“He’s wasting his time,” Dillon said. “You’re on another airplane in thirty-five minutes.”
“Really? That’s a shame. The stewardess has her heart set on mothering Little Billy before The Marine Corps sends him off to the war.”
“Where’s Charley?”
“The Major is referring to Captain Charles M. Galloway?”
“Where is he, Pick?”
“The Captain came down with a severe case of diarrhea, Major. He-”
“You can hand that diarrhea crap to Macklin, Pick. Don’t try to pull it on me. Where’s Galloway?”
“He’s not coming,” Pick said.
“What do you mean, he’s not coming?”
“I didn’t tell him you called.”
Dillon looked at him to make sure he wasn’t having his chain pulled.
“You want to explain that?”
“He’s with his girlfriend. I decided that whatever this public relations bullshit you’ve set up is, it’s not as important as that. So I didn’t tell him you called. I left him a note, to be delivered with his room-service breakfast, saying that Little Billy and I would be out of town for a couple days, and to have fun.”
“Goddamn you!” Dillon exploded.
“So court-martial me, Major,” Pick said, not entirely pleasantly.
“You’re liable to regret playing Fairy Godfather,” Dillon said, after the moment he gave himself to control his temper.
“How so?”
“You are now, officially, the escort officer assigned to take Staff Sergeant McCoy and Lieutenant Dunn to Washington for their decoration ceremonies, Vice Captain Galloway.”
“Is that what this is all about?”
“You will escort Lieutenant Dunn and Sergeant McCoy to Washington. You will see that they appear-sober, in the appointed uniform, at the appointed place, at the appointed time-or so help me Christ, I will call in every favor I have owed me, and you will spend the rest of this war ferrying Stearmans from the factory to Pensacola.”
“Do you think I could have that in writing?”
Dillon glowered at him. After a moment, Pick shrugged.
“OK, Jake. I’ll take care of them.”
“The proper response, Mr. Pickering, is ‘aye, aye, Sir.’ ”
“Aye, aye, Sir,” Pick said. “I said I’d take care of them. I will.”
“Sergeant McCoy and his escorts will be billeted at Eighth and I. I have no objection to you and Dunn staying in your dad’s apartment, but I am holding you responsible for McCoy.”
“Then I had better stay at Eighth and I, too, hadn’t I? What escorts?”
“I’ve got two gunnies, large ones, sitting on McCoy. You work out the details with them. Somebody from Public Relations will meet your plane. You call me on arrival, and at least once a day. And whenever anything happens you think I should know about. I’ll give you the numbers of the Public Relations office here, and my house in Malibu. The officer-in-charge is a lieutenant named Macklin.”
“OK, Jake,” Pick said.
“When we’re around Macklin, it’s ‘Major’ and ‘Yes, Sir.’ Get the picture?”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
Dunn walked up.
“Can I meet you guys later someplace? The lady wants to show me around Hollywood.”
“In half an hour, you’ll be on another airplane,” Dillon said. “Follow me, please, gentlemen.”
“Major, this is a sure thing!” Dunn protested.
“The only sure things are death and taxes,” Dillon said. “I broke my ass to get seats on the airplane. You’ll be on it.”
“What if I, for example, had diarrhea and missed it?”
“Then you would spend the next four days having diarrhea crossing the country by train,” Dillon said. “Follow me, please.”
There were four Marines inside the terminal: three noncommissioned officers standing by a not-in-use-at-the-moment ticket counter, and one second lieutenant sitting in a chrome and plastic chair in a waiting area on the other side of the terminal space.
As Major Dillon and Lieutenants Dunn and Pickering approached the enlisted men, the largest of these, a barrel-chested, 220-pound, six-foot-two-inch master gunnery sergeant, softly said, “Ten-hut!” and came to attention. The next-largest Marine, a six-foot-one, 205-pound, barrel-chested gunnery sergeant, decided that the smallest Marine, a six-foot, 195-pound staff sergeant, was not complying with the order with sufficient dispatch. He corrected this perceived breach of the code of military courtesy by punching the staff sergeant just above the kidneys with his thumb, which caused the staff sergeant not only to grunt painfully but rapidly assume the position of attention.