Chapter 12

“Do you two know what kind of trouble you’re in?” Lieutenant Leon Brizcoff thundered.

“Sorry sir, I guess it was an honest mistake.” Durant apologized.

Sergeants Durant and Mansconi were on the carpet trying to explain to the commanding officer why they had taken Danni and Sarina out of Columbia without permission. They stood ram rod straight and at attention. They stared straight ahead, hardly daring to do much more than blink while the Lieutenant tore a strip off their asses. He paced back and forth in front of them, alternating shouting and then stopping to glare at the pair. His anger was plain on his face.

“An honest mistake, my ass. I think you allowed the woman to put one over on you, didn’t you? And you went against my direct orders. I specifically said no civilians and you managed to get entangled with some anyway.” he barked.

“Like I said Sir, we didn’t exactly go looking for them. They found us so what were we supposed to do? Shoot to scare them away.” They stumbled into our camp all thirsty and hungry so we gave them some food and drink. That’s all we were gonna do too at first, except maybe point them in the proper direction to get themselves out of there but then she offered to take care of Simpson. She dug a bullet out of him. It probably saved his life so we thought we owed her,” Durant explained.

Brizcoff stopped his pacing and starred hard at Durant as he waited for the Sergeant to continue.

“Sir, the woman claimed she was Canadian so we began asking her questions and the woman seemed to know some things. She named off the 10 provinces and their capitals and she talked a bit about growing up in Edmonton. She couldn’t answer anything recent or concrete about the city but claimed that was because she had moved from there years ago. She said she had married a Columbian doctor and the child was theirs which made them Canadian.” Durant added.

“And you believed her, just like that?” The Lieutenant snapped his fingers. His face inches from Durant’s face. “I didn’t know you were such a pushover, pansy.” He yelled in disgust.

“Well, it wasn’t only that. Like I said, I thought we owed her ‘cause of Simpson but it was the girl too. I must admit I had my doubts until I heard her sing. Then, when she began talking about Wayne Gretzky I became convinced that maybe there was something to them.” Durant continued.

“Oh, the girl? And just what was she singing?” Brizcoff demanded.

“Oh, Canada, Sir and then when I asked her about hockey. She said she liked Wayne Gretzky. So what I was to do? We couldn’t just leave them there, especially after the woman saved Simpsons’ life, Durant said.

Brizcoff stopped in front of Mansconi. He clasped his hands behind his back and glared hard at him.

“And what about you Sergeant? I suppose you were convinced too?”

“Yes Sir, I actually I heard the girl singing our national anthem even before we reached Durant’s camp. You should have heard her. A beautiful, clear child’s voice coming out of the middle of nowhere. It sent chills up and down the spines of my squad, so yes Sir, I thought they might be Canadian. And, eh ... since both our squads thought so too we decided to take them along with us.”

“Damnest excuses I ever heard and since both your squads are in on this I’m gonna dream up some suitable punishment for the whole works of you, like night long emergency marches for an entire month. So it won’t be a pleasant, peaceful dream that’ll leave you smiling. It’ll be a god damn nightmare. Now, get the woman and child in here and I’ll see if I can straighten this out.”
“Yes Sir.” The Sergeants chorused.

Durant stepped outside the Lieutenant’s office where Danni and Sarina waited.

They rose from their chairs when the door opened.

“We’re about halfway there but best be careful. He’s really pissed, just like we expected so don’t do anything to set him off any more than he is,” Durant warned as he ushered them into the room.

“Don’t worry. I think I can handle it,” Danni assured him.

She and Sarina stood silently in front of Brizcoff who had been eyeing them carefully ever since they first walked through the door.

He bypassed all the preliminaries and asked. “Names please.”

“I’m Ruth Gilmore and this is my daughter Sarina,” Danni quickly replied.

She fumbled in her bag and withdrew some papers which she presented to Brizcoff.

“I got married in Columbia while working for UNICEF,” she explained as the officer scanned the documents.

He nodded. “Okay, but that’s all you got? No passports, visas or anything to verify this?” He asked.

“Erh ... no ... We had to leave so suddenly because of the rebels that I only had time to grab a few necessities,” Danni replied. She tried to keep her answers as simple as possible while volunteering nothing.

“And you didn’t think a passport and some supporting documents were necessary?” Brizcoff countered.

