Part 5 (1/2)

Ernst pointed to the man's right leg, and Franz saw that the material covering it was stained black from blood. Sunny gently rolled up the pant leg to reveal an angry, glistening wound. The man winced but said nothing as she continued to expose more of his leg.

Ernst flicked a finger in the direction of his companion's shoulder. ”If that's not damage enough, my unfortunate friend here took a bullet to his arm, too.”

”That is nothing,” the man murmured, his eyes still closed.

Franz hunched forward to inspect the injured leg. Ignoring the putrid stench, he saw that the thigh just above the knee bulged from a large abscess. He almost missed the bullet's entry point because it had nearly swollen shut. As he prodded the skin lightly, his fingers met with resistance. ”The bullet is still lodged in your thigh, correct?” Franz asked, and the man nodded. ”We will have to remove it and drain the pus.”

”Of course, doctor,” he breathed.

Ernst sighed. ”We didn't travel over a hundred miles and cross enemy lines simply for hospital food. Although, at this point, I wouldn't pa.s.s up a meal of any kind.”

”We will feed you both soon, Ernst.” Franz turned back to the other man. ”What is your name?”

”Chun.” The man finally opened his eyes. An arresting almond brown, they showed a glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt. ”Or Charlie, as Ernst insists on calling me.”

”Ernst has not yet managed to rename me. I am Dr. Adler. Franz.”

”While here, I actually prefer Charlie.”

Franz didn't understand the distinction, nor did he dwell on it. ”May I examine your shoulder, Charlie?”

Sunny helped Charlie remove his jacket and s.h.i.+rt. The exit wound near his shoulder was even larger than the entry wound through the deltoid muscle, but the large-calibre bullet had clearly missed any vital structures. The wound looked clean and uninfected.

”Your shoulder will not require surgery,” Franz said. ”But we must operate on your leg immediately. It cannot wait.”

”I understand,” Charlie said.

”Unfortunately, our hospital has all but run out of ether.” Franz looked away. ”We do not have enough anaesthetic, do you understand?”

Charlie mustered a brave smile. ”It will not be pleasant, I realize, doctor. Nor will it be my first operation without anaesthetic.”

Franz glanced at the swollen leg again, wondering if gangrene had already set in. ”I cannot promise that we will be able to save the leg.”

Charlie closed his eyes again. He nodded once. ”What has to be done has to be done.”

Two nurses arrived at the bedside. As they prepared Charlie for the operating room, Franz and Sunny led Ernst to the small staff room. Once inside, Sunny threw her arms around their friend and hugged him fiercely. Franz clapped the artist's shoulder, feeling only bone. Above the tawny beard, grey in patches, his cheeks had hollowed but, despite his scrawniness, Ernst somehow still looked robust. His once-pale complexion had become ruddier, and his eyes burned as brightly as ever.

”Not a word in over a year,” Franz said. ”I had a.s.sumed the worst, my friend.”

”And who says you weren't right to?” Ernst said. ”Have you ever spent a year of your life in a backwater Chinese village? Trust me. It doesn't get much worse.”

”You are home now,” Sunny pointed out.

”Home? I have no idea where that is.” Ernst smiled. ”But, by G.o.d, of all my deprivations from civilization, what I miss most is a little gossip.” He looked pointedly at Franz and Sunny. ”So tell me. What of you two?”

Sunny raised her left hand to show Ernst the wedding band that had once belonged to Esther's grandmother. Ernst clutched his chest theatrically. ”I knew it! You see-love can still prevail, even in this G.o.dforsaken place.”

”Speaking of love,” Sunny said. ”Where is Shan?”

”Still in the village,” Ernst said. ”He had a bad fall-sometimes we're forced to travel in the darkness. He broke his ankle.”

”Is it serious?”

”He will recover.” Ernst looked away. ”I left without telling him. Shan would have insisted on trying to come with us, but his injury was too serious.”

Sunny touched Ernst's cheek. ”You were only protecting him.”

”To be truthful, I was protecting myself. It was hard enough getting Charlie here on that game leg of his. I have come to appreciate that, behind enemy lines, two legs are a decided advantage.” He breathed out with a sigh. ”Sadly for me, my Shan is not always the forgiving kind.”

Franz eyed the artist. ”Who is Charlie?”

”A trusted friend,” Ernst said flatly, suddenly serious.

”He looks familiar,” Sunny said. ”His English is so good, but he's not from Shanghai, is he? His accent . . .”

Ernst ran a hand through his dirty-blond hair. ”Trust me. The less you both know about Charlie, the better.”

”But you brought him here,” Franz said. ”To our hospital.”

”I didn't want to. Believe me, I had no choice.” Ernst shook his head helplessly. ”I would make the world's absolute worst doctor, but even I could see that Charlie would die if we left him in that village. I could think of nowhere else to turn.”

”You were right to bring him here,” Sunny said.

Franz nodded. ”We might be able to save his leg yet.”

”It's always the same with us, isn't it?” A pained smile crossed Ernst's face. ”You help me, and I repay the kindness by endangering you even further.”

”And in spite of that, we still missed you.”

”Of course you did,” Ernst said with exaggerated panache. ”Parasite or not, my appeal is irresistible.”

”Will you stay?” Sunny asked.

”Only until Charlie is well enough to travel again.”

”That will be a long while,” Franz said. ”Meantime, isn't it terribly dangerous for you to be in Shanghai?”

Ernst waved the suggestion away. ”s.e.xual peccadilloes aside, I am a German gentile. A purebred Aryan. I could not be more welcome here. The j.a.panese adore us.”

”They certainly do not adore you.”

”They will never recognize me.”

”And if they do?”

The levity drained from Ernst's face. ”I will tell you this, my friends. We will have far bigger problems if they recognize Charlie.”