CHAPTER TWO: ECHOS OF KOREA
Trapper walked into the kitchen. He instantly had to fight the gagging reaction that threatened to escape his throat. The smoke from the burnt meat made it eyes start watering, although the cracked window was helping rid the room of the odor. The culprit, a burnt slab of turkey, was sitting in the middle of a table set for two. His next sense to be aroused was his hearing. The radio, perched in the corner of the oak counter boomed.
"President Johnson appeared before Congress today, pressuring them to send more troops to the already stricken Vietnam border. In other news, medical staff have reported an overwhelming shortage of doctors and trained nurses. The causalities are piling up due to the heavy shelling of…"
"Turn that off, will you Kat?" Trapper asked, grabbing the final bowl of corn and sitting down at the table.
For a second, Kat looked like she was going to protest, but decided against it. She turned the switch on it off and sat down.
"So how were classes today?" Trapper asked pleasantly, taking a large helping of the burnt meat.
Kat hesitated as if thinking hard about what she was going to say.
"You know that they're really hurting over there. There aren't enough doctors to take care of all the wounded. Soldiers aren't sure what they're supposed to be doing over there, and when they get hurt , nobody can take care of them. Boys are dying that shouldn't be.
Trapper's face clouded with fury.
"There are two things that you can always be sure of in war, boys that don't know what the hell they are supposed to be doing and not enough doctors to make up for the stupid decisions of the brass. Damn, it's happening all over again!"
Kat stared at him; her eyes were wide with amazement.
"Dad, I…." she started to say.
Trapper realized that he had slipped up. He plastered a smile on his face and took a large bite of the turkey. Once again he had to fight the gag reflex.
"This is really good, honey."
Kat sighed exasperatedly
"Right," she rolled her eyes. She picked up the knife and tried to carve around the uneatable portions of the turkey.
"You could have woken me up," Trapper stated after taking a large gulp of milk. It helped dilute some of the awful flavor in his mouth. "I would have cooked."
"Damnit!" she swore, throwing her silverware onto the table. "How am I ever going to be able to take care of a family if I can't even cook a simple dinner?"
Trapper stared at her dumbfounded.
"Ummm honey, did you have a bad day?" he asked, not quite sure what else to say. Since when did the thoughts of a family ever run through his daughter's head?
"If you consider the fact that I don't know how to run a household, then yes, I've had a bad day!" There were tears starting to well up in his daughter's eyes.
"Jesus," Trapper thought to himself. "Where are Margaret and Peg when you need them?" He put down his own silverware and looked at Kat.
"Honey, what's really wrong?" he asked calmly. Years of raising his high strung daughter had taught him one thing. Keeping your cool was the only way to get through to her. Still, Margaret was better at handling situations like this.
"Nothing," Kat sighed, feeding on the calmness of her father. "It's just that…well…you wouldn't understand."
"Try me," he challenged.
"Marcus Anderson proposed to Melanie yesterday," she stated.
Trapper racked his brain to try and understand why this occasion would make his daughter so upset. Melanie, a twenty-two year old receptionist at the hospital, was one of Kat's best friends. Anderson was currently doing his residency. Anderson was a good looking kid. Even Kat….Oh man! Trapper realized why his daughter was so upset.
"Kat, just because…."
"What guy is ever going to like me when there's girls like Melanie Thomas around. She's pretty, quiet, and she'll make a good wife. As soon as they get married, she'll quit her job and be content to stay at home with their perfect kids and…."
"Just wait a second…" Trapper tried to interrupt, but to no avail.
"I don't know when to close my big mouth. I'm too opinionated. Men want women who can clean the house and have a nice supper when they get home. No guy would…"
"You're mom was an awful cook,' Trapper stated quietly. The tirade stopped.
"What?" Kat asked.
"There was this one time she tried to make a cake for my birthday. While it was cooking, she started to read some history book that she had gotten at the library. She got so caught up in the book that she forgot about the cake. When I say the cake, I thought it was a chocolate. Turns out it was supposed to vanilla.'
"Really?" Kat asked, a smile starting to form at the corner of her lips. The way it always did when Trapper would occasionally tell stories of Louise.
"The first year we were married, I constantly had to walk behind her in the kitchen to make sure that he had added the right ingredients or forget about the kettles on the stovetop. Finally she just gave up and told me to cook. While I cooked, she sat at the table and worked on her lesson plans." Trapper smiled at the memory. .
