ELEVEN
Outside Colonel Potter's office, near Corporal Klinger's desk, Crockett MacAllister was slumped against the wall. He opened his eyes and straightened his stance as the somber group of people began to file out of the inner room.
Taking one look at him, his siblings moved to stand on either side of him in silent support. "I need to talk to Potter. Then, I want to talk to you, and Kellye," the officer informed his sister in a tired voice. "You first."
Captain Hunnicutt approached the company clerk. "Klinger," he began, "the first chance you get, will you call Mill Valley? I feel like I need to talk to Peg; just to check on her, and Erin; and to tell her I love her."
"And I want you to place a call to Boston, as well," Major Winchester added. "I'd like to hear from Honoria."
"While you're at it…call Maine, too," the Chief Surgeon announced. "I want to see how Dad's doing."
All of the medical personnel wanted assurances that their loved ones were still safe.
"I'll get right on it," the clerk stated. He reached for the phone line to begin the long process of contacting folks back home.
When the commanding officer of the MASH unit appeared at the doorway, the G-2 officer spoke to him, "Colonel Potter, I need to talk to you."
"Certainly, Colonel," Potter held the door open for the other man. "And, Klinger, add my name to that list."
When MacAllister returned, he sank into the wheelchair that was waiting for him, "Okay, little sister, let's go have that talk."
Alarmed by his weakness, she said, "Brother mine, Fannin and I will take you to your tent. After you rest for a couple of hours, then we'll talk."
"We'll talk now," he stated.
"Later; after you get some rest," she reiterated. "Flagg isn't the only colonel I'm willing to sedate, you know," Sarabeth arched an eyebrow at him, in warning.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"It's not often that I get to boss you around," she admitted with a grin. "However, it's my professional opinion that you really do need to rest for a while, big brother!"
"All right," Crockett acquiesced.
Inside the tent, the nurse helped the injured man back onto his cot, providing a pillow for his shoulder and blanket for his legs. He protested softly, "I'm not an invalid, you know."
"Maybe not; but you were closer to being a corpse than you realize, big brother," Sarabeth stated matter-of-factly.
"Is there anything else you want me to do today?" Fannin asked, "Like having a little talk with Hawkeye Pierce?"
"Stay away from Pierce," his brother directed.
"His hide needs to nailed to the barn wall," the younger man muttered.
"Fannin, I mean it!" Colonel MacAllister rumbled a warning.
"Okay. Okay. I promised Sherry that I'd take her to the Officer's Club for one last round of jukebox dancing, anyway. Holler if you change your mind about Pierce."
After her brother had left, the redheaded woman grinned at her oldest brother. "Fannin and Sherry Riggs are becoming quite an item," she announced mischievously.
"Really?" Crockett asked, with heightened interest, "Anything serious developing between those two?"
"Probably not. But, I'm so glad that he's finally started seeing someone again. When Debbie left him---just a week after the funerals for their kids.…" She shook her head in angry remembrance, "I'm still furious at the way she treated him."
"Me, too." Unexpectedly, the man chuckled but cut it off abruptly. Lifting an eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation, his sister stared at him. He whispered merrily, "It could be worse, you know. He could be interested in Parnelli."
She sputtered with laughter, "That would be an interesting choice," she agreed cheerfully.
With a sigh, Crockett moved to a more serious topic, "Sarabeth, since they think Zheng He's out of the picture, the alerts and the travel restrictions are going to be lifted. But, I still want you to wear your hat, and stick close to the compound, you hear me?"
"I hear you," she replied.
"And watch out for Flagg, too. He's already been jumped on for that fiasco at the Chinese camp. He'll be trying to redeem himself. He's desperate and he's dangerous," her brother instructed, "stay clear of him."
Nodding in understanding, his sister asked, "You're fixin' to leave, aren't you?"
"I have to. You know that."
Sarabeth looked at him dejectedly, "Yes, I know that. I just…." Shaking her head, she added, "Crockett, you're strong…and you're hard-headed," she emphatically emphasized the word. "But it's only been five days!" She gazed at him with both love and concern. "You have got to give your body time to heal!"
"Time is a luxury I don't have," the officer answered.
"Well," the Texan bent down to kiss her brother and said, "At least you have time to get some sleep."
"Would you like some of Mama's hot chocolate?" The youngest MacAllister asked as she set down the tray she was carrying. "She sent me some more mix for Christmas."
From his bed, the older MacAllister gave a small grin, "I'd like some. I don't reckon you have any of her 'cow pie' cookies, do you?"
"I reckon I do," the woman informed him as she poured canned milk into the coffee pot and placed it on the heater top to boil. She opened a tin of cookies and handed him some before sitting in the chair next to him. "I asked Kellye to come over in about thirty minutes."
"Thanks," he replied. "But, I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye."
Seeing his sad expression, Sarabeth spoke softly, "You have a lot of things bothering you, right now, brother mine. Things that...maybe…you need to discuss with someone?"
"I already went into more detail than I had planned on, little sister. And my language..." He shook his head, "I shouldn't have let Pierce get to me like that."
"Why not? There's no law that says you can't lose your temper every now and then, big brother," the woman stated. "Hawkeye is a genuine jackass, some times. And, Crockett, despite what he believes," the Texan looked into her brother's green eyes, "I know that the things you had to do bother you."
"I also know," she gave him a sympathetic smile, "that you will do them again...if you have to. You're the one who taught me that: 'the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' (Edmund Burke) You know that wickedness must be destroyed---whenever it's encountered---in order for goodness to be preserved. Hawkeye, however, only sees the individual on the operating table. He only sees that one person's suffering."
The soldier asked, "So, which one of us is right?"
Sarabeth smiled at her brother, "Y'all both are."
"The way those women were treated..." The man shook his head angrily. Setting down his hot drink, he continued, solemnly, "But the worst thing was...I kept seeing your eyes staring back at me from their faces. I kept hearing your screams instead of theirs. And, baby sister, if that had been you, I...oh, God!" The man grimaced at the thought.
"Crockett...Crockett Allen! Listen to me!" The woman shook his undamaged arm roughly to get his attention. "You must listen to me, big brother! That wasn't me! It won't be me, I promise!"
"Kitten," MacAllister pulled her into a tight embrace, "I sure wish you were back home, right now."
"I wish we all were," she whispered.
After a few moments, Sarabeth hesitantly asked, "Are you going after this butcher?"
The officer shrugged, "A I has decided to withdraw most of the monitoring teams assigned to him. But that's not going to stop me. I've been thinking of ways to remind him that I'm still after him." His determined features did not promise peaceful sleep for a certain Chinese official.
The woman's answering grin could not be called friendly, either, "Spook him good, big brother."
"I intend to, little sister. I intend to."
