  And it’s sure to get us outta the Navy so’s we can be together.”

“I’m not sure I’m willing,” Will objected.  “It seems too risky.”

“Geezalpete!”  Billy replied.  “What’s yur middle name?  Caution?  Yur not willin’ to do it so’s we can be together?  We done agreed we don’t wanna be separated.  Neither of us wants that.  There’s only one way to avoid it and that’s to get kicked outta the Navy.  David just gave us a way t’ do it.  Whatta we got to lose?  There ain’t no big risks in what he said.”

Before Will could respond, Rod said, “I understand your concern about making a porno video, Will.  But it doesn’t have to be dirty.  If you plan it out right, it will be a tribute to a loving partnership.  The sex in the video would be there only to convince the Navy brass that you’re homosexual.  And it could even show that sex doesn’t have to be ‘biff; bang; thank you, man’ but is the ultimate way of expressing an abiding love.”

Rod’s reasoning was persuasive and Will capitulated.  “Okay.  Let’s talk about the details.  How and when do we do it?”

<><><><><> 

“What the hell is this?” the Captain asked David when he saw a large, brown envelope on the back seat of the car.

“I don’t know, Sir,” David replied.  “It was there when I picked up the car from the Motor Pool.  It’s addressed to you so I didn’t look inside.”

The Captain tore open the envelope as David pulled away from the curb.  A videotape and note fell out.  Moments later, the Captain barked, “Take me back to my office!  Does this car have a radio to call the Base?”

“No, Sir.  None of the cars do.”

The Captain mumbled some epithets but then sat quietly for the short distance back to his office.  David didn’t have time to get out of the car and open the door for the Captain because he was out of the car almost before it stopped and racing toward the front door of the Headquarters building.  David could only grin because the plan was working ... so far.

The Captain barged into his office suite and without slowing his brisk pace ordered his secretary to cancel his morning appointments.  He yelled for his Aide, “Watson!  In my office!  NOW!”

Steve Watson was accustomed to his boss’s brusk manner and knew better than to complete the task he was working on.  He hurried into the Captain’s office only to receive another order.  “Find me a videotape player and monitor ... probably from one of the training rooms ... and bring it in here.  On the double!”

While waiting with increasing impatience for his Aide to return, he read again the note that was in the envelope with the videotape.  It was typed — obviously on an old typewriter with a faded ribbon:

There’s a cancer in your ranks that must be removed.  The video is proof that two of our country’s finest are degenerate fags.  I trust that you will protect the morals and honor of the military by removing them before they corrupt others.  GOD BLESS AMERICA!

When Watson wheeled in a cart with videotape player and monitor, the Captain growled, “Shut the door.  Play the tape.  Sit down.”

The recording was obviously made in a cheap hotel room.  The lighting was poor and the audio was difficult but not impossible to understand.  Two sailors in uniform were seated on a bed.  One of them looked at the camera and spoke.  “Greetings to the future Billy Ray and Will from the Billy Ray and Will of your younger days.  We hope you will watch this video from time to time to recall the overpowering love that Billy and I had for each other way back then and the thrill of expressing that love intimately.  We hope that your love and devotion has grown since those traumatic days when the Navy persecuted all who are guilty of nothing more than marching to a different drummer.  And we hope that enlightenment will soon erase the hatred that such discrimination spawned.”

“STOP THE GOD DAMN TAPE!” the Captain bellowed.

Watson jumped up and hit the pause button.

“They’ve got name tags on.  What are their last names?”

Watson struggled to read the name tags on the blurry image.  “The quiet one is Sampson, Simpson, or maybe Swanson.  It’s hard to tell.  I can’t make out the name on the speaker’s name tag.  The lighting on him is too poor.”

The Captain barked, “Call Personnel.  Have them search their records for a match.  All three last names and anything close.  How many can there be with a sissy name like Billy Ray?  If they give you any shit, tell ‘em it’s an urgent matter and on my orders.”

