The endless buzzing of my phone woke me. It's vibrations echoed on my night stand. The clock beside it showed 4:06 am. Who the fuck was calling so late? My head throbbed and my throat was dry. Water, I needed water.

Sitting up in my bed, I grabbed the bottle of water that always sat on my night stand and chugged it. After polishing off the entire bottle I came up for air. Why did I drink that damn beer. Beer always gave me massive headaches. If I had just stuck with the whiskey I'd be perfectly fine, but no I just had to accept the free beer the guys kept bringing me. Damn recruits.

My phone lit up as it began to vibrate again. I glanced at the name that came across the screen and sighed. Fuck Boy 19. Cursing my own weakness I pulled my phone off the charger and answered.

"Do you know what time it is?" I said sternly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know who else to call," he replied. His words were muffled through his tears. I had never seen him cry before.

"What happened?" I asked as I threw off my covers and climbed out of bed.

"Can you... come get me?" he stuttered.

By the time he finished asking I had already pulled on my jeans and slipped into my boots. My clothes were always ready to go on top of the chest at the foot of my bed. In my line of work I needed to be ready to respond in a moment's notice.

"Where are you?" I asked.

I was fully dressed, out the door, and halfway down the barracks stairs when he finished giving me directions. He was twenty minutes away, ten if I hurried. I ended the called, telling him to stay where he was as I threw my leg over my bike.

My black Kawasaki KLR650 had seen me through some tight situations. I didn't think twice before taking off down the drive. Most of the soldiers would still be tucked into their beds at that hour. I only had the nightly patrol to worry about.

As expected, the only soldiers I saw were the ones stationed at the main gate. I came to a stop at the check point. The man at the gate eyed my motorcycle with a lifted brow.

"A bit early for a ride isn't it? Identify yourself," he said.

"Captain Alexander Harvey," I replied and stared down the soldier. The badge on his jacket identified him as an E-3 Private First Class. Sweat beaded around his forehead and his eyes widened with realization.

"I apologize for the holdup Captain," he said as he lifted the gate. "Have a nice day." His voice trembled as he finished his pleasantries.

If I hadn't been in a hurry I would have given him a harder time for questioning a ranking officer. But he was in luck. I said nothing in response and took off down the drive. My boy was waiting for me.

I flew down highway 24 and headed straight for downtown Fayetteville. Luckily the streets were empty at that hour, because I didn't slow my speed until I hit the city streets. As I turned down the road where I knew I'd find my destination I scanned the streets, checking the shadows for movement.

When I pulled up to the night club it had already been mostly cleared out. A few drunks lingered in the parking lot chatting, while the police patrol near the entrance sat in their car watching god knows what on their phones.

I parked my bike on the sidewalk near the entrance. The bouncer at the door recognized me and smiled as I walked right by him. I was a frequent VIP patron of the club so they never hesitated to let me in. All of the bouncers knew me well.

"Keep an eye on the bike for me?" I asked.

"You know it," he replied.

The florescent lights were on inside the club. They always turned them on at close to get people to clear out. Bartenders were in the middle of cleaning their stations while other staff members moved about clearing the tables and sweeping the floors.

My regular server walked by with a tray of glasses in her hands. She was probably the only staff member in the place whose name I remembered.

"Hey Daisy," I said and she paused. Her name was hard to forget given the fact that she always had daisies decorating her dark brown hair. It seemed she had weaved them carefully into the long braid that hung over her shoulder that night.

"Captain?" she replied and turned to face me. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight."

"I didn't expect to be here," I replied.

My visitation habits to their establishment were predictable. I'd always come in on my first day off after pay day and throw a bunch of money their way. They always stocked up on my favorite whiskey.

"I'm actually looking for someone. Do you remember the boy that was here with me the other night? Dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, about 5'10"," I said.

"Riley? Yeah I think he might be in the bathroom. He was looking sick earlier," she replied.

"Thanks," I said as I headed toward the back of the club. I was surprised Daisy knew his name, I couldn't even remember it myself. Though I guess we never really used names with each other.

When I got to the bathroom it was quiet. No one was moving about in the open and there were no feet visible under the stalls. I walked down the row of them slowly and looked inside each one. When I came upon the last one I found him.

Riley was squatting on top of the toilet with his knees pulled into his chest. His face was buried in them. I could see the tears that stained his cheeks red. His muffled sobs were nearly inaudible and his dirty blonde hair was a mess.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

He flinched and almost fell off the toilet. Catching a glimpse of his face my stomach clenched. Blood trickled from his lip and one of his eyes was swollen. It had already started to turn black.

"You came," he said as he cleared the distance between us and threw his arms around me. His tears flowed freely as he sobbed into my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"Who did this to you?"