Kelly
© 1989, 1998, 2001 by Morgan. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
	Mike Callahan moved quietly in the shadows next to the stone wall in Langenhagen.  He saw Johnson slip around the far corner.  Suddenly, there was the sound of automatic-weapons fire.  Callahan could hear the muffled sounds characteristic of the MP-5 and the chatter of AK-47 assault rifles.  As he slid along the wall trying to be as quiet as possible, he wondered why he was bothering.  The noise from the automatic weapons was enough to awaken the dead.
	As he approached the corner of the wall, two Soviet guards came around, moving right into a hail of fire from his silenced MP-5.  Unlike their comrades, they didn't have a chance to fire a shot as they were cut down by a hail of 9mm bullets.  Mike continued to the corner and carefully peered around it.  He found Ben Johnson dead, his body riddled with bullets.  Just then two more guards came running.  Mike kept low in the shadows and tracked their approach.  He had picked up an AK-47 from one of the downed guards and pulled its cocking lever.  He waited motionless until the guards were only ten feet away.  They were so close he couldn't miss — and didn't.  They were cut to pieces by automatic weapons fire.
	He moved back around the corner of the wall.  From the corner of his eye he saw a shadow move.  It was another guard with his weapon leveled at him.  Mike's weapon was aimed the wrong way; he was dead meat.  Then there was a quick movement behind the guard.  A bare arm came around his neck and there was a flash of light on polished metal.  The guard collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
	Mike was astonished to see a naked girl kneeling over the body and appearing to wipe off a knife blade on the dead man's tunic.  He could hear the sounds of running feet as more guards responded to the sounds of gunfire.  While he ran towards the spot where he and Ben had left the car they had used for the night's raid, he could hear the padding sound of the girl's bare feet running after him.
	The car was an ancient Volkswagen Beetle which was still a ubiquitous car in Langenhagen.  He jumped in and started it up as the girl opened the other door and jumped into the passenger seat.  The car's interior was so dark he still couldn't get a good look at her.  He took a right turn at the first corner, followed by a left and then another right.  When he came to a main artery he turned left and paced the small volume of wartime traffic heading out of town.
	Stopping beside a field that was just around a bend in the road from a road block, Mike swallowed hard.  The girl beside him had still not spoken a word.  When he asked her if she were coming with him, she nodded.  He realized he had spoken to her in English rather than the local language, German.  She didn't even blink.
	"Okay, then," he said pointing out the edge of a grove of trees, "run for those trees over there.  But watch where you step.  It's a minefield.  Try to step on clumps of grass.  Incidentally, after you go a few yards, you'll be within sight of a checkpoint up the road.  They have searchlights, so don't be surprised if bullets start humming by you.  Can you do that?"
	The girl nodded again and got out of the car.  Mike took another clip of ammunition for his MP-5 and set it for single fire.  At this range automatic fire would just make noise.  The range was far too great for automatic weapons to be used with any accuracy; for that matter, his weapon's effective range was much too short for this task at any rate of fire.
	The girl started running.  He could see her picking her way across the field, carefully following his instructions about placing her feet.  After she had gone about twenty yards, he could hear the alarm being given at the checkpoint and then searchlights started sweeping the field.  One picked up the running girl and pinned her in its beam.  Strangely, there were no shots fired and she did not slow down.  Mike realized the guards were taken by surprise at the sight of a naked girl running across the field.
	As she reached the far edge of the field, the first shots were fired.  As he expected, the guards were using automatic fire.  Dirt was being kicked up in the area where the girl was running but she seemed to ignore it.  In a matter of moments she was out of range.
	He started sprinting after her.  This time the guards were alert.  After he had taken about a dozens steps he was hit, but managed to stay on his feet and kept going.  Soon he reached the edge of the trees and found the girl waiting for him.
	"You did say that was a minefield, didn't you?" she asked quietly.
	Mike was impressed with the calmness of her voice and liked its soft musical quality.  "Yes, it is, and that's what I said.  Does it make a difference?"
	She just shook her head.  She had seen him hit and asked, "Do you have a first-aid pack with you?"  When he said he didn't, she took her knife and slit his pants, cutting off the left trouser leg.  She then rolled it around to form a bandage and placed it over the bullet hole.  It was quite dark at their position so Mike still had not had a good look at the girl.
	"Where do we go now?" she asked.
	He led the way deep into the stand of trees to a campsite he and Ben had set up a few days earlier.  Then he explained to her they had taken advantage of the minefields the East Germans and Russians had placed by moving some of their mines and adding a few of their own.  After two patrols had detonated mines while proceeding on what they thought to be a safe track, they had ceased patrolling towards the woods.  Fortunately, they did not suspect enemy action.  Rather, they wrote it off as typically careless marking of mine locations.
	Mike went into a grove of tall evergreens.  As he led her to their camp he explained how the evergreens dissipated wood smoke and shielded them from view from helicopters passing overhead.  Because of natural emissions from the evergreens, small amounts of wood smoke went unnoticed.  As he traveled the last few feet, he started to feel dizzy as the initial shock of being hit started to wear off.  As they entered the camp's perimeter, he staggered, then collapsed to the ground.
	When he recovered consciousness, he saw the girl kneeling on the floor of the tent examining his leg by the light of a gasoline lantern.  She was now wearing one of Ben's combat jackets.  He had been awakened by a sharp jabbing pain in his leg which caused it to jerk under her hand.  She went to the large first-aid kit she had found, took out a xylocaine ampule and gave him an injection in the leg just above the point of bullet entry.
	She had been kneeling and now sat back on her heels and smiled at him.  "We have to wait for the morphine to work.  I suppose we should get acquainted.  My name is Kelly Jackson, and thank you for rescuing me," she said.
	Mike looked at her carefully.  She had blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes.  Remarkable for Germany, she even had a tan although it was very early spring.  Mike decided she was a very lovely girl — and clearly very young.  He estimated her age as being under twenty-one — probably eighteen or nineteen.
	 "Hello, Kelly," he said.  "I'm Mike Callahan, and I owe you.  You were the one who took the guard off my back while I was standing there like a fool with my weapon pointing in the wrong direction.  Where did you come from by the way, and what are you doing here?"
	"I came from the school complex behind the wall," she replied.  "I've been held there since the fighting started... about a year now.  How are we doing, anyway?"
	"We're holding our own," Mike answered.  "In fact, I guess you'd have to say we're probably winning.  We stopped their initial rush, and there are signs the bad guys have lost most of their assault troops.  We've put some major-league holes in their first-line assault units.  Now we're seeing more second- and third-level units being brought up to the line.  What were you doing?"
	"I was the commandant's mistress for the last couple of months.  I guess I've had a lab course in sex education.  On the first day of the occupation, I lost my virginity on the stage in the auditorium.  Since then I did — or was forced to do — everything imaginable with everyone imaginable.  Finally, I figured out how the game is played and got to be the commandant's mistress... but he wanted me to be his concubine.
	"He's been really pissed that I haven't gotten pregnant like so many of the other girls.  He says it reflects badly on his manhood, so now he has me beaten every month when my period starts.  Anyway, I took advantage of your gunfire to even the score.  He's dead now.  I slit his throat and came down the drain pipe.  It's something I've been planning to do for quite awhile; you provided the opportunity.
	"Right now I'm about to operate.  I guess I should ask if you want me to, though.  It's obvious to you I'm no doctor, but the bullet is still in your leg.  I don't think you'll be able to move much until it comes out, and it could become infected or gangrenous.  You could lose it.  Do you want me to try?" she asked, looking at him solemnly.
	He smiled at her and said, "You look like you know what you're doing.  What woke me up?  It felt like you were digging for something."
	"I'm sorry.  I was trying to figure out which instruments did what, and I was trying to scrub the area."  She moved her finger on his leg between the wound and the point at which she had given him the shot of xylocaine.  "Do you feel this?" she asked.
	"No, nothing," Mike replied.
	She blocked his view with her back, did something else, and asked, "Did you feel that?"  He had felt nothing and said so.  She smiled and said, "I guess you're ready, then.  I'm sorry.  I dug a fingernail into your leg hard.  If the xylocaine hadn't taken, you would have felt it."
	Kelly put on a pair of surgical gloves and picked up a probe.  She carefully felt her way down the entry wound until she met the resistance of the bullet.  Keeping the probe in position, she followed it down into the wound with surgical forceps.  When her sensitive fingers felt the bullet with the forceps' tip, she opened them and grabbed the bullet.  Locking them, she slowly withdrew the forceps pulling the bullet back along its track through the muscle mass gripping it.  She dropped the bullet on the blanket and reinserted the forceps into the wound.
	Mike watched the girl work.  In spite of the coolness of the spring night, she was sweating profusely.  Perspiration was pouring off her face but he could see she was ignoring it.  He could see her open the nose of the forceps — really very thin, long-nosed locking pliers — just a tiny bit, then lock them again.  Slowly, she withdrew them from the wound.  Mike had noticed it had not been bleeding very much.  The temporary bandage wasn't as soaked with blood as he expected.  The forceps were removed and blood started gushing from the wound.
	He noticed she just watched it flow without blinking.  Finally, she took surgical cotton and stopped the flow of blood with pressure.  She sprinkled an antibiotic in and around the wound, removed the cotton and applied a pressure bandage made from a small stack of gauze compresses.  It was only then Mike that realized she had shaved a large area on his thigh.
	After taping the gauze pads in place she gave him an injection.  "It's tetracycline to prevent infection," she said.
	Only then did she wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.  "Mike, hold out your left arm and make a fist, please," she said.
	He did what she asked and watched her carefully insert a needle into a vein that had popped up.  She rigged a plasma bottle and released the clamp allowing the fluid to flow slowly into his arm.  Then she took a careful look at the forceps.  On her second pass she had removed a small pad of cloth — obviously a piece of his pants — driven into his leg ahead of the bullet.
	"Kelly, that was remarkable.  Where did you ever receive medical training?" he asked.
	A beautiful smile lit up her face as Kelly smiled for the first time.  "I may ask you to write my teacher a note.  I've flunked biology twice.  I could never dissect a dead frog without getting sick and the sight of blood used to cause me to pass out.  I guess I got used to it after seeing my own dripping on the floor often enough.  I would ask you how you feel, but the book says you won't feel anything for at least another thirty minutes or so.  I hope I didn't do anything wrong."  Her face was very serious by the time she had finished speaking.
	"What do you mean, 'the book says?'  What book?" he asked.
	"This one," she replied, holding up a medium-sized paperback.  "It was in the bottom of the first-aid kit and I studied it before I started.  I just hope I didn't forget anything."
	"Do you mean to tell me that was bullet removal, self-taught?  I can't believe it!"
	"I'm afraid it was," she said wryly.  "I didn't think there were any army surgeons making house calls out this way."  Her face fell and she was close to tears.  "I'm sorry.  I have no knowledge, no training and no skill.  I could have cost you your leg.  And for that matter, what I did still might."
	Instead of replying directly, Mike asked, "Kelly, how old are you?"
	She was still kneeling on the blanket she had spread, sitting back on her ankles.  She was obviously surprised by the question.  "I'm almost nineteen.  Why?"
	Mike just shook his head.  "Kelly, I've seen medics handle first-aid in the field and I've seen some of the docs work on my friends.  That was as skillfully done as anything I've ever seen.
	"From the way the sweat was pouring off you, it was obvious you were scared but you were as steady as anyone I've ever seen.  I really don't know what I would have done if you had told me about your lack of experience in advance.  Probably something absolutely stupid like trying to do it myself.  You were great!"
	She smiled her gratitude.  "My father's a lawyer.  I guess he would want me to ask you to sign a release or something.  How do you feel now?"
	Mike carefully touched the bandage.  Feeling had been coming back to his leg and it hurt but not nearly as much as it had with the bullet still in it.  By this time, the plasma bottle had drained and Kelly carefully withdrew the needle from his arm and put a Band-Aid over it.  He could see she was about ready to drop.
	The two sleeping bags were in sight except Kelly had moved his next to the blanket she was using as an operating table.  He rolled into it noticing that she had unzipped it and opened it up all the way.  All he had to do was roll in, and he did.  He saw her take the gasoline lantern to Ben's bag, slip off the fatigue jacket and slide in.  A moment later she had extinguished the light and he was asleep.
*  *  *
	As he started to waken, Mike felt a wonderful sense of warmth.  He realized Kelly was in his sleeping bag with him and his hand was cupping her breast as she slept.  He realized he hadn't really seen her before.  Daylight was now lighting the inside of the tent through the tent cloth.  Coming through the camouflage pattern, it cast the interior in strange color patterns.
	Mike realized Kelly's lips were only inches away from his own.  He tightened his grip on her beautifully formed breast and kissed her softly on the lips.  He instantly felt her lips move under his and her tongue started probing his mouth.  The kiss which had started so softly became passionate almost immediately.
	He felt the lovely body — held so closely to his by the tight diameter of the sleeping bag — move against him.  Mike realized he was completely naked now although he remembered getting into the sleeping bag fully dressed.
	A very soft voice in his ear breathed, "Good morning, Mike."
	He held her to him and asked, "How did you get in here?"
	The soft voice continued just inches from his ear, "You got feverish last night.  First, you started fighting the sleeping bag.  Since you were burning up, I unzipped it and took off your clothes.  Then the fever turned to chills.  I... I got in with you to try to warm you, and I guess we both fell asleep.  I'm sorry," she said as she started to unzip the bag.
	He stopped her hand.  "Sorry for what?  For saving my life?"
	She moved her face as far from his as she could, a matter of a few more inches.  "Mike, I'm absolutely filthy.  You...  No decent man would ever want to associate with me.  Think of the worst things you could do to a girl.  They've been done to me, I've been forced to do them to myself, and I've done them with — and to — others.  I'm really used goods."  He could hear her voice crack as she said it.
	Then with an obvious effort of will she said, "How do you feel this morning?  I'm pretty sure your temperature is back to normal."
	"I feel fine.  Except I haven't had a woman in months.  But I'm sure you can feel that.  Kelly, I would like to make love to you," he whispered.
	"Please don't, Mike!  You'll catch something vile.  You can't believe how filthy I am and how dirty and rotten I feel."
	"Then why did you return my kiss?  You did, you know.  And it tasted beautiful... fresh, clean, loving, tender.  Why?"
	"I couldn't help myself.  It was a first for me.  Believe it or not, you're the first man I've ever wanted to kiss.  Ever!  I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have done it.  It leads you to expect more than it's in my power to give.  You expect a nice girl, and I'm not and can never be."
	"Kelly, what do you think I expect?" he asked quietly.  "How do you see yourself?  What have you done wrong?  Were you a prostitute, selling your body?  Were you a slut sleeping with anything in pants?"
	Kelly was startled.  "Of course not!  But I was a prostitute of sorts.  Of course, we didn't get paid for sex, but we were beaten unmercifully if we weren't good, and only a little less if we were."
	"Have you done anything of your free will you're ashamed of?" he persisted.
	"No," she replied slowly, "I guess not.. at least, not since the Russians came."
	"Kelly, I need you," he said softly.  "I don't care what you say.  I'll take the chance if you will.  Will you?"  He looked at her lovingly and added, "I don't think I'm taking any chance at all.  And Kelly, I need you.  Will you let me make love to you?"
	She kissed him passionately and whispered, "Oh, God!  Yes!"
	He started to move his hand softly up and down her back.  Her skin was as smooth as satin, but he could feel ridges under his fingertips.  Her hand moved to his cock which was now fully erect.  Without speaking she unzipped the sleeping bag and rolled on top of him.  Carefully she placed his cock at the entrance to her cunt and eased down on him.  The sensation Mike felt was simply exquisite as he slowly penetrated her body.  Her cunt was flooded with her juices.  In spite of what she had said about the sexual abuse she had suffered, it was still very tight.  She now had him inside to his full length.
	"You're very big, Mike.  Probably the biggest I've ever had.  God, it feels good!  Thank you so much."  She leaned forward over him.
	He took the opportunity to grasp her beautiful breasts and caress them while she continued leaning forward and softly kissed him.  His arms went around her and he held her shoulders to him as her pelvis continued to move slowly up and down on his cock.  The kiss was marvelous with electricity flowing between them.  Then he could feel her loins start to shake as she had an orgasm, and then another, and then a third.
	"I forgot to tell you.  They circumcised my clit to make me cum easier.  Mike, you feel wonderful inside me!"  She screamed the last words as she achieved a massive orgasm that brought him over the brink.
	He emptied his massive balls into her cunt as she collapsed on top of him.  Then she reached behind her and pulled the sleeping bag over them while she rested on him with his cock, now losing its massive size, still within her.  He noticed that even in her present condition she was careful not to get close to the wound in his leg.  When they recovered, she slid under the bag and he could feel her tongue and lips carefully cleaning his prick.  Finally, she slid back up and rested beside him.
	"What was that?" he asked.
	"Oh!  I'm sorry.  It's another habit the Russians taught me... painfully.  After you absorbed their cum, they expected you to lick off their cocks and then dry them with your hair.  That's why my hair is so long."
	Oddly, she chuckled.  It sounded like she was genuinely amused by something.
	"What's so damned funny?" Mike asked.
	"I'm sorry, Mike.  I was just thinking.  I guess the reason I'm not in bad shape physically is I've been getting a lot of protein by taking men in my mouth.  Of course you learn quickly to swallow every drop."  She formed her body to his and they slept.
	They were awakened by an explosion.  Mike jerked awake, but didn't move.  Looking at him she found he had a rather odd smile on his face.  "What was that?" she asked.
	"That's fun and games.  The first thing Ben and I did when we found our way into this grove was to rearrange their minefield slightly.  They patrol over this way following their map.  Fortunately, they're moving units in and out so fast no unit has been here long enough to really do any serious patrolling.  Having lived with them awhile, you probably already know how paranoid they are.  For chrissakes, even their maps are classified!"
	He slid as far away from the girl as he could to look at her face.  She was looking at him impassively.  "Do you know how to use a rifle?" he asked.
	"I can figure it out, I guess.  Why?"
	"Our mission was just to raise hell... anywhere, doing anything.  As a result, we have a lot of interesting toys.  One of them is a silenced sniper rifle.  Care to try?"
	She looked at him with a fierce grin.  "You mean I get to shoot Russians?  Absolutely.  Mike, please show me what to do."
	He picked up a staff made from a sapling that had been trimmed.  He looked at it and then at Kelly.  "Did you make this?" he asked.
	She nodded and he could see her face fall.  "Yes, I did.  I thought maybe you could use it to help get around.  I know it's not very good, but it's the best I could do in the dark.  I expect your leg has probably stiffened up by now."
	He had slipped on some clothes by this time being careful not to hit his leg.  He hobbled over to her as she sat naked on the sleeping bag.  Pulling her upright, he was careful to keep his weight on his uninjured right leg.  Mike hadn't realized how tall she was before.  He estimated her height as five feet eight or nine, compared to his own six feet three.  He wondered how such a slight girl could move him around to undress him.  She couldn't weigh more than 120 pounds.
	He took her in his arms and kissed her softly.  "Kelly, it's beautiful.  You never cease to amaze me.  But how did you do it?"
	"Thank you," she replied.  "It was while you were burning with fever.  I didn't think the fever would last too long.  I used your knife to make it.  I hope I didn't ruin it for you.  And you better check the edge.  It's probably pretty dull by now."
	He just shook his head and used the staff to hobble over to the supply tent.  After slipping on Ben's jacket, she followed him.  When he pointed out a long slim box to her, she got down on her hands and knees and pulled it out from under the stack of supplies.  While she was there she saw something else and pulled it out, too.  It was a folding camp stool that she opened up and positioned for Mike to sit on.
	He smiled his thanks and sat down while she opened the box.  He watched in amazement as she took out the barrel and receiver unit, put it in position on the stock and firmly screwed it down.  She fitted the silencer over the muzzle and then put the scope in position.  Finally, she took four loaded clips, slipped one into the weapon and put the others in one of the capacious pockets of her jacket.  "I think I'm all set.  You were watching, Mike.  I assume I did it right or you would have said something."
	For answer, he just shook his head and grinned.  "Next time, Kelly, I'll ask you to do it blindfolded.  The way you assembled it so quickly, I'm sure you could do it that way, too."
	He picked up a pair of binoculars and started hobbling through the woods.  "Kelly, how in hell did you know how to do that?"
	She was picking her way through the woods behind him.  He realized she was only wearing the fatigue jacket and a soft camouflage-patterned hat of a type worn in the jungle.  It had a full brim that was very flexible and it hid her golden hair, which was the main thing.  Her legs and feet were bare.  She glanced up and said, "Two ways:  First of all my Dad's a hunter... or was.  Mother hates guns and I guess she brainwashed me a bit.
	"Then I paid attention over the last year.  I never knew when I might need to know how Russian weapons worked.  I think I know how to use most of them.  Anyway, Mike, you can't believe how good this makes me feel.  I've been on the receiving end for so long..."
	When they reached the edge of the trees she could see the patrol.  There were eight men left alive including a junior officer and an NCO.  A body was sprawled on the ground where the exploding mine had thrown it and now the Soviets were lying flat, holding their positions.
	She immediately understood what she was to do, but she confirmed it with Mike.  "This is a high-powered small-caliber weapon, isn't it?  From the looks of the cartridge, it should have a pretty flat trajectory for 150 to 200 meters or so.  Is that right?"
	He smiled and nodded.  "Kelly, it's sighted for 200 meters.  I don't think you'll need any adjustments."
	She grinned wickedly.  "You pick out a target — a guy no one else is looking at.  You identify him, and I shoot.  Right?"
	"Are you sure you haven't done this before?" he teased.
	Mike picked out one man separated from the others.  He noticed Kelly was already sighting on him.  He watched her carefully fit the sling to her arm.  While she lined up the first shot, he could see her take a breath, let a little out, then hold.  A moment later there was a quiet sound as the silenced rifle fired.  He was watching with the glasses and saw the target crumple in the boneless way characteristic of a dead man.  "Nice shot, Kelly.  That's one for the good guys."
	The officer had been talking to the NCO, and the NCO started moving slowly and carefully toward two of his men.  Kelly put her cross-hairs on the back of the officer's head and squeezed.  This time she could see the bullet hit flush in the back of the skull.  The man pitched forward and didn't move.
	The rifle had a bolt action which she worked smoothly.  When the NCO reached the two men, he looked back and saw his officer face down in the dirt.  He gave his men their instructions and slowly started following his track back to the officer.  The two men started moving away and Kelly put a bullet in the NCO's forehead.  Mike had been watching carefully.  So far he had given her no instructions of any kind.  There were five men left — all privates.  Mike was impressed.  Kelly had fired three shots and each was lethal.
	She lowered her weapon to orient on the survivors, then raised it up and continued her slaughter.  In a matter of moments, all but one were dead.  Mike was puzzled by what she did next.  He had his MP-5 ready as he watched the last soldier squirm closer and closer to the edge of the grove where they were hiding.  When he reached a small flag marking the edge of the minefield, he stood up.  Kelly shot him from less than ten meters away.  Again, the bullet hit his forehead and he crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
	Kelly carefully put down her rifle and scampered forward.  Grabbing the man's body by the back of his collar she started hauling him towards their hiding place.  Mike had been watching the affair, puzzled.
	Kelly looked up and grinned wryly.  "A girl's got to get clothing somehow.  I saved him for last.  He seemed to be the closest to my size."
	Mike let out a low whistle.  "You mean to say you let him get this close just to get his clothes!?"
	She looked up and said, "You didn't expect me to go crawling through the damned minefield, did you?  He could damn well get here under his own power."
	As she talked, she was rapidly stripping the clothes from the corpse.  She made a face as she smelled the ripe odor of his unwashed body.  Finally, she had it all.  After rolling the corpse under a bush, she went back to their campsite, carefully inspected the clothing and then laid them on bushes piece by piece to air out.  She had found a clean pair of stretch socks in the supply pack as well as a tee shirt.
	She turned to Mike and asked, "Do me a favor?  Use your knife to cut my hair?  It's been used primarily to wipe off Russian cocks for the last year.  If I'm going to look like a Russian private, it has to be shorter."
	Mike looked at her and shook his head.  "Please don't, Kelly.  I appreciate and understand why you're so disgusted, but your hair is magnificent.  Could we try something less dramatic first?  Like a pony tail or braids or something?  I really wish you wouldn't cut it."
	She looked at him, grimaced, and divided her long hair into two parts and began braiding.  She gave him a very small smile and said, "I don't think I've worn braids since I was five years old."
	Mike looked around for elastics to secure the braids but couldn't find any so he cut off two small pieces of wire and twisted one around a braid Kelly had finished and was holding.  She began to braid the other hank.
	When she was finished, she wound the braids around her head and put on the cap after inspecting it carefully.  "You know, Mike, that was a pretty good shot.  I didn't even spatter his brains all over his hat."  She put it on.  Although there was a small bulge caused by her hair, it looked fine.
	Mike smiled at her and said, "Kelly, it looks great.  Incidentally, where in God's name did you learn to shoot like that?  You reminded me of the instructor in the sniper course shooting at targets.  How did you do it?"
	"It was really pretty easy.  Even though I never did any actual shooting before, I guess I remember a lot of the things my dad used to tell me about firing a rifle.  Actually, it was pretty simple.  Because of their fear of the mines, they were fixed in position.  The rifle was perfect for me.  It has a small bore and doesn't have a humongous kick.  All I did was center the cross-hairs and squeeze.  Isn't that the correct way?"
	Mike just shook his head.  "Right out of the book.  I'll tell the instructor if I ever see him again: eight shots and eight bodies.  Why the head shots, though?  They're usually considered low-percentage shots."
	Kelly blushed and smiled wryly.  "Remember me telling you I flunked biology twice?  I'm not exactly sure where the heart is.  With a small-bore rifle, I figured the only way I could be sure of putting the target down for good was putting a bullet in the brain.  Is that wrong?"
	Mike smiled and shook his head.  He was leaning on his staff and Kelly noticed it was carrying a lot of his weight.  She went to his sleeping bag and opened it up.  "Mike, take off your pants and lie down.  I want to check your bandage."
	He shook his head and did as she had asked.  He liked watching her move still wearing only the fatigue jacket.  Her legs were the best looking pair he had ever seen.  He slipped off his trousers and lay back.  Kelly had retrieved the first-aid manual and was rereading the section on postoperative care.  She got her supplies including more antibiotic powder and a stack of gauze compresses.  Very carefully she lifted a corner of the bandage and then smoothly yanked it off.
	He noticed she sniffed at the compress when she removed it.  "What's that for?" he asked.
	She made a face and said, "It's in the book.  It says the first hint of gangrene is smell, not appearance.  You seem to be fine.  There was a small trickle of blood which she carefully wiped away, then she poured on more antibiotic powder and re-bandaged the wound.  "It looks fine, Mike.  How does it feel?"
	He frowned and said, "Not too good, Kelly.  It needs something more.  Something in the way of a large, warm compress.  I think about five feet eight inches long, weighing about 120 pounds.  And it moves."
	Kelly looked puzzled for a moment, but then she smiled warmly.  "You mean one with a filthy cunt that's been used by everyone for everything?"
	He shook his head.  "No.  I mean a beautiful girl who defines lovemaking.  Will you lie beside me, Kelly?"
	She smiled warmly and slipped off the combat jacket.  He was watching as she was about to slip quickly into the sleeping bag.  Instead, she remained standing.  "Do you approve, Mike?"
	He looked at her and decided she was the most beautiful girl alive.  She was tanned all over, a fact that still puzzled him.  Her breasts were full but not large.  Her belly was flat.  Her slim hips started a beautiful line flowing down to her legs.  She had the smooth muscles of a dancer but he also saw marks across her breasts and loins.
	She turned around and he saw her back.  "Is it terribly messed up, Mike?  I've been whipped so much, my body has to be a total wreck."
	He asked her to kneel with her back to him so he could see it better.  He saw marks which were obviously scars from the whippings.  However, there were no disfiguring scars and they were tanned like the rest of her back.  He ran his fingertips gently over it, following a couple of the lines.  "Kelly, you have a beautiful back.  I can see where they worked you over but they don't show much at all, I'm happy to say."
	As he spoke he ran his hand under her arm and cupped one of her perfect breasts.  He gently tweaked its nipple and he could feel it engorge.
	Suddenly, Mike glanced at his watch and yelped, "Holy shit!" and tried to get up.
	Kelly looked at him in astonishment as his leg started to crumple under his weight.
	Mike sat down again, hard.  "Sorry, honey.  I forgot we have a war to fight.  Could you please get the radio equipment in the tent?  God, I hope you can recognize it!"
	She jumped up, immediately recognizing the urgency in Mike's voice, and went to the tent.  She came out with a radio and a small, highly-directional antenna.  He smiled and nodded.  She brought it over and he set up the antenna, using earphones to listen for a carrier tone.
	When he had it, he turned on the set and watched the numbers on his digital watch.  Precisely on the minute he spoke into the microphone, "BIBLE, this is ADAM.  Over."
	A moment later came the very clear response, "ADAM this is BIBLE."
	Kelly was surprised to hear the communication in plain English.  Mike just grinned and told base that Ben had been lost, but he had picked up a new partner.  "She's female, but God, can she shoot!"  He said he needed women's clothing in size six.
	Then headquarters told him there was a Soviet troop concentration at a bridge only six kilometers away from their present position.  He was instructed to move to the concentration and raise as much hell as possible, then move to a predesignated point for pick up.
	Mike said, "We'll try, folks.  However, I took a slug in the leg last night.  My partner removed it successfully, but I'm not going to be running any marathons for a while.  But I guess we'll make it.
	"Incidentally, my new partner's name is Kelly Jackson.  She was a student at the American School at Langenhagen when it was overrun.  She's been a prisoner ever since.  Her parents live at 565 Park Avenue, New York.  It would be nice if you could tell them their daughter is still alive."
	The voice replied they would see what they could do.  He was also advised where to pick up woman's clothing.  Finally, he was asked Kelly's shoe size.  She replied, "It was a size 7-A.  But I've been barefoot for the last year, so God only knows!"
	He reported the information and heard a chuckle in response.  Mike signed off and shut off the radio.
	He smiled at Kelly's curiosity and explained the radio was ultra-high frequency and highly directional to a satellite which rebroadcast to the ground station.  "Frankly, Kelly, I don't have the foggiest idea where the 'headquarters' that responds is!  It could be further west in Germany, in France, in England, or even back in the States.  Anyway, we have our orders.  Sorry!  I have my orders.  What do you want to do?"
	She looked at him seriously and said, "If killing Russians is one of the options, that's what I want to do."  He realized that Kelly was completely naked.  She was kneeling up straight with her weight back on her heels.  Then he grinned and nodded.
	"That's a live option.  How about if you get dressed and let's take it from there."
	Kelly got up and put on the tee shirt.  She had no underwear, so she put on the Russian trousers.  She then put on stretch socks she had found and tried on the dead man's boots.  Although they were a little large, they were an adequate fit.  Then she put on the combat jacket and the Russian hat.  "How do I look?" she asked.
	"Like a beautiful urchin," he replied with a smile.  "Let's take a look at our toys and decide what we're going to bring out with us.  The rest of it goes up with a demolition charge fired on a time delay to give us time to get well clear.
	"Kelly, how strong are you?" he asked with a very serious expression.  "And please don't exaggerate.  What we take, we want to take all the way.  But we have a way to go."
	"I guess I'm very strong," she replied.  "If you make up a full pack for me I can carry it."
	"Kelly, that would weigh over 60 pounds!  That's more than half your weight."  he protested.
	"Mike, I'll make it!  Don't worry about me.  A desire for revenge makes me pretty strong... and I really want revenge.  I think of little Jane...  She wasn't even fourteen when the Russians came.  She's delivered one baby and is already pregnant again... the bastards!"
	Mike shrugged and started loading the packs.  Aside from weapons and munitions he took rations for three days.  The rest of the material was piled together over an incendiary charge.  He checked the two packs.
	Then Kelly remembered and picked up the first-aid kit and hung it on the back of her pack.  She had a new MP-5 and was loaded with ammunition.  Mike nodded and after setting the demolition timer, they moved out from the grove of trees.
Chapter 2
	They found themselves in position above the road where the Soviet troop concentration had been reported.  It was a bridge over a swift-flowing German river, the Weser.  If it could be blown, it would be awhile before bridging equipment could be brought up to replace it.  Moreover, the banks of the river at the highway crossing were high and steep.  Even if a pontoon bridge were thrown up, it would not be easy to get trucks and tanks down one bank and up again on the opposite side.
	Mike was studying the scene carefully through binoculars.  Kelly just watched the activity for a while and then asked to borrow his watch.  One after another, she watched individual vehicles come through a nearby cut, move across the bridge and disappear over the crest of the hill on the west bank.
	After timing several of them, she turned to Mike.  "Would a diversion be helpful?  Something nice and bright and loud?"
	He nodded, preoccupied with his observations.
	She went to their packs and prepared three small demolition charges following the instructions he had previously given her.  She set the digital timers, smiled at him and moved off carrying her MP-5 with its silencer in place.  She hadn't told him what she intended to do.
	Kelly moved carefully down the slope from their place of concealment.  It was late afternoon and the sun was low on the horizon.  She reached the place she had been watching, a narrow cut in the hillside from which vehicles continued to roll down the hill, over the bridge and then up the other side.  She took cover in a drainage ditch next to the road relying on the camouflage pattern of her combat jacket to provide her with the concealment she needed.  Crouching behind a boulder, she watched the oncoming traffic.
	Soon she saw what she had been waiting for: a fuel truck followed by four heavy tanks.  Kelly knew that visibility in the tanks was severely restricted.  For no apparent reason — possibly training — the tanks were traveling fully buttoned up.  All hatches were closed and the crews were inside.  She waited for the tank truck to come even with her.  When the cab of the truck passed, she armed the detonator and jumped to her feet.  Slamming it against the fuel tank it was held it in place by adhesive material on the charge.
	Calmly she ducked, ran behind the truck and lay on her back in the middle of the roadway as the following tank flying a pennant from its antenna rolled over her.  She waited until it was right above her, armed the second charge and slammed it up on the belly of the tank.  She remained on her back in the middle of the road and waited for the second tank to pass over her.  Again she slapped a demolition charge in place and waited.  As soon as the tank's tracks were clear, she rolled off the road into the ditch.
	She gasped as she realized she had only missed being run over by the track of the third tank by inches.  After crawling back in the ditch to where she had left her weapon she made her way back up the hill.  Mike gave her a very relieved smile when he saw her dart out from the trees back to his position.  She looked quickly and saw the fourth tank was just moving clear of the bridge and starting up the hill.
	He asked her what she had been doing.  She just grinned and held his wrist to look at his watch.  "If it works, you will know in about twenty seconds."
	They watched as the digital numbers advanced.  Twenty seconds later they heard a small explosion followed a split-second later by a much larger one from behind the ridge on the other side of the river.  "That was a fuel truck," she said gleefully.
	Moments later, there was another sequence of explosions, followed a short time later by a third set.  "Hey Mike, your toys really work!"
	Then there was a series of explosions followed by an earthshaking roar.  They looked across the river and were astonished to see a stream of fire flowing down the road toward the bridge passing under the now-stopped vehicles.  As they watched, the fuel tank under another truck exploded from the heat of the flames beneath it.  The truck crews and troops jumped from the vehicles and scrambled to both sides of the road for safety.
	Mike watched in amazement.  He looked at Kelly and said, "What in the name of God did you do?"
	Kelly was embarrassed.  "I'm sorry, Mike.  I was just trying to help.  Did I really screw things up for you?"
	He grinned up at her and said, "Not hardly!  We were supposed to disrupt this crossing and you sure did.  But what did you do, and how?"
	"While you were looking at the bridge, I was timing the vehicles.  I found that it took five to five and a half minutes from the time a vehicle cleared the cut down there until it cleared the ridge on the other side," she said pointing to the location where she had placed the charges.  "I took three charges and waited.  I saw they had fuel trucks spotted at intervals among the others — for safety, I guess.
	"Anyway, I waited in the ditch beside the road and saw the perfect opportunity.  There was a fuel truck followed by four tanks.  You probably noticed the tanks are traveling buttoned up for some reason."
	"I hadn't noticed, but I certainly should have," he commented while shaking his head in embarrassment.
	She continued, "Anyway, I know tanks are pretty blind, particularly if you're up very close to them.  I set a charge against the tank of the fuel truck and then lay down in the road.  When the first tank rolled over me, I placed a charge under it and then another charge under the next one.  I rolled off the road and came back here.  Was that all right?"
	Mike just shook his head.  "Kelly, you're telling me you just lay in the middle of the road and let a tank run over you?"  She nodded, not knowing what to say.  "How did you get off the road?" he asked.
	"I just rolled across the road into the ditch," she replied.  "Isn't that what you're supposed to do?  I didn't think the little charges I had would do a damn thing against the tank's armor, but I didn't think the armor would be very thick underneath."
	"Darling, that's perfect.  How much did you clear the tread of the next tank by?"
	Kelly reddened.  "Only a couple of inches, I guess.  I didn't move as fast as I should have."
	"Kelly, dear, I have news for you.  The speed and interval of the vehicles is supposed to be timed to make what you just did impossible.  You're absolutely right about a tank's armor:  They are vulnerable from below.  Did you know how much time you would have to get clear?"
	Abashed, she shook her head.  "I didn't think it was very important.  I thought the important thing was them, not me.  Anyway, it looks like it worked."
	Her face took on an eager look and she said, "Mike, I have another idea.  It looks like I kicked over the ant hill.  How about if I finish it up by blowing the bridge?  You can cover me from up here.  You aren't in any shape to move fast, but I can."
	As they spoke, they saw Russian troops and officers scurrying around like ants after their anthill had been destroyed.  "I can take advantage of the confusion to plant the charges.  The only problem is I don't know where to plant them on a bridge."
	The bridge was a concrete arch spanning the river.  Mike showed her where to place the charges using a diagram he made in the dirt.  Then she took one of the large demolition packs and went down the hill.  He swallowed hard as he saw her stopped by a challenge at the eastern end of the bridge.  Somehow she got clear of the sentry and jogged across it, dropping from the edge of the roadway to the embankment below.
	She went down to one of the arch ends butted into the side of the hill where a sentry was posted to guard against sabotage.  Mike could see the area clearly from his vantage point.  He saw Kelly slip off her demolition pack and move up behind the guard who had his back to her while he was smoking a cigarette and watching the turmoil on the bridge overhead.
	The next thing Mike saw was her right arm coming across the guard's throat.  He saw a movement of her left arm and then the body dropped to the ground.  Moments later she had the pack in position and started retracing her steps back to the position from which he had observed the whole affair.
	Twenty minutes later she rejoined him.  "Do you mind if I take a break?" she asked.  "I'm out of breath."
	Mike just shook his head and went for their rations.  After he opened up a pack for her, she gulped water from the canteen and then started to eat.  "How did you get by the guard, Kelly?  I saw him challenge you and thought the game was over."
	"I just told him I had to report to Major Vishinsky.  I had special supplies," she answered.
	"Who's Major Vishinsky?" Mike asked.
	She smiled wickedly.  "He's my late unlamented lover."
	Suddenly Mike's eyes widened.  "Of course!  You speak fluent Russian now, don't you?"
	"Let's say it was a part of my painful course of study.  It is pretty good.  It's the Moscow accent which impresses the peasants who make up the body of the troops around here.  They don't recognize the fatigue jacket, but they're too shook up to think straight," she replied.
	"What did you do with the guard?  I saw you come up behind him and then he crumpled," Mike said.
	"I guess it's a youth misspent watching old war movies.  I grabbed him around the neck and slipped my knife up between his ribs.  Was that correct?" she asked anxiously.
	"He appears to be dead.  Is he?" Mike asked.
	"He dropped like a stone, Mike, and there was no pulse.  He's pretty dead."
	She took out her knife and looked at it in the fading light.  Borrowing a whetstone, she started to hone a nick out of the blade.  "Damn!" she said, "I guess I caught a bit of his rib."
	She finished eating, then picked up another demolition charge.  He watched her move down the hill again.  He could still hear occasional explosions from beyond the ridge.  Apparently the exploding fuel truck had triggered the explosion of at least one ammunition truck.  Kelly had engineered a first-rate mess.  Again after a challenge at the bridge she crossed.  He couldn't see the other abutment from his position so he just sweated it out.
	About forty minutes later, he felt soft lips on his cheek and he jumped.  Kelly was there, smiling.  "My God, Darling!" he exclaimed, "That's dangerous.  What if I had started shooting?"
	She smiled at him and asked, "With what?"  He reached for his gun and she held it up along with his knife.  "I was pretty safe... from everything except that magnificent weapon you carry between your legs," she said.
	"I'm sorry, Mike.  I guess I'm getting a little punchy.  I'd better get moving.  I want to blow this bridge and get the hell out of here within the next two hours."
	"Kelly, I'm supposed to be good.  I'm awake.  Yet you came up behind me, took my gun and knife and then kiss me.  It's scary.  If you can, the Russians can, too."  Mike was worried.
	"No they can't!" she said with a smile, pointing down.  Mike saw she was barefoot.  Obviously, she had planned and executed her maneuver very well.  When he held out his arms, she went down on her knees and came to him.  He kissed her softly and then with increasing passion.
	Gently she pushed away.  "Thank you, Mike.  And would you please hold that thought while I take care of this damned bridge?"
	Again she went down the hill.  Now it was full dark.  With the traffic still at a standstill it was easy to cross the road.  The vehicles were stopped in an unbroken line with only a few feet separating them.  Twenty minutes later she returned and got the last of the heavy charges.  Finally, after thirty minutes more, she returned.  "Mike, do you have a cigarette?" Kelly asked.
	He looked at her and took a small pack from the K-ration container and gave it to her.  She lighted it, taking great pains to hide the glowing end.
	"I didn't know you smoked," he said.
	"I don't," she replied, "but tonight is different.  I need something to steady my nerves.  That last one was tough.  I had to take out three guys this time.  But actually, Mike, I'm getting pretty good at it."
	"How many is that?" he asked.
	"It's seven with my knife.  I don't know about the other casualties.  Mike, I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow your watch.  I need it to set the timers properly," she said.  He took it off and gave it to her.  She took the last two small charges as well as her silenced MP-5 down the hill.
	It took almost an hour this time.  Again, the first hint of her presence was a kiss on the cheek.  This time, he took her in his arms and thoroughly kissed her.
	"Yum," she whispered, "you taste so good."  She checked the watch and said "Less than one minute to go."  She gave Mike his watch back and, with their heads together, watched the time pass.
	Suddenly, the bridge was lighted by tremendous explosions.  They could see the arch on the far side of the river start to buckle.  As if in slow motion, the center of the span began to sag as its supports at both ends were blown away.  Suddenly there was another explosion from their right — the cut through the ridge where Kelly had waylaid the fuel truck and tanks.  Moments later there was another.
	Mike looked at her and shook his head.  They heard screams as the span collapsed into the river valley below.  The roadway had been split almost exactly in half.  Then they saw flaming fuel flowing down the road and again start to cook off the fuel in the stopped trucks.
	They both ducked as there was another colossal explosion from the cut.  "I did it!" Kelly screamed.  "I found a fuel truck stopped right behind a truck with the Russian markings for a load of ammunition.  I think I may have screwed up the cut through the ridge with any kind of luck.  Mike, how about if we get the hell out of here?"
	He smiled and they moved off with Mike using the walking stick she had made for him.
	Mike followed his map to an abandoned barn.  He went inside to a hiding place under the manger indicated in his notes from the radio transmission.  The hay was so old and dry it had long since passed the point where it smelled of fermentation.  Concealed there was a package of women's clothing and a new Smith & Wesson 9mm. automatic with a waistband holster.  The weapon held a 15-shot clip and there were three fully-loaded spares.
	"Are we safe here for the rest of the night?" Kelly asked.  "I'm about ready to drop."
	Mike looked at her, feigning surprise.  "You're tired?  I can't believe it!  All you did was blow the most important bridge in this part of Germany and take a big piece out of a Russian armored division.  And you're tired already?"
	He smiled and held out his arms.  She returned the smile but remained where she was standing.  He watched as she calmly stripped off her clothes and then came to him.
	"You'll have to hold me close, Mike.  I'm getting cold."
	Mike took two blankets and stripped off his own clothes.  He hugged her as they lay on the hay and he wrapped the blankets around them.  Then he held her close and felt her immediately drop off to sleep.
Chapter 3
	The next morning Mike was the first to awaken.  He was holding the beautiful golden girl in his arms.  When he kissed her cheek softly, he instantly felt her fingers start to move on his body.
	She moved her head and kissed him softly on the lips.  "Good morning, darling," she whispered.  "How does your leg feel?"
	"It's fine, honey.  I want to make love to you, but I'm scared.  We have to go through a small town to get to the pickup point.  There's sure to be a garrison there, and after your fun yesterday they're bound to be very twitchy.  Can you wait?"
	She looked at him with her love showing in her eyes.  Never having seen it before, Mike didn't recognize it for what it was.
	Kelly said, "I've been used and abused for a year, Mike.  You can have me any time, but I've had enough of a workout that I can live without you for a few hours."
	She grinned and rolled out of the blanket.  "I stink.  On the other hand, any German still around here now wouldn't smell too good, either.  Let's get rolling."
	Kelly got up and put on the clothing that had been hidden for her.  "Where did all of this stuff come from?" she asked.
	"I don't know, but I assume it's the German underground.  The system works pretty well.  We avoid direct contact.  If we're taken, we can sing like canaries, but we know nothing.  Similarly, they don't know anything that's dangerous to us."
	Kelly was wearing a peasant blouse and skirt along with a jean jacket.  She stuck the automatic in the waistband at the small of her back.  Mike continued to wear his uniform knowing that Allied uniforms were well-made and were being worn by people on both sides of the line in Germany.  He picked up his staff and they started down the road.
	When they reached the edge of the town they were challenged by sentries.  Mike answered them in German and it seemed that they had been cleared to pass.  They started to make their way towards the center of the town when a Russian officer wearing the insignia of the KGB appeared with four men.
	He smiled a very cold smile and had them seized.  One of his men searched Mike and found his automatic.  They were immediately placed under arrest, taken to the town hall which had been commandeered as the local headquarters and then down to a room in the basement for questioning.  Kelly was still wearing her hair in braids which were now hanging below her shoulders.  When they reached the cellar they were taken to a central area set up for questioning prisoners.
	The Russian introduced himself in German as Lieutenant Krepkin.  He asked what they were doing in the town.  Mike tried to act like he was suffering from shock.
	He had trouble speaking and sounded feeble minded.  His act didn't work.
	"We will get the truth," Krepkin said.  "Young lady, take off your clothes!"
	Kelly acted frightened but was secretly elated.  She still hadn't been searched.  She took off her clothes with the appearance of reluctance.  Actually, she was just being careful not to drop her automatic or allow it to be seen.  Soon she was naked and cowering, trying to cover her breasts and loins with her arms and hands.
	One of the guards grabbed her and lashed her to a large post in the center of the room.  Her arms were wrapped around the post and her wrists were lashed together on the opposite side.  Mike was tied to a chair.
	"You will tell us what you are doing," Krepkin said to Mike, "or this woman will be whipped until you do."
	Tied to the post, Kelly could see nothing.  She prayed Mike would not lose his nerve.  She heard him again say he knew nothing.  She could hear a whip uncoiled.  It cracked across her shoulder blades and she screamed.  A second stroke, and she screamed louder in abject terror.
	She babbled in colloquial German, "Hans, tell them!  You must tell them.  Tell them anything!"
	The whip struck her again, and she appeared to faint.  She just hung limply on the post suspended by her bonds.  She had been screaming as the lash cut into her, and the scream was cut off as if with a knife.  Krepkin looked at her and then at Mike.  Sweat was pouring off his face.  Krepkin went to Kelly and slapped her face.  Her head just lolled as if she were a puppet without strings.
	He tried to question Mike who just babbled.  Finally, he decided to try the whip on him.  He regretted that the fräulein had fainted.  If she had continued to scream, the man might have talked.  He motioned to one of the three guards in the room to cut the girl down.  The guard took his knife and sliced through the ropes holding her wrists.  Freed from the post, the girl fell limply to the stone floor landing on some of her clothing.  Krepkin focused his attention on the man.  He called the guards over to lift the man up and tie him to the post.  The fourth Russian, the one who had wielded the whip, was coiling it up to get ready for his next victim.
	Kelly had been watching through nearly-closed eyes.  When the guards' attention was focused on Mike, she slid her hand into the skirt and drew out the Smith & Wesson.  Fortunately, she remembered, it was a double-action automatic.  It wasn't necessary to cock the slide before firing.  Still face down, she lifted her head and saw the Russians were concentrating on Mike.  The weapon fired once, twice, then three more times in rapid fire.
	Kelly stood up, grabbed a knife on the floor, and cut Mike's bonds.  Then she calmly picked up her clothes and started getting dressed.  Mike was shaking his head in amazement.  "Before you put on your blouse, honey, let me take a look at your back."
	She went to him and turned around.  There were the three welts across her back with blood flowing slowly from the cuts.  "They're fine, Mike.  I'm glad you took your cue from my screams in German.  How did it sound, by the way?  Do I get an Academy Award nomination?"  As she talked, she was checking the bodies on the floor.  All four Russians were dead.
	Mike got out of the chair and limped around to look at them.  Each had at least one 9mm bullet hole in his head.  The man wielding the whip had two.  Kelly winced slightly as she put on the jean jacket.
	"What about noise?" he asked.  "What if we have to fight our way out?"
	"We won't," Kelly replied.  "I'm pretty sure this room was used at least as far back as the Third Reich by the Gestapo, and possibly before that.  It has all the earmarks of being soundproofed so screams wouldn't disturb the good burghers in the neighborhood.  If screams aren't heard, my automatic won't be, either.  Shall we go?
	"By the way, Mike, let me handle getting us out of here."
	They climbed the steps and opened the door.  A guard posted at the door just looked at them curiously.  As she was opening the door, Kelly was speaking over her shoulder, apparently to Krepkin down in the dungeon.  She was speaking perfect idiomatic Russian.  "Yes, Lieutenant.  I will give your regards to Major Vishinsky in Langenhagen.  Yes, Lieutenant, I will instruct the corporal to give us a pass out of town.  Goodbye, Lieutenant."
	She turned to the guard and said, "Lieutenant Krepkin does not wish to be disturbed!"
	Kelly marched up to the corporal at the desk and said coldly, "Two passes, quickly.  We've been delayed too long already."
	The corporal quickly scribbled two passes.  Kelly took them, gave him a cold nod and started striding for the door.  Meanwhile, Mike was scrambling with his walking stick, trying to keep up.  They went down the street to the check point at the other side of town where Kelly gave a guard the passes and a curt nod.  She and Mike continued walking down the road.
	When they were well clear, Mike looked at her in utter amazement.  "Kelly, would you like a job?  Now I'm being very serious.  Would you?  You speak fluent idiomatic German and perfect Russian.  After being beaten with a whip you calmly draw your automatic and put bullets in the heads of four armed men.  We can use you in our little group if you have any interest."
	He looked at her and asked, "By the way, you did it again.  All your bullets were in the head.  I thought you were going for larger targets... like bodies?"
	Kelly grinned and replied, "Come on, Mike!  We're talking a 9mm, not a .45 caliber.  It doesn't have a hell of a lot of stopping power.  On the other hand, few people do a lot of walking around with a bullet in the brain.  That's where they went, isn't it?"
	Mike just shook his head and nodded.  "By the way, you scared hell out of me.  You were screaming as you were being whipped and then you collapsed.  The next thing I know shots are fired and all the bad guys got suddenly dead.  What happened?"
	"Remember my painful education?  I've been beaten more times than I can count.  It was every day for months.  This guy wasn't the kind of expert we had at school who could wrap the whip into a girl's cunt, across her nipples or into her kidneys.  Mike, I've been abused by experts.  This was really almost child's play.  I don't mean to make light of it.  It doesn't tickle.  On the other hand, I'm not in such bad shape, either."
	They continued to walk along the road.  First they passed a copse of trees and then came to a field on the left side of the road.  "This looks like it, Kelly," Mike said.
	They clambered over a fence with Kelly giving Mike a hand.  There they found a place where hay had been cut and raked but not gathered.  Mike thought it was probably the point in the hay cutting when the Russian armored columns came sweeping through.
	When they were across the field Kelly asked, "How's your leg, Mike?  You seem to be getting along all right."
	"It's fine, honey.  By the way, what do you think about my offer?  Do you have any interest in working with us until this mess is over?"
	She looked at him and then put her arms around him.  "Mike, I will, assuming your folks want me.  There are two conditions, though:  First, I would like to see my parents which fits in with the second: I only want to work with you, and you're going to be out of commission for a while.  You're going to tell me that's impossible and I'm going to say it's not, and if it really is I'm staying out."
	She looked at him and he saw her beautiful eyes tear up.  She pulled his head down and kissed him softly on the lips.  Finally, she pushed away and asked, "Mike, how are they getting us out of here, and when?"
	He looked at his watch and said, "They're getting us out in a chopper.  It's one that can be silenced almost to a whisper.  It's due here in about one hour."  He found the flashlight that had been hidden for them to use to signal it.
	She smiled and said, "The timing's great.  It gives us time for you to make love to me.  It seems to be the least you can do since I blew up a bridge, an armored column, and saved your ass in town."
	Kelly gathered up some of the cut hay and piled it up to form a bed.  She kissed him and pulled him down on top of her.  Mike took her blouse off and ran his fingers over her bare breasts.  Then he heard her make little mewing noises as he continued to caress her.  He slipped off his pants and lifted her skirt for access to her loins.  His finger slipped in and found her little love button which he touched as gently as he could, remembering what she had told him.  He could feel her body shudder as his finger made contact.  Her vagina was already running rivers.
	Ignoring the pain in his wounded leg, he knelt between her now widespread thighs.  Her fingers grasped his throbbing member and he heard her making soft sounds of pleasure as she guided it to the mouth of her vagina.  She lifted her pelvis and positioned his cock.  Then she wrapped her legs around his hips and gently pulled him towards her.  She was so well lubricated by her vaginal fluids he slid right in to his full length.
	She could feel him inside and said, "Mike, I could die happy right now.  God, you feel good inside me!"  She started to roll her pelvis and use her vaginal muscles to squeeze his cock.  Suddenly her head started to thrash from side to side and her pelvis took on a life of its own as she had an orgasm.
	Mike tried to relax as her passion slowly ebbed.  He was on top of her and bent over to kiss her lips.  As his lips made contact her eyes opened and she responded with her tongue probing his mouth.
	Mike started to stroke in and out slowly.  She looked at him and smiled softly.  "Please don't stop, darling," she said.  "It feels so marvelous!"
	He continued his long strokes in and out of the warm, moist glove enveloping his sex.  Kelly came again, and yet again.  Finally, with a scream she exploded bringing him with her.  He could feel a flood of fluid forcing its way past his cock and spilling over them.  He collapsed on top of her as she held him tightly and felt the last spurts enter her vagina.
	Mike heard her whisper softly, "Thank you, Mike.  That was wonderful... the best ever.  Maybe there's hope for me yet."
	Then he grabbed a jacket and pulled it over them both to ward off the chill.  He could see her doze off in his arms.
	They remained there until Mike heard the characteristic sound of a Blackhawk helicopter running in its quiet mode.  He got to his feet and pulled Kelly up with him.  Grabbing the light, he aimed it at the helicopter and flashed the recognition signal.  Taking her hand, he led her towards the middle of the field.  The chopper landed quickly.  Its already-low noise level was reduced to near-silence when the pilot throttled the engines back to their idle position.
	Mike saw the waist hatch open and saw a door gunner in position at his minigun.  He hobbled up to the chopper and gave the recognition phrase.
	The crewman at the door said, "Welcome, Major Callahan!  Glad you made it back.  I'm sorry to hear about Captain Johnson.  I understand you have another passenger for us."
	Mike smiled and waved for Kelly to join them.  She came running up.  "This is Kelly Jackson.  She's the other person you came to pick up.  When we get back, there's going to be a very interesting story to be told.  Where are we going, by the way?"
	"We've been told to get you back to England.  Get aboard, and we'll get the show on the road."
	He gave Kelly a hand up and then helped Mike in.  They found jump seats and fastened the seat harness.  The crewman spoke into his intercom mike and the noise of the engines increased.
	Moments later the helicopter lifted off, tilted forward and started picking up speed and altitude.  When they reached 1,000 feet, the pilot cut off the mufflers to increase the available power.  The Blackhawk was one of the fastest helicopters in the air.  Moments later they cleared the front lines, moved over the Rhine and then across France.
	Before long, they reached the English Channel at the Calais area.  Soon they were over the Kent beaches in England heading toward London.  When they came over a country farm property surrounding a British manor house, the pilot set down at a marker on the lawn.  "You're here, Major.  Do you need a hand?"
	Mike shook his head and extended his hand to Kelly who had been sleeping, although he couldn't figure out how she could possibly sleep with all the noise.  She blinked and smiled at him sleepily.  She took his hand and he helped her up.  Kelly remained bent over to keep clear of the equipment hanging from the roof.  Mike stepped out of the chopper being careful to put his weight on his good leg.  He lifted her by the waist and swung her down to the ground.
	Kelly grinned and poked him in the arm.  "Now that we're safe, Mike, are you showing off for the girls?  That leg needs attention, honey.  Please don't push it."
	He used the staff she had cut for him and they went off in the direction of the house.  A uniformed aide — a young Army first lieutenant — came running over.  He saluted, still on the run.  Kelly saw Mike smile wryly and return his salute.
	The officer said, "Major Callahan?"  Mike nodded and he introduced himself, "Sir, I'm John Hughes, aide to the colonel.  He asked me to get you to his office as soon as possible."
	Kelly stepped in front of Mike and said, "How do you do, Lieutenant.  I'm Kelly Jackson and I'll make a deal with you.  I'll go see the colonel and you will send for an ambulance to get Major Callahan to the hospital."
	She had shaken Hughes' hand and smiled, but when she mentioned the hospital her voice was cold as ice.  "Now!"
	Mike was amused and impressed by the command presence in her voice.  Hughes jumped and saluted.  Kelly was amused as well.  It was obvious he had no idea what a Kelly Jackson was but she acted important.  The lieutenant took a radio from his belt and spoke a few words into it.  A few minutes later an ambulance pulled up the driveway nearby and two attendants ran over with a stretcher.  Mike waved the stretcher away and started limping over towards them.
	Hughes was dumbstruck when Kelly pulled Mike's head down and kissed him softly on the lips.  "I'll see you at the hospital, sweetheart," she whispered.  Mike got in and the ambulance moved off.  Then Kelly turned to Hughes and said, "Lead on, Lieutenant.  Let's not keep the colonel waiting."
	He took her through the gracious main entrance of the manor house to the central hall, then turned left.  He knocked at a door and entered.  Kelly followed him in.
	The room, now obviously serving as the colonel's office, was formerly the library.  It was a magnificent room rising two stories high.  The bookshelves reached to the ceiling and were accessible by two rolling ladders.  There was an immense fireplace on the side of the room, but the hearth was cold now that spring had come to England.  The colonel's desk was at the end of the room and she followed the lieutenant towards it.
	The man behind it — the colonel, obviously — was grey-haired and wearing a tweed sport jacket.  He had turned in his swivel chair and was facing the window behind him talking on a telephone in low tones.  He heard them approach, ended his conversation and spun around to see them.  He appeared puzzled, obviously looking for Mike.
	"Are you looking for something, Colonel?" Kelly inquired politely.
	"Who in hell are you, young lady?  Where's Callahan?" he barked.
	"I'm Kelly Jackson," she replied in a very cold voice.  "Who in hell are you?  Are you so damned rude and arrogant you don't have the common courtesy to offer a seat to a lady, let alone rise when she enters the room?  I thought you were supposed to be an officer and a gentleman!"
	The colonel looked like he was about to have apoplexy.  His face became red as a beet and then slowly his color returned to normal.  Meantime, Kelly had been standing up straight in front of the desk looking at him without expression.
	Suddenly, the colonel rose to his feet, smiled, held out his hand and said, "How do you do, Miss Jackson.  I'm Tom Hawkins, and I'm very pleased to meet you.  I apologize for being so abrupt.  Won't you please be seated?"  He turned to Hughes and said, "Ask the steward to bring Miss Jackson some refreshments immediately.  Miss Jackson, am I correct in assuming you haven't eaten much lately?"
	Kelly smiled and then frowned.  "I guess it must have been yesterday morning, Colonel, and it's very thoughtful of you.  I would be happy to have whatever they can handle, along with a beer if you have any.  I haven't had a beer in almost a year and I'm dying for one."
	Hawkins nodded and Hughes excused himself to take care of the order.  Hawkins regarded her steadily and liked what he saw.  It was obvious that this woman was quite young and yet she had the poise and savoir-faire of someone far older.  He said as much and Kelly smiled.  "You can give credit to the Russians for much of my training."
	He looked puzzled and asked, "Where did you come from, Miss Jackson?  I gather you were evacuated with Callahan."
	Kelly briefly told the story of the school being captured and the enslavement of its former students.  She explained that she had been waiting for a diversion to slit the commandant's throat and escape by sliding down the drain.  She did it and then linked up with Callahan.
	"He certainly did a hell of a job on that bridge, Miss Jackson.  You got to watch a real professional in action."
	Just than the door opened and Mike came in on crutches.  Kelly saw he was still holding on to the staff she had cut for him.  He hobbled up to the desk, saluted, and sat down.
	Kelly glared at him.  "Why did they let you out?  Get back in the damned hospital where you belong!"
	Hawkins looked puzzled and asked Mike, "Does this young lady order everyone around?  Has she no respect for age or rank?"
