They had just begun to do so again when the buzzer on his phone interrupted. Without waiting, Lewis mashed down the button that was blinking and picked up the receiver, almost as if he had been expecting the call. From where he sat, Lewis's assistant listened to the one-sided conversation in an effort to determine whom it was with and what it was about.
"Yes, Abby, I saw him… Yes, he did good…. No, I don't think there's anything more that needs to be said at this time. The ball's in Big Al's court and it's almost time for him to serve…. Yes, I'm packed and ready. I can be over there in half an hour and go straight to Andrews as soon as we're finished… No, I haven't had any second thoughts about this. I was already well past that yesterday and working on third and fourth thoughts…. Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll unplug from here and beat feet to the White House…. Yeah. Okay, good-bye, Madam President."
Replacing the receiver, Lewis looked at his assistant. He had the faint trace of a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Frank, cancel all appointments for the rest of the day, tomorrow, and the next day. I'm headed back to Berlin. Please tell Mary on your way out to call my wife and put her through as soon as she's on line."
Without any further discussion, Lewis leaned back in his seat while his assistant got up to leave. The last thing he heard before he closed the door to Lewis's office was the faint noise of two dice rolling across the blotter on Lewis's desk.
After spending eighteen hours bundled up in the back of an unheated truck with six other nurses and half a ton of assorted equipment, traveling the length and breadth of the Czech Republic, Hilary Cole expected to find more than an open snow-covered field at the end of their ordeal. She had been hoping they would find some kind of reception station or facilities. But there were none. The advance party that had been sent out six hours ahead of the main body, she found out as she danced around in the snow trying to hold the contents of her bladder just a little longer, had been there and left. Not only was nothing set up and ready for them, that news meant that they were going to need to load back up into the rear of a truck that offered all the creature comforts of a shipping crate and continue their long odyssey through the cold, dark winter night with no idea of where they were going or when they would get there.
Though she didn't really understand what was going on in Washington and Berlin, Hilary Cole knew that things were badly screwed up and no one seemed to know what was going to happen next. Though she understood all too well that the political games being played out between her government and the Germans controlled her future, as well as the future of every man and woman in the 553rd Field Hospital, they were of little concern to her at that moment. What was foremost on her mind was finding someplace where she could find some privacy, for she knew if she did not relieve herself soon it would come gushing out of its own accord. And that, she knew, would only make the miserable conditions she had no choice but to tolerate even worse.
Looking about in the dark, Cole saw nothing that even remotely resembled a building or structure. As she held her arms close to her chest, half trying to protect herself from the bitter cold wind that cut through her like a knife, a voice from somewhere in the dark shouted for everyone to mount up and prepare to move. "No!" she shouted. "They can't be serious. They can't."
Another nurse next to Cole gave out a soft, low whine. "Oh, Hilly, they've got to be kidding. I can't take another hour in the back of this damned truck. Can't we just…"she looked about"well, can't we just stay here and rest? They have to let us stop somewhere and rest, don't they?"
As the sound of truck engines coming to life began to spread down the column, Cole realized that there would be no rest, at least not here and not now. Though she was hard pressed to conceal her own disappointment, Cole did her best to comfort her friend. "Look, Pat, if this next little jaunt down the road gets us closer to Germany and out of this miserable country, I'm all for it. Besides," Cole continued, spreading out her arms and turning to her left and right, "there isn't a decent place within miles. That truck may be miserable, but at least it's headed in the right direction."
Slumping over and holding her arms tightly across her chest, Pat began to move to the truck. "Personally, I think it's a great idea to go home. The only thing I can't understand is why do they need to make it so damned uncomfortable for us while we're doing so."
Cole sighed. "Because, dear, this is the Army. You know, where every day is an adventure?"
"Well, Hilary, would you make sure that our next adventure is someplace where the sun shines and it never snows?"
Cole, though still dejected and cold, couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, Pat, sure. I'll be sure to tell the colonel that as soon as I see him. Now get those hips in motion, girl, and climb back on up. I got a feeling this is going to be a long night."
If Big Al was nervous and uneasy about what he was about to do, Ed Lewis saw no sign of it when they greeted each other in Big Al's office. If anything, Big Al was as jovial as ever. "So, how're the boys in Berlin taking the news?"
Lewis caught up in Big Al's cheerful, easygoing mood, smiled and shook Big Al's hand. "They're hoppin' mad. Fortunately for us right now, they really don't know which way to hop."
Still holding Lewis's hand, Big Al looked into Lewis's eyes. "Then, I take it; they're buying the renegade general story."
With a satisfied smile, Lewis nodded. "Hook, line, and sinker. Right now I imagine Ruff and the German General Staff are in the throes of playing a thousand and one 'what if drills. Ruff's last words to me as I left were 'If your President can't control her generals, the German Army can.' "
Letting go of Lewis's hand, Big Al motioned Lewis to take a seat. "Then all I need is some bad weather, and away we go."
Taking his seat, Lewis responded with a note of satisfaction, "And if the forecast holds, you'll have that tomorrow night. Light snow, overcast, and near zero illumination." Then as an afterthought, Lewis asked, a bit worried, "Will Dixon and his Trojan horse be ready?"
Nodding, Big Al smiled. "Congressman, we're loaded, locked, and cocked. All I need to do is say 'bang,' and we're gone." Then it was Big Al's turn to get serious. "Tell me, how are things on the streets of Berlin? What's the German public reaction to all of this?"
Leaning forward in his seat, Lewis placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. "As you know, the German Parliament is in an uproar. Between their debates on the wisdom of keeping the nukes and demands by the left that they, the Parliament, assert their authority in an effort to curb Chancellor Ruff, the members of Parliament have been unable to agree on any solutions to any of the problems Ruff has presented them. Though I believe most Germans will support some kind of action against our violation of German national integrity, many feel that Ruff's actions and demands are a little too extreme and provocative. That's why the Parliament is trying to block Ruff's call-up of the reserve units. They feel that if they can reduce his military options, he will be forced to enter into serious negotiations."
"And what," Big Al asked, "are the chances of that?"