“Psst! Captain! Over here!”
Phule jerked his head up to find the company’s supply sergeant beckoning to him urgently from the alley beside the hotel. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed Chocolate Harry’s unmistakable bulk until specifically hailed. Now, however, he saw that there was a small gathering of Legionnaires nervously peering around the corner at the hotel entrance.
They looked so much like a bunch of school kids hiding after a prank gone bad that Phule had to hide his smile as he veered his steps to join them. Then he remembered his recent head-butting with Goetz, and it was much easier to look concerned.
“What’s the trouble here, Harry? Is it the cops?”
“Worse than that, Captain,” the sergeant declared with a shake of his head, still craning his neck for a better view of the hotel door. “There’s a reporter in the lobby lookin’ to talk to anybody from the Legion. “
The wave of relief that washed over Phule almost made him want to laugh. Immediately on its heels, however, came a feeling of genuine puzzlement. The presence of a reporter didn’t seem to be much of a threat or a danger in itself, yet the Legionnaires around him displayed a concern that was too real for the commander to take lightly.
“We shouldn’t be bunched up like this,” the commander said, taking command without having made a conscious decision. “We’re more likely to draw the eye than to avoid notice the way we are.”
“The captain’s right,” Harry snarled loudly. “We don’t all gotta see what’s goin’ on … especially when there’s nothin’ happenin’. You … and you! Stay here and keep an eye peeled. The rest of you get back down the alley before half the world starts wonderin’ what we’re up to.”