some stayed, and hidden by the darkness are calling in the shots: Right 200, up 50, fire for effect.
And if there is counterfire, I don’t hear it.
The 19th is not going to be able to do much about turning this attack, if that sergeant and PFC are typical of the kind of people they’ve got. They don’t know what the hell they’re supposed to do, and if you don’t know what to do, or what’s going to happen, you’re liable to panic.
The real question for us is how soon is it going to happen? It would be suicide to try to drive away from here now. Maybe at first light, it will be different. Maybe at first light, they’ll make the major assault, and that means they’re likely to lift the artillery barrage. That would give us a chance.
He looked at Miss Jeanette Priestly of the Chicago Tribune, who was sitting beside Major Allman on the floor, against the wall.
So if we can’t get out of here, what do I do with you?
Tough broad. If she’s about to become hysterical— which is always what I feel like doing when they’re firing artillery at me—it sure doesn’t show on her face.
If we’re overrun, do I place my faith in the humanity of the Army of the People’s Democratic Republic of North Korea, and let her get captured?
It’s possible that an officer might recognize the propaganda value of capturing a female—the only female— American war correspondent, and she would be treated well, so they could put her on display.
It’s more likely that she would be raped on the spot by the squad that comes in here, and if she lives through that, taken to maybe a battalion, where she would be raped all over again.
Maybe, she might get lucky and get killed before the troops actually arrive.
And if that doesn’t happen, do I do the kind thing?
When the Apaches attacked the wagon trains and settlers, they always saved the last couple of rounds to do the kind thing for the women.
And that’s about what we have here, the Apaches attacking the outnumbered good guys. And the 7th Cavalry isn’t going to suddenly appear at the gallop with the flags flying and the bugles sounding “charge” to save our ass.
Oh, shit!
What you should have done, McCoy, is dump her at the side of the road, as Zimmerman suggested. Why the hell didn’t you?
Unkind thought: If I didn’t have to play Sir Galahad with you, Ernie and I could make it out of here on foot.
He searched in his pack and came out with one of his last four cigars.
Zimmerman looked at him but didn’t say anything.
McCoy reached up his left sleeve and came out with a dagger.
Jeanette Priestly saw that, and her attention drew that of Major Allman to McCoy and his dagger.
McCoy carefully laid the cigar against the plywood top of a folding desk, and chopped at it with the dagger. One half fell to the floor.
He tossed it to Zimmerman.
“Next time, bring your own,” he said.
“Aye, aye, sir.”
McCoy returned the dagger to its sheath, pulled his utility jacket sleeve down over it, produced a wooden match, and carefully started to light his cigar.
“What’s with the knife?” Jeanette Priestly asked.
McCoy ignored her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like that before,” Jeanette Priestly said.
“It’s not a knife, it’s a dagger,” Zimmerman furnished helpfully. “That’s a Fairbairn.”
“I don’t know what that means, either,” she said, flashing Zimmerman a dazzling smile.
“It was invented by an Englishman named Fairbairn,” Zimmerman went on. “When he ran the police in Shanghai. Hell of a knife fighter.”
What the hell turned his mouth on?
Oh. He likes her.
Likes her, as opposed to having the hots for her. She’s tough.
“But it’s so small,” Jeanette pursued. “Is it really . . . what . . . a lethal weapon?”
“Huh!” Zimmerman snorted. “Yeah, it’s lethal. Three Eye-talian Marines jumped him one time in Shanghai. He took two of them out with that dagger. That’s how come they call him ‘Killer.’ ”
“Shut your goddamn mouth, Zimmerman,” McCoy said, his voice icily furious.
Zimmerman, as if he suddenly realized what he had done, looked stricken.
“They call him ‘Killer’?” Jeanette relentlessly pursued.
Her eyebrows went up, but she didn’t say anything else.
The artillery and mortar barrage lasted about an hour, but even before it did, there were reports from the outposts of large numbers of North Koreans coming across the Kum River.