Read Little Girl Lost 6: The Return of Johnnie Wise Online
Authors: Keith Lee Johnson
Chapter 65
“
So, then is this Sun Tzu an Oriental like you or what?”
I
t had been a long, exhausting day of marching, running, and learning military protocol. The platoon had eaten its last meal of the day and had marched back to the barracks, where they were suppose to polish all three pairs of their Army issued footgear. However, Lucas Matthews, Nicolas Lee, and Thomas Shaw, who was grossly overweight, didn’t have the luxury of polishing their footgear—at least not when the other recruits were polishing theirs. Lucas and Nicolas decided that Thomas needed remedial running to help him shed at least a hundred pounds. Otherwise, he would never be able to keep up. Sergeant Cornsilk had made it clear that even though the platoon was exhausted due to lack of sleep and running from place to place, the next day was when basic combat training would began.
From what Lucas could tell, he and Nicolas were in better shape than the other recruits, so they would be ready for whatever Cornsilk had in mind—at least that’s what he thought. But Thomas was going to be in serious trouble, which meant that Lucas would be in serious trouble because Cornsilk would hold him responsible. They walked a block at a fast pace, and then they jogged a block alternately. Now they were on their way back to the barracks. While Thomas had to stop several times and bend over as he sucked wind, Lucas and Nicolas talked.
“Nicolas, what are your plans when you leave boot camp?”
“I’m hoping to get assigned to the Presidio.”
“The what?”
“The Presidio. It’s an Army base in San Francisco.”
“Ah, so you wanna go back home, huh?”
“Yeah, man, don’t you?”
“No. Too many bad memories in New Orleans. So, you gotta girl back home or what?”
“Nobody special if that’s what you mean?”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean.”
“So, then you must have a girlfriend. Otherwise you would not have asked me about it, right?”
“I used to have one back home.”
“But now you have one here. The pretty lieutenant at the hospital, right? You can tell me. Don’t worry. I won’t say a word. It’s her, right?”
Lucas nodded.
“Boy, you work fast. You’ve only been here one day, and not only do you have a girlfriend, you’ve got yourself an officer. Do you think she has any friends that I could go out with when we get liberty?”
“Probably. I’ll have to look into it. But liberty is a long way away, my man.”
“It’ll go fast. Believe me. It’ll be over with before you know.”
“I hope you’re right, and it goes by fast.”
“When it’s over, what are you planning to do?”
“I’ve got officers training school at Fort Benning. After that, I’m going over to Germany to play football. You should seriously consider coming with me, man. I think you’ll love it, too, especially since you don’t have a woman back home.”
“I’ll give it some thought, New Orleans. I don’t think they’ll have any Chinese there.”
“Then you can be the first of many. I’m sure one of them German girls would love to date you.”
“The Fräulein? I doubt that.”
“The what?”
“The Fräulein. That’s what they call the single German women over there.”
“Really?” He looked at Nicolas skeptically. “How do you know that’s what they call ’em?”
“My grandmother is German. She taught me a few things.”
“So can you speak the language pretty good or what?”
“I can speak it fairly well, sure.”
“Well then you’ve got to come over to Germany with me, man. We’ll have a ball over there, I’m sure of it.”
“We helped build this country, and the whites treat us just like the blacks. I don’t think the whites over there’ll be any different from the whites here.”
“Yet, your grandmother is German. That doesn’t make sense, San Francisco. What if we get over there and we get treated better by our former enemies than we do in the land we were born in?”
“Why would you even think such a thing, New Orleans?”
“For one, your grandmother is German, and she married a Chinaman. That means that there are probably more women like her.”
“But my grandparents met in Paris. Things are different there.”
“Yeah but she’s still German, so what I said still goes. And for two, Colonel Strong wants me to come over there and play ball for him. If things were as bad as you think, he wouldn’t want me there. Besides, we have a military presence there now. The Germans wouldn’t dare mess with us. We already kicked their asses twice, and there won’t be a third time. They don’t want no more, San Francisco, believe me.”
“I don’t know, New Orleans. I’ll think about it, okay?”
“Great! You do play football, right?”
“No.”
“What a minute. You’ve never played football? Not even a pickup game?”
“Not my game. Chess is my game. Do you play?”
“No.”
“You mean you’ve never played a game of chess? Not even a pickup game?”
“I get your point, man. Don’t run it into the ground.”
“I’ll tell you what. You teach me how to play football, and I’ll teach you how to play chess. It’s a good game to know if you’re going to be a leader of men.”
“I’ll take that deal if you teach me some of that German, too. That way if you decide not to go with me, I’ll know a little bit and learn the rest when I get there.”
“It’s a deal. What about reading? Do you like to read, New Orleans?”
“Yeah. I didn’t use to, but now I do. Why?”
