38 Beijing
Xing came into Pru’s office, where she and Maeve were working on their after-battle reports. “May I see you for a moment, Pru?” he said.
Pru stepped out of the office. “Yes, Xing, what is it?”
“A rather large shipment has arrived for you, m’am. I need to know what to do with it.” Xing had a broad smile on his face.
“Where is it from, Xing?”
“Dublin, Pru.”
Pru put her arm around the little sergeant major’s shoulder and headed him down the hall. “Xing, I need your help. Here’s what I want to do...”
“Good morning, General Khan,” Pru said. She sat in her office. Maeve was beside her as they regarded the image of the crusty little general.
“Good morning, both of you,” the general replied. “Maeve – uh, Sergeant Major O’Leary – thank you for your report. It is very comprehensive and exceeds your brief on this matter.”
His eyes moved to regard Pru. “Pru, you should know that, before detaching Sgt. Major. O’Leary to you, I asked her to provide me with a detailed report on the operation from her own professional point of view. I hope you don’t take this as any indication of lack of confidence in your ability. I simply wanted to have a third-party assessment of your performance.”
“I understand, sir. In a way, I expected that. But I didn’t know about it.”
“Let me just say,” the general went on, “that Sgt Major. O’Leary has only the highest praise for your leadership and execution on this operation.” Khan smiled and looked down at his desk, before looking at both of them again. “I will never admit to advocating the use of spur-of-the-moment inspiration and wild improvisation in our operations. I am only interested in successful accomplishment of our objectives.” His smile broadened. “But, I must say, those are exactly the characteristics that made this operation a success. Pru, the OSG owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Pru colored briefly, “Thank you, sir. I was fortunate to have a truly capable force commander to work with. She made it possible.”
“No doubt, and I am aware of Captain Jiang’s competence. But, it’s considered polite simply to say, ‘Thank you, sir.’”
Pru chuckled. “General, thank you. But, you know, I couldn’t have done it without all of them. And, don’t think flattery will get me to give up my real job.”
Khan laughed aloud. “Well, it was worth a try.”
“God, Terry, I wish you’d been here.” Pru had answered his call when she stepped out of the shower. She was dripping wet and busy with a towel as she spoke.
“You didn’t need me, Pru. You’re far better at that than I am, as you have told me at least once.”
“Oh, well, all right. But, I really needed you. I’m exhausted.” She looked directly at him. “And, I’m horny.”
“No one there to help you out?” He smiled wolfishly.
“No. And, it’s a good thing no one here has had Neo-Tantra training, or they’d all know how bad it is. I must radiate like the full moon.”
“Good simile. We’ll fix that soon,” Terry replied.
“You’d better. Anyway, I’m coming home for a few days before I get on with what I was doing here.” Pru leered at him. “Be there,” she said and cut the com.
The entire SO force was assembled in the barracks’ largest mess hall. Pru muttered to Xing as she and Lia entered the hall, “Everything set up?”
Xing nodded with a smile and made a gesture.
“Attention!” snapped the ranking NCO. The force stood to attention with precision.
“At ease! Be seated!” Lia ordered. “I have been asked to assemble you by Ms Whiteside, who has been our Operations Manager in the recent deployment.” She stepped to one side and let Pru step to the fore.
“Ladies and gentlemen, officers and troops of the Special Operations Force Beijing,” she began. “I want to thank you for your excellent work in the Turpan operation, and for the willing cooperation you gave us while we worked out some new ways of doing things. Most of all, I welcome and compliment you on your willingness to give your ideas and suggestions to make this a success.”
Pru turned to gesture to Lia and the force’s staff. “The cooperation and ingenuity of Captain Jiang and your leadership was a major asset, and I am grateful to you all.”
Pru moved to one side of the stage and took Maeve by the hand. “Many of you know Sergeant Major O’Leary of the OSG SO Force North Africa, my chief of staff. Now, I think many of you have heard her offer a wager: ‘I’ll bet a pint of Guinness...’ and I know that no one has taken her up on it. Now, I’m sure it’s not because the Chinese are unwilling to gamble...” there was a roar of laughter, “...so it must be because no one knows what Guinness is.” Pru turned. “Sgt. Major Xing, if you please?”
Xing came forward with a tray of pints of dark, foaming beverage. He offered one to Pru, one to Lia, and with a flourish, one to Maeve.
“This, my friends, is Guinness Stout. We drink to you all. And, there is plenty for everyone.”
Thank you for reading my stories.