the front, and Jack would approach from the rear. They would try to get as close as they could, and hopefully, they would be able to hear what the sergeants had planned for them later that day. No one had ever made it back to camp before three o’clock in the afternoon, and the normal procedure was for the sergeants to “welcome” them with a little surprise. Em and Jack hoped that they could infiltrate the camp and learn what the “surprise” was.
As he got lower and lower on the hill, he kept one eye on the tent that Sergeant Cannon had come out of. He tried to keep some sort of obstacle between himself and the eyes of the other men. He also diligently looked for a sign of Jack coming down the other side. He thought he caught a glimpse of movement in a clump of trees directly behind the tent. He hoped that Jack would have patience and not give them away. Em looked and saw that if he timed it right, he could get within fifty feet of the tent and conceal himself behind some barrels. He saw a place behind the tent where Jack could get within twenty or thirty feet if he were careful. He knew that one of them had to get close enough to hear the conversation. He remained in a crouching position as he scooted down the hillside. The sergeants were paying them no attention whatsoever. It looked like the chubby one was telling a story, and the others were laughing out loud. Em thought that now was as good a time as any to make his way toward the barrels. Besides, he really wanted to know what was so funny. He meant to descend slowly and quietly, but the recent rain had made his way awfully slick. He came out from behind a tree and slipped on the wet fernlike ground cover. It sounded to Em like all hell broke loose, but when he came to a stop about twenty feet down the slope, he looked up to see that the sergeants still had not heard a thing. He crouched behind a small, leafy, hedgelike shrub. The sergeants were still listening and laughing at the new guy’s story. Em could hear his voice now.
“And then this Larry kid just jumps on him from behind and starts pumping his fists into the guy’s skull. I tell ya, I was about ready to split my pants. This little pip-squeak was beatin’ him in the head so hard I thought his brains was gonna spill out. That’s when this other fella grabs the little guy and throws him down on the ground and turns to this big kid and says, ‘You’re lucky I pulled him off ’cause I don’t think he would have let go until he pulled your ears off. I told you not to call him pip-squeak.’” Em could see that the fat sergeant was out of breath, and the other sergeants were still laughing. The big guy took a deep breath and said, “The little guy then gets up and lunges at this big kid again like he’s gonna rip his throat out, and I’ll be damned if that big oaf didn’t jump like a little girl. I was watchin’ it all from my office. And I really didn’t think the little Daniels kid could hurt anybody, so I just figured it would be good entertainment. Besides, it wasn’t the first time I broke something up with the Daniels kid. That little shit had a real cruel side to him. It looked like things was calmin’ down, so I turned around for just a second and missed what happened next. All I know is, about ten seconds later, I heard a crash and a loud scream, and I turned around, and the Cook kid was under the engine block.”
Em just about gave himself away when he reacted to the story he was hearing. So now the world was just getting smaller and weirder. Who was this clown, and what did he have to do with them? He thought the only way to find out was to sit and wait patiently.
He heard Sergeant Cannon say, “Well, Kevil, I know both those fellas and can’t say as it surprises me. Cookie always wanted everyone to get along and honestly made a difference in our barracks back in Texas. Anybody need coffee?” He walked in Em’s direction and picked up the coffee pot from the small propane grill beside the tent. He continued, “But you say that Cookie is all right?” Em eagerly waited for the answer to this one.
The fat sergeant took a long swallow from his mug and said, “That kid is one tough hombre. He didn’t even want to go to the infirmary. He kept saying, ‘I’m all right, I’m all right,’ but his leg didn’t look all right. It was swellin’ up real fast. But he got up and stood on that thing and walked to the parking area and got in that jeep just so easy.” This new guy laughed after everything he said. It was annoying Em a little. His accent sounded like Brooklyn. He was really loud. His face was red like he was holding his breath all the time. Em sure hoped that he was not going to be on their crew. He also wondered why his version of the story differed from Corby’s.
He decided to get more comfortable because he and Jack had felt they might need to listen for a while before they found out what kind of welcome they were going to receive. He had not seen Jack since the one brief flash that he glimpsed while he was still on the hilltop. He looked behind the tent in the direction of the slope where he assumed Jack would hide. He saw no movement.
The sergeants were talking more quietly now. Em could only make out some of their words. He could tell that it did not concern him and Jack. He saw Jeff standing beside Sergeant Cannon. He was quietly telling him something. Sergeant Cannon looked like he was listening very closely. Could Jeff have spotted him, and was he trying not to let on? Em sat as still as he could and kept his eyes on them. He used his peripheral vision to scan for Jack. He still did not see any movement at all from behind the tent. If he could only talk to Jack and find out exactly where he was, he would feel better.
Just then, he saw Jeff and Sergeant Cannon look directly at the steep slope where he thought Jack would be hiding. Em held his breath and waited for them to walk toward Jack. Sergeant Cannon picked up his pace and walked toward the back of the tent. Em knew that their whole plan was just about to fall apart. Sergeant Cannon got to the edge of the slope and peered over the rim. He turned and motioned for Jeff to join him. Em waited for Jack to stand up while he watched the two sergeants look over the edge. Jeff pointed into the crevice, and Sergeant Cannon shook his head. Then Jeff pointed to a grove of trees in the opposite direction. Sergeant Cannon then nodded his head, and both of them walked toward the trees. Em thought that Jack had to be in those trees.
“What are you looking for?” Em just about screamed. Jack had crept up behind him and was sitting only two feet to his left.
“What the heck are you doing over here?” Em asked him.
“I thought they were going to see me, so I moved over here. I’ve been watching you all morning. You have to be more careful. I think Jeff saw you one time. Did you hear anything? I think that fat guy is on our team. I heard him talking about engines, so he has to be the mechanic. He’ll never be able to keep up with us though. I bet he is just going to train our mechanic. We’ll be going places that we gotta get out of quick. He could never keep up.” Jack was talking so fast that Em just about forgot where they were.
“Be quiet, you idiot.” Em looked at Jack and wanted to laugh. Jack had tried to camouflage himself with dirt and leaves. He looked rather pathetic. “You look ridiculous,” Em said.
“Yeah, but they’ll never see me. Look at you, you might as well wave a flag. Don’t you know that anything that’s not green stands out, and you are definitely not green.” Jack looked at Em and grinned. All Em could see was white teeth.
“All right, you do look pretty good,” Em said.
Jack told him that he had gotten pretty close and heard Sergeant Barnes tell Sergeant Cannon it was good to see him again. He also said that he was looking forward to working with him again. Em kept up his vigilance and continued to look out for any movement around the back of the tent. He could not see Sergeant Cannon and Sergeant Jefferson. He assumed they were checking out the grove of trees up the slope behind the tent. He looked at the tent beside the one that Sergeant Cannon had come out of. He thought he heard talking and told Jack to shut up. Em immediately recognized the voice. It was Colonel Roth.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Jack asked.
“I think so, but I can’t tell exactly what he’s talking about. If they don’t come outside, we’ll never hear them.” Em said this and tried to lean a little closer.
“Who’s
