Since Sergeant Pyle had made the call to Seoul, Colonel Potter had been keeping Radar as busy as possible in his office. Knowing that Major Floyd was out to kill him because of what he knows and because of his resourcefulness (as well as knowing the amount of paperwork to do because of the lack of activity in the camp), Potter put Radar on the line to Seoul for more supplies, news and some trading. Then, around lunchtime, he went to the Mess Tent himself and got Radar a tray of food while Gaines watched him over as he phoned other people for the colonel. Then, as Radar ate his lunch in his office, Potter put him to work on so much paperwork that he knew that it would be the first time in a week that they were caught up on anything.

It was almost fifteen hundred hours by the time Radar was done with the inventory forms. Potter was about to get him going on the last casualty lists before the last of the wounded left when Major Floyd decided to make an appearance in his office as they discussed the usual camp business. While Gaines and Pyle were supposed to be watching out for the major himself, the two also had their behinds to consider and probably had run with the major's orders in another direction.

As Radar shuffled himself into a corner where Floyd could not see him, Colonel Potter looked up at the major, suspected on his end of murder and conspiracy. "What can I do for you today, Major?"

"I need to see your company clerk," Floyd replied baldly, without any of the usual ceremony. "Of course, he is at my disposal, is he not?"

Potter's hair stood on end, but he kept his cool. He knew that he had to play this game out right and that the ball was in his court. Now, it was time for Hoops Potter and get back into defense and make the slam-dunk.

"Not so far, Major Floyd," he said, standing up at his desk. "He's my company clerk first and foremost. You can't pull rank on me and demand him for no reason other than he is at your disposal. And if you dare order him around and out of this office, I will have your keester out of here faster than you can say, "Okie-dokie'. I need him more than you ever will. Do I make myself clear?"

Floyd backed up a little bit with his hands up for his own defense, almost like an animal caught in a corner. Then, he straightened himself up again, the surprise gone from his face. As he dropped his hands "Yes, Sir. It won't happen again, Sir."

"Good. Now, get out of my office before I make a formal complaint myself."

For the first time in almost a week, Potter felt like he had control of his camp again. Standing there at his desk as Radar slowly crept out of his corner and Floyd ran out, he felt more than power seeping through his veins. No, it was pure adrenaline, one that would allow him to make the true decisions of the 4077th and not some thieving murder who ruined what was left of the good reputation of his camp.

And it's going to take some time to build it up again. Nobody is going to believe that we're a bunch of murders and then we're innocent again.

"Radar," Colonel Potter silently said, "get Sergeant Pyle in here. We need to make another phone call to Seoul. I want to know where Pierce, Klinger and the others are, if they are with the two, which I'm sure they are, if I remember correctly. I want to know if this plan of theirs went through and when we can expect to get back to operating on the boys from the front."

For once, Radar did not recite the orders back to Colonel Potter. He just sat there, staring blankly at his commanding officer, before getting up and going to the door quietly, making sure that he did not attract any more attention from Major Floyd. He did not want to leave the safety net Potter had around him, but he also had to make believe that things were going to be back to normal soon enough. Hawkeye and Klinger would make sure of that.

I know it! I just know it!

~00~

Igor, sitting outside the kitchen and waiting the two hours for the cook to finish the meals before serving it up, noticed Major Floyd coming towards him. Taking out a cigarette (rarely did he get the chance to have a break like that), Igor contemplated the situation that the major was in. Of course, he had the power to accuse anyone on the camp of murder, and the murder of a nurse he helped found, no doubt about it. However, Igor had suspicions from the very start that this was all some sort of Army hoax. It was either a test of their loyalty or something was very screwy in this officer.

Puffing away as Major Floyd stopped in front of him, Igor noticed some things about him. His face was pretty red, like he was getting out from a confrontation, no doubt about that. Secondly, it looked like someone had taken something away from him and it was something that he wanted so desperately, like a child on Christmas morning who had a gift taken away for no apparent reason. Lastly, there was a rage. Igor had seen men with anger in them, but this was the type of rage that you can't comprehend, something that even punching someone in the face cannot solve.

"What can I do for you today, Major?" Igor asked calmly as he exhaled some smoke. "If you're gonna ask about tonight's surprise, I'll just say that supper won't be ready for another few hours. Why don't you head on over to the Mess Tent and wait with the others? You can complain right along with them."