"I didn't marry her cause she could cook supper. First time I met her was when I debated her in a freshmen political science class at Dartmouth. She was the only girl in the class and didn't know when to keep her mouth closed."
Kat's whole face lit up. That smile had gotten to him since the first time he had held her. Louise had always told him that it was his smile. She could always see past the apparent innocence by looking in his eyes. His eyes told when there was some mischievous thought forming in his hand. Maybe his daughter had inherited his smile, but she was Louise in looks. Every day Kat looked more and more like the beautiful woman he had married.
'If all Anderson wants if a pretty face and a chicken dinner when he gets home, then he isn't worth your time," he stated. "Besides when you become a famous doctor and make thousands of dollars each time you go into the OR, you can hire somebody to make dinner for you."
During the conversation Trapper forgot about the food on his plate. Without looking, he took and especially large piece of meat and put it in his mouth. This time he was unable to prevent himself from coughing. He started gagging so hard, his eyes started to water. Kat pushed a glass of water towards him.
Finally, Trapper was able to breathe normally again and only small traces of the horrible taste remained.
He looked up and met Kat's eye. They both started laughing.
"Sandy's?" Trapper asked.
"Pizza sounds good," Kat responded. "What do we do with all this food?"
"Keep it, we'll give it that stray that comes around here." He got up from the table and started picking up the food. He walked across the kitchen and put it in the fridge.
"Great," Kat answered, rolling her eyes. "If I end up flunking out of med school, at least I can seek out a career making dog food."
"That's the spirit," Trapper chuckled.
Kat walked into the living room, most likely to get her coat out of the closet. Trapper was about to follow her when the phone rang.
He grabbed it out of its cradle on the third ring.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Doctor Macintyre?"
"No its Joseph Heller," Trapper smirked.
"Huh?"
"Never mind Blake," he sighed. "What's the problem?"
"There was just an eight car pile up on the interstate. We're swamped with causalities!"
"Damn" Trapper swore. "How many of them are there?
"Thirteen and the other six we sent down to Boston Mercy. Three of them…well they're not on their trip to the hospital," Brad's voice got low.
Trapper felt his stomach knot.
'How bad?"
"We've got at least four people that are in pretty bad shape. There's a thirteen year old boy in here who…"
"Never mind, I'm on my way," Trapper answered. "Give me fifteen minutes."
He hung open the phone just as Kat was walking in. She was holding his coat in her arms.
"Honey, I…"
'I heard," she answered. "Get moving so you can help that kid.."
He grabbed the coat out of her hands.
"Pretty soon, you'll be dong this, saving people's lives."
"I can't wait," Kat answered with a mischievous smile. Trapper smiled when he heard the enthusiasm in her voice. Even though he was getting old, he could feel the adrenaline in his veins start pumping. It was the thrill of being a doctor.
"What will you do for supper?" he asked.
"I'll walk down to Sandy's myself. Maybe I'll stop by Rita's house and see if she wants to come. Then I'll come home and study for that beast of an anatomy test tomorrow.
"One of Professor Winchester's tests?" Trapper smiled
Kat nodded her head.
Trapped leaned down slightly and kissed his daughter on the check. "Have a good night," he told her, before sprinting towards the kitchen door that would lead him the garage.
"Make sure you dress warm," Kat called, "its getting cold out there.
"Yes Mom,' Trapper called back.
"And eat something before you go into surgery, your not gong to operating at your best on an empty stomach.
'Yes Doctor!" Trapper chuckled before closing the door behind him.
Trapper walked into the house, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. God, he was tired. Tired, but proud. His staff had preformed wonderfully. They hadn't lost a single patient. One of the youngest, Blake Saunders, had done especially well. Maybe it was personal bias, but he had thought Anderson had looked rather sluggish in surgery..
Trapper smiled when he saw the lamp was still on. Kathy was lying on the couch, sound asleep. Her anatomy book was still clutched in her hands. He quietly walked over and pulled the throw off the couch and draped it over his daughter. He grabbed the book and gently pulled it out of her hand. A leaflet fell out of one of the pages and fluttered to the carpet.
