Footfall

Roger let Harry lead him to a table. They sat, and Roger studied Harry while opening his notebook. Beard and hair trimmed. Corn. Patiently but not artistically. Clothes are clean and almost new and don’t quite fit. Supplied by the Army? “Harry, we have a lot to talk about. I’d like to buy you di

Reddington hesitated a bare instant. “May I bring a friend?”

“Sure. What time do you like?”

“Call it seven-thirty.”

The Friendly Snout was more crowded now, with citizens and Army and Navy perso

The civilians had di

“I like it,” Rosalee said. “But where do they get the food?”

“Mess sergeants making a bit on the side,” Roger said. “That’s why the service types won’t eat here.”

“You know that for sure?”

“Don’t have to.”

She drew away from him in mock horror. “But Roger, it’s news, and you’re not digging it out—”

“Now just a damn minute—”

“Gotcha!”

“Yeah, okay. Look, Rosalee, it would only be a little story. No prizes. And I’d get half the Army on my case, and I don’t need—”

“Roger, I’m the one who keeps telling you to relax!”

Roger let thick sarcasm creep into his voice. “By their standard there were no menus. Prices were listed on a blackboard, mostly too high.

“The drinks are dependable,” Roger said.

“Dependable?”

“You can depend on them to take the lining out of your throat. Harry was drinking a brand-name beer, but I noticed there was yeast in the bottom of the bottle… Anyway, they take plastic.”

“Oh, goody. Is that him?” She glanced toward the doorway. “Hairy and red. But he’s with three people.”

“Hardly surprising-Carlotta!” Roger bounded across the room.

Carlotta Dawson gri

“You knew I was out here and you didn’t come find me?”

“We’re busy in there, Roger.” She lowered her voice so no one else could hear. “They have me sitting in for Wes. Roger, that’s off the record. Really off the record.”

Shit. “Carlotta, I’m glad to see you. Hell, I’ve lost track of everybody. All my girls—”

“Everyone’s all right. I just heard from Linda. She says Evelyn’s fine.”

“Great.” Say what? But Evelyn lives in… later. “Harry, you sure know some famous people.”

“Didn’t know you knew her…”

“Roger and I are old friends,” Carlotta said.

“Carlotta, have you heard anything about Wes?”

“Not since his speech. Roger, what are they saying about him? Do they call him a traitor?”

Roger gestured helplessly. “Not around me—”

“Or me,” Harry said.

“But they do.”

“Some do. Not the doctors. Not the farmers and grocers. Just damn fools.”

“There are always damn fools,” Harry said.

And then there are the ones who say Dawson was insufficiently persuasive, because we ought to give up before they kill us all. “Lots of fools,” Roger said.

“Harpanet-the alien Harry captured-says that Wes told the truth, they do treat captives well—”

Wes did that well, Carlotta. Anybody who knew him would know that.”

“I guess I worry too much.” Her mood changed. “Harry, thanks for inviting me out. I’ve been inside far too long. Time to have a little fun. Roger, it’s really good to see you again.”

“This is Rosalee. I picked her up in Lauren-ah, hell, it sounds wrong. We’ve been together since—”

“Never heard you run out of words.” Carlotta laughed. “Rosalee.”

Good. She doesn’t know she told me something. “Let’s down. Harry’s promised us a song.” Roger led the way to the table. Millie had already pulled up another table to accommodate the extra guests, and brought out a new pitcher of beer.

“What did you get?” Rosalee whispered.

“Mind your own business.”

“You expected that woman.”

“Shhh. I hoped. You told me Harry knew her. Now just listen.” They sat. “Rosalee, I’ve known Carlotta since she was in high school.”

“Pleased to meet you, Rosalee.” Hairy Red bowed as he shook her hand. “This is Tim Lewis… Lucille Battaglia.” Lewis was the man who had been teaching Harry to sing. Lucille was small and dark and pretty, and in uniform.

Spec. 4. Adjutant General corps. Perso

“When does it stop raining?” Roger asked.

“The Colonel says in about six months,” Lucille said. “If we’re lucky.”

“Colonel?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Crichton. I work for her—”

“Je

“Right.” Carlotta smiled. “That’s why I brought Lucille. Je

“Hey. Lieutenant Colonel. She must have done something important…”

Carlotta smiled but she didn’t say anything.

“Yeah. Rosalee, Je

“If we’re lucky,” Carlotta said. “Actually, nobody really knows It might be more than that.”

“What do you do Inside, Mrs. Dawson?” Rosalee asked.

“Well, I work for the government.”

“Everybody wonders what it’s like, though,” Roger insisted. “Families. I’ve heard the senior staff have their families with them—”

“Some do,” Carlotta said. “Roger, I hear you were part of a raid on the Invaders—”

Roger laughed. “Okay, I give up. Look, I only witnessed that raid. Mostly it was George’s idea. Who’d you hear it from?”

“Carol.”

Oh, shit. Carol had gone Inside, on the insistence of Nat Reynolds. The goddamn sci-fi people can get their groupies Inside, and I can’t even get past the outside gate.

“Actually, it was George’s idea. I was along to watch.” How much did that woman tell? Reynolds was no more a hero than I was. “Hell, I’m not blowing a month’s expense money to talk about me! Harry, tell your story. .

“Wow,” Lucille said. “That’s really something. I’ve never seen a snout except Harpanet. The one you captured, Harry.”

“Well, it was sufficiently hairy,” Harry said. “If the snout didn’t kill us, the farmers would. We took the motorcycle downhill till we could smell the swamp, and then we walked.

Lucille found Hairy Red awesome. Roger found that amusing.

But— Carlotta laughed, something between a snort and a giggle.

“See if it’ll carry you,” the man says. “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. A snout armed with an assault rifle! I don’t think it ever crossed Harry’s mind that I might chicken out. So I couldn’t. Harry’s just the right kind of crazy. You know what he said when we got to those farmers?”

But Carlotta’s backing him up! He must be a real hero. Aw, come on — Roger moved his now clean di

(All of the plates had been cleaned. People didn’t waste-food these days.)

“I never saw action,” Lucille said. “But I’ve seen Harpanet — nuts. Classified.”

“Are there any stories you can tell?”

“I haven’t been told so. Harry has all the good stories.”

Harry has the stories, but Carlotta knows what’s happening. Bellingham Evelyn got pregnant and married that guy, what was his name? Max. Max Rohrs. Has a sick mother in Bellingham Had to live there, and Evelyn went with him. She’ll still be there. What in hell is Linda Gillespie doing in Bellingham?

He watched Corporal Lucille from the corner of his eye when he said, “We didn’t see any sign of snouts after the bombs went off. Now they tell me those were Soviet bombs.” She didn’t react “I wonder how the sub commanders felt. They finally got to bomb us.”

“I never saw a snout,” Tim Lewis said. “I talked to plenty o guys who did. Dave Pfeiffer and I made a song about what happened to him. He joined the Army after we got here. I don’t know where he is now, but I’d guess he’s chasing down refugee snouts.’