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Valentine pressed the transmit trigger. "This is Colonel Le Sain, boy. Get the general to the radio rikki-tik, would you? Standing by."
"Ack-acknowledge," the voice responded.
Jimenez cut the static as they waited.
"You really think turning this into a soap opera will work?" Duvalier said.
"Life's been hard on him lately. I want to make it all my fault," Valentine said.
The minutes passed. "This is Stanislaw, GHQ New Columbia, with General Hamm online. Do you read, over?"
"Zippety do-dah," Duvalier said. "He went for it."
"Colonel Le Sain here. Put the general on the phone."
"I'm here, you turncoat," Hamm's voice cut in. "They said you wanted to do a deal."
"Yes. I'm in charge of guerrilla activity north of the river. I'm in a position to accept your surrender."
"Drop dead, dunk. Signing off."
"Any unarmed man who comes up the switchback road will be taken prisoner, no reprisals."
"Le Sain, if you called me here to joke around-let me tell you my terms."
"Hey, Hambone," Duvalier cut in. "Guess who this is?"
There was static at the other end.
"Yes, sir, I'm up here, too. You were right about one thing, Knox and I had a little fling. He's a man with a future, treats me good, and you know what they say about Indian guys-"
"Get stuffed."
Duvalier checked her notes. "I told him all about you, Hambone. To all those out in radio land, tune in at oh-one-hundred for a detailed description of just how pathetic General Hamm is in bed, complete with what he begged me to do to him. Sorry, General, Knox said this was just too good to keep from the world. We had quite a laugh."
There was no response. Styachowski took over the microphone, and Jimenez switched it to a different frequency.
"This is Ozark Central Command. Ozark Central Command to all stations. Latest intelligence has Third Division moving south of the river. Activate Zones Nuthatch and Finch, alert Jay and Crane. Authentication Z-4, repeat Z-4, P-9, repeat P-9. Signing off."
Jimenez killed the transmitter as she finished the farrago of nonsense.
"That'll give him something to chew on," Styachowski said, looking over at Duvalier.
"I hope he chokes on it," she said.
* * * *
Valentine put Duvalier in his room, ordering her to get some sleep before her after-midnight broadcast. "Makes me feel like a whore, but if you think it'll help," she said, as Valentine transcribed a few bedroom details about General Hamm. Valentine wrote it so there were five minutes of gossip, then a teaser for the next night's performance, describing what Hamm liked to do to elicit an erection.
Then he had the observers fire a star shell above the river while the moon was down. There was no sign of boat activity; the Third Division showed a lot of activity in its posts.
He gathered Styachowski, Post and Beck for a late-night briefing.
"I want us to be extra alert this morning. Anyone else noticed an increase in activity?" Valentine asked.
"Yes, spotters saw a ferry shuttling back and forth upriver in the last four days," Styachowski said.
"I'd rather have that division busy with us than moving down to Hot Springs," Valentine said. "Earlier this evening we stuck a couple of banderillas in Hamm. Tonight Smoke is going to wave the red cape. He might charge at dawn."