The pamphlet made the man's blood run cold. The front cover revealed an attractive blond nurse in a tight fitting army uniform helping an equally good-looking solider to his feet. Both of them were smiling, even though fighter planes were flying overhead.
"Where did she get this?" Trapper whispered aloud, looking at Kat. She was still sleeping peacefully.
He flipped through the recruitment sheet with scorn. It was filled with the usual military propaganda, help save the greatest civilization the world has ever seen, meet attractive people, and earn the eternal respect and gratitude of a nation that would take care of you for life. Trapper had heard it all before and it remained the biggest load of crap ever.
He felt his heart stop when he turned it to last cover. There was handwritten note in the corner.
If you have any questions, please call me anytime. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Lt. Cornel Frank Burns
For a few seconds, Trapper was frozen in place. He slowly felt his body start tp shake. He hadn't heard a word about the former major in over ten years. Now that he thought about it, he remembered that Margaret had mentioned that Old Ferret Face had been promoted and was now in charge of some big army recruiting center. They had all laughed about it at the time. The army must be rough shape if they put a man like Frank Burns in charge of convincing people to join.
Trapper wasn't laughing now.
"What the hell is he doing in Boston?" Trapper asked quietly.
Kat stirred slightly on the coach, but didn't wake up. Trapper watched her for a few moments. It was hard to believe that she was already a woman. She still looked so sweet and innocent cuddled up in a ball. His shock quickly turned into anger.
Who the hell did Frank Burns thing he was? Kat had to have told him her name. Oh, Trapper could just picture what went on in the little rat's mind. Here was the change to get back at the man who had made his live hell in Korea. What perfect revenge for the doctor who had basically destroyed his reputation. Yes, recruit the innocent daughter. Get her to join the army, and absolutely devastate her father.
Trapper looked at the bottom of the not. There was a phone number for the office scribbled under the signature. He looked at the clock. It was after one o clock. He doubted that anyone would still be in the office, but he didn't care.
He walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone, not even bothering to turn on a light. He punched the number into the phone. It rang four times.
"Hello?" A groggy, but all too familiar voice answered.
Frank Burns was lucky that there was at least fifteen miles between him and Trapper right now.
'Hello Frank," Trapper answered. His voice was sweet, but laced wit heavy sarcasm. "Sleeping at the Office? Did your wife finally learn about the secretary and kick you out?
"Who is this?" Frank answered, angrily. Then as if he had thought about something. His tone changed completely.
"We just went out to dinner, honest. Nothing happened. You can tell Louise that she doesn't need to pay you to snoop…"
Trapper laughed loudly. Some things never changed.
"McIntyre?" Frank asked in complete disbelief. "Is that you?"
"No Frank. This is your conscious speaking to you," Trapper answered.
"How did you get this number Mister?" Frank was furious once again.
"Maybe from one of the little girls you are putting lies into their heads. You know the glory of war, and whatever crap they've told you to say.
"You can't talk to me like that! I'm a Colonel and I demand respect!"
"You didn't get in when you were a major. What makes you think that you're going to get it now?"
"Did you call just to harass me?" Frank growled. "Because if you are I could have you…"
"Court marshaled?" Trapper supplied with a slight chuckle. He could just picture Frank's face right now. He imagined that his lips had but disappeared by now.
Frank grew quiet as if he realized the absurdity of the statement.
"I called to warn you to stay away from my little girl!" Trapper growled.
"Are you threatening me? Because if you are…what about your girl?"
"Don't play games with me Ferret Face, I found a pamphlet for nurses in her stuff and it had your slimy fingerprints all over it."
"I don't know what your talking about!"
Trapper clenched his free fist.
"I'm only going to warn you once Frank. Stay away from Kathy! Hawkeye Pierce isn't around to keep me from killing you this time."
"I've only recruited one nurse since I've been here and she was not called Kathy Macintyre.
"Oh really?" Trapper asked voice dangerously sweet. "Then what was her name?"
"I don't have to tell you anything."
"You won't be able to tell anybody anything, because I'm going to tear out your tongue!"
:"Louise something…" Frank stuttered. "I remember that name because it's my wife's."
Trapper had opened his mouth to utter another threat then stopped.
"Louise what?" he asked quietly.
"I don't remember, something with a T, I think."
Trapper's heart sank.
"Terry?" he asked.
