"We have people running back and forth between the West Coast and here all the time, don't we, Rickabee?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Do you suppose it would be possible for one of them to bring a couple of cases of this back here for me?"
"Certainly, Sir. No problem at all, Sir. Captain Lee is at Mare Island right now, Sir. I'll just call him and that'll take care of it. He's leaving tonight, that should get him in here the day after tomorrow."
"One of the little privileges that goes with being a general right? Being able to get a Marine officer to haul a couple of cases of booze cross country for you?" Jesus, I don't like this. What the hell is he leading up to?
"If you will call your people in San Francisco, General, and tell them Captain Lee will be coming by?" The question was directed to Pickering's back. He had turned and walked out of the room again, and he didn't reply.
He returned in a moment with two glasses dark with whiskey. He handed one to Rickabee.
"Here you are, Rickabee."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Who shall we drink to?"
"How about The Corps, Sir?"
"How about those two Marines on Buka?" Pickering said.
"The Marines on Buka," Rickabee said, raising his glass.
"They have names," Pickering said. "Lieutenant Joe Howard and Sergeant Steve Koffler." He's really pissed about something. Or is he drunk?
"Lieutenant Howard and Sergeant Koffler," Rickabee said.
"Joe and Steve," Pickering said, and took a healthy swallow from his drink. "Did you know, Rickabee, that I made Koffler a buck sergeant?"
"No, Sir, I did not."
"He's only a kid. A long way from being old enough to vote.
But I figured that any Marine who volunteers to do what he is doing should be at least a buck sergeant. So I told Banning to arrange it."
"I didn't know that, General."
"Joe Howard's a Mustang," Pickering said. "An old pal of mine, a Marine I served with in France-he was a sergeant and I was a corporal, fellow named Jack (NMI) Stecker-thought that Sergeant Howard would make a pretty good officer and got him a direct commission."
"Yes, Sir. I know Major Stecker, Sir. I knew him when he was a master gunny at Quantico."
"One hell of a Marine, Jack (NMI) Stecker," Rickabee said.
"Yes, Sir, he is." He is drunk. Otherwise why, this trip down Marine Corps Memory Lane?
Further evidence of that came when General Pickering went back into the small room, returned with the bottle of Famous Grouse, and killed it freshening their glasses.
"No problem, I just checked. There's two more bottles where that came from. And then, of course, as a courtesy to a Marine General, Captain Lee is going to bring me some more, isn't he?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Sergeant Hart had two copies of Dillon's movies made," Pickering said.
"Did you know that, Rickabee?"
"Yes, Sir. Lieutenant Moore told me."
"Clever fellow, that Hart."
"Yes, Sir."
"There's more to Moore than you might judge the first time you met him," Pickering said.
"Yes, Sir."
"Dillon's movies were very interesting, weren't they, Rickabee?"
"Yes, Sir. They were."
"Perhaps `disturbing' would be a more accurate word."
"Disturbing and interesting, General."
"I lay awake a long time thinking about those movies," Pickering said. "And this morning, when Moore brought me the second copy Hart had made, I had the hospital send the projector back and watched them again. The projectionist got sick to his stomach."
"Really?"
"Well, what the hell do you expect, Rickabee? He was only a soldier, and we're Marines, right?"
Jesus Christ, he is about to get out of hand!
"That's when I called you," Pickering went on, "and asked you to come over here... when the soldier was being sick."
"Yes, Sir."
"Those movies triggered a lot of thoughts in my mind, Rickabee. When I saw the shots of Henderson Field, it occurred to me that my son and Jack (NMI) Stecker's son are soon to he among the pilots there... if they're not there already."
"Yes, Sir."
"And then I went back a long time, to when Jack and I were going through Parris Island. You go through Parris Island, Rickabee?"
"No, Sir. I came into The Corps as an officer."
"You know, a lot of people think that everybody in The Corps should go through Parris Island. I mean officers. too."