“Well, of course they’re a necessity but I didn’t think we’d need them because we weren’t planning on leaving the country so I left them behind in a safe place.” Danni explained.

“And so you just decided to take a hike through the jungle with the girl in tow?” Brizcoff continued his questions.

“Erh ... no. We were on the train going north to the Caribbean but then we heard there might be rebels up ahead so we left it. I thought we could skirt around them through the jungle for a couple of miles but I ended up getting lost, I guess. Then I stumbled onto your men who were kind enough to give us some water and food,” Danni said.

“In return I bandaged up their wounded. Maxwell only had a minor bullet hole that went right through the fleshy part of his leg so it was pretty easy to tend to him. Though Simpson was in much more serious shape but I did the best I could under the circumstances. I managed to dig the bullet out and bandage him up. By the way, how is he now? Is he gonna be okay?” Danni asked as she played her first trump card.

She was right. The Lieutenant was concerned about his men. Not much but it broke the ice. Now the rest might be easier.

“Thanks, the surgeon said you did such a good job of fixing up Simpson and Maxwell that all they need now is some rest and recuperation time. And just where did you learn those skills?”

“Like I told you, I married a doctor and I studied nursing some years ago. Also, I sometimes helped him out in emergencies. I guess he taught me a lot.” As usual Danni kept her explanation simple.

“And you say you’re from Edmonton?”

“Yes, but it was a long time ago. I haven’t lived there in years.”

Danni thought the Lieutenant was going to give her a pop quiz her and was ready to answer with what little the soldiers had taught her, then try and shrug off the rest. However, he turned to Sarina who stood quietly beside her the whole time.

“And you little girl?” You say you’re Canadian?” he eyed the child who stared back at him with those big, black eyes and impish grin that made it difficult for anybody to resist.

She was Danni’s second trump card. The real ace in the hole.

“Yes, I’m Canadian. Want to hear my sing Oh Canada? I can also say that Wayne Gretzky is the best hockey player. Go Edmonton Oilers go.” Sarina proudly replied.

It all came pouring out so fast it was obvious that it had been pent up inside of her. She just waited for the opportunity to show the officer all the things the soldiers had taught her

Then, before Brizcoff could say anything she began singing the national anthem and her voice was just as beautiful as before. Maybe even more so because practice makes perfect and Sarina had sung it numerous times. Although definitely childish she belted it out loud and clear and with lots of enthusiasm just like Dempster and the others had taught her. She never missed a word either, thanks to their tutoring.

Danni was immensely proud of her performance and so were Mansconi and Durant. The Lieutenant must have been too because by the time she finished his scowl on his far too serious face had changed to a smile. Although he tried not to show it, the girl had captivated him, just like she had all the others. Danni had done nothing. The girl had done it all by herself.

After a moment he turned towards the Sergeants and said “Well, maybe I can see your point. She sure sounds like she could be Canadian to me and Ruth helped Simpson and Maxwell. So I’ll see what I can do to convince my bosses but I warn you. They won’t be pushovers. And don’t think you and your squads are going to get off easy. I’m going make sure you all pay one way or another for this little charade.”

Danni and Sarina were escorted out of the Lieutenant’s office and into the female barracks. They enjoyed the luxury of a long shower and Danni took the time to brush out Sarina’s hair again. They joined everybody in the mess hall for supper. Of course, Sarina was the centre of attention. With the base rumor mill going full blast, most of the soldiers had already heard of her earlier performance and dropped by just to get a look at her and say hi.

Dempster and some of the squad who had tutored Sarina arrived. It climaxed with the girl standing on a table top and proudly belting out the national anthem in a voice so loud the whole mess hall could hear. There was a tremendous applause from everybody when she finished. Danni thought although Sarina was normally pretty shy she seemed to be enjoying her new found celebrity status.

It was obvious she had won over the entire base but her victory wasn’t totally complete. She still had to win over Base Commander Lieutenant Colonel Dan Albright. Danni realized until that happened, their status would still be questionable. He could give them a real difficult time and hinder her goal which was to get off the base and get back to some civilized country.

They were summoned to his office the next morning immediately after breakfast in the mess hall. To make sure everything went smoothly Danni made sure Sarina was wearing clean clothes and looking clean and well-scrubbed. She even took extra time combing and brushing out her long, black hair until it shone.