Extracurricular Activities

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 4

"Kirby! Kirby!"

"What?" Kirby yawned and stretched.

"Sarge wants to see you."

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there."

Saunders was waiting when Kirby walked out of his quarters.

"What happened last night?"

"Didn't Caje tell you?"

"I want to hear it from you."

"Some guys jumped us." Kirby explained. "I guess they thought we had money. We had just come from a poker game."

"Where you lost your shirt!"

"Maybe they didn't know that Sarge. We were leaving; maybe they thought I still had some money left."

"And maybe you'd better tell me the truth smart guy!"

"I told you Sarge."

"Don't give me that!" The sergeant snarled. "Whatever it is you're into, you're not the only one affected here. Last night you could have gotten Caje killed too."

"Did Caje say that?"

Saunders paused, taking note of Kirby's apparent concern. "No, Caje told me the same thing you just did." The sergeant admitted. "But I still don't believe it." He added. "There has to be more to it than that. Caje said he never saw any of the guys before. If they had been watching the card game Caje would have seen them."

"I suppose." Kirby agreed without any enthusiasm.

"You suppose? Other people are affected here Kirby, not just you.

Caje. The squad. Is this mess you got yourself into going to get someone else killed?"

"Nobody's been killed." Kirby protested.

"Yet." Saunders clarified.

"Look Sarge, I'll take care of it. I'll get it cleaned up in the next day or two, three at the most."

Saunders looked into the earnest face of the private and hoped that he was right. While Kirby could be a pain, he found it hard to believe that the man was mixed up in anything that would deliberately put his fellow soldiers at risk.

"Okay Kirby, three days, and then I go to Lieutenant Hanley." He locked eyes with his Bar man. "That's as long as nothing else happens. If someone gets hurt I won't have any choice but to go to the LT."

Kirby nodded in relief. "Thanks Sarge, I'll get it straightened out."

"You'd better." The sergeant growled. "Three days Kirby." With that final warning Saunders turned and walked away, leaving Kirby standing there watching him leave.

Kirby watched him go with a worried frown on his face. He was involved in something but he couldn't tell anyone about it; not Caje, not Sarge, and not the lieutenant. And there was no way that he could be sure that it would be settled in three days' time. Kirby cursed the German courier who had started all of this in the first place. If he hadn't already killed him once he would have willingly done so now. Deciding that since he was up he might as well go for breakfast, he headed for the mess hall.

Kirby strolled along the street with his mind on his problem. His fingers went to his pocket and extracted the gold coin that he had tucked in there. Rubbing it absently between his fingers, he hoped it was the good luck piece he had claimed it to be.

His thoughts were still on the gold piece when two men stepped out in front of him. Kirby immediately braced for a fight.

The taller of the two men raised his hand palm out toward Kirby. "Relax, we just want to talk."

"So talk." Kirby ordered.

"We have some friends who would like to talk to you." The stranger replied. "They sent us to issue the invitation."

"Well you've done that, so scram."

"They want us to bring back an answer." The tall man declared. He and his companion waited for Kirby to respond.

"What do they want?" Kirby eyed the two men suspiciously. There was no one else on the street to witness the meeting. Taking a step back, he stayed just out of their reach.

"I think you know." The second man growled impatiently.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't." Kirby smiled at the two men, more confident now that he was pretty sure that the men had been sent to talk rather than fight.

"That gold coin you're playing with," the first man indicated the coin that Kirby still held between his fingers, "and any others like it. They're no good to you; you can't spend them. We have friends who can take them off of your hands."

"For a price."

"For a price." The taller man confirmed.

Kirby grinned at the two men. "All right, we can talk; no promises but I'm willing to listen to their deal."

The two men facing him visibly relaxed. "Come along with us and we'll take you to them."

"No," Kirby refused, "I haven't had my breakfast yet." He paused in thought. "Tell them to meet me behind the motor pool in one hour. We'll talk turkey then."

The men hesitated, unsure about the unexpected turn of events. Their eyes locked as they considered the proposal. Finally the tall of the two nodded in agreement. "All right, we'll tell them. You just make sure that you bring a sample of what you've got for sale."

"I've got all I need right here." Kirby held up the gold coin.

"There had better be more." The second man warned.

"Don't you worry about that." Kirby smiled. "I've got it covered."

The second man glanced at his taller companion but he didn't comment on Kirby's reassurance.

"One hour," The taller man warned.

"One hour." Kirby repeated. He stood and watched as the two men walked away without looking back.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Kirby whistled a tune as he walked the rest of the way to the mess hall. He was on his third rendition of "America the Beautiful" by the time he walked into the mess hall. He nodded at a few guys he knew and took his place in line to get his food. At one point he turned around to see the smaller of the two men who had confronted him standing by the door watching his every move. Ignoring him, Kirby ate a leisurely breakfast before heading to the meeting.

Exactly one hour later Kirby approached the motor pool. The few mechanics working on vehicles ignored him as he made his way around the back. Approaching cautiously, he tried to locate whoever was meeting him.

"So you're the guy who killed the courier?"

The voice came from the alley next to the motor pool.

"Yeah, I killed him." Kirby admitted. "He didn't leave me much of a choice."

"But he did leave you one heck of a big payday." The other man laughed.

"Says who?"

"Don't play games with me soldier," the speaker snapped, "according to my sources, that courier was carrying gold coins and cut diamonds. Enough to fund a small war of our own."

"I'm not interested in starting another war." Kirby told him. "I'll be happy to just get out of this one alive."

"Maybe I can help you with that." The speaker stepped out into the open. "For a price."

"Oh yeah," Kirby laughed, "Everything has a price."

"So what's yours?" The speaker asked.

"Passes for the whole squad." Kirby grinned. "We all get three days of leave to relax and unwind."

"I'm not sure I can manage passes for everyone but I can get one for you."

"Not good enough." Kirby shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to deal with someone who can meet my price."

"Like who?" The stranger snorted. "You can't take those diamonds and gold coins to just anyone. If you let anyone know you have them you will end up in the stockade."

"I don't think so." Kirby grinned. "You see, I already turned them over to headquarters. Right after I found them as a matter of fact."

"What?" The stranger's eyes widened I surprise. He took a step back, prepared to run to avoid being detained. The rush of footsteps behind him told him he was too late.

MPs poured from the alleys around the motor pool to take charge of the speaker. He was arrested along with his two men who were lurking nearby. Kirby grinned as he recognized the two men who had invited him to the meeting.

"It sure looks like the guys and I are going to have three days to relax and unwind." Kirby grinned in anticipation.