“You fight too good and shoot too good for someone who’s supposed to be learnin’ all this for the first time,” Shu Flie sez.
“. , . And you’ve got too many connections in high places,” Spyder adds, “like with the Mob.”
“… And with devils,” Bee supplies.
“… And now with the general’s girlfriend,” Junebug finishes. “All we want to know is, what are you guys really doing in the army? I mean, I suppose it’s none of our business, but as long as we’re servin’ together, what affects you affects us.”
“Bee here thinks you’re part of some secret investigation team,” Hy Flie sez, “and if that’s what’s going on we’ll try to help … unless it’s us you’re supposed to be investigating.”
“Well, guys,” Nunzio sez, shakin’ his head, “I guess you found us out. Bee’s right. You see, the army wants us to …”
“No,” I sez, quiet-like.
Nunzio shoots me a look, but keeps goin’.
“What Guido means is we aren’t supposed to talk about it, but since you’ve already …”
“I said ‘No,’ Nunzio!” I sez, squarin’ off with him. “The crew’s been play in’ it straight with us all along. I say it’s time we told them the truth … the real truth.”
Nunzio hesitates, as he is not real eager to go head to head with me, then glances back and forth between me and the crew.
“Okay,” he sez finally. “It’s your funeral … go ahead and tell them.”
Then he leans against the desk with his arms folded while I fill the crew in on our assignment … startin’ with how the Boss’s plan to keep Queen Hemlock from tryin’ to take over the world fell apart when King Rodrick died, right up to our current plans to try to use our position in the supply depot to mess up the army’s progress. They’re all real quiet while I’m talkin’, and even when I’m done no one sez anythin’ for a long time.