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He’s leaving me!

“Sarge,” Rio says, and emotion chokes her “I” What can she say when she has so htest doubt in her , because of the gap-toothed man before her

Her father had told her to find a good sergeant and stick to hieant She had stuck to him

And now

Cole sticks out his hand She shakes it

“You’ll do fine, Richlin You’re a natural”

Suddenly there’s the captain cursing a blue streak “Back up to the line, daet back forward!”

Rio ignores hi off into the night bearing Sergeant Cole

“Bye, Sarge,” Rio says

Pang co by, loaded doith four steel a over his shoulder Rio lifts the satchel, peeks inside, can’t see, so thrusts a hand in to find the fa shape of the British-renades called SIPs and nickna forward, their hearts in their boots

“How is he?” Stick asks anxiously when they rejoin the others

“Million-dollar wound,” Pang says

A lieutenant neither of theloom and says, “What platoon?”

Stick tells hiht now”

“The hell we are,” Stick says “Where’s Lieutenant Stone?”