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They turned. Wit approached them from behind.
The MOPs all greeted him with smiles, embraces, and slaps on the back.
ZZ said, "Done with your vacation, Captain?"
"Yeah," said Cocktail. "While you were getting foot massages and grapes fed to you in India, the rest of us were fighting a war."
"If I had a sucker, I'd give you one, Cocktail," said Wit. He smiled warmly. "I'm glad to see you all safe."
They hadn't suffered a single casualty since Wit and Mazer had left them. They all knew it was nothing short of a miracle.
"It's Bingwen," said Bungy. "He's our good luck charm."
Lieutenant Li cleared his throat. "Pardon me, gentlemen, but we are on a schedule." He gestured to the boy who had driven the truck. "Private Hun here will escort your boy to the civilian barracks. The rest of you will come with me."
Bingwen's high at seeing Mazer took a nosedive. It wasn't fair. How long had they been standing here? Two minutes? Three? He had barely said hello.
Mazer took a knee in front of Bingwen, and the two of them embraced.
"Can I visit you?" said Bingwen.
"Absolutely not," said Lieutenant Li.
Mazer gave Li a withering look. "He was asking me, hotshot. Go splash some cold water in your face."
He turned back to Bingwen. "It's a restricted area, Bing. I'm not allowed to leave either."
"What are you doing in there?"
"Looking at maps and arguing with people. Believe me, you're not missing anything."
"Sounds important."
"It's called Operation Duck Sauce."
"That's classified," said Li. "He shouldn't know that."
Mazer and Bingwen ignored him.
"Do you think we'll win?" asked Bingwen.
"I think we have a decent chance. Now that everyone is helping. But we're a long way from winning."
"Getting the Indians involved, that was smart."
"I can't take the credit for that. But yes, smart. They're good soldiers. Companies are helping as well. They're shipping supplies. We're getting equipment all the way from the U.S. and South America. It's quite the operation."
"What will the MOPs be doing?"
"Helping to manage everything, lea
ding strike teams from here. China has lost a lot of its commanders. They need people they can trust to lead the various units."
"You should be leading the whole army."
Mazer laughed. "Hardly. But I'm learning how that's done. Captain O'Toole is as good with a million soldiers as he is with three or four."
Lieutenant Li cleared his throat again. The MOPs were waiting.