	Mike grinned, looked at Kelly and winked, and then back at Hawkins.  "No, sir.  Never!  Did I hear you talking about blowing the bridge?  How did it work out?"
	"Mike, it was brilliant!  How in hell did you trigger those explosions on the far side of the river?  We thought that you might have used weapons — a grenade launcher or a mortar.  Except you didn't have a mortar and a launcher doesn't have the range or the punch.  How did you do it?"
	Mike smiled and shook his head.  "First, Colonel, let me clear up a misapprehension.  I did nothing.  Miss Jackson did it all.
	"Let me start at the beginning.  We got caught, somehow, at the school.  I'm not certain exactly what it's used for now.  Ben got cut down in a firefight.  I had just planted the guards who got him when another guard was about to bury me.  He was less than ten feet behind me with an AK-47 trained on my back.  I had bought the farm.
	"Suddenly a bare arm grabs him around the neck, there's a motion and he collapses.  It's a girl absolutely naked except for a wicked knife in her hand.  She carefully wiped the blood off the knife blade on the guard's uniform and we joined up.  That's the first time Kelly saved my life.
	"When we got back to the camp site, I told her to sprint for the trees.  I told her to try to step on the grass tufts because she was going through a minefield.  She darted through like a scared rabbit.  As I followed her shots were fired and I took a bullet in the leg.  I made it the rest of the way in.  That night, she operated and removed the bullet from my leg.
	"The reason I'm here so fast is the surgeon at the hospital didn't know what I was there for.  He said, and I quote, 'The guy who handled the original surgery did it all.  What do you want me to do besides putting on a clean Band-Aid?'  Of course, Kelly was the surgeon.
	"She's fully trained, Colonel, having qualified, she tells me, by flunking biology twice.  She said she couldn't bear to dissect a dead frog.  A live Callahan bleeding all over the place is apparently easier to work on than a dead frog."  He grinned at Kelly who responded by sticking out her tongue.
	He continued.  "Then, Colonel, the next day I gave her training in riflery.  You should always exercise the troops, right, sir?  Anyway, a Russian patrol came towards the woods looking for us.  Unfortunately, they didn't know Ben and I had rearranged their minefield a little.  A mine exploded, taking one of the men.  Miss Jackson then proceeds to take out the remaining eight with eight shots.  All head shots in the brain.  She even has the gall to let the last man get right to the edge of the woods before she plants him.  Can you guess why?"
	The colonel just shook his head.  He was utterly fascinated with the report.
	"She wanted his pants and shoes.  He was the smallest and she said she wasn't going to crawl through the damned minefield when he could just as easily come to her under his own power.  Of course, the bullet was right between the eyes... sort of a third eye socket.  By the way, sir, that was the first time she ever fired a weapon.  I asked her why all the head shots.  She reminded me her biology was terrible and she could never remember where the heart was."  He looked at Kelly who was blushing and looking down at her hands.
	"Then we get the order to harass the Russians at the bridge."  Mike held up the staff and passed it over to the colonel.  "Kelly made this for me the first night after I was hit.  I was running a fever, so between times nursing me she used my knife to cut down a young tree and make this walking stick.  Then, of course, she has the nerve to apologize for dulling my knife.  Now it's my good-luck charm.
	"We got to the bridge, but it was all I could do to get there.  So I watched while Kelly did it all.  Her idea of harassing a bridge is to blow it up along with as much traffic as she can manage.  You asked about stopping traffic?  Kelly placed charges on a fuel truck and two tanks, letting the tanks drive over her, by the way.  She had timed the vehicles from the point where she planted the charges to where they went over the ridge on the far side of the river.  Anyway, they blew and obviously blew up an ammunition truck with them.  That stopped traffic.
	"She then made four trips with the full demolition charges, two of which required crossing the guarded bridge.  She spoke to the guards in her perfect Russian and did it, taking out six or seven guards with her knife in the process.  Then she blows up an ammunition truck and another fuel truck at about the same time as the bridge charges blew."
	He snapped his finger and added, "Oops, I almost forgot.  She crossed the bridge a third time to set all the detonators.  Again, she had to borrow my watch so all the charges would go at the same time.  The last we saw, the bridge was broken in the center with its two pieces lying in the river.
	"Are they operating the crossing yet, Colonel?"
	The colonel shook his head and said, "No, they're not, and our experts don't think they ever will.  Miss Jackson apparently took out a good piece of an armored division as a by-product.  Then what did she do?"
	Mike quickly told how they were captured and questioned.  He explained how Kelly had been stripped and whipped.  When it appeared she was unconscious, she had been cut down and the Russians focused their attention on him.
	"Then Kelly pulled an automatic she had in her skirt and burned them all.  She used her fluent Russian to obtain passes through the town to the pickup point.  So, Colonel, Kelly saved my life three times and singlehandedly carried out our mission for us.  I was an interested spectator, that's all."
	Hawkins looked at Mike and said, "She can obviously fire a gun, but can she carry one concealed?  She didn't draw when you were arrested."  He turned to Kelly and found himself looking down the muzzle of her automatic.  "Where, in the name of God, did that come from?" he exclaimed.
	Kelly made a quick motion and the weapon disappeared into the waistband holster she was still wearing in the small of her back.  "I'm sorry, Colonel," Kelly said with the smile belying the apologetic tone of voice.  "That was showing off."
	Just then a steward opened the door and wheeled in a serving cart.  When Kelly and Mike turned their attention to the food, the questioning stopped while they ate.  Kelly was delighted to find several beers on ice.  She poured one for Mike and one for herself.  They clinked glasses and she sipped it appreciatively.
	"That is good!  Thank you, Colonel," she said.  She looked at him and smiled.  "If there's nothing else, I would appreciate a bath and a bed.  And if there are any women's clothes that fit, I would appreciate those, too.  These are getting pretty grungy."
	Hawkins picked up his phone and placed a call.  A few moments later a WAC officer came in and escorted Kelly out of the office.
	Hawkins looked at Callahan and said, "Mike, now that she's out of here, is there anything you want to add to your report?  Or change?"
	"Yes, sir.  I want to add two things: First, I would like us to enlist Kelly, retroactively.  Second, if there has ever been a person who deserves a medal for heroism in combat, she's it!  I would also like her in my unit, sir."
	"What's her educational background?  Does she have a degree?" Hawkins asked.
	Mike laughed.  "A degree?  Colonel, she doesn't even have a high-school diploma!  She was a junior in high school when the Russians took over.  Colonel, she says she has a higher degree, taught by the Russians with whips.  She speaks both Russian and German like a native, sir.  Her skills and instincts are superb.
	"I down-played the bridge a little bit.  While I was watching the traffic and the Russians like a damned tourist, she's sizing up the situation and figures it would be easier to cross the bridge to set the charges if there were a major diversion that would stop traffic.  She figured emergency crews would be running back and forth with the traffic at a complete stop.  Furthermore, she kind of liked the idea of blowing the bridge with transport covering it bumper to bumper.
	"Incidentally, I didn't tell her anything.  She just knew that tanks are blind at close range.  She noticed they were traveling closed up.  Then she looked for a fuel truck in company with some tanks.  When she rolled out from under the second tank, the third only missed her by inches.  It was then I told her that the interval is set to minimize the chance of having enough time to do exactly what she did: roll between two vehicles."  He shrugged and asked, "What more do you want, sir?"
	"Okay, Mike, we'll sign her up if she's willing.  Is she?"
	"Yes, sir.  But there are conditions: First, she wants to serve with me.  Second, she wants some time to visit her parents in New York.  I would like to go with her, sir.  It's going to take awhile for me to get back to normal, anyway."
	As Mike was speaking, he suddenly saw the colonel's jaw drop.  He exclaimed, "Mike, did you say her name is Jackson?  Kelly Jackson?"
	"Yes, sir.  What's the problem?"
	"Oh, my God!  Mike, I've got to make a phone call right away."
	He picked up a red scrambler phone which was a direct link to headquarters.  When it was answered he said, "This is Hughes.  We have the Jackson girl out safe.  What do you want us to do now?"  He listened for a few moments and said, "Yes, sir.  She's upstairs now.  She wanted to take a bath and sleep.
	"Sir, this girl is something else.  I don't know what her parents think, but I know this girl is deadly!  She's the one who blew the Weser bridge.  She was the one who figured out how to make a dent in an armored division.  General, she's deadly with small arms.  I want her in my unit.  And General, with your permission I'm enlisting her with the rank of captain retroactive to the first of last month.  I'm also sending you a recommendation for a citation:  She deserves the Medal of Honor.
	"I'll be sure she's on the Concorde tomorrow morning, along with Major Callahan.  He was wounded and needs the time off, too."
	He turned to Mike and smiled.  "It seems the young lady's parents are very powerful, very rich and very influential.  Would you please escort her back to the States?  Her parents want to see her, and the President thinks they should.  How about getting some rest, too?"  He smiled warmly and continued, "Mike, would I be correct in assuming that you and Miss Jackson may have been... intimate?"
	Mike nodded.  "Yes, sir.  I didn't mention it, because I didn't want to embarrass Kelly.  She was repeatedly raped by the Russians and ended up as the commandant's mistress.  She slit his throat with his own knife.  Then she used her body to keep me warm when I was shaking with chills, sir, and one thing led to another.  Why?"
	Hawkins smiled warmly and said, "Because we're cramped for space here.  Would you mind sharing the room with Captain Jackson until you leave for the States tomorrow?"
	Mike stood up and gave the colonel his best salute.  "Yes, sir!"
	He hobbled out the door and was directed to their room on the second floor.  By now he had gotten used to his crutches and made his way to the room, following directions.  He opened the door quietly and entered the darkened room.  Making his way to the bed, he saw Kelly lying with her hair spread like a fan on the pillow.  God, she's beautiful, he thought.
	He stripped off his clothes, went into the bathroom and took a quick shower taking care to keep the bandage on his leg dry.  He dried himself and went back to the bedroom.  Easing into the bed beside her nude body he kissed her softly on the lips.  He was surprised at the immediate response from the girl who appeared to be sleeping.
	Kelly murmured softly and then relaxed again.  He felt her warm, velvet-smooth body next to his.  He put his arm around her and she snuggled close.  He cupped his hand and placed it on her breast.  Again she made a contented sound and put her hand over his to keep it in position.
	In an instant, Mike was asleep beside her.
Chapter 4
	The next morning, Mike woke up, still holding Kelly in his arms, and looked around the room.  He had been so tired when he came in the day before he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings.  They were in a huge canopied bed.  The room was wood paneled — probably oak, he thought.  A huge armoire sat across from the bed.  The room would make a perfect setting for a Gothic novel.  He looked at Kelly and saw that her blue eyes were open and focused on him.  Her hand was over his as he still cupped her breast.
	Giving it a gentle squeeze he saw her eyes close as she made a warm happy sound.  "That feels so good, Mike.  Don't stop."
	He looked at his watch and said, "Do you know what time it is?"
	She smiled and shook her head.  "No, and I don't care, either.  Can't we just stay like this?  I've never felt so warm and snugly... and loved."
	He smiled back and said, "Kelly, it's almost seven o'clock.  We've been asleep since yesterday afternoon and we have to get moving.  We're getting the Concorde to New York this morning.  I'm not sure if we can still make it."
	Reluctantly, he got out of bed.  There was an envelope on the floor that had been slipped under the door.  After opening it and looked over the papers, he looked at his watch again.  "We're supposed to meet the colonel for breakfast at eight o'clock.  It says there's stuff for you to wear on the door."
	He opened the door, found clothing on the knob, and hung it in the closet.  Entering the bathroom, he was pleased that it was as modern as the bedroom was ancient.  Even though he had taken a shower the day before he hadn't noticed it.  Then he showered and shaved.
	As he finished his toilet, Kelly opened the door and came in.  She stuck out her tongue and said, "I think I hate you.  Why couldn't we just stay in bed?"
	Then she winked and pushed him out the door.  Mike found his uniform waiting for him in the closet.  As he finished dressing, Kelly emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and another one wrapped around her hair.  "Mike, do me a favor?  Would you mind taking a look at my back?  Before I get dressed I want to know if I should bandage the cuts."
	Mike was chagrined, having completely forgotten the whipping at the KGB headquarters.  Kelly had been moving so naturally ever since he had completely forgotten about it.  He said, "I'm sorry, honey.  I'm so fascinated with your boobs, it never occurred to me to look at your back."
	She smiled and turned her back to him.  She dropped the towel and he saw three cuts crisscrossing her back.  He carefully ran his finger tips along the one across her shoulders.  "Does it hurt much?" he asked.  "They're not bleeding.  There are welts but it doesn't look too bad.  There's no blood."
	He then took advantage of his proximity and extended his hands around her body and put them over her breasts.  She leaned back against him, closed her eyes, and made soft sounds deep in her throat.
	"Does that answer your question?  It doesn't tickle, but it's been far worse.  I guess I can safely dress."  She turned in his arms and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
	Then she went to the closet and found a uniform skirt and a shirt without any insignia.  There were also panties and a bra.  She went back into the room with the bra hanging from her hand.  "Do I have to wear this?" she asked, making a face.
	He grinned and replied, "Into every life a little rain must fall.  I'm afraid so, darling.  Without one, you're a menace to the maintenance of good order and discipline in this man's Army."
	She stuck out her tongue started to put on the bra.  When she went to hook it in back, she let out a small cry.  She took it off and looked at Mike, "Honey, I really can't wear it.  It squeezes right across a welt."
	He kissed her softly and said, "Then I guess we'll have to preserve good order and discipline some other way."
	She smiled gratefully, dried her hair, and finished dressing without the bra.
	They went down to the ground floor of the mansion and were directed to the dining hall.  Colonel Hawkins was sitting at the head of the table sipping a glass of orange juice waiting for them.  "Good morning!" he said.  "I hope you two slept well."
	He looked at Kelly thoughtfully and said, "Miss Jackson, you are an enigma.  You are certainly the most beautiful young woman it has ever been my fortune to meet.  At the same time I have it on very good authority that you are deadlier than a coral snake.  They're very pretty, too, by the way.  Won't you have some breakfast?  I took the liberty of ordering orange juice for you, but you'll have to select the rest of your breakfast from the menu."
	A steward was waiting and Kelly ordered steak, eggs, hash browns, toast, and a lot of coffee.  Mike's eyes widened as he heard the order.  Then he ordered the same thing.  "Where do you intend to put that breakfast, young lady?" he asked.
	Kelly patted her flat stomach and grinned.  "Right here," she replied.  "I haven't had a steak in longer than I can remember.  And you're being sexist.  Why can't I have a big breakfast?"
	Mike shook his head and smiled.  Turning to the colonel, he said, "What do you do with a girl like this, sir?"
	Hawkins maintained a perfectly straight face.  He was again wearing a British tweed sport jacket, gray flannel slacks, a rep tie, and a shirt with a button-down collar.  He replied, "It's very simple, Major.  You sign her up.  Miss Jackson, Major Callahan tells me you are willing to join our merry band on two conditions: The first is you visit your parents.  The second is you serve with Major Callahan.  Is that correct?"
	Kelly was surprised and showed it.  "Yes, sir.  That is correct," she replied.
	Hawkins smiled warmly and said, "That's fine!"  Then he frowned.  "Captain Jackson, you are not in complete uniform."
	He pushed a button on the table and a female officer came in.  She saluted and asked Kelly to accompany her.  Kelly excused herself and left the table and the room.  A few minutes later as the food order was being brought in, she returned.  The woman had attached rank insignia to the shirt and gave her a uniform jacket that fitted her perfectly with silver captain's bars on the shoulders.  She was amazed to find a female officer's hat which also fit.  Then she sat down at her place at the table.
	Nothing was said for a few minutes as they all began to eat.  Mike was surprised to find he was starving.  Then he remembered he had only eaten two meals in two days.
	When they leaned back after the second cup of coffee, Kelly looked at Hawkins and said, "Colonel, would you kindly tell me what's going on here?  How did I get a captain's uniform?  In the infantry?"
	Hawkins looked at her as if she were a dear, but slightly feeble minded relative.  "We're in the army, Captain.  If you wish to serve with Major Callahan, you should be, too.  Furthermore, it's bad for our image if word gets around that teenybopper civilians are blowing bridges and tearing up enemy armored divisions.  But if a Special Forces captain does it, it's fine.  So you are now in Special Forces.  You might not have known it, Captain, but you've been in the Army since the first of last month.  Do you accept your commission?"
	Kelly was shocked and showed it.  "Colonel, are you serious?  I haven't finished high school, for heaven's sake.  I can't be an officer, let alone a captain."
	Hawkins looked at Mike and said, "Callahan, you forgot to mention that your deadly friend is also insubordinate."  He turned to Kelly and said, "If you accept, it's Captain Kelly Jackson.  Now, do you accept the commission?"
	"Of course I accept, but..."
	"Please stand," the colonel ordered.
	Kelly stood up.  Hawkins told her to raise her right hand and began, "Please repeat after me.  I, Kelly Jackson, do solemnly swear..."  He completed the oath with Kelly repeating the words.  Hawkins grinned and held out his hand, "Congratulations, Captain Jackson.  Welcome to the Army.  Now move your ass or you and Callahan will miss your damned plane!"
	A helicopter flew them to Heathrow which was still in civilian operation.  They boarded the Concorde to New York and were soon in the air.  Within a few minutes they had cleared the coast of England and the pilot cut in the afterburners — boost as the British call it — and the plane accelerated toward Mach 2.  The Concorde followed the sun and landed at New York's Kennedy International Airport at ten-thirty.  Kelly slept almost all the way over.
	Arriving in New York, they rapidly cleared customs and went out to the taxi stand.  Mike carried an overseas bag while Kelly had only her purse.  "What now, honey?" Mike asked.
	"Mike, will you come with me to my parents' apartment?  I'm nervous."  She looked at him wistfully.
	"I don't have anything else to do," he said.  He tipped the skycap who had carried his bag to a waiting cab.
	They went west on the Long Island Expressway, through the Midtown Tunnel and up Park Avenue.  Kelly's apartment was in the 60's.  A doorman opened the door as the cab pulled up.  He saluted the uniforms and then did a double-take.  "Miss Jackson?  Is it you?"
	Kelly gave him a big smile and said, "Harry, it sure is!  And I'm awfully glad to be home."  She then gave him a big kiss on the cheek.  The doorman reddened, and took the bag inside.  She asked if her mother was home and was told she was.  "Harry, could you let me surprise her?  Please?"
	He smiled and said, "Of course, Miss Jackson.  May I say you look wonderful?  It's great to see you back, but I didn't know you were in the army."
	"It's a recent development, Harry," she said with a smile.
	Kelly and Mike were admitted and went up in the elevator.  Kelly pushed the bell button.
	A few moments later the door was opened by a very attractive woman.  She looked at Kelly with a polite smile on her face and then did a double take.  "Kelly?"  Suddenly Barbara Jackson's face lighted up and she screamed, "Kelly!"  She suddenly broke into tears as she took Kelly into her arms.  "Darling!  Welcome home.  Oh God, you're safe!  For Heaven's sake, come in!"
	Kelly entered the apartment with her arm around her mother's waist.  It was only when the door was closed that Barbara realized Mike was there.  She wiped her eyes, looked at Kelly and then at Mike again.
	"Mother, I would like you to meet my savior and my lover, Mike Callahan.  Mike is a major in Army Special Forces.  He got me out of the school."  Kelly was holding Mike's hand as she spoke.
	"Did I hear you say lover?  Kelly, you're not even nineteen years old!  What is this nonsense?"
	Kelly smiled at her mother and said, "Mom, I have a story to tell you.  If it's all right, I would rather just tell you.  I think you know what to tell Daddy and how.  Incidentally, can I call him?"
	"Good heavens!" Mrs. Jackson exclaimed.  "I completely forgot!  I'll call him right now."
	She picked up the phone and called Jackson's private line.  He answered the phone immediately.  "Darling," Barbara said, the excitement obvious in her voice, "Kelly's home!  I don't know yet how she got here, but she just walked in the door.  Can you come right home?"
	She listened for a moment and then hung up.  "He's on his way.  He was so excited, he didn't even say goodbye."
	They went into the study and Barbara said, "I'm sorry!  Are you hungry?  Thirsty?  How did you get here, anyway?"
	"Mom, we came in on the Concorde this morning.  I'm not hungry, but I would love a beer and I think Mike would, too."  Barbara glared at her daughter but got two beers.
	Kelly then quickly told how the school was overrun by the Russians and the girls held as slaves and concubines.  She told her mother how she had been the commandant's mistress for the last months.  She concluded by saying, "So, Mom, when I say that Mike is my lover, I can't tell you what it means to me.  It's certainly not that he has taken my virginity but I wish he had.  What he did was pick me up out of the garbage can and persuade me that I wasn't so bad after all.  Do you think you can communicate that idea to Dad?"
	Barbara's face was white after listening to her daughter's recital.  She took Kelly's hands in hers and looked in her eyes.  "Darling, thank God you're safe.  Mike, thank you for saving our daughter's life.  I don't know what else to say."
	Mike smiled at Barbara and shook his head.  "Mrs. Jackson, Kelly wasn't completely honest.  I didn't save her life; she saved mine."  He had started telling her about Kelly knifing the guard when the door opened and a very distinguished looking man came rushing in.
	Robert Jackson took his daughter in his arms and hugged her.  Tears were flowing down his cheeks.  "Darling, you look wonderful.  But what are you wearing?  Why, in heaven's name, are you wearing a captain's uniform?  I can see why you needed clothing and uniforms are easier to come by, but why the insignia?"
	Kelly gave her father a warm kiss, and replied, "Because I am a captain, Dad.  I'm in the army —  Special Forces."  Barbara's jaw dropped and Bob Jackson looked like he was ready to faint.
	Kelly said, "Dad, I would like you to meet my lover, the man who rescued me from the Russians, Mike Callahan."
	Jackson's jaw dropped again.  He sat down quickly in a chair and Kelly filled him in on her rescue.  She said, "Dad, I told Mom about what happened to me.  I was held as a slave.  But I would rather she tell you about it, though."
	The phone rang and Barbara went to answer it.  After answering, she looked up with an expression of bewilderment on her face and said, "It's for you, Mike.  They say it's the White House for Major Michael Callahan."
	Mike took the phone and identified himself.  A moment later he was speaking to the President's appointments secretary.  "Major Callahan, I understand you're with Captain Jackson?"  Mike said he was.  The voice continued, "The President would like to see you both at the White House at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.  Could you make it?  Both of you?  Oh, excuse me.  The invitation also includes Captain Jackson's parents.  Perhaps it's fortunate we found you at the Jackson apartment."
	Mike looked bewildered, too, as he turned to the others.  "The President wants to see Kelly and me at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.  Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, you're invited, too.  Can you make it?"
	Bob and Barbara looked at each other and just nodded, but both were utterly baffled.  Mike said that they would all be present and hung up.
	The next day they were met at Washington National Airport by a White House limousine and taken to the East Entrance.  The four were ushered in and to their surprise taken immediately into the Oval Office where they were greeted by the President.
	Kelly was wearing her uniform which was too warm for the Washington heat.  She realized that an appropriate uniform for London in April was too hot for Washington.
	The President came up to her and held out his hand.  "You must be Kelly Jackson.  I'm very pleased to meet you."  An aide was standing in the background and stepped forward.  "Kelly, I have here a Purple Heart.  It is for wounds suffered as a result of enemy action.  In your case the wounds are a little odd, but they count.
	"In addition, I have a more important award.  I'm sorry that it's being made in private, but for a number of reasons we don't want to give wide publicity to exactly what you accomplished.  However, in private, I can tell you that you destroyed, by yourself, possibly the most important bridge in Germany.  As a by-product, you devastated a first-line Russian armored division.  It may have been the last full-strength first-line armored division they have.  Intelligence estimates the division lost nearly half of its vehicles and guns as a direct result of your action.  Your contribution to the defense of Germany is incalculable, and it may turn out to be decisive."
	The President paused and smiled, then continued, "I understand that you used your fluency in Russian to talk your way across the bridge at least three times.  Your placement of the explosive charges was precise.  It couldn't have been done better by the bridge designers.  And you... eliminated... seven guards with a combat knife.  I'm told you're a very deadly young lady.  We have your score as nine with a knife, beginning with the commandant in Langenhagen, four with a 9mm pistol and eight with a silenced sniper rifle.
	"At any rate, it is my great pleasure to award you the Medal of Honor for your work at the Weser bridge.  While you're here, I am also awarding you a Silver Star for your action against the patrol."  He smiled again, and said, "Kelly, officially you joined the Army March 1.  Unofficially, we know you were sworn in under... somewhat unorthodox circumstances... yesterday."
	The President's smile turned into a grin and he turned to address her parents as well.  "Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I hope you'll keep our little secret.  We will be paying Kelly retroactive to March 1, a couple of dollars more than technically we should.  I will say, though, that if we had about ten more Kellys, we could cut billions from the defense budget.  We wouldn't need much else."
	He turned to Kelly and hung the Medal of Honor around her neck.  She saluted smartly and Mike was impressed.  She was at strict attention and her salute would have looked good from a West Pointer.
	The President stood up straight and shook her hand.  Then he took her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.  "Kelly, have a good leave."
	He then turned to Mike and said, "Major Callahan, lest you go away empty-handed, I have a Purple Heart for you as well as a Distinguished Service Cross for an earlier exploit.  How is Kelly's surgery making it, by the way?"
	Mike had saluted when he received his awards.  Now he smiled broadly and said, "It's great, Mr. President.  There's no end to this girl's talents.  By the way, I gather you're aware that all the enemy she shot were killed with head shots.  Did they tell you why?"  The President shook his head but looked very interested.  "Sir, it's because she flunked biology twice.  She claims to be only vaguely aware of the location of the heart, and a bullet in the brain is as effective.  And she does know where the brain is!"
	The President looked at Kelly who was blushing.  "Is that true, Kelly?" he asked.
	"Yes, sir.  I'm afraid it is.  I did flunk biology twice.  I couldn't dissect a dead frog."
	The President was obviously very amused.  "You don't sound like the squeamish type, Kelly.  What happened?"
	"As I told Mike — Major Callahan — I guess I got over it by watching enough of my friends' blood and my own dripping on the floor.  The Russians have some... effective methods of education."
	The President suddenly looked concerned.  "How are you feeling now, Kelly?  I was somewhat cavalier when I awarded you the Purple Heart.  But you suffered real wounds.  Are you all right now?"
	"Yes, Mr. President.  I'm fine.  But you might ask Mike.  He knows me better than I know myself."
	The President looked at the two of them carefully and then at the Jacksons.  "I would appreciate it very much if you would invite me to your wedding.  The very best of luck to you both.  Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I am very pleased you could come down.  I hope you realize that your daughter's medal — the Medal of Honor — is the highest award for valor our nation can bestow.  The large majority are awarded posthumously:  The recipient died in the action that resulted in the award."
	He turned serious and added, "I hope this hasn't been too much of a shock to you both.  I realize Kelly hasn't been home for even twenty-four hours yet.  But please know we cannot place too high a value on what she has accomplished."
	They were ushered out to the waiting limousine and in two hours they were back in New York and on the way to the apartment.  Kelly was in a daze.  "Mike, that was all real, wasn't it?  I wasn't just dreaming it?"
	He smiled at her and said, "If it was a dream, I shared it with you.  By the way, I realized just now that the blue of the Medal of Honor ribbon is very close to the blue of your eyes."
	Kelly blushed.  "Good heavens!  What must those people think of me?  I forgot I still had it on."
	"Honey, the President wasn't kidding.  It doesn't come in a cereal box.  It is the highest honor our country can bestow.  You probably missed it because you're new to this, but do you remember saluting a general at National Airport on the way back?"
	"Yes, I guess so.  Why?"
	"Because, Honey, he saluted first.  He outranks you by a bunch of grades, but it is a tradition in the military.  A Medal of Honor winner returns salutes.  He doesn't initiate them.  Incidentally, I'm sure you are the first female to win one in the twentieth century, if not in history, so I use the term, he, advisedly.  It's a way of constantly reinforcing the fact that no matter what kind of equipment we have, it comes down to people.  What you did has been officially recognized as extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty — and that assumes you had taken an oath, which you hadn't."
	Kelly changed the subject.  She looked at Bob Jackson and said, "Dad, did Mom have a chance to tell you about me?  About the last year?"
	Jackson looked grave and nodded.  "Yes, she did, honey.  How are you now?"
	"I'm fine, Dad, all thanks to Mike.  Dad, it's hard to explain.  In some little ways I helped him out."
	Mike rolled his eyes and murmured, "Little ways, indeed!  A Medal of Honor's worth."
	Kelly continued, "But he personally helped me in a more important way.  Dad, I was contemplating suicide.  I wanted revenge for what the Russians had done to me.  Maybe that's why I acted the way I did.  I didn't really care if I lived or died as long as a lot of Russians were killed.  But, Dad, I had no intention of going on living after that.  My life was destroyed and my body was a wreck.  There was nothing to live for.  Then Mike talked to me.  And he made love to me, Dad.  As used as I've been, no one had ever done that.  The Russians raped me repeatedly.  Even with my legs spread, it was rape.  I had no choice.
	"Dad, it made all the difference.  I'm in the army to serve with him — to keep an eye on him.  I don't care about anything else.  What I'm doing, Dad, is asking if we can go back to normal?  With Mike sleeping with me?  That's the only thing that feels normal now.  And I hurt when he's not there.  I didn't say anything last night, but is it all right with you?"
	Bob Jackson had been listening to his daughter and adding up everything he had learned in the last twenty-four hours.  "It doesn't seem like there's much choice, is there?  You really love him, don't you, honey?  Does he love you?"  Although he asked Kelly the question, it was really directed to Mike.
	Mike answered, "More than life itself, Mr. Jackson.  I can't tell you what Kelly means to me.  And that's beyond the fact that she's saved my life three times already.  Would you like us to get married quickly?  We could do it in just a couple of days.  I think it might make you and Mrs. Jackson feel better."
	Barbara Jackson slowly shook her head and smiled.  "Mike, our daughter has been cheated out of a great deal.  I don't want her to be cheated out of a beautiful wedding.  After all, the President himself asked for an invitation.  I know how she feels."  To her husband she added, "She needs to be close to him.  I don't see a problem, except your bed is sort of small, Kelly."
	Kelly grinned and said, "It is, isn't it?  On the other hand it's bigger than the single sleeping bags we've been using.  I think we can manage, don't you, Mike?"
	For an answer he took her in his arms and kissed her.  Again, there was a sweetness in the kiss that at the same time was charged with electricity.  "We'll manage," he said finally.
	Barbara Jackson looked at Kelly and said, "May I bring up a new and probably extraneous subject?  Kelly, you've been invited to 'come out' at the Spring Cotillion next month.  I think it's the third of May.  I'm leaving it strictly up to you.  On the one hand there is the absurdity of making an appearance in the world after what's happened to you.  On the other hand, it could be fun:  There are some nice dinners and small dances.  It's a part of growing up.  You've lost so much, darling, but this is something you can still do."
	She looked at Mike and said, "How about you, Mike?  Will you be able to dance by May?"
	Mike smiled at her and said, "The fact of the matter is I could probably dance this weekend.  This cane is primarily for sympathy and to get my convalescent leave.  Now that I've collected my Purple Heart, the cane has finished its job.  I'm all for it!  I can even get out my full-dress whites."
	Kelly smiled broadly, "Mother, let's do it!"
Chapter 5
	When Kelly entered the bedroom that night she was back-lighted from the bathroom.  There was only a small light on her night table.  Mike was in bed lying on his back looking at her as she stopped and posed for him.  Although he couldn't see her face, he knew she was waiting for his reaction.  "You're beautiful, darling," he said softly.
	She padded over to the bed and stood beside it.  Now her body was lighted by the soft light of the bed lamp.  He ran his fingers over her body and saw her eyes close as her body shivered under his touch.  Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Kelly started to giggle.  "What's so funny?" he asked.
	"Honey, I hate to break the mood, but this is so funny.  Have you really looked around this room?  It's a classic teenage girl's room complete with the flowery bed spread and stuffed animals.  It's just so funny!  And Mike, you don't fit.  I'm sorry.  I guess I'll have to kick you out.  You clash with the room.  You're too big, too dark and much too masculine."
	Mike moved his hand to her buttock and gently squeezed.  "That will... do... no..."  With a grin, she jumped into the bed and into his arms.  "Darling, I guess you'll just have to clash.  I can't live without you!"
	He ran his fingers slowly over her body and again could feel it shiver.  His finger ran down to her slit and he could feel the moisture.  He contacted her bare clit and she jumped.  Then he asked her if she had told her mother about being circumcised and she said she hadn't.  Easing her body toward the center of the bed, she spread her legs.  He easily entered her and heard her moan as her loins took on an independent life.  Their lovemaking that night was very slow and tender.
	Finally after a number of small climaxes, she came violently under him.  Afterward, he lay with his arm around her holding her breast.  She had formed her body to his and again started to giggle softly.
	"What's so funny now?" he whispered.
	"Darling, I was just thinking how fast things change.  The last time I slept in this bed I remember going to sleep, thinking about a date I had just had.  I was wondering if I should let him kiss me goodnight.  Now, I have a cunt that's swimming in love juices, I've cum dozens of times..."
	She turned her head towards his and smiled, "Will my date give me a goodnight kiss?"  He leaned over and kissed her softly.  She snuggled even closer and held his hand tightly over her breast.  The last thing he heard was a very soft, "Good night, my darling.  Thank you."
	The next morning Kelly found her mother in the kitchen.  It was the cook's day off.  Barbara Jackson looked up at Kelly who was wearing a flannel bathrobe.  She took her in her arms and kissed her.  "Honey, you look wonderful.  It was good last night, wasn't it?  I heard you screaming — and it wasn't in pain."
	Kelly grinned, "I guess the word is ecstasy.  God, it was good.  But it's always good with Mike.  Mother, when I'm gone, could you redecorate my room?"  She told her about thinking of a goodnight kiss.
	Her mother grinned and said, "By the way, your noises reminded your father who has been keeping him warm at night.  He was... very affectionate.  But we're not nearly as noisy as you two.  Of course, we've been at it longer."
	Barbara looked at her daughter and said, "I've been going through your social invitations.  I called the sponsors this morning and you and Mike are registered for the Cotillion.  Your father and I would like to have a party for you, as well.  Would you like us to?"
	She looked at her daughter fondly, "Honey, I haven't had a chance to talk to you, but yesterday was the most remarkable day of my life.  My little girl, not even out of high school, receives the Medal of Honor.  Honey, you've experienced more in the last year than your friends will in their entire lives.  I'm just concerned that you may laugh.  You're so far advanced it could seem like going back to kindergarten.  Did you think about that?"
	Kelly was looking at her mother carefully as Mike came into the kitchen wearing a pair of slacks and a sport shirt.  He kissed Kelly and she put her arm around his waist.  She told him what her mother had just said.  "What do you think, honey?  Will it be awful?"
	Mike smiled and said, "I have a suggestion:  I gather there is a series of parties in advance of the cotillion.  Could we go to one and see how it goes?  Mrs. Jackson, how soon would you have to decide on giving one of your own?"
	Barbara looked at Kelly and said, "I like Mike, honey.  He has a head on his shoulders.  It makes all kinds of sense.  As a matter of fact, there's a party tonight at the Plaza that I can get you an invitation to.  Want to try?"
	Mike looked at Kelly and said, "Honey, there's one thing I know for sure.  You haven't been to a party in over a year.  Let's do it."
	Kelly smiled ruefully, "Mike, that isn't quite true.  I was the entertainment at a number of parties.  The less said about what I was forced to do, the better.  Suffice it to say, I'm an experienced stage stripper.  That's about all I care to say about it.  Someday I'll give you a personal demonstration.  But as a guest, you're right."
	She smiled warmly at Mike and added, "Darling, win, lose or draw, thank you for bringing me back to the human race.  And thank you for last night.  It almost makes what went before worthwhile."
	They sat down to a bountiful breakfast Barbara had prepared.  Mike said, "Mrs. Jackson, you're a superior cook.  Incidentally, your daughter is one of the best camp cooks I've ever met."  Kelly smiled at him warmly and thanked him.
	Then she turned to her mother and said, "Mom, I'm going to say something that sounds crazy, even to me.  I guess I'm sort of glad this horror story happened.  It's not just that I met Mike — and I adore him.  It's...  Things mean more, now.  You can't understand how it felt last night to be in a warm bed with Mike just holding me.  To be able to take a shower.  To just talk.
	"I'm going to be interested to see what happens, but I think I've really changed.  I don't think I'm a rich bitch anymore.  But God, I sure used to be!  Mike, I don't think you would have liked me at all.  As a matter of fact, that was probably my major problem.  I don't think I liked me very much, either."
	Both Barbara and Mike smiled at Kelly.  Mike said, "Kelly, I can't talk about the past, but I can talk about the present:  You're the best there is.  By the way, is this cotillion we're going to attend full dress?  I was assuming it is, but I never asked."
	Barbara nodded and frowned, "I hope that's not a problem for you, Mike?"
	He smiled at her and said, "Do you mind if I call you Mom?  I know it is rushing the season, but my parents are dead, and I don't want to call you Barbara, and Mrs. Jackson sounds so formal..."
	"Why, Mike, I would be honored!  Please do.  But you didn't answer my question about full dress?"
	"Mom, it's no problem.  In fact, I would appreciate the opportunity.  I'm from West Point.  They like us career types to have a full assortment of regalia.  I was smiling to myself because I'm a major now and I have had a summer dress uniform since I was commissioned as a second lieutenant.  I dutifully spend a fortune changing the insignia when I'm promoted, but I don't think I've ever worn the damned thing."
	He grinned at Kelly, "It's my great opportunity at last.  Thank you, dear."
	Then his face took on a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary look and he added, "However, there is an element of revenge.  Female officers — Mom, a captain, although a low-life, is an officer — may wear evening wear instead of a full-dress uniform.  However, they must wear senior medals."  He turned to Barbara and said, "And as the President said, the Medal of Honor is the most senior award there is.  I think the future Mrs. Callahan will look beautiful with the Medal of Honor around her lovely neck.  What do you think, Mom?"
	"I agree, of course, Mike.  I think she will look lovely.  What about the other two?"
	"Mom, in the army, the sequence is Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Bronze Star.  Your daughter is the proud — embarrassed?  — recipient of two of the top three.  The other two are worn as miniature medals on her breast or just below.  The Medal of Honor is always worn around the neck.  I think it will be... distinctive."
	Kelly had been watching the exchange with a series of emotions passing over her face.  Finally she said, "Mike, are you really serious?  I'm supposed to wear my medal?"
	"No, darling," he replied.  "All of them.  It happens that in your brief military career, you've picked up three senior awards in less time than a GI spends in basic training.  By the way, speaking of basic training, we'll be going down to Quantico in about six weeks.  You go through the full course and I go through the refresher."  He grinned at her and added, "Kelly, you're going to wish you'd stayed in Langenhagen where you were safe!"
	Kelly just stuck out her tongue at him.
	That evening Mike escorted Kelly to the Plaza.  He was wearing a suit that Bob had arranged for at his tailor.  Kelly and her mother had gone shopping and came back with a beautiful dress in blue that matched her eyes.  Because the whip marks from the previous week still showed — it seemed years rather than less than a week — she made sure it was not backless.
	They were standing at the entrance to the private room set aside for the party.  Kelly stopped a few yards short of the door and gripped Mike's hand.  "Mike, I'm scared," she said in a quavering voice.  He stopped and looked at her.  It was obvious that she was serious.
	He took her aside and took her chin in his hand.  "Kelly, you're the most courageous person I've ever met.  These are friends.  No one's going to shoot at you.  Now will you give me a kiss?"  He took her in his arms and kissed her softly.
	She clung to him and then smiled.  It was as if the sun had come out.  The girl's smile was brilliant.  "Thank you, darling, for not laughing," she said softly.  "I think I'm so nervous because it's so stupid.  But Mike, please don't leave me alone?"
	He smiled at her warmly, kissed her again, and promised he would always be close.
	They entered the room and were greeted by the hostess and her parents.  The girl was one who Kelly knew only by sight.  They had never been close but moved in the same general social circles.  The girl asked Kelly what she had been doing, and Kelly responded that she had been in school.  She introduced Mike as being from West Point.  The girl asked him how many more years before he finished and he admitted to being a recent graduate.
	Kelly became furious when she ordered a drink and the waiter asked for proof of age.  Mike smothered a laugh as she gave the waiter a cold stare and said she wanted a Beefeater martini, very dry, on the rocks.  The waiter relented when Mike showed him his ID giving his age as twenty-five.
	As the waiter moved off, Mike whispered in Kelly's ear, "That's what I get for robbing the cradle."
	Kelly retaliated by stepping on his toe.  She whispered, "The next time you say something stupid like that, I'll use the heel of my shoe and break your damned toe!"  He made peace by kissing her softly, as one of Kelly's old male friends appeared.
	"Kelly, do you remember me?  Tom Peters?"
	Kelly put out her hand and said, "Of course, Tom!  I would like you to meet Mike Callahan, my escort for the evening."
	When she said 'escort', Mike casually stepped on her toe.  He saw her wince and then wink at him and whisper, "Touché!"
	Tom asked Kelly what she was doing.  While her answer to the hosts — she had been in school — was misleading, they had decided to be honest about the present.  "I'm in the army, Tom.  I work with Mike.  He's my boss."
	She looked at Mike with love in her eyes that he could see.  She moved her lips and formed the words, "and lover" without making a sound.  Mike smiled, winked, and nodded in the slightest way.  He was holding her hand and squeezed it and she squeezed back.  Mike decided Kelly was, by a very wide margin, the most beautiful girl at the party.  From the reaction of the other men — boys? — others shared his opinion.
	They had a good time.  At one point a boy started talking about the war in Germany.  He stated that nothing could stop the Russian tanks.  Apparently, he claimed, it was the sheerest luck that the Weser bridge collapsed.  He maintained it wasn't Allied action but was caused by too much weight on the bridge.
	He asked Mike what he thought.  "You're at West Point, aren't you?  What are they saying up there?"
	Mike squeezed Kelly's hand and said, "They're not saying anything up there.  It only happened last week.  But I don't think it just collapsed.  I think it was assisted."
	"You mean, German resistance?" the boy asked.
	"Something like that, I guess," Mike replied.
	That night in bed he held Kelly close and squeezed her breast.  They had made love several times and both Mike and Kelly were drained.  She looked up at his face and murmured, "Is it true I'm only a sex object in your eyes?  The only reason a West Pointer would date a teenager is for sex.  That's what one of the girls in the powder room said.  She asked if I let you get to first base.
	"I looked surprised and asked what first base was.  She said it was allowing a boy to touch your boobs.  I was shocked and told her so.  I asked why a boy would want to touch my boobs.  Mike," she whispered, "Why do you touch my boobs?"
	"I don't touch them, I squeeze them," he replied softly.
	"Oh," she murmured, "I guess that's all right then — as long as you don't just touch them."  She tried to form her nude body even closer to his.  "Do you think you'll ever get to second base?" she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
*  *  *
	During the next several weeks they went to a round of parties leading up to the cotillion.  No one had asked Kelly what she did in the army.  She and Mike had an inside joke because it was obvious they thought she was a clerk-typist in some office, while Mike was thought to be stationed at West Point.
	Finally, it was the evening of the cotillion.  Barbara had bought a beautiful white ball gown for Kelly to wear which was strapless and cut low in the back.  She had been skeptical and had put it on for her parents and Mike.  They had inspected her back carefully and none of the marks of her beatings were apparent although lines scored her back.  Rather, she had picked up a glorious tan.  With her blue eyes and golden hair, she was exquisite.
	Mike had obtained miniature medals for himself and Kelly.  The night of the dance he was talking to Bob Jackson while waiting for her in the library.  Bob had been very pleased when Mike had asked if he could call him Dad a few weeks earlier.  Bob looked at Mike thoughtfully.  "Mike, aren't you a little young to be a major?" he asked.
	Mike smiled and said, "It's a fact of life in wartime.  If you live, you get promoted.  As a matter of fact, I've just been selected for lieutenant colonel.  Kelly, believe it or not, has already been selected for major.  It's going to be a panic at Quantico.  I'm sure they've never seen a nineteen-year-old major!"  The family had celebrated Kelly's nineteenth birthday just a few days earlier.
	The men both rose as Kelly came into the room followed by her mother.  She was a vision.  Mike thought she glowed and said so.  Kelly beamed.  She had the two medals pinned to her dress below her left breast.  She asked Mike, "You're not putting me on, are you?  About having to wear the medals?  You do know I'll kill you if you are?"
	Mike smiled and kissed her in front of her parents.  She molded her body to his and returned the kiss.  He eased away and said, "Darling, I'm possibly the only person alive who's seen you in action.  I know you're deadly.  Honey, you really have to wear it.  May I put it on for you?"
	She smiled and turned around.  He fastened the clasp of the medal around her neck.  The medal hung at her throat as she looked at herself in the mirror.  Mike was standing behind her and he executed a precise Academy salute.  "The Major is gorgeous this evening!  Now shall we go?"
	Mike was wearing his full-dress whites with his DSC.  The Cotillion was being held in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria, so the Jackson limousine left them off at the ballroom entrance.  Kelly was wearing a light wrap which she left at the check room.  Then she looked up at Mike and said, "Are you sure I look all right?"
	"Kelly, you're the most beautiful girl here.  Bet on it!  Are you ready, Mademoiselle?"
	Mike extended his arm and she took it as they walked toward the entrance.  An elderly gentleman wearing a small Bronze Star on his coat was standing by the invitation table.  He raised his eyebrows in amazement as he saw Kelly's Medal of Honor.  He whispered to the women at the table who looked up from their lists.
	Mike smiled at the women and said, "Kelly Jackson and escort, Major Michael Callahan."
	The women were nonplused.  One said, "Major, Mr. Foster says it's totally inappropriate for someone to wear another's medals, particularly the Medal of Honor.  It is for acts of extraordinary bravery and courage in action against the enemy, isn't it?"
	Mike smiled at the woman and said, "You're absolutely right, ma'am.  You may have missed it, but Miss Jackson is also wearing the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.  The Purple Heart is awarded to those wounded in enemy action."
	Mike's face brightened.  "Why don't you call the White House?  I'll be happy to give you the number and pay for the call.  The President presented the Medal of Honor to Kelly about four weeks ago.  I'm sure they will be happy to confirm that it's hers."
	Foster had been listening to the exchange and came up to them.  Although he appeared to be in his seventies, he stood at attention and saluted Kelly.  "Miss Jackson, please accept my sincere apologies.  I notice Major Callahan is wearing the DSC and a Purple Heart also.  It's quite clear to me that you are a remarkably brave young woman.  I'm sure you are the only woman to win the Medal of Honor in modern times.  Can you tell me about it?"
	Kelly blushed but smiled.  "I'm afraid the details are classified, Mr. Foster.  But thank you so much.  Few people know what it is."
	Foster made a very courtly bow.  "It's my pleasure to welcome you, Miss Jackson.  Major Callahan, can you tell us anything?"
	Mike smiled and said, "It was for gallantry in action in Germany very recently.  Miss Jackson may have personally turned the tide for us.  I can only say that she deserves it."
	When they found their assigned table, no one else was there.  Assuming the other couples were out on the dance floor, Mike looked at Kelly and said, "Miss Jackson, may I have the pleasure of this dance?"  Mike's leg was now fully recovered and he was moving easily again.
	Smiling, Kelly took his arm and they went out to the dance floor.  Taking her in his arms Mike moved off.  Although they had attended a number of parties in the previous three weeks, there had been no opportunity to dance.  Now Mike found that Kelly was like a feather in his arms.  They moved around the floor and Mike felt like he was in seventh heaven.  The music was good and Kelly was perfect.  Looking down at her, he found himself looking into her eyes.  Lowering his mouth he kissed her softly while they continued to move on the floor.
	"Am I doing all right, Mike?" Kelly asked.  He looked down at her and smiled.
	"Kelly, you aren't doing all right.  You're an angel.  You look like one, you move like one, and you feel like one in my arms.  Darling, I love you.  Will you marry me?"
	Kelly had been looking at his face.  When she heard the proposal, her expression didn't change.  All she said was, "Of course.  When?  Darling, you know I love you more than life itself.  You put me back together after being in hell.  Darling, I have only one question.  Are you sure?  I'm used, spoiled, ruined.  I'll be your mistress forever and ever, Mike.  You don't have to marry me."
	"Miss Jackson, I have it from no less than the President that he hopes you will be the mother of my children.  By the way, do you want children?"
	Kelly looked at him and her eyes glowed.  "Mike, it would make me the happiest woman in the world to feel my belly swell with your child growing inside me.  But honey, my breasts will swell, my ankles will bulge, and I'll be a mess."  She grinned at him and continued, "A very happy mess, but a mess.  Are you sure?"
	Mike said, very matter-of-factly, "I'm sure!"
	Just then there was a fanfare from the band.  The dancers stopped and looked at the stage.  A man serving as master of ceremonies addressed the gathering.  "It is now my pleasure to present the debutantes this evening.  Would all of the young ladies please come up the steps on my right and prepare to be introduced."
	Kelly squeezed Mike's hand and went toward the steps along with some other girls.  They lined up in the previously established sequence by height and were introduced one by one.  Because of her height Kelly was one of the last in line.
	Finally, the MC said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present Army Captain Kelly Jackson.  Some of you may have noticed Kelly is wearing a medal around her neck.  It is the Medal of Honor, the highest award for bravery in combat our country can award.  I have been informed that members of the committee called the White House earlier this evening.  They were informed by a White House spokesman that Captain Kelly Jackson was presented the Medal of Honor, along with the Silver Star and the Purple Heart by the President four weeks ago.  The medals were awarded for action against the enemy in Germany.  The details are classified.  I should add that the Purple Heart is awarded to those wounded in action.
	"Would you please give a big hand to our next deb, Captain Kelly Jackson!"
	Kelly walked gracefully across the stage.  The crowd applauded vigorously.  A few minutes later all of the debs were lined up across the stage.  A woman handed the master of ceremonies a folded slip of paper.  He glanced at it and announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the girl unanimously voted New York's Debutante of the Year, Captain Kelly Jackson!"
	Kelly walked over to the master of ceremonies who greeted her and presented her with a bouquet of long stemmed roses.  Kelly stood before the microphone and said, "Thank you all for this honor.  I'm unable to tell you very much about the last year.  Let me say, though, that I'm glad to be alive.  I never dreamed of receiving this honor.  Thank you so much."  With a bright smile and a wave, Kelly walked off the stage.
	"Mike," she said when she found him, "I just found another use for your uniform.  In a sea of penguins, you stand out.  I'm afraid some of the girls may not find their escorts for the rest of the evening."
	Mike escorted Kelly back to their table.  This time the other people assigned to it were all seated.  They rose and applauded as Kelly approached.
	One of the men at the table extended his hand, "Congratulations, Kelly.  Can you tell us anything about the medal you're wearing?"  Kelly smiled and shook her head.
	Mike said, "Kelly can't, but I can tell you this much:  By herself Kelly may have won the war for us.  She certainly accomplished more using very conventional weapons than anyone I have ever heard of."
	The girls looked at Kelly with expressions of bewilderment and bafflement.  One girl said, "Kelly, I don't understand.  You're just out of high school.  How did you get to be in the Army?  And an officer?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "The fact of the matter is I'm not out of high school.  I haven't graduated.  As far as being an officer is concerned, there seems to be a need for some special skills I have.  So here I am."
	The girl persisted, turning to Mike.  "Major, you're West Point, aren't you?  What do you think?"
	Mike looked at her and said, "I can only tell you what the President said to Kelly a few weeks ago.  If we had ten more like her, we wouldn't need much else.  She has some extraordinary talents."
	The evening passed and finally Mike and Kelly returned to the apartment where they found Barbara and Bob sitting in the living room waiting for them.  The young people were astounded to find her parents in evening wear.  Barbara smiled and said, "You didn't think I would miss seeing my daughter presented, did you?  Congratulations, darling.  The phone will be ringing off the hook.  What are your plans now?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "Mom, I'm running out of gas.  And in spite of my weakened condition, Mike tells me we're due at Quantico, Virginia, tomorrow night.  It's back to work, I'm afraid.  If it's all the same to you, I think I'll just go to bed.  I'm beat, and he tells me they're going to be giving me a hard time."
	They went off to bed together.  Again, Mike felt a wonderful sense of warmth lying next to this beautiful girl.  He gently squeezed the beautiful breast under his hand and was rewarded with a small murmur of contentment as Kelly tried to mold her body even closer to his.
Chapter 6
	Mike and Kelly arrived at Quantico in uniform.  Their promotions were now official: Mike was now a lieutenant colonel and Kelly was a major.  When they reported in to the school they were assigned housing in married officer's quarters and unloaded their gear.  For Kelly, her gear didn't amount to much.  The next morning they went to the supply center to draw equipment.  Mike had explained that rank insignia were not worn by trainees.  Since many of the instructors were enlisted personnel, it avoided problems with officer and civilian trainees.  Then he took her in to meet the school's commanding officer, Colonel Peter Rogers.
	Rogers rose when they entered the office and saluted Kelly.  "Welcome to Quantico, Major Jackson."  He turned to Mike and said, "You're looking good, Mike.  Very good, in fact.  How's the leg?"
	"It's fine, Pete, thanks.  I've been telling Kelly that she's in for a rare treat here:  I told her it combines the worst features of a prison camp and a trip to the dentist to have impacted wisdom teeth removed."  He smiled and Rogers grinned.  He asked them to sit down.
	"Kelly, I'm going to use you and I hope you won't mind.  For a number of reasons we do not encourage trainees to get to know each other's backgrounds.  All sorts of people come through here; some are civilians.  Among the military personnel, most are enlisted — about two-thirds.  As you probably know, no rank insignia are worn.  We organize training classes as companies with three platoons.  In this class there are going to be seventy-four of you.  We will have three platoons of about twenty-five with a designated platoon leader and assistant.
	"We're here to train the people and test them.  What isn't so obvious is the extent of the testing.  It's one thing to have the skills to operate behind enemy lines; it's another thing entirely to have the temperament for it.  Kelly, I'm putting you in the first platoon.  The platoon leader is Ken Carson and the assistant is Mary Harris.  Do you mind?"
	Kelly had been listening carefully and replied, "Of course I don't mind.  I'm here to learn."  She smiled at Rogers and said, "From our housing, it's obvious that you know about our arrangement.  My job is to learn enough to keep him alive to get to the altar when this is over.  Am I correct in assuming our housing arrangements are nonstandard?"
	Rogers smiled and said, "You're right.  They are.  The other trainees live in the barracks.  But you've raised a good point, Kelly.  We need some story to explain why you're not there.  Because of the division of people and the semi-secret nature of the work, there is intended to be no interaction between the training units and the other units operating down here.  My thought is to just say nothing unless you have a good story in mind."
	They left it that way.
	The next morning Kelly reported in her fatigues to the training unit.  Her uniform was completely unadorned except for the name, JACKSON, stenciled over the right breast.  She found the first platoon and saluted Ken Carson.  "Kelly Jackson reporting, sir.  I've been assigned to your platoon."
	Carson frowned at her and turned her over to Mary Harris.  Harris was a brunette, about five feet four with a good figure.  It was obvious to Kelly that Mary disliked her on sight.  The training began immediately.  Although Kelly thought she was in good shape, by the end of the first day she ached in muscles she didn't know she had.  Although she tried to be cheerful, it was obvious that Harris had it in for her.  A number of times during the day Kelly was ordered to do pushups for various infractions.  Kelly was certain the infractions were imagined.
	When she got back to the house in the evening she found Mike already there.  She stripped off her now-filthy fatigues and stumbled into the shower.  She came out with a towel around her head and collapsed face down on the bed.  Mike sat down on the edge and started to massage her body.  As he worked on her muscles she could feel her aches and pains slowly ebb.  They had scarcely spoken a word since she came in.  It was obvious to Mike what had happened, and Kelly was delighted that Mike knew where she was hurting without having to ask.
	He rolled her over on her back and she looked up at him.  He lowered his head and kissed her softly.  She gave him a small smile and said, "Darling, it's all I can do to spread my legs.  I'm afraid you'll have to do all the work."  The smile broadened and she added, "I think my cunt is the only part of me that doesn't hurt.  Do you mind?"
	He made love to her gently.  After they had climaxed, she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.  When she awakened she checked her watch and jumped up.  Mike was still sleeping.  Thirty minutes later he was awakened by the smell of broiling steak.  He got up and padded into the kitchen.  Kelly had prepared a beautiful dinner for them in spite of being so tired.  After eating they went back to bed, made love again with Kelly taking a much more active rôle, and finally went to sleep with his hand cupping her breast.
*  *  *
	Kelly was angry.  Her performance in the exercises put her at the top of her class, but the better she did the more Harris rode her.  It was apparent that Mary Harris and Ken Carson didn't know what to make of her.
	This added to the irritation Harris felt and resulted in her riding Kelly even more.  Mary Harris was puzzled.  She had tried to find out more about the young girl in her platoon but hit a stone wall.  She had even tried to sneak a look at Jackson's service record but found it wasn't in the usual file.  Nevertheless, she concluded that Jackson was enlisted.  She didn't know how old she was but estimated she wasn't more than twenty.
	A number of things didn't add up, though.  When they were introduced to enemy weapons, Jackson handled them with ease and familiarity.  At the range when they were shown the AK-47, Jackson picked it up, cocked it, and devastated the targets with a series of short bursts.  The platoon went to a group of tables behind the range where AK-47s were lying disassembled.  They had manuals to read which covered various weapons.  This was a test to see how much they had learned.  The assignment was to assemble the weapons and fire them.  Jackson had hers together and firing while Harris was still working on her breech mechanism.
	She seemed to be comfortable around demolition charges.  Harris couldn't understand why, but the instructor seemed to listen carefully to this young girl.  The more it happened, the madder Harris became.  It isn't right, she thought.  I'm an officer — a West Point graduate — and this high-school dropout is deliberately trying to make me look bad.  She had been taking her complaints to Ken Carson who had been a class ahead of her at the Point.
	Finally, she could take it no longer.  She saw Carson at the end of the day after two weeks of training and said, "Ken, we've got to get rid of Kelly Jackson.  She's not making it.  She has some technical skills, but she could never operate successfully behind enemy lines.  Do you agree?"
	Carson had left Kelly to Harris because they were both women.  He didn't have much direct contact with Jackson but he did know her scores were good.  He agreed, finally, to go with Harris to see Colonel Rogers on Monday.
	They went into his office early on Monday.  Harris asked for the immediate dismissal of Jackson.  "Colonel, she has some technical ability but lacks the temperament and the broad knowledge required to operate behind enemy lines.  She will be a danger to herself and to her team."
	Pete Rogers lifted his eyebrows slightly.  "You're confident of this, Lieutenant?  You don't believe she can make it?  I must tell you, her scores are very good and I get good reports from the instructors.  You're certain?"
	"Yes, sir.  I am sure.  She couldn't possibly operate behind enemy lines," Harris replied.
	Rogers nodded.  "I'll think about it.  I will talk to you both at the end of the day today.  There is a meeting of the full company scheduled at that time.  Let's see what happens."
	That afternoon the training company assembled in the auditorium.  Mary looked around and saw that Jackson wasn't there.  She smiled to herself, convinced that the colonel had acted on her recommendation.  Kelly Jackson was history.
	When the company was seated, Rogers went to the microphone.  "Ladies and gentlemen, you have now completed two weeks of our ten-week course.  The results are good... so far.  I have decided to make a change organizationally, however.  You are organized into a training company with three platoons, each with a platoon leader and an assistant.  As many of you noticed, there is no company commander nor company staff.  I am naming Ken Carson, platoon leader of the first platoon, as assistant company commander.  Mary Harris will take over as platoon leader of first platoon and a new assistant will be appointed.  This leaves us with the question of who will command the company.  In this class, we are extremely fortunate.  We have a student who is qualified to be an instructor in virtually every subject area.  She will be the company commander."  Rogers turned to the side of the stage and said, "Major, will you come out and meet your command?"
	Kelly walked briskly across the stage.  Rogers had told her to wear her service dress uniform and wait offstage.  She shook hands and took a seat behind him.  Rogers continued, "Many of you already know Major Jackson.  What you do not know — although it is visible for those of you with sharp eyes — is that she wears the ribbon of the Medal of Honor, along with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.  I don't have to explain to you the meaning of the Medal of Honor.
	"You may have noticed that many of the instructors defer to Kelly.  In languages, she has been spending some of her very limited off-duty hours with our language instructors in German and Russian improving their pronunciation and teaching them the latest idioms.
	"She is as good with small arms as anyone we have ever encountered.  The Silver Star resulted from wiping out an enemy patrol.  She fired eight rounds at ranges up to 150 meters.  There were eight men dead, each with a bullet in his head.  She is similarly deadly with a 9mm automatic.  That was five rounds, and four dead.  She is very considerate with the taxpayers' money.  She doesn't use expensive bullets just to put holes in the foliage.  The reason for the fifth round was she had just been beaten and was annoyed at the Russian who had been wielding the whip.
	"There's just one more thing.  There have been comments that Kelly appears to be very young... much too young for the work we do.  The fact is she turned nineteen last month.  This command is now rather unimpressed with age as a qualifying characteristic for our work.
	"Major Jackson, would you please take over your command."
	Kelly got up from her chair and saluted the colonel.  She went to the microphone and said, "We're not nearly finished, but I think we're off to a good start.  I would like to see this company set records for proficiency at this command that will last awhile.  Let's do it!"