Watson made the call, ending with, “Call Captain Delgado’s office when you find a match.  IMMEDIATELY!”

“Shall I resume the tape, Sir?”

“Yes.”

There were no more introductory remarks on the video.  Both sailors stood, embraced, and gave each other a long passionate kiss.  “DISGUSTING,” the Captain spat out.  Just as he was about to tell Watson that he’d seen enough and to stop the tape, he heard some almost inaudible voices.  “Rewind the tape and play that last bit again.”

“I done fell in love with ya back in Basic Trainin’ at Great Lakes.  I was tickled pink when we was stranded on that island off Guadalcanal and I found out that y’all was like me.  And ya loved me like I loved y’all.”

“SICK!” the Captain blared.  “They’re goddamn queers!”  When the video showed them taking off each other’s uniforms, he said, “Shut that fucking thing off.  I’ve seen enough and sure don’t want to see the bastards fornicating.”

Watson stopped the video reluctantly because, although he was straight, he was curious to see more of the tape and to witness two men engaging in sex.

The Captain, his face flushed with anger, said, “Call Personnel again.  See if they’ve found a match.  Then check the service history of this fag, Billy Ray.  Find out when he was at Great Lakes.  I want him in my office immediately!  Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Twenty minutes later, the Aide knocked on the Captain’s door and said, “We’ve identified the guy on the video: Billy Ray Simpson.  He’s been serving on the Brighton but has been assigned to the Altamont.  He’s currently on leave until the Altamont arrives in port.  He should be checking into the Base at 0700 tomorrow.”

“Notify Security to stop him at the gate and escort him immediately to my office.”

<><><><><> 

That evening, Rod, David, Will, and Billy gathered in Rod’s living room before dinner.  Their conversation included as many questions as comments.

“We ain’t heard nothin’ ‘bout the video,” Billy said.  “D’ya ‘spose the Captain found it and watched it?”

“He found it all right,” David assured him.  “When he read the note in the envelope he was visibly angry and ordered me to take him back to his office.”

“But we can’t be sure he watched the tape,” Billy objected.

“I think it’s certain that he watched it,” David said.  “We put just enough information in the note to make him curious.  And the clues on the tape — saying your names, the name tags, the reference to Great Lakes — are all guaranteed to identify you.”

“So why haven’t we heard from them by now?” Will asked.

“Simple,” Rod said.  “You’re on a few days leave.  They don’t know where you are.  You can be sure they’ll call you in for questioning as soon as you show up at the Base.”

“That’ll be tomorrow mornin’ for me,” Billy said.  “What about Will?  He’s got a few more days of leave.”

Rod tried to reassure the anxious Billy by using a calm tone of voice to say, “They’ll ask you where Will is when they call you in for questioning.  Tell them.  Remember, it’s crucial that you be honest in everything you say.  That’s your only hope of getting an “Under Honorable Conditions” attached to your discharge.”

“I know that,” Billy said nervously.  “I just hope I can do it right.”

David suggested, “I think it would help you, Billy, if we practiced it.  Rod, you’ve been through the process.  Do you think you can play the role of the interrogator in a sort of rehearsal?”

“I’ll try,” Rod replied.

“Great!” David said.  “Billy, pretend that you’re facing somebody who may hate you for what you are.  He may try to insult you or get you upset and angry.  Don’t let that get to you.  Don’t let him upset you ... or at least don’t show that you’re upset.  All you have to do is tell the truth.  NEVER LIE!”  Rod, you should be as realistic as possible as the interrogator.  The closer we can make it to the real thing, the more likely it’ll be to turn out the way we want it to.”

The rehearsal went well.  Rod was confrontational.  Billy was relatively relaxed and very open about his relationship with Will.  The only lie he told was in answer to a question about how many men he had had sex with.  He answered, ‘None, Sir,’ ignoring the three-way with Rod.  And he creatively added, “That’s ‘cause I love Will and would never cheat on him.”

The critique that followed the role-play included many compliments to Billy for his handling of a stressful situation and only a very few suggestions for improvement.  It boosted Billy’s confidence significantly.

