Chapter 395 - Can we talk (4)

10 May, Visiting Officer Quarters, Military Base, City K

Bronwyn walked up to the door and knocked, seeing the looks from enlisted men around her. Damn this was so embarrassing as it felt as if she was back in school being called to the principal's office to explain herself.

Within a couple of seconds, she saw Legend open the door, and he said "Lieutenant. The General said to show you straight in as he has matters, he wants to talk to you."

Taking the hint, Bronwyn followed Legend inside to an office where she noticed her father sitting behind the desk. Snapping to attention, she said "General, you wanted to see me."

Lifting his head up, Head Honcho motioned with his eyes for Legend to leave and shut the door behind them. As the door quietly shut, he said "Bronwyn…"

"General, Sir, you ordered me here, so here I am." Bronwyn responded. He was trying to manipulate her, but he ordered her here and he was going to take this as if she were any other solider ordered to appear in front of a senior officer.

Bronwyn looked at her father and could see he seemed somewhat defeated. After a couple of seconds, she saw him moved from behind the desk to a nearby couch, before sitting down and saying "It seems like lately the only way I can get my daughter to talk to me, let alone talk to her mother, who by the way is worried that she has offended you as you have not spoken to her in months, is order you in my presence."

"Mother? Is there something wrong? Tell me." came the immediate worried response.

Shaking his head, Head Honcho said "Now you are concerned, some daughter…"

"Do not confuse me with someone else…"

Loudly, Head Honcho said "Enough," before returning to a calmer voice saying, "Please sit Bronwyn."

Despite the somewhat disdainful look she gave her father Bronwyn, like the good soldier she was, followed orders and sat down on a chair.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, not to snap at Bronwyn as he would at any other soldier who showed him this level of disrespect he said "We need to talk, not superior to subordinate but father to daughter, and if this is the only way that I can achieve it, well I have to do it."

"Talk, when have you ever wanted to just talk to me. As early as I can remember you always snapped orders at me as if I were a soldier, and despite how humiliating that was, it at least prepared me for the career that I have chosen. But I should have guessed that even my simple choice would be controlled by you in that made sure that I was in your direct chain of command. When will you realise that I am not a little girl that needs to be protected."

Bronwyn looked over and noticed that there was a proud look on her father's face. That was something that she had only ever observed three times in her life. When she was valedictorian at school and was in the top twenty students in results at the end of High School, she joined the military and graduated university eighteen months early while being the graduating class valedictorian with first class honours degree.

"What are you so proud of?"

"You, my favourite daughter."

"Your only daughter, so that is not any praise."

Shaking his head again, Head Honcho said "As your mother has told me over the last few months, I have constantly failed to tell you how important you are. Not having you around both of us for a period has made me realise how important you are."

"Save the…"

"No, Bronwyn I will not. Sometimes absence makes us admit the truth."

"Truth, you are too bound in all your secrets and cloak and dagger routine, so I would guess that most of time you do not know the truth if it is standing in front of you."

Biting his lip for a few seconds to calm down, Head Honcho said "Anyone else would never get away with that, but I deserve it. I have prioritised my career over you and your mother not realising everything I passed up, but…"

Hearing her father stop mid-sentence, Bronwyn realised something was up with her parents. "What is it?"

"You know me too well. Now do not freak out or have a go at me because I have only been following your mother's wishes. About a week after you were deployed here, she had a fall, nothing significant so we both thought, and you know how stubborn she is…"

"She has to be, to live with you."

"No, she knows that she is the love of my life, and has supported all my choices, because for her me being happy was the most important thing in her life. But that has created a stubbornness in her, not telling me things when she should tell me because she is worried about my reaction. Maybe that has been her way to cope with the dangerous nature of special forces, and likely made worse by my decision to request you placed in my chain of command. Not because I wanted to control your career, but because I want the best in the special forces, and your legal skills both in handling civilian matters for our members and navigating tricky international law issues is top notch. What objective head of special forces would not want you."

"Faint praise coming from you."

"The truth Bronwyn, the truth. I know that may make you uncomfortable, coming from me but I had to fight hard to get you posted to me chain of command. The joint military chiefs all wanted you posted far away from me, but in the end, I made a compelling case, not based on you being my daughter but your skill set. That backed me into a corner on how I treated you…"

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