Part 21 (1/2)

”No disrespect intended, Sarge, but you two are about as ugly as a mule's a.s.shole. I gotta say ... d.a.m.n, it's good to see you. Yeah, the doc here says I'm okay.” He was already wearing the uniform, tried as much as possible not to fit in with the others, who mostly kept to the rows of beds. Most of them were army, the hospital itself in the army sector, the pair of psychiatrists army doctors. He tugged at the waistband of his new dungarees, showed a wide gap from the thick cloth to his belly. ”I musta lost twenty pounds out there. The doc says all I needed was to fatten up a little bit, eat a few squares, and it would help out my head. I guess I shoulda listened to you, Jack, eaten some more of that stew you always carry around.”

”I got plenty. You need a can of stew, or anything else, you just ask.”

”Thanks, Jack. d.a.m.n, I'm glad you're okay.”

”You scared h.e.l.l out of me. We hauled you off in a poncho, and I thought I'd never see you again.”

Mortensen spat out a wad of something brown, an amazing shot out through the opening of the tent.

”You two oughta have a real nice honeymoon when this is over with. Hand in hand down some main street in Tokyo. d.a.m.n! Now listen up, Nut Case.” Mortensen straightened, mock seriousness that inspired Welty to a.s.sume the same stance, an attempt at dignity. ”Private Adams, as your new squad leader, I have been authorized by Captain Bennett to get you the h.e.l.l out of this place, and bring you back to the company command post.” Mortensen looked around, as though expecting someone to stop him. A much older man came close now, a white coat draped over an army uniform. Mortensen said, ”You the d.a.m.n doctor?”

”Are you the d.a.m.n loudmouth coming in here and waking up my patients?”

Mortensen's att.i.tude dropped a notch, and he said, ”Uh, aye, sir. We have orders to retrieve Private Adams.”

”Fine. He's yours. He's not nearly as cracked up as some of these other boys. Get him the h.e.l.l out of here. Put a rifle in his hands and let him kill j.a.ps. That's all he's been talking about since he's been here. Better yet, give him his own tank, a few mortars, and the biggest d.a.m.n cannon you can find. Now beat it. You're stinking up the place.”

Adams absorbed the scene with a swelling need to laugh out loud. Welty smiled at him, a discreet wink, and Adams watched as the doctor walked away. He swung his legs out onto the wooden floor, leaned out closer to the two men.

”Did Bennett really send you down here?”

”That's Captain Bennett.” Mortensen scanned the large tent, seemed to focus on one particular nurse, who was bending over to attend to a nearby patient. He kept his gaze that way, said, ”Just grab your gear. Let's go.”

Adams picked up his backpack, newly stuffed with fresh everything, grabbed his boots, slipped them on quickly, laced up the straps with automatic precision. Welty said, ”New boots? They gave you new boots?”

”Yep. Burned the old ones. Burned everything else too, I guess.” Adams stood now, tried to hide the slight waver, but Welty caught it, said, ”You sure ...?”

”Let's get him out of here. Talk about it later.”

Mortensen grabbed him by the arm, for support as much as a strong pull out of the tent. They were outside quickly, away from the awful smell of antiseptics and sickness. Adams felt giddy, the sky a shocking blue, the heat from the sun swarming about him, sweat already in his s.h.i.+rt.

”They even gave me fresh underwear. Socks, the whole works. Real food too. I musta looked even worse than you two.” He grimaced, the foul air surrounding him, the smell rolling up around him from the two Marines. ”If I smelled like that, it's a wonder they didn't toss me in the latrine. d.a.m.n, Sarge, you two ever gonna take a bath?”

He realized it was a stupid question, but Mortensen surprised him, said, ”Right over there. I saw some army boys lining up for a shower. What do you say, Private?”

Welty jumped at the question.

”You betcha.”

They kept Adams between them, moved out through the sea of larger tents, distant rows of concrete block buildings and tin huts. The activity pa.s.sed by them, no one seeing them at all, everyone on some kind of mission, carrying the self-importance he had always seen in the rear echelon. Mortensen slowed, held out a hand, pointing to a small open field, and Adams saw the line, a dozen men, stark naked, standing in front of a small tent. Above was perched a huge barrel on a metal stand, and beside the tent, a crude hand-painted sign: THIRTY SECONDS PER MAN-NO EXCEPTIONS.

Welty was already removing his s.h.i.+rt, said, ”That's more than it takes me at home. But if they got soap, I might not wanna leave.”

Mortensen said, ”One more reason the army boys are so d.a.m.n soft. They're living back here in the lap of luxury. After this, I'm looking for the tent where the doggies get their ma.s.sages. I got this little crink in my back.”

They released Adams, and he stood guard over the pile of stinking clothes, wondered if there was some way to discreetly haul them to a fire barrel. But this was army ground, no Marine uniforms in sight, and likely, no place to find any. He watched them fall into line, their bare skin as dirty as their uniforms, both men with the smiling antic.i.p.ation, as though they were getting away with something naughty. To one side Adams saw a group of army officers, a casual conversation, mostly ignoring anyone else. Adams felt a pang of nervousness, thought, this might not be a welcome spot for Marines. But the two men were already at the tent, next in line, the gangly Mortensen taking the lead, and Adams laughed, reached down and dragged their clothes and weapons away from the traffic, a shady spot beside a supply tent. Guess no one will know they're Marines, he thought. Hard to tell once they're naked. Unless Marines smell different.

