spent, to save Pick Pickering’s ass, because if he had done his job, Pick would not have been shot down trying to become the first locomotive ace in the Marine Corps.
“You ready, Doc?” Chief Orlovski asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Patterson replied.
“CHAIR AWAY!” Orlovski bellowed.
Dr. Patterson, in disturbingly quick order, felt himself being hauled up vertically, then moving horizontally off the Badoeng Strait, then sinking suddenly toward the Sea of Japan, then felt his feet being knocked out from under him as they actually encountered the Sea of Japan, then rising vertically and sideways at once, and then having strong male arms wrapped around him, and then dropping with a thump to the deck as someone released the bosun’s chair from the cable.
Major Pickering turned to Lieutenant Colonel Dunn.
“I really don’t want to do that, Billy,” he said.
“Shut up, Pick,” Dunn said, not very pleasantly.
Two sailors, supervised by a chief petty officer, began to attach Major Pickering’s chair to the cable.
“As a matter of fact,” Major Pickering said, “I’ll be goddamned if I’ll do that.” He looked over his shoulder, saw Chief Orlovski, and ordered: “Get me out of this thing, Chief.”
Pick started to unfasten the straps, and was startled to find Colonel Dunn’s hand roughly knocking his fingers away from the buckle.
“Hook him up, Chief,” Dunn ordered. “He’s going.”
“I am like hell!” Pick protested.
“You’re going, Pick,” Colonel Dunn said. “Goddamn you!”
“In my delicate condition, I really think it’s ill-advised,” Pick said lightly, and added, “I really would prefer to wait for weather that will permit me to fly off this vessel, as befitting a Marine officer, aviator, and gentleman, if that’s all right with you, Colonel, sir.”
“No, it’s not all right with me, you self-important sonofabitch, ” Dunn said furiously. “Your delicate condition is your own goddamn fault. And we both know it.” Dunn turned to Orlovski: “Snap it up, Chief!”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Billy?” Pick demanded.
“There’s not a damn thing wrong with me. Your problem is that you have never, not fucking ever, really understood you’re a Marine officer who does what he’s ordered to do.”
“What brought this on?” Pick asked, genuinely surprised at Dunn’s tone.
“You really don’t care how much trouble your childish behavior has caused, do you? Or how many good people have put their necks out to save you from the consequences of your sophomoric showboating, do you?”
“Jesus Christ!” Pick said softly.
“Haul him away, Chief!” Dunn ordered coldly.
Chief Petty Officer Felix J. Orlovski bellowed, “CHAIR AWAY!”
Ninety seconds later, after a brief but thoroughly soaking dip in the Sea of Japan, Major Pickering was sitting on the deck of the USS Mansfield.
A ruddy-faced chief bent over Pickering to help him out of the bosun’s chair.
“I’m really sorry you got dunked, Major,” he said, obviously meaning it. “It was the last goddamn thing I wanted to have happen to you.”
“Chief, the skipper says the major is to go to his cabin,” a voice said.
Pickering moved his head and saw a full lieutenant standing beside the chief.
“You all right, sir?” the lieutenant asked.
“I’m fine,” Pick said.
The chief and the lieutenant hauled him to his feet and gently led him through a port into the Mansfield’s superstructure.
Pick felt the Mansfield lean as she turned away from the Badoeng Strait.
[FOUR]
USAF AIRFIELD K-16 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA 1750 16 OCTOBER 1950
Major William R. Dunston, TC, USA, was waiting in the passenger section of base operations at K-16 when the 1500 courier flight from Haneda arrived.
He saluted somewhat sloppily when Pickering walked into the building, trailed by Banning and Hart.
Pickering restrained a smile when he saw that Dunston, who was not what could be described as a fine figure of a man, and additionally was wearing mussed, somewhat soiled fatigues and could have used a haircut, had failed the First Impressions Test of Colonel Edward J. Banning, USMC.
“Bill, this is Colonel Ed Banning,” Pickering said.
“Welcome to the Land of the Morning Calm,” Dunston said. “Your reputation precedes you.”
“Does it really?” Banning said a little stiffly.
Pickering thought: What’s ruffling Banning’s feathers? Dunston’s appearance? Or that he hasn’t used the word “sir”?
“Yeah,” Dunston continued, “when the Killer heard you were coming, he told me all about you.”
Pickering saw that Hart was also amused by the exchange.
“Where is Major McCoy?” Pickering asked.
“I don’t really know,” Dunston said. “When I got the heads-up from Keller, I got on the horn to Socho-Ri, and Zimmerman said they got the three clicks a little after three this morning.”