第18节
on, fingers and thumb aligned in a perfect drill manual salute.
'Eight Battalion, Trail Blazer Division, mustered aboard The Lady from
Louisiana, ready for your inspection, SAH!" 'Thank you, Mr
McDonnell."
Hartmann returned the salute, as did the twelve execs lined up in two
staggered rows behind him. The formal greetings over, Hartmann
exchanged a warm handshake with his Trail Boss.
'Welcome back, sir."
'It feels good, Buck. When did you hear we were on our way?"
'Last night, sir. Had quite a job keeping it from the boys."
'Well, they look happy enough,' observed Hartmann.
'I thought they might be a bit leery about serving under a two-time
loser."
'Sir! Are you kidding?!" McDonnell turned towards the men lined up in
three ranks in front of The Lady.
'Okay, you clapped-out, time-serving bunch of slack-assed mothers!
Let's hear it for the commander!" The six hundred veterans that formed
the core of The Lady's crew cut loose with the time-honoured chant:
'Buffalo Bill! Buffalo Bill! Just say the word and we'll kill, kill,
kill! Give us a rifle, helmet and pack, and we'll follow you to hell
and back!" 'Are we ready and able?! Are we fit to show?!" demanded
McD.
Everyone, including the execs behind Hartmann, joined in the
traditional response: 'You bet your ass!
Let's GO - GO - GO!" Hartmann, noticeably moved by the warmth of his
reception, signalled McDonnell to stand the men down.
'Wagon-train-n-n-n EASY!" The nine hundred men and women making up the
crew of The Lady were mustered in individual groups in front of the
cars to which they were assigned: medical staff in front of the blood
wagon, 'fire-men' in front of the power cars, and so on. As Hartmann
led his team of execs along the ranks, each squad or section leader
called his individual group to attention. The wagon-master paused to
exchange a few words when he encountered a familiar face and the
veteran execs did the same. Those drafted in as replacements would
each get the customary one-on-one interview with Hartmann, and the
executive officer in charge of their particular specialization, once
they were on board.
When the inspection and greetings were over, Hartmann sought out his
deputy, It. Commander Jim Cooper.
'Mount up, will you Coop? I have to place a call to a friend of
mine..."
The first two video-phone booths had plasfilm notice strips stuck
diagonally across their screens bearing the words 'LINE
FAULTVID-COMMSERV NOTIFIED'.
It meant a service engineer was on his way.
Sometime between now and the millenium...
The third booth he found was working. Hartmann inserted his
newly-returned ID-card, keyed his way through the on-screen call menus,
entered the state-code for Colorado (09) followed by the three-digit
code for the Pueblo way-station (012) and the x-listed number he had
memorized.
The Amtrak logo on the screen was replaced by the head and shoulders of
Major Jerri Hiller, one of MaryAnn's junior battalion comanders.
Hartmann noticed her hair was considerably longer than when he had last
seen her. He also couldn't decide whether she was surprised to see him
or annoyed - or both.
'Is Colonel Anderssen available?"
'One moment, Commander..." Hiller moved out of view of the tv camera
mounted immediately above the screen carrying his image.
There were muted voices off then Colonel Marie Anderssen moved quickly
into the empty seat. 'Bill!" She too was surprised, but the pleasure
at his call was evident in the broad smile that came beaming across the
ether. 'Christo! You're wearing active duty OD's!" OD was the
abbreviation for the olive-drab, military-style fatigues he was
wearing.
'Yeah. They let me out of detention yesterday morning. Plus Coop and
the rest of the guys. All charges have been dropped. We've been
re-instated and we'll be rolling The Lady up the ramp at 0700 hours
tomorrow."
Mary-Ann interlaced her fingers and squeezed her hands together. 'Oh,
Bill, that's wonderful! It's the best news I've had all year!" 'You
and me both."
'I tried to get permission to see you..."
'Yeah, I know. Your message got through to me.