	She stepped away from the microphone and said in a very strong voice that reverberated from the corners, "Company... AttenTION."  The trainees jumped to their feet at attention.  Kelly dismissed them, after saying she wanted to meet with Carson and Harris immediately following dismissal.
	Kelly ignored the stares of her classmates as they left the room.  She could see eyes focusing on the blue ribbon with its white stars worn on her left breast.  When everyone else had left, she turned and found Carson and Harris standing at attention waiting for her.  She turned to them and they saluted smartly; Kelly returned the salute as smartly.  "Let's sit down, shall we?"
	Mary Harris was waiting for the ax to fall.  My God, she thought, here I am telling the Colonel Kelly Jackson isn't fit for service behind enemy lines... and she's been there.  She is a major with a Medal of Honor awarded at age eighteen!  Mary wondered what Kelly had done to earn it.  She sat down on a chair maintaining a position of attention.
	Then she heard a muttered "Damn!" from Kelly.  She had turned a chair backwards and was about to straddle it when she remembered she was wearing her uniform skirt.  She turned it around again and sat down.  She looked at Mary Harris and said, "Mary, you don't like me.  Why?"
	Mary's face turned bright red.  Her first thought was to say that she did, but she abandoned it instantly.  Ken Carson was watching her closely and knew the truth.
	"I'm sorry, Major.  I... I guess I'm jealous.  I graduated high in my class at the Point and am proud of it.  Then I meet a young girl who can't be long out of high school who regularly puts me in the shade.  Whatever I do, you do better, faster and easier.  And, Major, you're beautiful to boot."
	Suddenly the girl started to cry.  Her face just crumpled and tears started to stream from her eyes.  She still sat upright, though.  "I was unfair, cruel... a gold-plated bitch.  And you never said anything.  You would occasionally look at me as if I were imagining something... and I was.  Major, I can't count the number of times I've given you punishment.  And I can't think of a single time when you deserved it.  My behavior has been reprehensible.  I'm resigning my commission and from the school for the good of the Service."
	Kelly had been looking at the girl impassively.  When she finished, Kelly said, "Harris, drop and give me twenty.  Now!"  Mary looked up at Kelly in surprise.  Then she grinned and dropped to the floor.  She did twenty excellent pushups and then jumped up to attention.
	Kelly got up from the chair and held out her hand, "Harris, now we're even.  You didn't deserve those, either.  Can we try again?  I happen to believe you're too good to lose.  Besides, the taxpayers have a large investment in your education."
	Mary Harris took Kelly's hand and gripped it firmly.  "Major, thank you.  I feel like such a fool!  I can't believe how wrong I could be.  Can you tell us how you got your Medal?"
	Kelly smiled and shook her head, "I'm afraid I can't.  I guess I can say it had to do with using explosives.  By the way, Mary, you're wrong about one thing.  I'm not out of high school, yet.  I never graduated.  My education was... interrupted."
	Mary's mouth formed a small "O".  "No wonder the demolition instructor listened so attentively!  You... Kelly, you blew the Weser River bridge, didn't you?  It's the only thing...  It appears to have been decisive and all of the news reports have been uncharacteristically vague.  My God!  I saw a photograph of the thing.  Broken neatly in half with the broken center in the river and the land-side ends blasted off their foundations.  They said we used a new type of bomb, but no bomb could blow a bridge off the foundations on both sides at once."
	Kelly's face remained impassive.  "We've got a lot of work to do in the next eight weeks.  Let's go home, get some sleep and get to it."
*  *  *
	Colonel Rogers' speech changed the atmosphere dramatically.  He had called the house that evening and asked Kelly to start wearing her rank insignia.  He pointed out that the class had been officially told, and the staff had requested him to ask her to as well.
	The next morning Kelly addressed the company.  "Now the real work starts.  The last couple of weeks we spent getting into shape.  Now we go to work.  Remember, this class is going to set a new record or we're going to bust in the attempt.  Shall we?  Company...  Dismissed."
	Kelly drove them unmercifully.  More accurately, she led them.  There was nothing they were asked to do that she didn't do faster, easier, better.  The attitude of the instructors was obvious to the students: When Kelly appeared, the class was called to attention and the instructor saluted smartly.  One asked Kelly to lecture on Russian attitudes and tactics, which she did.  She stressed that the authoritarian structure in the Russian forces — everything was controlled from the top — created opportunities for them: "Act like you're in authority, and they'll accept it as a fact.  Even if they don't, they'll stop and think and that gives you an opportunity."
	Kelly personally worked hardest on unarmed combat.  It was the area of the instruction program with which she was least familiar.  Because of her grace and agility, it came easily to her.  After a few weeks, she was giving the instructor a hard time.
	One day she was asked to go to the rifle range.  When she arrived, the instructor, a Marine gunnery sergeant, saluted and began his presentation.  "This morning, we are going to use a new course of fire we just developed.  You will use a silenced sniper rifle — 25 caliber.  The rifles have been sighted in and have a trajectory that's nearly flat for 200 meters.
	"The situation is this:  You have trapped an enemy patrol in one of its own mine fields.  You did this by moving a few of their mines and laying a few of your own.  It was a nine-man patrol.  A Russian private was blown up by a mine, stopping the patrol in its tracks.  You are in a grove of trees at the edge of the field.  The objective is to see how many of the enemy you can eliminate."
	The sergeant winked at Kelly and looked to his right.  She looked to her left and saw Mike standing there watching.  He grinned at her and she glared back at him.  He strode over to the range and returned the sergeant's salute.
	The sergeant said, "This is Colonel Michael Callahan, here for a refresher course after recovering from a wound suffered in Germany.  Colonel Callahan helped us lay out the course.  Sir, would you care to say a few words?"
	Mike grinned at Kelly and then looked at the class.  "This is the Kelly Jackson Memorial Sniper Range.  It's nasty, I know, but the situation is exactly as it was in Germany a few weeks ago.  Major Jackson, would you please fire the first string?"
	Without a word Kelly went to a shooting position.  At each was a very familiar-looking box.  Kelly opened hers up and began to assemble the sniper rifle, a duplicate of the one she had used in Germany just a few weeks earlier.  She took out three clips and put two in her pocket.  Putting the sling over her arm, she looked at the target patterns and smiled to herself.  It was exactly as she had remembered it from that day.
	She fired at the farthest target, then the one in the location where the officer was, then the NCO, and finally shot the rest of the privates.  She noticed there was even rank insignia indicating the officer and the NCO targets.  She put down the rifle after opening the bolt and removing the clip.  A marine scampered down the range retrieving Kelly's targets and replacing them with new ones.
	When he returned, the sergeant and Mike looked at each one.  Mike smiled and the sergeant just shook his head.  He took the targets and lined up the holes.  The bullet holes were in the center of the forehead on each one.  If the eight targets had been clipped together, a single bullet could almost have made all of the holes.  The sergeant held the targets up for the platoon to see.
	Mike addressed the group.  "This is almost exactly how it was in Germany with Kelly.  There are three differences, though: First, we didn't stand the Russians up to see if all the bullets were in the same spot.  Second, Kelly is wearing pants this time.  In Germany, she was only wearing a combat jacket.  Third, the last shot: In Germany, she let the last man crawl through the minefield and then waited for him to stand up.  Then she put a bullet between his eyes.  She wanted his clothes and didn't want to have to crawl through a minefield to get them."
	Mike grinned at Kelly who was still glaring at him.  He could hear her whisper, "Wait till I get you home!"
	"Oh, there was one more thing," Mike added.  "Those were the first bullets she had fired in her life."  He looked at her with a smile on his face, but love obvious in his eyes, "Kelly, may I tell the class why you always shoot at the head?"
	Kelly blushed but he could see the corners of her mouth turn up in a tiny grin.  She nodded almost imperceptibly.
	"I asked Kelly when it was all over why she always aimed at the head.  She told me she had flunked biology twice and wasn't sure where the heart was.  Since the rifle fires a small-caliber bullet, she aimed at the head.  There is one final point: You may wonder why she was shooting, not me.  I guess it's obvious to you that I was there, too.  The reason is that Kelly had operated on my leg the previous night and removed a bullet so I wasn't in great shape at the time.  It turns out she's a far better shot than I could ever hope to be, anyway."  Mike winked at Kelly, saluted the sergeant, and walked away.
	The sergeant said, "That was obviously perfect shooting.  Incidentally, I have it on good authority that today was only the second time Major Jackson has fired this weapon.  The first time the results were identical, except, as Colonel Callahan just told you, the targets were real.  Any questions?"
	One of the students said, "Major Jackson, is this all true?"
	Kelly nodded ruefully, "I'm afraid it is.  As a matter of fact, one of the items high on my list of things to accomplish at this school is to locate the heart.  It's a substantially larger target to aim at."
	Over the weeks Kelly developed a competition with Mary Harris.  One day the company was running a ten-mile course with full packs for time.  Kelly ran alongside Mary and said, "Come on, lard-ass!  Let's move it."
	Mary looked up, and with sweat pouring off her, grinned at Kelly, and whispered back, "You're just jealous because you don't have any buns."
	Kelly returned the grin, stuck out her tongue and bounded to the head of the column to pick up the pace.  That day the company set a course record for the run.
	The evenings had fallen into a pattern.  Kelly would return to the house, strip, take a shower and collapse on the bed.  Mike would start to knead her muscles while she groaned from a combination of pleasure and pain.  "Darling, I didn't know I had so many muscles to ache!"
	Kelly always cooked their dinner while Mike did the shopping and cleaned up.  Often, Kelly would meet with a small group of instructors after dinner over a few beers and answer questions about Russian behavior and tactics, as well as current conditions in Germany.
	With two weeks to go, Kelly and Mike had a long weekend free.  Since Kelly had discovered there was a romantic interest between Ken Carson and Mary Harris, she talked to Mike, and they invited the couple to join them for a weekend at Virginia Beach.  Mike made reservations and they all drove down together.  It was the first weekend off the base since they had arrived and they were determined to make the most of it.  The weather was beautiful: sunny and warm.
	On Saturday the girls were lying on the beach while the boys were off buying beer.  Kelly was face down on her towel and had unhooked her bikini bra.  Mary was looking at her and saw the marks crisscrossing Kelly's back.  "Kelly, what are those lines on your back," she asked softly.
	Kelly was nearly asleep in the warm sun.  She murmured, "They're almost all gone.  No problem."
	Mary looked closer and ran her finger tips over Kelly's back.  She could feel tiny ridges.  "What are they, Kelly?"
	She heard a very soft reply.  "Whip marks.  But they're mostly gone."
	"My God, Kelly, you've been beaten unmercifully!  Who did it?  The Russians?"
	Kelly murmured, "Uh hum."
	"Kelly, were you a prisoner of the Russians?"
	Kelly raised herself up, unmindful of her bare breasts.  They were at a very quiet section of the beach.  "Yes, Mary, I was.  No one knows about it except a few people.  And I would like to keep it that way, please."
	Suddenly Mary's face collapsed and she began to cry like her heart was broken.  "Kelly, how cruel could I possibly be!?  I was riding you for two weeks, thinking you were a candy ass who couldn't take it.  Then I find you have the Medal of Honor and I felt knee-high to an ant.  Now I find you were a prisoner of the Russians and obviously were tortured unmercifully.  How long was it, Kelly?"
	Very softly Kelly replied, "Nearly a year."
	"Kelly, can you possibly forgive me?  What I did was criminally stupid."  Mary looked at Kelly whose head was now propped up by her elbow.  "My God, you are beautiful!  Kelly, your figure is absolutely perfect.  And the Russians beat you?  Kelly, you met Mike in Germany didn't you?  And you fell in love?"
	Kelly smiled at the girl and said, "Mary, he saved my life in more ways than I can count.  Love is such a small word.  But yes, I love him."
	Mary looked up and saw the men returning.  "I think you had better put your bra back on.  The guys are coming back."
	She grinned at Kelly and said, "Mike sees you this way, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind.  Ken spends money on skin books, so I know he wouldn't mind.  But Kelly, compared to you I'm as flat as a board on top, my hips and ass are too big, my thighs are too heavy...  I can't stand the comparison."
	Kelly fastened her bra and feigned a sad expression.  "Oh, the poor girl!"  Then she grinned.  "What bullshit!  Flat?  Then the Rocky Mountains are flat.  Big ass, indeed.  Just because I called you a lard ass to get you moving... you have lovely little buns.  What does Ken think?"
	Mary grinned back and said, "He doesn't know any better.  I keep him focused on my cunt and that's all he can think about.  It's really kind of sad, isn't it, how easy it is to keep these guys happy?  Kelly, quickly, before the guys get here:  How has your lovemaking been the last couple of weeks?"
	Kelly looked puzzled but replied, "Great, but why do you ask?"
	Mary smiled a very warm smile and said, "Because last night was the very best yet.  God, did it ever feel good!  I think it's all the work we've been putting in, getting in shape."
	She looked up and said to the boys, "Did you get it?", and then in a whisper to Kelly, "My cunt is flowing like a river now, just thinking about it."
	They lazed in the sun and drank beer.  When the guys wandered off, Mary said, "Kelly, I don't know how to bring this up.  I gather you are going to serve with Mike.  I imagine you two will operate together with a husband-and-wife cover.  I talked it over with Ken, and we would like to volunteer as a team, operating the same way.  I feel like you do: I have to stick close to the big lug to see he stays alive long enough to make it to the altar."
	She looked at Kelly and there were tears in her eyes.  "Kelly, I have absolutely no right to ask you for anything.  But I would sure appreciate it if you would put in a good word for us if you have a chance."
	Kelly winked at the girl and said she would do what she could.  She realized that Mary Harris was, in fact, a very beautiful girl with a lovely figure, regardless of the cracks she made about it, and it was apparent that she and Ken were now very much in love.
	The last weeks passed quickly.  On the night before graduation, Mike was called up to Washington, but he promised to be back for the graduation ceremony.  It was now obvious that Kelly had achieved her objective: The class had set performance records in every category for which there were records kept.  She felt very proud leading her company as it marched in for the graduation ceremony.
	Colonel Rogers addressed the class.  "Ladies and gentlemen, eight weeks ago I named Major Kelly Jackson as company commander for your unit.  She set out that day to make this the finest unit we've ever had here at the school."  He smiled and continued, "Well, she did, and you did.  Congratulations!  Now we have a small award to make.  Major Jackson, front and center!"
	Kelly was surprised but marched up to the Colonel and saluted smartly.  He continued, "Kelly wanted to make this unit the best.  You are the best.  She wanted you to set records that will last.  You set the records, and at levels I'm confident will last for a while.  I also happen to know that Kelly led by example.  There was nothing she ever asked you to do that she didn't do first."
	Rogers smiled broadly.  "Well, it seems that as a by-product Kelly Jackson has just set every personal record that exists.  I have an award for the top student in the class which it is my pleasure to present to Major Kelly Jackson.  I have been asked to inform you that her scores make her the top student we have ever had.  Major, congratulations!"
	He lowered his voice and said, "Kelly, I want to see you in my office immediately following dismissal."
	Kelly saluted and did an about face to return to her position at the head of the formation.  As she marched back she heard Ken Carson yell, "Three cheers for Kelly!  Hip, hip..."  There was a thunderous roar from the students, cheering Kelly.  She took her position and said, "I can only say thank you.  I wanted this for you very much.  You did it.  Thank you.  Company...  Dismissed!"
	Kelly was in her service dress uniform as she walked to the Colonel's office.  The orderly said, "The colonel is waiting for you, Major.  You may go right in."
	She entered the office and saw Mike there.  She was surprised to see Colonel Hawkins waiting also.  He was in uniform.  It was the first time Kelly had ever seen him wear one.  For some reason, Kelly felt there was some formality involved.  Accordingly, she stood at attention in front of Roger's desk and saluted smartly.  "Major Jackson, reporting as ordered, sir."
	"Stand at ease.  Major, there was a problem last night.  Did you go out for drinks with some enlisted men?"
	Suddenly Kelly was scared.  She stiffened to attention and said, "Yes, sir."
	"Major, did the enlisted men become... drunk?"
	Kelly's eyes were straight ahead, looking across the top of Roger's head.  She said, "Yes, sir.  I'm sorry, sir."
	Rogers' voice was impassive.  He buzzed the orderly on the intercom and said, "Send in the sergeants."  He turned back to Kelly and said, "Major, take a seat over there," pointing to a side chair to the right of his desk.  Moments later Sergeants Early, Stewart, and Kennedy entered the office and stood at attention in front of the Colonel.
	Rogers' voice sounded harsh.  "Early, you're senior.  You will answer for the group.  Did you go out drinking with Major Jackson last night?"
	"Yes, sir."
	"And did you get drunk?"
	"Stinking, sir."
	"Then what happened?"
	"I don't know, sir.  Stewart and Kennedy don't remember, either."
	"What's the next thing you remember?" Rogers asked harshly.
	"It was this morning, sir.  I woke up in my bed and I found a note, sir."
	"What did the note say?" Rogers asked.
	"It said, 'Nighty night.  Sleep tight.'," he replied, sounding embarrassed.
	"Were you in your uniform when you woke up, Sergeant?"
	"No, sir."
	"What were you wearing?
	"Nothing, sir."
	"How about the other men?"
	"The same thing, sir."
	"Did you all have notes?"
	"Yes, sir."
	"Was your note signed?"
	"Just the initial, 'K', sir."
	"Was there anything else unusual?"
	"Yes, sir.  There were lipstick lips on my cheek, sir, and my uniform was put away."
	"Early, what is the meaning of this!?  You're the best damned man in unarmed combat we've got.  What are you screwing up like this for?"
	"I'm sorry, sir.  Begging the colonel's pardon, no better than second best, sir.  That's the problem, sir.  It's the same with Charley and his explosives and Bill with his small arms.  We may have been the best, but we sure as hell aren't any more."
	"Who's better, Sergeant?"
	Early looked so surprised he slipped from his position of attention.  "The Major, of course, sir.  She had no exposure to unarmed combat in her life until she came here.  At the end of two weeks, she was giving me a fight.  After four, she was beating me.  After six, I could give her a fight.  Now, sir, for the last two weeks or so, I can't even give her a good fight.  She doesn't even break a sweat."
	He turned to Charley Stewart and said, "How about explosives, Charley?"
	Stewart spoke for the first time.  "With me and Bill it was different, sir.  She knew about our stuff.  She was as good as I am when she got here.  She's the best there is now.  Poor Bill, he was beaten the first day and it just got worse."
	Rogers rose from his seat and glared at the three sergeants.  "What should I do with you three?  It's disgraceful!  Three of the most senior NCOs in the armed forces."
	Early spoke for the group.  He reached into his pocket and brought out a small wad of bills.  His partners did the same thing.  "This is $50, Colonel.  We owe it to the Major for the beer.  The loser was supposed to buy.  We know we didn't pay, and we don't know who the loser was, but it sure as hell wasn't her, sir."
	Rogers made a face and said, "Get out of my sight while I think about an appropriate punishment."  He took the money the men had left on his desk.  "Dismissed!  But stay in the outer office while I figure out what to do with you."  The sergeants did an about-face and marched out of the office.
	Rogers sat down again.  "Major, did you do that?  Did you take those men back to their quarters, undress them, put them in bed, and write notes, for chrissakes?"
	Kelly sat up straight in a position of seated attention.  "Yes, sir.  I did.  No excuse, sir."
	Kelly was scared.  She was looking forward to working with Mike.  The training had gone well.  She had worked hard to ensure that she would be ready to handle anything that came up.  Her mission in life was to ensure that Mike lived.  Now she was frightened that her army career was coming to a screeching halt due to her own misconduct.  Not even the President would intervene in a situation like this.  Kelly was pale as a sheet as she waited for the ax to fall.
	Suddenly, she heard howls of laughter.  It shocked her out of her position of attention.  There were Pete Rogers, Tom Hawkins, and Mike laughing so hard they almost fell out of their chairs.  Finally, Pete regained control enough to speak but tears of laughter were still streaming down his cheeks.
	Suddenly, Kelly was mad.  Ignoring the fact that she was outranked, she yelled, "What is going on here?  Has everyone lost his fucking mind?"
	All it did was set them off again.  Finally, Pete spoke.  "Mike, didn't you warn Kelly?"
	"God, Pete, no.  I mean, she's a girl...  I never thought they'd have the nerve...  Did they catch you?" Mike asked.
	Kelly had no idea what they were talking about.
	"Catch me?  My God!" Pete said, "I was nearly hospitalized.  I wasn't able to do a damn thing for two days.  How about you?"
	Mike said, "I woke up on the floor.  They had me wedged under the bar surrounded by beer cases.  I stank like a brewery and didn't sober up enough to be hungover for nearly twenty-four hours."
	He looked at Tom Hawkins and said, "Were you caught, Tom?"
	Hawkins grinned, "Caught?  Christ, I was hospitalized.  I was so damned drunk, I didn't think I would live.  Then the hangover hit.  And I mean, hit.  Then, I was afraid I would live!  It was awful!"
	Kelly was now standing with her hands on her hips.  "Would one of you loonies kindly tell me what in hell is going on here?"
	"Well, since I guess I was the hardest hit of anyone here, I guess I should," Tom Hawkins said.  "First, Kelly, sit down, relax, and loosen your tie.  This is fun."
	He turned to her with a smile and said, "Congratulations!  This is a first that puts all the records I heard about in the shade.  By the way, Pete was absolutely accurate.  Those three are the best there is at what they do.  Or were.
	"They were absolutely honest, Kelly: You beat them all.  And believe me, they didn't let you.  They were really trying.  So congratulations!  Beating them at their specialties is a massive achievement.  But comparatively, that's minor.  I guess you know by now that the NCOs really make things work in the Army.  If they like an officer, they can make him look very good.  If they try to get him, the officer doesn't have a chance.
	"Well, those three are notorious.  The three of us are members of a rather exclusive fraternity.  I'm sure you know they are cadre.  Students come and go, but they stay.  I don't know when it started, but it's been going on for years.  Once, maybe twice a year, a truly outstanding candidate will come through the school.  It happens the same way every time:  The individual will be the top student in the class and will be flat on his face during the graduation exercise.  It's really a badge of honor because you have to be very good to be picked.  As I said, it averages about one a year, so we are a very exclusive fraternity."
	At this point Tom grinned broadly and said, "And wouldn't you know it, the first damn time they let a dame in, she screws it all up?  Kelly, you're supposed to be hospitalized.  You are the first person to survive.  Looking at you, it's as if nothing happened.  What did happen, by the way?"
	"They asked me out last night.  Mike was out of town and I like the guys so I said I would go.  They took me to a bar selected to embarrass me, I guess.  There were several not-very-good strippers working.  Anyway, they asked me if I drank beer.  The minute I heard that, I knew I was home free.  I really don't know what my capacity for beer is, but it's large.
	"Anyway, we talked and played drinking games.  That was a problem for them, too.  I was a lot better at them than they were, so they had to drink a lot more than I did.  Anyway, they all passed out and I took them back to their quarters and put them to bed."
	Tom Hawkins, of course, knew of Kelly's experiences with the Russians in Germany and Pete Rogers suspected a great deal.  Tom said, "And you undressed them, put their clothes away neatly, put on heavy fresh lipstick, made a big lip mark on their cheek, wrote your note and left?"
	"That's about right, Tom," Kelly said, relaxing now as she realized what had happened.  "You mean to say I won one for the students?"
	"That's exactly right.  Moreover, it's the first victory students have ever had against those bums!  Kelly, stand next to Pete's desk, would you?"
	Pete grinned and buzzed the orderly.  "Send the sergeants back in, please."  The sergeants entered and formed a row again in front of the colonel's desk.  "Okay, you turkeys.  First, I expect you to apologize to Major Jackson.  Of all the nerve!  First, you contributed to the delinquency of a minor.  Major Jackson is too young to have a legal drink in this state.  Second, each of you clowns would make at least two of her, and you have the nerve to try to get her drunk.  What happened?"
	Early acted as spokesman again.  "I guess it's only right, Colonel.  We were the cocks of the walk around here for years.  Whenever a really hot candidate came through — you three are all in the club — we would take particular pains to show you that you weren't as good as you thought you were.
	"With Major Jackson, it was totally different, sir.  She has no idea how good she is.  All she ever focused on was getting her people to do their very best.  She did it by being out in front — literally and figuratively — on every exercise.  Colonel, when she's beating the shit out of us — excuse me, ma'am — she doesn't even know she's doing it.  She's talking to her troops while she's doing it to get them to do better."
	He looked at Kelly and smiled warmly.  Then he looked back at Rogers.  "Colonel, isn't that what leadership is all about?
	"Colonel, we've just elected the major president of our fraternity.  She tops it all off by beating us at our drinking games, for God's sake.  She took them all.  And we were getting desperate.  All she did was smile.  We still can't figure out how she got us to our rooms.  Colonel, you're right about one thing.  We do make at least two of her — each of us."
	Again Early turned to Kelly and said, "On behalf of all of us, ma'am, I would like to apologize.  I also want you to know you are the very best there is, ma'am.  We don't know what you did to earn the Medal of Honor, but we're sure of one thing.  It was no damned fluke.  It's been a real pleasure, ma'am."
	Ignoring the colonel, he stuck out his hand.  Kelly took it in a firm grip.  Then she pulled his head down and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek.  Early turned bright red and softly touched where he had been kissed.  She repeated it with Stewart and Kennedy.  They snapped to attention, gave her their very best salute and left the office.
	Tom Hawkins spoke when the NCOs had left.  "Kelly, I guess it goes to show what happens when you take a chance on an unknown quantity.  You get record-breaking performance.
	"Young lady, you are causing problems.  If I hadn't come back to Washington, I might have lost you.  Pete, here, wants you on his staff for reasons that are pretty obvious.  You are an outstanding performer and possibly an even better motivator.  On the other hand, you signed up to be with Mike.  Pete and I have fought this one to a draw and finally agreed to leave it up to you.  What's your pleasure?"
	Kelly looked at Pete and Tom Hawkins.  Then she looked at Mike.  "Colonel Hawkins, I'm going with Mike.  Where is he going?"
	Hawkins looked at Mike.  "I guess it's up to you Mike.  I've got to head back tonight.  Want to come?"
	Mike nodded and said, "Honey, let's go to England."
Chapter 7
	Mike and Kelly had been in England for three weeks when a call came for Mike from Colonel Hawkins.  He told Mike there was a special briefing at SACEUR — Supreme Allied Command – Europe — which was now located in London.  Because there were elements of the briefing involving activities behind enemy lines, Mike and Kelly were both requested to attend.
	Beginning at Quantico and at an intensive level for the three weeks they had been in England, Kelly had been reading military history focusing particularly on the Red Army.  After driving over to SACEUR, they were directed to the briefing room.  Although both were in uniform, they had been instructed to omit decorations.  The meeting was called for two o'clock.
	As they entered the room, Kelly checked her watch and found it was one-fifty-five.  They were right on time.  They found a four-star general with his aide and several of his staff officers in the room along with some members of SACEUR's senior staff.  As a major, Kelly was the lowest-ranking person in the room.
	The general looked up when they walked in.  "Aren't you in the wrong place, colonel?" he asked brusquely.
	"Is this the briefing with General Adams, sir?" Mike asked.
	"It is.  What are you two doing here?  And this isn't a sewing circle.  Would you kindly leave the broad outside?" he demanded.
	At that moment, General Samuel Adams, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, entered along with Colonel Hawkins.  "I don't think she's broad at all, Ned.  In fact, I would judge Kelly has a lovely figure.  You are Kelly Jackson, aren't you?" he asked.
	Kelly stiffened to attention as Adams initiated a salute which she returned smartly.  He stuck out his hand and Kelly took it in a firm grip.  General Edward Carlson, commander of all ground forces in Europe, allowed his jaw to drop.  "Sam, did I see you salute this girl?" he asked.
	Adams looked at him and said casually, "It's customary, isn't it, Ned, to initiate the salute to a Medal of Honor winner?  I'm sorry, I guess you haven't met.  Kelly, it's my pleasure to introduce Ned Carlson, commander of ground forces.  Ned, this is Kelly Jackson."
	Carlson still wasn't mollified.  "And what is a Kelly Jackson?  I gather, Major, you hold the Medal of Honor."
	Adams smiled and said, "Ned, weren't you the guy who said that the collapse of the Weser bridge turned the tide?  Something about gaining time and breaking the back of the Russian attack?  Allowing time for naval convoys with troops, supplies, and equipment to reach you?  Ned, Kelly got the medal for engineering its collapse."
	Carlson's jaw dropped.  "Sam, are you telling me that bridge was blown?  It didn't just collapse?"
	"It collapsed, Ned.  Helped by about 120 pounds of powerful explosives, very well placed."  Adams turned to Kelly and said, "Major Jackson, I've been asked by my chief engineer to ask you a question.  Have you had any art training?"
	"Yes, sir.  I have.  It was about the only course I could pass in school."
	Kelly was stunned by Adams' reaction.  As soon as she replied, he muttered, "Oh, shit!"  Then he smiled and said, "Major, you don't get on the good side of commanding officers by making them look bad.  You just cost me $20.  My chief engineer bet me $20 you had art training.
	"Ned, you'll appreciate this, I think.  After all, it was your ass Kelly saved.  At any rate, my engineers have been studying the photographs of the blown bridge along with a stack of pictures we had of the thing when it was standing.  Their professional opinion was that to do the job you did with a limited quantity of explosives required a feeling for the structure — a sense for where the forces in the bridge were concentrated.  At any rate, they don't think the people who designed the bridge could have done it as well."
	He grinned at Kelly and said, "It's one of the reasons I wanted to meet you.  The other reason is a rumor floating around that you are the most beautiful girl in England and I wanted to check it out myself.  Looking at you, I think it is absolutely accurate.  Welcome."
	He turned to the staff, nodded, and took his seat at the head of the long table.  Mike and Kelly, the most junior officers, took seats at the far end.  The point of the meeting was quickly obvious.  The delay at the Weser had cost the Russians their offensive momentum and now the pendulum was swinging toward the Allies.  The Russian advance had been stopped and the Allies had regrouped and positioned their forces to go on the offensive.
	The problem was how?  It emerged that the Russians were in a defensive posture.  Their strength was not in the front lines but in a tactical reserve of guns and armor that could be positioned quickly to support the Russian positions, launch an attack on the Allies flank following an attack, or both.  Hawkins was present because he coordinated Allied intelligence from behind the Russian lines as well as running penetration teams such as Mike's.
	Kelly listened to the discussion for two hours until it slowly wound down.  No one had any good ideas.  The Russian tactical reserve was a major — and apparently insoluble — problem.  Finally, General Adams said, "I guess we've heard from all the experts.  Does anyone here have an idea?"
	At this point Kelly spoke up.  "General, I have a question.  Have the Russians lost a major armored battle since Marshall Solov's book on armored tactics was published?"
	Adams looked surprised at the question.  He turned to his chief of intelligence who shook his head.  Adams said, "Kelly, I guess the answer is no.  And would you please tell me who the hell Solov is and what he has to do with anything?"
	Kelly blushed but stood up and went to the board.  "General, Solov is Field Marshall Vasilly Solov, commander of Soviet tanks in World War II.  He is the man who wrote the book they're still reading from.
	"Sir, the Russians are a very interesting people.  They are very authoritarian and very conservative.  I believe the two elements are closely linked.  Clearly, when all orders flow from the top, one's tactics need to be fairly simple.  Otherwise the necessary orders have to be very complex... and the possibility of major misunderstanding increases dramatically.  The Russians stick with what works.  If they haven't lost a major armored battle since the book was published, they're probably still following it."
	Adams was interested but skeptical.  "Major, why is it I've never seen or heard of this book you're talking about if it's so important?"
	"General, as far as I know, it has never been translated into English.  For some reason most major Soviet military books are not printed in English.  Therefore, sir, unless you read Russian you couldn't have read it.  And because there aren't many officers who do, you may not have heard of it, either."
	Adams wheeled in his chair towards his intelligence chief.  "John, what about it?"
	"The major is absolutely right, General.  We don't have many officers who read Russian."
	Adams faced Kelly, "And Major, I gather from your question and comments that you do read Russian and you have read Solov's book?"
	"Yes, sir.  I finished it last week.  General Carlson, how would you react if I told you I could prevent the Soviet reserves from moving?  In the very best case you would break through and hit the reserve force while it's still immobilized.  Would that simplify the problem?  Because I think it can be done.  Moreover, General, it could be done so you don't fully commit until you know the reserves are locked up.  In other words, you won't have to attack blind.  What then?"
	Carlson looked at her with a disdainful expression on his face.  "In that case, Major, we win.  But there is a saying, 'If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.'  Jackson, those aren't even wishes, they're dreams.  It can't be done!"
	Mike watched proudly as Kelly stood her ground.  "It can be done, General, and Mike and I plus one other team can do it for you."
	Adams interrupted at this point.  "Let me remind you, Ned, this is the girl who stopped the Russians for you... by herself.  Normally, I would be skeptical.  However, you should know that Major Jackson commanded a training company at Quantico that set every record the place keeps.  In the process — as a by-product, mind you — she set every personal record they have.  When this young lady says something can be done, I can't dismiss it lightly.  Kelly, how can it be done?"
	"General, it relates to Solov and the Soviet top-down mentality.  Several facts are well known.  For example, only lead tanks have radio transmitters.  The other tanks only have receivers.  They can only take orders.  They can't even initiate a communication.  Even their maps are classified and restricted with respect to who has them and who can see them.  I think it's a fair bet that the average Russian soldier has only a vague idea where he is.  And so it goes, right to the top.
	"General, I'll bet only the Army commander or his deputy has the authority to order the reserve units into action.  We're concerned about two things, I think: armor and massed artillery.  Mike and I will take out the armor.  A second team I have in mind will knock off the artillery."
	Adams said, "But how, Kelly?  Do you intend to assassinate the Army commander?"
	"Yes, sir.  Although we're happier with euphemisms, that's about right.  Specifically, I intend to wipe out the command post with the army commander inside and then pick off the deputy when he comes to assume command.  Then we take out any ambitious-looking senior officer who looks like he's interested in taking up the slack."
	Carlson jumped to his feet.  "That's unconscionable!  It's murder!  It could be done to us."
	Kelly remained cool and poised.  "General, I understand that OSHA is about to issue a ruling that warfare must carry a warning label.  It can be hazardous to one's health.  General, do you bomb or shell enemy headquarters positions?"
	"That's a dumb question, Major!  Of course, we do."
	"And the purpose of this, General, is to cut down some trees?  Plow up fields with artillery shells?  That can get you in real trouble with the environmentalists, sir."
	"Don't be fresh, young lady.  Of course not.  It's to put the headquarters out of action."
	"Taking great care, General, to ensure no one is hurt, I trust?"
	Carlson was about to make an angry retort when he caught himself.  He thought for a moment and slowly a grim smile appeared on his face.  "What you're saying Kelly is we both try to take out enemy commanders.  You're just more efficient at it than we are.  And I guess you're probably neater and don't make such a mess.  That appeals to women, I guess."  He grinned with the last remark.
	Kelly grinned back.  "Now you have it:  Women are inherently neater.  Maybe we would run neater, less messy wars.  But we are certainly more bloodthirsty.  With respect to your comment about it being done to us, it could, but it wouldn't be worth it.  Our forté is communications.  Hell, everyone's wired.  We don't have a single pyramid with only a few at the top who can issue orders.  Well, what about it?"
	"Kelly it would work, I think.  General St. Clair, as chief of intelligence, what do you think?" Carlson asked.
	"General, the major is very accurate.  That is the way the Soviet Army is organized and operated.  If you knock off the top two or three guys, the entire unit under them — however large it may be — is immobilized.  It will work.  The question is, can it be done?"  He smiled at Kelly and continued, "Major, I was late arriving, and didn't have the pleasure.  I'm John St. Clair and I run intelligence.  Who, may I ask, are you?"
	Tom Hawkins responded.  "John, this is Kelly Jackson, the girl who blew the Weser bridge."
	St. Clair let out an almost-inaudible whistle and smiled.  He turned to his boss, General Adams, and said, "Sam, my opinion is that if the commanding officers of those units can be knocked off, we will immobilize their units.  Further, if she and Mike Callahan can't do it, it can't be done.  I think we should try.
	"However, there is one problem... a big one: We don't know with any accuracy where the units are.  Reconnaissance hasn't found them and we haven't picked them up on satellites.  We're in the dark.  I don't think it would be too helpful for Mike and Kelly to just wander around Germany looking for a Corps or so of armor."
	Kelly studied a large-scale map of Germany while the discussion continued.  After about forty-five minutes of talking, they were still no closer to a solution to their dilemma.  The reserve units had not been located.
	Finally, Kelly spoke up again.  "I think I can help you find it, General.  I suspect it's right here."  She pointed to an area on the map that showed wooded terrain.  There were roads leading both north-south and east-west.  "General, is this area heavily defended with antiaircraft missiles?"
	St. Clair smacked himself on the forehead.  "Kelly, would you like a new job?  Mine is now available.  My God, how could we be so dumb!  Why in hell would they have tiered antiaircraft defenses defending a woods?"
	Kelly interjected with a grin, "I understand the Greens have become pretty important politically in Germany.  They would be all for defending the trees."
	Her face became serious, again.  "It's perfect, sir.  It has to be here.  There are north-south roads to use to reposition against any threatened sector and an east-west road to bring up supplies.  The woods screen from satellites and the missiles keep our high-tech recon stuff out of the way."  She went back to her chair and sat down.
	General Adams got out of his chair and began to pace the floor.  Then he turned to Carlson and asked, "What do you think, Ned?"
	"It makes all kinds of sense to me.  Major, how long will it take to mount your operation?"
	Kelly replied, "We could go out tonight, but we won't.  You're the question:  When will your troops be ready to move?  We will hit the headquarters about an hour or so after you attack.  It will take at least that long for them to decide that your attack is the real thing, not a feint.  We'll hit just before they decide to move.  Remember, a replacement commander can take over in a matter of hours.  We strike when they don't have the hours available."
	Adams turned to Tom Hawkins.  "Tom, with your approval, I would like to promote Kelly to lieutenant colonel, effective immediately.  I am also putting her in for the Legion of Merit.  My God!  I ask the girl to join us because I just wanted to meet her.  I thought she would get a big thrill out of seeing us high-paid brass make important decisions.  Well, I guess she's seen us make them... after she tells us which ones to make."
	He looked up and smiled at Kelly.  "Kelly, is my information correct?  You are only nineteen years old?"
	"Yes, sir, that's correct," she replied.
	"Well, Kelly, I think you're now the youngest lieutenant colonel in the history of the U.S. Army.  Congratulations."  Again he smiled and continued, "Kelly, I believe Tom told me you didn't finish high school?"  Kelly nodded.  "And yet you're reading books on Russian military doctrine and tactics... in Russian.  By any chance have you read Clausewitz's On War... in German?"
	"Yes, sir.  I read that a couple of weeks ago."
	"How did you do in history, Kelly?  I heard you weren't too good in biology."
	"I usually just passed.  I always thought it was pretty dull.  Now I'm finding it quite interesting," Kelly replied.
	"You should," Adams said.  "Young lady, you're making history, not just reading it."  He turned to Carlson and said, "How about it, Ned?  When will you be ready to launch your attack?"
	"Give me three weeks.  Kelly, how much lead time will you need to get into position?"
	Kelly had resumed her seat.  From the end of the table she said, "General, please ask Colonel Hawkins or Mike that question."  She was blushing as she spoke.  "I've done far too much talking as it is."
	Tom looked at Mike who said, "We'll need about three days notice.  Timing is rather tight.  We need enough time to spot the targets, but we're behind enemy lines and exposed.  We don't want to be there two minutes longer than we have to be.  I think three days is about right."
	Final arrangements were made and the meeting participants started to gather up their papers.  General Adams turned to Tom Hawkins and said, "Tom, I assume Mike and Kelly drove over together?"  Hawkins said that they had.  "Would you mind taking Mike back with you?  I want to talk to Kelly alone for a few minutes."
	When the meeting was adjourned, Ned Carlson came over to where Kelly was gathering up her few notes.  He saluted her smartly and said, "Major, I would like to apologize for the way I acted when you came in.  I was totally out of line."
	He looked at Kelly carefully and said, "Sam's right about one thing: You are a very beautiful girl.  And he says you're only nineteen?"  Kelly nodded with a very small smile.
	"Christ, I have a daughter who's nineteen," Carlson said.  "I don't trust her to back the car out of the garage.  And you saved my men.  You really did."  Carlson looked pensive and added, "I sometimes wonder about the Medal of Honor.  Don't get me wrong.  The winners always demonstrated bravery of the highest order.  But sometimes I think it's more a function of creative writing by an adjutant somewhere.  Often, there are other more heroic actions that go unremarked.
	"Kelly, I'm not as dumb as I act sometimes.  I heard Sam say 120 pounds of explosives.  That's four full charges... 30 pounds each.  He said singlehanded, so that's you alone.  Kelly, you don't weigh 125, do you?"  She said she weighed about 120.
	"Then you were carrying heavy packs repeatedly down to that damn bridge."  Carlson was looking at her eyes.  They were impassive as he continued, "There's another thing about the Medal:  Every instance I've heard of, a guy went berserk.  He did things with a total disregard for his own safety.  As a result, the elapsed time is usually seconds or, at most, a very few minutes.  This must have taken hours, didn't it?"  Again Kelly nodded.
	Then Carlson shook his head.  "Kelly, I'm going to do something that's just between us.  You will have the private codename, CAVALIER.  I'll check when I get back to be sure it's available.  It will be in the general orders, with particular emphasis on our AWACS planes.  If you call using that codename, if we have it, you get it.  Understand?"
	Kelly was baffled, but said nothing.  Carlson opened a pad and asked her a series of questions — her mother's maiden name, her father's middle name, the street address of her home — designed to verify the identity of the user.  Finally, he rose and stuck out his hand, "Kelly, you kept us alive and fighting.  We're going to do our damnedest to return the favor.  And I would like an invitation to your wedding when this is over."
	Kelly returned his firm grip and grinned.  "Is it that obvious, General?  I thought I was very discrete."
	He smiled back at her and said, "Kelly, if Mike Callahan wasn't so big and strong, your looks in his direction would leave him melted on the floor.  You're discreet, but how discreet can you be?  Congratulations!  He's a very fine guy and I'm sure you'll be very happy."  He excused himself and Kelly went looking for General Adams' office.
	When she left the room she found a WAC captain waiting for her.  The captain appeared to be in her thirties and obviously didn't like her assignment.  She stiffened to attention and said, "Major Jackson?  I've been ordered to escort you to General Adams' office."
	As they walked along the corridor, Kelly glanced at the woman walking in step beside her and said, "Why don't you like me, Captain?"
	"It's none of my business who the General chooses to sleep with.  But bringing one of his tarts into headquarters disguised as an officer is too damned much!"  The woman's face wore an expression as if she had eaten something that tasted terrible.
	Kelly asked softly, "Does this happen all the time?  Sam told me I was the first."
	"It is, and I'll make it my business to be sure you're the last, too!" she said emphatically.
	They entered Adams' office with the captain standing aside.  Adams rose and greeted Kelly again.  They shook hands and Kelly could see a sudden expression of surprise on the captain's face.  "Thank you Cathy.  Don't leave yet.  I want you to initiate papers for Major Jackson.  First, a promotion to lieutenant colonel, then an award of the Legion of Merit...  I'll give you the details after she leaves."
	He looked at Kelly and grinned.  "How long have you been in the Army now, Kelly?"
	Kelly returned the smile and said, "Officially, since March 1.  Actually, since April 15."
	Adams shook his head.  "Then this is your second promotion and fourth major decoration.  Cathy, the medal joins the Medal of Honor which Kelly already has, along with the Silver Star and the Purple Heart."  Adams' voice changed as he said, "Cathy, what's wrong?"
	Kelly turned and saw the captain's face crumpled like paper.  She said, "General, I would like to resign effective immediately.  You can't live with a confidential secretary who can be as wrong as I've just been."
	The girl started to cry and Kelly went to her and helped her to a sofa.  She put her arm around her and tried to comfort her, but that seemed to only make matters worse.
	Kelly whispered, "You love him very much, don't you?"  The girl nodded quickly.  "Does he know it?"  The girl's head shook.  "Why in hell don't you tell him, Captain?"
	The girl looked up at Kelly and the tears stopped.  She murmured her thanks and quickly left the room.  Adams had been watching the whole episode in utter amazement.  Kelly took a seat in front of the General's desk.
	"What was that all about?"  Adams asked with bafflement obvious on his face and in his voice.
	"Are you married, General?" Kelly asked quietly.
	"I was.  My wife was killed in an automobile accident almost four years ago.  But what does that have to do with anything?"
	Kelly didn't answer the question directly.  Instead she asked, "What is your secretary's name?  Obviously, her first name is Catherine."
	"It's Catherine King.  Why do you ask?"
	Kelly explained Cathy thought she was Adams' mistress and that the whole arrangement with uniforms was a fraud.  Adams regarded her with a look of utter incredulity.  Finally, Kelly said, "She's madly in love with you, General, and has been for quite awhile."
	Adams shook his head and said, "Kelly, you're..."  He stopped in mid-sentence and smiled weakly.  He started again.  "Kelly, I was about to say that you're crazy.  Then I realized I've never known you to be wrong about anything.  You are hereby authorized to kick me in the tail if I fail to listen to what you have to say.  But Kelly, you have to be wrong.  Cathy's been with me for years.  I couldn't get along without her, but it's all business."
	Kelly smiled and said, "When your wife was killed, was Cathy a pillar of strength?  Did she made the funeral arrangements and do everything possible to take things off your shoulders?"
	"As a matter of fact, she did.  I'm not sure I could have made it without her.  But she's so young.  What could she possibly see..."
	"General, how old are you?  I would guess between forty-two and forty-five.  Am I close?"  Adams said he was forty-three.
	"And I guess Cathy's about thirty-two or so.  What's the big deal?  General, as long as your wife was alive Cathy loved you from afar and expressed her love for you in the quality of her work.  When your wife was killed, after a decent period of waiting, she hoped for something more.  Then she sees me — an even younger girl than she is — and thinks she's lost you."  Kathy looked at Adams intently.  "Remember, General, what she was saying.  She was saying that you are attractive to a girl of about twenty.  What does that say about your attractiveness to a woman of thirty-two?"
	Adams sat in his chair, stunned.  Kelly continued, "General, am I correct in assuming there's an officers' club around here somewhere?"
	Adams pulled himself together and brightened.  "Kelly, how long have you been in this man's army?  Christ, we go to war without ammunition before we survive without an O-Club.  Actually, it's pretty nice.  Why do you ask?  You want to go clubbing with Mike?"
	Kelly grinned and said, "Since we'll be around for a few weeks, we just might.  But what I would like to do is borrow your secretary for a few hours after we finish and have a heart-to-heart talk.  With your permission, of course, sir."
	Adams just shook his head.  "Permission granted, Colonel."
	He then smiled and said, "You know, this is what I wanted to talk about.  I've been hearing Kelly Jackson stories at an increasing rate.  I wanted to see who this superwoman is.  Kelly, your billing doesn't do you justice.  You are a truly beautiful young woman.  And you're madly in love with Mike Callahan."
	Kelly blushed and said, "Does it really show that much, General?  General Carlson said the same thing."
	"Yes, Kelly, it does.  And on you it looks beautiful.  Mike Callahan has to be the luckiest man alive."  Adams' face grew serious and he continued, "Kelly, that was a digression.  What really fascinates me is your wisdom.  That's a word that's usually associated with age and maturity.  You don't have the age, but you certainly have the maturity.
	"I was watching you carefully in utter amazement in the conference room today.  You handled yourself as well as any senior staff officer who's been running briefings for years.  You even used humor to tease Ned Carlson when he jumped on you for planning an assassination.  Then there's your knowledge:  I can't believe you were as bad a student as you claim to be.  You are one of the smartest people I have ever met.  What's the story?"
	Kelly realized he was serious and her usual teasing answer wouldn't do.  She decided to answer his question fully and honestly.  "General, I guess I owe the Russians something.  No one has asked how I happened to be in that school in Germany in the first place.  If anyone thought to ask, the answer is that I was kicked out of about one and a half schools a year.  I was on my way to still being in high school when I turned thirty.  The attraction of this school to my parents was, first, it was the strictest school they could find:  It was organized like a prison which is what it now is.  Second, it was away from all of my associates.  General, I was a real creep.
	"Then the Russians came.  It was funny.  I was a drunk.  I did drugs.  But I was still a virgin, for reasons that were never very clear to me.  I guess it would have to be called an accident of nature.  Maybe I was never sober enough to get laid.  Anyway, my virginity lasted until the first afternoon after they arrived.  I was the first girl taken.  I think about thirty men took me, one after the other, on the stage of the auditorium with the whole school watching.  I almost died.
	"Then, there were the beatings and the things we were forced to do.  I entertained at O-Club functions by stripping and then taking any interested Russian, however he wanted to do me, on the middle of the floor.  This got to be kind of tedious so I shaped up and got to be the commandant's mistress.  For the first time, I had an interest in life:  I wanted to kill as many Russians as I could before I got killed.  My life was over... I was ruined.  Then Mike attacked and I escaped under cover of his fire.  I guess you know the rest.  Mike took me and convinced me that I wasn't such a terrible person.  He literally put me back together again.  Now I have a purpose in life."
	She smiled warmly and continued, "Mike asked me to marry him and be the mother of his children.  That's my focus now.  General, I told him that my breasts would swell and my belly would bulge with his child growing inside me.  I can't wait.  I know I'm going to be a mess, but I will be the happiest mess on the face of the earth.  I'm working hard because my job is to make sure it happens.  To do that I have got to keep Mike alive, so I need to be as good as I can be and know as much as I possibly can.  I guess it's that simple."
	Adams smiled back at her.  As she was speaking, particularly about Mike, her face lighted up.  Kelly just glowed, making her beautiful features even more beautiful.  "Kelly, I'm making it my business to try to be sure it all happens."
	Kelly then told him about Carlson and the codename, CAVALIER.  Adams picked up the phone and buzzed John St. Clair.  "John, is CAVALIER a name in use right now?"  St. Clair checked the book and said it was not.  Adams told him it was in use as of now and quickly told him what it was to designate.
	He hung up and buzzed Cathy.  "Cathy, two things: First, when I finish with Colonel Jackson you're to go with her.  You are under her orders for the rest of the day.  Second, get me Ned Carlson right now, wherever he is."  He hung up the phone.  A moment later there was a buzz and he picked it up again.  "Ned, where did they find you?  Where are you now?"
	"I just got back to my office, General.  We're on a secure line."
	"Ned, Kelly Jackson is here with me.  She told me about the CAVALIER thing.  I want that sent to all relevant units, and it's very official.  Send it over your name, countersigned by me.  St. Clair has cleared the name and Kelly tells me she gave you the validation information.  I gather if she calls using that codename, if we have it, she gets it.  Is that the idea?"
	"Yes, sir.  That's exactly what I had in mind."
	"Okay, Ned.  It's official.  That's the way it will be.  And Ned, thanks for thinking ahead.  It's one of your best ideas."
	He hung up the phone and then picked it up again.  He buzzed and his aide came into the office.  "Jack, do you have the light colonel's leaves?"  The aide smiled and pulled out a small box.  "Kelly, please rise.  It gives me great pleasure to promote you to lieutenant colonel.  Congratulations!"
	He pinned the silver oak leaves on her uniform in place of the gold ones worn by a major.  After attaching them, he kissed her on the cheek.  Kelly blushed as he told her, "Take care of yourself, Colonel.  We need you around here.  Dismissed."
	Kelly saluted smartly and said she was going off with Captain King.
Chapter 8
	Kelly and Catherine King went to the Officers' Club which appeared to be an English pub.  Cathy told her it had been until SACEUR took it over.  Kelly was glad she was wearing her new silver oak leaves.  Her rank got them a table by themselves in the corner in spite of the fact that the club was very crowded.  Theirs was the last vacant table.  As they were being seated, three young officers headed over towards them.  Kelly thought they looked drunk.
	One came up and said, "We trust you candy-assed ladies won't mind giving us your table.  We're combat troops!"
	Although Kelly wasn't wearing her decorations, she was wearing her insignia including the paratroop badge she had earned in Quantico as well as her Combat Infantry Badge.  She noticed that the officer's name was MURPHY and he was a first lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division.
	Lt. Murphy looked at Kelly, bleary eyed.  It was obvious he was having trouble focusing his eyes.  He peered at her uniform and saw the paratroop and combat infantry badges.  "What are you wearing those for, sister?  Did your lover give you his to wear?"
	Kelly rose from the table and faced Murphy.  "Lieutenant, you're making a very big mistake.  Did you notice my rank insignia?  It says lieutenant colonel!  Now blow, before I call the MPs!"
	"Why don't you make me, sister?  You'll wish you were never born!"
	Kelly could see Murphy was reeling, but his friends were backing him up.  He made a sudden move to grab her.
	She saw his move coming and said, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant."  Then she grabbed his head and slammed his face against her rising knee.  She heard a sickening crunch as Murphy's nose was broken.  The other two officers, both second lieutenants, came towards her.  Kelly grabbed their heads and slammed them together, trying to avoid serious injury.  The two officers immediately lost consciousness and dropped to the floor.
	Murphy, who had fallen to the floor, got up again with blood streaming from his broken nose.  Kelly looked at him, grabbed his wrist and pulled him into their table.  She had pulled his head down exposing the back of his neck.  Kelly used a karate chop against it and put him out cold.
	Meanwhile, Cathy King went to a phone.  She called Sam Adams at his office.  "General," she said, "I'm at the O-Club with Colonel Jackson.  A few paratroop officers picked a fight with her.  Three of them are unconscious.  We need some MPs fast, sir!"
	Moments later she heard the scream of sirens.  A squad of MPs entered the club and picked up the three officers.  The sergeant in charge saluted Kelly and said, "Colonel, we're sorry for the trouble.  We'll take care of things from here."
	The two junior officers were helped to their feet and hustled out of the club.  Murphy, still unconscious, was carried out.
	Kelly sat down again and Cathy King looked at her.  "Colonel, weren't you scared?"
	Kelly looked at Catherine King with an impassive expression on her face.  She replied, "They were drunk.  I hope I didn't hurt Lt. Murphy too badly.  I know I smashed his nose, but I hope it wasn't anything more serious."  A smile started as she said, "And my name is Kelly.  I hope you'll allow me to call you Cathy."
	Cathy King was taken aback.  She looked flustered but said, "Of course you can call me Cathy if you want to, Colonel."
	Kelly looked rueful as she said, "Cathy, it isn't going to work for me to call you Cathy if you call me Colonel.  The name is Kelly, or Kel, or you dumb broad.  I answer to all of them.  Then there are a few in Russian I won't go into."  She looked at the woman and said, "How old are you, Cathy?"
	She looked startled but replied, "I'm thirty-two.  Why do you ask?"
	Kelly grinned and said, "Because I'm only nineteen.  You make me feel like an old woman when you call me Colonel."
	Cathy's mouth opened as if to speak and then closed again.  "Kelly, you're only nineteen years old?  I can't believe it!"
	"Ask your boss," Kelly said.  Then her expression became serious.  "Cathy, why don't you like me?"
	Cathy was about to deny her feelings when she stopped herself.  She decided to be honest.  She said, "Because you wear too much makeup.  You look cheap."
	With a self-deprecatory smile Kelly asked, "Are you sure?"
	Cathy looked at her carefully and suddenly her eyes widened, "My God!  You're wearing no makeup at all, are you?"  She looked at Kelly very carefully and added, "I don't think you're even wearing lipstick!  I'm wearing more than you are and have the nerve to say you're wearing too much.  What is it about you?  You glow.  You're vibrant!"
	She looked at the younger girl intently, and then said, "It's sex, isn't it?  I've heard people talk about 'a well-fucked look' but didn't know what they were talking about.  Now, I think I do.  You are well fucked, aren't you, Kelly?"
	Kelly smiled a very friendly smile.  Her eyes lighted up as she said, "I certainly am, Cathy.  I guess I've slept with Mike Callahan almost every night since we met.  I guess I average about ten orgasms a day.  Yes, Cathy, I guess I'm very well fucked.
	"Now what about you?  You're madly in love with Sam Adams.  You thought I was a little chippy who Sam was keeping and you were jealous, weren't you?"
	Cathy smiled ruefully and replied in a small voice, "Yes.  I was jealous...  Very!"
	"Well why in hell don't you do something about it?  Cathy, do you have a figure?" Kelly asked.
	"I beg your pardon!" Cathy responded, blushing.
	"I asked if you have a figure.  I can see your face and it is very pretty.  Why do you always wear your uniform blouse?"
	"What do you think I am?  The idea!  I'm not a whore, for God's sake!"
	"What does that have to do with wearing your blouse?  I'm sure that's a full uniform shirt you're wearing.  You wouldn't be nude if you took off your blouse," Kelly replied reasonably.  "I notice Sam doesn't wear his blouse in the office.  Why do you?"
	Cathy looked puzzled and didn't reply.  Kelly continued.  "You get teed off at me because you think I'm stealing your man.  Does he think you think he's your man?  Why on earth would he?  You seem to do your level best to appear to be a piece of office furniture — Government-issue furniture at that.  It isn't the first thing a guy will think about when he wants to unwind.  I ask again, do you have a figure?"
	"Yes, damn it!  A very good one, too.  I work out all the time.  I... I've got a trim ass, very nice legs, and... and... good tits."
	Kelly smiled warmly and said, "That came hard, didn't it?  Are you experienced with men?"
	Cathy's eyes widened.  "Of course I'm experienced..."  Her face fell and she said, "The hell I am!  I guess I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've been with a man... and I'd have fingers left over."
	She looked at Kelly, abashed.  "I guess I'm a real mess, aren't I?  I love the guy, hate any girl that gets near him, but don't do a damn thing myself."  She looked straight at Kelly who could see tears forming in the woman's eyes.  She said, "You must think I'm the funniest thing in the world.  Why aren't you laughing?"
	"Because I don't see anything funny," Kelly replied.  Then she smiled a very warm smile at Cathy and asked, "Would you like to win Sam Adams?"
	Cathy's face registered shock, then pleasure, then determination.  She returned the smile and said, "Damned right, I would!"
	"Well, let's get going then.  I'll take your word for your figure.  Are you comfortable with a man?  What would you do if Sam grabbed your ass?"
	Again Cathy looked shocked.  "Why... why...  I don't know.  What should I do?"
	Kelly said, "Do what feels right.  Mike is wonderful with me.  He knows how, and in what ways, I was abused by the Russians.  He's always gentle.  Lately, though, he's become more aggressive as he learns what I like and how I respond."
	There was warmth in her eyes as she spoke.  "When we had our little apartment at Quantico, I always cooked.  One evening we had just made love and I was starting dinner.  I hadn't bothered to get dressed.  He came out to the kitchen and I was standing at the sink peeling... carrots, I think.  Anyway, he grabbed me softly by my buns and squeezed lightly.  I could feel my knees turn to rubber.  The next thing I knew, he had lifted my hips and entered me from the rear."
	Kelly's smile turned into a grin.  "Can you imagine?  Here I am with my ass in the air being reamed by his glorious sex and I'm still trying to peel the damned carrot!"  She looked at Cathy and said, "How do you think you would react?  I gather it's never happened to you."
	"No, it hasn't."  Again she smiled ruefully.  "Kelly, I think I'm passionate.  I think I would melt if Sam grabbed me.  Do you think I should?"
	Kelly said, "It's worth a try.  Now, there are two suggestions.  First, take off your tunic in the office.  What about your uniform shirts?  Are they government-issue or are they tailored?"
	Again Cathy reddened.  Then she said, "I've got to knock off this shit, don't I?  If I'm going to get Sam between my legs...  My God, Kelly, that's the first time I've ever said it out loud!  I want him between my thighs!"
	Then she smiled.  Kelly thought it was the first real smile she had seen and it lit up her face.  She thought the older woman was very pretty... beautiful, in fact.
	Cathy continued, "I have one tailored shirt.  And would you believe it?  I've never even had the nerve to wear it.  I've been too afraid.  I'll get more and throw out the others.  What else?"
	"Underwear.  Cathy, I could swear you're wearing a girdle.  But you said your figure is good."
	"You're right.  It's armor.  Okay, the girdle goes.  What else...  No.  I know what else.  The underwear goes.  I'm wearing GI bras and panties.  Could I go without a bra?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "You said your tits are good.  Do you want to prove it?"
	Cathy didn't answer.  Instead she left the table and headed for the ladies room.  A few minutes later she returned and Kelly smiled.  Cathy was moving easier... looser.  There was no girdle.  She stood at the table and asked Kelly, "What do you think?"
	Kelly grinned and said softly, "Catherine King!  If I didn't know better I would swear you're wearing no underwear at all."
	Cathy grinned back and nodded her head vigorously.  She sat down again.  "I think I ought to wear something, don't you?"
	Kelly said, "I think I can help you.  You can get to a store soon enough, but I'll send you a couple of pairs of bikini briefs in a courier pouch.  And Cathy, do me a favor?"
	Cathy nodded and said, "Of course.  What?"
	"Keep me posted on progress?  I think I can help and would be happy to.  I know it would be good for you and I think it would be very good for Sam.
	"One more thing:  For heaven's sake, change your hairdo!  Don't look like a spinster.  You should wear your hair so you don't have to do anything with it at night.  One of my great joys is to sleep with Mike and feel his hands running through my hair.  I love it!  But I almost cut it off when we met.  When I was a prisoner I was forced to lick the sexual fluids off Russian cocks and then use my hair to dry them.  Mike wouldn't let me cut it off and now I'm glad that he didn't."
