muscles took the place of his fat and the uniform could have been made for me. Except the shoes; he had very tiny feet. My boots would have to do. I emptied his pockets and found, in addition to a great deal of money and a container of sinister-looking black cigarettes, a small pocketknife. This worked admirably in cutting my discarded clothing into strips with which I bound the corporal securely, wadded more of the cloth into a gag. He was breathing easily through his nose so my conscience was clear that he would not die of suffocation.
'Are you going to kill him?' Morton asked.
'No, but I want him quiet until I put the next part of the plan into operation.' I'm glad that Morton didn't ask what that was since I didn't know yet. There were no closets in the room so the corporal could not be stuffed out of sight. The desk - that was it!
'Morton,' I ordered. 'Stand with your back to the door and think like a lock. If anyone tries to open it lean hard against it.'
While he leaned and thought lockish I dragged the desk back into position and wedged the bound corporal under it. By reflex I went through the desk drawers, which were all empty except the top one which had a folder of papers. I tucked these under my arm. Then I stepped back and examined my handiwork. Admirable. The corporal was well out of sight. Anyone who glanced into the room would think it empty.
'Now - what next?' I said cheerily. Then felt the smile slip from my face.
'Yes!' Morton agreed eagerly. 'What happens next?' I shook myself, took a brace and tried to think positively. 'For one thing - there is no going back. So let us seek out a way forward. When they find the corporal they will find out our names quickly enough. By which time we must have new names. Which means we go to the personnel section and make a few changes.'
Morton was blinking very rapidly now. 'Jak, old friend, don't you feel well? I don't understand a word that you are saying.'
'Doesn't matter - as long as I do.' I unloaded the gun, put the power charge in my pocket and the empty weapon back in the drawer. 'March ahead of me, do as I command. Go! As soon as you have opened the door a crack to see if the coast is clear.'
It was. We marched out, stamping and striding in a very military fashion, me clutching my sheaf of papers, Morton hopefully clutching to his few remaining shards of sanity. One, two, one, two. Around the corner and almost into the arms of a red-capped military policeman.
'Squad halt! Stand at ease!' I screamed. Morton halted with a decided sway and shudder, showing the whites of his eyes as he rolled them toward the MP. 'Eyes front!' I shrieked. 'I gave no orders for you to move your eyes.' The MP, wise in military ways, paid us absolutely no attention until I called out to him. 'Just hold it, there, private.'
'Me, corporal?' he asked, stopping and turning.
'You are the only thing moving that I can see. Your pocket is unbuttoned. But this is my generous day. Just point us toward the Personnel Building and keep moving.'
'Straight ahead, right on the company street, past the bandstand, left at the torture chamber and there you are.' He scurried away, groping at his shirt pockets to find the open one. Morton was shivering and sweating and I patted him on the back.
'Relax, my friend. As long as you have the rank you can do what you want in the army. Ready to go on?'
He nodded and stumbled forward. I marched after him, shouting commands at the corners, marking time, being noisy, obnoxious and abusive so I would not be noticed. A sad commentary indeed on the reality of military life.
The Personnel Building was large and industrious with plenty of to-ing and fro-ing from the front entrance. As we started toward it Morton came to a halt and stood at attention, swaying. 'W-what are you going to do?' He whispered huskily and I saw that he was shaking with fear.
'Relax old buddy, all is under control,' I said, leafing through the handful of papers to cover this unmilitary pause. 'Just follow me, do as I say, and in a few minutes we will have vanished without trace.'
'Well really vanish without trace if we go in there! We'll be caught, tortured, killed…'
'Silence!' I shouted into his ear and he leaped as though he had been shot. 'You will not talk. You will not think! You will only obey or you will be in the cagal so deep you will never see the light of day again!'
A passing sergeant smiled and nodded approval so I knew I was on the right track. I hated to do this to Morton but it was the only way. 'Left face - forward march!' His skin was pale, his eyes rolled up, his mind empty of conscious thought. He could only obey. Up the steps we went and through the entrance toward the armed military policemen stationed there.
'Halt, at ease!' I shouted and spun toward the MP, still shouting. 'You - where do I find the Transport Section?'
'Second floor, room two-oh-nine. Could I see your pass corporal?'
I glared at him coldly as I shuffled through the papers I was carrying, let my eyes travel slowly down to his boots, then back up again. He stood at attention, shivering slightly, and I knew he was new at this game.
'I don't think I have ever seen dirtier boots,' I hissed. When his eyes glanced down I held out the turned-back papers. 'Here's the pass.' When he glanced up again I let the papers slap shut.
He started to say something, I turned up the power of my glare and he wilted. 'Thank you, corporal. Second floor.'
I turned smartly away, snapped my fingers at Morton, then stamped away toward the stairs. Trying to ignore the fine heading of sweat on my brow. This was very demanding work - and it wasn't over yet. I could see that Morton was definitely shivering as he walked and I wondered how much more of this he could take. But there was no turning back now. I threw open the door of 209 and waved him in. A bench ran along the wall and I pointed him toward it.
'Sit there and wait until you're called.' I said, then turned to the reception clerk. He was on the phone and waved vaguely in my direction. Behind him rows of desks and laboring soldiers stretched the length of the room. All totally ignoring me, of course.
'Yes, sir, get onto it at once, sir,' the reception clerk smarmed. 'Computer error, possibly, captain. We'll get right back to you. Very sorry about this.'
I could hear the phone disconnect loudly in his ear. 'You crock of cagal!' he snarled and threw the phone back on the desk, then looked up at me. 'What's up, corporal?'
'I'm up here, corporal, and I'm here to see the transport sergeant.'
'He's home on compassionate leave. His canary died,'
'I do not wish to hear the disgusting details of his personal life, soldier. Who's sitting in for him?'
'Corporal Gamin.'
'Tell the corporal I'm coming in.'
'Right, right.' He picked up the phone. I stamped past him to the door marked TRANSPORT SERGEANT - KEEP OUT and threw it open. The thin, dark man at the computer terminal looked up and frowned.
'You are Corporal Gamin?' I said, closing the door and flipping through the papers one more time. 'If you are I got good news for you.'
'I'm Gamin. What's up?'
'Your morale. The paymaster says they found a cumulative computer error in your pay and you are owed possibly two hundred and ten big ones. They want you there to straighten it out. '
'I knew it! They been deducting double for insurance and laundry.'
'They're all cagal-kopfs.' My guess was right; there cannot be anyone alive, particularly in the army, who isn't sure there are errors in his payslip. 'I would suggest you get your chunk over and collect before they lose the money again. Can I use your phone?'
'Punch nine for an outside line.' He pulled up his necktie and reached for his jacket - then stopped and took the key out of the terminal; the screen went black. 'I bet they owe me more than that. I want to see the records,' There was a second door behind his desk and, to my satisfaction, he exited that way. The instant it closed I had the other door open and poked my head through. When the reception clerk looked up I turned and called back over my shoulder.
'Do you want him in here as well, corporal?' I nodded my head and turned back. 'You, recruit, get in here!' Morton jumped at the sound of my voice, then scurried forward. I closed and locked the door behind him.
'Get comfortable,' I said, pulling off my boot and rooting about inside it for the lockpick. 'No questions, I have