The men were clean but in their uniforms there was no way to tell. They moved quickly through the bustle of the supply depot, the three men knowing it would be best if they seemed to be on an urgent mission, no time for chitchat. Adams had left the field hospital with no weapon but his K-bar, and Mortensen had rea.s.sured him, no problem at all. The sergeant led the three-man parade, seemed to know exactly where he was heading, and Adams brought up the rear, just followed, trying not to catch the eye of anyone who seemed important. Mortensen suddenly turned, like a hound on a scent, stepped up to a concrete building, paused, a quick glance back at the other two, said, ”I'll do the talking. Both of you ... try to look a little nuts. Like you can't wait to cut some doggy's throat.”

They moved through the open door, past a sign that was much less crude than the shower: ORDNANCE SUPPLY.

The building was mostly a vast open s.p.a.ce, the thick odor of gun oil, men with clipboards, others moving crates in through a gaping doorway in the rear. Mortensen led them to a desk, a lieutenant busy at some papers, his single gold bar polished to a high sheen. Mortensen said softly, ”You in charge here?”

The man did not look up, said, ”What do you think?” The odor of the two uniforms caught him now, and he backed away from his papers, said, ”Good G.o.d, you boys fall in a latrine?”

Mortensen kept his voice low, leaned close.

”This is what the front lines smell like, sir. The fellow behind me in the clean s.h.i.+rt brought us off the line in G sector, and the colonel's hopping mad. Says unless we get some shotguns right away, he's coming down here to rip the a.s.shole out of anyone who gets in his way. Sir, I don't have to tell you what the colonel's like when he's that p.i.s.sed. We got j.a.ps dropping down in every d.a.m.n foxhole, and the boys are going nuts up there, taking shots at every officer who walks by. This guy's clean uniform and all, he d.a.m.n near started his own firefight. Those boys up there are so whacked-out, they're shooting anything that don't look like one of them. The colonel got the word that a bunch of our boys are ganging up to come down here to take care of business with more of you army lads in clean uniforms. My crud-covered buddy here keeps wanting to run his bayonet through this guy, and if I wasn't bigger than him, he'd have done it.”

As though on cue, Welty reached down, withdrew his K-bar knife, and fingered it with affection, staring at Adams as though ready to carve a roast. Mortensen grabbed Welty by the shoulder, jerked him around.

”Later! This man's an officer!”

Welty slumped, twitched nervously, the K-bar still in his hand, and Welty seemed to notice the lieutenant for the first time, a broad, l.u.s.tful smile. Mortensen looked at the officer again, said, ”Sir, I'm hauling this one down to the hospital right now. He's done for. You ever see hair turn that red? The colonel said I'm the only one who can handle him, so here we are. But there's fifty more headed down here, and the colonel sent me to load up on riot gear. Shotguns are the best we can do, so I need your help, sir. Three shotguns. A few ammo belts of sh.e.l.ls. That's all we need.”

The lieutenant sat back in his chair, began to laugh.

”Yeah? What the h.e.l.l you think we got MPs for? You d.a.m.n leather-necks pull this c.r.a.p on me all the time. I might look like some shavetail to you, but I've been doing this job for too long. Get lost.”

”I can tell you're a veteran, sir. You've been to the front then?”

”h.e.l.l no.”

Mortensen glanced out in both directions, their conversation still not drawing any unwelcome attention.

”Surely, sir, you must hear the reports of what's going on up there.”

”n.o.body tells me a thing, and I like it that way. Now, I said, get lost.”

Mortensen leaned out over the man's desk, a scattering of dried mud falling on the lieutenant's papers. The officer stared up at him, more angry now, his face curling even more from the sergeant's odor.

”Sir, with all due respect. I've got men dying by the boatloads. Shotguns are the best weapon against what the j.a.ps are doing up there. If you like, I can have the colonel arrange to send a jeep down, give you a tour. No trouble at all, sir. As many holes as we got in the line, a tough-looking hombre like you could help us out. The platoon leaders we've got coming up are, pardon the expression, sir, as worthless as t.i.ts on a boar. We could use a veteran like yourself.”

Mortensen leaned even closer, as though showering the lieutenant in as much of his essence as he could.

”I know I can smooth it over with the colonel. I bet you're itching like h.e.l.l to get out from behind this desk and get out to where the action is, right, sir?”

The lieutenant stared up at Mortensen, a long, silent pause.

”Three shotguns?”

”And ammo, sir.”

”And ammo. While I'm gone, clean up this c.r.a.p you dropped all over my desk.”

The man was up now, disappeared down a corridor of steel shelves. To one side several GIs stood, watching the entire scene, all in clean uniforms. One man moved closer, older, and Adams knew the stare of an officer.

”The Marines don't have their own supply depots?”

Mortensen straightened, stepped toward the officer, his smell moving with him.