	Cathy looked chagrined.  "My God, what a fool I've been!  Kelly, I don't know what to say.  You are a marvelous person.  It's becoming clear that you lived through hell on earth and yet you're interested in helping me in spite of the way I acted toward you.  Why?"
	Kelly smiled and shrugged.  "I wasn't a very nice person, Cathy.  Maybe I'm trying to make up for it.  I think you're very nice.  Now will you please change your hair?  You're off for the rest of the day and under my orders.  My orders are to get a new hairdo — one that's easy to care for.  I don't want you to have to put your hair up before you sleep with Sam.  Now beat it!"
	The girls smiled at each other and left the pub.  Kelly retrieved the jeep and returned to the country home they were using as a base of operations.
	The next morning Tom Hawkins named Kelly the unit's adjutant and Mike, director of operations.  Tom smiled at Kelly when he gave her the assignment and said, "It's going to be hell around here when you and Mike go off.  I lose my entire senior staff."
	He looked at her and shook his head.  "Kelly, I haven't had the chance to talk to you alone.  I just want you to know that you're the best thing that's happened to this unit since Mike Callahan.  Your performance yesterday was absolutely magnificent.  Incidentally, I got calls from both Sam Adams and Ned Carlson saying the same thing.  It's getting a little boring to keep hearing that you can't be only nineteen!  There's an office for you.  Now get to it!"
	Tom had asked Kelly to be in uniform.  She didn't ask, but she sensed there was a reason for the request.  At eleven o'clock, she received a call from the front gate.  There was a Colonel Harding to see her, if it was convenient.  The guard added that he had three other officers with him.  She told the guard to admit them.  Minutes later there was a knock on her door and an orderly admitted the four officers.
	Harding, a colonel in the 82nd Airborne, was ramrod straight.  Behind him were the three officers from the previous day.  Murphy's nose was bandaged and he now had two huge black eyes.  One of the other officers had his skull bandaged.  Harding approached her desk and saluted Kelly smartly.  She returned it as smartly, and rose to greet them.
	"How do you do, Colonel?  I'm Tom Harding.  I have the misfortune to command a unit with junior officers who try to defy the laws of nature by living without brains.  May we have a few minutes of your time?"  Kelly had given him a firm handshake and told him she would be happy to spend a few minutes.
	She asked the reason for the visit.  Harding smiled and said, "Colonel, I would like to use you as a live training aid, if I may.  Murphy, what is the senior decoration Colonel Jackson is wearing?"
	Murphy peered at Kelly's breast with bloodshot eyes and saw the blue ribbon with white stars.  His eyes bulged as he said, "I believe it's the ribbon of the Medal of Honor, sir."
	"Good for you, Murphy," Harding responded sarcastically.  "Now Miller, what's the next decoration?"
	Miller was the second lieutenant whose head was bandaged.  "I think it's the Silver Star, sir," he replied cautiously.
	"Now, Haggerty, what is the third ribbon?"
	Haggerty answered with more confidence than was shown by his buddies.  "It's the Purple Heart, sir."
	"Good for you all.  My God, there may be some vestige of a brain up there after all.  Colonel, you may have done me a real service.  These guys have skulls so thick nothing could get in.  Maybe they needed to be banged around a little so learning could take place.  Now, Murphy, what did you call the Colonel yesterday?" he asked sternly.
	Murphy's face was beet red but replied, "A candy ass, sir."
	Kelly was doing her best to maintain a straight face.  Murphy was a good looking Irishman with black hair and blue eyes.  All three were built like Mike: well over six feet and over 200 pounds.
	Harding continued, "What is the Medal of Honor given for, Murphy?  Good typing?"
	The junior officers were standing at strict attention with their eyes front.  Murphy replied, "It is the highest award given by the United States for bravery in combat, sir."
	"And how many do you have, Murphy?"
	"None, sir," was the embarrassed reply.
	"Colonel, with your permission may my men take seats?  They aren't in such great shape."
	Kelly could only nod.  She was afraid that if she tried to speak, she would crack up with laughter.
	Harding continued, "Colonel, I understand you put these three on the floor without mussing a hair.  It's really none of my business, but how much do you weigh?  I would guess about 120?"
	Again Kelly nodded.
	"Hmm, paratroops..." Harding said reflectively.  "Our first-line assault troops.  Pride themselves on being tough as nails.  Specialists in all forms of combat, but particularly unarmed combat.  These men are three of my best.  I guess they outweigh you by about 100 pounds each.  And there are three of them and one of you.  Something's wrong."
	He turned to his men and smiled grimly.  "Turkeys, the 'something wrong' is Colonel Jackson is the best we've got in unarmed combat.  It seems there was a small war because they wanted her to be in charge of instruction.  It seems there are three top sergeants — explosives, unarmed combat, and small arms — who have never been beaten in their specialties.  Until Colonel Jackson came along.  She not only beat them all, she then proceeds to drink them all under the table.  That had never been done, either.
	"It seems that about once a year a top candidate comes through the school.  As a rather strange mark of respect, they get the individual so drunk he can't function on graduation day.  Colonel Jackson led the company which set every record they have.  She personally set every individual record they have.  Therefore gentlemen, in the future would you confine yourselves to picking on someone you can handle?  A kindergarten girl, perhaps?
	"Colonel, I have been asked by General Ames, CO of the 82nd to extend the formal apologies of the Division to you.  General Ames said he had the pleasure of meeting you at General Adam's briefing.  He says you are the loveliest, deadliest person in the Army... and the smartest.  He asked me to give you his personal assurance an incident like this will never happen again.  Never!  Now gentlemen, what do you have to say?"
	Murphy stood up at attention.  "Lieutenant Kevin Murphy, sir.  I was stupid and totally out of line.  I apologize, sir!"
	Kelly got up and went around her desk.  "At ease, Kevin.  My name's Kelly.  May I look at your face?"  She went up to him and made a face.  "Oops, I really made a mess, didn't I.  How do you feel?"  She grimaced, "That's really a stupid thing to say, isn't it?  It must hurt like hell!  Will you shake?"
	Murphy was speechless.  Finally, he stammered, "I beg your pardon, ma'am?"
	Kelly smiled warmly and held out her hand.  "I said I'm sorry for breaking your nose.  I want to apologize.  Will you forgive me?"
	Murphy took her hand like it was fine china and held it limply.  Kelly grinned and squeezed, and he squeezed back.  He looked startled and then shocked as she stood up on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.  He turned bright red and just touched his cheek with his finger tips where she had kissed him.  "You can't do that, sir," he protested.
	"What can't I do?" she asked quietly.  "I do outrank you by several grades."
	"You can't apologize, sir.  I was a fool and deserved everything I got."  He looked at her in utter amazement.  "Why did you do it, sir?"
	Before Kelly could reply, Harding spoke.  "Because she's Kelly Jackson, you idiot.  How do you think she got the record-setting performance from her company?  It was considered superhuman.  She didn't drive them, she led them.  She's probably the outstanding combat officer in the Army.  By the way, when you met her, she had just been with General Adams... a name I hope you recognize.  Her companion was General Adam's private secretary."
	For the first time, Harding grinned.  "Colonel, you have to give it to these guys:  When they screw up, they do it big time.  You idiots couldn't have picked two worse people to pick on if you had the whole damned Army to chose from.  Miller, what do you have to say?"
	Miller snapped to attention in front of Kelly who was sitting on the front edge of her desk.  "Second Lieutenant William Miller, sir.  I apologize for being such a horse's ass, sir!"
	Kelly stood up and said, "Stand at ease.  How do you feel, Bill?  I hope your head isn't too bad."
	Miller grinned and said, "It's not bad, Kelly.  I hope you'll forgive me for being such a fool."  Miller blushed beet red.  "I'm sorry, sir!  I forgot myself, sir!"
	She grinned back and asked, "Bill, how old are you?"
	He looked puzzled and replied, "I'm twenty-three, sir."
	"Well, I'm only nineteen and I do answer to Kelly.  And I'm certainly not insulted.  Shake?"  She took his hand in a firm grip.
	He returned the grip, but looked at her in utter amazement.  "But you can't..."  He looked at her closely and for the first time saw beyond the rank insignia and the awards to the girl wearing them.  "My God!  You are!  And you're beautiful."
	"And engaged," she finished, "But thanks for noticing."
	Harding was also struggling to maintain a straight face but he managed to say, "You're next, Haggerty."
	Miller sat down and Haggerty stood at attention.  "Second Lieutenant John Haggerty, sir.  I'm sorry, sir.  We were idiots and horse's asses.  I hope the Colonel will forgive me."
	"How are you feeling?  And is it John or Jack?"
	"I'm fine, sir.  Just a little headache.  I got off easy.  And it's Jack, sir."
	"As I said to your buddy, it's Kelly.  Shake on it, Jack?"
	Haggerty had been watching the prior exchanges and had recovered from his earlier amazement.  He put out his hand and Kelly gripped it firmly.  They both smiled as the phone rang.  It was the scrambler from SACEUR headquarters.  Kelly picked it up and said, "Jackson."
	"Kelly, it's Sam Adams.  What's this I hear about you being attacked in the O-Club by some idiots from the 82nd Airborne?"
	"General, what does Cathy say about it?  She was there."
	There was silence on the phone for a moment.  Then he spoke again in a very thoughtful tone, "That's another thing I want to talk to you about.  But the answer is, she said nothing.  She said she missed it and I should ask you.  If what I heard is true, though, there are some lieutenants who will be eating their balls for breakfast!"  There was an embarrassed silence on the line, and Adams said, "I apologize, Kelly.  That was obscene."
	"General, I told you yesterday I've done it all.  You can't embarrass me.  As for the Officers' Club, there was a problem.  I guess a couple of junior officers had more to drink than they should have.  Anyway, one tripped and fell into our table top.  He was bleeding like a stuck pig, and I think he may have a broken nose.  The other two fell over him and I think they banged heads.  At any rate some MPs picked them up and got them out.  I hope no one was hurt too badly."  She winked at Harding as she spoke.
	"What was the other thing you wanted?  Something about Cathy?"
	"Kelly Jackson, what did you do to my secretary?"
	"Sir?  I didn't do anything except have a couple of beers with her and talk."
	"Talk about what?"
	"Girl talk, sir.  You wouldn't be interested.  But why do you ask?"
	"Because this morning she comes in with a new hairdo.  She's working out of her uniform tunic.  This is the first time that's happened in the seven years she's been with me.  Kelly, she's beautiful!  I never thought of her as a woman before, but, God, is she lovely!"
	"What's the problem, General?  It sounds like things are fine.  We had a nice talk, and she's really a lovely person."  Kelly lowered her voice and turned away from the others in her office, "You already know she's madly in love with you, Sam."  She restored her voice to its normal register and said, "Thanks for calling, General.  I hope I cleared up any confusion."
	"Kelly Jackson, you're going to have to get married.  You're much too dangerous to be allowed to run around loose."
	"I'm not at all loose, General.  Good bye, sir."  She hung up the phone.
	Harding spoke.  "Am I correct in assuming that was General Adams?"  Kelly smiled and nodded.  "And I expect from what he said there were some obscene remarks about three junior officers from the 82nd attacking senior officers in the O-Club.  Then I hear you lie through your teeth... to the commanding general, no less.  Gentlemen, Kelly has just saved your asses!  Why she did it is beyond me, but she did."
	He got up from his chair and stood facing his men.  "You have just seen what command is all about.  You learned she's nineteen.  I have never encountered a greater level of maturity or a better instinct for leadership.  All I can say is you men owe your lives and careers to her.  I can tell you General Ames will be very pleased.  He would have been reamed out by Adams... who can do it, and has."
	He turned to Kelly and said, "Since I've already taken your morning, could I borrow you for a few minutes more?  There's a firing range here, isn't there?"  Kelly said there was.  Harding looked at his men and said, "Haggerty, you're about the only one in shape to do anything, but you're also the top small-arms man in the Division."  He turned to Kelly and said, "Will you fire a round against him?"
	Kelly agreed with a smile.  She took them to the firing range and turned to Haggerty.  "What sort of weapon do you want to use?  We have them all.  Allied and Russian."
	Haggerty said, "How about an AK-47?  You go first."
	Kelly smiled and took off her uniform blouse.  The gunnery sergeant took out an AK-47 and two clips and gave the weapon to Kelly.  She moved to the firing position and on the order, opened fire in very short controlled bursts.  In moments, all of the targets were riddled.  She cleared the weapon and gave it to Haggerty.
	The targets were replaced and Kelly's were brought back for scoring.  Out of 40 rounds fired, all eight targets were riddled with only five bullets out of the ten-ring.
	Haggerty swallowed hard and went up to the mark.  He opened up and emptied the magazine.  His score wasn't close to Kelly's.
	She grinned at him and asked for another target set.  She appeared to be very casual as she emptied the weapon again.  When the second set of targets were returned, she had beaten Haggerty by a single point.  "I guess the first set was a lucky round.  I just edged you," she said.
	Harding broke out laughing.  "Sure, Kelly.  Luck!  Haggerty, you made two blunders.  First, given the nature of her work — you may not know it, but Kelly works behind enemy lines — I'm sure she's far more familiar with Soviet weapons than you are.  She has to be.  The second blunder was asking Kelly to go first.  She hadn't seen you shoot, so she had to do it right.  If you had gone first, you would have had the second result.  She would have edged you.  Now that is brilliant shooting.  She is so good, she shot for a particular score and did it.  Try it yourselves, sometime.
	"Gentlemen, is there anything you would like to say to the Colonel before she throws us out?"
	"It's been said, Kelly," Kevin Murphy said.  "We were fools!  But such fools!  If we can ever do anything to help you, we will."
	Harding said, "That's a promise from the Division, Kelly.  While you were setting up, I called General Ames.  He asked me to tell you, 'If you ever need help — in anything — that's in the power of the 82nd to provide, you'll get it!'  And he asked me to extend his thanks again."  He saluted and turned to go.
	"Colonel," Kelly said sharply, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
	Harding stopped and turned towards her, looking puzzled.  "I don't think so.  Am I?"
	"Colonel, I beat your man.  The least you turkeys from the 82nd can do is buy the lady a lunch!"
	They all laughed and went off to the O-Club to eat.  When they finished, Tom Harding asked the others to leave him alone with Kelly.  They left the table to wait for the colonel outside.
	When they were gone he looked at Kelly and shook his head.  "Kelly, you are a piece of work!  I had heard some interesting things about you.  Now I'm sure that, not only are they true, they're probably understated in the interests of believability.  This has been a very rare pleasure.  Just remember: the name Kelly Jackson is magic in the 82nd.  Thank you."  He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
	She smiled at him and got up and shook his hand.  "It's been very educational, Tom.  I enjoyed it."  Then she kissed him back.
Chapter 9
	Two weeks later, Kelly was in her office when Mary Harris came bouncing in.  She closed the door and sat down.  Sagging into a chair, she spread her thighs wide.  "My God, Kelly... excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Jackson, U.S. Army, sir... I can't take a lot more of this."  She was grinning broadly as Kelly threw a rubber eraser at her, hitting her shoulder.  "Kelly, do you ever feel you're not normal if your thighs aren't spread wide to welcome Mike inside?  I thought I was in great shape coming out of Quantico, but I'm not sure I'm in shape for bedroom athletics.  But if you can die from it, what a great way to go!"
	Kelly just grinned.  "Your trouble, Lieutenant Harris, is you weren't broken in by the Russians.  I guess that's how I felt about a year ago.  But the answer is, you'll recover.  How do you stand on preparations?  It looks like we're going to be hauling a lot of gear.  Any ideas?
	Mary instantly appeared serious.  "I think Mike has it all worked out.  Don't you two ever talk?  Or do you just make love?"
	Kelly answered serenely, "We just make love.  Is there more to life than making love?"
	Mary threw the eraser back at Kelly who easily ducked.  She stuck out her tongue.  "My goodness!  Assaulting a superior officer.  Terrible!"  She, too, grew serious, "Let's hear it.  What's the plan?"
	"The plan is for little Kelly to look beautiful..."  Mary looked at Kelly pensively, and then shrugged, "Well, I guess you'll have to fake that part.  Then we hijack a Russian truck... two, actually.  Mike figures, as you did, there's no way we can be airlifted close to the target area.  It's too heavily covered by radar and missiles.  How does it sound?"
	"It makes sense to me," Kelly replied.  She got up from her desk and uncovered a map on her wall.  She pointed out the east-west road at a point about 50 kilometers east of the suspected target area.  "Landing here, we just join up with the normal westbound supply traffic.  I think the road will take us where we want to go.  Agreed?"
	She looked at Mary and smiled again.  "That's assuming you can get in shape by then.  How's everything else?  Are you glad you and Ken volunteered for this assignment?  You've got your necks stuck out a mile, you know.  And there are thousands of Russians waiting to chop them off.  It's not a lot of fun."
	Mary grinned at Kelly and said, "Colonel, your honor, sir, I just got an interesting piece of news.  I am the proud owner of several 'MH' awards from Quantico."
	Kelly raised an eyebrow suspecting she was walking into something.  "And what, may I ask the lieutenant, is an 'MH' award?"
	"Oh," said Mary blithely, "That stands for Merely Human to differentiate us mere mortals from Superwoman.  At any rate, I set a couple of records myself."
	Kelly pretended to glare at Mary.  "Harris, wait until I prefer court-martial charges: insubordination, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman — or is it officer and a lady, do you suppose? —  aggravated assault...  And I'm just getting started.  With any kind of luck you'll spend the next forty years at Leavenworth or wherever the hell they ship broads.  As if I don't get enough shit already."  Kelly grinned and said, "Now get your overworked ass the hell out of my office!"
	Mary walked to the door.  As she opened it, she gave her hips a very professional bump and grind.  She stuck out her tongue and ducked out, but not fast enough to avoid being hit by another flying eraser.  The headquarters phone rang on her desk and Kelly grabbed it.  "Jackson," she said.
	She heard a warm chuckle and then, "King here, Colonel.  Kelly, do you have any time free this afternoon?  I would like to come down and see you.  Is it possible?"
	Kelly smiled to herself hearing Cathy's voice.  "I'll be here all day chained to the desk.  How do you paper-pushing types take this shit every day?  Ten minutes of it has me climbing trees... or wishing I could."
	She heard a warm chuckle and then the pitch of Cathy's voice changed to one of hauteur, "One needs to develop an appreciation for bureaucratese.  It grows on one, like a fine wine."  She laughed merrily and said, "Besides, it serves you right.  It gives you an appreciation of what us poor slobs live with every day.  I'll see you at 1400."
	Promptly at two o'clock there was a knock on the door.  Kelly said, "Come in," and Cathy entered.  She closed the door and stood posed like a model.  Kelly looked at her, jumped up and ran around from behind her desk.  She grabbed Cathy in her arms and hugged her.  "Cathy, you are outrageous!  You are absolutely gorgeous!"
	Cathy's hair was shorter and very feminine.  It was the perfect easy-care hairdo that Kelly had had in mind.  But the way she stood and the way she moved was the big change.  Cathy shrugged off her tunic and stood in front of Kelly.  She had a beautiful figure and now it showed.  "Cathy King, you have that well-fucked look!"
	Cathy's eyes glistened brightly and she nodded her head vigorously.  "I sure do, don't I?  Can I buy you a beer?  I have a few papers to deliver personally.  It's the ostensible reason for the trip down.  My own helicopter, no less.  The pilot's off having a cup of coffee and is in no rush to get back.  Can we do it?"
	Kelly signed for the papers and locked them in her safe.  She grabbed her uniform jacket and the girls went off to the O-Club.
	Again they had the table in the corner.  They had just seated themselves when Kevin Murphy and John Haggerty came up.  Murphy introduced himself and Haggerty to Cathy.  He looked at her strangely and finally said, "You are the same officer who was with the Colonel when we...  met the last time, aren't you, ma'am?"
	Cathy said she was.
	Kevin looked puzzled, "Ma'am, you look different, somehow.  Anyway, we were in the Colonel's office when General Adams called.  He told Kelly... pardon, the Colonel... that you hadn't said anything and to ask her about it.  Jack and I want to thank you for not telling General Adams what happened.  If he knew what we had done..."  Kevin whistled softly.
	Cathy looked at him and smiled.  "First, Kevin, you're right, I do look different.  I hope I look better, but thanks for noticing.  Second, it was between you and Kelly."  Her smile became broader as she added, "I don't think you disturbed Kelly the least little bit.  But how are you feeling?  I don't think it's correct to say Kelly left you...  undisturbed?"
	Kevin's eyes were now in full bloom, with the black eyes now displaying all sorts of colors.  His nose was still taped.  In spite of it, he grinned.  "Captain, it was a lesson learned.  I... I couldn't have chosen a worse person to pick on than Kelly.  But thanks, Captain.  We appreciate it."
	They stiffened to attention, and returned to the bar.  Just then another group of junior officers came in looking for a table and started back toward their corner.  Kevin Murphy got off his stool and interposed himself between the officers and the table.  Kelly saw him put up his hands and start speaking.  She could see eyes widen and men swallowing hard.  They turned around and went to the bar.
	Cathy had been watching and grinned at her companion.  "Kelly, tell me.  How does it feel to be the terror of the Officers' Club?"
	Kelly grinned back and said, "Since you ask, it feels great!  But Cathy, you look absolutely marvelous.  What's happened?"
	"I'm now Sam's mistress, is what happened.  Kelly you were so right it hurts.  Before I forget, I have something for you."  She reached into her purse and gave Kelly three pairs of bikini briefs.  They were beautiful, lacy, and very expensive.  Kelly said as much and pointed out she had only given Cathy two.  Cathy shrugged and said they must have reproduced.  Her eyes were gleaming as she said, "Kelly, half the time I don't even wear pants.  I want Sam to have full access to me at all times.  And God, does he take advantage of it.  It's so wonderful!"
	"How did it happen?" Kelly asked.
	Cathy smiled and said, "It was our first conversation coupled with some of the other phone calls.  You're a great coach, by the way.  I think what finally did it was the musk oil you sent me.  I put it between my breasts.  They're boobs now, by the way.  Sam likes to call them boobs... and in my cunt lips.  We were working late.  I was at my typewriter and Sam was standing over me.  I saw him sniffing and then he asked what he was smelling.  I told him it was me, and I kissed him.  He said he loved the smell, so I told him to kiss me again, because the odor would intensify.  He did, and it did.
	"We went out to dinner.  Then he drove me back to my quarters and I asked him up.  I asked him to please make love to me.  He was startled, but I had started to strip like you told me.  I wasn't wearing a bra.  I took off my tie, and slipped off my skirt and pants.  The shirt tails just barely reach to my crotch.  then I unbuttoned the shirt but left it on.  I came close and he spread the shirt and started to caress my boobs while I started to undress him.  Then he took me on my bed."
	Kelly was beaming at her friend.  "Let me guess what you said afterwards."  Cathy nodded vigorously.  "Cathy, you said it was wonderful, please do it again."
	Cathy looked chagrined and pouted.  "How did you know?"
	"Because that's the kind of girl you are.  Then, I'll bet Sam said something like he had never been seduced before, and you said no, it was just the first time a girl had told him he had been seduced.  Right?"
	Cathy smiled and shook her head.  "Kelly, you're too much.  Then what happened?"
	"That's easy!  After probably one more time you went back to his quarters and spent the rest of the night there so he could be close to his phone.  Am I right?" she asked.
	"Of course.  I should have known better.  Kelly, how do I look?" she asked.  From the seriousness of her expression, Kelly decided the time for teasing was over.
	"Cathy King, if you looked better it would be sinful.  I doubt if you've ever looked this good.  Ever!"
	The girl smiled and nodded, "As usual, you're absolutely right.
	"By the way, Sam asked about you.  That night in his bed he asked me if you had anything to do with what happened.  By this time we were exhausted.  He was on his back and I had my head on his shoulder.  I took a leaf from your book.  I put his hand on my boob and covered it with mine.  Then I said you had everything to do with it.  I said it wouldn't have happened in a million years if it hadn't been for you.  Then we went to sleep.  Kel, I had the sweetest dreams that night!  And when I woke up, his hand was still over my boob.  He gave it a little squeeze and took me again.  It was heaven!  And I've been in heaven ever since."
	Cathy turned serious.  "Kelly, they're relocating SACEUR headquarters down this way.  I'm being transferred.  Since Sam doesn't think it's right for his future wife to be his secretary, one of the letters I brought down is a letter saying I'm being transferred to you effective with the relocation of headquarters."  Cathy's eyes sparkled as she added, "I won't need local housing.  But I will be able to take the shit off your hands."
	"When's the wedding?" Kelly asked.
	"When this mess is over.  Kelly, if you're right... and Sam is certain you are... it will be over in a few months.  The only other thing is your availability to be my maid of honor.  I told Sam about you and he wouldn't have it any other way."
	Kelly was surprised to see tears form in the girl's eyes.  "What's wrong, Cathy?  You're crying!"
	"It's because I'm so happy and love you so damned much.  Kelly Jackson, all the happiness I hope to have for the rest of my life is your fault.  And that includes the children we hope to have.  My God!  Can you imagine?  Carrying Sam's baby in my belly?  It never registered that he didn't have any children.  His first wife couldn't have any.  But I can.  At least the doctor says there's no reason why I can't."
	A wonderful smile appeared through her tears.  "Kelly, it was so easy!  And so good.  Do you mind me becoming your secretary?  I really should have asked first."
	Kelly smiled and said, "It's my chance to get even.  You can have all the fun with the forms.  Cathy, I'm delighted!"
	When the girls left the club, Cathy went off in the chopper while Kelly returned to the work in her office.
*  *  *
	It was the day to move out.  The teams were being flown to a small landing strip in Germany where they were to board a helicopter for insertion behind the lines.  In the morning Mike and Kelly were ordered to headquarters for a final briefing.  Once again they entered the briefing room.
	Again, General Carlson was present with his aides, but the reception was dramatically different this time.  Carlson beamed as Kelly entered.  "Kelly, we're all set.  We're going back over this afternoon, too."  They chatted for a few moments and then Sam Adams came in.
	The briefing began.  Carlson showed the disposition of forces.  His armored spearhead was scheduled to launch its attack in seventy-two hours at dawn aimed at the junction of Soviet and East German divisions.  Carlson smiled at Kelly and said his people had been doing some serious reading, too.  They found that Russian was the command language, but in Warsaw Pact forces, understanding of Russian did not often reach below the battalion level.  They were hoping that language confusion could aid the troops.  The Warsaw Pact forces were, indeed, in a defensive posture.  No new information had surfaced on the location of the reserves.  There was still the same tiered antiaircraft defenses covering the wooded area Kelly had identified and there was a constant stream of truck traffic flowing into it.
	Carlson added that Air Force A-10 ground support planes had been very effective in hitting supply trucks moving both ways.  This was important, he felt, because he knew Callahan's people were going to hijack trucks to move their own equipment into position.  Because of the losses inflicted by Allied aircraft, one or two trucks would never be missed.
	Kelly commented, "General, I've been continuing my reading..."
	General Carlson grinned and said, "Kelly, why in hell don't you confine your reading to Gothic romances or something?  You are disturbing as hell.  This is more from your Russian literature collection?"
	Kelly had reddened, but smiled.  "Yes, sir, it is.  I was trying to find out as much as possible about the use of mobile reserves.  We all know it's a favorite defensive tactic of theirs, but we don't know exactly how they execute it.  Sir, I found out some things that could help.  It might give your troop commanders some things to watch for.
	Apparently, their favorite is a 'twin gate' kind of thing.  The unit at the brunt of the attack gives way and swings back like two wings, apparently opening an alley for the attackers.  The mobile reserve concentrates and smashes the spearhead while their units at the point of attack counterattack on the flanks."  She then went through several other options.  When she was finished, she realized she had been speaking for almost thirty minutes and apologized for taking so much of their time.
	John St. Clair said, "Kelly, any time you can condense Soviet strategy and tactics specifically applicable to the situation we now face the way you just did, I, for one, will be happy to listen.  Again, on behalf of the intelligence staff, I want to apologize for our lack of sophisticated comprehension of Russian."
	He looked at General Adams and added, "General, there's another element here.  We have any number of Russian-language experts.  The problem is, by and large they have no military sense.  They can give you a good translation of anything, but they don't appreciate the significance of what they read.  I think the problem here is no one — before Kelly — realized the mother-lode of information available to us.  No one asked because no one knew what to ask for.  Thanks, Kelly."
	Kelly smiled at him warmly and said, "General, my bet is the 'gate'.  Tell your commanders to be particularly alert to oblique withdrawals."
	Carlson looked at Kelly and said, "Kelly, I have a question.  I'll take your word for what the Russians plan to do.  If we get your BINGO signal, it means that the reserve is immobilized.  What do we do then?"
	Mike was studying his hands and keeping his face impassive.  He never ceased to be amazed at the depth of knowledge and understanding of this "stupid" girl.  He listened as Kelly stood up straight in front of the situation map.  "General, what forces do you have in your spearhead?"
	"We intend to attack with six armored divisions: three of ours, two German, and one British."
	"General, I would be inclined to break off two and have one swing north and the other south to pound the Soviet and East German divisions to prevent the counterattack.  Then I would roll east with the other four as far and fast as possible.  It should be possible to pull a Patton and hit their rear areas before they know you've broken through."
	Carlson smiled and looked at Sam Adams.  "It makes a lot of sense to me, Sam.  What do you think?  There are going to be some very surprised Russians when their blocking force isn't there."
	Sam said, "I agree, Ned.  Kelly, would you like a job after the war lecturing at the War College?  I think it would be a lot of fun for a high-school dropout to lecture to those eggheads.  Thank you, Kelly.  I'm noting this for your record.  You may end up with as many commendations for distinguished service as for bravery.  That set of comments was masterful."
	There was a final check of communications frequencies and call signs.  Carlson ended the briefing by saying, "There's one more thing, Kelly: CAVALIER."  He looked at General Adams who nodded.  "All you need to do is go on the radio — any channel — and call MAYDAY with the CAVALIER identification.  We'll be poised to do the rest."  He smiled at Kelly and Mike warmly and added, "Good luck, and keep your heads down."
	The briefing broke up.  Again, Sam Adams asked to see Kelly alone.  They went back to his office and Kelly noticed that Cathy wasn't at her desk.  Adams went behind his desk, motioning to Kelly to take a seat.  He sat and looked at her with a very stern expression on his face.  Kelly was feeling uneasy as he looked at her steadily.
	Finally, he spoke.  "Jackson, you have a hell of a nerve!  I thought I had seen everything in my military career, but you've shown me a thing or two.  I know good secretaries are essentially extinct.  But stealing the secretary from the commanding general!?  The best damned secretary in the Allied forces?  That has to be the all-time record!  What do you have to say for yourself?"
	Kelly swallowed hard and said, "Nothing, sir."
	"Nothing!" Adams roared.  Then he relaxed and shook his head.  "Kelly Jackson, you are a piece of work.  Do you just go around fixing things?"  His expression changed from sternness to warmth.  "Do you realize I've never had it so good?"  She looked at him and realized he looked younger.  She said so.  "That's your doing, too.  I'm getting more...  exercise."  There was a knock on the door and Cathy came in with a box.  She closed the door.
	"Sam, are you terrorizing this poor girl?" she said.
	"'This poor girl' indeed!  That's like calling a Siberian tiger a pussy cat."  Cathy went over and kissed him warmly.  Adams responded and placed his hand on her shapely ass.  Then he remembered Kelly was present and snatched his hand away.  Cathy just straightened up and smiled.
	"Sam, darling, I told Kelly that I'm your mistress now.  She knows you do a lot more than just grab my buns.  But that feels wonderful, too, dear."  She kissed him lightly and left the office while he just shook his head.
	"Thank you, Kelly.  You gave me the most wonderful gift possible.  And Cathy has been under my nose for years.  You just released what was there, didn't you?"  Kelly just shrugged.  "Kelly, we want you to be Cathy's maid of honor at our wedding.  To try to be sure you'll be there I have something for you."  He picked up the box and opened it.  Inside was a camouflaged flak jacket.  "Would you try this on?  It's supposed to be custom-made for you."
	Kelly took off her uniform coat and slipped on the flak jacket.  It fit perfectly.  She had found that even the smallest vests were much too big for her and were made for a man's build, not a woman's.  The new one was shaped to her breasts.  "Thank you, General.  How did you get it, though?"
	He smiled and said, "There's a letter that came with it.  It's from the President of Smith & Wesson.  In addition to their small arms, they're the nation's largest maker of Kevlar vests.  Here, read it."  He passed a letter over to Kelly saying, "I think this will explain everything.
	The letter was addressed to General Adams.  The President of Smith & Wesson acknowledged the communication requesting a Kevlar vest for Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Jackson who had been awarded the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.  He concluded that Colonel Jackson had seen a lot of action and had been wounded at least once.  Recognizing that the overwhelming majority of Medals of Honor are awarded posthumously, it was obvious that she needed a Kevlar vest.  Accordingly, it was his pleasure to send the enclosed vest as a gift to Colonel Jackson from the workers at Smith & Wesson who hope it will keep her safe.
	Kelly took it off and saw a label inside.  It was woven with her name and rank and said it was a gift from the workers at Smith & Wesson.  She looked up at the General and said, "Thank you, sir.  I'm busy today, so would you ask Cathy to send a letter to them for me thanking them for their kindness."  She looked at the vest and said, "I don't think I've ever seen one like it."
	Adams smiled and said, "That's probably because there isn't another one like it.  Kelly, if you had to buy that damned thing it would cost thousands.  I sent the letter and then got a call from Johnson, the S&W president.  I explained the Medal of Honor and with the help of Cathy, we got all the measurements they needed."  He shook his head and said, "They took your measurements and went all through the company to find a girl whose shape was the same as yours.  They found a receptionist, got a combat uniform for her, and used her as a live model to form the Kevlar.  The whole damned thing was done in two weeks.  I don't know if the folks at that plant did anything else."
	His face grew serious as he added, "Kelly, for God's sake, keep your head down!"  He rose and came around the desk.  She rose and he kissed her softly on the cheek.  He said softly, "We love you, Kelly.  Thank you."  She left the office with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Chapter 10
	Under cover of very heavy Allied air activity, two Blackhawk helicopters with their sound mufflers on landed near the road behind the Russian lines.  Kelly was wearing German peasant dress — a blouse and skirt.  The others were in full combat camouflage uniforms.  Helped by helicopter crewmen, they quickly stacked their supplies just off the road.  Mike stayed with Kelly while Ken and Mary split and went up the road in opposite directions.  They were looking for likely targets and covering against surprises.
	Soon Ken reported on the radio that a single truck — similar to an Allied ten-by-ten — was coming.  Kelly stood by the side of the road and waved as the truck approached.  It slowed and then stopped.  She spoke to the driver in German, but he just shook his head.  Switching to a rudimentary Russian that a German might speak she asked for help and he nodded.  The driver got down and the guard opened the door on the other side.  When the driver was close, Kelly slipped a knife through his ribs into his heart.  She withdrew the blade, wiped it on his uniform and dragged the body into a ditch.  Mike had similarly disposed of the guard.
	Checking with the other team on the radio, they were told another single was on its way from the east.  The process repeated, but this time Kelly acted frightened.  They left the legs of the guard visible, making it appear the first truck had been ambushed by guerrillas.  The truck stopped and the driver and guard jumped down with their weapons drawn.  There was the whisper from a silenced MP-5 as Mike cut them down in two quick bursts.
	He called the others on the radio and reported they were all set.  While they waited for Ken and Mary, Kelly started changing into her uniform.  Mike grinned as she carefully fastened her new flak vest.  "I feel a lot better when you're wearing that thing, Kelly.  On you it looks great!"  She returned the smile and then started to scramble into the back of the truck to examine the cargo.
	By the time she finished her inspection, Ken and Mary had rejoined.  After burying the bodies in a nearby drainage ditch, Mike and Ken took the drivers' positions and they drove off towards a spot on the map Kelly thought would be a likely spot for the reserve headquarters.  They drove for 40 kilometers and entered the woods.  At its perimeter was the first battery of antiaircraft missile defenses.  One of the elements of their preparation had been to study the movement of supply trucks.  They had found that they traveled at a steady forty kph.  Mike was careful to maintain that speed and Ken maintained an interval appropriate to trucks traveling in convoy.
	When they reached the center of the woods, Kelly saw a track off to the left.  It looked like it provided for access to the forest in peacetime, but there was no sign of recent use.  Fortunately, the ground was dry.  As they drove off the road and onto the track, the truck tires did not leave obvious marks of their passage.  The trucks went over a rise and then dropped below a ridge hiding them from the road.
	Mike stopped the vehicle and they got out to check.  Mary and Kelly went back to the road and pulled some dead branches over the track to conceal their tire tracks and obscure the existence of the woods road itself.
	They had landed late at night.  Now with dawn breaking to the east, Mike selected a spot for a temporary campsite.  He took the first watch while the others took out their sleeping bags.  In what seemed only seconds later, Kelly felt a pressure on her shoulder.  She opened her eyes and found herself looking into Mike's.  She smiled warmly as he bent down to kiss her.  "Good morning, husband-to-be," she whispered.  She unzipped her sleeping bag and got up.  After eating they located their position on the map.  Each took a sector and went out on patrol to try to locate the command posts.
	Kelly moved west.  She found a clearing with the ground rising into a wooded area further to the west.  She moved up the hill.  As she approached the crest she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled the rest of the way.  Looking down from the ridge she saw heavy tanks and several trailers parked in a clearing below.  One trailer caught her eye.  It had ten wheels on three axles while the others she had seen had six wheels on two.  There was a heavy prime mover parked close by, apparently its towing vehicle.  Trailers were normally pulled by ordinary trucks.  She concluded that the trailer was heavily armored.
	She watched carefully and noticed a sentry guarding the door which was on the side away from her position.  While she watched, senior officers came and went.  She had found the command post.  After crawling back down from the crest, she called Mike on the radio.  He joined her and they waited for news from the others.  Mike had picked out a position he thought would be a good one for artillery.  It was a section that in recent reconnaissance photos appeared to be woods although peacetime photographs and talks with German officers indicated there should be a large clearing.  It appeared to be perfect for heavy artillery.
	While they waited, Mike unfastened Kelly's flak vest and her combat jacket and started to toy with her breasts.  She lay on her back enjoying the sensation.  Smiling up at him she said, "This is a strange place for heavy necking, isn't it?  By the way, if I ever see that dumb broad in New York, I'll have to admit you finally got to first base!"
	Finally, they heard from the others.  Ken and Mary had found the artillery command post and were coming back.  When they rendezvoused at the trucks to compare notes, Kelly told them about the armored trailer.  Ken had spotted a similar but less elaborate one set a little apart from some others at the gun park.
	They spent the next day moving their gear into position and getting rid of the trucks.  They set up separate camps and sent a message to headquarters saying they had located their targets.
	Now with nothing to do but wait, time passed slowly.  It was a very strange two days Kelly and Mike spent in the woods.  Although they were only yards away from the Russians, they were left alone.  There was no sign of even the most rudimentary patrolling.  Kelly noticed that their lovemaking was almost overpowering in its intensity, possibly resulting from their proximity to danger.
	Finally, the night before the attack, they were observing the clearing with light-gathering binoculars.  Although the area was in pitch darkness the glasses made it appear as if it was twilight.
	Suddenly, Kelly had an idea.  She tapped Mike on the arm and motioned him back off the ridge.  "Darling, how would it be if we try to bug that command vehicle?  I just realized the damn thing is steel and steel conducts sound.  Could we put a radio bug on it?  Then we would know the exact instant to fire:  When the commander has told the units at the front to execute their maneuver, but before he initiates action here."  She was excited and Mike caught her enthusiasm.
	They went into their supply pack and found a radio bug: a tiny listening device with its own power source and short-range radio transmitter.  Mike picked up his MP-5, checked to be sure he had a full clip, and disappeared.  Kelly smiled to herself remembering the time at the bridge and how she had snuck up on Mike.  Subsequently, she had learned that he could move as silently as an Apache Indian and as invisibly.
	Even though she knew what she was looking for and knew where he would be, she sensed more than saw him through her glasses.  She did get a good look when he was under the trailer.  She could see him manipulate the bug while listening with a receiver in his ear.  When he had it positioned to his satisfaction, he appeared to melt away.
	Moments later she heard the chatter of an automatic weapon followed by a curse in Russian.  A guard while checking his weapon had accidentally fired it.  Kelly felt a sudden pain and knew Mike had been hit.  She muttered, "Oh shit!" under her breath.  Minutes later Mike reappeared.  He had a combat bandage tied over his left sleeve.  She helped him back to their campsite and got him to a blanket as he fainted.
	When Mike regained consciousness he was looking into Kelly's blue eyes.  She was looking at him wryly and shaking her head.  He heard her say, "My poor babies."
	He was in their tent with a shielded lantern providing light.  She had stripped off his flak vest, combat jacket, and tee shirt and had him resting on his right side.
	"Here we go again," he said softly.  "Dr. Jackson is preparing to operate, I can tell.  Where's the release you want me to sign?"  He grinned at her.  His arm and shoulder hurt like hell.  He winced as she glared at him.  "What did I do?" he asked, "And what's this 'poor babies' stuff.  I thought it was 'poor baby', but with you glaring at me like that, I guess it wasn't."
	Her expression changed to her normal loving one and she ran her cool hand over his forehead.  "Darling, I was feeling sorry for our babies.  With a father who walks into every stray piece of flying metal and a mother who's going to be a thirty-year-old high-school dropout, what chance do they have?"
	She glared at him, but it scarcely concealed a smile.  "Michael Callahan, if you don't take the cake.  Do you know what happened?  Because I do.  Some dumb shit of a guard is playing with his weapon and accidentally fires it... into you.  The shouting was the sergeant of the guard reading him the riot act."  She shook her head and added, "It's got to be the cheapest damned Purple Heart in history!"
	Again her expression changed.  "As far as the release is concerned, I signed it for you as 'mistress'.  And honey, the bullet hit your arm, glanced off the bone, went around your rib and is now in your back.  I'm about to go in and get it.  Okay?"
	He grinned and nodded.  Kelly had on her surgical gloves and had scrubbed the area around the bullet.  She could see the bullet clearly, lodged just under the skin.  She made an incision following the grain of the muscle.  Using retractors she pulled back the muscles and the bullet popped out.  She carefully cleaned the area and retrieved some cloth driven in ahead of the bullet.  After suturing the wound closed and sprinkling antibiotic powder on it, she finished by covering it with a stack of gauze compresses.  
	She wiped her forehead and sat back on her heels.  "Give me your arm, please, Mike."  He put out his arm and she inserted a plasma needle into a vein and then gave him a shot of tetracycline.  "I'm going for my MD," she said quietly.  "I'm getting a little tired of operating on you whenever we're in action.  This time I even had to stitch you up!  Wait until the doc sees my nice neat sutures!"
	Very carefully, Mike rolled his weight back on the wound.  He was amazed to find it didn't hurt.  She said, "You're cushioned with a lot of gauze there, Darling.  It ought to be all right.  How do you feel?"
	He grimaced and said, "Like a jerk.  How do you think I'd feel?  Darling, did you read your little book again?"
	She smiled and said, "Actually, I studied the whole damn thing before we came out.  And I'm sure you noticed we took the biggest medical kit there is.  Can you move your left hand?"
	He moved the fingers and made a fist.  When he started to clench it, he winced.  "It's okay as long as I don't try to grip anything tightly.  Then I feel it in the shoulder.  Congratulations on your second successful operation.  What now?"
	"Now you make love to me just where you are.  Then you sleep and I watch.  I'll wake you at dawn when the shit is scheduled to hit the fan."
	Mike was amazed.  Kelly was wearing a full combat uniform, complete with camouflage makeup on her face.  She had scrubbed it off her hands before operating.  Nonetheless, she was incredibly sexy and tantalizing as she slowly stripped off her clothes.  She left her combat jacket on, but unbuttoned.  Mike reached up and cupped her breasts while she stripped off his trousers and his underwear.
	She went down on him and caressed his huge cock with her mouth.  Then she knelt over him and slowly impaled herself on it.  She reflected how well they now fit together.  Her cunt seemed to automatically moisten to welcome his cock.  Kelly was now even accustomed to the heightened sensitivity of her circumcised clit.  After a series of minor orgasms, she came with him in a flood.
	Kelly collapsed on top of him and he stroked her flanks and back.  When their passion had ebbed, she got off him, cleaned off his cock, and helped him get dressed again.
	He murmured, "Kelly, that was delicious," and then fell asleep.
	Kelly dressed and put camouflage makeup back on her hands.  Then she went to their vantage spot with the radio receiver and the low-light glasses.  It was the first chance she had to try the bug.  Mike had done an excellent job of positioning it:  She could hear everything said in the van.  The conversation she heard was the routine chatter of bored soldiers.  She was amused to hear a candid discussion of the physical and sexual attractions of various girls the men knew.
	Kelly checked her watch.  The attack was scheduled for 0430.  It was now 0355.  Kelly picked up the radio whose antenna was already aimed at a communications satellite.  Quietly, she said, "This is BLUE LEADER.  Get me AJAX."
	Moments later she heard, "This is AJAX.  Go ahead BLUE LEADER."
	She recognized Ned Carlson's voice and asked him if things were on schedule.  She told him that they were now able to provide positive confirmation on the reserve units.
	She heard him whistle softly and say, "Kelly, from you, I would expect nothing less.  From anyone else it would be a miracle.  Go to it!"
	At 0415 she awakened Mike and they ate a quick breakfast.  Then they moved the TOW missile launcher into position and tested the control unit.  They agreed Kelly would use the silenced sniper rifle and would tap him on the head as a signal to fire the TOW's.  At 0430 they were in position and waiting.
	Suddenly, she heard an alarm come over the Russian radio net.  A messenger was sent for the commanding officer — a lieutenant general, she learned.  Clearly, he was one of the senior field commanders in the West.  Minutes later the general entered his command vehicle.  Kelly smiled because with him present her job became much easier.  In the trailer the general was given only important information.  There was no more idle chatter.
	Both the East German and Russian division commanders were reporting the Allied assault.  Initially, they reported seeing tanks but had no sense of numbers.  A short time later both units reported that the Allies were attacking in force.  The general agreed with his commanders on the line that it was a major push.  She could hear the thunder of the Allied big guns firing ahead of their attack.
	The Russian general was cool.  He ordered a messenger to assemble his deputy and all division and assistant division commanders in the command vehicle at once.  It was almost too good to be true!  All the senior officers were going to be together in one place.  She whispered the news to Mike and told him they had better use two or three TOW rounds to be sure.  She picked up the radio when she heard the general give the order to the front-line units to use a twin-gate maneuver.
	The East German commander requested clarification.  The general explained to him that his men were to fall back obliquely toward the southwest.  The Russian unit would go the opposite direction, going toward the northwest.  The order was understood and would be executed immediately.  The general said the reserves would be moving within fifteen minutes and would be in position within thirty.
	Kelly called for AJAX on the Radio.  "AJAX, this is BLUE LEADER.  Enemy is using a twin-gate.  They will be falling back obliquely as discussed.  Good luck, AJAX.  BLUE LEADER out."
	Mike was all set.  She heard the door to the command trailer close and lock after the General's aide reported that all the officers were present.  Kelly had seen senior officers running up and driving up from all directions.  There appeared to be at least five sets of commanders.  She tapped Mike on the helmet.  An instant later she saw the rocket roar down and strike the side of the trailer.  Although it was armored, the TOW had a spent-uranium warhead that melted through the armor like it was butter.  A moment later, a second round went down, and then a third.  Kelly put the receiver back in her ear.  The only sounds she could hear were the crackle of flames.
	Back on the radio she said, "AJAX, this is BLUE LEADER.  BINGO, BINGO.  BLUE LEADER out."
	A moment later she heard BLUE ONE — Ken Carson and Mary Harris — report the destruction of their target.  Kelly picked up her transmitter and said, "AJAX, this is BLUE LEADER, over."
	"BLUE LEADER, this is AJAX, go ahead."
	"AJAX, we scratched a lieutenant general, his deputy, and at least five division commanders.  The Russian units are smaller than ours, but there are at least five armored divisions here — without heads.  We'll try to keep it that way.  Over."
	"Kelly, I don't know how you do it, but by God, you do it.  Keep your head down!  Out."
	Kelly took her silenced rifle up to her firing position.  She checked on Mike.  "How do you feel, darling?  That was great shooting."
	He smiled at her and said, "Honey, I feel fine.  Now for heaven's sake, keep your head down.  And come here."  She lowered her head and he kissed her passionately.  Then he hooked the chin strap of her Kevlar helmet and made sure her flak jacket was well secured.
	Kelly winced when she looked back and saw the extent of the rocket flashback.  Their location wasn't going to remain a secret.  Mike had moved the TOW launcher out of the way after using the remaining rounds on interesting looking trailers.  He replaced it with a light machine gun, along with boxes of ammunition open and in position for fast reloading.  They had agreed Kelly would take the single targets and he would handle groups.
	The Russian armor in sight did not move.  Kelly looked for the most impressive pennants and waited for officers to appear.  When they did, she dropped them with her rifle.  The hours passed.  Small groups of Russians started to focus on their positions and bullets were now flying around like bees.  Kelly had long since put aside her silenced sniper rifle and was now using her unsilenced MP-5.
	Several times she was knocked to the ground by bullets hitting her Kevlar vest.  Once she was almost knocked out by a bullet that hit her stomach and knocked the wind out of her.  Mike was keeping up very effective fire when a grenade exploded near him.  Shrapnel fragments shredded his left arm.  Kelly fired a series of bursts using her MP-5, taking out the Russians closest to her.  Then she grabbed a battle dressing and wrapped his arm.  She could feel blood running down her own arm, but didn't feel anything.
	Then she remembered.  She picked up the radio and said, "MAYDAY, MAYDAY, this is CAVALIER.  MAYDAY."
	An instant later she heard, "CAVALIER, this is RED CONTROL.  What is your home address in New York?  Over"
	"This is CAVALIER.  It's 565 Park Avenue.  Over."
	"CAVALIER, can you activate your blue beacon.  Over?"
	Kelly reached under her flak jacket for a small package the size of a cigarette pack.  There was only a single on/off switch.  She turned it on.  "RED CONTROL, this is CAVALIER.  The blue beacon is active.  Over."
Chapter 11
	In an AWACS plane flying high behind Allied lines, the commander received the message.  He opened a secure line and said "ACME, this is RED CONTROL.  We have a MAYDAY from CAVALIER, over."
	"RED CONTROL, this is ACME.  Let's do it!  Out."
	"AJAX, this is RED CONTROL.  We have a MAYDAY from CAVALIER, over."
	"RED CONTROL, AJAX, what is present status?"
	While the AWAC commander was communicating with headquarters, other officers were checking forces available for immediate response.  The commander was handed a slip of paper.  "AJAX, wait one.  CAVALIER, this is RED CONTROL.  Help arriving nine-zero seconds.  Keep your head down, over."
	"RED CONTROL, I'm trying!  Out."
	"AJAX, two A-10's are due over in nine-zero seconds.  More will be arriving about every one-five seconds thereafter, over."
	"RED CONTROL, AJAX, good work."  Ned Carlson put down the radio.  The breakthrough was moving without a hitch.  Three divisions had already broken through the Russian line and the other three were following.  As Kelly had suggested, one peeled off north and another south, while the remainder raced straight ahead.
	He picked up a field telephone and called Jim Ames at the 82nd Airborne.  "Jim, it's Ned.  I need help!"
	"Ned, come on!  We're extended to beat hell.  What's the problem?"
	"It's CAVALIER, Jim.  We need help."
	There was silence on the line for a few moments.  Then Ames was back.  "Why the hell didn't you say so?  My first units will be in the air in nine-zero seconds.  It will be an assault platoon.  Ned, I have an idea.  Kelly said there's a landing zone behind her.  I propose to commit the full division.  We can use it as an anvil for your armor to smash the Russians against."
	Ned said, "That's affirmative, Jim.  Go to it!  How soon can you be there?"
	"It's a matter of transport, Ned, but we should be pretty well there within four hours."
*  *  *
	Kelly put down the radio and concentrated on the Russians.  She used a larger sniper rifle to pick off an officer 300 meters away who looked like he was trying to organize an assault on her position.  She fired at any unbuttoned tank.  The controller had said in ninety minutes.  She didn't think she could hold out that long.
	Seconds later, the ground in front of her exploded.  There was a hail of 30mm rounds from airborne Gatling guns in an A-10.  She smiled to herself as she realized she had misunderstood.  The controller had said seconds not minutes... and they were on time.
	She decided she had a remarkable vantage point.  The A-10's were followed by helicopter gun ships that floated in using their miniguns to make mincemeat of anything that moved.  She figured that the antiaircraft had been suppressed by this time and the Allies had complete supremacy in the air.
	She used the respite to check on Mike.  He was still unconscious.  She removed the battle dressing and started to examine his shoulder and arm.  There were some ugly shrapnel pieces imbedded with most of them in or near the shoulder.  She took the first aid kit and cleaned the wounds, then put large gauze pads in place and set up a plasma bottle.  Mike had been bleeding like a stuck pig, but his respiration was normal, and his pulse felt strong.  When she held his face and kissed him, his lips felt cold.  When the plasma bottle was drained, she replaced it with a fresh one.  As he took the fluid into his body, she thought she could see his color improve.
	Kelly went back to her vantage point.  Again, she could see the Russians grouping in the woods across from her position on the ridge.  She picked up the radio that she was now thinking of as a friend.  "RED CONTROL, this is CAVALIER, over."  
	There was an instant response.  "CAVALIER, go ahead."
	"I've got more company in the woods across from my position.  Do you have any woodcutters handy?  Over."
	"Sure do, CAVALIER.  ETA three-zero seconds.  CAVALIER, I've been told by the Supreme Commander to tell you, quote, Keep your shiny golden head down!  We need you around here!  unquote."
	Kelly grinned and said, "Tell ACME, yes sir, your honor, sir!  His wish is my command.  And add, I'll ask my secretary to send him a confirming letter.  Over."
	A moment later she got a call from RED CONTROL.  "ACME says to tell you he had almost forgotten how mad he was at your stealing his secretary.  'Why in hell did you have to remind me?'  Over."
	Kelly's laughter could be clearly heard in the AWAC's plane.  The commander said to his deputy, "I don't know who in hell CAVALIER is, but she certainly has powerful friends.  When was the last time you heard someone surrounded by the whole damned Russian army cracking jokes?  And with the supreme commander yet!"
	Just then he got a dispatch.  He read it and whistled softly.  "Bill, I don't think we know the half of it.  Here's a message to CAVALIER from Jim Ames... that's what he says... 'Jim Ames'.  He happens to command the 82nd Airborne.  Listen to this."
	He hit his communication button to talk to Kelly.  "CAVALIER, this is RED CONTROL.  I have a message for you.  It reads, 'Units of 82nd will reach your position within five minutes.  Full division on the way.  We try to look after our friends.'  It's signed 'Jim Ames.'"
	There was merry laughter on the radio.  Then Kelly said, "Please ask the General how he takes his coffee.  I'll be happy to have him visit.  And if he hustles, he can be here in time to do lunch.  Over."
	"Yes, ma'am," the commander replied.  "I'll forward your message."  He looked at his assistant and said, "With someone like her, what can you say."  He picked up another communicator and called Ames.  "82ND COMMAND, this is RED CONTROL, over."
	"RED CONTROL, this is 82ND COMMAND, Ames.  Go ahead."
	"General, I have a message for you from CAVALIER.  She wants to know how you take your coffee.  And she said to tell you that if you hustle, you can be there in time to do lunch.  And sir, she did say 'do lunch'.  Who in hell is she, sir?"
	"She's just the most courageous and intelligent person it's ever been my good fortune to meet.  She has a Medal of Honor already, and I can guarantee she's just earned an oak leaf cluster for it.  Does that answer the question?  Tell her I like my coffee black and sweet, and I would be happy to do lunch."
	"CAVALIER, this is RED CONTROL.  Ames replies he likes his coffee black and sweet, and he would be happy to do lunch.  He's on his way."
*  *  *
	The air support promised for thirty seconds later was on the dot.  Wave after wave of A-10's swept over the woods, riddling it with 30mm shells and napalm.  As hostile fire diminished markedly, she heard sounds to her rear.  She turned and saw men of the 82nd running towards her position through the woods.  The leader had a bandage on his nose and came running up to her.  He gave her a snappy salute and said, "I hope we're not too late for the party, Colonel?"
	"Why, Kevin Murphy, I do declare!" said Kelly with a southern accent that dripped with magnolia blossoms.  "I didn't know you were invited to this ball, too.  You simply must save me a dance!"  She grinned and held out her hand.
	Kevin took it and looked at his sergeant.  "First Sergeant, now do you believe me?  I told you Colonel Jackson is something very special."
	While they were talking, his men were taking up positions on the crest of the ridge.  When the Russians next appeared, they were hit by a storm of fire.  Kelly called for a corpsman to examine Mike.  He looked him over and said, "Ma'am, do you carry a doctor around with you?  This man already has had more care than I can give.  We'll just get him down to a safer spot."  They carefully put Mike on a stretcher and took him to a spot sheltered by rocks further down the hill.
	When additional units arrived, they started moving carefully down the hill toward the Russians.  One of the men came back to Kevin.  "Lieutenant, what's been going on around here.  The side of the hill is like a slaughter house!  We've counted over seventy bodies already.  Who's been here?"
	Kevin pointed to Kelly.  "Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Jackson, U.S. Army Special Forces, sergeant.  Colonel Jackson already has the Medal of Honor, and I think you've just seen why she's about to get number two."
	Kelly asked Kevin if he had some coffee and explained why.  The coffee was made, and Kelly had it in her hand when Jim Ames and his aide ran up.  "Your coffee, General, black and sweet.  So good of you to join me for luncheon," she said in her best Park Avenue society tone.  As soon as he took the coffee, Kelly felt her knees buckle, and she slipped to the ground.
	The men surrounded her in an instant.  She heard Kevin Murphy frantically shout for a corpsman and heard Ames say, "My God, her sleeve is soaked in blood!"  Then everything went black.
Chapter 12
	Kelly awakened and was surprised to see Cathy at her bedside.  She blinked and said, "I guess I ought to say something stupid like, 'Where am I?'  Cathy, you look great!"
	"You're back in England.  They wanted to send you to your quarters, but I insisted you stay in the hospital.  It's good for the image.  Besides, it's sort of tacky to get the Purple Heart without ever being in the hospital.  How do you feel?"
	Kelly moved around and found she really felt fine.  She moved her arms and legs and everything worked.  There was a small bandage on her left shoulder, but that was all.  "What happened?  It doesn't look like I got hit very hard.  Where's Mike?"
	"You didn't.  You just got nicked by a piece of shrapnel but you bled like a stuck pig.  I don't know how many units of blood they pumped into you, but your crankcase was nearly empty.  Mike's fine, but he's going to be here for a while.  They had to do some serious excavating to get all the shrapnel out.  Do you want to try to get up?  You can, if you want to."
	Kelly sat up in the bed.  So far, so good.  She swung her legs over the side of the bed and carefully stood up.  There was a wave of dizziness, but Cathy was holding her arm.  The dizziness passed, and she walked over to a chair in the room.  Then she realized she was wearing one of the classic backless hospital gowns.  She grimaced at Cathy, but sat down.  "Ouch!  This seat is cold on my bare ass."
	Cathy went to the closet and brought her a lovely flannel bath robe.  She slipped it on and sat down again.  "How long have I been here, anyway?  What's happening in Germany?"
	"You've been here two days.  The doctor says you were unconscious for about twenty-four hours from blood loss, and then you slept for another twenty-four.  Right now our armored units are about 200 miles east of where we started.  The Russians are reeling.  Your comments on the command structure were prescient.  They can't seem to get organized enough to give the right orders.  We're hitting units that aren't even set up in battle formation."  She shook her head and said, "Kelly, you really called it!"
	Cathy cocked her head and looked at her friend.  "Now would you like to visit your intended?  He's next door.  I don't know if he's conscious yet from his last bout with surgery, but at least you can see that he's more or less in one piece."
	They went next door.  Mike was asleep with his left shoulder heavily bandaged.  Cathy said, "He'll be fine.  By the way, have you been playing with your carving set on Mike's back?"  Kelly nodded and smiled sheepishly as Cathy pressed Mike's call button.  Moments later a nurse appeared, followed by a doctor.  Cathy said, "Doctor, I would like to introduce you to Kelly Jackson, your patient.  She's also a competitor.  She's the one who stitched up Mike's back.  I knew it had to be her."
	The doctor smiled and shook hands with Kelly.  "Colonel, how far did you go in your medical education?  That was a bullet removal, wasn't it?"  Kelly said it was and asked what he thought of it.  "It is as fine a piece of work as I've ever seen.  And I must say, your sutures are much neater and finer than mine.  There should be no scar at all."
	"Damn!" Kelly exclaimed in exasperation.  "I was hoping there would be something nice to show our children.  'This is where Mommy carved up Daddy.  And it wasn't even Thanksgiving.'  As far as your question goes, Doctor, I haven't graduated from high school yet.  My qualifications consist of flunking biology twice."
	The doctor's jaw dropped.  "You can't be serious!" he exclaimed.
	"She's very serious, doctor," Cathy said, "And I happen to know it's the absolute truth.  After all, she's only nineteen."
	"Come on!  That's impossible!  She's a lieutenant colonel in the army.  She can't be nineteen!"
	"You're incorrect, doctor.  She's now a full colonel.  The President approved her promotion yesterday.  Kelly gets a promotion more or less with every paycheck.  She was commissioned as a Captain in March, and it's now July.  She's definitely doing well in this man's army.  By the way, when can she go home?"
