Poole’s face reddened. “Colonel, I don’t think you can say—”
“The colonel is right,” Austin interrupted. “The Russians have long ago eliminated those of us who refused to collaborate, and others of us have committed suicide, actively or passively. What you see left here, Colonel Hollis and Ms. Rhodes, are the traitors. That’s why we’re alive. And why Ernie Simms among others is dead. Correct, Colonel?”
“Correct, General.”
Poole stood. “Colonel, let me quote you some rules that apply to POWs. First—‘Even as a PO W, you continue to be of special concern to the United States; you will not be forgotten.’ Two—‘Every available national means will be employed to establish contact with you, to support you, and to gain your release.’” Poole said to Hollis, “Look me in the eye, Colonel, and tell me that my government has lived up to its obligation to us. Tell me we are not forgotten and forsaken. Tell me they don’t know we are here.”
Hollis looked Poole in the eye. “If they knew you were here, Commander, they would have done something too get you out.”
Poole stared at Hollis, then drew a deep breath. “Then let me tell you what we are doing here in lieu of escape. We sabotage the curriculum at every opportunity. And we justify staying alive by saying that if we could just live long enough to get one of us out, we could warn our country about this place. And there is some truth to that, Colonel. Because, as you see, this is not just a POW camp, and other rules prevail here. We’ve tried to maintain our integrity and our honor as officers. I can tell you for instance that not one man here has ever been found to be a stool pigeon. We can trust one another, and we’ve never accepted the friendship of a single Russian. It’s a very bizarre situation, and we try to deal with it as it evolves. General Austin has formed an ethics committee for that purpose.” Poole looked at Hollis and Lisa. “I hope you’re not here twenty years, but if you are, I hope you can maintain your own sense of duty and honor.”
Hollis said, “You mean you’d like to see me eat my words.”
“That’s right,” Poole replied tersely.
Hollis stood. “Well, perhaps I will.”
Lisa stood also and addressed Poole and Austin. “I… think from what I see and hear that you’ve done the best you could.”
General Austin stood. “Well, we know we haven’t. And your friend knows that too.” He looked at Hollis and said, “The fall of Vietnam, Watergate, the surrender of the Pueblo, Iran-Contra, the shameful episode of the hostages in Iran, Lebanon, and on and on. We’ve witnessed from afar nearly twenty years of American disasters and humiliations. But we haven’t used that to justify our own shameful and weak behavior.”
Hollis replied, “You don’t have to justify yourselves to me or to anyone except a duly constituted board of inquiry should you ever get home.”
Austin’s mind seemed to have wandered, and Hollis wondered if he’d heard him. Then Austin said, “Home. You know… we all saw on tape the POWs coming home from Vietnam. We saw men we knew. Some of us even saw our wives and families who were there to unselfishly share the joy of other families whom they’d come to know through common grief.” Austin looked from Hollis to Lisa. “I don’t think there was a worse torture the Russians could have devised for us than to show us that.”
Lisa turned and left quickly.
Hollis walked toward the door.
Poole said, “We also read about the continuing efforts to locate POWs, mostly by private groups and families, I should add, not our government. Do you know how frustrating that is for us? And why hasn’t anyone been clever enough to make some deductions? SAM missiles for American pilots. My God, the Russians and North Vietnamese were allies. How smart do you have to be to figure it out? Why hasn’t anyone thought we might be here? In Russia!” Poole studied Hollis’ face. “Or have they figured it out? And is Washington too worried about the repercussions to act? Is that it? Colonel?”
“I can’t answer any of those questions,” Hollis replied, then added, “But you have my personal word that I will do everything in my power to get you all home. Good evening, General, Commander.” Hollis took the flashlight and left.
He found Lisa on the path and saw she had been crying. He took her arm, and they picked their way down the dark log trail. They came back to the main road and turned right, back toward their cottage.
Lisa composed herself and said, “You were cruel.”
“I know that.”
“But, why… how could you be so hard on men who have suffered so much?”
“I can’t endorse what they’ve done.”
“I don’t understand you. I don’t understand your code or your—”
“It’s not necessary that you do. That’s my world, not yours.”
“Damn you. Your world got me into this.”
“No. The KGB got you into this.” He added, “There are a lot of wrongs to be righted here, Lisa. I’m not judge and jury, but I’m damned sure a witness. I know what I see and I know I’m not one of the criminals here. You keep that in mind.”
She looked at him, and it came to her that he was very upset by the meeting. She said, “You saw yourself in their place, didn’t you? They were your people once. It’s not anger and contempt you feel for them. It’s pity, so deep you can’t comprehend it. Is that it?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s it.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “I can’t give them hope, Lisa. That would be crueler than anything else I could say to them. They understand that.”
She moved closer to him. “Ernie Simms is dead and buried, Sam. Now you have to find peace.”
35
Halloween day dawned cold and frosty. Hollis got out of bed and went into the bathroom, a prefab unit usually used in apartment houses but now attached to their cottage off the bedroom. The tap water was barely warm, and Hollis guessed the propane water heater was having problems again.
Lisa rose and put on a quilted robe over her nightgown. She went into the living room and built a fire, then into the galley kitchen and made coffee in an electric pot.
Hollis shaved, showered, and dressed in one of the four warm-up suits he had been issued. He joined Lisa in the kitchen, and they took their coffee mugs to the living room and sat before the fire.
Lisa said, “Tomorrow it’s your turn to do coffee and fire.”
“I know.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“I suppose.”
She asked, “Does it bother you that we sleep together without sex?”
“No. But your feet are cold.”
“Can we get a wood stove for this place?”
“I don’t plan on staying.”
“That’s right.”
“I was thinking,” she said, “as primitive as this place is, it’s a palace compared to a peasant’s izba. We have an electric coffeepot, toaster, and hot plate, a refrigerator, indoor plumbing, hot water—”
“Tepid water.”
“Again?”
“I’ll check it out later.”
“It’s good to have a man around the house.”
“To fix things.”
“I’m sorry about the sex.”
“Me too. But to be perfectly frank, I’m not much in the mood either. I think this place has suppressed my libido.”