The sergeant paused for a moment to be sure the others were following his instructions before turning to Phule with a shake of his head.
“Sorry ‘bout that, Captain. Guess we’re a little rattled, is all.
Good thing we got at least one level head around to remind us how to lay low.”
“Don’t mention it, C.H.,” Phule said. “I’m missing something here, though. What’s the big sweat about having a reporter nosing around?”
Harry stiffened, his eyes narrowing for a moment. Then he shook his head and gave a humorless laugh.
“Damn!” he exclaimed in a wondering tone. “It’s real easy to forget that you’re an officer, Captain. Let’s just say that us enlisted types got some problems you brass hats don’t and let it go at that.”
“Let’s not,” the commander countered grimly. “I told you before, C.H. we’re all one crew, and what’s a problem for some is a problem for all. Now, I may not be able to solve all the problems we’re going to be up against, but I can’t solve any unless I know what they are. So if you don’t mind being tolerant for just a few minutes, I’d appreciate it if you’d take the time to explain to this dense officer exactly what the problem is here.”
The supply sergeant blinked in surprise, then shot one more nervous glance toward the hotel entrance before answering.
“Well, you see, Captain, you officers may come from pretty clean backgrounds, but for a lot of us, we joined the Legion to get away from some pretty rough situations. Some of us still have folks lookin’ for us-folks who want real bad to get a piece of our hides. The last thing we want is-to have some reporter puttin’ out write-ups or pictures as to where we are now and what we’re doing. You follow me? It’s like hangin’ a bull’s-eye on our backs and hollerin’, ‘Come and get ‘em.”’