Billy arrived at the main gate of the Base at 0630 the next morning.  The guard checked his ID and said, “Please wait here.  I’ve been instructed to have you escorted in.”

“Why?” Billy asked, feigning puzzlement but relieved that the deceptive plot was playing out as expected.

“I don’t know.” The guard replied.  “All I was told is to have you wait for an escort.”  The guard returned to the guardhouse and made a phone call.  Upon returning, he said, “It’ll only be a few minutes.

Ten minutes later, Billy found himself in a conference room with three officers, none of whom greeted him and all of whom wore expressions that suggested disdain.  Not having been given permission to take a seat, Billy remained standing At Attention at one side of the conference table while the three others sat at the opposite side.  Captain Delgado started the interrogation.  "State your name for the record."  Billy did.  "Have you ever participated in homosexual activity?"

Billy hesitated for a moment and then calmly replied, "For me to answer that question ... truthfully ... what, Sir, is your definition of 'homosexual activity'?"

The Captain snorted like an angry bull before asking, "Have you ever given another man a fuckin' blow job?"

"Ain’t never given a man a fuckin’, Sir.  But yes, I done gave a man a blow job."

The Captain was momentarily confused by the answer until he realized the ambiguity of ‘give a man a fuckin’ blow job’.   Mostly, however, he was surprised at the admission.  He had expected a denial, in which case he could mention the videotape and aggressively pursue the dishonesty.  But he recovered quickly and commented, "So ... having done that, then you ARE a homosexual; are you not?"

Billy's shoulders slumped forward a bit, and his gaze focused at nothing in particular on the linoleum floor.  After a brief hesitation that seemed to be an eternity, he looked into the Captain's eyes and said, "I reckon so, Captain."

“And you’re aware that queers cannot serve in the armed forces?”

“Yes, Sir.  I know that’s the policy.  But I have never violated the policy while on active duty.”

Frustrated that Billy’s ready admission denied him the pleasure of an aggressive attack, Captain Delgado changed his approach.  “We have a video of you and another sailor.  Do you deny that it’s you on the tape?”

“Can’t hardly say, Sir.  I ain’t seen the tape yur talking ‘bout.  So I don’t know if’n it’s me.”

The Captain’s frustration level rose at Billy’s skillful parry of the question.  “It’s you, goddamn it!  The other sailor said your name.  You stupidly had your name tag on.  Did you or did you not make a videotape of yourself and the other sailor engaged in lewd and immoral acts?”

“I did make a video, Sir.”  Billy stopped because he remembered David’s advice to resist the temptation to justify homosexuality.  It would only antagonize the bigots.  He had wanted to add: ‘But what we done wasn’t lewd or immoral.  It was ‘cause we love each other.’ 

“Damn right!” the Captain exclaimed.  “And a filthy video at that!  You’re a disgrace to the uniform you wear.  I have just one more question.  Who is the other sailor in the video?”

“Willard Benson, Sir.”

“What unit is he in?”

“None.  We was serving on the Brighton ‘till it docked a few days ago.  I was ordered to the Altamont and Will is going to signalman’s school.  Right now he’s on leave.  We been staying at a friend’s house.  Y’all can find him there.”

The Captain, still taken aback at Billy’s candor, hit a button on the intercom in front of him and barked, “Watson!  The other sonnofabitch is Willard Benson.  He’s off base.  Get his location from Simpson when we’re finished in here.  Have Benson brought to my office immediately.”

Returning his glare to Billy, Captain Delgado said, “You have confessed to being a homosexual.  Are you aware that the consequence is an Undesirable Discharge?

“Yes, Sir.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“It does, Sir.  But I can’t deny what I done or what I am.”  Again, Billy refrained from embellishing his reply.  He wanted to say: ‘That would be dishonest and a heap worse than likin’ a man for a partner.’

To be continued...

Iatia’s inspiration and editing cannot be ignored.  Thanks, my friend.