"Yeah, that was it," Frank answered happily. "Pretty girl, just started med school. Its nice to see that not all them have ended up like you Macintyre! There are still kids who are willing to serve…"
Trapper didn't hear the rest of the sentence. He hung up with the phone, not believing what he had just heard. "She couldn't have," he stated aloud.
"Yes, she could have," a voice responded.
Trapper turned to see a very groggy Kat standing in the doorway. He could only stare at her in disbelief. The stress that he had relieved by yelling at Frank had come back.
"Sit," he demanded, pointing at the kitchen table.
Kat opened her mouth to protest, but seemed to think better of it. She quietly sat down in one of the chairs, not looking her father in the eye.
Trapper worked hard to keep control over himself. "You're just only to make her fly off the handle if you start yelling at her."
"Why?" he asked the simple one word question.
"Because men are dying over there, people that I can help save. Its my responsibility, my duty, to help wherever I can."
"Burns tell you that?" Trapper asked, remembering the cock and bull speeches Frank used to give to the wounded in Post-op.
"No!" Kat answered. "Look, I knew what you are going to say, but I've really looked into this. I'm not qualified yet to be a surgeon, but I could work as a nurse or a medic…"
"A medic!" Trapper completely lost it. "Over my dead body! There is no way that I am going to let them put you at the front lines." He shuddered at the thought.
Now it was Kat's turn to loose her cool.
"I don't need your permission!" she yelled. "I'm almost twenty one years old and I'm not a kid that you can order around anymore!"
"Would you really do that to me?" Trapper asked, not lowering his voice. "Put me through the hell of war all over again. Do you have any idea what I've been through?"
"NO!" Kat screamed. "That's just it Dad. You've never told me anything about Korea. I have no idea what you've been through. Hawkeye, BJ, nobody will tell me anything. I even tried talking Radar and he won't even tell me anything. For all I know, all you did was go over to cheat on mom!"
"You don't…." Trapper shut his mouth fast. "What are talking about?"
'I found Mom's journal when we were packing up to move to Crabapple Cove. Back then I didn't understand half the things she way saying, but now I do."
Trapper had lost control of himself very few times in life, and he was on the verge of it now.
"So is this your way of getting back at me? Make friends with one of the men I hate worst in the war and then go and get yourself killed in this stupid war and make your father go crazy?"
"Yes that's it," Kat hissed. "I want to see my father end up in the loony bin. She pushed past him and ran up the stairs. Trapper didn't move until he heard the door slam.
He sighed heavily and walked into the living room.
"I'm an idiot," he stated, rubbing his tired eyes and aching head. He almost tripped over the piano bench. He stopped and placed his hands the instrument. So many happy memories had revolved around this piano, Charles, standing over Conner as he struggled through a difficult Bach composition for a recital, offering words of encouragement. An exhausted BJ sitting on the bench pounding on chopsticks for the hundred time, a little girl on each side of him. Both girls stated they weren't going to bed until they had learned the song. Trapper lifted the seat of the bench up to reveal a hidden compartment. This was Hawkeye's hiding spot where he hid piano solos from musicians like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, music that Charles certainty would not approve of for his little trio of classic musicians. Life had been so easy then. Why did kids have to grow up? Wasn't one war enough? "
These questions rushed through his head as Trapper collapsed into the overstuffed armchair. Within a few minutes, the exhaustion finally took over and he fell asleep.
Trapper was standing in the OR and realized he was back in Korea. It had been years since he had been here, but the images remained fresh in his mind. Hawkeye was standing in front of the table across from him, calmly asking for instruments. Klinger and Radar were constantly carrying stretchers to replace the men who had had already been operated on, fueling the never ending assembly line of carnage and gore. Henry, he assumed had his back turned to him. The image of his old friend, still alive sent fresh waves of pain through his heart. Frank was facing him, sweat pouring off his forehead.
"Poor kid," Trapper thought.
Trapper's eyes continued through the OR and stopped at the operating table he usually claimed as his. In his typical nightmares, he always saw himself standing there desperately tying to remove the alien objects sapping the life out of another kid.
"BAM," A bomb exploded only feet away from the old building.
The lights flicked out and screams echoed throughout the room. Trapper shuddered. It was always the same. He dreaded when the yelling stopped and the lights turned back on. He knew what he would see.. Trappers willed as hard as he could that the lights would not turn back on His wishes were in vain.
