“It’ll just take a second,” the sergeant assured him, plowing on. “Some of the troops were asking about that honor guard job, and I was wondering if there was any kind of an update.”
“I’ve got an appointment to see the governor next week,” the commander informed her. “In the meantime, I’ve got to try to come up with some kind of leverage to make him see things our way. “
“Got it. Thanks, Captain. Sorry to interrupt.”
The distraction dealt with, Phule turned back to the situation at hand. Sushi was looking into the distance with the studied inscrutable expression of the Orient, while Do-Wop was staring at him with something akin to awe.
“All right. Listen up, now. Both of you. I didn’t just pull names out of a hat when I made you two partners. The way I see it, you can both learn from each other.
“Sushi, you need to loosen up a little, and Do-Wop here is just the man to show you how to do things for the fun of it. And Do-Wop, maybe working with Sushi will help you to … raise your goals in life a little. Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you’d both give this partnership a try for a while before deciding it won’t work.”
“Hey! Are you saying you think I’m a thief, Captain?” Do-Wop bristled.
The commander fixed him with his coolest stare.
“I haven’t wanted to mention it, Do-Wop, but there have been a number of reports of missing personal items in the company. “
“You can’t blame that on me! The locks in this hotel are the pits! I could go through any of ‘em without breaking a stride.”
“Really?” The commander seemed suddenly interested. “Do you think you could teach the other Legionnaires how to do that?”