She took one of his dog tags and sat there lost in thought until she heard the crunching of glass and looked up to see that the other bodies had already been loaded onto the deck of the EFV and the Marines were waiting for her. She tucked Sullivan’s arm back into the bag and zipped it up, then she got to her feet and stood away. “Gently, guys. Please?”
“Sure,” one of the Marines said, crouching at the foot of Sullivan’s bag as another grabbed the handles at the head.
Marty came up beside her and put his arm around her, and in return she slugged him. “Not in front of the Marines, you idiot!”
“Sorry,” he groaned, holding his ribs.
They watched until Sullivan was loaded and then walked around the corner, passing their snowcat on the way.
“The bastards must have taken Liddy and Natalie,” Marty said. “Their bodies are gone.”
“I hope they try eating them,” she muttered, feeling an emptiness she’d never known. “See how the bastards like cyanide poisoning.”
Sixty-Nine
The USS Boxer was now three days into her fourteen-day voyage back to Pearl Harbor. Forrest and his three wounded compatriots—Ulrich, Kane, and Danzig—all shared the same hospital bay, and though Ulrich had very nearly died of his gut wound, Dr. West and the Navy surgeon managed to repair the damage to his intestine. So far they were keeping septic infection at bay, and West was hopeful about Ulrich’s recovery. Forrest had only just managed to keep his foot, and the ankle would need to be operated on again once they arrived in Hawaii. His other many wounds were healing satisfactorily.
During the evenings, the curtains were pulled around their beds and their wives or sweethearts were permitted to spend the night at their sides if they so desired.
The unmarried women aboard had of course quickly become the belles of the ball, and by the end of their third day at sea, Captain Bisping felt it necessary to call a meeting with them in the pilots’ ready room.
“Ladies,” Bisping began, pulling the door to the room closed. “I understand that you have all been… alone for some time now, and I can appreciate what that must have been like for you. However, I must remind you that this is a warship and there are certain activities that are forbidden aboard a man-of-war—and all for very good reason.”
A few of the women snickered, and Bisping looked to Emory for help. “Am I not making myself clear?”
“In other words, guys, the captain doesn’t want anyone getting laid aboard his ship.” The women started to laugh. “How’s that, sir?”
“That’s fine, thank you,” Bisping said dryly. “So… if you ladies are unable to restrain yourselves for the remainder of the voyage, I will have to confine you to a smaller area of the ship, forbidding you to mingle with the crew. And this would be as much for your own safety as for any other reason.”
“Damn!” said Maria two. “All we did was trade one military dictator for another.”
Again the women started to laugh.
“Does that mean you cannot be trusted?” Bisping asked, cocking an authoritative eyebrow.
“They can be trusted,” Emory said, looking hard at the others. “He’s serious about confining us, you guys.”
The others rolled their eyes but no one made any argument.
“So are we all in agreement?” Bisping asked them.
“Yeesss,” they said in practiced unison.
“Thank you,” Bisping said with a smile. He left the room, but was not far down the passageway before he heard his name called.
“Captain Bisping?”
He turned to see Andie coming toward him. “Yes, ma’am?”
“We haven’t met formally,” she said, offering him her hand. “I’m Andie Tatum.”
“William Bisping,” he said. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Bisping is an English name, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am, though my family’s lived in the States for generations.”
“You’ve been a Navy man all your life, I assume?”
“Yes, ma’am. Is there something I can do for you? I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a ship to run.”
Andie hesitated for a moment then thought, to hell with it. “I’ve noticed you don’t wear a wedding band, Captain, and I’ve been wondering whether there is anyone waiting for you back at Pearl?”
“Excuse me?” he said, startled.
“I apologize for being so forward. Especially after that, um, announcement you just made. It’s just that I’ve hesitated before and ended up wishing I hadn’t. Being lonely isn’t easy and it makes you do things you wouldn’t otherwise.”
Bisping swallowed. “Yes… I suppose it does. To tell you the truth, Andie, I haven’t really… Well, I lost my wife and two daughters to the asteroid. So, no, there’s no one waiting back at Pearl or anywhere else.”
“I’m very sorry,” she said. “I lost my husband to the Taliban five years ago. Our daughter barely got to know him.”
“We seem to have some sad things in common.”
“They may not all be sad.”
“I’m sure they’re not, but I’m afraid I have a ship to run. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He turned and walked off down the passageway, leaving Andie watching after him, feeling like a complete fool, her self-esteem in a sudden tailspin. She thought of what her dead husband might think if he could see her at that moment and very nearly started to cry.
“You know what?” Bisping said, turning around and coming back down the passageway.
“What?” she said, swallowing and attempting to smile prettily.
“What’s wrong?” he said, seeing her eyes.
“Nothing. What were you going to say?”
“I was going to say that I was full of crap just now. There’s no reason we can’t have dinner in my cabin later if you think you might like to.”
“I’d love to,” she said, a warmth spreading through her.
“Perhaps you could bring your daughter?” he suggested.
“As a chaperone?” she asked with a smile.
“There are no secrets aboard a ship, Andie. And it’s important that I lead by example.”
“Of course.”
“I should also warn you, though… in case we find that we do have other things common. I’m the permanent captain of Boxer now, which means I’ll be at sea whenever she’s at sea, and I’ve got no idea how often that’s going to be. Particularly if there is more trouble with the Chinese. We sank three of their vessels on this cruise, and we have no idea how much of their navy is still active or what their intentions may be.”
“William, as long as this ship is the only woman I’d have to share you with, I’ll take my chances.”
“Very well, then. I’ll send someone for you after a while.”
“Looking forward to it,” she said with a smile.
Forrest sat holding Melissa’s hand, his head resting against the pillow, the curtain drawn around his bed. “So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, giving her fingers a squeeze.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, lowering her eyes.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
She shook her head.
“Well, tell me what it is. You and I don’t have secrets from one another.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she turned her face toward the foot of the bed.
“Don’t hide your face. Talk to me.”
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“Since when?”
She shook her head again, saying, “You’ll think I’m…”