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Consul Solon's humidor of cigars. Beck enjoyed a good smoke while working.
"Rough out what you want and run it by Styachowski. She's sharp. I've told her and Mr. Post that you're in charge of getting us ready. They'll follow your orders. If there's anything I can do, let me know."
"You've done more than enough. How long are we going to have to be here?"
"How long were you going to hold that road to Hazlett?
Beck thought it over. "It's like that, sir?"
"We've got to keep as many troops occupied as possible for as long as we can. We're right at the nexus of river and rail traffic in the Ozarks. We need to make sure they can't use it. At least not easily. We've got to protect the artillery covering the river and rail lines."
"Then I'll build a redoubt around these buildings and foundations. We have to figure on them getting on the plateau. More railroad rails and ties would be nice."
"There's the line running to the quarry. The Pulaski Heights boys might have something to say about us working right across the river from them."
"Maybe the 155s can say something back to them if they do."
* * * *
Nail was a little pale, but he was eating and sleeping well.
"Better than I'd've expected," Dr. Kirschbaum said. Valentine didn't think she looked old enough to be a doctor, but wasn't about to ask her for a diploma. "Could be that kidney's in better shape than the triage report says. You should see this."
The doctor led him over to Nail. The Bear lay on a bed now; they'd taken mattresses from the construction huts and moved them into me hospital-along with the generator and a refrigerator that had been holding beer.
"Lieutenant, you've got another visitor," Kirschbaum said.
Nail managed a tired smile. "I'm about visited out, Doc. Unless he's got more of Narcisse's gumbo."
"You need a second nurse to handle your dishes and bedpans as is, soldier."
Nail drained his canteen and handed it to the doctor. "More."
"Do your trick first, Lieutenant."
"What trick is this, Nail?" Valentine asked.
"Check out my toes, sir."
They were wiggling.
"You don't have a battery under here, do you?" Kirschbaum said, pretending to check under Nail's bed.
"Ever treated a Bear before, Doc?" Nail asked.
"I've seen some DOAs. You boys take a lot of killing, judging from the holes. I'll leave you with the lieutenant, Major. Or are you going to ask him for a quickie, too?"
Nail winked.
Valentine swung around the chair next to Nail's bed. "I'm glad you're feeling better. What's in that gumbo?"
"Part of being a Bear."
"This isn't healing, Nail. This is more like regeneration."
"You know Lost & Found, sir? You know why he's called that? He's got me beat. He was dead, like body-getting-cold dead, and he came back. He was in the fraggin' body bag, sir. Zipped up and in a pile. He came to when the gravediggers picked him up. It's like a legend, this story. Sat up and asked his mom for griddle cakes. Three men there had simultaneous heart attacks. He kept the twist tie on the tag they stuck through his ear. We try to keep it quiet. In case we ever get captured, we don't want some Quisling cutting a notch in our arm just to see how quickly it heals."
* * * *
