The barracks were cold, that was the thing I noticed first. People moved back and forth rapidly, moving furniture into the massive building. The building felt weird to me, like the air was too thick and heavy, but at the same time it hard to catch my breath, the air ice cold and slicing at my lungs as I almost panted.
"Hey, Ant, CO wants to see you as soon as you get back," one of the men said, leaning against the built in counter. His name was Sandostavowitz.
"What's he want, Whiz?" Ant asked.
The guy just shrugged, turning back around and lifting a drill to put the hinge on a doorway at the back of the small area behind the counter.
"Follow me, new meat," Ant growled. I noticed that seemed to be his normal voice and wondered what happened to his throat. He grabbed someone's arm. "King, where's the CO's office?"
The guy was a big man, heavy muscle, and his prominent scarred knuckles were noticeable as he rubbed the stubble on his jaw with one big hand. "Take those stairs to the bottom, go past the mailboxes, take a right, the Orderly Room is down there, they'll know which office the CO is in."
"We get a new one yet?" Ant asked.
The big guy, King, nodded. "Yeah, some full bird that came in after they hauled you off. He came up here to take charge of the reconstitution himself, left the XO back at Graf with the rest of Group."
Ant shook his head. "Dammit."
"Hey, did Olson make it?" King asked.
Ant shook his head. "Died on the evac. They tried, man, but..." Ant's voice trailed off.
I was looking so I saw something pass in King's eyes. "Dammit," He said softly. "He looked bad, but I'd hoped..."
Ant nodded. "Wheels went over his chest, man. Crushed his chest." King nodded, rubbing his jawline again.
"Dawson?" King asked.
"ICU. I asked a nurse, said he lost that arm," Ant answered. King winced.
"Johnson?" King asked.
"Broken back, broken pelvis," Ant said. "They're probably going to put her out."
"Goddamn that drunken asshole for running over your guys' tent," King snarled.
Ant just shrugged.
They went silent, and after a second Ant led us down the stairs.
I wondered how many people were killed a month in this unit. I noticed that Ant was limping and that someone had used OD green duct tape to seal the leg of his uniform shut. I also noticed that on his other boot he had a knife in a boot sheath and I wondered how come he was allowed to carry that in uniform.
We passed by the mailboxes, took a right, and I felt the temperature drop again. At the end of the little hallway there was a room on the left, a broom closet, the door open, on the right and the office door in front of me was open, revealing an empty office. In the room there were men putting down file cabinets, plugging in phones, and putting the drawers in desks.
Did they just activate this unit? I wondered. Oh, yeah, their barracks burnt down.
"Shaft?" Ant growled. A pretty woman in her 20's turned around. I noticed that her bun was starting to come undone and was already below her collar in the back, making it out of regs. She was a pretty woman with a winning smile.
"Heard you died, Ant," She said, stepping forward and hugging him. He took off his helmet and held it over a desk marked "SPC SHAFT" with a nameplate. The woman nodded and he set it down.
"Takes more than that," Ant said. He stared at her, "Any news on that officer?"
She shook her head. "Sergeant Peadmore told me not to give you any information," she said.
"Why?" Ant asked, and I noticed he was trying to sound innocent.
She laughed at that, and so did two of the other three women in the room. "You know why," she said.
That got the first smile I'd seen on the grouchy guy's face as he reached up and slapped the butt of the pistol on his hip. "Find out for me, Shaft, he killed Olson, Johnson and Dawson are going to be put out."
"Shit," Shaft said. The people in the room stopped.
"Weren't you and Olson going steady?" One of the guys asked.
"I'm married," Ant snapped.
Christ, what poor woman married that grouchy asshole?
"You better tell the Colonel you're going to need a new squad leader for first squad," Shaft said, cocking her hip and leaning against the desk. She pointed at the pistol and held her hand out. Ant pulled it from the holster and handed it to her.
"There's me and Bomber left, that's it," Ant said, shaking his head. "Dammit, that's twice."
"Oh, you'll be glad to know this, and don't forget to tell Bomber," Shaft said, setting Ant's helmet on top of the pistol to hide it.
"What?" Ant asked.
"They sentenced Oliver to sixty years," Shaft said with a huge smile.
Ant smiled back and I noticed that it made him look really young, like a teenager. "Good," he said, "Bastard killed of us when he drove 5-ton Sixty-two into the goddamn river." He clapped Shaft on the shoulder, "Well, it ain't gonna happen just standing here."
He turned and knocked three times on the door. A hand-written piece of paper was slid into the nameplate slot that read "COL CARVERVILLE".
"Enter," Someone said from inside.
Ant opened the door, motioning me to follow him. There was a small US flag, a flag I didn't recognize, a small West German flag, and what I could only figure was the unit guidon, two lightning bolts bracketing a simple "2-19" in between. I could see pictures of the upper chain of command. You know, the President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, and two more pictures I didn't recognize, both of them four-star generals.
The guy behind the desk was a black guy with graying hair, a scar down the side of his face. He had a eagle on one lapel and the crossed rifles of the infantry on the other. He had a thick folder in front of him that he had been reading.
"Sit down, new meat," Ant growled.
Ant stepped up in front of the desk, going to attention and saluting the CO. "Private Stillwater reporting as ordered, sir," He snapped.
I noticed that the CO sat there staring at Ant, who's name was apparently Stillwater, for a long moment before returning the salute.
"At ease, private," The CO said. I watched Stillwater slide his feet shoulder width apart and put his hands behind his back. The CO eyed Ant up and down. "Following the advice of several NCO's I've made sure to read your Smith file entry, Private Stillwater."
How did he get the nickname Ant? I mean, he's a short guy, probably five foot six, but hell, I'm not that much taller and I've seen plenty of shorter guys.
Stillwater didn't move, just stared off into space.
"I wanted you to know that I'll be keeping a special eye on you, Stillwater. I don't care who your father is, but if you step out of line one more time I'll put you out," The CO said. "I dislike it when the courts seem to think they can dump their garbage on us. I'd rather my subordinates be volunteers, not potential convicts. It shouldn't have been allowed, and I dislike nepotism. It's obvious your father pulled strings to keep you out of jail, and considering you assaulted a law enforcement officer, I believe you belong on jail, not this man's Army."
Stillwater just stared. I found myself suddenly hating the officer behind the desk. Stillwater seemed like a dick but a lot of people seemed to like him.
Plus he dove into a river to save people. Might be a dick, but he's not a chickenshit, I thought to myself.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Private?" The Colonel asked.
"No, sir," Ant said.
"Your new Platoon Sergeant, Master Sergeant Crows, is on the second floor. Report to her immediately," The CO said. "Dismissed."
Ant saluted and again the CO made him hold it for several long seconds. I stood up when Ant motioned at me.
"Who's that, Private?" The CO asked.
"My squad's new radioman," Ant said.
The CO looked back down at the paperwork in front of him, obviously dismissing us again.
"Let's go, new meat," Stillwater said, waving at me. When we went into the office he stopped, waiting for Shaft to turn around. "Hey, Shaft, is supply up and running?" He asked her. She nodded her head.
"Across the hall. There's the Ready Room, the Arms Room, the NBC room, Secure Item Storage, and the Supply Room is on the left," Shaft said. She yawned, stretching. "Goddamn, I was up all night running those crappy radios and now they got me doing this crap."
"Come on, new meat, lets get your TA-50 and survival gear," Stillwater told me, starting to walk out of the room. "Welcome to Hell, new meat."