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Max walked up to him, sat down, offered his paw, then allowed for his ears to be scratched.
"That's one hell of a dog, Castillo," General Crenshaw said, then added, "Please sit down, gentlemen. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"
"No, thank you, sir," Colonel Richardson said.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, sir," Colonel Castillo said.
General Crenshaw raised his voice. "Two coffees, please. Black, right, Castillo?"
"Yes, sir."
"Both black."
Castillo thought, Righteous, you ass-kissing sonofabitch, you're actually wondering if it's too late to change your mind about the coffee.
If the general is having some, it's obviously the thing for you to do.
"Okay," General Crenshaw said. "What can I do for you this morning, Castillo?"
"Sir, I'm here to make my manners. I'm moving down the road, and it's likely I won't be back. I just wanted to express my thanks for all your support…"
Crenshaw waved deprecatingly.
"…and especially, sir, to let you know how much I appreciate everything Colonel Richardson has done for us. He's really done a first-class job."
That's true, even if he took elaborate precautions to cover his ass every time he did anything.
Crenshaw's secretary delivered two china mugs of coff
ee.
"You'll notice, Colonel Castillo, that I am not asking how things are going," Crenshaw said, "only if they are going the way you want them to."
"Exactly the way I hoped they would, sir. Colonel Davies sent his S-4 down here yesterday to get the H-models off your books and onto those of the 160th-"
"From which they will drop into the sea, never to be seen again?" Crenshaw asked, jokingly, then quickly added, "I probably shouldn't have said that."
"Into the sea"?
Jesus Christ! Where did he get that?
If he knows about the Ronald Reagan, we're compromised before we get started.
Easy, Castillo!
That was a figure of speech, nothing more. He doesn't know about the Ronald Reagan.
"I don't know about them dropping into the sea, sir, but they might wind up on eBay."
Crenshaw laughed.
"I don't mean to pry, Castillo," he said. "Yes, I guess I do. But I understand the ground rules."
"Sir, I regret that…"
Crenshaw held up his hand to shut him off.
"You're obeying your orders, Colonel, I understand that."
