"Aye, aye, Sir," Moore said, raising the bottle to his lips.
There was the sound of gravel crunching beneath tire wheels.
A minute later the door opened and two Navy nurses walked into the room.
They were followed by Major Jake Dillon.
"Ladies, these gentlemen-using the word loosely-are Lieutenants Hon, McCoy, and Moore," Dillon said.
"Banning told me one of them was Australian," McCoy said.
"And these ladies, gentlemen," Dillon said, are Lieutenant Barbara Cotter and her friend Lieutenant Joanne Miller. They came together from Melbourne."
"Whose stupid idea was that?" McCoy said unpleasantly.
"There was only supposed to be Howard's girl."
"Jesus, McCoy!" Moore said.
"It was mine, Lieutenant," Barbara said. "I thought they were bringing me here to get some bad news, and I asked her to come with me."
"I don't see any problem, McCoy," Dillon said. They locked eyes for a moment, and then Dillon said, "I was able to tell Barbara that we heard from Joe Howard at eight this morning."
"My name is Hon," Hon said, getting up from the table.
"They call me Pluto."
"Barbara," Lieutenant Cotter said.
"Barbara, " McCoy said, still unpleasantly, "how much does the other one-"
"Joanne," Lieutenant Miller furnished just as unpleasantly.
"-know about your boyfriend?"
"She knows he's off somewhere I can't tell her, doing something I can't tell her. I am not a fool, Lieutenant." McCoy looked at Joanne Miller.
"Lieutenant... oh shit!"
"Actually, it's Miller," Joanne said.
"What the hell is your problem, McCoy?" Dillon asked.
"They call it `military security,' Major," McCoy said. "Lieutenant, take this as an order. Everything you know about anything your friend has told you, anything you hear here, anything you might guess here, is TOP SECRET."
"It may come as a big surprise to you, Lieutenant," Joanne Miller said, "but I had actually figured that out myself."
"I didn't mean to jump on you," McCoy said.
`Really?" Joanne Miller asked.
"You come sit by me, Joanne," Moore said, "and I'll be nice to you." She looked at him and smiled. And then she walked to the couch and sat on the edge of it.
"Jake didn't say what all this was about," Barbara said.
"We need some details," Pluto said. "Personal details, that only you and Lieutenant Howard would know, about your personal relationship."
"Why?" Barbara asked.
"We need a new code," Pluto said. "We have to assume that the code Howard's using now has been broken by the Japanese."
"I don't understand," Barbara said.
"Does he have a private name for you? Or do you have one for him?"
"You mean something like `Baby' or `Darling'?"
"Yes, but not those words. They're too general. How about `Cutesy-poo'? `Precious Doll'? Something like that?"
"Joe doesn't talk like that," Barbara said.
"I'm surprised," Moore said. "I can think of a dozen unusual terms of endearment I would use if you were my girl."
"That's the end of your beer," McCoy said. "If you can't handle the sauce, leave it alone!"
"Aye, aye, Sir," Moore said and smiled at Joanne Miller.
She surprised him by laying her hand on his forehead.
"How long have you had malaria?" she asked.
"I don't have malaria," he said.
"The hell you don't," she said. "Glassy eyes, high temperature." She looked at Major Dillon. "He has malaria and he belongs in a hospital! Doesn't anybody give a damn?"
"Shit," McCoy said.
"I'm sorry you find that inconvenient, Lieutenant," Joanne Miller said icily.
"Putting him in a hospital right now would be inconvenient."
"People die of malaria, you damned fool!"
"What would they do for him in a hospital that, can't be done here?"
McCoy asked.