	The doctor just shook his head.  "Kelly, how do you feel?  You look fine."
	"I feel fine, Doctor.  But what about my shoulder?  Will there be a big scar?"
	"I don't think there will be any at all, Kelly.  The shrapnel cut you, it didn't embed.  You were stitched by a plastic surgeon who's awfully good.  General Adams ordered it.  In fact, I'm confident there will be no scar at all."
	"Well, can I check myself out then?" Kelly asked.
	"I am supposed to check with General Adams, Colonel.  Just a moment."
	The doctor went to the phone and placed a call.  He told the office that Colonel Jackson was conscious and ready to go home.  He was told to ask her to please wait for a few minutes.  He relayed the message to Kelly who went back with Cathy to her room.
	She sat at the sink while Cathy shampooed her hair, dried it and began to brush it out.  "Your hair is the most beautiful I have ever seen," Cathy said.  "It's the color of yellow gold.  With your eyes, you are a knockout!  Kelly, I'm sure Sam is going to present you with a medal.  I have a pair of pajamas for you.  They're men's, but you could wear the top.  Do you want to?"
	Kelly said that was a great idea.  Cathy got the pajamas and Kelly stripped off the hospital gown and put on the pajama top.  Cathy just shook her head in amazement as she saw Kelly's nude body.  "Kelly, you have to be the most beautiful girl in the Army.  Hell, in the country!  Your figure is marvelous.  Want to get back in bed now?  I think your visitor will be here in a few minutes."
	Kelly grinned and clambered into bed.  She felt wonderful after the shampoo and the extended hair brushing.  A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.  Kelly said, "Come in!" and the door opened.  It was General Adams.  He looked at Kelly and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her alert and smiling.
	Adams walked up to the edge of the bed.  "Colonel, you disobeyed orders.  I distinctly remember ordering you to keep your head down!"
	Kelly grinned at him and said, "I'm sorry, sir.  I tried."
	He turned from the bed and went to the closet.  Hanging there was Kelly's flak vest.  He brought it back to the bed.  "How's your stomach feel?" he asked.
	Kelly said it was fine and then touched it.  She suddenly realized it hurt.  She moved her hand around and found that much of her body was bruised.  She looked puzzled.  Adams had been watching her movements and showed her the flak vest.  "Kelly, this has had a workout.  We recovered two intact slugs.  You were hit in the body at least five times.  The Kevlar stopped the slugs, but they still hit hard.  You should be bruised.  There are three more hits on your helmet.  You are a very fortunate young lady."
	He stepped away from the bed and gave Cathy a group of small boxes to hold.  He kept one and went back to the bed.  "Kelly, I have a few mementos for you.  It is my honor, Colonel, to present you with the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat."  He pinned the medal to Kelly's pajama top, being careful not to stick her with the pin.  He turned back to Cathy who gave him another box.  "This is the Distinguished Service Cross, for the planning you did that made our breakout possible."  He pinned the second medal.  It was repeated with the Legion of Merit for her original plan.
	Finally, he said, "The President has instructed me to tell you that a second Medal of Honor will be presented to you as soon as you can conveniently visit Washington to receive it.  Incidentally, you missed something, Kelly.  A few minutes after you passed out, a West German armored spearhead penetrated and started tearing up the remaining Russian tanks.  It was quite a sight!
	"I have also been asked by the Chancellor of Germany to tell you two things:  First, the new bridge they're planning across the Weser River is to be named the Kelly Jackson Bridge.  Second, he has received permission from our President to award you the Golden Order of the Knight's Cross, the highest military decoration his nation can award.  He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
	Then he said softly, "Kelly, how fast can you be ready to be Cathy's maid of honor?  I can't wait much longer."
	She smiled up at him and then looked at Cathy.  "The next thing you know, General, you're going to be asking me to give her leave, aren't you?  How about if you two get married on Saturday, and I give her the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday off?  As long as she's in the office bright and early Monday morning?"
	Adams grinned back at her and said, "That's what we love about you, Kelly.  You're all heart!"  He stepped back from the bed and said, "The doctor tells me you're ready to leave.  I would like to buy you lunch and talk about a temporary assignment.  Do you feel up to it?"
	At the mention of food Kelly suddenly realized she was starving and said so.  Sam left the room, and Cathy helped Kelly dress.  Kelly hadn't realized how sore her body was.  She looked at the flak vest carefully and said, "Cathy, I have to write a letter to Smith & Wesson.  I wonder if they have a reconditioning service?"
	Cathy asked Kelly to check herself in the mirror.  She had tied the girl's hair back in a pony tail.  Kelly realized that Cathy was way ahead of her.  Although the decorations had just been awarded, she saw that the top row showed the Medal of Honor, and the DSC; the second row had the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star and now an oak leaf cluster on her Purple Heart, along with her new silver eagles of a full colonel.
	Cathy just shook her head.  "Kelly, there's no one alive with the set of decorations you're wearing.  And you're getting an oak leaf cluster for the Medal of Honor.  You look like you stepped out of a recruiting poster."  Cathy stood at attention and saluted smartly.  "Is the Colonel ready to meet her public?"
	Kelly grinned and returned the salute.  "Lead on, Captain."
	Kelly signed herself out of the hospital and went out to the curb where Adams' driver was waiting.  He saluted smartly as Kelly approached, and she returned his salute.  As she got in the car the driver said, "You look great, Colonel.  It's good to see you on your feet."
	Kelly stopped and smiled.  She said, "Thank you, Sergeant.  That's very thoughtful of you to say."  They drove off toward the Senior Officers' Mess.
	Sam said, "Kelly, that's why you are the sweetheart of the troops here."
	She looked at him in surprise.  It was news to her.
	Adams continued, "Kelly, everyone knows about your performance in action.  The word is out, though, that you have a kind word for everyone.  You don't take yourself seriously.  In fact, you don't seem to care about yourself at all.  You just care about others, starting with Mike Callahan.  But the list just grows.  There's me, Cathy, Ned Carlson, Jim Ames and the whole damned 82nd Airborne..."
	He looked at her, shook his head and continued, "You really don't understand, do you?  Jim Ames told me what happened.  You're under murderous enemy fire, and in your best Park Avenue accent you ask him to 'do lunch'.  Then you greet him with a cup of coffee prepared exactly the way he drinks it."
	He slowly shook his head.  "Kelly, those men are tough.  They're probably the toughest we have.  Yet when the word spread that you were down, they just went berserk.  When the armor arrived, there were just a few stray pieces to pick up.  I can tell you there were tears when they brought you out in an evacuation helicopter.  I don't think the President himself gets the level of cover you had.  Kelly, there were four helicopter gun ships that escorted you all the way back.  Then there were F-15's and even more stuff up high."
	He smiled and added, "Kelly, I guess the reason the guys all love you is that you don't understand.  You just do things and are surprised when people are astounded at what you've done."  He looked outside as they rolled up to the entrance to the mess.
	The three had a table in the corner.  After ordering, Sam brought up the new assignment.  "Kelly, John St. Clair has asked for you to be temporarily attached to his group.  He's persuaded me that he needs you.  You may remember the last briefing?  Well, he wasn't blowing smoke.
	"It's like computers.  There are people who are experts in computers but don't have the foggiest idea of what the users' needs are.  Then there are the users who don't have the faintest idea of what the computers are capable of providing.  He described the situation quickly at the briefing.  He has a bunch of people who are fluent in Russian but who have no sense of strategy or tactics.  They can translate, but they have no clue what they should be translating.  Then we have a bunch of line officers who don't know what information could be available, so they don't ask for it.
	"Kelly, you are the first person John has ever seen with fluency in Russian and an incredible sense of strategy and tactics.  He wants to put you in charge of his translators.
	"Then there's Ned Carlson.  He is still shaking his head about the breakthrough.  It was letter perfect.  I don't think there's been a military operation like it since we were hit at Pearl Harbor.  Our casualties were zilch.  You chopped off the head, and the body had no direction at all.  Carlson wants you to extend your activities and work with the LRRP units.  He thinks he can do it again, and he wants to borrow you... in your spare time, of course."
	Adams grinned at her and added, "I told him he would have to fight McDonald's for your services.  That is the career of choice for high-school dropouts, isn't it?"
	Kelly grinned back and nodded her head vigorously.  "It sure is.  And I've decided I look good in a uniform, too.  Cathy says I have a bright smile, so I think I can make it as a counter girl, don't you?"
	"Kelly Jackson, you are too much!  Your problem is you're so damned smart, you don't realize how smart you are.  To get even, I am going to set you up at the War College later.  You will cut those eggheads to pieces.  And it will serve them right!"
	He looked at her thoughtfully and continued, "I said it initially as a joke, but the more I think about it, the better it sounds.  The fact is there are a bunch of eggheads there who think that if you don't have Ph.D. after your name, you can't know anything.  Furthermore, actual combat experience is virtually a disqualifying defect for employment.  I think you would cut them to ribbons.  And it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys!"
	It was agreed that Kelly would move her office to SACEUR headquarters.  After lunch, he showed her around the headquarters while Cathy took care of moving her things.
	John St. Clair came in to welcome her.  "Kelly, you're looking good.  How do you feel?"
	She smiled at him and said, "General, aside from a few bruises, I'm fine.  I am a little sore, though."
	He shook his head and said, "A few bruises?  I saw your flak jacket, young lady.  Your body took a pounding.  'A few bruises' indeed!  Are you up to meeting your staff?"  She said she was, and a meeting was called for thirty minutes later.  While she was waiting, she got a call from Ned Carlson.  He talked to her about the LRRPs — Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols — and asked if she could work with them.  She said of course she would, so they made arrangements for her to fly over to Germany the next day for a briefing session.  She checked her watch and walked into the conference room.
	Kelly was surprised to see there were over thirty officers present who were called to attention when she entered.  St. Clair came in a moment later and introduced her.  "Gentlemen, this is Colonel Kelly Jackson.  Since this concerns Russian documents, I am asking her to conduct the meeting in Russian."
	Kelly glared at him — it was news to her — but she began in fluent colloquial Russian.  She started by describing the basic Soviet military textbooks.  She pointed out that many things in the Soviet Union were essentially unchanged from the time of the Czars.  They were almost embedded in the Russian character.  The first is an authoritarian structure.  The command pyramid is rigid:  All orders flow from the top.  Second, there is a deep-seated conservatism.  Once they find a formula that works, they stick with it religiously until it no longer works.  The current Russian formula — essentially unchanged since World War II — uses massed artillery and tanks, with the tanks often used as mobile artillery.  She then issued a series of assignments and divided the work.  Then she took questions.
	"Colonel," a major asked, "Where did you get your education in Russian?  You speak like a native, but you don't look like one."
	"Major, I got my education at the end of a whip.  When your body is being cut to ribbons and your blood is constantly dripping on the floor, it provides a certain incentive.  I learned.  Next question?"
	There was a gasp from the group and a lieutenant colonel said, "You can't be serious, Colonel.  That's a joke, isn't it?"
	Kelly smiled ruefully and said, "I wish it were!  I could still show you a few scars, but they are mostly around my loins and my breasts, so I'll pass.  It is true, though."
	John St. Clair rose at this point.  Although he understood Russian and had been able to follow the questions, he was not comfortable speaking the language.  He shifted back to English.
	"Gentlemen, I should tell you a few things about Colonel Jackson: First,  I regret to say everything she has just told you is the absolute truth.  There are other matters, though.  You may hear rumors about her.  I want to set the record straight at the outset.  First, the reason she looks so young is... she is.  Kelly is nineteen years old.  Second, she has more personal decorations for valor than the average combat division.  She wears the Medal of Honor and is receiving an oak leaf cluster in lieu of a second award.  She has the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster.  She holds every personal record in the book in small arms, demolition, and unarmed combat.  She also has an incredible sense of humor.  Kelly was only released from the hospital this morning.  She was in Germany at the time of the breakthrough making it happen.  She did what she is now asking you to do: she read the Russians' books.
	"At any rate, she was alone behind enemy lines.  Her partner had been wounded and was unconscious.  Kelly's flak jacket was hit by at least five rounds, most of which would have been lethal had she not been wearing it.  Nevertheless, she invites the commanding officer of the 82nd Airborne Division to 'do lunch' with her.  There is an indomitable spirit here.
	"Finally, she is now a full colonel, and it is permanent rank and a Regular Army commission.  It would be very unwise for any of you to get crosswise with Kelly.  It is fair to say she has influence in high places, particularly including SACEUR and the White House.  Any other questions?  Kelly has made assignments.  Let's get going!"
	Kelly went back to the hospital that evening.  Mike was just regaining consciousness as she sat by his bedside.  She was holding his hand in hers as his eyes blinked and then opened.  "Hi," he said softly.
	"Hi, yourself," Kelly replied, blinking back a tear.  "Michael Callahan, what am I going to do with you?"
	He smiled at her weakly and said, "Do what you've been doing.  Pick up the pieces and sew me back together.  Darling, thanks again.  Incidentally, why didn't you handle the shrapnel?  I thought you liked to dig in me the way most kids like to dig in the sand?"
	"Darling," she said softly, "there's been a clear breakdown in communication.  I don't like to dig in you.  I like you in me.  That glorious cock of yours in my poor excuse for a cunt."
	He formed his mouth in an "O," and smiled, "Now I get it!  That's different.  I won't walk around looking for stray pieces of flying metal to walk into anymore.  I promise."  She saw his eyes start to close, and she bent over and kissed him softly.  In spite of his condition, she felt the same electricity flow between them.
	"Good night, darling," she whispered.  She left the room and closed the door.
	The next morning Kelly was on a courier plane flying to eastern France.  At the French airport she boarded a waiting helicopter that took her to a location in Germany just behind the lines — or where the lines had been just a few days earlier.  The front was now over 200 miles east of her present position, and the distance was lengthening by the hour.
	Kelly was wearing her combat fatigues including her beat-up flak vest when she was greeted warmly by Ned Carlson at the airstrip.  He took her to a tent where the briefing was scheduled to be held.  The men were called to attention when he entered and strode to the podium.
	"Gentlemen, welcome.  It's my pleasure to introduce Colonel Kelly Jackson who will conduct the briefing.  There are a couple of words of introduction.  First, I know you men think of yourselves as the best there is.  You're very damned good.  But Kelly's better.  She has two Medals of Honor and a bunch of lesser hardware.  I want you to know that she has personally done things that leave everyone's head shaking.  Most recently, she left over eighty enemy dead with her patented small-arms fire:  They all were dead with bullets in the brain."
	He turned to Kelly and asked, "Kelly, have you found out where the heart is yet?"
	She grinned, shook her head and said, "I'm still working on it, sir.  But I am making progress... I think."
	Ned turned back to the troops and said, "I should explain that little byplay.  Kelly claims that the reason she aims for the head is that she flunked biology twice.  She's not too sure where the heart is, but she can see the head.  I can tell you sharpshooters that the first time she fired a rifle in her life, she fired eight rounds and put each round into the brain of a Russian at an average range of about 150 meters.  She's here this morning to talk to you about some work she did which opened up the road we're running on right now.
	"I don't know how many of you know it, but the Russians had five armored divisions poised to close the hole we opened in their line.  They never moved.  Kelly ensured that they didn't.  By the way, I notice she's wearing her custom-made flak jacket.  It was a gift to her from Smith & Wesson.  It's a little messed up now because it absorbed five rounds, at least three of which would have been lethal.  Kelly tells me she's still a bit stiff and sore, so be nice to her.  Kelly?"
	Kelly stepped up to the podium and looked out over the faces.  "Wow!  After that introduction, I don't know what to say.  I'm here to talk about expediting our advance.  I'm going to tell you what we did and then answer questions about what you are likely to face.  First, how many of you understand spoken Russian?  Let me see a show of hands."  A few hands were raised, but very few.
	"Well, for most of the teams you won't be able to do it quite the way we did.  But let me start at the beginning.  The Russians are a command-oriented army: everything is top down.  For example, many of their tanks have no radio transmitters.  They can receive orders but not give them.  If you take out the lead tank in a group of three, you effectively disable the other two.  In all likelihood the others don't even know what their unit's mission is.
	"The second element, related to the first, is the need to keep things simple.  If you must give detailed orders to get something done, the task has got to be fairly simple, or you'll be overwhelmed by misunderstanding and resulting confusion.
	"The third element is stick with what works until it doesn't work any more, then look for something new.  Until last week the Russians were never beaten in a major tank battle since the Great Patriotic War... World War II.  On the offensive, they use massed artillery and tanks, with the tanks used almost as mobile artillery.  On defense — now — they employ a tactical reserve.  They wait for the attacker to commit, then throw in their reserve in the most effective way they can.
	"This brings us to last week:  The Russians had a tactical reserve of five armored divisions.  We attacked at the junction where a Russian division was flanked by an East German division.  The Russian plan was a 'double gate.'  The two divisions attacked would withdraw obliquely, swinging like a gate.  Allied troops would pour through the gap to be clobbered by the five armored divisions while they were disorganized.  The two line divisions would then simultaneously counterattack on both our flanks."
	Kelly looked up and saw a hand raised.  "Yes, you have a question?"
	"Colonel, how do you know all this?  You sound pretty certain, but we haven't even picked up all the pieces yet.  How can you know?"
	Kelly started to reply when she saw Ned Carlson on his feet.  He told Kelly he would like to field the question.
	"Son, you walked right into that one.  The reason Kelly knows is she listened to the Russian lieutenant general commanding their ground forces in the sector tell it to the East German division commander... in detail.  It also explains why she said at the outset that not many of you can do what she did.  You see, her partner put a bug on the command trailer.  Kelly, who speaks perfect Russian, listened to the whole thing.  Then what happened, Kelly?"
	"We waited until the order was given for the front-line units to open an alley.  When the division commanders and deputy commanders of the five reserve divisions were gathered with the group commander for final orders, we zapped them.  We hit the armored command trailer with three TOW's and I understand we made a hell of a mess inside.  Suffice it to say, there was no one alive to give the order to move out.  We then picked off anyone in sight who seemed to be exercising any initiative.  It was painfully simple, really.
	"Now, to your operations:  We want you to go head-hunting for senior officers.  We've found out two things.  First, the Russians seem fond of command trailers.  Second, the more armored it is, the more senior the officer inside.  The trailer we hit was differentiated in two ways: first, it had three axles rather than two... it was a ten-wheeler; second, there was a prime mover nearby that obviously is used to move it around.  Trailers are usually hauled by ordinary trucks.  Without a knowledge of Russian, and a guy like my partner — my fiancé — Mike Callahan, who can move like a ghost, you can't get quite so tricky.  You can do a lot of damage, though.
	"There is one important thing: timing is critical.  The Russians aren't short of officers, and any officer can be replaced... but not in ten minutes or less.  What you need to do is locate your targets and hit them just as we launch our attack — a minute or two later is better.  It's better because it prevents the Russians from using an alternate chain of command which they may have."  Kelly smiled and stepped away.  "Now, are there any questions?"
	"Colonel, do you mean to say that you listened in to orders being given and then popped the guy as he's about to blow the whistle?"
	"I guess so.  It wasn't very hard."
	"Ma'am, I've heard of being cool as a cucumber, but I ain't heard nothing that describes what you did!  My God!  No wonder it was a walkover.  The line units were waiting for the reserves that were coming into position, but the reserves never moved!"
	The speaker addressed Ned Carlson, "General, is that what the Colonel received the second Medal of Honor for?"
	Carlson smiled and said, "No, lieutenant.  It was for singlehandedly putting down eighty of the enemy at close range.  I don't think they know what to give her for winning the battle for us.  Incidentally, she addressed SACEUR in terms similar to what you just heard.  She conceived the whole plan of attack and then played the critical rôle in achieving its success.  What do you think she deserves?"
	"Any damn thing she wants, General.  And then double it."
	"I think that's a fine idea, son.  I'll pass it on to General Adams," Carlson replied.  "Any more questions?"
	There was a long exchange about penetration and target identification.  Finally, the briefing ended.  Kelly rose to leave and all the men were standing at attention.  One started to applaud and in no time there was a pandemonium of applause and whistling.  Kelly waved and left with the general who escorted her to the mess tent.
	Once there, Kelly insisted on going through the mess line.  Carlson smiled and led the way.  Kelly was secretly amused at all the double-takes.  The men saw the silver eagles on her collar and then saw her beautiful young face.  As they moved through the line, she heard a buzz of whispers behind her.  They found seats at a table in the corner.
	When they were nearly finished eating, a young officer came up and saluted smartly.  "General Carlson, request permission to speak to the Colonel, sir."
	Carlson tried to hide a smile and said, "Speak away, son."
	Kelly realized the officer was a captain in the tank corps.  "Colonel, you're Kelly Jackson, aren't you?"  She realized her flak jacket covered her name tape.
	Kelly read his name tape, WILLIAMS.  "That's me, Captain Williams.  What can I do for you?"
	Williams reddened but held his ground.  "Colonel, I commanded one of the lead tank companies that hit the line last week.  I have been asked by my men to thank you for what you did.  They say you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and warfare can be hazardous to one's health.  We were in a pretty exposed position where casualties are expected to run very high.  Colonel, due to your brilliance and your bravery, we took no casualties.  None!"
	He snapped his fingers and said, "No, ma'am, I misspoke.  Private Washington sprained his ankle jumping down from his tank when it was all over, but he's always doing dumb things like that."  He looked at her like he was looking at an angel.  "Ma'am, on behalf of Bravo Troop, 7th Armored Cavalry, I want to thank you for what you did.  And ma'am, would it be possible to get your autograph?"
	Kelly smiled at him warmly and saw him melt.  She said she would be happy to if he had something for her to write on.  He produced a copy of the Op order from the previous week's assault.  When she saw that his unit was one of the first spearhead units named, she asked him what his first name was and he replied, Jim.
	She wrote, "To Captain Jim Williams and all the men of Bravo Troop, 7th Armored Cavalry:  With men like you, we're going to win this one — and win big.  With gratitude for all you've done and are doing."  She signed it Kelly Jackson, Colonel, U.S.A.
	Williams looked at it and didn't believe what he read.  "But ma'am... Colonel... this isn't right!  We did nothing!  Well, I guess that's not true either.  We were one of the first units to reach your position.  We were a couple of minutes behind the Germans.  We accepted the surrender of a few Russian armored divisions and helped disarm the prisoners.  Then we used the prisoners to clean up after you, ma'am."
	He grinned and added, "I understand you didn't stay around to survey the wreckage you created.  Ma'am, it was an awful mess!"
	She grinned at Williams and said, "Captain, will you do me a great favor?"  He agreed instantly.  "Promise not to tell my fiancé what a terrible housekeeper I am?  I'm an awful slob, but he doesn't know it yet.  With luck, he won't find out until after we're married.  Will you help me keep it quiet?"
	She saw a kaleidoscope of emotions pass over Williams' face.  "Ma'am, I just do not believe that.  I think you're teasing me.  I will say, ma'am, that the man who's engaged to you is the luckiest man alive.  Will you please tell him so for me, ma'am?"
	He had been studying her face as if he was trying to memorize her features.  He turned to leave and then turned back, "Ma'am, I realize it's impertinent of me, but could you tell me how old you are?"
	Kelly grinned and said, "Younger than you are, Captain.  I'm nineteen."
	Williams' jaw dropped.  General Carlson said, "It's the God's honest truth, son.  Kelly Jackson is only nineteen.  Just turned nineteen a couple of months ago in fact.  Don't you think she has to be the most beautiful colonel in the Army?"
	"Of that, General, there is no doubt.  Thank you, ma'am.  I'm sorry for taking your time."  Williams disappeared and Carlson looked at her and shook his head.
	"There's another Kelly Jackson story.  If you ever need any armor, you know where to look.  Kelly, those men would follow you to hell."
	He shook his head and said, "You are a piece of work.  You really are!  No wonder those people in Quantico set every record in the book!  You are the best damned natural-born leader it's ever been my privilege to see.  Damn it!  I was wrong.  I said they would follow you to hell.  They sure would.  But they would think it was a rare privilege to be allowed to keep you company!"
	They walked out to where a helicopter was waiting.  Carlson gave Kelly his very best salute which she returned as smartly.  He then took her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.  "Kelly, count me a member of Kelly's army.  Take care of yourself, kid."
	She waved gaily and boarded the helicopter.
	A few hours later, she crawled into her bed in her quarters in England and was almost instantly asleep.
Chapter 13
	The morning after her return from Germany, Kelly was in the Army hospital at Mike's bedside when he awakened.  He looked up and found her staring at him, while tears were rolling slowly down her cheeks.  The surgery on his shoulder had been completed successfully with all of the shrapnel removed.  "Hello, darling," he said to her softly.  "What's wrong?"
	She ignored his question.  Instead, she replied.  "How do you feel?  How's the shoulder?"
	"It's been better.  But you didn't answer me.  What's wrong?"
	Kelly tried to smile, but the tears kept running.  "I'm sorry.  Nothing's wrong, really.  Maybe I'm happy that you're alive."  She sat up straight in her chair, and said, "I'm lying, Mike.  I'm crying because it's not fair!"
	"What's not fair?" Mike asked, showing concern.
	"I've been promoted again!  I'm a full colonel.  I outrank you," she wailed.
	Mike reached across the bed with his good right hand and took hers in it.  "Congratulations, darling!  I think it's wonderful."
	"And I think it stinks!  It's not fair.  Mike, you're West Point.  You've studied this military stuff.  You're a career officer.  I'm a damned high-school dropout who can't do anything right!"  Her tears started to flow again.
	Mike said sharply, "Jackson!  Stand at attention!"
	Kelly unthinkingly dropped his hand and stood at attention.
	"Jackson," Mike ordered, maintaining the same command tone, "What are those ribbons on your chest?"
	"Sir!  The first is the Medal of Honor, the second..."
	Kelly appeared startled as she realized what he was doing.  She frowned and said, "Mike Callahan!  You can't do that.  I outrank you!  You can't give me...  Michael Callahan, now I know the truth for sure.  You're parents were never married, and your mother was a female dog!  You are cruel, mean, nasty..."
	She stopped as she saw a grin spread across his face which drove away her tears as she finished, "But I love you anyway!"
	Being careful to stay clear of his shoulder, she took him in her arms and kissed him.  The kiss was loaded with love and passion.  She felt better as his good right arm closed around her.
	She heard him whisper in her ear, now so close to his lips, "You're awfully cute for a bird colonel... especially when you're mad."  He pulled her face down to his and kissed her again.  When she finally straightened up in her chair he could see the love shining in her eyes.  "Are you sure you still want to marry me?  You outrank me now."
	"The answer is yes!" she answered brightly.  "I just realized there are some advantages: For example, you can be on permanent KP.  And you can get to walk the floor with the baby at 0200 and..."
	Mike's eyes widened.  "Kelly!  You wouldn't!  You wouldn't use your rank..."
	"...then there are other things," Kelly ignored the outburst.  Her eyes took on a faraway look as she continued, "I can order you to strip for me so I can look at your body...  Of course, it's getting pretty shot up, so I'm not really sure it's worth looking at any more."  She got to her feet and bent over to kiss him again.  "But there are still the bells!  God, I love kissing you!"  And she did, again.
	She smiled and then returned to her office where Cathy gave her a message to call John St. Clair.  When she reached John, he asked her to go to Germany.  "Kelly, we have a strange situation.  Using the Kelly Jackson/George Patton assault, we've captured several Soviet headquarters with their staffs intact.  One of them appears to be the Russian headquarters for the Western front.  However, we can't find the commanding general.  We think we identified the man, but he's wearing the uniform of a lieutenant colonel.  Could you go over and take a look?"
	Kelly agreed.  John pointed out that it was no longer necessary to wear a combat uniform since the front was now hundreds of miles further to the east.  Spearheads were now in Czechoslovakia and East Germany and moving rapidly eastward.
	Cathy made immediate transport arrangements and buzzed Kelly, "Colonel Jackson, ma'am, you're going to have to start traveling incognito.  I said we needed transportation for Colonel Jackson and nearly triggered a riot as the guys fought over who was going to get to fly you over.  And you realize, I hope, that normally VIP flights are detested.  Anyway, a chopper will be on the pad in five minutes."
	Kelly went out and boarded the waiting helicopter.  The crew chief gave her his very best salute and welcomed her on board.  A short time later they were on the strip in Germany.  Kelly was driven to a POW compound and greeted by Ned Carlson's chief of intelligence, Tom Marlow.
	He saluted smartly and said, "General Carlson's respects, Colonel.  Welcome to Germany.  I... I've heard so much about you, I didn't know quite what to expect.  I guess you know that Kelly Jackson is a legend with the troops over here.  In fact someone has a big mouth.  They heard you were coming, so they organized a little surprise for later this afternoon.  I hope you don't mind."
	Kelly had shaken hands but now looked puzzled.  "Colonel, I don't understand.  I just came over to see if I could help you with a POW problem.  What is it, by the way?  General St. Clair said you would fill me in."
	"Colonel," he said, "We have a guy with an ill-fitting lieutenant colonel's uniform.  The other Russians... particularly including generals... appear to defer to him.  He insists he's only a lieutenant colonel.  Right now he's in an interrogation room.  And that's going slowly, too:  My G-2 people's Russian is inadequate for the questioning, so we need an interpreter.  Maybe you can us help there, too.  I hear your Russian is pretty good."
	By this time they had reached the POW compound and the interrogation center.  Marlow led Kelly into an observation room separated from the interrogation room by one-way glass.  Kelly glanced at the man being questioned.  He was very big, although being seated it was not clear how tall he was.  Even seated, though, he had an aura of command.
	Kelly turned to Marlow and asked, "May I go in?"  He nodded, and took her out to a door.  He knocked and entered.
	Kelly went past him and said in her fluent Russian, "Uncle Mischa!"
	The Russian jumped to his feet, shocked.  He looked at Kelly who took off her uniform cap and tossed it into the corner, shaking her golden hair free.  He looked at her again, and there was clear recognition in his face.  He grabbed Kelly, enfolded her in his arms like a bear, and kissed her.  She kissed him back.  Then he held her away at arms length and saw the rank insignia and the ribbons for the medals she was wearing.
	Slowly shaking his head he said, "I told them they were making a very dangerous mistake, didn't I, my pet?"
	The Americans in the room had been watching the unfolding scene with utter amazement.  Kelly put her arm around the Russian's waist and turned to Marlow.  "Colonel, it's my pleasure to introduce you to General... or is it Field Marshal now?"
	She looked at him, and he gave a little shrug and a grin.
	She continued, "Field Marshal Mikhail Solov, commander of all Warsaw Pact forces in the West.  Mischa, this is Colonel Thomas Marlow, chief of intelligence for the Allied Forces.  Tom, I think you'll want to call Ned immediately.  Mischa, will you give me your parole for the rest of the day?  I would like to get us to some place more comfortable."
	"When you ask, Kelly," he replied, speaking excellent English, "how can I refuse?  Of course.  I promise to be a good boy for the rest of the day."
	They left the interrogation room, and Marlow, still stunned by the sudden turn of events, took him to a German castle now being used as Carlson's headquarters.  Ned Carlson was waiting for them as they drove up.  He saluted Kelly and then gave her a big hug and a kiss.
	She poked him in the ribs and said, "General, I wish you would quit picking on poor defenseless little girls.  You big lug!  It's bad for my image, besides: being manhandled by a dirty old man!"
	At that both Ned and the Russian cracked up in laughter.  Ned looked at Solov and said, "Does she look like a defenseless little girl to you, Marshal?  She's about as defenseless as a Siberian tiger!"  Solov nodded his agreement.  They were still grinning as Kelly made the introductions.
	Ned led the way into his office and told Marlow that he would like to talk with the Marshal and Kelly alone for a while.  Marlow excused himself while the others took seats.
	Kelly said, "General, do you recall me mentioning Field Marshal Vasilly Solov who wrote the book on Russian tactics?  Mikhail is his grandson.  He now commands... or did... all Warsaw Pact forces here in the West."
	Carlson just shook his head in amazement.  He looked at Kelly and asked, "And how is it you know the Field Marshal?"
	Kelly sat up straight in her chair and her face became impassive.  "Because I entertained him at the school, General.  Or I was supposed to.  Actually, we spent the night with him coaching me for a Russian test I had to take the next day."
	She turned to Solov and asked, "How is your daughter, Katrina, by the way?"  Turning back to Carlson, she said, "He told me a lot about her that night."
	Solov had been studying Kelly, and he now spoke.  "General, will you answer some questions for me if I give you my word of honor nothing will leave this room or ever be used against you or your forces?"
	Carlson looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments and then looked at Kelly who nodded.  "Yes, Marshal.  Agreed.  What questions?"
	"General, we know Kelly killed Major Vishinsky.  No loss, I should add.  We believe she killed a guard on the street with the same knife a few minutes later.  General, she dynamited the bridge over the River Weser, didn't she?"
	Carlson nodded and said, "Yes, but how did you know?"
	"We didn't.  The KGB and the GRE still don't.  However, there was a guard on the bridge — later executed for dereliction of duty — who claimed someone crossed the bridge several times under orders from Major Vishinsky.  The description he gave seems to fit.  That was Kelly, wasn't it?"
	"Yes, it was," Carlson admitted.
	"I could not get the KGB to abandon their little home at the school.  I told them that making war on women and children would be very expensive.  I never dreamed it could be so expensive!  It may have cost us the war."
	He turned to Kelly and said, "You asked about Katrina.  The answer is, I don't know where she is.  I suspect she, too, is a prisoner.  Could you find out for me?"
	Kelly looked at Carlson who nodded.  She asked, "What is her name, rank, and serial number?"  Solov gave Kelly the information, and she left the office.  She found Marlow waiting outside and after explaining what she wanted, he placed a call and waited.  A few moments later he told Kelly that Captain Katrina Solov was a prisoner in an Allied POW camp and could be brought to headquarters in an hour.  She gave the order and returned to Carlson's office.
	She told Solov that his daughter was, indeed, a prisoner and was being escorted to headquarters.  Carlson wanted to talk with Kelly alone so Marlow came in and escorted the Marshal to the senior officers' lounge.
	Carlson looked at Kelly and shook his head.  "Jackson, is there anyone you don't know?  In any army?  It seems the Marshal takes credit for being the first to sense that you had a natural sense of weapons, tactics and so forth.  How did you ever get on such subjects?  You were a prisoner."
	Kelly smiled as she remembered.  "General... Sir, do you mind if I call you Ned?  This gets a little personal."
	Carlson looked at her fondly and said, "Kelly, I wish you would.  Go on."
	"Ned, first of all, I wore no clothes after the Russians arrived.  Correction.  I wore clothes when I was on stage, but only to take them off.  Anyway, I guess I was the school's featured attraction.  I was offered to Solov for the night following a show.  He didn't want to accept the favor.  He felt the whole arrangement was a disgrace to the Red Army.  Then he thought he could do me a favor, so he accepted.
	"It seems I remind him of his daughter, Katrina.  His wife is dead and she is all he has.  We were in the VIP suite together all night."
	She smiled wryly as she remembered.  "The funny thing is we were awake all night, so we were suitably tired the next day.  But instead of taking me, he talked to me.  I practiced my Russian.  What we talked about was what he was most interested in and knowledgeable about... Russian strategy and tactics.  Ned, I was kneeling on the bed naked while he still had his full uniform on.
	"And by the way, I owe him.  For my dancing they put makeup on my back and legs to conceal the whip marks.  He washed my back and got some ointment to put on them.  He was most kind to me, really.
	"Ned, I think there's a better-than-even chance I could get him to defect.  Are you interested?"
	Carlson had been striving to keep his face impassive as he listened to Kelly's recital.  When she mentioned "defect," he nodded and picked up a direct telephone to headquarters.  He got Sam Adams on the line and said, "Your favorite teenybopper colonel is here with me, Sam.  She thinks we could get Field Marshal Mikhail Solov, commander of all Warsaw Pact forces in the West to defect.  Interested?"
	Adams chuckled and said, "I thought you told her to confine her reading to Gothic novels?  Can't she follow orders?"
	"Sam, I'm only a troop commander.  If the Commander in Chief can't even keep his secretary out of her clutches, what the hell do you expect me to do?"
	"I expect it to be a challenge to you, Ned!  Do as I say, not as I do.  The answer is the usual one.  When a girl is winning the war for us at a negligible cost in casualties, you stick with her.  She's authorized to do any damn thing she wants to!  Fair enough?"
	"Yes, sir.  I'll tell her.  Incidentally, Sam, the last time I saw you, you looked about ten years younger and happier than I can remember you looking in years — at least since your wife died.  What's going on?"
	Again there was a chuckle on the phone.  "What the hell do you think is happening?  It's another of Colonel Kelly Jackson's spare-time projects.  Ask her."
	Carlson hung up and looked at Kelly.  Kelly just smiled at him sweetly.  "Jackson, what did you do for General Adams?"
	"Nothing, sir.  I did absolutely nothing for General Adams.  What did he say?"
	"He told me to ask you.  As for Solov, you have a blank check.  What do you want to do?"
	"I want to spend the day with him and his daughter.  Colonel Marlow said there was some surprise for me later today.  What is it?"
	He smiled and shook his head.  "I can't tell you, Kelly.  But if you get the Marshal and his daughter to give their paroles — he already has, so you only need hers — they would be interested spectators at the surprise.  It's scheduled for 1500 hours.  As for the defection, go for it."
	Carlson's phone buzzed and he picked it up.  He said, "Fine, have them wait," and hung up.  "Kelly, your guest is here.  What now?"
	She had been thinking quickly while Carlson made the phone calls.  She replied, "Ned, I want to be with them alone.  Is there a good place where we could eat lunch?  A really good place?"  Carlson nodded and had his aide make a reservation for three.
	They left the office and found two MPs seated flanking a blonde young woman.  The woman was wearing the uniform of a captain in the Red Army and was glaring at everyone.  As Kelly and the General came out of the office, the girl stood up along with the MPs and saluted.
	Kelly smartly returned the salute.  She dismissed the MPs and stuck her hand out, "Captain, I'm Kelly Jackson.  I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances."
	The girl glared at Kelly and said, "Who are you?  Some general's mistress?"
	Kelly ignored the remark and looked at the girl carefully.  Katrina was blonde and very pretty but not quite as tall as Kelly.  Like Kelly, she had a slim figure.  Kelly turned to Carlson and said, "General, do you suppose you could find some civilian clothes that would fit the captain?"
	She asked Katrina to come with her.  They were escorted to the lounge where Solov was waiting with Colonel Marlow.  When they entered, Marlow excused himself and Solov rushed up to his daughter and took her in his arms.  Kelly could see tears form in his eyes as he held her tightly.  He kept his arm around her as they followed Kelly to an office made available for her use.  They went in, and Kelly closed the door.
	When they were seated in comfortable leather chairs, Kelly smiled at them both.  "Katrina, I would like you to give me your parole for the day.  Will you?  It will make things much easier all around."
	The girl's eyes widened, and she was about to refuse indignantly when she saw her father nod emphatically.  Reluctantly, she agreed.  There was a knock on the door, and an aide brought in clothes on hangers which she left over a chair.  Kelly went through a side door and found there was a full bathroom.  "Katrina, we're going out for lunch.  There is a bathroom next door.  Perhaps you might want to take a shower and change.  I hope the clothes here fit."
	The girl went into the bathroom, and Kelly and Solov chatted.  Awhile later she emerged and stood close to the door.  Solov rushed over to her and kissed her, "Katrina, you look beautiful!  That dress is lovely on you."
	Kelly realized the girl was accustomed to wearing a uniform and didn't know what to make of herself in the dress.  She had lovely blue eyes and a dancer's figure, although she was anything but flat-chested.  Solov went into the bathroom to change, and Katrina sat down carefully in an easy chair.  Kelly was amused.  She could tell that Katrina wanted to dislike her but didn't.  She was upset at herself because of it.
	Kelly started to talk to her in English which the girl spoke well, albeit with a stronger accent than her father did.  Kelly shifted to Russian, and the girl's eyes widened.  She realized that Kelly's Russian was near-perfect while her English needed a lot of work.  In a few minutes Solov rejoined them wearing slacks and a sport shirt.  Kelly smiled at him and said he looked like a very friendly Russian bear.
	Solov returned the smile.  He looked at his daughter and said, "Katrina, this is the American girl I told you about, the one who was held prisoner by the KGB."
	Katrina looked askance at her father and then at Kelly.  "You told me she had been beaten.  This girl, whoever she is... probably the general's mistress... has never been touched!" she said vehemently.
	Kelly looked at the girl with her face expressionless.  She rose, went to the door and locked it, then undressed.  When she was naked she went back to where Katrina was sitting and turned her back to the girl.  Mikhail was impassive as he pointed out the marks on Kelly's back.  She then turned and faced them.  He showed her where her breasts, inner thighs and loins had been whipped.  Although the marks had faded, they were still visible.  Still without a word, Kelly put her uniform back on and sat down.
	"Now, young lady, I expect you to apologize to Colonel Jackson at once!  We may be enemies, but we should also be civilized.  As you have just seen, some of our comrades aren't nearly as civilized as they should be.  That is another story, however.
	"Captain Solov, you disgust me!  You have the nerve to say that Colonel Jackson is a general's mistress.  Do you know what the first ribbon she's wearing signifies?  Or the last?"
	Katrina shook her head, obviously abashed by her father's attack, but also by what she had just seen.  She realized the girl was truly beautiful and she had been beaten savagely for an extended period.  She looked at the ribbons her father had indicated.  The first was somehow familiar, but she couldn't place it.  She had no idea about the others.  She shook her head and said softly, "No, Comrade Field Marshal.  I do not know."
	Solov looked at his daughter sternly.  "The first is the ribbon of the Medal of Honor.  It is the highest award for valor given by the United States.  The last, the purple ribbon, is the ribbon of the Purple Heart given to those wounded in combat.  The small cluster on it is in lieu of a second award.  There are no service ribbons.  All of her ribbons are for gallantry and service of the highest order.  I happen to know that she is, in fact, a colonel in the American army.
	"Kelly," he said, turning away from his daughter, "There's one more thing.  You were captured at a town check point with a man, weren't you?"  She nodded.  The Marshal smiled.  "Of course!  It had to be you.  After blowing the bridge... Katrina, this girl blew the River Weser bridge by herself!... you were headed toward your pickup point and were arrested.  You were taken to the cellar at KGB headquarters for questioning.  After a while you came up and demanded passes out of town which were provided.  You said the officer who had taken you to the basement didn't wish to be disturbed.
	"Later in the day they finally investigated.  There were four men, all dead with bullets in their brain.  One man... known for his sadism and brawn... had two.  There was a whip that showed signs of recent use.  There was blood on it that hadn't yet dried.  They whipped you, didn't they, Kelly?  Somehow, you got free and shot them all, then brazenly walked out using your fluent Russian to obtain passes out of town.  Am I right?"  Again Kelly nodded.  "And the man?  I'm told you're engaged to be married.  He's the one, isn't he?"
	This time Kelly smiled warmly and said, "Yes, Uncle Mischa, he's my fiancé.  We were together."
	He returned the smile and then turned to his daughter.  "There's one more thing.  Kelly is only... about nineteen, isn't it?"
	Kelly smiled again and nodded her head.  "I had forgotten what a memory you have.  Nineteen is correct."
	Looking back at his daughter he continued, "Do you now believe what I have been telling you?  How short-sighted the KGB has been, forgetting the morality of making war on civilians?  You have seen the evidence.  Now do you believe?"
	Katrina had received a series of stunning shocks in a short space of time.  She just shook her head doggedly.  Finally, she said softly, "But Father, it can't be!  We wouldn't do things like that.  We shouldn't!"
	Kelly decided the time had come.  With the daughter still shaking her head, they left the office.  She took them to a restaurant for a lovely lunch.  Eyebrows were raised at the Russian-language conversation, but there were two burly MPs on guard at the door, so nothing was said.  As the meal progressed, Katrina slowly started to loosen up.  Kelly thought the girl was likely to hold the key to a defection if there was to be one.
	Finally, she spoke to Kelly very shyly, "I have heard my father refer to your fiancé.  Your parents have arranged a marriage for you?"
	Kelly looked at the girl, smiled and vigorously shook her head.  "There isn't very much of that in the United States, and it certainly doesn't apply here.  Mike rescued me from the school where your father met me.  He... He put me back together.  Katrina, when I escaped, I wanted quick revenge and then suicide.  I didn't want to live.  Mike persuaded me I had something to live for.  Katrina, I love him more than life itself."
	Katrina had been watching Kelly's face as she spoke.  She saw her face light up as she spoke of Mike.  When Kelly finished the girl said, "You do love him a lot, don't you?  Where is he now?"
	"He's in a hospital in England.  He was wounded last week in the breakthrough.  He'll be all right, though.  I can't wait for the fighting to end, so we can be married.  She smiled warmly at Katrina and asked, "What about you?  Do you have a boyfriend?"
	The girl shook her head.  "No.  It... It is hard.  My father is a candidate member of the Politburo.  As a result, I have many friends... and no friends.  But I'm sure you don't understand."
	Kelly took her hand and squeezed it.  "Believe me, I do.  Moreover, I'm sure it's as if you were a member of royalty.  You can only associate with a selected... and very small... group of people socially."
	The girl looked at her startled.  "How could you know that?"
	"I suspect, Katrina, I know a good deal more about Russia than you do about the United States."  Kelly then changed the subject.  "What did you do before you joined the Army?  Were you in school?"
	"I was in college.  I... I liked it, but..."
	"...but the other students didn't like you," Kelly finished.  "Or if they did, you couldn't trust their motives."
	By now the Russian girl was enthusiastic.  "You do understand.  But... what could I possibly do in the West?"
	Kelly smiled at her and replied, "Any number of things.  For a start, you could be a fashion model.  You are truly beautiful.  What do you like to do?  You may do anything you're capable of doing."  Kelly glanced at her watch and said, "It's time to go.  There is some surprise scheduled at 1500.  I'm supposed to be there, and you are also invited.  Would you care to come?"
	Marshal Solov answered immediately, "Colonel, it would be a great pleasure.  Shall we go?"
	The car placed at Kelly's disposal took them to a large field.  There was a very large temporary structure with steps leading up from the rear.  Kelly went up the steps followed by the two Russians.  They were greeted by Ned Carlson who greeted Katrina Solov warmly.  He turned to Kelly and said, "Colonel, this is for you.  Will you come with me, please?"
	Kelly realized that the structure was a reviewing stand crowded with senior officers, mostly generals.  After she was escorted to the front row, Carlson gave a signal.  A brigadier general saluted Kelly smartly and stepped in front of the microphone.  He gave the order, "Pass in review!"  Then he stepped off to the side as a military band struck up.
	It was the U.S. Third Army band.  The band marched across the field and passed in front of the reviewing stand with the bandmaster giving Kelly his best salute which she returned.  The band continued down the field and doubled back, coming to a stop facing the reviewing stand.
	Troops were marching down the field.  She was shocked to see the first unit was from the 82nd Airborne Division led by its division commander, Jim Ames.  Rank after rank they came, marching in a company front.  Kelly could feel tears starting down her cheeks as the troops snapped an "Eyes right" with the company guidons dropping in salute as they passed.
	Following were troops from U.S. infantry divisions, as well as British, French, and German troops.  When the marching troops passed, they were followed by armor.  Kelly got a lump in her throat when she saw the first armored unit was Jim Williams and the 7th Armored Cavalry.  Williams made sure she saw his salute.  The parade went on and on.  There were also German and British armored units.
	As they passed, Carlson whispered in her ear that these were the assault divisions from the breakthrough.  Both the units and their governments insisted on paying tribute to Kelly Jackson.  Finally, the troops were massed on the field, almost covering it.  Kelly thought there must be 60,000 men or more.
	Kelly was then presented with the Croix de Guerre by the French government and the Victoria Cross by the British.  The presentations were made by their senior generals in Germany.  Carlson whispered that the awards had been cleared with the President; he added that the German government had other more elaborate plans.
	Finally, it was over.  Kelly turned to go and almost walked into a tall officer.  She looked up and recognized Jim Ames.  He held out his hand after saluting smartly.  "Kelly, I'm not sure I'm speaking to you anymore," he said sternly.
	Kelly was taken aback and her face fell.  "I'm sorry, sir.  What did I do?"
	"You stood me up, is what you did.  You asked me to 'do lunch' and then you stood me up.  And there's an official record of your invitation, too."  He was grinning as he added, "The coffee was great, though.  But can I have a rain-check on the lunch?"
	She looked at him and said, "General, I'll ask my secretary to check my calendar.  You see, I had an opening that day.  And there really aren't many... and..."  She grinned and said, "Could we get a hot dog somewhere?  Don't they usually sell hot dogs at parades?"
	Ames just shook his head.  "Kelly, you are a piece of work!  You really are.  All I can tell you is if I ordered the Division to go straight and you turned right, they would be following you, not me."
	Then he grinned and said, "This is Germany, and damn it, there ought to be someplace we could get a hot dog!"  He escorted her off the reviewing stand.  His aide was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs.  Ames whispered a few words to him, and the officer ran off.
	Kelly introduced him to Field Marshal Solov and Katrina.  She told him that Solov was the grandson of the author of the Russian book on armored tactics and commanded the Warsaw Pact troops in the East.  Ames eyebrows raised as he took in the information.  General Carlson was there along with his aide and more MPs.
	As they talked, they heard a helicopter approach and land close by.  Ames' aide got out, followed by Kevin Murphy who was carrying a cardboard box.  He ran up and saluted Kelly who then looked at him carefully.  His eyes still showed black, but there was now only a Band-Aid across the bridge of his nose.  He saluted Ames and said, "General, your lunch, sir!"
	He opened the box and Kelly started to laugh.  In the box were a dozen wrapped hot dogs.  She helped herself and passed the box around.  Solov took one, as did Carlson.  Ames grinned and helped himself.
	Katrina was looking baffled but took one, too.  She was the first to speak.  "Colonel, I do not understand.  Did they fly in... frankfurters?"
	Kelly shook her head and grinned, "Katrina, I'm afraid so.  General Ames commands the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.  I guess it comes from jumping out of airplanes.  You land on your head a few times and your brains get a little scrambled.  But they're nice guys, really."
	She looked over and motioned to Kevin Murphy who came running over.  "Kevin, I would like you to meet Katrina Solov.  Her father is a dear friend of mine."
	Murphy looked at the Russian girl and smiled.  He held out his hand and said, "Miss Solov, I'm very glad to meet you."
	Katrina was looking at Kelly's uniform.  "Colonel..."
	Kelly interrupted her by saying, "Katrina, please do me a big favor?  The name is Kelly.  I'm younger than you are, so please call me Kelly."
	Katrina smiled and started again.  "Kelly, are you not wearing a paratroop badge also?  It looks like Lieutenant Murphy's."
	Kelly grinned at him and said it was.  "But Katrina, girls aren't nearly so clumsy.  We're smart enough to land on our feet not on our heads.  Kevin, how are you feeling?"
	Katrina looked at him and made a face.  "Oh dear, you've been injured!  What happened?"
	Kevin looked at her wryly and said, "Miss Solov, I made a terrible mistake.  I got into a fight with America's top unarmed-combat specialist.  The result was a broken nose.  I didn't do too well."
	"But, Lieutenant, what brute could have done that to you?  And what happened to him?  He assaulted a superior officer!"
	Kevin looked increasingly chagrined.  "Katrina... may I call you Katrina?"  She nodded eagerly and he continued.  "There are only three things wrong with that statement.  First, he's not a brute.  He's only five feet nine and weighs about 120 pounds... about 50 kilos or so.  Second, he's not a he, he's a she.  Third, she outranks me.  And in addition, I was grossly out of line when it happened.  My behavior was atrocious!"
	Katrina looked even more puzzled.  "But Kevin, I don't understand.  You said the best unarmed-combat specialist.  It must be a man and a brute to do such a thing to you!  Who did it?  Who is this person?"
	"Katrina," Kevin said sheepishly, "'this person' is Kelly Jackson.  Incidentally, I had help, for all the good it did me.  There were three of us.  We all ended up on the floor unconscious."
	Katrina wheeled on Kelly, "Kelly... this can't be true!"
	Kelly had been trying to conceal a grin while Kevin's story unfolded.  Finally, she nodded and said, "I'm afraid it is true.  I was a brute; I admit it.  I did apologize to you, Kevin, didn't I?"
	He grinned at her and said, "You sure did.  Kelly, don't forget.  You still owe me a dance!"
	Kelly had an idea.  She went to Carlson who listened, smiled, and nodded.  Then she went to Jim Ames.  "Jim, thank you so much.  It was delightful!  And thank you for saving my life.  I owe you and your men more than I can ever say, let alone repay.  All I can say is, I'll always remember."
	Ames just shook his head slowly.  "It's another Kelly story!  Damn it, Kelly, you can too repay!  You can come over sometime and clean up my quarters.  Then we'll be even.  You leave us all the shit details: burying the Russian dead and preparing the POW lists.  Hell, my clerks are beginning to hate you.  But if you clean up after me, we're even.
	"Kelly, I guess you don't understand this review we just had, even yet!  I know you know a Captain Williams in the 7th Armored Cav.  His unit led the armor.  You saw German and British units, too.  They were also spearhead units.  They were paying tribute to the girl who saved their lives!
	"I realize you're a high-school dropout, so you don't know anything about military matters," he said with an eyebrow raised.  "Airborne units are first-line assault troops, too.  Casualties in assault units normally run very high.  Do you know what our casualties were?  Do you?" he demanded.  Ames had his face only inches from hers.
	Kelly could only shake her head.  She could see that Jim was very upset.
	"Kelly Jackson, our casualties were three!  Not three thousand.  Not three hundred.  THREE!  We lose far more than that in a training exercise!  Kelly, we value our lives, too!  Can't we be grateful to you?  Just once?"
	She held out her hand and he took it.  She gripped his firmly and said, "We're still going to do lunch, Jim.  My treat.  Promise?"  He grinned and nodded.
	Then she said, "Jim, can I borrow Lieutenant Murphy for a while?  It's important.  I really need him now."
	Ames looked at her quizzically.  "You're going to take Murphy off my hands?  What do I have to do to make it happen?"  Then he grinned and said, "Kelly, you can have him for as long as you want."  He turned to Kevin and said sharply, "Lieutenant Murphy!"
	Kevin ran up and saluted smartly.  "Lieutenant Murphy, sir!"
	"Murphy, you're assigned temporary duty — TD — to Colonel Jackson.  You are under her orders until released.  Understand?"
	Murphy grinned broadly when he heard the orders.  "Yes, sir!"  He saluted the general smartly and then wheeled to face Kelly.  He saluted her even more smartly and said, "Lieutenant Kevin Murphy, reporting as ordered, sir!"
	It was all Kelly could do to keep a straight face.  She smartly returned his salute and said, "Carry on, Lieutenant.  I'll give you your assignment in a short time.  Now let's get back to the Solovs."
	As they walked slowly back to where Katrina and her father were waiting, she whispered to Kevin that the assignment was very important and could help to quickly end the war.  He looked at her with amazement showing in his face.  He asked what he had to do and was told just to be himself.  They rejoined the Russians.
	Kelly looked at her watch and said, "It's almost time for dinner.  Katrina, do you need to change?  Or you, Uncle Mischa?"  They both shook their heads, and Kelly took them over to the Officers' Club.
	She thought that peace had really returned to this part of Germany.  Not only was the O-Club running flat-out with a packed house, but there was even a dance band hired to play for the evening.  Although protocol dictates there is no saluting in the club, Solov noticed how all the officers they encountered stood at attention as she entered and walked by.  Carlson had made reservations for them.  Kelly walked into the cocktail lounge where they were seated at a quiet table.
	Katrina looked around at the Allied officers enjoying themselves in the bar.  She was astonished at the informality.  Turning to Kevin she asked, "You are one of the ruling class in the United States, Kevin?"
	Kevin looked at her, startled.  "Ruling class?  Katrina, first, there is no such thing.  Second, my father owns a hardware store and my mother is a school teacher.  Does that sound like 'ruling class' to you?"
	"But you're an officer!  You must be ruling class."
	"There is no ruling class in the States, Katrina," Kevin said.  "Honest!"  Marshal Solov was watching the exchange with amusement.
	Katrina was looking puzzled.  "But there must be!" she insisted.  "There always is!"
	Solov spoke up.  "Katrina, they're right... as usual."
	Turning to Kelly, he said, "May I change the subject?  That review... and the presentations... were very impressive.  I happen to know the awards you received are the highest awards for gallantry those nations can award.  In your words, Kelly, they don't give them with every package of tea.  Then the troops:  Of course, I recognized your 82nd Airborne.  I saw armored cavalry.  Kelly... and Katrina... I was seeing top-flight assault troops.  I promised nothing I saw or heard today would ever be used against you or your country.  I reaffirm my promise and want you, Katrina, to give your word, too."  Katrina looked startled but did so.
	Solov looked pensive and spoke as if he were thinking out loud, "The Victoria Cross, the Croix de Guerre, and the Medal of Honor.  Three of the highest military awards in the world.  From three governments... but awarded at a single ceremony.  I can only conclude that your action, Kelly, was so dramatic it was considered to be of incalculable value to all three governments.
	"Then the assault troops:  Now why would they show affection... No! love... for a very young colonel?  The obvious answer is you did something that was of great value and earned their intense respect.  "The obvious answer?  The breakthrough!  Kelly, you made it happen.  You probably engineered the whole thing, didn't you?"
	Kelly started to say that things were being blown out of proportion when Kevin interjected, "Marshal, I understand that this whole conversation is confidential, am I correct?"  Solov said it was.
	"Marshal, Katrina... you could be here for ten days and never get anything from Kelly.  Sir, I'm sure you guessed some of it and saw even more.  Kelly planned the breakout and then made it happen.  She took out your general commanding the reserve troops just after he gave the order for the line divisions to execute a 'double-gate' maneuver but before he could order the reserve armor into action.  Your front-line units pulled back opening a huge gap.
	"We poured six armored divisions through the hole.  You saw representative units from all of them today.  Our casualties were extremely light.  Nothing, really.  Kelly then picks off anyone at the reserve headquarters who looks like he might get things moving again.  The reserves never moved!  I was the first man to reach Kelly.  We brought in the entire 82nd to back her up.  She was there with her fiancé on the ground, unconscious.  The whole area was littered with bodies.  There were about eighty.  All with what we call the Kelly Jackson trademark... bullets in the brain.  Marshal, she beat you... all by herself!"
	Katrina was looking at Kelly in awe as Kevin told the story.  Kelly was very red-faced when he finished.  She said, "Kevin, all I tried to do was keep my head down, and I didn't even do that very well!"
	Kevin looked at her quizzically and continued, "She didn't do that very well.  No, she got nicked by shrapnel.  Marshal, what she did do — and I heard it on the command communications net — was ask Jim Ames who commands the 82nd to 'do lunch.'
	"Sir, I don't know if you've ever heard that expression.  It's used in business and society circles in the States.  She also asked him how he drank his coffee and... with bullets flying all around... made sure she had a cup prepared just the way he likes it when he arrived.  I saw her do that.  I get there and her first words to me were, in an accent straight from the American South, 'Why Kevin Murphy, I do declare!  I didn't know you were invited to this ball, too.  You simply must save me a dance!'  Sir, that's exactly what she said to me.
	"Then Ames arrived, and Kelly handed him the cup of coffee as she passed out from loss of blood.  She had been nicked in the shoulder by shrapnel, and her shirt sleeve was saturated and dripping with her blood.  She was still smiling, sir, as she lost consciousness.  That's what it was all about, Marshal.  I don't know what you call it in the Red Army, but we call it gallantry of the highest order!"
	Marshal Solov looked around the room quickly.  They were seated in a darkened corner of the lounge and the room was quiet.  Satisfied that no one was watching them, he sat up straight and gave Kelly a meticulous salute.  She was startled.
	He said, "Lieutenant, I knew Kelly was a remarkable girl when I first met her, but I had no idea how truly remarkable she could be.  And I don't believe she did, either."  He smiled at Kelly, and his smile was very warm.  "In fact, I don't think she either understands it or really believes it herself.
	"Lieutenant, I believe I heard you say that her fiancé was unconscious?"  Kevin said that was correct.  "I think she was just protecting him.  You were, Kelly, weren't you?"
	"Yes, sir, I guess I was," she admitted sheepishly.  "Uncle Mischa, I love him desperately!"
	Solov looked at her closely and then looked at his daughter.  "Katrina, I think there is something you should say to Kelly."
	The pretty Russian girl was blushing with chagrin.  She said, in English, "Kelly, I don't know how to apologize to you.  I couldn't even do it in Russian!  I have heard stories my grandfather told about the Great Patriotic War and the acts of heroism that occurred.  But I have never heard a story such as this.  And I said you were the mistress of a general!  Papa said it all.  You have medals for heroism... the highest awards in the world... that you earned by your actions.  Can you forgive me, Kelly?"  When she finished, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
	Kelly smiled and said, "I was just trying to keep my fiancé alive until I can marry him.  In the meantime, let's eat!"
	They went to their table in the dining room and ordered.  The orchestra was playing and Kevin asked Katrina to dance.  The girl was startled but agreed with a warm smile.  They went towards the dance floor, and Kelly watched them move.  As she expected, Katrina moved like a trained dancer.  She decided the girl and Kevin made a very handsome couple.
	As she was watching, Solov started to speak to her softly.  "Kelly, I have been thinking.  I'm on the wrong side in this war.  I told them the venture was stupid... criminal, in fact.  They wouldn't listen!  Now they are going to destroy the Rodina... Mother Russia.  I don't know how it's been going over the last few days.  I do know since the breakthrough, we've been getting crushed.  Kelly, I think I see your hand in this, too.  Time after time, the Allies launch an attack, and our troops in position fail to go into action.  You're taking out our senior officers simultaneous with the attack...