"I don't need to be whining with the rest of the camp, Private," Floyd retorted. "I just need you do to something for me before you are sent to Seoul."

"Me, Sir? On vacation in Seoul? When can I go?"

"No, you idiot, sent to Seoul in disgrace and without your precious cigarettes! Now, do as I say or it'll go badly for you."

"I don't think it can be any worse for me, Major. Maybe it'll be easier for you if you just calm down about the food. Once you get used to it, you won't even have taste buds anymore. It'll just be slipping and sliding from now on."

Floyd pulled at his hair in frustration. "Listen, I am not talking about the food, you moron! Now, listen to me and listen to me carefully. And this is a direct order. Now, I need you to get Corporal O'Reilly out here, behind this building. I need to talk to him about something and it requires that we be alone."

"Sir, he's been locked up with Colonel Potter all day. I can't just barge in there and say that Radar needs to be with you."

"Nonsense! Just tell him that some nurse wants to see him and he'll come along, like the good puppy that he is. See? That wasn't too hard to think of a lie, was it, Private?"

Igor knew that something fishy was up, but did not want to say anything. He could just go along with it and report whatever Major Floyd said to Colonel Potter, which was the right thing to do. It was sure to get his blood pressure up, but whatever the major said was always so distrustful and needed to be reported immediately. And even though Igor disliked Major Houlihan for many reasons (KP for no reason being one of them), he did not believe that she would murder a nurse, uncouth that said nurse might be.

With resolution in mind, Igor nodded with agreement at Floyd and walked away, clipping his cigarette against the wall and shoving what was left of it in his pocket. He knew that Major Floyd was still watching him as he went towards Colonel Potter's office (never mind the cook needing him soon), but he also listened closely to him as that sergeant came around to meet up with Floyd. Igor thought that the conversation would be important, so rounded the corner and put his ear as close as he would dare without being discovered eavesdropping.

"What time is it, Wellington?" Floyd asked his counterpart without preamble, wearied by the day's events already, especially the catastrophe in Colonel Potter's office.

"A little after fifteen hundred hours, Sir. We have a few more before needing to go to Seoul."

"Good, good. Now, did our Seoul boys manage to get Pierce and his cronies? I know Tokyo has missed them again and again and had some slippery hands there."

"They sure did, Sir. Last I heard, they were on their way to the airport and on their way back to Korea. All paperwork was taken off of Pierce, things that would undermine this investigation. It was something that somebody had given him. It's bound to be destroyed by Anthony."

Igor then saw Floyd hug Wellington's shoulders. "That's great news. Now, we can rest easy, knowing that it'll be all downhill from here. We can get the head nurse and the priest to Seoul on the evidence we have and slice them in half with the unpatriotic and murder charges. That way, justice will be served. Not to mention, Wellington, there might be a promotion in this for me! I can be a colonel!"

In an instant, greed and hurt surrounded Wellington's eyes, but he did not show it to Floyd, who would have slapped it right out of him in an instant (that, Igor knew to be the truth). He only smiled a predator's grin and put his hands on Floyd's arms. "It'll be over soon before we know it, Sir. Now, anything else you need me to do before we leave?"

"Yeah. When we get Corporal O'Reilly out there, being me the cook's assistance, Sergeant Rizzo, Sergeant Zale and Nurse Baker. We'll take them to Seoul with us. We'll leave by sixteen hundred and thirty hours today. It wouldn't take long to round them all up. Besides, I think I'd like to miss dinner here. Dinner can be in Seoul later."

"And if they won't cooperate?"

Wellington and Floyd let go of each other simultaneously before Floyd responded in a cold voice. "Oh, just kill them. No need to explain, I'll cover for you. It'll be self-defense, of course."

Igor then saw Wellington coming his way (to make sure of something?), so he moved right along to Colonel Potter's office quickly. As he rounded another corner, just outside the doors to the office, he stopped, taking out his cigarette and sniffing it, tempted to smoke it again. Resisting it, he kept on, dropping it in the dirt so that he did not stop and smoke again. He knew that the conversation he just heard was pretty important, and he was sure about it one hundred percent of the way. The only thing he needed to do was to protect himself and the others at this point. If there was a way to warn those people, he would do it.

After all, it was the least Igor could do to them. It was now a matter of life and death for all of them.