W.E.B. Griffin - The Corps VII - Behind the Lines

"Yes, Sir."

"You have two weeks, Colonel, to bring me some results. Otherwise, I will recommend that you be relieved."

"Yes, Sir."

"That will be all, Colonel," Kurokawa said. "Colonel Tange is out-side. On your way out, will you be good enough to ask him to come in, please?"

"Yes, Sir," Colonel Himasatsu said. He bowed, turned on his heel, and marched out of the room. Colonel Tange marched in and bowed.

"If the Kempeitai can assist me in dealing with these bandit attacks on our forces, Colonel Tange," General Kurokawa said, "I would be most grateful. I would also solicit any suggestions you might have."

"General, the Kempeitai has thoroughly interrogated close to two hundred Filipinos who might have some knowledge of Fertig's activities. Seventeen of those interrogated died during their interrogation. Unfortunately, I must tell you that I was forced to conclude that those interrogated knew nothing of Fertig's activities before these attacks occurred."

"Then may I respectfully suggest you should interrogate another two hun-dred Filipinos-four hundred Filipinos, a thousand Filipinos-until we find someone who does know something?"

"Further interrogations are under way at this moment, General. I will keep you advised, of course."

"You wanted to see me, didn't you?" Kurokawa said. "I forgot that. I apologize. It was my intention to ask you to see me, and when my sergeant told me you were outside, I assumed it was because I had sent for you. I confess, Tange, this business is upsetting me more and more."

"Yes, Sir. We have heard from Signals Intelligence in Manila, Sir. They have provided me with a decryption of the December 24 messages from Aus-tralia to Fertig."

"Anything significant in them?"

"Signals Intelligence believes it was notification to Fertig that an infiltra-tion was to be attempted on the coast, south of Boston."

"How far south of Boston?" Kurokawa asked quietly.

"Thirty miles south. Not far from where Colonel Himasatsu's patrol van-ished."

"You heard they found the truck?"

"Just before I came here, Sir."

"So there was an infiltration," Kurokawa said. "A successful infiltra-tion."

"There seems to be additional proof of that, Sir," Tange said. "Signals Intelligence has reported that communication between Fertig and Australia is now being transmitted over a far more powerful transmitter using a new en-cryption system. By a far more skilled radio telegrapher."

"Does that mean we will no longer be able to decrypt their messages?"

"No, Sir. But it will be more difficult, and hence more time-consuming, to perform the decryptions."

Kurokawa shook his head in resignation.

"There is talk, Tange, that shortly we will no longer have the services of Captain Saikaku available to us. Anything to it?"

"That was another reason I asked you to receive me, General. I thought you would be interested in hearing that Captain Saikaku has been ordered to Tokyo to assume duties on the Imperial General Staff."

"How interesting," Kurokawa said. "He requested such a transfer?"

"My understanding, Sir, is that the orders came from General Tojo's of-fice. Three days after Captain Saikaku requested, and I granted, permission for him to use Kempeitai lines to communicate with his sick mother."

"Do you suppose we dare hope that Captain Saikaku will convey to the Imperial General Staff our difficulty in dealing with General Fertig?"

"Perhaps, General. But I rather think it more likely that once Captain Saikaku arrives in Tokyo, he will quickly forget anything to do with Fertig."

"Yes," General Kurokawa said. "Especially his initial enthusiastic pro-nouncement that Fertig was a small problem that could be dealt with quickly and effectively."

[THREE]

USFIP Field Hospital #2

Near Compostela, Davao Province, Mindanao

Commonwealth of the Philippines

31 December 1942

USFIP Field Hospital #2 consisted of three thatch-roofed buildings on stilts in a small clearing in the jungle on the steep side of an unnamed hill, accessible only by dirt path. One of the buildings housed the medical staff, which con-sisted of Lieutenant Stanley J. Miller (formerly Chief Pharmacist's Mate, USN) and his four assistants, Sergeant Waldron Barron (formerly Seaman 2nd Class, USN), and Sergeants Manuel Garcia, Luis Delarocca, and Oswaldo Lopez (late of the Medical Corps, Philippine Army).

The Detachment of Patients was divided, according to the medical judgment of Lieutenant Miller, into two groups. Those who had a reasonable ex-pectation of survival were in Ward #1, and those who did not were in Ward #2.

"Doc, say hello to Mr. McCoy," Second Lieutenant Percy L. Everly said as he and First Lieutenant Kenneth R. McCoy entered Ward #2.

Chief Miller, whose only item of uniform clothing was his now badly tat-tered brimmed chief petty officer's cap, raised his eyes from the emaciated, sweat-soaked Filipino lying on a crude cot and saw a young man dressed in loose black clothing. He noticed that the young man looked well fed, and was carrying in his hand what looked like a miniature rifle.

He nodded, just barely perceptibly, but did not speak.

"Chief," McCoy said.

"We brought you stuff," Everly said.

"Like what?" Chief Miller asked.

"Rice, a couple of porkers on the hoof, pineapples, and a bottle of booze," Everly said, and handed Miller a bottle of Famous Grouse.

"Jesus Christ, where did you get this?" Miller asked, taking the bottle from him and looking at him wonderingly.

"And this," McCoy said, and handed Chief Miller the rucksack that had been hanging from his shoulder.

Miller carefully laid the whiskey bottle on the bamboo floor, then took the rucksack and opened it. It contained a number of flat parcels packaged in a shiny opaque material strange to Miller. He looked up at McCoy curiously. McCoy was in the process of drawing a knife from a sheath strapped to his lower left arm. He handed the knife to Miller, who slit open one of the plastic-wrapped packages. He reached inside and removed from it a half-dozen flat olive-drab packages approximately 1.5 inches square. After placing all but one back in the plastic package, he examined the one in his hand very carefully.

"You know what this is?" McCoy asked.

"Yeah, I know what sulfanilamide is," Miller said. "How much of it do you have?"

"Two more bags like that with us," McCoy replied. "And another dozen bags back with General Fertig."

"What is that stuff, Doc?" Everly asked.

Miller bent over the patient on the crude cot, carefully pulled a blood-soaked bandage from the Filipino's side, then tore open the olive-drab enve-lope and sprinkled the white powder it contained on the ugly, obviously infected wound.

"This stuff was invented by a chemist named Roblin-he works for Lederle Laboratories. The original stuff came from the aspirin people, Bayer, in Germany."

"What's it do?" Everly asked.

"It's an antibacterial," Chief Miller said, conversationally. "It kills infec-tion. If it's as good as advertised, it'll keep this guy alive."

"No shit?" Everly asked.

"I never expected to see any here," Chief Miller said. "Where did you come from, Mr. McCoy?" Before McCoy could answer, Miller went on. "Did you bring me anything else?"

"Morphine, field surgeon's kits, Atabrine..."

"Jesus Christ! Where did you come from?"

"Off a submarine," Everly replied for him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need a list of things you need. You get three thousand pounds in the first shipment."

"Christ, I need everything!" Miller said, gesturing around Ward #2.

"You get three thousand pounds in the first shipment," McCoy repeated. "Nothing weighing more than fifty pounds. More later."

"When's the first shipment?"

"The Sunfish is due back here 14 January," McCoy said.