	"Of course!  It has to be you!  You understand our structure: everything is top down.  And you read Russian.  I heard you refer to Grandfather's book.  It doesn't exist, except in Russian!  You've studied it, haven't you?"  Kelly just nodded.
	He continued, "No wonder there was the review!  Kelly, you did it all, didn't you?  You planned it and you played the critical rôle in its execution.  They're thanking you for such a great victory with such an incredibly small number of casualties.  Kelly, I am very serious.  And I am now decided.  Can Katrina and I stay here?  I think I can help the United States and its Allies and, more important to me, help Russia.  May I?"
	Instead of answering directly, Kelly asked, "What about Katrina?  I know how much she means to you.  She's your life.  Will she come over, too?"
	Solov smiled and said, "Kelly, I heard the young lieutenant say that you asked him to save you a dance when you were on the battlefield.  Could you ask him for that dance when he brings Katrina back?"
	She quickly agreed, and they continued to talk.  Kelly told him that spearheads were driving east through East Germany and down into Czechoslovakia.  He said that if American troops reached Poland and Hungary, Russia was in a desperate situation.  Kelly said she thought it was only a matter of days.  She didn't know how many Warsaw Pact units had been overrun.  There were too many even to keep an accurate count.
	Katrina and Kevin returned to the table.  Kelly said, "Kevin, as long as you're on your feet, may I have that dance now?"
	Kevin looked pleasantly surprised.  "I would be delighted.  Kelly, may I have the pleasure of this dance?"  They went to the dance floor, and Kevin took her in his arms.  As they danced, he said softly, "Kelly, you're a better dancer than Katrina, and I didn't think that was possible!  She's the best dancer I've ever danced with in my life.  Do you know if she was professionally trained?"
	Kelly looked up into his face and said, "She probably was.  She's a beautiful girl, too.  Do you like her?"
	Kevin held her away and looked down at her face.  "Kelly, are you kidding?  She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, except for you!"
	They continued to dance and talk quietly.  It was obvious that Kevin was smitten by Katrina, and it had been obvious to Kelly that Katrina was strongly attracted to him.  When the music stopped, they returned to the table.  Marshal Solov rose when they returned.  Kevin seated her and took his seat.
	Solov looked at Kelly and said, "May I assume that everything said tonight is in strictest confidence?"  Kelly said it was.  Solov continued with a nod of his head.  "My daughter, Katrina, and I wish to ask for asylum in the United States.  We can no longer continue this senseless war of aggression that our side began.  I hope to be able to work to bring it to a quick conclusion on terms that do not destroy Mother Russia.  I do not believe such destruction is in anyone's interest, do you, Kelly?"
	"No, Marshal, I do not.  If there was freedom in the Soviet Union, and if the Soviets allowed their satellites to hold free and open elections, perhaps we could finally live in peace."
	She smiled at him warmly.  "Marshal, I learned that Medal of Honor winners have a unique privilege: Their sons and daughters rate automatic Presidential appointments to our armed service academies.  Uncle Mischa, I don't want them to have to fight.  If God is willing, and I didn't get too badly hurt by your friends, I want a lot of children.  I told Mike... my fiancé... that my breasts would swell, my belly would swell, my ankles would swell and I would be a mess.  But I'll be the happiest mess on the face of the earth with Mike's baby growing inside me.  I can't wait!  I want this stinking war to end with the fewest possible additional casualties on both sides.
	"Marshal Solov, I have been authorized by the Supreme Commander to offer you asylum in the United States.  Whatever you want, you will have."
	Katrina and Kevin were watching Kelly carefully.  Suddenly, Solov started to laugh.  It came from deep in his body.  It was almost a rumble of laughter.  He laughed harder and harder and tears started to flow.  He held on to the table to keep from rolling off his chair.  Finally, he regained control.
	He ignored Kelly and looked at Kevin instead.  "Lieutenant Murphy, Colonel Jackson has struck again!  She sensed I was thinking about coming over.  She had it all set up in advance.  I'm certain she was telling the absolute truth.  She has been authorized to make the commitment in the name of the Supreme Commander.  Kevin, have you ever heard of such a thing?"
	Katrina spoke up.  "I have, Father.  I believe Alexander the Great was only in his teens when he conquered the then-known world.  I don't think it's happened since, though."  She smiled at Kelly and took her hand.  "Thank you, Kelly, with all my heart!" 
	Kelly smiled at the girl and her father.  "Katrina, I don't know about you, but I'm starving to death.  I just told you how I expect to swell up pretty soon, but in the meantime, Mike is starting to frown.  He thinks I'm getting a little small on top.  As a personal favor to me, could we order and eat?"
	Katrina smiled.  Kelly thought it was one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever seen.  She said, "Kelly, I already apologized.  Can I presume to ask to attend your wedding?"
	"Katrina," Kelly replied with a warm smile, "would you consent to be one of my bridesmaids?  To be in my wedding?  It will be in a church, though."
	Katrina looked at Kelly and her mouth formed an excited "O." "Father," she said, "may I tell her?  Would it be all right?"
	Her father smiled and said, "Katrina, of course you can tell her!  Kelly already knows enough to hang us both ten times over."
	The girl looked at Kelly and said, "We... I am a Russian Catholic.  Of course, I've never been in a church... a real one, that is.  You will be married in a church, Kelly?"
	"Katrina, the plans aren't yet made, but I do know my parents.  They want us to have a big wedding.  It will be in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.  It's a very big and very beautiful church.  Will you be in my wedding party?"
	"Oh, Kelly, thank you!  I would be so pleased.  I have never seen such a thing, but I have heard about it.  You walk all the way down the aisle, carrying flowers.  And then the bride comes in!"  The girl's eyes started to tear.  She looked at Kelly carefully and said, "Kelly, you will be the most beautiful golden bride!  Will your dress be white?  With a long, flowing train?"  Kelly nodded.
	Katrina took her in her arms and kissed her.  She said, "Kelly, nothing would give me greater pleasure.  Except being the bride myself someday, perhaps."
	Kelly excused herself and went to the club office.  She identified herself to the manager who had jumped to his feet as she entered.  He already knew who she was.  She asked if there was a telephone she could use, privately.  He offered his private line, left the office and closed the door.
	She called Ned Carlson's office.  Ned answered personally.  She said, "Ned, this is not a secure line.  They are coming over, and he will work with us.  It's done.  We are about to eat dinner now.  Could you let the others know?"
	There was silence on the phone for a couple of seconds.  Then Ned said, "Damn it, Kelly!  Will you kindly knock off this shit!?  We're running out of medals, for God's sake."  Then his voice changed from feigned anger to great warmth.  "Kelly, thank you.  That's all.  Just thank you.  I'll be over later.  Please wait there for me."
	Carlson hung up the phone and looked at it for a few moments.  Then he picked up his secure phone and called Sam Adams.  Sam picked up instantly.  "Sam, it's Ned.  Kelly has done it again.  Field Marshal Mikhail Solov is requesting asylum in the United States.  He will actively help us in the prosecution of the war.  Sam, what do we do with her?"
	"Ned, I have to level with you.  You said I was looking younger.  It's Kelly.  I'm getting married soon to Cathy King, my former secretary.  That was Kelly, too.  Ned, I'm calling the President.  My Cathy pointed out that Kelly has been getting a promotion with every paycheck.  If you agree, I'm asking the President to promote her to brigadier general.  You know, us flag officers are a bunch of old farts.  Of course, with Cathy, I don't feel so old anymore.  And as a general, Kelly will certainly brighten things up around flag quarters.  What do you think?"
	"Sam, what can I say?  If you went down the specifications for general officer rank, she has them all.  There's none better.  Of course I agree."  He paused for a moment and then continued, "I'm going over to meet Solov in a while.  Is there anything you want me to say?"
	Adams replied immediately.  "That's easy.  If he asks for it, the answer is yes.  I don't give a damn what it is, either.  Thanks, Ned!  And do something for Kelly, will you?  Buy her an after-dinner drink, maybe?"
	Carlson laughed and said, "That's what I like about you, Sam.  You're all heart!"
	When Carlson arrived at the Officers' Club, he found the table empty.  A waiter, immediately recognizing him, brought an extra chair up to the table.  Ned looked out at the dance floor and saw Kelly dancing with Marshal Solov.  He noted again that Solov was a huge bear of a man who seemed to envelop Kelly in his arms, but she was dancing with him very smoothly, nevertheless.  He also saw Katrina Solov in the arms of the young paratroop lieutenant who Kelly had borrowed from Jim Ames.  The girl had her head on his shoulder and looked like she would like to keep it there permanently.  Just then the music stopped.  He saw the girl lift her head from his shoulder and tilt it.  Ned saw her melt into the boy's arms in a lingering kiss.  He just shook his head again.
	He rose as Kelly and Solov returned to the table and Katrina and Kevin floated back.  He held out his hand to Solov and said, "Field Marshal Solov, welcome!  Colonel Jackson tells me you wish asylum in the United States.  It has been granted by the President of the United States, personally.  General Adams bought champagne to celebrate the occasion."
	He looked at Katrina and Kevin who were still lost in each other's eyes.  "Miss Solov," he said.  She jerked up with a start.  He continued, "Watching you and Lieutenant Murphy on the dance floor suggests there may be something else to celebrate before too long."
	Katrina blushed red as a beet and held on to Kevin's hand for dear life.
	Kelly said, "I think it's awfully cute, myself.  Did I hear something about Adams actually buying something?"  Just then the manager came over and whispered in General Carlson's ear.
	Ned frowned and shrugged.  "Sam beats us again.  Kelly, today you were awarded the Croix de Guerre.  It is the highest award for bravery the Republic of France can award to anyone.  As a token of their esteem, they have sent over a case of champagne for you.  They claim it is the finest in all of France.  At any rate, it's yours.  May we serve some tonight?"
	Kelly looked at him and smiled, "Of course.  It's truly a night to celebrate."
	As she said it, Ned saw the glow go out of her eyes.  He had made another call and thought it would soon be back.  He looked over Kelly's head and saw an officer coming toward them with his left arm in a sling.  He came up behind Kelly and kissed her ear.
	She whirled in the chair, and looked up at Mike standing bent down beside her.  Carefully, she kissed him.  She said softly, "Why aren't you in the hospital where you belong?"
	Mike just grinned at her and said, "Good evening, everyone.  I'm Michael Callahan.  I usually spend my time in hospitals while my bride-to-be wins wars."
	Marshal Solov jumped to his feet and held out his big hand.  Mike gripped it in his.  Solov beamed at him and said, "I am Field Marshal Mikhail Solov.  I hope you are worthy of this girl.  I shall watch you very carefully.  I love her almost as much as my own daughter, Katrina, here."
	Mike carefully shook hands with Katrina and then with Kevin.  A chair was brought up for him, too.  He sat down and looked at the others.  "Am I in time?"
	Kelly smiled wryly.  "Callahan, they're about to serve my champagne!  It's a gift of the government of France.  I picked up some more hardware today."
	"Yeah, I heard," Mike said with a deprecating smile.  "Just some loose change... the Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre... your usual."  He looked over at Solov, "Marshal, are there any people in the Red Army who have three rows of ribbons without getting through the ones for gallantry?"
	Solov frowned at Mike and said, "Of course not!  No one in Russia is so stupid as to stick his neck out repeatedly like that.  Why?  Is there any such person alive?"  Then he grinned at Kelly and added, "Aside from Kelly Jackson, of course."
	He looked across at her.  With the arrival of Mike Callahan, she had blossomed out like a flower opening in the sun.  He had never seen her look so beautiful.  Meanwhile, the wine steward had opened and poured the champagne which had no identification on the bottle.  Solov was asked to taste it.  He had never tasted anything nearly so good in his life.
	The glasses were filled, and then Solov rose from the table.  "I would like to offer a toast.  Mike, earlier this evening, Kelly told us all she wants lots of babies.  As she spoke of you and your children, she glowed.  It was nothing compared to the way she looks now with you here.  I would like to offer a toast to you, Michael Callahan.  You are the luckiest man alive.  You have the love of a truly beautiful and unique individual, Kelly Jackson.  May you be as happy as you are tonight for the rest of long and fruitful lives!"
	Kelly smiled her thanks and Mike took her in his arm and kissed her softly.  Kelly put her arms around him and kissed him back passionately, ignoring the others at the table.  When they broke, her breathing was unsteady, and her eyes were glowing.
	Mike whispered, "Darling, I have bad news.  The only way I could get over was to promise the doctors I would turn myself in to the hospital here tonight.  I hope you don't mind too much?"
	"I have one thing to say to you, Michael Callahan!" she said feigning anger.  "Wait until I get you to the altar.  Just you wait!"  Then she grinned, "Mike, I really can't wait.  I love you so damned much.  I only hope you love me a little bit as much as I love you."
	They drank the superb champagne and toasted the evening.  Finally, they left with Mike turning himself in to the hospital, while Ned took Solov back to his quarters as his guest.  Katrina was to spend the night at Kelly's quarters which the general had arranged.
Chapter 14
	Kelly's quarters were in an apartment building.  She was mildly surprised to see military guards on the building and very surprised to see two MPs at the door to the apartment assigned to her.  They saluted and greeted her by name as she opened the door and went in followed by Katrina.  The girls looked around and Kelly smiled.  She muttered under her breath, "Those bums!"
	Katrina heard her.  "What did you say, Kelly?"
	Kelly turned to her and smiled.  "I just said, 'Those bums!'.  Supposedly, my trip over to Germany this morning was a spur-of-the-moment thing.  It's pretty obvious that I was set up.  You don't organize a 60,000-man parade in two hours!  Then she smiled and added, "Katrina, I ask you.  If you can't trust your secretary, who can you trust?  It's obvious from my clothes and stuff that my secretary was in on the deal.  Wait till I get her alone!"
	Katrina had been looking at Kelly with increasing puzzlement.  "But Kelly, I don't understand.  I'm sure my father was right: They wanted to show their gratitude and affection for you, and their respect for what you have done.  Why are you angry?"
	Kelly smiled at the girl and said, "I'm not angry, really."
	Then her face fell as she added, "Katrina, we have a problem.  I guess all you have is the dress you're wearing and your POW uniform back at headquarters.  I don't mind sleeping this way, and I hope you don't.  The bedroom has two beds, so we should be all right."
	They went into the bedroom which was very comfortable.  Entering the bathroom, she grinned wryly.  All of her toiletries were laid out in the same pattern she used in her quarters in England.  She went back to the bedroom and undressed, carefully hanging up her uniform.  She looked at Katrina and said, "I always sleep in the nude.  I hope it doesn't bother you."
	Katrina had been standing in the room not knowing quite what to do.  She watched as Kelly, now fully undressed, went back into the bathroom.  When she came out she saw Katrina was now naked as well.  The Russian girl was standing up straight, but was obviously embarrassed.
	Kelly smiled at the girl and said, "Katrina, your body is glorious!  It's almost a crime to cover it."  Katrina was also a blonde, but where Kelly's hair was golden, Katrina's was silver blonde — nearly white.  Her small patch of pubic hair was only slightly darker.  Katrina went into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later.
	Kelly was in bed, and Katrina climbed into hers.  She looked at Kelly and asked, "Kelly, do you think Kevin Murphy likes me?  A little bit, perhaps?"
	Kelly smiled.  "Not 'a little bit', Katrina.  A great deal.  Why?  Do you like him?"
	The girl smiled.  It was one of her rare, but very warm smiles.  "Kelly, he's madly in love with you.  But maybe I could be a second choice.  He kissed me, you know."
	"Yes.  I saw it.  I also saw you kiss him back.  Did you like it?"
	"Oh, yes!  It was heavenly.  I never enjoyed dancing so much.  It feels so good to be held in his arms!  But when he kissed me...  Kelly, I thought I would fall.  Suddenly, my legs didn't want to hold me up any longer.  I felt weak.  What was wrong?"
	"Nothing's wrong.  I always feel that way when Mike kisses me.  Of course, my cunt starts to run in rivers, too."
	"Cunt?  What is a cunt?"
	Kelly threw back the covers and ran a finger up her slit.  "A cunt," she said.
	Katrina's mouth formed an "O," and then she smiled.  "That was not in my Russian-English dictionary," she said with a shy little smile.  "Could you tell me some more... vocabulary."
	Kelly decided to tease the serious girl.  "Why do you want to know those words?  If a word is not in the official Russian-English dictionary, why would you ever need it?"
	Katrina had been watching Kelly and was abashed at first but then saw the glint in Kelly's eyes.  "Kelly, you are tease... teasing?... me!  Should I not know?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "The word is teasing, and yes, I was teasing you.  I'm sorry.  It isn't very nice."
	"Yes, it is," Katrina said, surprising Kelly.  "It's fun.  My father is right.  You are a very nice person.  And you are fun."
	The girl jumped out of her bed and went to Kelly's.  "Now, you must tell me!  What are these?  In the book they are... breasts?...  I think."  She cradled her breasts in her hands.  They were beautifully formed with small pink nipples.
	Kelly said, "You're right.  They are your breasts.  They are also called 'boobs' and 'tits.'"  She grinned and said, "A few years ago there were television shows in the United States that were called T&As.  It stands for 'tits and ass.' They featured very pretty young women and at least once in every show there was a scene with a girl running while her boobs bounced around.  Your tits look very firm.  I don't think they would bounce very much."
	Kelly was surprised at Katrina's reaction.  She looked dejected.  She looked down at her breasts and then tried to bounce them, but they were very firm.  "Kelly, is there anything I can do to make them bigger?  So they'll bounce?"
	The girl got off the bed and with her back to Kelly, twisted around to try to look at her ass.  "It's the same thing here, Kelly.  There's no padding.  Maybe I just don't eat enough.  I'm... I don't have big boobs, my ass is too small, I'm too thin.  What can I do?"
	Kelly realized the girl was serious and was almost in tears.  She had recalled seeing a couple of magazines in the living room she knew had been put there to tease her.  She got out of bed and padded out to the living room, returning with copies of Playboy and Penthouse.  She sat on her bed cross-legged and motioned for Katrina to sit beside her.  She opened the first magazine.  The girl's eyes widened at the pictures as Kelly flipped the pages.  "It's decadent!  It's awful!  Why would girls do things like this?"
	"Mostly for money," Kelly replied calmly.  "But that's not the point.  The point is, look at these girls.  American men consider them to be beautiful.  What do you see?"
	Katrina overcame her initial shock and started to look at the photographs carefully.  Kelly was amused as Katrina stood up and tried to arrange herself in the poses of the models in the photographs.  Kelly got out of bed and opened a closet door.  As she suspected, there was a full-length mirror inside it.  Katrina smiled and took her posing to the mirror.  Finally, she came back to the bed.  "I don't look quite like the models, but I don't look so different, either."  The girl looked very serious.
	Kelly said, "It's because you look better.  Katrina, you're beautiful.  Most men like tight buns."  She tapped her ass to show what she meant.  She was amused as she saw the girl touch her rear and form the word "buns" silently.  Then she visibly brightened as she made the word connection.  Kelly continued, "You aren't going to have any trouble.  What did Kevin say?"
	"He said I was beautiful, but I thought that was just because he wanted... wanted to make love?  Is that the phrase, 'make love'?  I don't know whether to believe him or not.  Kelly, do you think I should?"
	Kelly smothered a smile as she said, "I'm certain of one thing:  Kevin would love to go to bed with you.  'Make love' is a wonderful phrase, because that's what Mike and I do... constantly.  He loves me and claims to love my body.  You know what?  I believe him now.  I really do.  There's another word you should know, though.  It's Anglo-Saxon: fuck, fucking, and so forth.  It means the same thing.  Do you want to make love with Kevin?"
	The girl turned beet red.  Being completely nude, Kelly thought it was amusing to watch as the color flowed from her loins, to her breasts, up her neck to her face.  She replied softly, "I think so."
	Katrina then sat down on Kelly's bed with a bounce and looked at her.  "Kelly, I just realized how strange this is.  I am talking to you like an older sister, but I'm older than you are.  It is strange."
	Kelly smiled in return.  "That's not the strangest thing, Katrina.  The strangest thing is I've been fucked by dozens... maybe hundreds... of Russians, and been made love to by only one man, an American: Mike.  You're still a virgin, aren't you?"  The English word obviously puzzled the girl, so Kelly explained, "You've never slept with a man?  Never been fucked?"
	"No, I haven't.  I think I told you why, though.  I never met a man I would like to make love to... until today.  Could I make Kevin happy, Kelly?"
	"I think you would make him deliriously happy.  However, if you don't get your tight little ass in that bed and turn out the light, you will make me very unhappy.  There are some people who claim I get violent when I'm unhappy!  Now scoot!"
	Kelly was amused to see the girl stick out her tongue with a grin but at the same time jump into her bed.  The girls were asleep within minutes.
	The next morning Katrina was shaken awake by Kelly.  She had been awakened from a wonderful dream in which Kevin was caressing her body.  Kelly noticed the loving smile on her face and said, "How was it?"
	"How was what?" the girl replied, looking puzzled.
	"Your dream with Kevin."
	Katrina looked startled.  Then she just shook her head resignedly and answered with a warm smile, "It was wonderful!"  Then she suddenly took a swing at Kelly who reflexively blocked the fist as she added, "He might have fucked me if you hadn't awakened me just then.  You're mean!"
	Kelly laughed delightedly and said, "We're meeting Kevin in five minutes.  We're going to run before breakfast.  Now get your delicate ass out of that bed.  I found shorts and a top for you."
	Kelly was wearing a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off.  She had another pair of shorts for Katrina to wear.  The girl ran to the bathroom and came out moments later with her hair tied back in a ponytail like Kelly's.  She slipped on the shorts and a sweatshirt and found that the shoes fit.  They left the apartment and were surprised to find two MPs... there were now four at the door... fall in behind them.  The senior had saluted smartly as soon as the door opened.  He said they had been detailed to guard Kelly as long as she was in Germany.
	They reached the running track and found Kevin waiting.  Katrina smiled at him shyly, and Kelly noticed that he reddened as he smiled back.  It was the first time Kelly had ever seen him out of uniform and she liked what she saw.  She was amused to see out of the corner of her eye that Katrina obviously liked him a great deal.
	Kelly went out on the track and began by jogging to loosen up.  When she felt warmed up, she sprinted 100 meters, then switched to a ground-eating stride learned at Quantico that she was able to maintain for long distances.  She finished 5,000 meters and slowed to a walk.  She had lapped the other two by this time.  She walked around the 400-meter track once more and then sat down to wait.
	The young couple came up panting.  Kelly looked up, shielding her eyes from the rising sun.  "You two are grossly out of shape.  On the other hand, it could just be old age starting to catch up with you."
	Katrina made a face at Kelly and then looked at Kevin.  "It's easy to see that when you attacked Kelly you had been provoked.  Why don't you hit her now while she's down?"
	Kevin grinned at her and replied, "Because she's sneaky.  Not only is she fast, she's very quick.  Besides, she only said that to make me look bad in front of you."
	Katrina looked at Kelly, stuck out her tongue, and then went to Kevin.  She put her arms around his neck pulling his head down to hers.  Standing on tiptoe, she gave him a warm and increasingly passionate kiss.  When she broke it off, she kept her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.
	He had his arms around her back and was holding her tight.  Finally, he said, "Katrina, that was wonderful.  Why did you do it?"
	"Because I wanted to.  And I wanted to make Kelly jealous because Mike's not here but you are.  And I had to hold on after I kissed you to keep from falling down."
	"Falling down!" Kevin exclaimed.  "Why would you fall down?"
	"Because when I kiss you I hear bells and my knees turn to water.  Do you mind me holding onto you?"
	Kelly covered her mouth with her hand to hide a smile.  Kevin looked like he had been hit by a truck.  "Do you really feel that way?" he asked, incredulous.  "I feel like I'm ten feet tall!  You can't imagine how wonderful it feels to hold you in my arms."
	Kelly interjected, "Before you two lovebirds make me sick, could we go back to the apartment and eat?  Murphy, I'm known for taking in sick dogs and stray cats, so I guess you can come, too."
	He grinned at her and held Katrina's hand as they walked back.  Kevin picked up a bag containing his uniform, and, trailed by the MPs, they returned to the apartment.  Katrina went in to shower first while Kelly began preparing breakfast.
	Kevin watched, leaning against a kitchen counter.  "What's going on?  Does Katrina know what she was saying?  She can't be serious."
	"She was very serious.  Kevin, I've decided she's a wonderful young lady.  She's extraordinarily innocent.  She was telling you exactly what she felt."  She looked him in the eye and liked what she saw.  "And you know what?  I don't think you'll violate her trust.  That's what it is, you know.  She thinks you're a gentleman and will behave like one.  I do too."
	"But Kelly, she's saying she loves me!  She can't!"
	"Why not?  I thought you were single.  There's no impediment you've been hiding, is there?  I always got the strong impression you liked girls."
	"But Kelly, that's not fair!  She's... She's had everything.  She's been raised as a princess!"
	"You're right.  She was.  Nonetheless, I'm certain she's madly in love with you.  I could question her judgment, but she could do a lot worse.  In fact, she could do a hell of a lot worse.  What do you think of her?"
	"I told you.  When she kisses me, I hear those bells, too.  I feel ten feet tall.  And I just want to keep my arms around her to protect her."  He gave Kelly a half grin and added, "It really sounds trite, corny... dumb!  Doesn't it?"
	"Kevin, I think it sounds wonderful!  Remember, though, you just met her.  All I ask is that you respect her feelings.  Will you?"  He agreed instantly.
	Katrina came out and Kelly scampered in, showered and dressed.  When she returned, she found Katrina trying to cook the bacon.  She obviously wasn't used to cooking but was trying hard.  Kevin went in to shower and change while Kelly gave the girl pointers on cooking.  When he returned, Katrina proudly served the breakfast she had helped prepare.  Kelly was amused because she was certain Kevin would have enjoyed it as much if she had served him ground glass.
	They were driven to Carlson's headquarters and were told he was waiting to see them.  Entering his office, Ned rose to greet them.  "Kelly, are you in shape for a little traveling?  The White House is sending a plane to pick up you, Mike, and the Solovs and take you back to Washington.  Cathy King has sent your luggage over.  It's already here."
	He turned to Kevin and said, "And as for you lieutenant, you're detached from the 82nd and assigned to Colonel Jackson."  Although he was looking at Kevin, he was speaking to Kelly as he said, "You are receiving orders as her aide.  She will be receiving her first star from the President."
	Kelly's jaw dropped.  She exclaimed, "That's impossible!  That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!  Whose all-galaxy dumb idea is this, anyway?"
	Ned looked at her and feigned sorrow.  "It's mine, Kelly.  I'm sorry you don't like it."  Then he brightened and said, "On the other hand, Sam Adams thought it was a fine idea.  He said something about getting even.  The President loved it and so did Congress.  You were promoted yesterday by a special action of Congress.  Congratulations, General!  Let me be the first."
	Carlson turned to Katrina and said, "Now you see what I mean when I said Kelly doesn't appreciate what she has done.  She really doesn't.  I'll bet if we were to ask every GI in Europe who should be promoted to general, it would be Kelly, thousands to one.  She has to be the only person on the continent who doesn't think she deserves it.  Miss Solov, what do you think your father would think?"
	"I know what he thinks, General.  He believes she performs miracles.  He believes she has an intuitive understanding of Soviet strategy and tactics.  She can put herself into a Russian mind and determine what actions the Russian will take."  She smiled warmly at the general and added, "I learned last night that Kelly averages about one promotion a month.  Is that correct?"
	Carlson returned the smile and replied, "I guess that's about right.  We're slow to make promotions in the U.S. Army, sometimes."
	They went out to the airport and found one of the White House fleet of Boeing 707's waiting for them.  As soon as they were aboard, Kelly made sure she was sitting to Mike's right so she could sleep on his shoulder flying to Washington.  She did.
Chapter 15
	Again Kelly was standing before the President, and Mike and her parents were with her.  In addition, there was Kevin Murphy and the Solovs.  Marshal Solov had been greeted warmly by the President.  He smiled and said, "Kelly, what am I going to do with you?  Do you realize DOD will need a supplemental appropriation for medals if you keep this up?" he said with a frown.  Then he brightened.  "On the other hand, I pointed out to the Congress that medals are a lot cheaper than death benefits, and Heaven knows, you've saved thousands of lives.
	"It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Congress of the United States to award you the Medal of Honor... for the second time.  Young lady, you are joining extremely rare company.  Few live to receive a Medal of Honor.  Only a tiny handful ever get a second.  There have been fewer than five in history.  I know that your gallantry in combat has served as an inspiration not seen since Joan of Arc.  Thank you!  Finally, it also gives me great pleasure to promote you to brigadier general.  Congratulations, General Jackson!  May you serve as brilliantly as another General Jackson served the South!"
	He took Kelly in his big arms and kissed her.  While he was still holding her he said softly, "Don't forget!  I'm counting on being invited to your wedding.  And I see you're still extracting metal from this guy."
	He turned to Mike and shook his hand.  "Mike, you're slipping behind.  I'm only authorized to promote you to colonel.  Congratulations!  I also have a DSC for valor to go with the one you were awarded earlier.  What a family!"  The President presented Kelly with a new cap with the braid appropriate to a general officer and then replaced the silver eagles of a colonel with the silver stars of a brigadier general.
	The group went off to a hotel in Washington where Bob Jackson presided over a private celebration.  Champagne was poured and Bob Jackson rose at the table.  He pretended to be annoyed.  "Kelly, your mother and I think it's very nice for you to get another medal.  Of course, she's worried about what all that weight on your chest will do to your posture:  She's afraid it will cause you to slump.  But that's all very well and good, but that's not the problem.  We want to know what you're doing to get your high school diploma?  As a matter of fact, you're not even a senior yet, are you?"
	Katrina Solov turned to her father, "He's teasing her, isn't he?  That can't be true."
	Solov replied, "My dear, he is teasing his daughter, of course.  But it is true.  I think he's correct.  I don't think officially she has completed her third year in high school."  He was smiling broadly as he spoke.
	Kelly stood up and said, "Dad, I'm really trying.  But how can I study when I'm always being interrupted.  I need better study conditions.  I'm usually in places that are much too noisy.  But I'll try to do better, Mom and Dad.  Honest!"  Kelly grinned at her parents and sat down.
	After the lunch, Kelly kissed her parents goodbye and went over to the Pentagon with Mike and the Solovs.  Kevin Murphy was now wearing an aiguillette on his shoulder showing he was a general's aide.  It was Kelly's first visit to the Pentagon, and she was awed by its enormous size.  Moreover, generals and admirals at the Pentagon are a dime a dozen.  The guards at the entrance were normally unimpressed by anything less than three stars.  They had an appointment with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Charles Bradley.
	When the guards saw the young blonde girl walk up, they didn't notice her stars.  They assumed she was a very young lieutenant, and studiously ignored her.  Normally, Kelly was embarrassed by her rank.  However, she was with a field marshal in the Soviet army.  She went to the desk where there were a captain and four enlisted men.  She stood in front of the desk for a moment and then said, "AttenTION!"
	Taken by surprise the men jumped to their feet.  Only then did they realize that the young woman was wearing stars on her shoulder.  The captain looked at her chest and recognized the ribbon of the Medal of Honor.  Light glinted off the gold oak leaf cluster affixed to it in lieu of the second award.  He snapped to attention and looked into the coldest blue eyes he had ever seen.  "Captain, do you always ignore general officers?  I would like to know the name of your superior officer."
	The captain saw her black name plate which read, JACKSON, and stammered a reply.  Suddenly, he remembered a top-priority order to welcome General Jackson with full honors: She and her guests had an immediate appointment with Admiral Bradley.  He turned beet red and saluted.  Instantly he gave orders for two of his guards to escort the party to Admiral Bradley's office.
	Kevin hung back and with a wry grin on his face spoke to the captain, "That wasn't the smartest stunt I've ever seen, Captain."
	As the party was escorted away, the captain said, "Who is she?  Is she real?  She can't be a general!?"
	"The Congress and the President disagree.  The President personally pinned the stars on her this morning.  I think you saw the Medal of Honor with an oak leaf cluster.  Don't mess with that woman, Captain, or the whole damned U.S. Third Army will be on your back, starting with Generals Adams and Carlson.  Am I clear?"  Murphy glared at the captain and ran to catch up with the group.
	Kelly was greeted warmly by Admiral Bradley.  He rose as she entered his office and came around the desk to greet her.  "I've heard so much about you, Kelly, I'm delighted to meet you at last.  Sam Adams tells me to call you Kelly.  I hope you don't mind.  As a matter of fact, I have a daughter who's older than you are."
	Kelly smiled warmly and said, "Thank you, Admiral."
	He looked her over carefully and said, "Wow!  Kelly, you more than live up to your billing.  Sam told me you are the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, and I believe him.  Moreover, I have it on the highest authority that you have a brain that works better than any computer.  I'm looking forward to working with you.  Now, would you care to make the rest of the introductions?"
	Kelly introduced the Solovs along with Mike and Kevin.  Kevin moved to the corner of the room, and the Admiral smiled at him, "Lieutenant Murphy, I've heard about you, too.  Aren't you a little large to try to hide in the corner?  Jim Ames tells me you are one of his finest combat officers.  What do you think of a tour as a general's aide?"
	Kevin stood at attention when he was addressed, but the Admiral told him to relax.  He said, "Sir, ordinarily I would hate it.  But with Kelly – General Jackson – it's different.  I think I can honestly say I'm the envy of every junior officer in Europe.  I can't tell you how the troops feel about Kelly, sir.  They hold her in awe and reverence!  I've never seen or heard of anything like it.  Of course it's a hell of a responsibility.  If anything happened to her, my life wouldn't be worth a nickel!"
	Mike and Katrina were excused, and Kelly sent Kevin along with them.  Solov and Kelly followed the Admiral into a large conference room.  She was surprised to see that it was filled with senior officers from all three services.  As usual, she was the most junior officer present.  Admiral Bradley went to the head of the table and motioned for Kelly and the Marshal, dressed in a well-tailored gray tropical-weight suit, to follow him.  Kelly took a seat at the head of the table to the Admiral's right.  Solov sat across from her.
	"Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce Brigadier General Kelly Jackson.  I know you have all heard of her.  Kelly, would you please stand?"  Kelly stood at her place, smiled, and then sat down again.  The Admiral continued, "Kelly received her second Medal of Honor from the President this morning.  For those fans of such things, you will see she wears, following the Purple Heart, the Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre.  She is the only person I've ever heard of with three full rows of decorations without getting past the Purple Heart.
	"There's more: As you know, the Medal of Honor is usually awarded when someone goes berserk in combat.  The action takes only a matter of seconds or a few minutes at most.  With Kelly, both situations lasted for hours.  Then there is her planning skill.  We still don't know how to reward her adequately, but she conceived the entire breakout... as a major.  We are pursuing – and destroying – Warsaw Pact forces as fast as our armor can move.  She engineered that, too.
	"For those of you who are looking at her strangely, she hasn't had plastic surgery.  She looks very young because she is.  She's nineteen years old.  However, any of you who think you can roll over her because of her youth will be looking at very short military careers.  Any such action will be considered by myself and the President as tantamount to a request for immediate retirement.  I trust I am making myself clear.
	"Finally, it could be hazardous to your health.  I'm told she is the Army's leading expert in small arms, unarmed combat, and high explosives.  Kelly, welcome!  Gentlemen, let's go."
	They proceeded to review the situation in Europe.  Allied armies were rolling east rapidly.  The problem was no one knew what to do next.  The discussion went on for over an hour and slowly wound down.  There were no new ideas.
	Finally, the Admiral turned to Kelly and said, with a smile, "Okay, Kelly, you've just heard America's assembled military brains.  And there's not an idea among them.  Do you have one?"
	Kelly looked at him and said, "Admiral, do you mind if I stand?  I seem to think better that way."  He said of course not, and she rose and went to the battle map they had been discussing.
	"Gentlemen, it seems the problem is quite simple.  We're rolling east.  However, this lengthens our supply lines, shortens theirs, and moves us deeper into the world's largest land mass.  And we don't like landmass wars.  It seems the question is, how do we stop?  I propose that Marshal Solov take over the Russian government, withdraw Soviet troops to Russia, and end the war."
	She stopped and looked at the men around the table.  She saw officers with their jaws hanging open, with two exceptions.  Bradley was smiling, and Solov was looking thoughtful.
	Bradley said, "I think I can speak for the President and our Allies when I say that would be the ideal outcome.  We have no wish to invade the Soviet Union.  Can it be made to happen?"
	"I think so, sir."  She turned to Solov and said, "Uncle Mischa, what was the status of Warsaw Pact forces at the time you were captured?  That was about a week ago."
	Solov said, "Disintegration would not be too strong a word, Kelly.  Now I know how you did it.  Gentlemen, lest you think I am weak in English, my pronoun is exact.  Kelly did this and is doing it.  She conceived it, executed the most dangerous first strike, and has coached other teams with precision to continue doing it.  She has taken out our command structure.  Our units are being taken when they aren't even in combat formations!
	"It's utterly incredible, but this girl... whom I have come to love dearly... is doing it.  There is no other word for it.  I have studied military history.  There is no parallel with the possible exception of Alexander the Great.  I think it is possible, Kelly.  What is your idea?"
	She said, "Right now, Russia is defenseless.  We have hit so hard and so fast, we haven't pushed their armies back, we've driven right through them.  I don't believe there is anything left.
	"I propose the following:  First, Russian-language broadcasts by every means possible describing the situation and offering this course of action to spare Russia from devastation.  Second, direct contact with the Politburo, telling them to resign in favor of Marshal Solov as the chief of an interim government.  Third, the request in his name, to all Warsaw Pact units to stop fighting.
	"It could work, particularly because the devastation of the World War II is still a scar on the Russian national memory.  We would offer peace with honor.  I don't think the price is too high."
	She sat down in her chair and just looked down at the tabletop in front of her.
	There was not a sound for minutes as the officers just looked at one another.  Finally, Bradley turned to Solov and asked, "Marshal, do you think it could work?"
	Solov looked up and said, "Yes, it could.  I do not say it will, but I say it could.  Admiral, the thing I learned about Kelly when I first met her when she was a prisoner was her very direct line of thinking.  I know of no reason why it could not work.  By the same token, I can see no risk to the Allies nor any particular cost.  I believe it should be tried if you and the Allied governments approve."
	The meeting broke up, and Bradley set up an impromptu receiving line for Kelly.  She was introduced to each senior officer in turn.  She greeted each with a warm smile and a firm handshake.  Bradley excused himself while they were standing around chatting.  He returned a few minutes later with the word that the President had approved the plan for immediate execution.
	Then he turned to Kelly and said, "Kelly, the President asked me to give you a message.  Quote, Damn it, Kelly, I told you just this morning that you're ruining our budget for awards and decorations.  I thought you were going to be good for a change.  When the hell are you and Callahan getting married?  I can't wait a lot longer.  My term in office ends next January.  End quote.
	"Kelly, I told him I was appointing a group here in the Pentagon to come up with an appropriate award for you.  We've got thousands of people here and it will keep at least a few of them out of trouble.  They have their work cut out for them.  I've never heard of someone winning a war singlehanded, but you seem to be doing it.  Keep it up!"Chapter 16
	It was a sunny September day in Langenhagen.  Kelly had been asked to meet Sam Adams there.  She hadn't been back since she had escaped and now found herself feeling a chill at the thought.  Now she was a major general.  Kevin, now a captain, teased her that she had missed a promotion with at least one pay check.  She hadn't been promoted at all in August.  She had left Mike back in England and missed him desperately.  He was now fully recovered from his wounds, and Kelly smiled thinking how much she enjoyed massaging his shoulder while he massaged her breasts and body.  She was always nude when she did it.  As the car passed through the now-open gates into the school grounds, she was surprised to see so many vehicles parked.
	As they drove past the auditorium, Kelly shivered, remembering it as the place where she had publicly lost her virginity.  She was led to the rear of the building, and suddenly realized she was being taken out on stage.  When she appeared on stage, there was an explosion of cheers.  She was greeted by Miss Handy, the headmistress of the school.  As the woman took Kelly in her arms and hugged her, Kelly could feel the woman's tears as well as her own.  Kelly remembered Miss Handy had been naked on the stage and demonstrated what was to come by taking a Russian soldier in front of the whole school.
	She looked at Kelly, holding her at arms length.  "Kelly, you are simply beautiful.  I can't believe what's happened to you!  I understand you are now a general... a real one!  Come here and sit down."  The woman escorted Kelly to the place of honor.
	Kelly still had not had a chance to see who was present, but the small auditorium was filled to overflowing.  Just then a band seated in front of the stage struck up the German National Anthem.  Kelly rose and saluted as the President of Germany came out on the stage.  He stood at attention and waited for the conclusion of the anthem, then took a seat.
	Miss Handy went to the microphone.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the American School.  This is a very special day for all of us.  We come to honor a single person, Kelly Jackson.  It is my great honor to introduce the president of the German Federal Republic, Herr Gustav Schmidt!"  She spoke in perfect German as she introduced the President.
	President Schmidt went to the podium and put on a pair of reading glasses.  He said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to be here today.  Never let it be said that we Germans are not grateful.  General Jackson, would you please come forward?"  Kelly rose from her chair and stood before him.
	"I can't keep calling you General Jackson," he said with a smile.  "Let me start over.  Kelly, we are here to honor you today!"  When he said "Kelly" the room exploded with cheers again.
	"Kelly, many of us know you have won this war for us.  You are winning the peace as well.  As the smallest token of the appreciation of the German people... now on their way to reunification at last, thanks to you... I award you the Golden Order of the Knight's Cross, the highest military award for heroism Germany has ever had.  It has been re-authorized by the Bundestag especially for you."  He hung the golden cross around her neck and continued.  "This cross joins the Victoria Cross from England, France's Croix de Guerre, and two Medals of Honor from your own United States.  Such bravery and heroism the world has never seen.
	"In addition, there will be a new bridge across the River Weser to replace the one you destroyed.  It will be the Kelly Jackson Bridge.  It will carry a plaque describing what you did and the fact that your actions led, ultimately, to the reunification of my people.  There is no way to measure the value my people place on this achievement.  Suffice it to say it is the dream of our lifetime come true.  Thank you, Kelly Jackson, from a most grateful German people!"
	He then took her in his arms.  The President was a burly man who was actually a bit shorter than she was.  He hugged her and kissed her on both cheeks.  As he held her, he whispered, "Kelly, I have been told to tell you that if at any time in the future you want anything it is in the power of my nation to provide, you will have it.  It is our solemn promise to you."  The president sat down and smiled as Kelly returned to her seat.
	Miss Handy returned to the microphone.  She looked towards Kelly and said, "Kelly Jackson, you are a troublemaker.  We had a faculty meeting about you last week.  There were some who wished to award you a diploma.  However, it was pointed out that you flunked biology... twice.  But then we received a letter from the Army's Surgeon General saying you had performed two very delicate battlefield operations flawlessly.  So we waived the biology requirement.
	"It was then pointed out that your history was weak.  However, certain people — including the President of the United States — insisted that you have been making it... on a scale comparable to Alexander the Great and Napoleon.  So we waived that requirement, too.
	"However, our primary mission here is to teach German to English-speaking women.  Kelly, your German was atrocious.  However, the Chancellor of Germany threatened officially to change the language to conform to the way you speak it.  At this point, we gave up.  Kelly, would you come forward, please?"
	Kelly rose and went over to the woman.  Two girls came out on stage carrying a black academic gown which they put on over her uniform and then put a black mortarboard on her head.
	Miss Handy said, "By the power invested in me, I confer the diploma of The American School of Langenhagen, summa cum laude!"  She handed Kelly the diploma and took her in her arms and kissed her.  She whispered, "Thank you, dear Kelly!"  She stepped back and asked her to say a few words.
	Kelly stepped up to the microphone and began speaking in flawless German.  She thanked Miss Handy and the President.  Then she added that she had just lost one of her distinctions:  She had been the only general in any army without a high school diploma.  Now she felt better.  She waved at the crowd and returned to her seat.
	Miss Handy said, "This ends our formal ceremony.  There will be a reception for Kelly in the garden immediately."  She dismissed the group and returned to Kelly.
	"Kelly, I'm sure you know we were teasing you.  Incidentally, your German is absolutely flawless.  It couldn't be better.  Honey, there are some of your schoolmates still here who want to thank you.  They remember what you did.  We talked about it.  Whenever someone was to be punished, you volunteered to take the punishment in her place.  It was very painful, dear, but we survived, all thanks to you."
	They went out to the garden and the first person Kelly saw was Mike who took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.  Her mortarboard slipped off her head during the kiss, and Kevin was holding it for her when Mike released her.
	He looked at her and said, "Boss, can I give the graduate a kiss?"
	She went to him and he kissed her on the cheek.  She glared at him and kissed him soundly on the lips.  "Damn it, Murphy, you ought to know by now that I'm not breakable!"
	Kevin grinned and said, "I know that, but what about me?  I also know my fiancée is almost as tough as you are.  Now you'll have to protect me."
	Just then Katrina Solov came running up.  She gave Kelly a big kiss and then poked her in the ribs.  "That's my fiancé you're kissing.  And I'm jealous!"  Katrina wheeled and grabbed Mike, giving him a warm and lingering kiss on the lips.  Kelly grinned as she could see Mike's face getting red.
	Katrina released him and quickly took Kelly aside.  "Congratulations, sister!"  The girl grinned, and Kelly noticed how relaxed she was now.  She and Kevin were engaged to be married; the wedding was scheduled for St. Basil's in Moscow in just two weeks.
	"Kelly, I've been thinking.  You call my father Uncle Mischa.  The fact is, I think he loves you as much as he loves me."  She smiled warmly as she spoke, showing no jealousy at all.  "You know I'm teasing, Kelly, but he thinks of you as a second daughter.  Do you know what he says?  He says he is the luckiest man in Russia.  'I have two daughters: one with silver-blonde hair, and the other with golden blonde.  How lucky can a man be?  My daughters are two of the most beautiful girls in the world.'  I know he loves you like a daughter.  And I love you like a sister.
	"Congratulations to my little sister on the occasion of her high-school graduation.  Father is a bit busy right now, but he asked me to give you this as a memento of the day."  Katrina gave Kelly a beautifully wrapped small box.
	Kelly opened it and gasped.  "Katrina, is this what I think it is?" she asked.  "Can this be one of the Fabergé Easter eggs?"
	Katrina smiled warmly and nodded.  "It was approved by the provisional government of Republican Russia.  There is a card for you.  Please read it."
	Kelly called Mike over and asked him to hold the box.  She found a note written in beautiful Cyrillic script.  It said, "To Kelly Jackson: With utmost gratitude from the Russian people.  No one has ever done so much for us."
	She looked at Mike and said, "Honey, don't even touch it!
	"It is a Russian national treasure, Katrina, which I cannot possibly accept.  It is utterly priceless.  Please return it to your people with my gratitude.  The offer alone is overwhelming!"
	Mike looked at the magnificent golden egg.  "I've heard of these.  They were made by Fabergé as Easter gifts for the Czar, weren't they?  There are only a few known to exist, and this is one of them.  Kelly, some of us have tried to explain to you the significance of what you've done, but you refuse to understand."
	Kelly was just looking at the egg and shaking her head when Adams and Carlson walked up.  Mike showed them the gift, and they both instantly understood its significance.  She told Katrina again that she couldn't take it.
	Katrina glared at Kelly and stamped her small foot.  "Kelly Jackson, you will take it and keep it.  You will let your children play with it.  You will have it on your mantel.  I am not allowed to bring it home with me.  Do you think so poorly of us that you don't believe we Russians value our freedom as much as this egg?
	"It is a truly beautiful thing, I agree, and I hope you and Mike like it.  I hope your children like it, as the Czar's children did.  It is the smallest token of the esteem in which we hold the person who, even now, is being proclaimed as the Liberator of Russia.
	"Kelly, you can't believe the preparations that are going forward for my wedding.  It isn't me.  It's the fact that you have consented to be my maid of honor.  It is going to be a major State occasion in Russia.  Kelly, you will be a guest of my country.  We hold our new freedom to be precious.  We have been deprived for so long!  You must accept!"
	Kelly looked at her dear friend and then hugged her.  "Katrina, thank you.  There is nothing I can say.  I recognize that I have been given a national treasure.  May I accept it as a sign of enduring friendship?"
	Sam Adams took her hand and grinned.  "Cathy told me to order you to move your ass!  The wedding is next Saturday in London.  As usual, Kelly, you're the maid of honor."
	He held both her hands and looked into her eyes.  "Kelly, there are great debts, and great debts.  I think the Russian people have just shown in a small way their sense of gratitude and the size of the debt they feel towards you.
	"As far as I'm concerned, words are inadequate to describe what I feel.  You can't imagine what you've done for me, personally.  Cathy has told me the whole story now.  I can only say I've never been happier.  Then you win the damned war... and the peace!
	"Young lady, I don't think it's ever happened in history.  Now I'm going to do something I've never done either!"
	With that he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.  When he released her, her mortarboard was again on the ground.  Adams grinned and said, "I've never kissed a major general before.  I love you, Kelly.  Thanks!"
	Kelly finally got away from the officers and went to see her schoolmates.  She found several of them with babies.  The girls had recovered from the tortures of their captivity or were rapidly doing so.  They crowded around to kiss Kelly.
	When she looked up after talking to one of the girls, she saw her mother standing nearby, just waiting.  She yelped and ran over, now seeing her father as well.  They kissed her and explained that they had come over in a Presidential aircraft.  The President had sent his regrets.
	Bob Jackson said, "The President expressed a small disappointment:  He rather liked the idea of having a major general without a high-school diploma.  He asked me to tell you, 'Why did you have to go and wreck it?'  Kelly, there's nothing your mother or I can say.  We are the proudest parents on the face of the earth.
	"By the way, there's a rumor that you received a graduation present from the Russian government.  May we see it?"
	She showed them the egg.  Barbara Jackson looked at it in amazement.  "Darling, is this what I think it is?  One of the Fabergé eggs?  My God, this is a Russian national treasure.  You can't keep it!"
	"I know, Mother.  I've just been all through that with Katrina and Sam Adams.  Katrina said it's a matter of Russian national pride.  The Russians feel it's a mere trinket compared to their liberty.  They credit me with winning their freedom.  They want Mike and me to keep it on the mantel for the children to play with.  They say that's what it was made for."
	Barbara looked at her husband and said, "Bob, I don't understand military things.  You know that.  I guess I do understand this, though.  Kelly did achieve something remarkable, didn't she?"
	"Darling," he replied, "her achievements have been so enormous there's no standard to use to measure them.  They are truly unbelievable!"
	The Jacksons joined Mike, Kevin, and Katrina on a military transport back to England.  After the Jacksons connected to a commercial flight back to New York, the others went into London where Katrina was going to be staying.  The foursome found a quiet bar in a small hotel in Mayfair which featured single-malt Scotch whiskeys and had a most enjoyable time.  The more she was around Katrina, the closer to her Kelly felt.  She decided that Kevin and Mike were really a pair.  They were very close in age, in size, and in appearance.  Both were dark-haired, blue eyed Irishmen.
*  *  *
	She vividly remembered the conversations she had had with Katrina about Kevin.  Although she was younger, she felt like the older sister as Katrina gave her a wide-eyed blow-by-blow description of her dates with him.  It was obvious they were madly in love with each other.  As a precautionary measure, Kelly had obtained birth-control pills for her.
	One night, Katrina didn't come back to Kelly's apartment.  The next morning Kelly got up, showered and was making breakfast when Katrina came in.  She slipped off her shoes and collapsed in a chair.  Then she dragged herself to her feet and stripped off her dress.  That was all she was wearing.  She sat on a kitchen chair with her legs spread wide.  Kelly looked at her and smiled.  "You slept with him, didn't you?"
	Katrina replied indignantly, "I did not!  We didn't sleep at all."  Then she grinned and said, "Kelly, all we did was make love!  The first time hurt a little as you said it might.  After that, it was heaven.  You told me about cuming?  Kelly Jackson, if the Russian artillery was as explosive as I was, we would have beaten you!
	"Do you mind me sitting this way?  It hurts to have my legs together.  The only thing that feels normal now is to have my thighs spread as wide as possible to welcome Kevin inside me!"
	Kelly smiled warmly at her friend and said, "Congratulations!  You've just discovered sex!  Katrina, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but it's been around for a while.  How do you feel?"
	The girl looked at her and said, "Like I want to keep it up until I drop... in a year or two!"  Katrina grinned, jumped up and took Kelly in her arms.  "Thank you, dear Kelly.  I owe it all to you.  Not only is he your aide, but you told me what to expect and how to act.  Kelly, I think of Kevin's hands on my body, and my... cunt?... starts to run rivers.  Is it that way with you and Mike?"
	"Of course it is," Kelly replied with a straight face, "But I'm much younger than you are, so I'm more supple and can..."  
	Kelly ducked as Katrina started to beat on her with her small fists.  "Kelly Jackson, I hate you!  You're mean, insulting..."  The girl grinned and then hugged her tight as she finished, "beautiful, exciting, kind, warm..."
*  *  *
	Kelly returned to the present with a start.  Mike had just suggested dinner, and they went into the dining room.  They sat at a table and Mike said, "Kelly, I haven't given you my graduation present.  Do you mind if I make it a multipurpose gift?"
	He reached into his pocket and took out a small box Bob Jackson had brought with him from the States.  He handed it to Kelly who opened it.  It was a beautiful diamond engagement ring.
	She just sat and looked at it.  Then she looked up at Mike and said, "Darling, is this for me?"
	He took her in his arms, and she melted in his kiss.  Finally, they came up for air and he said, "Do you like it?"
	Kelly removed it from its box and gave it to Mike.  He slipped it on the third finger of her left hand and it fit perfectly.  She showed it to Katrina who thought it was beautiful.  Mike said, "Darling, it pales beside you.  Can I offer a toast to the most beautiful girl in the world, my future bride?"
Chapter 17
	The following Saturday the weather in Kent was perfect.  Sam and Cathy were married in a very small chapel near headquarters.  The only people present were senior staff from SACEUR and personal friends of the bride and groom.  Ned Carlson was Sam's best man, and Kelly was the maid of honor.  They were the only members of the wedding party.
	Mike Callahan escorted the bride down the aisle.  Kelly, standing at the altar waiting, could feel tears coming to her eyes as she watched Cathy walk up the aisle on Mike's arm.  She was a beautiful bride in her lovely white gown.  The wedding ceremony was brief, and the couple went down the aisle together.  Kelly was pleased to see an honor guard of senior officers at the chapel door with an arch of sabers for the bride and groom.
	At the reception Cathy and Sam came up to Kelly and they both kissed her.  Tears were streaming from Cathy's eyes as she said, "Kelly, there just aren't any words.  What can I say to a girl who has given me the greatest happiness I can possibly imagine?  Thank you, General!"
* * *
	Several days later, Kelly and Mike left for Russia.  Kevin was flying over with them in a special plane the Russian government had chartered to fly them to Moscow.  They boarded it at Heathrow and three hours later were landing at Moscow.  Kelly was in uniform as the aircraft rolled to a stop at waiting mobile boarding stairs.  In moments, the door was opened and Kelly went out on the platform to be greeted by Mikhail Solov.  He embraced her and kissed her warmly, then stepped back leaving Kelly standing on the platform alone.
	For the first time Kelly had a good look at the airport and was amazed.  On the ramp was a large honor guard backed by tanks.  Behind them, held in check by barriers and hundreds of police, were thousands of people.  As she looked, a large military band began to play.  An honor guard advanced the colors of the United States and the new flag of the Russian Republic.  The band began to play the Star Spangled Banner and Kelly came to attention and saluted.  Immediately following they played the Russian National Anthem, and she held the salute.
	Following the music, Solov led her to a platform draped in flags.  He went immediately to the microphone and said, "Fellow Russians:  It gives me great pleasure this morning to welcome to our new Republic Major General Kelly Jackson.  General Jackson has done more to achieve our liberties than any person alive.  In all of history, we can find only a single parallel: Simón Bolivar in South America.  Our historians assure me it a very weak parallel, at that.
	"I met Kelly Jackson for the first time about a year ago.  At that time she was held prisoner by the KGB in Germany.  I won't go into the atrocities that were committed against her.  I will say she was a young virgin.  In fact, she's not yet twenty years old, even today."
	Kelly could hear an audible gasp of surprise from the crowd as Solov continued, "She is here today to visit our country.  It is only fitting that she be the first State guest of our new nation.  She has given us our freedom.  I was concerned about inviting her.  She has every reason to hate us.  I asked her about it, and do you know what she said?  She said, 'Of course I don't hate the Russian people!  How could I?  They've suffered far worse than me and for a far longer period.  Millions have died, most for no reason at all.  I'm fine now.'  Then she said, 'I hope the Russian people don't hate me!'
	"I asked why we would possibly hate her.  She replied that she has killed a great many Russians who were just trying to do their jobs.  I pointed out to her that, as a direct result of her actions, most of our men... and hers... will return home alive.  We have a great deal to thank her for.  Do you agree?"  As he said the last words, there was a thunderous cheer from the crowd that grew louder and louder.  Flags, both the new Russian and the American, were being waved.
	Finally the crowd quieted down and Solov asked her to say a few words.  She stepped up to the microphone and in her perfect Russian began her address.  As she spoke the first words, there was another thunderous cheer as the crowd realized she was addressing them in their own language.
	When they quieted, Kelly started again.  "I have just been told that I am an official guest of your government.  I am very flattered.  However, I am here to participate in a wedding joining two of my favorite people in the bonds of matrimony: Katrina Solov, the daughter of your new president, and Kevin Murphy, my aide.  I think there is a special significance in this event.  I hope our two peoples will learn to live together as happily as I'm sure these two young people will.  I hope you will join me in extending to them our very best wishes for a long and happy life together.  Thank you for your very warm welcome!"
	Kelly reviewed the troops of the honor guard.  She was introduced to the senior officers present but did not know what to make of their attitude.  As they were being driven into the city, she asked Solov about it.
	"Kelly," he said with amusement in his voice, "That was awe.  They know what you have done... or much of it, anyway.  These men are professional soldiers.  You are already in the class with Alexander the Great and Napoleon."  He turned to her and asked, "Kelly, what would your attitude be if you were introduced to Napoleon Bonaparte?"
	"I... I would be stunned, I guess."
	"As would I.  And as are they.  First, you are taller than Bonaparte by a good bit.  You are far younger.  And you are one of the most beautiful women alive.  Couple that with your undeniable military genius, and something quite different, military skill, and you are awesome.  That's the reaction.  It's quite simple."
	Kelly was housed in an apartment in the Kremlin palace.  She and Mike looked around, and finally Kelly turned to him and said, "Mike, would you please take me on the floor?  This is a museum and with our lovemaking we're bound to break something.  Everything here is utterly priceless!"
	Mike picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.  While he undressed her, he said, "Darling, we're here under orders from the President of Russia.  He told me that their historians believe this to be the bedroom Napoleon used when the French occupied Moscow.  The difference is they hated him but they love you."
	Soon they were in bed.  Their lovemaking that night was tender and loving.
	The next day they were taken on a tour of Moscow escorted by Katrina and her father.  Katrina and Kelly left the touring group early to go to the house now serving as the presidential palace.  One of the first decisions of the new regime had been to transform the Kremlin into a museum.
	Katrina couldn't resist teasing Kelly.  "You realize, I hope, that you and Mike may be the last people ever to sleep in the Kremlin?  You're probably the first people to make love in it in over seventy years!"
	They found a dressmaker and her assistants waiting for them.  Katrina had insisted that Kelly's dress should be special, so the dressmaker was waiting anxiously for Kelly to try it on.  Katrina smiled and said, "I asked her to make it assuming you're going to wear your usual undergarments: bikini briefs."  The woman was obviously nervous as she waited for Kelly to undress.  She was soon stripped to her briefs.
	The woman looked at her and saw the faint marks of the whip on her body and questioned Katrina in Russian, "Is this the girl who was tortured by the KGB?"  Katrina said she was.  "What barbarism!  This girl is absolutely beautiful.  Who is she?  Where did you meet her?"
	Both of the young women laughed.  Katrina replied, "I guess you haven't been watching the news.  This is an American major general, Kelly Jackson.  She is the woman to whom we owe our new liberty."
	The older woman looked up at Kelly's face, and tears started to flow down her cheeks.  "You are the one who was enslaved by the KGB in Germany?"
	"For a while," Kelly replied quietly in Russian.
	The older woman shook her head.  "Not for a while, for a long time.  You were beaten regularly, weren't you?"  Kelly nodded.  The dressmaker looked up at Katrina and said, "This dress must be special!  Let us see how it looks."  The gown was made of pale blue silk.  They put it over her head and smoothed it down.
	Katrina clapped her hands in delight.  "Kelly, you are magnificent!  Come and look at yourself," she said, taking her over to a pier glass.
	Kelly was a vision.  The gown was utterly magnificent.  It had a full-length skirt of silk chiffon over silk.  The gown was strapless and essentially backless.  The pale blue was a lighter shade of the color of her eyes.
	The dressmaker got to her feet and looked the dress over critically.  As she looked, she was slowly shaking her head sorrowfully.
	Finally Kelly asked the woman what the trouble was.
	The dressmaker replied, "I can do nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  The General is so beautiful, nothing can be done.  It has never happened to me before.  I thought Miss Solov was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.  But that was before I met you!"
	The woman looked into Kelly's face, and Kelly could see her tears flowing again.  The woman said softly, "My husband died in prison.  He was a tailor and was taken away by the KGB.  We never knew why.  He was just taken.  And you have given us freedom and liberty!  There is no way to express my gratitude.  Of course, there will be no charge for this gown."