“You ever read Sun Tzu.”
“Sun who?”
“Sun Tzu. If you’re going to lead men, you’ve got to read that. I just happen to have a copy.”
“So, then is this Sun Tzu an Oriental like you or what?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t we exchange books?”
“What kind of books do you have?”
“Books about Negroes. Stuff you oughta know about us if you’re gonna be my friend. I’ll read yours, and you can read mine.”
“Okay. We can switch when we get back to the barracks.”
Lucas looked at Thomas Shaw. He was still bent over with his hands on his knees. “Alright, Salt Lake City, you’ve had enough rest. Let’s pick up the pace. We’re gonna double-time it all the way back to the barracks from here.”
Chapter 66
“
When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you!”
W
ith an arm around each of their necks, Lucas and Nicolas walked Thomas Shaw into the barracks, and then over to his bed and laid him on it. They laughed because he kind of bounced when he landed. They watched him close his eyes while he tried to catch his breath. They stood at the side of his bed, looking down into his puffy reddish face. As they were about to leave, Thomas said, “I wanna go over to Germany with you guys. If I get in shape, promise me you’ll take me with you. I want me one of them Fräuleins, too.”
Lucas turned around and said, “We’ll see, Salt Lake City. We’ll see.”
Lucas and Nicolas went over to the recruit who bunked next to Lucas. The recruit was sitting on the floor vigorously polishing his boots. They stared at him until they got his attention. When the recruit looked up at them, Lucas said, “Attention!”
The recruit quickly put his boot and brush down. He stood up and became rigid.
Softly, Lucas said, “Do me a favor, Fort Lauderdale.”
“What favor, sir?”
Lucas tilted his head to the left and said, “I want you to switch bunks with my man, San Francisco. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Outstanding. Just so you know . . . I never forget a favor. That’s how we did it in the New Orleans mafia. Someone does you a favor, and they owe you a favor, understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Alright then. If you need anything, you let me know, and I’ll take care of it. I would appreciate it if you pack your stuff. My man, San Francisco, is moving down here.”
“Yes, sir.”
But when the other Negroes saw it, they didn’t like it. They stared at Lucas like he was a traitor. While San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale packed their belongings, ten angry Negro recruits surrounded Lucas. The leader was a man who claimed to be a ruffian from the south side of Chicago. He offered a menacing stare before saying, “We see whatcha doin’, and we don’t like it.”
The man next to him was from the Bronx. He backed Chicago’s play, saying, “Sho’ don’t. Not one bit.”
Lucas looked at each man before saying, “Are you all in this together? Or, did Chicago here talk y’all into this?”
Some of the men looked away, but some of them continued staring at Lucas, threatening him with their numbers. Lucas noticed that the white recruits were watching and gathering around, too. This was a street thing. Chicago wanted to run the show even though Sergeant Cornsilk had given the reins to Lucas. There was about to be a showdown.
When Nicolas Lee heard the commotion, he turned around to see what was going on. When he saw that Lucas was surrounded and that more of the recruits were gathering, he hustled down there and stood next to him, ready to keep his word. He would fight them all if he had to. Lynchburg and Cheyenne didn’t move. They just stood at the outer edge of the growing circle of men.
Lucas smiled when he saw that he had at least one ally even though he didn’t think he’d need one. He knew most men that talked were all talk, no action. But since the man standing before him was supposedly from Chicago, he gave him the benefit of the doubt, yet he was unfazed by his bravado.
“You need to pick another second in command, New Orleans,” Chicago said. “You’re gonna tell the sergeant the chink’s gotta go and that you want another man backing you up. The white boys got two squad leaders. We want two. It’s only fair. I’m sure the chink will understand since he’s the only one of his kind in the platoon.”
Nicolas moved forward like he was about to take on Chicago, but Lucas put his arm out, stopping his forward movement. This was his moment to shine. He was about to show everybody why he was the barracks chief and would continue to be until basic was over. Lucas said, “So who do you think I oughta pick?”
Chicago took two steps forward and said, “Me, that’s who. The sergeant should’ve picked me in the first damned place. Not you.”
“Why is that?” Lucas said.
“Because I—”
Bing! Lucas unleashed a left hook that nobody saw coming, least of all Chicago, whose eyes were now closed, and his body was about to hit the floor. Lucas caught him and eased him to the floor. This was a turf war, and he had just ended it decisively with one invisible blow.
“Atten-hut!” Fort Lauderdale called out.
All the men stiffened.
“What’s going on in here?” Sergeant Cornsilk yelled, looking at Lucas.
“Nothing, sir!” Lucas yelled. “Chicago fainted, sir, and I caught him before he hit his head on the floor.”
Cornsilk walked up to San Francisco and yelled, “Is that what happened?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Outstand—”