The back up generator kicked into gear and the lights turned back on. The first voice he heard was Hawkeye's, always the same.
"Is everybody okay?" he asked.
"Oh damn! Pierce get over here. It's Macintyre!" Henry yelled. Hawkeye basically flew to the sound of Henry's voice. Trapper sighed as his line of vision followed Hawkeye. He did not want to see the picture again; His crushed body would be lying under the operating table with shreds of glass everywhere
Trapper was slowly forced to look down at the picture of his own bloodies unseeing face. He winched, but prepared to look.
He looked and felt his heart stop. Terror that he had never experienced before ripped his heart open.
The body under the table was not his. It was still small. Instead of looking into his own face, he was staring into a lifeless set of penetrating green eyes.
COMING SOON: CHAPTER THREE: THE CONFERENCE
BJ grabbed the three glasses of scotch from the counter. With skill he carried all three glasses and the bottle towards the table and set them down in front of his friends.
"Nice," Hawkeye complimented. "Too bad you became a doctor; you would have made an excellent waitress."
"Nope, haven't got the legs."
Both men picked up their glasses and took a large swig. Hawkeye noticed that Trapper was staring out the window. His drink remained untouched.
"Earth to Trapper," he called. When he didn't receive a response, he grabbed one of the wax pieces of fruit off the table and chucked it at Trapper. The apple hit him square between the eyes.
"What?" Trapper asked drawing his attention away from the window.
"What's up? You look like your attempting to be insightful," BJ asked.
"A first, let me tell you." Hawkeye chuckled, leaning all the way back on his chair.
"Kat wants to join the army," Trapper stated calmly.
Hawkeye stopped laughing.
"What?" he asked in disbelief.
Trapper retold last night's events as quickly as he could.
"I'm going to kill Frank Burns," Hawkeye growled. I swear that fink is going to…" His chair was teetering back and forth dangerously.
"That's not going to solve anything Hawk," BJ answered, putting both hands on his friend's chair and pushing down hard.
"No, but it would make me feel better," Hawkeye stated. He looked at Trapper. "She really used Louise's name?"
Trapper rubbed his forehead.
'I don't know what I'm gong to do. I have never seen her that angry."
"What about the time you ran over her hamster with the vacuum cleaner on accident. She said that she was never going to talk to you again."
Trapper smiled slightly at the memory. The poor rodent hadn't stood a chance. Fortunately the father and daughter relationship had ended up better then the hamster.
"Bo jangles death doesn't even come close to how angry she is right now," Trapper answered.
"What on earth would posses her to even consider it," Hawkeye asked outloud, but the question was intended for himself.
"Trapper," BJ interrupted in a contemplative tone. "You've got to sit her down and tell her everything." His voice grew quiet as if hating to remember. "The blood…the gore…the smell of death."
The other two men shuddered as an involuntary shutter slid down their backs.
"Maybe if you…"
BJ was interrupted by the sound the telephone. Hawkeye, who was closest, got out of his chair and answered.
"Macintyre Residence," he answered.
"Yes this Hawkeye…" he stated confused. "Oh, Hi Sidney."
Trapper and BJ both looked at Hawkeye in surprise. Trapper knew that Hawkeye had kept in loose contact with the physiatrist, but he hadn't seen Sidney Freedman in years. All he knew about the man was that he was working in the Psychiatric hospital just outside of Concord. Why was calling here?
Hawkeye seemed equally confused as he listened to Sidney's end of the conversation.
"No, not that I know of," he answered. He lowered the phone and looked at Trapper and BJ.
"Have you guys received any strange phone calls, seen anyone who looks like he's trying to follow you?'
With confused looks on their faces, both men shook their heads.
"Hawk, what's going on?" BJ asked.
Hawkeye held up his hand to ask for quiet.
"What!! Sidney, you've got to be kidding me!" There was long pause.
"Sure, we'll be here." Hawkeye hung up the phone.
'Sidney is coming over. He says that he needs to meet with us." He stated. His face still contained its dumbfounded look.
"Why?" Trapper asked.
"Apparently Samuel Halloran, one of Sidney's patients, has just escaped from the hospital."
"Who?" BJ asked
:"Sidney says that we know him as Colonel Flagg."