	Katrina was dumfounded.  "But that's silly!  You can't do that!  You've worked for weeks on this dress.  You've spent a great deal of money on material, on your seamstresses.  It's impossible!"
	The woman just shook her head stubbornly.  "It is for my husband.  For his memory."  Then she looked at Kelly and said, "Please accept it.  It is a very small thing.  After all, it is only a dress.  I hope you will wear it and like it a little.  It may remind you of an old woman in Russia who loves you and thanks you for what you have done.  Please!"
	Kelly took the woman in her arms and hugged her.  The woman was short and stocky with plain features.  It was obvious that accepting the dress meant a great deal to her.  Kelly held her and could feel the wetness of her tears.  She held her and said, "Thank you!  This is the most magnificent dress I have ever seen.  When I was a prisoner I was not allowed to wear clothes.  My body was constantly beaten and bloody.  I never dreamed I would ever wear a dress like this.  Thank you so very much!"
	Three days later Kelly was walking alone down the center aisle of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow now re-consecrated as a church.  She carried flowers ahead of the bride and smiled at the people standing on both sides of the center aisle.  Looking at the altar she saw Mike standing beside Kevin and the bishop who was presiding at the ceremony.  She reached the altar and moved aside.  She looked back down the aisle and saw Katrina walking up on her father's arm.  When she reached the altar, Kelly drew back Katrina's veil and stood aside as the ceremony began.
	At the point in the ceremony at which the bishop would normally have addressed the people, he stood aside and asked Kelly to speak.  She went to the microphone and began speaking in her flawless Russian.  "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here this morning to witness the marriage of my dear friend Katrina Solov and my friend and aide, Kevin Murphy.  As many of you know, this has been a strange courtship.  Perhaps there is a lesson for all of us.  When Katrina met Kevin for the first time, she was a prisoner of war and he was serving as my aide.  From enemies they have become lovers, and now they are about to become man and wife.
	"I met Katrina through her father, Field Marshall Mikhail Solov, now president of the Republic of Russia.  I, too, was a prisoner.  Although a civilian, I was imprisoned by the KGB in Germany when the school I was attending was overrun.  President Solov befriended me when I was a prisoner.  Subsequently, I escaped.  When I next met Marshall Solov, we were able to bring the war to a speedy conclusion and to bring liberty to the Russian people.
	"When I was a prisoner, I thought only of escape, revenge and then suicide.  My life was over.  When I escaped, I met Michael Callahan, the best man in the wedding today.  Mike and I are soon to be married ourselves.  Kevin has agreed to be the best man, and Katrina will be my matron of honor.  I don't wish to become maudlin, but good things can come out of bad.
	"I sincerely hope that our two peoples can learn to live together in friendship as I know Katrina and Kevin will be living together in love.  Will you join me in wishing them well?"
	Kelly stepped down from the speaker's rostrum and took her place with the bridal party.  As she did she was startled by the increasing volume of sound rising from within the cathedral.  She realized that everyone in the cathedral had risen and was applauding.  The sound became thunderous until it finally faded and quiet returned.
	Kelly watched as Kevin and Katrina ran down the aisle amid the cheers of the well wishers.  She followed on Mike's arm.
	The reception following was held in the Kremlin palace.  When she reached Katrina standing with her father, Solov gave her a big hug and a kiss and said, "Kelly, that was a lovely speech you gave today.  Looking around I'm convinced there is more joy here in the Kremlin than there has been in over seventy years.  Thank you so much!"
	The next day Kelly and Mike were asked to attend a meeting with Solov.  Katrina and Kevin had left the previous evening on their honeymoon.  A car picked them up and took them to one of the blocky styleless buildings that the Soviet government had built in such numbers for its countless functionaries.  There they were shown into a well-appointed conference room.  Mike and Kelly looked at each other, not knowing what to expect.  After a few moments they were joined by Mikhail Solov and then by a large group of men and a few women who looked like academicians.
	Solov introduced Kelly to the group.  In this case appearances were accurate: they were academic economists.  Solov opened the meeting by addressing himself to Kelly and Mike.  "Kelly, I'm afraid your reputation may have overwhelmed you.  It seems that we are determined to have free markets here in Russia, but we don't know how to do it.  I told my learned friends that you only have a high-school diploma, but they asked if you would meet with them anyway.  I think there are some questions they would like to ask.
	One of the scholars spoke up.  "General, we wish to have free markets.  But how can we be sure the right things will be in the markets?"
	Kelly looked at Mike and grinned.  He looked back at her, puzzled.  He shrugged as she rose from her chair and said, "Over 100 years ago in my country we were opening the West.  Mostly it was dry country but there were rivers the wagon trains had to cross.  An interesting thing happened.  Wherever there was a river crossing, there would be someone with a tent and a barrel selling whiskey."
	Grinning at Mike, she said, "My fiancé is Irish.  Many Irishmen came over in the 1840's and 1850's.  They fought in our Civil War, and many of them helped to build the transcontinental railroad.  They just kept pushing the railroad track across the country.  As they went, their camps moved forward with them.  In every camp there were saloons, dance halls, and gambling parlors.  They were not provided by the railroad.  How did they get there?  Why was there always a man selling liquor at the river crossings?  Because money could be made, and no permissions were necessary.  All it took was someone with an idea and a little money to get started.
	"What did the government do?  Mostly, it just stayed out of the way.  How about prices?  Typically, they were high.  On the other hand, costs were high, too.  And there was danger.  All of this gave rise to high prices to help offset the high costs.  What if prices were too high?  That was easy, too.  Competition would open up, selling the same thing at lower prices or a better product — prettier girls, for example — at the same price," she said with a smile.
	"All the government has to do is make sure competition is fair.  By that I mean, the government shouldn't protect the first merchant from the second simply because the man arrived first.  The fact of the matter is no one knows what the 'correct' price is.  Think about it for a moment.  You could not list for me all the items — goods and labor — that exist in your economy, let alone all the factors affecting the costs of each, and least of all a set of equations to link all of these costs and prices together.  Yet the market does it all automatically."
	Mike looked at her and winked.  He whispered, "Wow!" and grinned.
	Solov looked at her and smiled.  He asked, "Kelly, what should the government do?...  With agriculture, for example?"
	"Just make sure the necessary infrastructure is in place, and stand back.  In other words, make sure a farmer has roads to use to get his produce to market.  Make sure the railroads work.  That's about all."
	The discussion continued.  It was obvious that the economists were troubled.  Finally, one said, "General, how do we know the market will produce the correct answers?"
	Kelly smiled at him and replied, "Because you don't have any choice.  When you say 'correct answer,' I'll reply to you the market won't.  First, the answer is constantly changing.  The first farmer to get new potatoes to market gets a high price.  Within a few days as the harvest progresses and more farmers are selling potatoes, the price drops: the supply has increased.  But beyond that, you rely on the market because it's more nearly correct than anything else!"
	The discussion continued, and finally the economists gave up.  They prepared a very short list of government actions, primarily in terms of what behavior the government would seek to prevent: market sharing, barriers to market entry, and so forth.  Finally, they left with smiles on their faces.
	Solov beamed at Kelly and said, "My golden daughter has educated the brilliant economists!"  He drove Mike and Kelly to the airport.  On the way he asked, "When is your wedding going to be?"
	Kelly gave Solov a kiss and said, "In about six weeks, Uncle Mischa.  Do you think you will be able to attend?  It will be in New York, of course."
	"Of course I will.  In fact, I brought the subject up with my cabinet, and they insisted I attend.  I can couple it with a speech to the UN which will put everyone to sleep — possibly including myself."  He looked at the young people and asked, "Where are you going now?  Back to New York?"
	"No," Kelly replied.  "We have orders to report to the Pentagon.  I think Mike is about to get his stars.  At least, I hope he will."  They boarded a special Air Force plane and were soon in the air on a polar route direct to Washington.
Chapter 18
	The President was addressing a special session of both houses of Congress.  Normally, he addressed a joint session once a year to report on the State of the Union.  It is very rare otherwise.  If it does happen, it is normally reserved for most serious matters such as declarations of war and major national crises.  This special address was scheduled for eight o'clock in the evening.  The TV networks were carrying the speech live, although there was no advance word regarding its subject matter.
	The President was introduced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives in whose chamber the joint session was being held.  It was obvious from the good cheer and fellowship that, even though the networks didn't know what the President was going to say, the Congressional leadership did and approved of it in advance.  From the joviality on the podium, whatever the subject was, it was not a national crisis.  Moreover, even before starting his address it was clear that the President's proposal had bipartisan support.
	"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have asked you to grant me the favor of addressing both houses of Congress this evening.  I have a problem that I believe you can help me with.  Unlike so many others, this problem is neither life-threatening nor does its solution require multi-year appropriations of billions of dollars.  The problem is one of appropriate recognition for extraordinary service to our Country.  I intend to tell you a series of stories and then propose a course of action to you.
	"First, there is a captain in Army Special Forces.  This captain singlehandedly stopped the Russian advance in the recent war by blowing up the bridge across the River Weser and, as a by-product, nearly destroyed the last intact first-line Soviet armored division left on the Western Front.  The captain also wiped out a Soviet patrol of ten men using a sniper rifle.  Later the officer was wounded and evacuated back to England.  The captain was awarded the Medal of Honor for the bridge, the Silver Star for the patrol, and the Purple Heart for the wounds in action.
	"Then there is an army major.  The major went through Special Forces training in Quantico in command of a training class.  The major insisted that the class would set records that would last at the school.  The class set records in every category maintained by the school.  The major, more or less as an afterthought, set every personal record the school has.
	"The major was then sent to England to prepare for the Allied assault against the Warsaw pact troops.  No one at headquarters could figure out how such an assault could be successfully launched because of the Russians' very creative use of a mobile reserve.  To make this work the Soviet front line is kept a bit thin.  At several points along the line there are concentrations of artillery and armor within reach of any point along its assigned sector.  As soon as an attack begins, the Soviets would allow the attacker to penetrate and then use their reserves to smash the spearhead while the front-line troops attack on both flanks.  The major figured out how to neutralize this tactic.  The major received the Legion of Merit for planning the attack.
	"Then there is an Army lieutenant colonel.  The colonel first extended the major's plans to exploit the breakthrough, then personally took out the Soviet reserve command post the major had identified.  Our attack roared through the Russian front lines and completely smashed the Soviet troops.  The colonel was wounded but personally killed eighty of the enemy and held the position until relieved by the 82nd Airborne Division.
	"Incidentally, we later learned that we suffered fewer casualties in the breakthrough than we expect to have in a field training exercise.  In one armored unit in the spearhead the only casualty was a soldier who sprained his ankle jumping down from his tank after the battle was over.  The lieutenant colonel was awarded the Medal of Honor for the eighty troops killed, the Distinguished Service Cross for the planning, and the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action.  Nothing has been done to reward the officer for successfully carrying out the mission of destroying the command structure of the Soviet reserve forces that permitted the attack to succeed.
	"Then there is an Army colonel.  This colonel, after the successes I just mentioned, trained a number of LRRP teams to do the same thing the lieutenant colonel had done as we pressed forward with our attack.  The result was that we chopped up the Warsaw Pact forces while sustaining virtually no casualties of our own.  This colonel also opened negotiations with Field Marshal Mikhail Solov of the Russian Army.  Marshall Solov defected to the West."
	"Finally, there is an Army brigadier general.  This general met Marshall Solov and engineered the surrender of the Warsaw Pact forces.  The Soviet Politburo resigned en masse and a new government of the Russian Republics was created.  The general has been awarded a new decoration by Russia, the Gold Cross of the Republic, the highest award that exists in Republican Russia, as its tribute to the exploit.  Our government has done nothing... yet."
	The President smiled quizzically at the congressmen.  "Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you?  What can we do?  You see, as some of you already know, the captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brigadier general are the same person.  These are the exploits of a single person and all took place within the last six months.
	That person is a young girl named Kelly Jackson!  Kelly now has two Medals of Honor, two Distinguished Service Crosses including one for valor, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.  In addition, she holds Great Britain's Victoria Cross, the highest award for valor the United Kingdom can award.  She holds the Croix de Guerre, the highest award for valor given by France.
	"Germany has reactivated for her the Golden Order of the Knights Cross.  It is the highest award for gallantry the Federal Republic of Germany can ever award.  There is also the small matter of the receiving the keys to the German Federal Republic.  Kelly is given credit for reunifying Germany, helping them achieve a German dream of over forty years standing.
	"Finally, she has just received the Gold Cross of the Republic, created for her by the Republic of the Russias.
	"We spend a great deal on defense.  With Kelly, I think we've spent more on the ammunition she's expended than on her salary.  You see, she has almost no seniority.  She still hasn't been in the Army a year yet.  She is now a major general.  The question is how do we recognize a person who almost singlehanded won a major war... with negligible casualties on both sides... and then won the peace?
	"For a solution to this puzzle I propose the creation of a new award, the Congressional and Presidential Gold Cross of Liberty.  This award will be a permanent addition to our military awards structure.  It can only be awarded on the personal recommendation of the President and requires a formal vote of both houses of Congress.  This will become the senior United States award for valor and distinguished military service.
	"I propose Kelly Jackson as the first recipient of this medal.  I hope you will support me and grant to Major General Kelly Jackson the recognition she so richly deserves.  Thank you."
	The President did not leave the chamber.  Instead he was offered a seat on the podium.  Following his address the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees gave short speeches formally introducing the legislation.  While still in joint session, the two houses individually passed the legislation creating the Cross of Liberty and making the first award to Major General Kelly Jackson.  The two pieces of legislation were passed by the two houses of Congress within a few minutes.  Finally, the President signed the legislation that had already been drafted for his signature in anticipation of its passage.  He returned to the rostrum.
	"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen."  He grinned broadly at the two houses, continuing, "Now why can't it always be this easy?"  There was a round of laughter from the Congress.
	The President continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pride to introduce to you Major General Kelly Jackson, United States Army, whom you have just recognized by voting to award her the first Gold Cross of Liberty.  Before bestowing the award, though, I should give you some background.  Kelly is only nineteen years old.  Until a few days ago, she didn't have a high-school diploma.  Nevertheless, she won the war with her bravery and with her brains.
	"It seems she was reading Soviet armored doctrine... in the original Russian.  It was never translated into English.  She listened in to the Russian command post where the general commanding the reserve forces at our point of attack was located.  Kelly waited for him to give the orders to his front-line commanders to fall back away from our assault and then took him out along with the generals commanding his five reserve divisions before the order to move into their blocking and attack positions could be given.  She then proceeded to knock off anyone who looked like he might be interested in taking command.
	"Finally, there is no doubt about one thing:  Kelly Jackson is the most beautiful general in any army in the world."  The President turned to the side and said, "Kelly, will you please come forward?"
	Kelly walked out on the podium wearing her dress blues.  She had been asked not to wear the Medal of Honor which normally is worn around the neck with the dress uniform.  She saluted the President smartly as an aide came over with a jewelers box.  The President spoke into the microphone, "To Major General Kelly Jackson:  For exemplary military service so far beyond the bounds of expectation it leaves your countrymen speechless.  For winning a war, and winning a peace.  For saving countless thousands of lives.  For sparing a continent from the destruction of modern war.  For courage and bravery that has never been seen before.  We, the Congress of the United States, acting on the recommendation of the President, present you the highest award your grateful countrymen can bestow, the Gold Cross of Liberty!"
	The President hung the cross, made of 22 carat gold, around her neck.  The broad ribbon from which it hung was gold with a single red stripe.  He kissed Kelly on the cheek and said softly, "I'm looking forward to attending your wedding.  Thank you for remembering to invite me!"
	Kelly went to the rostrum and looked out at the sea of faces.  She could see the bright lights of the television cameras as she began to speak.  "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.  I don't really know what to say.  I consider myself the luckiest person on the face of the earth.  Less than a year ago I was a prisoner of the KGB and was contemplating suicide.  There was nothing for me to live for.  I escaped and met the man who is soon to honor me above all women by making me his wife.  I met a Russian general when I was a prisoner.  He befriended me and helped me as much as he could.  By luck, working together we were able to bring the war to a successful close.
	"In the last few months I have met some of the finest military minds the world has ever produced: General Samuel Adams, General Edward Carlson, General James Ames.  There are many, many more.  I am here this evening to say that you, and the American people you represent, have every reason to be very proud of these men.  They have served you well.
	"It is said that defense isn't cheap.  It's not.  But it's not the money, it's the men.  Were it not for Adams, Carlson, Ames, and many others like them, I would not be here tonight.  I would be dead.  Their troops took me out of a series of deadly situations.  You should be very proud.  I know I am very proud to know them and to have had the privilege of serving under them and with them.  Thank you for this great honor."
	Kelly executed a perfect salute to the Congress, turned on her heel and marched off the podium.  As she turned, the congressmen came out of their seats and began to applaud and cheer as she left the hall.
	In the TV newsrooms, there was consternation and chagrin.  Here was the biggest story of the war and no one in the media had ever heard of it.  Instantly assignments were made.  As Kelly left the chamber by a side door she was mobbed by reporters.  Mike came up to her along with a phalanx of Capitol police and Secret Service men the President had made available to guard her.  Everyone was screaming questions.
	Mike grinned at Kelly who winked back at him.  She yelled, "Quiet!"  The news people were startled into silence.
	Kelly looked around at the group and then said, "I will make a deal with you.  I will spend time with two reporters.  You can make whatever deals you want with them.  I will be available until my wedding which is in about four weeks, and then we will see what happens.  I am selecting Chris Collins and Bill Carlson.  I will see the rest of you later.  Chris and Bill, are you interested?" she asked.
	Christine Collins was a top-level Washington reporter with one of the TV networks.  Bill Carlson was a bylined writer with a conservative magazine who also wrote a syndicated newspaper column.  Chris was predictably liberal while Bill was as predictably conservative.
	Bill was the first to respond, "General, I would love to take you up on that."  He turned to Chris standing across from him and said, "How about it Chris?  Are you game?"
	"Hell, yes, I'm game!" she replied, "Let's go!"
	The foursome made their way out of the Capitol building.  Mike asked Chris and Bill about their clothes, and then the four of them headed off in a taxi to Chris's apartment in Georgetown.  After getting her things together, they were waiting in front of the apartment house for a taxi.  Suddenly, Kelly was grabbed around the neck from behind and felt the point of a knife against her throat.  She sensed three other knife-wielding black men around her.
	Without thinking, Kelly grabbed the arm around her throat with one hand and drove her elbow back into the gut of the man holding her.  She spun and moved while still gripping the man's wrist.  She heard the crack of the wrist bone breaking and then the awful sound of his neck cracking on the sidewalk.  Meanwhile, Mike was in action against two others.  The fourth, apparently the leader, flipped open a long-bladed knife and started coming at Kelly with the intention of slashing her face.  She sidestepped, causing the knife to just miss.  Then she grabbed her assailant, rolled over backwards with her feet in his stomach and kicked upwards while still on her back.  The man went flying.  She jumped to her feet but saw that the other two attackers were down on the ground for good.
	Chris and Bill had been standing dumbstruck.  The whole event had taken only a matter of seconds.  One instant they were being threatened with knives; in the next instant the assailants were all on the ground.  Bill grabbed Chris's hand and ran back into the apartment to call the police.  As they disappeared inside, an old Pontiac station wagon came careening around the corner at the end of the block.  The street was narrow.  With cars parked, there was only room for a single lane of traffic.
	Mike picked up a gun that had fallen from the pocket of one of the attackers from the sidewalk while Kelly drew her automatic from its waistband holster in the small of her back.  They could see what appeared to be the barrel of an assault rifle sticking out the window of the oncoming car, the pickup car for the four assailants.  It slowed and the occupants saw for the first time that their comrades were on the ground.  Shots were fired from the assault rifle.
	As the gunner leaned his head out the window, Kelly fired.  The gunner's weapon would have fallen to the street but it was caught by its sling.  Kelly sighted at the driver and squeezed off two quick shots.  The first shattered the windshield while the second hit the driver in the head.  The car swerved, still moving fast, smashed into a parked car and then burst into flames.  Mike could see two passengers trapped in the back seat as the car's gas tank exploded.
	Another car, this one a two-seat Camaro, roared up going the wrong way on the one-way street, approaching them from their right.  Mike saw a handgun being held out the passenger-side window.  Using the recovered weapon, he opened fire.  His bullets shattered the windshield and hit both the driver and the gunman beside him.  With the driver dead, the car crashed into the flaming wreckage of the station wagon and also burst into flames.
	Mike held out his arm and pulled Kelly close.  As they stood there, they heard the sounds of approaching police sirens.  Kelly turned and asked Mike to brush her off — her dress uniform was a mess.  She said she was pleased that carrying the automatic in the small of her back had become second nature.
	Moments later the first of several squad cars squealed to a stop and they could hear the distant sound of fire apparatus approaching.  Mike moved Kelly back farther away from the two flaming cars as it seemed likely that the parked car into which the two had crashed would catch fire, too.
	The first police officer to arrive was nonplused.  He saw two Army officers, one a colonel and the other a beautiful young female major general.  Both were holding firearms.  There were four bodies on the ground and two flaming cars across the street.  The officer didn't know what to do, so he returned to his cruiser and radioed for more help.
	By this time, the first of the fire apparatus had arrived.  Firemen were able to contain the fire before it ignited the parked car, while police radioed for the morgue wagon to take away the bodies.  Then attention was turned to the men lying on the sidewalk.  Kelly went from one to the next feeling for a pulse at the carotid artery.  There was none.  All four men were dead.  She told the police sergeant who had just arrived on the scene, and he called for the lab people and homicide.
	For the first time, Mike and Kelly looked around at the scene.  It was only ten o'clock; it was a mild evening in November with the temperature only in the fifties.  The street where Chris lived was quiet and tree-shaded.  The houses, now almost all converted to apartments, appeared to date from the early nineteenth century.  Mike thought it was far too nice a neighborhood for the violence that had just occurred.  He took Kelly to the stone steps in front of Chris's building where they both sat down and waited for developments.  As they waited, Chris and Bill came out of the apartment.  Bill was carrying two coats which he slipped over Mike and Kelly.
	Kelly looked up at Chris.  Even though the light was poor, the reporter appeared to be as white as a sheet.  Kelly smiled at her and stood up.  She said, "Chris, I think you'd better sit down before you fall down.  You look like you're about to faint."
	Bill Carlson helped her to the steps, and she allowed herself to sit.  She shook her head slowly and said softly, "What happened, Kelly?  I'm supposed to be a trained reporter, but I just saw a blur."  The girl grinned wryly and said, "Where's the slow-motion instant replay when you really need it?"
	Bill said, "I seem to recall the President saying this evening that, as a major, you led a unit that set every record there was at Quantico and set every personal record yourself.  Was unarmed combat one of the areas?"
	Mike looked up at Bill and said, "You got that right.  We're sorry, folks.  Things got a little out of hand.  There were four of them, two of us and two of you.  There are some things you can do to ease up, but they're tricky.  This wasn't the time to get tricky.  We'll wait for the crime lab and the autopsies to find out what happened.  Kel, I don't really know what happened to your second guy.  He seemed to be the leader, and you weren't using a lethal throw.  Do you have any ideas?"
	"I don't, Mike.  But if I had to make a guess, though, it would be that he fell on his open knife.  He's on his face, so we won't know until the body is moved."
	The area was now mobbed with official vehicles.  Police had cordoned off the block at the corner where the station wagon had come around and there were now portable floodlights set up that lighted the street like daylight.  The residents were beginning to come out of their apartments to look around.  Although frightened by the gunfire, they were reassured by all of the uniforms in evidence.
	A police captain came up and introduced himself.  He recognized Chris Collins from her TV news reporting and saluted.  Chris introduced him to Kelly and Mike.
	When the captain heard, "General Kelly Jackson," his lips formed an "O." He saluted smartly and said, "General, I'm very happy to meet you.  I'm sorry it is under such circumstances.  Could you please tell me what happened?"
	Kelly stood up and recounted the events following the award ceremony at the Capitol.  Photographs had been taken and the coroner's people were about to start removing the bodies.  As they lifted Kelly's second assailant, they saw a pool of blood under his body.  Kelly's guess had been correct:  He had been killed by falling on his own knife.  The first died of a broken neck when he hit the sidewalk.  The first of Mike's assailants also had a broken neck.  Mike had chopped him on the neck with the edge of his hand.  The other had been hit in the nose with the heel of Mike's hand which drove the nose cartilage up and into the brain.  Of the six men in the two cars, four had been killed by gunfire while the two in the back seat of the station wagon had been killed in the fire.
	The small group was standing by the steps to the building when a plainclothes detective came up to the police captain.  He identified the victims as the leadership of one of the most vicious street gangs in Washington.  "Captain, the files we have on nine of these ten probably occupy at least two file drawers.  I guess the tenth was one of the boys moving up to the leadership.  It looks like he failed the promotion exam."
	The police drove the foursome to their hotel.  Because they were going to be in Washington for several weeks, they had an efficiency suite with a small kitchen and two bedrooms.  After entering the apartment they collapsed with Chris still shaking in the aftermath of the violence.  Mike noticed that Bill was quiet but seemed unperturbed.
	Kelly went to a cabinet and took out a bottle of very special cognac that had arrived that day as a gift from the French government.  She poured four drinks and passed them out.  Chris took a big drink, handling the cognac as if it was water.  She choked on it but quickly recovered.  Kelly noticed that the cognac was doing its work.  Color was returning to her cheeks.  She refilled the girl's glass and they sat and sipped quietly.
	Finally Chris smiled and said, "I think I'll live.  What do we do now?  I thought I counted four of us and two bedrooms.  What do we do for sleeping arrangements?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "I guess it's pretty clear Mike and I sleep together."  She smiled as she remembered.  "We slept together the first night we met and virtually every night since.  The exceptions were the nights he spent in the hospital."
	Mike grinned and said, "I remember waking up in a hospital in England after being hit.  I heard Kelly saying, 'My poor baby!'  I thought she meant me.  Then I realized what she had said was, 'My poor babies!'  It seems she's concerned because her babies' father has a habit of walking into any stray piece of flying metal in the area, and their mother was on her way to becoming a thirty-year-old high school dropout!"  He pulled Kelly close and kissed her warmly on the lips.  "Some dropout!"
	Chris had been listening to the story with her face showing increasing consternation.  "Is that true, Kelly?  He's exaggerating, isn't he?"
	Kelly smiled and said softly, "I wish he were, but he's not.  Actually, the only reason I graduated from high school was the Army Surgeon General sent a letter to my school.  He said I had done a pretty good job of putting Callahan back together."
	"Right!" Mike continued, "Coupled, of course, with a threat from the President of the German Federal Republic officially to change the German language to conform to the way Kelly speaks it!"
	He kissed her again, with more passion this time.  Kelly got up and took off her uniform jacket and returned to Mike's arms.  She pulled her shirt out from the waistband of her skirt and carefully put his hand under it and on her breast.  Then she snuggled close to him.
	"Actually, it's not a joke," Mike continued.  "The first time Kelly removed a bullet from my leg.  When I got to a doctor in England, he looked at it and asked me if I wanted a new Band-Aid.  The second time she operated to remove a bullet from my back.  Kelly is annoyed because she did such a beautiful job of stitching it up there's no scar at all.  The reason she's annoyed is she was planning on showing it to our children and telling them that that's where Mommy carved up Daddy like a turkey, and it wasn't even Thanksgiving!
	"In all seriousness, though, she is an incredibly skilled surgeon.  I'm not kidding when I said I would have rather had her remove the shrapnel from my arm.  I think she would have done a better job of it than the surgeons did.  And you know what?  The surgeon who operated agrees with me!"
	Chris Collins had been looking at the couple with dismay.  Kelly was sitting on the sofa to Mike's left.  Her head was resting on his shoulder and his left hand was under her blouse, obviously cupping her left breast.  Her right hand was outside her blouse holding his hand in position.  Chris said, "Kelly, that's disgusting!  Have you no sense of your own personhood?  He's fondling you!"
	Kelly opened her eyes part way and looked at Chris.  "What's personhood?" she asked softly while her body writhed in response to Mike's stroking.  "Chris, I owe my life to Mike.  I love him more than life itself.  If I thought he wanted to take me now, I would be bare on the floor with my legs spread in about half a second.
	"When I was a prisoner I was raped more times than I can count.  I guess it must have averaged about fifteen or twenty times a day every day for nearly a year.  I remember the first time.  It was on the stage at the school the day the KGB arrived.  I was a virgin then, but I was taken over thirty times.  My body has been shredded by whips.
	"In spite of that, I'm convinced that Mike really does love me.  Chris, I'm a woman!  I love to have him inside me.  Failing that, I love to feel his big hand gripping my boob.  I can't wait to carry his babies inside me!  It's what I was made for.
	"I think it was Mikhail Solov who finally figured it out.  He said the only reason I did some of the things I did was to try to take care of Mike... to try to get him home in one piece so we could be married.  You know what?  He's right!"
	Kelly allowed her eyes to close, but continued softly, "Chris, it's only as a concession to you and Bill and your sensibilities that I still have my blouse on at all.  Normally I would be bare to the waist right now and reveling in the feeling of Mike caressing my body.  I hope this doesn't upset you too much."
	Bill Carlson spoke up for the first time.  "Kelly, it doesn't upset me at all.  Personally, I think it's neat!  You are a very handsome couple.  And I want to thank you both for what you did tonight.  I was just standing there like a bump on a log when you two exploded.  I agree with Chris about one thing, though: I would love to see a slow-motion instant replay."
	He turned to Chris and said, "Chris, in answer to your question of a while ago, there are two beds in the bedroom.  As a concession to your sex, I'll give you the choice.  But make up your mind fast!  I'm going to bed."
Chapter 19
	The next morning Chris Collins put on a bathrobe over her pajamas and went out to the suite's kitchenette.  Kelly was standing at the counter watching the automatic coffee maker make coffee.  When Chris entered, Kelly looked at her and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
	Chris grimaced at Kelly and replied, "As a matter of fact, no.  I've never heard such noises coming from the next bedroom.  How are you feeling?"
	"Absolutely wonderful!  Chris, I can hardly wait to be married.  Then it will all be legal.  Actually, I spent a wonderful night," she answered.
	Chris looked at Kelly and said quietly, "This gives me a chance to speak to you alone, anyway.  How are you feeling after last night?  I'm amazed you could sleep at all."
	"Those weren't the first dead bodies I've ever seen, Chris.  I'm sorry things got out of hand.  On the other hand, better them than us.  I think we happened to meet up with a group of sociopaths.  They are some of the guys we've lost.  It's largely due to our own fault, I suppose.  We should have come down hard on those guys years ago when they were still kids, but we're dealing with a juvenile justice system who's very name is an oxymoron.  There's no justice in it.  We're so preoccupied with protecting the rights of the accused, we've completely lost track of the rights of society."
	As she was speaking, she had seen Chris's eyes opening wide.  She continued, "Chris, I think the problem is a total lack of historic perspective.  The first organized police force in the world only came into existence in London in the 1840's.  In the scheme of history, that might as well have been yesterday.  Here in the United States men routinely went around armed in most places until the turn of the century.  I think there's been a breakdown in the social contract.
	"Let's face it:  Organized police forces said to the citizenry, in effect, 'You need not be armed.  We're armed, and we will protect your life and property.'  Do you honestly think the police are delivering on their side of the contract now?  Do you really feel the police are protecting your life and property?"
	"But Kelly, surely you're not suggesting people should go around armed?  They would kill each other!" Chris exclaimed.
	By now the coffee had finished percolating.  Kelly poured two cups, brought them to the small table, and sat down.  She said, "Why would they kill each other?  Are you suggesting that gun control works?  That violent crime has been reduced?"
	"That's not fair, Kelly.  Gun control just hasn't been made effective enough," Chris protested.
	"How about control of dangerous drugs?  How about the late unlamented liquor prohibition amendment?  Were they effective enough?  I've seen no sign of a reduction in drug use.  National prohibition was a disaster, in spite of major efforts to control alcohol.  Why should you expect gun control to work any better?"
	Chris looked at Kelly with a puzzled expression on her face.  "Kelly, is my information correct?  You're not yet twenty years old?"
	Kelly smiled wryly and replied, "Chris, you're looking at the world's only known major general who can't legally buy a drink!  I'm afraid so.  But why do you ask?"
	"Because I can't understand you.  You're not twenty years old, yet you're apparently more knowledgeable about a great many things than I am.  I have two degrees and I'm a news professional.  Nevertheless, you're so much more worldly than I am.  Could I change the subject?" Chris asked.  "The President in his speech last night referred to being wounded in action.  Could I see?"
	Kelly shook her head and said, "You can look, but there's really not much to see."  She slipped off her terry-cloth robe and showed Chris where she had been nicked by shrapnel on the shoulder.  There was only a tiny, nearly invisible scar.  Chris looked over Kelly's body and then saw the faint scars left by her repeated whippings.  Lightly, she ran her fingertips over the marks.
	"What are these?" she asked softly, afraid to say what they appeared to be.
	"Oh," Kelly replied matter-of-factly, "that's where I was whipped.  I've almost forgotten about them.  The marks have almost completely disappeared."
	Chris gave an involuntary shudder.  "My God, you really were beaten, weren't you?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "I think I said so last night.  I was very serious.  I live for Mike Callahan.  My goal in life is to try to make him as happy as I possibly can."
	"But that's not right!  You're a heroine.  You're a model for all young American women.  You took on men and beat them at their own game!"
	Kelly shook her head sadly.  "Chris, you just don't understand, do you?  How do you think I've achieved what little I have?"
	"Because you're smart and you're tough," the reporter replied.
	"Wrong!  Because I accepted help from anywhere I could get it.  I don't compete.  I'm just trying to do a job.  My job is to keep Mike Callahan alive.  There's probably more.  I'm female.  I love to associate with men.  I guess I'm reasonably attractive, and I guess I send out sexy signals.  My love for Mike shows."
	She grinned at Chris and added, "Chris, the real reason, I suspect, is that I have a well-fucked look.  I don't really know.  I do know I've seen it with friends.  They just move easier.  They're more relaxed and look it.  They just glow with happiness.  And they're a hell of a lot easier to live with, too."  She looked at Chris and said, "You've never had an orgasm, have you?"
	Chris reacted as if she had been slapped.  "What a thing to say!  Of course I have.  Lots of times!"
	Kelly smiled and shook her head sadly.  "No, Chris, you haven't.  If you had, you wouldn't react the way you just did.  You just couldn't possibly.  Do you know what?  You remind me of a person listening to a conversation about foreign foods.  Our taste vocabulary is very limited, by the way.  You hear the words, you know what the words mean, but you have no sense of what the food would really taste like.  You've never experienced it yourself.
	"I think it's the same way with sex.  You may have heard a girl talk about cuming, how her pelvis takes on a life of its own — how she totally loses control."  Kelly smiled warmly.  "In my own case I often pass out.  I honestly do.  I lose consciousness.  I guess it's a sensory overload, like a circuit breaker tripping out.
	"Last night was fairly normal.  I guess I must have cum about five or six times.  Mike and I were pretty tired so I think we just collapsed in the middle one time.  But you know what?  I always wake up the same way.  I sleep on his right and shape my body as close to his as I can.  He has his arm around me and his hand cups my right boob.  In the morning, if I wake up first, I squeeze his hand.  If he awakens first, he squeezes my boob.  Then we make love, slowly and sleepily."
	She grimaced, but her eyes were glowing with happiness.  "This morning the bum takes me, I soar to my peak, and then collapse.  He gives me this shit-eating grin and goes back to sleep.  Chris, you've never experienced that, have you?"
	Chris didn't answer directly.  Instead she said, "He squeezes your breast!?  That could cause breast cancer!"
	Kelly smiled and said, "Chris, you won't ever understand!  Breast cancer?  Chris, if Mike wanted it, I would cut off my breast and cook it for him.  I really would."
	While they were talking, Kelly had been cooking breakfast.  She had made bacon and a beautiful western omelette.  She put the food on two plates and said, "Let's eat.  I'm hungry."
	Chris just looked at the food on her plate.  "What's this?" she asked.
	"It's breakfast.  What does it look like?" Kelly replied.
	"But... but it's got cholesterol, and animal protein, and..." the girl protested.
	Just then Bill appeared in the kitchen doorway and sniffed appreciatively.  He picked up Chris's plate, took it to the counter and started eating.  She looked at him in amazement.  "What in hell are you doing?  That was mine!"
	"True," Bill replied, "but as you said, it's loaded with cholesterol and all that other bad stuff.  I would hate to see you have problems like that."
	He looked at Kelly and shook his head.  "Kelly, I would suggest you offer Chris some rabbit food, but then I realized that wouldn't work.  I doubt that, even if you had any, it would have been grown under the proper organic conditions — no pesticides or herbicides — and picked with union labor."
	He grinned and said, "Kelly, you have no idea how hard it is to be a liberal these days.  There's this ever-lengthening list of things one must do and can't do.  It really complicates the process of living."
	When Bill had come in Kelly noticed two things about Chris.  First, her face showed a flash of embarrassment; obviously she was concerned that Bill had overheard at least a part of their earlier conversation.  Second, she straightened her bathrobe and sat up a little straighter in her chair causing her breasts to appear more prominent.
	A few moments later Mike appeared.  He took Kelly into his arms.  It was obvious to the others that Mike and Kelly didn't deal in perfunctory kisses.  Chris could see that Kelly's eyes were glazed as she leaned back, supported by Mike's arms.  There was a glow on her face, and Chris heard her whisper, "Good morning, my husband."
	Chris felt a twinge as she watched the couple.  She started to have doubts for the first time about things she thought she believed in deeply.  Then she saw Kelly give Mike her brightest smile and a quick kiss.  She poured him a cup of coffee and turned to the stove to make another omelette.
	Chris turned to Mike and said, "You have a hell of a nerve!  It's your breakfast.  Why don't you cook it?"
	Mike refused to take offense.  He just shook his head and smiled at the reporter.  "Chris, I'm afraid you don't understand.  You see, Kelly has a big investment in me.  She's saved my life about five times now.  She long ago decided that she would be putting her investment at serious risk if she allowed me to eat my own cooking, let alone inflict it on anyone else.  As a matter of fact, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the sure sign of Kelly wanting to get rid of me would be if she allows me to cook.  That will mean she no longer cares if I poison myself."  He looked at Kelly, now turning the omelette out of the pan, and said, "Right, honey?"
	"I told you he was smart," she said to Chris.  "He understands me perfectly.  Of course, there are compensations.  He knows what will happen if he has to eat his own cooking.  What he does is keep me in a constant sexual daze so I don't even notice that I am cooking.  That requires a certain amount of effort on his part."
	She turned to Mike and said, "Honey, I have an idea that grew out of the events last night.  I was thinking of asking Ken and Mary to report to Washington.  You know how the police sometimes use stakeout teams?  How about if those two just walked around residential Washington?"
	Before Mike could reply, Chris said, "You couldn't do that!  It would be entrapment."
	Kelly just shook her head sadly and said, "Chris, with all due respect: Bullshit!  Entrapment occurs when you cause someone to do something he wouldn't normally do.  For example, let's say you leave a large amount of currency in an open bag on the floor in a public place.  If someone picks it up, that would be entrapment.  You pushed personal honesty pretty hard.  I'm talking about having a young couple walk down the street in residential areas.  Under what conceivable legal theory would that be entrapment?"
	Chris was on the defensive, but she held on.  "It would be an irresistible temptation.  It wouldn't be fair!"
	"Chris, honey, the only person to whom it would be 'an irresistible temptation' would be to a predator such as we met last night.  'T'would none of them be missed!'" She turned back to Mike and said, "What do you think, honey?"
	"I think it's a great idea.  I'll see about it right now."  He left the kitchen and went to the sitting room to make a phone call.  Mike came back shaking his head and grinning.  "It's all set.  Incidentally, I just learned I've been selected for brigadier general.  I'm the first in my West Point class.  Of course we're all way behind some cute little high-school dropout!"
	Kelly gave him a congratulatory kiss and then stuck her tongue out at him.  "I am not a dropout!  I have my diploma!"
	Chris asked about the day's plans.  Mike said that Kelly had a date in Connecticut.  "Chris, I think you, particularly, will be interested in what happens.  We'll be leaving from Andrews Air Force Base in about two hours."
	They dressed.  As they did, Kelly asked Mike, "Honey, now that you're a general, you rate an aide.  Have you given it any thought?"
	Mike stopped what he was doing.  Kelly's question had taken him completely by surprise.  Were it not for Kelly herself, he would be the youngest general in the Army at the age of twenty-six.  The idea of having an aide had never entered his mind.  Kelly whispered in his ear.  He looked surprised for an instant, grinned, and then kissed her.  "Darling, you don't know how wonderful it is to have a brilliant wife!  I think it's a great idea!"
	They drove out to Andrews where an Air Force jet was waiting for them.  They got aboard, the door was closed and the plane moved out to the active runway.  The plane was a DC-9 in VIP configuration.
	Kelly grinned at Mike and bounced in her seat as the plane taxied.  "Honey, this is definitely the way to go!"
	As the plane taxied, a steward poured coffee for them.  After they took off, they were served a breakfast snack.  The flight was very short; soon they were landing at Bradley International Airport.  After taxiing to the Air National Guard hangar, the plane's engines were shut down.
	A sergeant was standing by a car which was waiting for them as they got off the plane.  He snapped his very best salute at Kelly who returned it with a smile.  "General Jackson?  I'm Sergeant Howard.  I've been detailed to drive you while you're in the Hartford area."
	They all got in the car, and Sgt. Howard drove off the apron, out to the Interstate and then headed south towards Hartford.  Chris asked where they were going, and Kelly replied that they were going to the Smith & Wesson plant.  They pulled up at the door of the administration building and Howard ran around the car to hold the door for Kelly, again giving her a very snappy salute.  Kelly returned it smartly.
	As she passed close to him she whispered, "Sergeant Howard, aren't you overdoing it just a bit?"  Her smile took away any sting in her words.
	Howard grinned back and replied in a whisper, "Normally, yes.  For Kelly Jackson, hell no!"
	Kelly walked in to the building's main entrance.  As soon as she entered, the receptionist ran around the desk to greet Kelly with her hand extended.  "General Jackson?  I'm Sandy Cartwright.  Welcome to Smith & Wesson!  We're delighted you could come to see us."
	Kelly looked at the girl who, like Kelly was tall and slim.  "Sandy, by any chance were you the girl they used to tailor my vest?"  The girl blushed and shyly nodded her head.
	Kelly took her in her arms and hugged her.  She then gave her a warm kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Sandy, thank you for saving my life!"  Stepping back she said in her normal tone of voice, "I think Mr. Johnson is expecting us."
	She looked at Sandy thoughtfully and then asked, "Would it be possible for someone else to cover the desk for a while?  I would very much like you to come along with us, if you could."
	The girl made a phone call, and a few moments later another girl came out and took her place at the desk.  Sandy took them to the executive floor and then to Johnson's office where they found him standing at the doorway waiting for them.  After Kelly shook hands and then introduced Mike, Bill, and Chris, she quickly explained that she had learned Sandy Cartwright was the girl on whom the vest had been shaped.  She wanted her to be with them for the day.  Fred Johnson quickly agreed.
	They sat down and Kelly opened a shopping bag she had brought with her.  Taking her vest out, she held it up and said, "Mr. Johnson, the real reason I came here today was to find out if you have a reconditioning service.  This vest saved my life but it took a bit of a beating in the process."
	Kelly passed the vest to him along with the two spent bullets that had been removed from it while she had been in the hospital in England.  It was clear that Johnson had been warned.  He whistled softly as he saw the bullet holes in the facing of the vest.  He buzzed his secretary who came in and took the vest away with her.  Fred Johnson smiled at her and said, "That's easy to do.  Now, what would you like to do while you're here?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "Would it be possible for me to speak to your workers?  I feel I owe the people at Smith & Wesson a great deal.  I would like to thank your people personally.  Incidentally, I heard a rumor that serving as a human dummy for a Kevlar vest is not the easiest thing in the world.  In fact, rumor has it that it can be very painful.  Is that correct?"
	Johnson nodded and Sandy Cartwright reddened.  Kelly looked at Sandy and said, "Sandy, you sacrificed yourself for me, didn't you?"
	The girl was very pretty.  She appeared to be in her mid-twenties and had the same beautiful figure Kelly did.  She said softly, "It really wasn't that bad.  And I very much wanted to do it."
	"Why?" Kelly asked.
	The girl's head came up and Kelly could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  She said, "Because my husband was killed very early in the fighting.  I heard there was a woman officer who was so important that the Supreme Commander himself was looking for a flak vest for her.  I found out that my measurements are the same as yours so it was simple."
	By this time tears were coming to Kelly's eyes.  She said, "Sandy, I'm so sorry!  I must have been a prisoner when your husband was killed so I couldn't help him.  I think I helped bring some other guys home, though.  Anyway, I hope so."  She looked up at Johnson and said, "Could I speak to your workers?"
	"Absolutely!" he replied.  "I was hoping you might.  We set up a speaker's platform in the plant.  Unfortunately, it's pretty cold or we would be doing it outside.  I hope you don't mind?"
	"Don't be silly!  Of course not.  When do we do it?"
	Johnson smiled and said, "Right now."
	He led the way out to the plant floor and up on a temporary speaker's platform that was obviously specially constructed for the occasion.  The area in front of the platform was mobbed with workers.  Johnson seated Kelly and the others behind him and then went to the microphone.
	"Ladies and gentlemen!  I am very proud to welcome Major General Kelly Jackson to Smith & Wesson this morning.  As most of you know, General Jackson has just been awarded the first Gold Cross of Liberty, the highest award for valor our country has.  Kelly already has two Medals of Honor.  I think it's fair to say that no person in military history has achieved so much in such a short period of time.
	"Earlier this year, I received a letter and then a phone call from General Samuel Adams, Supreme Commander, Allied Powers Europe.  It seems there was this lieutenant colonel, a woman, who was considered to be very important to our war effort.  Although I was not given any details, I learned that this woman had been awarded the Medal of Honor.  I was asked if we could produce a special Kevlar vest and a helmet for her very quickly.  I said we could, and we did.
	"We received the colonel's measurements and found that they matched those of Sandy Cartwright.  We were going to use Sandy to model for a dummy and then mold the Kevlar to the dummy but there wasn't time.  We molded it directly to Sandy, causing her excruciating pain.  She never flinched.  She said it was for her late husband.  Later, we got a wonderful letter from the lieutenant colonel thanking us for our product.  She's here today — now a major general.  I am very proud to introduce to you Kelly Jackson, Major General, U.S. Army.  Kelly?"
	Kelly got up and went to the microphone.  She held up her arm and waved to the people as they cheered.  When the plant quieted down, she began to speak.  "Ladies and gentlemen of Smith & Wesson, I scarcely know how to begin.  I'm here this morning to thank you all – but particularly Sandy Cartwright – for saving my life.  However, before I start, I hear all this chatter about General Jackson.  I don't answer to General Jackson very well.  Everyone calls me Kelly, and I wish you all would, too.  After all, I owe you my life.
	"Mr. Johnson told you about the Kevlar vest.  Wearing it, I took five hits, three of which would have been lethal.  My helmet is also Kevlar made by you.  It took three hits.  For openers, I guess that means you saved my life six times.
	"There's more, though.  I never featured being a target.  I am very partial to a particular weapon, a 9mm 15-shot double-action automatic.  It's also by Smith & Wesson.  In Germany, I used it to save my life and the life of my fiancé, Mike Callahan, who's here beside me.  I fired five shots and got five lethal hits.  Then last night I used it again.  The four of us were attacked in Washington.  I guess the death toll reached ten — all bad guys."
	Kelly reached behind her back and brought out her automatic from its waistband holster.  She held it up and said, "Folks, you make wonderful products.  They are products which, by their very nature, are not designed for everyday use.  Yet when you use one, whether it's a Kevlar vest or an automatic, you want it to work right the first time.  Otherwise, there may not be a second time.  Your products do work right... the first time!  I'm living proof that they do.  Thank you so much!"
	She turned around and motioned Sandy Cartwright to come up.  The girl joined Kelly at the microphone.  Kelly put her arm around her and said, "And as for Sandy, here, there are no words.  This girl sacrificed her body for someone she didn't even know.  All I can say is, thank you so very much!"  She took Sandy in her arms and hugged her, then gave her a very warm kiss on the cheek.
	The applause from the workers was deafening.  Fred Johnson replaced Kelly at the microphone.  When the crowd quieted down, he said, "I should have said something earlier.  Kelly asked me if we have a reconditioning service.  For her, we do.  I want to show you something."
	He lifted the old outer fabric cover from her vest.  He pointed out the hits that it had taken and their locations.  Then he held up the two bullets Kelly had brought with her.  At this point he went to a box and took out her vest.  It was as good as new.  Johnson held it up and said, "We needed to do this anyway.  When we made this vest about six months ago, Kelly was a lieutenant colonel.  On the other hand, as recently as April 15 of this year she was only a captain.  Here it is November and she's a major general.  Who says the government can't get anything right?!"
	There was a storm of applause and cheers.
	"At any rate, Kelly, would you come back here, please?"  Kelly came up to join him at the microphone.  Johnson continued, "I would like to read the label to you.  It's woven, and it had to be large for everything to fit.  It says, 'To Kelly Jackson, Major General, U.S. Army, Gold Cross of Liberty, Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross (valor), Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Victoria Cross, Croix de Guerre, Golden Order of the Knight's Cross, the Gold Cross of the Republic of the Russias, from the people of Smith & Wesson.  You have helped to preserve our freedom and in the process helped gain liberty for millions of people.  Thank you!'" He handed the vest to Kelly who slipped it on.
	Johnson continued, "There's one thing more.  Kelly, thank you for your testimonial.  We're very proud of our products and very proud of our people.  We like to think we're the best in the world.  Now I would like to introduce Tony Labruzio, the foreman and lead craftsman in our special weapons unit.  Tony?"
	A man climbed to the platform.  He was wearing a traditional gunsmith's apron and carried a beautiful rosewood box under his arm.  He went up to the microphone and adjusted it downward.  He said, "Kelly, we're very proud of the weapons we make.  But our weapons can be no better than the people using them.  We know you're the very best, so you deserve the very best.  On behalf of the Special Weapons Group, we would like you to accept this 9mm automatic.  With all due respect to the weapon you carry, it's a Chevrolet compared to the Ferrari we have for you here.  Please accept it as a token of our respect and affection."  Labruzio opened the box and showed the weapon to her.
	Kelly just gasped.  It was a stainless steel automatic inlaid with gold.  The hand grips were antique ivory.  She took it from its case carefully and found that its balance was utterly perfect.  Carefully, she put it back and then took Labruzio's face and kissed him.  She said, "Tony, I don't know what to say.  It's a masterpiece!  Thank you so much, and thank you all so much."
	Labruzio, now away from the microphone, looked up at her and said, "Kelly, this weapon is perfect.  With match-grade ammunition, you can put it on a rest, fire two bullets, and not be able to see the second round.  It will be right inside the first.  Would you like to try it?" he asked hopefully.  She immediately agreed and they set a tentative time for later in the afternoon.
	They left the speakers platform and Johnson asked where Kelly would like to eat.  She asked if there was a plant cafeteria; she wanted to be with the workers and meet some of them.  Johnson smiled warmly and led the way.
	After a quick lunch, Johnson and Sandy took Kelly, Mike and the rest around introducing them to people involved in producing Kevlar vests and firearms.  Kelly signed dozens of autographs for the people.  They were shown through the plant in the afternoon and ended at the firing range.  Tony Labruzio was waiting for them, along with a group of men from the Special Weapons Unit, to watch her fire her new automatic.
	They set up a series of targets for Kelly.  She put on ear protectors and began to fire.  The targets were brought back and changed while Kelly kept shooting.  Finally, she finished, reloaded the weapon and put it in her holster, putting her old 9mm in the presentation box.  She went over to the table where the men were admiring her targets.
	Tony spoke for the group.  "Kelly, we make presentation weapons for lots of important people.  Sometimes we almost cry when a gun leaves our shop, because we know it's never going to be used.  Often, the recipient scarcely knows which end of the gun the bullets come out of.  With you, we're delighted.  Charley, here, says you're better than we are... and we use a bench rest.  We're really proud to give the best weapon ever to come out of this shop to the person who really knows how to use it.  Thank you, and good luck with it!"
	Kelly shook hands with each of the men and thanked them.  Finally, it was time to go.  She took Sandy in her arms and gave her a hug.  "Sandy, I really owe you!  I don't know what to say, except thank you.  I owe you my life.  That vest saved my life!"
	Sandy smiled warmly and said, "Kelly, I feel the same way Tony does.  It did its job for you.  I couldn't be more pleased.  We know you were decisive in Europe, and I guess my small sacrifice helped.  It made it well worth the pain!"
	Soon they were back in the car returning to the airport.  Bill and Chris had said little all day but as trained reporters they had taken it all in.  Kelly had seen them both making notes and had seen Chris activate a small recorder.  As they neared the airport, Mike, sitting in front with Sgt. Howard, turned toward the back seat and said, "What did you two think of the day?"
	Bill replied first.  "I'm getting some sense of a Kelly Jackson.  She's an extraordinarily warm person.  She interacts with people at any level.  She's genuinely interested in them."  He grinned and added, "And she sure as hell knows which end of an automatic the bullets come out of.  I have never seen such shooting, and it's obvious the guys in the shop hadn't either."
	Then Mike looked at Chris and said, "How about our liberal?  What does she think?"
	Chris smiled.  It was the warmest smile Kelly had ever seen from her.  She said, "The liberal is wondering how to go about asking Kelly if she could have her old automatic... along with some shooting instruction.  Does that shock you?"
	Bill smiled and said, "Not at all!  It's in the great liberal tradition.  A columnist in Washington noted for his anti-gun columns shoots a prowler at his home.  The New York Times, noted for its anti-gun editorial position, turns out to have an editor-in-chief and a publisher both of whom have carry permits.  Chris, you're in a long and honored liberal tradition."
	"Bill Carlson, I hate you!" Chris exclaimed.
	Bill said quietly, "I don't think so," and gathered her into his arms and kissed her.  At first her arms were waving in the air but a moment later were around his neck.  Mike winked at Kelly who grinned back at him.
	Bill gently released Chris who murmured, "Bill, that wasn't nice."
	Bill looked into the girl's green eyes and said, "Chris Collins, I'll make a deal with you.  I will apologize if you can honestly say you didn't like the kiss.  Can you?"  Chris didn't answer.  Instead she snuggled close to him and just sighed.
	They were soon back on the plane headed to Washington.  When they returned to Andrews Air Force Base, Chris was alert.  She asked, "Kelly, could I make a contribution?  I feel like the complete freeloader.  Could I take us out to dinner tonight?"
	When Kelly and Mike quickly accepted, Chris went to a phone and made a call.  She told them where they were eating.  They got into the car and drove downtown to the restaurant.  It was one at which Chris was known, one of the places for "power dining" in Washington, a restaurant where who you saw and who saw you were far more important than what was served.
	They were served a very mediocre meal and quickly left to return to the hotel.  Chris was abashed.  She said, "I'm sorry, guys.  That was a very stupid choice."  She smiled at Kelly and said, "I made all kinds of points tonight.  I was seen with General Kelly Jackson!  And you know what?  The food was so terrible, I didn't eat anything, and you three didn't either."  She looked at Bill and smiled sheepishly.  "Bill, do you know a restaurant where they serve food instead of names?"
	Bill took her hand and squeezed it.  He directed Kelly to a very small Italian restaurant.  They were late arriving and were the last to leave after a wonderful meal.  Chris said, "Thank you, Bill.  That was a wonderful dinner.  But why did you pay?  Dinner tonight was on me."
	"Because this is my place.  Anyway, even though us ink-stained wretches don't make what you high-powered TV types do, it's affordable at Tony's.  You can try again tomorrow."
Chapter 20
	The next morning Kelly came out to the kitchen and found Chris was already up and watching the coffee drip.  Chris gave her a big smile, and Kelly saw a difference from the day before.  Her legs were bare below the bottom of her flannel bathrobe; the previous day she had seen pajama bottoms.  She asked Chris about it.  She grinned and replied, "I'm becoming more like a teenybopper I know.  I haven't quite got up the nerve to wear nothing... yet."  She frowned and said, "I hope I didn't screw up the coffee too badly."
	Kelly noticed that the older girl was cooking bacon and had the eggs out.  "What's going on?" she asked.  "It almost looks like you're being domestic.  If I didn't know you better, I would say you were."
	"Kelly, I've got a problem.  It was that kiss in the car yesterday.  Bill Carlson and I don't agree on the time of day — or anything else, for that matter — but that kiss curled my toes.  All last night I was tossing — or felt like tossing — listening to his breathing just a couple of feet away.  Kelly, I so wanted to get in bed with him and ask him to hold me.  What's the matter with me?" the girl asked plaintively.
	Kelly looked at her impassively.  With a completely straight face she said, "The problem is you're a woman — in spite of everything you say.  Incidentally, I have a question for you.  Will you be a bridesmaid in my wedding?"
	Chris looked at Kelly in utter amazement.  "You want me to be a bridesmaid!?  Why?"
	"Well, first, you're a girl.  That always helps.  Second, there seem to be a number of men who we want to be in the wedding, and we need more women.  My problem is I don't have many girl friends.  I've been out of the country for nearly three years.  Before that I went through about one and a half schools a year, so I never had a chance to develop friends.  Anyway, it's just a thought."  she finished.
	"Kelly, I would love to be in your wedding.  But are you sure your mother would approve?" Chris asked.
	"I don't really see why not.  I happen to know that some of her best friends are liberals.  She's very tolerant," Kelly finished with a grin.
	Moments later Bill appeared, followed by Mike.  Mike gave Kelly his usual warm kiss.  Meanwhile, Bill went up to Chris who was standing at the stove.  He took her chin in his hand, gently turned her head and kissed her gently.  Kelly heard the spatula drop in the pan as Chris's arms went around Bill's neck as she returned his kiss with increasing passion.  Mike looked at Kelly and winked.
	Over the next few weeks the foursome fell into a pattern to prepare for the wedding scheduled for the last Saturday in November.  Chris started to accompany Kelly on her workouts, and she realized the girl had a beautiful figure.  Surprisingly, she started to use the automatic Kelly had given her and quickly developed into an excellent pistol shot.
	The coroner's inquest into the Georgetown deaths was open and shut.  There was an immediate finding of justifiable homicide, along with a finding of accidental death with respect to the two passengers in the station wagon.
*  *  *
	The morning of the wedding dawned bright and clear.  Katrina Murphy, now back from her honeymoon, was Kelly's matron of honor, while Kevin was Mike's best man.  Kelly kissed Katrina who was now deeply tanned and looked absolutely beautiful after her honeymoon in Hawaii.  Cathy Adams, Mary Harris, and Chris Collins were the bridesmaids.  The ushers included Sam Adams and Ned Carlson.
	Mike was standing at the altar with Kevin, when they heard the wedding march begin as the bridesmaids entered.  The last to enter the cathedral was Katrina who Mike thought looked absolutely gorgeous.  Her silver-blonde hair had been bleached almost white by the Hawaiian sun and she looked spectacular with her golden tan.
	Kelly walked slowly up the aisle on her father's arm.  She was so happy, tears were clouding her vision.  She was glad her father was walking beside her, and she had his arm to guide her.  The cathedral was magnificent and appeared to be very crowded in spite of its great size.  As she approached the altar she saw Mike standing there waiting for her.  It was truly the happiest moment of her life.
	As she neared him she saw the President looking at her as she passed.  She reached the altar, and Katrina drew back her veil.  Then Kelly looked into Mike's eyes and saw his love for her shining in them.  He took her hand, and they approached the bishop together.  The wedding mass passed in what seemed only an instant.
	At the point at which the bishop presiding would normally address the congregation, the President came forward to the pulpit.  He said, "Today is a day of joy.  We are here to witness the exchange of marriage vows between Kelly Jackson and Michael Callahan.  I would like to say a few words about this young couple.  First, Mike Callahan is a West Point graduate.  While his classmates are being promoted from captain to major, Mike is a brigadier general.  Temporarily.  Mike holds two Distinguished Service Crosses for valor.  He has two Purple Hearts.  He has an assortment of lesser hardware including the Silver Star and the Bronze Star.  He is the most decorated man in the U.S. Armed Forces.
	"I say decorated man.  He is marrying Kelly.  Kelly is not yet twenty years old.  One year ago she was a prisoner of the KGB and undergoing unspeakable tortures every day.  She escaped and met Mike.  They have been together ever since.  She was commissioned as a captain in the Army on March 1 of this year.  Now she is a major general.  Temporarily.  She has been awarded two Medals of Honor.
	"However, her achievements have been so great the Congress has had to create a new top award for valor, the Gold Cross of Liberty.  Kelly is the only person to whom it has been awarded.  In addition she holds the highest awards for valor from Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia.
	"Kelly and Mike both say they want a lot of children.  I can only say that if the children are anything like their parents, we can feel very good about the prospects for our country.  I am delighted to be here today.  Frankly, I guess I invited myself.  Every time I saw Kelly, I reminded her to invite me to this wedding.  I know you all join me in wishing Kelly and Mike every happiness in their marriage.  It is happiness they so richly deserve."
	The wedding ceremony continued.  Finally the bishop pronounced them man and wife, and they started down the aisle.  As they reached the door, they stopped.  At the door were twenty senior officers with Sam Adams and Ned Carlson closest to them, all with swords forming an arch for them to go through to the waiting limousine.  They got in the car, and it moved toward the hotel where the reception was to be held.  Mike said, "Darling, I think that was a first.  As you know, Sam is now Army Chief of Staff, and I saw Admiral Bradley.  We even had the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs saluting us!"
