Page 7 (2/2)

"Yes," I said

"Dismissed"

I counted One thousand Two thousand Three thousand Then I saluted and turned around Ishot

"They tell ht now you need to decide whether you keep on being a big star, or whether you let yourself becoant smart-ass son of a bitch And you need to reant smart-ass sons of bitches And you need to re toto

"Do I make myself clear, Major?"

"Crystal," I said

I got ," he said "I&039; as I possibly can Out of respect for your record You&039;re very lucky that it came up internally But I want you to remember that it&039;s here, and it stays active"

I left Rock Creek just before five in the afternoon Caught a bus into Washington DC, and another one south down I-95 Then I renia and hitched the final thirty miles to Bird It works a little faster that way Most of the local traffic is enlisted men, or retired enlisted men, or their families, and ht es in your pocket

I got a ride and got out two hundred yards short of Bird&039;s , January fourth, after a little more than six hours on the road North Carolina was pitch dark and cold Very cold, so I jogged the two hundred yards to heat ate I was logged in and I ran down to eant with the baby son was on duty She had coffee going She gave me a cup and I walked intofor reen file The file had three lists in it The women-with-Hu for New Year&039;s Eve The first two lists were relatively short The gate log was a riot People had been in and out all night long, partying But only one name was common to all three compilations: Lt/Col Andrea Norton Summer had circled the name in all three locations Her note said: Call me about Norton Hope your e slip with Joe&039;s telephone nu up?" I asked him

"We should have stayed," he said

"She gave the nurse one day off," I said "One day hat she wanted"

"We should have stayed anyway"

"She doesn&039;t want spectators," I said

Joe didn&039;t answer The phone was hot and silent against ot a question," I said "When you were at the Pentagon, did you know an asshole called Willard?"

He stayed quiet for a longhis ence for some time

"Squat littlearound on his chair, fussing with his pants? He was a desk guy A major, I think"

"He&039;s a full colonel now," I said "He just got assigned to the 110th He&039;s my CO at Rock Creek"

"MI to the 110th? That makes sense"

"Makes no sense to me"

"It&039;s the new theory," Joe said "They&039;re copying private-sector doctrine They think know-nothings are good because they&039;re not invested in the status quo They think they bring fresh perspectives"

"Anything I should know about this guy?"

"You called him an asshole, so it sounds like you already know about him He was smart, but he was an asshole, for sure Vicious, petty, very corporate, good at office politics, exclusively interested in number one, excellent ass-kisser, always knehich way the as blowing"

I said nothing

"Hopeless o

"He&039;s a perfect example," Joe said "Like we discussed He was on the Soviet desk He monitored their tank production and fuel consuorith based on howHe was hot for a year or so But now I guess he&039;s seen the future He got hiood You should do the same At least you should think about it Like we discussed"

I said nothing

"Meanwhile, watch your step," Joe said "I wouldn&039;t want Willard for a boss"

"I&039;ll be OK," I said

"We should have stayed in Paris," he said, and hung up

I found Suo and was leaning on the ith a couple of W2s She moved away froone to Korea," I said "We got a new guy"

"Who?"

"A colonel called Willard Froence"

"So how is he qualified?"

"He isn&039;t qualified He&039;s an asshole"

"Doesn&039;t that piss you off?"

I shrugged "He&039;s telling us to stay away fro to?"

"He&039;s tellingto turn down your application"

She went very quiet Looked away

"Shit," she said

"I&039;m sorry," I said "I know you wanted it"

She looked back at ?" she asked

I nodded "He&039;s serious about everything He had me arrested at the airport, to make all his various points"

"Arrested?"

I nodded again "So lot"

"Who?"

"One of the grunts in the audience"

"One of ours? Who?"

"I don&039;t know"

"That&039;s cold"

I nodded "Never happened to ain

"Hoas your ," I said "No big deal"

"They can get pneuain "She had the X ray No pneumonia"

Her lower eyelids moved upward

"Can I ask the obvious question?" she said

"Is there one?"

"Aggravated battery against civilians is a big deal And apparently there&039;s a report and an eyewitness, good enough to get you arrested"

"So?"

"So why are you still walking around?"

"Willard&039;s sitting on it"

"But ould he, if he&039;s an asshole?"

"Out of respect for my record That&039;s what he said"

"Did you believe him?"

I shookwith the complaint," I said "An asshole like Willard would use it if he could, that&039;s for sure He doesn&039;t care aboutwith the coet He&039;ll testify to whatever they tell hi the co

"And why are you here at all?" she asked

I heard Joe say: You should find out anted you at Bird badly enough to pull you out of Panama and replace you with an asshole

"I don&039;t knohy I&039; Tell me about Lieutenant Colonel Norton"

"We&039;re off the case"

"So just tell me for interest&039;s sake"

"It isn&039;t her She&039;s got an alibi She was at a party in a bar off-post All night long About a hundred people were there with her"

"Who is she?"

"Psy-Ops instructor She&039;s a psychosexual PhD who specializes in attacking an enes of masculinity"

"She sounds like a fun lady"

"She was invited to a party in a bar Someone thinks she&039;s a fun lady"

"Did you check who drove Vassell and Coouys list him as a Major Marshall I looked him up, and he&039;s a XII Corps staffer on teon Some kind of a blue-eyed boy He&039;s been over here since November"

"Did you check phone calls out of the DC hotel?"

She nodded again

"There weren&039;t any," she said "Vassell&039;s roo I&039; fro calls"

"None at all?"

"Not a one"

"Are you sure?"

"Totally It&039;s an electronic switchboard Dial nine for an outside line, and the computer records it automatically It has to, for the bill"

Dead end

"OK," I said "Forget the whole thing"

"Really?"

"Orders are orders," I said "The alternative is anarchy and chaos"

I went back to ured Willard would be long gone He was the type of guy who keeps bankers&039; hours his whole life I got hold of a coinal orderme from Panama to Bird It was fiveSu to ot the order here now, sir," the guy on the phone said

"Who signed it?" I asked him

"Colonel Garber, sir"

"Thank you," I said, and put the phone down Then I sat for ten ot all about that question, becauseMP private on routine base patrol told me we had a homicide victiuy had to pause twice to throw up before he got to the end of his report