“I suppose there’s a certain logic there … even if it is a little twisted.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“There’s still the question, though, of why you didn’t mention it just now when I asked for your report.”
“I … I was working my way up to it, sir,” Armstrong said, letting a small grimace flicker across his face.
Phule glared at him for a moment, then heaved a big sigh.
“Well, what’s done is done,” he said. “In the future, however, I want it understood by you and Lieutenant Rembrandt that any incident of importance, particularly one involving the press, is to be brought to my attention immediately. That’s immediately, as in at the time it occurs, whether I’m asleep or not. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”
“All right. Now, are there any other little incidents that I should be aware of?”
“Excuse me, sir, but there’s one more thing you should know about Jennie.”
“What’s that?”
“When we were informing her that she was to be confined to her quarters, she said … well … among the things she had to say, she indicated that she already knew that we had substitutes standing in for some of our troops.”
“She did?” Phule said with a frown. “I wonder how she figured that out. Probably too many unfamiliar faces in that news coverage we got when we arrived. Oh well. I’ll have to remember to ask her when I get around to talking to her.”
“Is that to say you won’t be dealing with the matter right away … sir?”
The commander grimaced. “As you so logically put it, whatever damage has been done won’t change significantly if she has to wait a few more hours. Right now, we have matters to deal with that are time sensitive.”