	At the reception the President came up to Mike and Kelly.  He said, "We didn't know what to get you, so we've promoted you both.  Kelly, you haven't been promoted in over a month.  You're now a lieutenant general and Mike is a major general.  I'm jumping the gun on Sam Adams, but we're giving you the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell.  Mike will be your deputy division commander.  Sam will brief you on the assignment when you return.
	The honeymoon in Hawaii was idyllic.  All Kelly remembered as they returned to the mainland was making love.  As they flew east, Kelly took down a blanket and covered them.  She placed Mike's hand on her bare breast and slept most of the way.
Chapter 21
	Mike was driving as they rolled through the main gate at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  They exchanged knowing glances.  The sentry hadn't looked up from his comic book — he just waved the car through.  Mike and Kelly were both in civilian clothes and both had deep tans from their Hawaiian honeymoon.
	They found the headquarters building and walked in.  Kelly was wearing a leather jacket with a fur collar similar to a World War II bomber jacket over a sweater and skirt.  Her golden hair was back in a pony tail.  Mike was wearing a similar jacket over slacks and a sport shirt.  When they entered the office they were appalled at what they were seeing.  One girl was struggling with a typewriter while the rest — there appeared to be a total of ten — were reading magazines, fixing their nails or otherwise killing time.
	Kelly stood at the counter and waited.  One girl glanced up from doing her nails and saw a very beautiful young girl with a good looking guy standing there.  She went back to her nails.  Neither Kelly nor Mike said anything.  Finally the girl who was struggling with the typewriter looked up and saw them.  She jumped to her feet and came to the counter.  "May I help you?" she asked.
	Kelly read the girl's name tape, SMITH, and noticed she had the single chevron of a private first class.  Kelly had quickly noticed that Smith was the most junior in grade and yet seemed to be the only one trying to do any work.  Kelly smiled and said, "My name is Jackson.  I would like to see General Bowers, please."
	Smith's eyes widened but she said, "Yes, ma'am.  I'll call right away.  Do you have an appointment?  And is the gentleman with you?"
	Kelly smiled and replied, "I don't have an appointment, and yes, the gentleman is with me.  His name is Callahan.  Please tell the General we're here."
	The girl placed a call and spoke quickly.  She looked frightened as she returned to the counter and said, "The third door on the left please, ma'am."
	Kelly and Mike went down the hall and knocked at the third door.  A deep female voice told them to enter.  Mike led the way into an office.  Seated behind the desk was a female major who was very large and very heavy.  She looked up with a very bored expression and said, "I'm Major Barrett.  May I help you?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "I asked to see General Bowers."
	The woman had not risen from her desk.  She just said, "The General is unavailable.  If you wish, you can state your business, and I'll see if I can get you an appointment.  However, I can tell you now it won't be until the middle of January at the earliest."
	Kelly said, "Major, you're a fool.  I asked to see the General.  Unless you have a very good reason for not allowing it, I intend to see him... now!"
	Mike glanced at Kelly and managed to control a grin.  Kelly's blue eyes were flashing sparks, and he knew she was mad.  It had proven to be very dangerous to make Kelly Jackson mad.
	The Major had obviously given some signal.  Just then the door opened behind them, and Kelly felt her arm grabbed from behind.  Glancing around she saw a burly sergeant wearing an MP brassard along with three privates standing behind him.  Kelly allowed herself to be led out of the office and out the front door.  The sergeant went to give Kelly a shove in the back.  She felt it, reached behind her back and grabbed his arm as he pushed.  Instead of Kelly moving, the sergeant went flying and landed in the dirt.  The three MPs started to move.
	Just as they did, Kevin Murphy, who was standing next to his car with Katrina, raised a Uzi machine pistol and said quietly, "Stand fast!"
	The sergeant had picked himself up from the dirt and came charging at Kelly.  She sidestepped and hit him in the side with a karate knife, breaking a rib.  He charged again and the process repeated.  After four attempts — and four broken ribs — when he landed in the dirt he started spitting blood.  He tried to get up again but couldn't.  He fell on his face and lay still.
	By this time a large crowd of soldiers had formed a ring around them.  Clearly, the sergeant was not well-liked.  The men seemed to enjoy seeing him cut up.  Kelly hadn't so much as mussed a hair.  She brushed off her hands and nodded to Mike.
	He went into the office and told Pfc. Smith to call for an ambulance.  It was apparent that the sergeant had a punctured lung.  When he went outside again, Kevin was casually putting his weapon aside.  The other MP privates were standing speechless.  Kevin and Katrina went up on the porch of the administration building with the Uzi hanging at his side.  Katrina was by his side with her arms folded, but there was a Uzi hanging at her side as well.
	Kelly went back to Major Barrett's office.  She walked in, taking the woman by surprise.  "I was saying that I wanted to see General Bowers, Major.  Then I was rather rudely interrupted.  The siren you heard was the ambulance taking the sergeant off to the hospital.  I don't believe we're going to be interrupted again, so why don't we see the general?"
	Bowers face showed fear.  Something was very wrong.  Still she tried to bluff.  "You can't see the general.  He's not here."
	"I think he's in the office at the end of the hall.  Shall we see?"
	Barrett came around the desk and followed as Kelly and Mike entered the corner office.  They found the general passed out on his sofa with an overturned liquor bottle lying on the floor.  The office stank like a distillery.
	Kelly picked up the phone and said, "This is General Jackson.  Send for an ambulance at once.  General Bowers needs immediate medical attention."
	Barrett turned to leave but found her arm held by Mike in a grip like a vise.  He suggested she take a seat which she did.  Kelly hung up the phone and looked at Barrett.  "Major," she began, "Shall we start over?  You never thought to ask.  You just ordered us thrown out.  However, I'm Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson with orders to take command of the 101st; this is my new deputy commander, Major General Michael Callahan.  We've now located General Bowers.  Where is his deputy commander?  Why isn't he here?"
	When Barrett heard Kelly identify herself as a general, she had turned white.  She replied, "He's confined to his quarters.  General Bower's orders."
	"When were those orders given, Major?" Kelly asked.  Mike could hear the steel in her quiet voice and so could Barrett.
	"Yesterday," the woman replied.  There was almost a question mark at the end of the word.
	"Major, from the looks of him, General Bowers was in no shape to give any orders yesterday... or for a long time before that.  I'm assuming you gave the orders in the General's name.  Confine yourself to your quarters until you hear from me.  Now get the deputy in here at once!"
	Barrett picked up the phone, dialed a number and spoke into the phone.  "The general will be over in a few minutes," she said.
	Kelly glanced at her watch and asked, "Who is in charge of base security?"
	"I am," Barrett replied.
	"As well as acting as the commanding officer without authorization," Kelly mused aloud.  "Major, your last official act, before being relieved of all duties in advance of a Court of Inquiry to which you will be named a party, is to call a meeting of all officers of the 101st, company grade or higher for 1300 hours.  I trust there is a hall or building large enough for our meeting?"
	Barrett nodded and made arrangements.  She withdrew from the office looking deflated and white with fear.
	Kelly winked at Mike and said, "Honey, it looks like we're going to have to work for a change."
	Mike went out front and brought Kevin and Katrina back with him.  This time they had suitcases with them.  They went into a vacant office — nearly all of them were — and changed.  Minutes later they emerged wearing camouflage battle dress utilities — BDUs.  Mike took them back to the office and said loudly, "AttenTION!"
	All the girls jumped to their feet.  Mike said, "I'm General Callahan, the new deputy division commander.  I want you to meet two captains Murphy.  The young lady, Captain Katrina Murphy, is my aide.  Captain Kevin Murphy is my wife's aide.  She is Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson Callahan, although she doesn't use her married name on duty.  The Murphys are also husband and wife.  Katrina will temporarily be running this office in place of Major Barrett.  Kevin will be in charge of security.  Any questions?"
	All the girls looked frightened except Pfc. Smith who seemed very pleased.  While she directed Kevin towards the base security office and Katrina went back to get started on the administration, Mike went into an empty office to change.  As he was putting on his uniform he heard an ambulance arrive to take Bowers off to the hospital.
	Going back to Bower's former office, a brigadier general entered the building, saw him, and saluted.  Mike's back was towards him so he couldn't see his name tape.  He said, "General, I'm Kraft, the deputy division commander.  I'm pleased to meet you."
	Mike turned and put out his hand, "Kraft, I'm glad to meet you.  I'm Callahan, the new deputy and your relief.  Come on back and we'll meet the new division commander."
	They entered the corner office and found Kelly behind the desk.  She looked up, smiled, and got to her feet.  Kraft looked around the office puzzled.  "I'm Kelly Jackson, General.  I'm very pleased to meet you.  Although I would have liked it to be under more pleasant circumstances.  Won't you please sit down?"
	Kraft took a seat, still looking puzzled.  Mike said, "Please forgive my wife.  I think she's forgotten she's out of uniform."  Kelly reddened and Mike told her in which of the offices he had left her uniform.  Kelly excused herself and Mike said, "Kraft, my wife, whom you just met, is Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson.  She's the new commanding officer of the 101st."
	"But that's impossible!  She's a woman," Kraft protested.
	Mike smiled and said, "The fact that she's a woman is very true.  She also holds a regular army commission as a lieutenant general... in spite of being only nineteen years old.  She also holds the Gold Cross of Liberty, two Medals of Honor, two DSC's, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.  Then there's also the Victoria Cross, the Croix de Guerre, the German Golden Order of the Knight's Cross, and the Russian Golden Cross of the Republic.  She also won it for us in Europe.  Expressed a different way, General, Kelly has more senior medals for valor than you have in the whole damned Division.  Do you question her ability to command the 101st?"
	Kraft's jaw had dropped.  "You can't be serious!  That girl did all those things?"
	Mike smiled and said, "She sure did, and a few more to boot.  You saw a girl out front — a captain — who's my aide.  She's Kevin Murphy's wife, but she's also the daughter of the President of the Russian Republics, Mikhail Solov, formerly Field Marshall in the Red Army.  Ask Katrina about Kelly and get the view from the other side."
	Just then Kelly returned to the office wearing her BDUs.  Kraft snapped to attention and saluted smartly.  Kelly returned the salute and took her seat.  "General, you're being relieved and reassigned.  Before you go, though, could you tell us what's going on here at Fort Campbell."
	Kraft sat back in the chair and said, "I really wish I could.  I haven't seen General Bowers personally in nearly six months.  I suspect Major Barrett has been running the command in his name.  I saw the ambulance leaving as I arrived.  Was that Bowers?"
	"Yes, General, it was," Kelly replied.  "I guess the reason I'm here is to try to shape up the 101st.  It's fair to say that the Screaming Eagle Division is facing extinction.  I am sure you noticed the 101st was the only front-line combat unit to remain in the States?  It should have been in Germany with the 82nd but wasn't."  Kraft realized her eyes were boring into his.  She asked, "General, what is the present state of readiness?"
	"That's why I was in hack, General," he replied, looking chagrined, "I was raising hell because our readiness is disgraceful.  I guess you saw some of it just driving in.  Were you challenged at the gate?"  Kelly shook her head.  "What did you think of the office when you came in?  I'll bet Pfc. Smith was the only one working.  Am I right?"
	"You sure are, General.  Now, is there anything you can tell me about the regimental or battalion commanders... or anyone else on the post for that matter."
	Kraft gave them a briefing while apologizing for its limitations.  Apparently, he had been unable to do anything to shape up the Division in the period he had been there.  He did provide one name, Major John Jeffries, as a good candidate to take over security.  When he finished his very brief report, Kraft left to pack his gear.
	Kelly asked Mike to take over and speak to Jeffries.  Jeffries arrived at headquarters and Mike gave him the Security detail along with instructions to shape it up fast.
	Then the foursome went over to the mess hall to eat with Kelly and the others wearing their utility uniforms with soft hats.  Because the rank insignia on the hats was in black, it was easy to miss the stars against the camouflage pattern of the caps' cloth.  As Kelly led the way through the mess line, she found a few of the food service people to be pleasant but most were surly.  When she got to the end of the line, she told the sergeant that she wanted to see the Duty Mess Sergeant and the Commissary Officer at once.
	The sergeant had been sitting at the end of the line half asleep as Kelly came up to him.  He hadn't noticed her insignia until she spoke to him.  When he saw the three stars, he snapped to attention.  He said he would bring the men to their table at once.
	Then the sergeant went into the mess hall and bellowed, "AttenTION!"  All the men jumped from their seats and stood at attention.  For some of them, the time-lag between the execution command and their movement was significant.
	Kelly and Mike carried their trays over to a table in the corner, and Kelly stood up on a bench to be able to see and be seen.  Mike got up beside her.  She said, "Please be seated.  I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I want to introduce myself.  My name is Kelly Jackson.  I'm the new commanding officer of the 101st.  Standing here with me is my deputy, Major General Michael Callahan.  He would like to say a few words."
	"Men, Kelly forgot to mention that she's a lieutenant general.  She wears the Combat Infantry Badge, is paratroop qualified and has two Medals of Honor.  We are here to shape up the 101st... fast!  I hope you all want to be paratroopers.  If you don't, transfers and discharges will be very easy to arrange.  I hope you stay with us.  We apologize again for the interruption.  Enjoy your lunch!"
	Mike got down from the bench, looked at the food on his tray, and made a face.  "Kelly, you wouldn't feed this to pigs!  This is awful!"
	Just then a sergeant came running up followed by a lieutenant colonel still tucking his uniform shirt into his pants.  The two men came up to the table and saluted.  They weren't smart salutes, but Kelly felt they were the best the men could manage.  She said, "Colonel, what is on this tray?  It certainly isn't food.  What is it?"
	The man sputtered and started to answer when Kelly stopped him.  "Don't tell me what the book says, Colonel.  Did you eat it?"  When he said he hadn't, she said, "In that case, I am sure you're missing a rare experience!  I haven't touched my tray, Colonel.  It's all yours.
	"Sergeant, I think General Callahan can spare his for you.  But before you start eating, get the two senior cooks on duty and bring them out here, too."
	The sergeant went off and came back a few moments later with two fat cooks.  One was still wiping his hands on a dirty towel secured around his waist.  Kelly told them to be seated, and they were given Katrina's and Kevin's trays.
	Kelly said, "Gentlemen, this is what you're serving to the troops.  I'm sure you will enjoy it every bit as much as they did.  You will eat it.  All of it!  Do I make myself clear?  I'll ask my aide, Captain Murphy, to stay and keep you company.
	"Kevin, we're going to McDonald's for lunch.  We'll bring you back a couple of Big Macs."  She turned to the foursome who were now sitting at the table and looking miserable as they examined the awful-appearing food.  The three left the mess hall.
	When they returned nearly an hour later, they saw that Kevin had his Uzi out hanging from its sling.  One of the cooks was writhing on the floor.  All of them looked sick.  Kelly suppressed a grin as she saw what were obviously bullet holes in the floor close to where the men were sitting.
	Kevin said, "General, I don't know quite what to do.  I heard you say they would enjoy the food.  I'm not sure, sir, if that was an order.  They ate it, but I can honestly say they did not enjoy it."
	Kelly pulled up a chair to the table where the commissary personnel were sitting.  "Colonel, why is this food so bad?"
	The man looked miserable.  "Because, General, we pay for shit and that's what we get.  We only spend about one-third of what we're supposed to."
	"Where's the other two-thirds?" Kelly asked.
	"Major Barrett, General," the man said miserably.
	Kelly nodded to Mike who went to a telephone.  He called Major Jeffries and ordered him to have Major Barrett taken into custody.  As he returned to the table, he heard Kelly tell him to be sure that there was good food available beginning at the evening meal that day.  She told him that the episode they had just lived through was going to become routine.  Furthermore, she intended to eat most of her own meals in the mess hall.  As they left and neared the exit, all the troopers were on their feet applauding.  By the time they reached the door, the applause had turned to cheers.  Clearly, Kelly had made an impression.
	At one minute past one Kevin Murphy came out on the stage of the base auditorium and called the officers present to attention.  He nodded towards the rear where some of Major Jeffries' MPs proceeded to close the doors.  Mike was with the major in the lobby ready to take the names of any latecomers while Kelly walked out to the podium and looked out at the seats.  As she expected, it appeared that fewer than half the invited officers were present.
	"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she began.  "I am Kelly Jackson.  I am the new commanding officer of the 101st Airborne.  My deputy is Mike Callahan.  He is now taking the names of latecomers.  This division is a disgrace to the Airborne and to the whole U.S. Army.  I served with the 82nd in Europe.  Rather, it's more accurate to say the 82nd saved my ass in Europe.  I have a deep respect for Jim Ames and his troops.  My aide, Captain Murphy, is from the 82nd.  Our mission, gentlemen, is to clean their clocks on the first of February, next year.  That only gives us about two months and that includes Christmas.
	"I said this division is a disgrace.  It is.  It's the only first-line combat unit that was not sent to Europe.  If any of you think it's because you were too valuable here in the States, you're full of shit!  It's because this division is a joke!  It was considered to be a hazard to itself and to any unit near it.  In other words, the 101st was too dangerous to itself and to our own people to be let loose.  The Screaming Eagles face extinction.  I don't want it to happen.  I will not allow it happen!
	"To be sure it doesn't happen, things are going to get rough around here.  We're going to be doing more training — winter or not — in the next two months than you've done in the last two years.  We're getting started now!  A final point:  We're now at peace for the first time in years.  The armed forces are being downsized.  Accordingly, any one who doesn't like it — or the prospect of it — is welcome to transfer or resign.  I can guarantee you a transfer out.  I cannot guarantee any other unit will accept you in.  In fact, I have it on pretty good authority that any officer from the 101st is considered to be a bum, sight unseen.  But if you wish to take your chances, you're welcome.  Before you leave here, check in with Captain Murphy and give her your name.  We want to know who was here and who wasn't.  Heavy training starts tomorrow at 0600.
	"A final point for your information.  I told you I'm Kelly Jackson.  My complete name is Kelly Jackson Callahan.  I'm very proud to say that Mike Callahan is my husband.  We got into the husband-and-wife routine.  My aide is Captain Kevin Murphy.  Mike's aide is my best friend and the matron of honor at my wedding, Katrina Solov Murphy.  I was her maid of honor when she married Kevin in Moscow a couple of months ago.  Katrina was a captain in the Red Army until she was captured in May.  And please be nice to her.  Her father is now President of Russia.  I'll see you all in the morning.  Dismissed."
	The officers lined up to check in with Katrina while Kelly went out and met Mike.  A great many officers who had arrived late were now standing around outside the auditorium.  Kelly quickly briefed them and said they all now had one strike.  Those who missed the meeting without a good excuse now had two.  Three strikes and they were out of the unit.
	When they walked out of the building and looked around, they saw that the sky had become overcast.  It was cold and threatening to snow.  As they stood outside they saw Chris and Bill come towards them, both wearing storm coats.  Chris came up and said with a smile, "Is it safe for us to come out now?"
	The original plan had been for Chris and Bill to stay with Kelly only until her wedding.  But when they heard about her assignment as commander of the 101st, along with the unit's problems, they both made arrangements to stay.  They went over to the Commanding Officer's quarters together.  As they arrived, a cleaning detail was just leaving.  The sergeant in charge saluted Kelly and said that things were as good as they could make them.  He asked if he could see about some plumbing repairs and repainting, but he assured her that everything worked.
	They quickly moved in.  Kelly was amused to see that Bill and Chris moved into the same room even though the house was big enough to have several spare bedrooms.  Kelly had put Katrina and Kevin in the Deputy Division Commander's house next door.  She explained that given the uncertainty around the base, she wanted them close by.  Then she told Bill and Chris what had happened during the day while Mike called JAG headquarters in Washington to determine what to do with Major Barrett.  He was told that the alleged theft of government property would be investigated by CID in conjunction with the FBI.  Two CID agents had appeared to take Barrett into custody.
	After drinks, the group including Kevin and Katrina went over to the mess hall for dinner.  When she went through the food service line the change from lunchtime was dramatic.  The food looked appetizing and all the servers were clean.  As they served her, they gave her embarrassed smiles.  She smiled back.  When she entered the mess hall there was a spontaneous cheer from the men.
	As she made her way back to a vacant table, several of them thanked her for the sudden change in the quality of the food.  She was putting her tray down on a table when a corporal came up and stood stiffly at attention.  He said, "Request permission to speak to the general, sir!"
	Kelly smiled and said, "At ease, soldier.  Permission granted.  What's on your mind?"
	Even though she had told him to stand at ease, he remained at attention.  He said, "General, this is the best meal I've eaten since I've been at the fort.  I just wanted you to know, sir, that things got much better in just the few hours you've been here.  Sir, I was with the 82nd and wounded in Germany.  I have a lot of buddies who are still in it.  You're Kelly Jackson, aren't you, sir?"
	Kelly smiled warmly and said, "I sure am.  But, Corporal, why don't you just relax.  If you have a few minutes, could you pull up a chair?  You may be just the man I want to talk to.  And Benson, you could call me 'ma'am'."
	Benson reddened and said, "I'm sorry, sir... ma'am."  He pulled over a chair and sat down.  He said, "It's just kind of hard to think of the commanding officer of an airborne division as a woman."
	By this time the others had come over to the table.  Bill and Chris, particularly, were paying close attention to what the corporal had to say.  Kelly asked, "What do you think of the 101st, Benson?"
	The corporal frowned but then brightened.  He said, "It's really a mess right now, ma'am.  But there are some very good men.  Ma'am, you're the one who took out the Russian command post, aren't you?  Along with General Callahan?"
	Mike said, "Son, my job was easy.  I was sleeping.  My wife did it all.  In fact, she patched me up in her spare time."  
	"Ma'am, my buddies tell me all they found were dead bodies!  Every one with a bullet in the head!  That was you, wasn't it?"
	"I'm afraid so, Corporal.  In fact, Jim Ames was teed off.  He claims all I left for him was the garbage work: burying the dead, listing the prisoners and that sort of thing.  He said I have to clean his room for him to get us even.  He accuses me of being a very sloppy housekeeper.  He was nice, though.  He promised he wouldn't tell Mike until after we were married."  Kelly was grinning when she finished.
	Then she added, "Do you think we can shape up this outfit enough to take the 82nd in February?  That's what we're going to try to do!"
	Benson grinned back and said, "General, I think I better get some sleep.  If it can be done, ma'am, you're the one who can do it!  But there are sure going to be some hurtin' troopers between now and then!"  He got up and stiffened to attention.  "Thank you, ma'am for your time."
	He went off.  When he got about ten yards away he was mobbed by his buddies who wanted to know what had been said.
	Chris said, "Kelly, I think you've done it again.  The word is going to spread concerning the new CO.  And it can't hurt."
	They went back to the houses and went to bed.
Chapter 22
	The next morning Kelly and Mike were up at five o'clock.  They were surprised to find Bill and Chris up, too.  Somewhere the two reporters had found BDUs and combat boots.  Then after a quick cup of coffee the four went outside.  At five-thirty it was still pitch dark and quite cold.  Kevin and Katrina were waiting in jeeps and drove them over to the parade ground.  They took their positions at the head of the formations.  It was obvious from the confusion that the division had never been assembled like this before.
	Exactly at 0600, Mike passed the word, and a bugler sounded officer's call.  Instantly, they could hear platoons, then companies, then battalions, and finally regiments reporting ready.  The regimental commanders were lined up in front of Mike.
	Kelly marched to where they were standing.  Mike executed an about-face and saluted Kelly reporting, "The 101st Airborne Division is all present or accounted for, sir!"
	Kelly returned the salute and ordered them to stand at ease.  She said, "Gentlemen, this division is going to get into combat trim... fast!  I thought we might start slow.  We're only going to run five miles before breakfast this morning.
	"General Callahan, give the orders to move out by regiment."
	Kelly saw some of the regimental commanders go pale as they heard her orders.  Mike had checked maps and had laid out a five-mile course.  The first unit started to move out, followed by the others.  Kelly grinned at Mike and said, "Shall we join the party?"  She started to move out at double time accompanied by Mike and the others.
	Katrina had taken particular care to be sure that the clerks from the office were in ranks and running.  Kelly ran alongside the troops carrying her standard pack and her sidearm.  Even Bill and Chris were running.  As they passed units the men grinned and waved.  Finally, they had passed the leading unit and reached the finish line where they waited.  Soon the first units came by.  It was apparent that not all the men had finished.  Unit by unit, there were gaps in the ranks where soldiers had fallen out.
	They went over to the mess hall for breakfast.  Again, she was cheered when she came out of the serving area into the mess hall itself.  The men had all seen the senior officers pass them on the trail.  That morning there were over 100 requests for transfer, including all the girls in the office except Pfc. Smith.  Kelly had appointed a division adjutant and suggested to him that Smith be promoted to sergeant.  He agreed with alacrity.
	In a conversation with Sam Adams, Kelly had told him what she expected to do and what the probable reaction would be.  He wasn't surprised.  She called him and told him about the transfers.  All the transfers were to be sent to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, pending final disposition.  Replacements had been positioned at Ft. Bragg as well and would be brought in that afternoon by air.
	In the weeks that followed, Kelly drove the men and drove herself.  She and Mike seemed to be everywhere, watching every exercise.  The training continued and the improvement was visible each day.  Kelly astounded the men when she led them in repeated parachute jumps onto frozen landing areas.  They practiced vertical envelopment with squadrons of helicopters.  Kelly was on the phone to Sam Adams cajoling him to give her more aircraft for training jumps.  During the entire period, no one ever saw Kelly order anyone to do anything.  She showed them how she wanted it done, and they tried to follow her example.
	In the afternoon of the first day of training, Kelly was on the firing range.  She overheard a major tell his men that a range score of twenty-five out of a possible fifty was pretty good.  Kelly went over to the Major and, after a word with the range sergeant, offered to shoot the course with him.
	The Major fired first.  The course was set up in an antiterrorist mode similar to one Kelly had fired at Quantico.  After shooting they brought his targets back for scoring.  Kelly sorted through them and found a target with a terrorist behind a female hostage who was holding a baby.  His bullet had gone between the woman's eyes.  Kelly said, "Major, are you sure twenty-five out of fifty is good enough?  You beat that score, but killed at least one innocent civilian."
	Then Kelly fired the course using an assault rifle set on full automatic fire.  She ran down the course firing short bursts.  When she finished, she removed the clip and cleared the breech.  Her targets were brought back and scored.  All were tens, in spite of using automatic fire.  Every bullet scored.  The range personnel went bugeyed as they looked at the targets.  No one working the range had ever seen a perfect score, and no one had ever fired the terrorist course using automatic fire.
	Kelly said, "Try to do better, Major," and walked off.
	Each night Kelly would stagger back to the house and take turns with Mike massaging each other.  They shared a hot shower and slowly made love before going over to the mess hall for dinner.  They ate almost all their meals there, a point particularly noted by the men.  As the word spread, more and more officers started to eat in the mess hall, too.  Chris asked Kelly what she did for aches and pains.  Kelly told her about massaging Mike and being massaged by him.  Chris looked interested but said nothing.
	The first Sunday on the post, Kelly slept late for her.  She didn't get up until seven o'clock.  Going down to the kitchen, she found Chris waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.  The girl had her legs spread wide as she sat on a chair.  Kelly looked at her face and saw she looked beautiful but tired.  "Chris Collins, have you been a bad girl?" Kelly asked.
	Chris grinned and said, "No, I was actually pretty good.  At least Bill said I was.  Kelly, you couldn't have been more right.  I never did have an orgasm before I met you.  Now... last night... I must have cum over a dozen times."
	She smiled at Kelly and said, "Would you do me a favor?  Please never mention that 'personhood' bullshit I was trying to sell you, ever again?  Kelly, I'm a cunt!  I've got good tits, a great ass, and great legs.  My cunt is getting to be pretty talented.  Kelly, I love to massage the big lug and feel his muscles.  We have a deal.  I massage him and finish by doing his cock.  He enters me and when we cum, I get to lie there while he massages me.  God, it's great.  And Kelly, I thought I was in good shape when we met.  I didn't know what physical conditioning was!  You absolutely define it.
	"Could I make us breakfast this morning, please?  I've been practicing, and I promise you I won't poison us."
	Kelly relaxed in a chair and watched as Chris prepared a monstrous breakfast that included country ham, eggs, pancakes, and hash-brown potatoes.  Kelly just grinned.  Bill came in and went up behind Chris at the stove.  When he put his hands over her breasts, Chris turned in his arms and kissed him lovingly.  Kelly watched in amusement as Chris just melted in his arms.
	When he lifted his head from their kiss she heard Chris whisper, "Good morning, darling!  Did you sleep well?"
	Bill said, "As well as I could."  He looked at Kelly and said, "How does Mike get any sleep?  Kelly, I didn't know when I was well off!  I discovered that Chris has been a repressed nymphomaniac all these years.  Now it's all come out.  This girl is going to be the death of me!"  Then he grinned and added, "But what a way to go!"  Then he kissed her again.
	On Monday morning Kelly sent for Sergeant Major Franklin, the division sergeant major and the ranking enlisted man on the post.  A few minutes later he appeared and saluted smartly.  Kelly shook hands and asked him to take a seat.  She said, "Sergeant, how long have you been in the Army?"
	Franklin was a very big man, standing over six feet three.  He had very broad, heavily muscled shoulders and biceps.  He was black, and it was impossible to estimate his age.  He replied, "Nearly thirty years, General."
	Kelly smiled.  "Then you're certainly from the old Army.  What do you think of the 101st?"
	He returned the smile and said, "It's become a lot better in the last week.  May I ask the general a question?"
	"Of course," she replied.
	"Why are you commanding the 101st?"
	"Because that's what my orders from the Chief of Staff say I am to do.  That's the only answer I can give you."
	Kelly smiled wryly and continued, "Let's face it, I have two strikes:  First, I'm a woman.  Second, I'm a kid.  It's really a little ridiculous to give command of a first-line assault unit to a girl who isn't even twenty years old.  There's no precedent for it."
	"Begging the General's pardon, but there is.  Alexander the Great conquered the known world when he was in his teens," Franklin replied.
	Kelly grinned at him and said, "I stand corrected, Sergeant Major.  Let me amend it to say there's no precedent less than two thousand years old.  How's that?"  She looked at him with a question in her eyes.  "I still need to know how I'm doing with the troops.  Will you tell me, please?"
	"Ma'am, you're doing just great.  The men are 100 percent behind you.  I thought the only way this unit could be shaped up would be by kicking out hundreds of officers and men who aren't suited to what we do.  You didn't do that.  Instead, you just started to drive us and waited for the ones who couldn't hack it to quit."
	He looked at her thoughtfully.  "Your way is better.  I thought I knew who was good and who wasn't.  It turned out that I was right on some and wrong on some — both ways.  It seems there are some guys I didn't think would make it.  Some of them are thriving while others bailed out.  Then there are some officers and men I thought were pretty good.  Some have turned out to be as good as I expected, while others have quit.  The cream is rising to the top.
	"There's one thing, though, that everyone comments on.  Whatever you ask us to do, you're doing faster and better.  Believe me when I say no one can remember a division commander running past his entire division on a five-mile run.  You really have the respect of the men.  As far as your age is concerned, I'm not sure how many of the men even know it.  They do know you're very beautiful."
	Franklin stopped and smiled.  "Actually, my daughter is 26 now.  It was only a short time ago I wouldn't even let her back my car out of the garage.  General, you don't act young.  You inspire confidence."
	Kelly's face became serious.  She said, "Sergeant Major, I'm going to have to do something I really don't want to do.  I'm canceling all leaves and furloughs until at least the end of January.  I know there are a lot of men planning on going home for Christmas but I can't let them go.  I think what we do is important.  I think there is a tremendous combat tradition in this unit that has been allowed to die.  If this unit isn't back where it belongs — a front-rank assault unit — by the end of January, it's going to be disbanded... permanently.  I don't want that to happen."
	Although his face remained impassive, Franklin was amazed to see tears coming into Kelly's eyes.  She continued, "Sergeant Major, this is my first and only command.  I'll be damned if I want to see it go down the drain.  I'll be damned if I want to see the Screaming Eagle go down the drain."  The tears stopped and her voice became very firm.  "I'm sorry.  All leaves and furloughs are canceled."
	Then her expression and tone of voice changed.  "Would it help if we had a Christmas party or a Christmas dance?  I'm not a soldier.  I'm a dumb high-school dropout who was awarded a diploma essentially by an act of the German parliament.  I don't want to have a children's party for grown men.  What do you think?"
	Franklin's face remained impassive.  He said, "When will the General get back?"
	Kelly looked surprised.  "Get back from where?"
	"From New York City.  That's where you live, isn't it?  I've heard that you are New York's Debutante of the Year for this year, and Christmas is the time for all sorts of gala society parties."
	Kelly's eyes blazed with blue fire.  "Sergeant Major, when I said leaves and furloughs are canceled, I mean all leaves and furloughs, particularly mine!  Mike and I will be celebrating Christmas right here."
	Franklin smiled.  In fact, he beamed at her.  "You still don't understand, do you?"
	"Understand what?"
	"What a natural-born leader you are.  I don't think it would ever occur to you to give an order that didn't include yourself.  Ma'am, I've heard a lot of Kelly Jackson stories.  I'm beginning to believe they were the truth toned down in the interests of believability.
	"I think a dance would be a fine idea.  There are many wives and girl friends in the area.  I suggest the dance be formal.  The NCOs would like that.  We don't get a chance to wear our dress blues very often."  He suddenly looked concerned.  "But what about music?" he asked.
	"I am assigning the division's band to the enlisted dance," she replied.  "We could have it in the mess hall.  I'll get a local band for the officers' dance at the O-Club."
	Franklin shook his head.  "Ma'am, that's why they'll go through hell for you.  You automatically think of the men first.  The idea of ordering the band to play for the officers — standard procedure, by the way — never occurred to you.  The band plays for the men, and you look elsewhere."
	Franklin stood up at attention.  "Ma'am, it's a real pleasure serving under your command."  He saluted smartly, turned on his heel and left.
* * *
	The dances were scheduled for the Saturday night before Christmas.  Kelly and Mike were surprised that there was only minor griping when the announcement was made that leaves and furloughs had been canceled.  Mike kidded her about going easy on the men the day of the dance.  Training knocked off at noon, and there had been only a ten-mile hike that morning.
	In the afternoon, Kelly and Mike toured the base together.  In spite of the very heavy work schedule and the winter weather, the base was starting to look very good.  They went out through one gate and back in at another.  At both, MPs were alert and saluted smartly.  As they entered the second gate, a private on guard duty asked for ID, although both were in uniform.  Kelly gave him her ID card and Mike's.
	He looked at Kelly's picture and then at her.  He gave her his very best salute and said, "General, that picture doesn't do you justice!"
	Kelly gave him a bright smile and returned the salute as smartly.  She said, "Thank you, Carson.  But you're a flatterer!"
	They drove to the mess hall where preparations were being made for the dance and then over to the Officers' Club.  That afternoon, Mike and Kelly treated themselves to a nap.  They could hear the unmistakable sounds of Bill and Chris making love in their adjacent room.  Mike pulled Kelly even closer to him and murmured, "Remember when we were young and made love all the time, too?  Before we became old marrieds?"
	Kelly turned her head and kissed him softly.  "That was when you were young and virile," she whispered.  "You've only cum four times today, and already you're nearly dry."  She formed her body to his and rested her head on his shoulder.  They both slept.
	That evening Katrina and Kevin joined them for drinks.  When Katrina saw Chris, both girls started to laugh.  They were wearing their bridesmaids dresses from Kelly's wedding.  Fortunately, although the dresses were the same style, the colors were different.  Kelly was wearing the magnificent dress that had been made for her for Katrina's wedding.
	Katrina had a paper bag with her.  She looked at the dress Kelly was wearing and smiled.  "I heard from my father.  Kelly, I think you remember the woman who made that dress for you?  She visited my father.  It seems she received a big box from the United States.  It had all sorts of things that are not yet available in Russia: needles, thread, zippers, hooks, even some dress material — all the things a good dressmaker needs.  There was no card or label showing where it came from, other than from the United States.  She doesn't know who it's from, but guessed.  She gave my father a present to be forwarded to you.  She doesn't even know where you are."  Katrina gave the small bag to Kelly.
	Kelly removed a small rag doll from the bag.  It had dark hair and blue eyes and was obviously a little boy.  The doll was the size that would be the first doll an infant would hold.  Although made from remnants, it was exquisite.  There was a note with it that said, "Your first child will be a boy.  This is for him with all my love."
	Kelly started to cry and passed it to Mike.  She said, "Mike, she never saw you.  She has no way of knowing you have dark hair and blue eyes.  Darling, it's absolutely gorgeous!"  She turned to Katrina and said, "I don't know what to say!  What can I say?"  Katrina just smiled.
	They all went to the Officers' Club and took their seats at the head table for the dinner dance.  At the request of Colonel Holmes, the senior regimental officer, there was a receiving line first.  Mike was amused watching Kelly greet the wives and girlfriends of the division's officers.  They were uniformly amazed at her youth and beauty.
	When Colonel Holmes introduced his wife, the woman stopped and looked at Kelly carefully.  She said, "I'm Trudy Holmes, General.  I'm very pleased to meet you."
	"Trudy, I would appreciate it if you would call me Kelly.  I might be young enough to be your daughter."
	Mrs. Holmes smiled warmly and said, "Our daughter is older than you are by a few years.  Sid has told me so much about you, but I thought he was pulling my leg.  He wasn't.  In fact, if anything, he toned it down."
	She shook her head.  "Kelly, you are unbelievable!  That's the Gold Cross of Liberty you're wearing isn't it?"  Kelly just nodded.  Made of almost solid gold, it was quite heavy hanging from its ribbon.  "You are a first, Kelly.  Never in history has someone worn the Medal of Honor anywhere other than around his neck.  Your two are junior awards!  And all the others are medals for valor.  Yet you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
	Although she was tying up the receiving line, she continued to study Kelly.  Finally, she whispered in Kelly's ear, "Your love life is great, isn't it?"
	Kelly smiled warmly and said, "Yes, it is.  Does it show that much?"
	Trudy smiled and said, "It sure does, and on you it looks beautiful!  You deserve every happiness."  The woman moved off, and the line began to move again.
	After an excellent dinner was consumed, Colonel Holmes arose.  He said, "Gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast to our new division commander, Kelly Jackson.  I only learned General Jackson was taking over the 101st when you did.  That was less than a month ago.  Frankly, I was shocked.  Can any of you imagine an assault division commanded by a woman?  Correction!  Commanded by a girl!  My wife reminded me that our daughter is older than Kelly.
	"What did we get?  We got a commanding officer who is the most decorated hero in the history of the United States of America!  We get a girl who doesn't seem to know how to give orders.  She just leads, and we try to keep up.  A funny thing happened yesterday.  I was saving the story for tonight.  Some of you know that on the second day she was here, Kelly shot the terrorist course on the range... with an automatic weapon.  We carefully recorded the time and sent it along with the targets to Quantico.
	"Yesterday, we got a letter from the people there.  It said, first, the targets represent an all-time record.  Not only was it a perfect score, but it was almost ten full seconds faster than the previous record time.  You know what they said?  They said, 'If that course wasn't shot by Kelly Jackson, the targets are fakes.  She's the only person alive who could possibly do it.'
	"They got that right, didn't they?  There are two more things: First, Kelly doesn't look at improvement, she looks at results.  She's not satisfied with the results we're producing.  I happen to know, however, that we're doing better as a unit than we've done in at least five years.  I also know our scores are already near the Army's top.  With Kelly, words like near and close aren't good enough.
	"Then I have to comment on her beauty.  She is without any question the most beautiful general officer in the world.  And she is Mrs. Michael Callahan.  We got a Christmas card today signed, 'Kelly and Mike Callahan'.  I happen to know she's prouder of being Mrs. Michael Callahan than of being Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson.  We're saving that card, by the way.
	"Finally, a word about our Deputy Division Commander: I feel sorry for Mike Callahan.  Or anyway, I try to.  For those of you who don't know, Mike's classmates at West Point are coming up for selection to major.  Mike is a major general.  He is also the most decorated man in the Armed Forces today.  Unfortunately, he happens to associate with the most decorated person.  But there's some consolation: He's also married to the most beautiful girl in the United States.
	"Ladies and gentlemen, would you please rise and join me in a toast to General and Mrs. Michael Callahan?"  As the people rose, Mike took Kelly in his arms and kissed her.  As usual, they heard nothing except the bells and the sensation of electricity flowing between them.  They didn't even hear the cheers ringing in the hall.
	After they started the dancing, Mike and Kelly slipped away.  She insisted she wanted to see how the other party was going in the mess hall.  As they went up the steps to the mess hall, there wasn't a soul in sight.  Kelly intended just to peer around the corner without being seen, but suddenly, a voice bellowed, "AttenTION!"  The Division's band that had been playing dance music instantly shifted to the Screaming Eagles' March, the song of the 101st.
	The voice over the PA system said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson, with the deputy division commander, her husband, Major General Michael Callahan!"  Four men in dress blues escorted them to the front of the room where there was a head table on a dais.  Kelly was amazed to see two places set for them.  When she arrived she was welcomed by Sergeant Major Franklin.
	The music had stopped, and the people had taken their seats.  The hall became very quiet as Franklin addressed them.  "I've been in this man's army for nearly thirty years.  Then, less than a month ago I learned we were getting a new commanding general... a girl for chrissakes!  The folks in Washington have done some dumb things, but this had to be the dumbest!  Do you realize she's not even twenty years old?  Do you know her high-school diploma is really honorary?"
	Kelly started to laugh.  A man sitting close to the dais looked at her questioningly.  She nodded vigorously.
	Franklin continued, "Could you believe giving command of an assault division to someone like that?  I couldn't either.
	"I started to check around.  I've got some buddies in the 82nd.  They knew Kelly Jackson.  One of them was the platoon sergeant in the first unit to arrive at her position during the German breakthrough.  Incidentally, his platoon leader was Captain Kevin Murphy, who is now her aide.  He was a lieutenant then.  He told me they found eighty Russians with the 'Kelly Jackson trademark'.  I asked him what that was.  He said it's a single bullet in the head.  It seems that in combat most men shoot towards the enemy.  A few shoot at them.  Kelly aims for their heads!
	"Then I learned about some senior NCOs at Quantico.  They are the nation's top people in unarmed combat, small arms, and explosives.  No longer.  She is.  Then she has the unmitigated gall to drink them all under the table.  Now I ask you, is that fair?  Officers can do all kinds of things to us, but if it comes to drinking, they're through.  Well, anyway, that's what the sergeants thought.  They were wrong about that, too.  The word is that she got them back to the barracks, undressed them... and I mean all the way... neatly hung up their uniforms, and kissed them goodnight!"
	Kelly turned red and started to laugh.
	Franklin turned to her and said, "See, she even has the nerve to laugh!  She doesn't realize how serious this is!
	"Finally, I got some taste of the kind of girl she is.  She called me in to tell me she was canceling all leaves and furloughs.  It seems the 101st is threatened with extinction.  We are the only assault unit that wasn't sent to Europe... and we all know why.  Kelly said she wasn't going to allow her first and only command to go down the drain.
	"The fact that her first command is an airborne division when others her age are commanding squads has nothing to do with it.  There's something else I don't think many of you know.  Kelly is a debutante.  In fact, in this, her debutante year, she is New York's Debutante of the Year.  I asked her how long she was going to be gone.  That was dangerous.  You see she always carries a handmade Smith & Wesson automatic and we know she can use it.  There was blue fire coming from her eyes.  She said the 'no furlough' order began with herself.
	"She organized this dance.  Without a thought she gave us the division's band.  She scrambled to find a band to play at the O-Club at the last minute.
	"Guys, she always thinks of us first.  I happen to know her sequence: It's her husband, Mike.  He's followed by the men.  They're followed by the officers.  She doesn't even make her list... nowhere.  That's why we had places for them at the head table.  I knew they would be over to be sure our dance was going well.
	"Finally, I want to call your attention to something you've never seen before.  It's the medal Kelly is wearing around her neck.  It's the Gold Cross of Liberty.  How do I know you've never seen it?  Because she's wearing the only one in existence, and she's never worn it before.  It is the highest award for valor the our Country can give.  It goes ahead of two Medals of Honor.
	"Gentlemen, please rise and offer a toast to the best damned officer and division commander the world has ever seen!  To Kelly Jackson!"
	The hall rang to the rafters with cheering.  Kelly allowed her head to drop as she turned red with embarrassment.  Sergeant Major Franklin asked her to say a few words.
	She said, "All I can say are three things: First, I'm sorry to have had to cancel all furloughs.  I know how much you've been looking forward to being home.  Second, thanks for working so hard to help save the 101st.  Finally, Merry Christmas!"  With that she sat down to another roar of cheers.
	Franklin came over to Kelly as the music resumed, and the people began to dance again.  He asked Kelly if he could introduce her to his wife.  Kelly instantly agreed and looked around.  She was surprised that Franklin's wife wasn't on the dais.  He took her around a corner in the hall where it was quiet.  Kelly's eyes widened.  She went up to the tall black woman standing there with her hand extended.  The woman took it and held it.
	"Mrs. Franklin, I'm Kelly Jackson.  You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met!  You look exactly like a bust of Nefertiti my parents have at home.  It's made of ebony."
	The woman introduced herself as Selma Franklin.  She was almost six feet tall and appeared ageless.  She had flowing black hair and piercing brown eyes.  When she took both of Kelly's hands in hers, her eyes appeared to lose focus as if she were staring into space.  Suddenly the woman winced and cried out softly.  Then her eyes focused intently on Kelly's.  It was as if the woman was looking into her soul.
	Selma said quietly, "Horace, we've found her.  This is the one."
	She continued to hold Kelly's hands and smiled softly.  "This is much better than a year ago, isn't it?"  Kelly looked puzzled and then shocked.  Selma continued, "Last year you danced for the KGB.  You were naked.  There were four men, each with whips, lashing you as you danced.  One after the other, each man lay on his back while you took him.  While you did, the other three continued to lash you.  When you regained consciousness you were in a pool of semen.  They forced you to lick it all up from the floor.  And we think we're the only ones who ever experienced slavery!"
	Horace had been watching impassively.  Selma continued to hold Kelly's hands and look at her.  Then she smiled broadly.  "Kelly, this time next year you will have a baby boy with dark hair and blue eyes."  Her eyes displayed a puzzled look.  She said, "I see something very strange.  It looks like an egg.  I don't understand."
	Kelly was in a state of shock.  She said, "Selma... Mrs. Franklin... I had completely forgotten about that night in Germany.  How could you know?"
	The woman smiled warmly.  "Kelly, it's a curse.  I can see the past sometimes and the future sometimes.  Horace is retiring from the army, and we will live with you and Mike.  My daughter will cause her breasts to fill with mother's milk to help nurse your children.  She's a beautiful girl and has breasts that are made for nursing.  We will live with you."
	"But that's crazy," Kelly protested.  "There's no way I can pay you.  It's impossible!"
	Again she saw the warm smile.  "Kelly, we can help you financially.  You will have a lot of babies and will need the help.  May I visit you tomorrow with my daughter?  Please?"
	Kelly agreed and returned to the party at the Officers' Club.  She didn't mention the strange conversation to Mike.
Chapter 23
	The next day was Sunday.  When Kelly told Mike there were some people coming over in the afternoon, he and Kevin went off together while Katrina came over to Kelly's.  Chris and Bill were in Washington for the holidays.
	The doorbell rang.  It was Selma Franklin and with her was a beautiful girl who 100 years earlier would have been called a quadroon.  Kelly showed them in and was introduced to Camille Franklin, Selma and Horace's daughter.  Kelly continued to look baffled as she introduced the two women to Katrina.  Selma held Katrina's hands in both of hers and looked into her eyes in the same way she had looked into Kelly's the night before.  Camille looked interested but not at all surprised.
	Finally Selma said to Katrina, "Would you remove your clothes, please?"  Katrina was startled but obeyed, even though she didn't know why.  In moments she was standing in the living room nude.  Selma stood behind her and placed her finger tips very lightly on the girl's abdomen.  She stood there for a moment and then smiled a very happy smile.  "Thank you so much.  You may get dressed now."
	Katrina put her clothes on again.  Kelly had noticed how beautiful the girl's body was now.  The only difference from the first time Kelly saw her was that she was now in even better physical condition.  There was just gloriously smooth tanned skin and finely-toned muscles.  When she was dressed she looked at Selma with an obvious question in her eyes.
	"You're going to have a baby boy!  He will look like his mother with silver-blonde hair and green eyes.  He will be fine and sturdy, and your pregnancy and delivery will be wonderfully easy.  I'm sure you'll want an obstetrician, but you really won't need one.  I would be happy to deliver your baby.
	Katrina and Kelly were stunned.  Katrina said, "But I can't be!  I just had my period."
	Selma smiled and said, "Merry Christmas!  My guess is you conceived last night.  Don't worry, Mrs. Murphy.  You'll never know it either in the exercise against the 82nd or in Central America."
	Camille smiled and said, "Please don't fight it.  I don't any longer, in spite of now being an MD.  Mother's always right about these things."
	Kelly looked at the girl.  She had soft brown hair and blue eyes.  She was almost six feet tall like her mother and had a beautifully slim figure with full breasts.  She looked at the girl's mother and then back at Camille.
	The girl smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about it, General.  I don't.  You know there are essentially no pure Negroids in the United States.  Sleeping with the slave women was a time-honored pastime for years.  Every so often there's a genetic sport like me.  My parents are both as black as the ace of spades.  People usually think I'm white."
	While she was talking, the girl was casually shedding her clothes.  She stood nude in front of Kelly and was breathtakingly beautiful.  "I hope you'll allow me to nurse your little boy," she said.  She cupped her breasts and showed them to Kelly.  They were absolutely magnificent with small pink nipples.
	Kelly just shook her head in utter disbelief.  "I don't believe I'm hearing what I'm hearing.  Your mother said something about your breasts filling with milk.  But you're not pregnant.  How can you?  I'm totally lost."
	The girl just smiled as she dressed again.  "As for the milk, modern science is wonderful.  My body can receive motherhood signals without me being a mother.  As for my mother, I can't really explain it.  She has certain powers no one understands.  My mother doesn't cause things to happen, she can just tell when they will.  Please don't let it bother you."  The girl smiled a very happy smile that turned into a grin.  "Kelly, don't sweat it.  I guess maybe the reason I'm now a doctor is I tried to figure Mom out.  I finally gave up."
	The women all took seats and Kelly served tea.  Selma produced sweet cakes of a type Kelly had never seen.  They were marvelous.  Kelly marveled at how relaxed the mother and daughter were.  In fact, it seemed to Kelly that Selma was much more relaxed than she had been the previous evening.
	Camille continued, "General, here is the way it will work: Mother will be the cook and housekeeper.  Dad will act as butler, chauffeur, gardener, and bodyguard.  I'll be the maid and nurse.  Of course, I'll also provide the family medical care.  I'm Board certified in Family Medicine.  We discussed it and thought that $1,000 a month or maybe a bit more should be about right, if that's okay with you."
	Kelly looked at her in utter astonishment.  "But Camille, a good cook in New York gets at least $500 a week!  $1,000 a month is absolutely ridiculous!"
	Camille's mouth formed an "O," and she grinned at her mother.  "Kelly, I'm sorry!  I wasn't clear.  The $1,000 is what we pay you!  Of course, we'll also chip in on the food and the utilities and stuff, but do you think that will work?"
	Kelly slumped back in her chair, utterly defeated.  "I give up.  I get a retired sergeant major as butler, chauffeur, gardener and bodyguard.  I get his wife as a cook and housekeeper.  I get his daughter... a beautiful doctor, for chrissakes... as a wet nurse and maid, and they pay me!
	Camille grinned happily and said, "That's about it!  What do you think?"
	"I thought slavery went out about 120 years ago.  Why are you doing this?"
	Selma spoke for the first time.  "Because of you, Kelly, and your friends.  You and Katrina look like sisters: the gold and silver twins.  You ended the Cold War... and the short-lived hot one.  You achieved freedom for the Russian people.  You enabled the reunification of Germany.  You're going to put a big dent in the drug trade.  And you're only nineteen years old!
	"If you were a man, or if you were an older woman, we would not be doing this.  Instead, you are a beautiful young woman who needs to give birth to lots of beautiful babies who will grow strong and smart.  At the same time, Kelly, our country needs you, too.  My husband spent his entire adult life in the service of his country.  Camille and I just volunteered to help out.  We're ready to start now.  First, would you like us to wear uniforms?  If so, what sort would you like us to buy?"
	Kelly looked at the two women and began to cry softly.  Her head was shaking from side to side as her tears started to flow.  Selma jumped up and went to the sofa.  She sat next to Kelly, took the girl in her arms and comforted her.  Then the woman placed her fingers at a particular position on the nape of Kelly's neck.
	Almost immediately she relaxed and went to sleep.  Selma got up and seemingly without effort, picked the girl up and carried her up to her bedroom.  She removed Kelly's clothes and looked over her body.  Selma winced as she saw the scars that still showed where she had been whipped.
	She covered the girl and left the room.  Returning to the living room, she asked Katrina, "Captain Murphy, will you and your husband be joining the Callahans for dinner this evening?  I sincerely hope you will."
	Katrina had been shaking her head in utter amazement.  Finally she said, "You're sure I'm... pregnant?  I'm going to have Kevin's child?"
	Selma's smile was brilliant.  "You certainly are!  And he will grow strong and handsome like his father... and yours!  Field Marshal... President Solov will overflow with happiness to learn he is going to be a grandfather and he will adore his grandson!"
	Katrina looked at Selma in amazement.  "How did you know that?  Here I'm just known as the other Captain Murphy.  How could you possibly know?"
	"That you're the daughter of the President of Russia?  I don't know how I know.  I just do.  You are, aren't you?"
	Camille smiled and said, "May I call you Katrina?  Please don't fight it.  Now, will you be here for dinner?  I can tell you as a physician that there is absolutely no reason for you to stop drinking yet!  Perhaps we could have a small celebration?  And why don't you take a nap now?  You've been working very hard?"
	Katrina hadn't felt at all tired until Camille mentioned a nap; suddenly she could hardly keep her eyes open.  She lay down on a bed in one of the spare bedrooms.
	At five o'clock, Mike returned home and Kevin was with him.  Camille greeted him at the door and she said, "Good evening, General, Captain.  I'm Camille Franklin, Sergeant Major Franklin's daughter.  I'm working here now.  May I take your hats and coats?"
	Although Fort Campbell is located right on the Kentucky-Tennessee line, it was a very cold and bitter day.  Mike was dumfounded to find this beautiful young woman in his house, but he gave the girl his hat and coat as did Kevin.  They went into the living room and found a very cheery fire burning in the fireplace.  Moments later Camille returned with two very dry martinis and a plate of exquisite canapés.  She told them that the women would be down in a few moments.
	A few minutes later Kelly and Katrina entered the room.  Both looked lovely.  Kelly felt wonderfully relaxed and fully rested for the first time since she had taken over the 101st.  Mike, glancing at Camille's receding back, asked, "Kel, what's going on?"
	Kelly gave him a rueful smile and said, "Honey, I don't have the foggiest idea.  But give me a couple of minutes.  I'll see if I can find out."
	She went out to the kitchen and found Selma and Camille were putting the last touches on a banquet.  The dining room was set for four places using Kelly's best dinner service.  Selma was standing at the range, and Kelly kissed her lightly.  "I don't know what you did, but I haven't felt this good since my honeymoon.  You made one mistake, though.  There aren't enough places set at the table.  It should be set for seven."
	Selma turned in shock.  "I didn't know!  I'm terribly sorry.  I didn't realize you had invited other guests."
	Kelly smiled and said, "There's you, Camille, and the Sergeant Major.  With us, that's seven.  Now, although you look like you have absolutely everything done, what can Katrina and I do to help?"
	Selma looked genuinely shocked.  "But General, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!  The hired help don't eat in the dining room!"
	"That may be true, but you most certainly are not the hired help.  I still can't get over what you're trying to do for us.  Now get on the telephone and tell your husband to get over here.  It's only appropriate that we have a Sunday dinner with the division's senior noncommissioned officer and his family.  That will be the division commander, the deputy commander, and the senior NCO with families.  Now get to it!  And by the way: no uniform!"
	 Horace Franklin looked sheepish as he stood at the door.  Kelly had opened it and the first thing he did was to shake his head and say, "General, it's not right!  Generals don't entertain enlisted men in their homes."
	Kelly led him into the living room after hanging his coat and hat.  His daughter got him a beer, and he sat on a straight-backed chair looking very uncomfortable.  Selma and Camille brought in glasses of white wine and sat down.  They were both very relaxed.
	Kelly just looked at him with her face impassive.  Finally she said, "Sergeant Major, didn't you say you had served in the Army for nearly thirty years?"
	"Yes, ma'am.  I sure have."
	"Well, then, Sergeant Major," Kelly said with a smile, "You have served for more months than I have served days.  You are the senior enlisted man on the post.  I need all the help I can get... most particularly including any tips you would care to pass on.  Now, if that isn't the way things were done in the old Army, you'll just have to humor the three stars on my shoulder because I wasn't even a gleam in my parents eyes when you first enlisted.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure my mother had even reached puberty yet!"
	Horace reddened, and his wife and daughter laughed delightedly.  Selma said, "Horace, I'm afraid Kelly has you there!  Incidentally, we're still trying to negotiate some arrangement.  She drives a very hard bargain.  We've agreed to call her Kelly.  Otherwise she threatened to call us Mrs. Franklin and Doctor Franklin.  So I'm afraid you'll have to call her Kelly, too."
	Kelly and Katrina had tried to help but were shooed out of the kitchen.  Selma claimed she was not going to share credit for the dinner she had slaved over with a couple of young twits.  She said it with a broad smile.  The dinner was absolutely spectacular.  As she was serving, Camille mentioned quietly to Kelly that her mother could handle any kind of cuisine at all.  What she cooked was strictly a function of what they wished to eat.
*  *  *
	On Christmas eve Mike and Kelly came home at four o'clock to find the house decorated for Christmas.  When they entered the living room and saw the tree, they were stunned.  It was covered with ornaments, each a small work of art.  Obviously, they had come from all over the world.  When she asked Selma, the woman merely shrugged and said they were gifts from the men.  Word had gone out there were no decorations for the tree.  It seems that in a division of 17,000 men there were men who had served almost everywhere in the world.  Many of them had picked up ornaments.  There were over 500 of them, and no one had given more than one.
	The Christmas Eve dinner was a festive delight.  After dinner they were sitting in the living room, when they heard singing outside.  Kelly went to the door with Mike.  There, in front of the house were over 200 men and women from the 101st singing Christmas carols.  It was a beautifully cold night with snow starting to fall.  Mike and Kelly grabbed their coats and went outside to join in the caroling.
* * *
	On Christmas afternoon the doorbell rang.  Kelly went to answer it and found a middle-aged couple standing on the steps.  She invited them in.  The man introduced himself as Jasper Jenkins, mayor of the town closest to Fort Campbell.  With him was his wife, Margaret.  She offered them egg nog and some of the beautiful Christmas cookies Selma had baked.
	They were seated and were starting to relax, although Jenkins was obviously very nervous.  After an exchange of pleasantries, he got to the point.  The couple had been looking at Kelly and Mike with their eyes as wide as saucers.  Finally Jenkins said, "General, on behalf of our town and the town council, I want to thank you for all you're doing out here."
	Kelly was genuinely surprised and said so.  She said she didn't understand why the town would know or care what she and Mike were doing.  Jenkins gave her a small smile and admitted no one did know exactly what they were doing, but they appreciated the change.
	"What change?" Kelly asked.
	"The change in behavior and attitude of your men.  Ma'am, until you came, the men of the 101st were like a bunch of bears with toothaches.  There were more brawls and problems in town than we could count."  He looked a little puzzled himself as he added, "It was almost like the men were ashamed of the 101st and ashamed of feeling ashamed."  He looked at her and shook his head.  "I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's the way we felt."
	"What's the attitude now?" Kelly asked.
	"Now, they're the proudest men we ever did see!"  His diffidence was forgotten as his enthusiasm started to take over.  "Why if you're in Kelly Jackson's 101st, you're in the best damned outfit in the world!"
	As he said it, he turned red.  "Excuse the language, ma'am.  They serve under the most decorated officers in the whole Army.  Why the Congress even had to create a new medal for Kelly Jackson.  She had already won every medal for bravery and valor we have, and most of 'em, twice.  Mike Callahan is the youngest general in the army since the Civil War!  If it wasn't for his wife, Kelly, He would be the most decorated officer, himself.
	"We used to have a terrible time trying to hold on to police officers.  They used to be regularly beat up by the men of the 101st.  Do you know what happened last Saturday might?  A few of your men were a little noisy in a bar.  Now, that little noise would have been as quiet as a tomb before you came, o' course.  We didn't even used to make an entry on the police blotter if the establishment hadn't been destroyed!  But a single police officer went into that bar.  Do you know what he said?  He said if they didn't quiet down a good bit, he would have to report it to General Jackson.  My God!  You'd have thought he was going to shoot them!  It seems that it isn't punishment.  There's really no sign anyone gets punished.  It's letting you down!
	"Ma'am, we apologize for interrupting your Christmas and all, but we thought you might like to know how you're regarded by your men.  They worship the ground you walk on.  You've ridden them hard but they're proud!  Proud of themselves, proud of the 101st, but most of all proud to serve under General Kelly Jackson.  They would follow you to hell.  Kelly Jackson is the best damned commanding officer in the history of the Army, except maybe for George Washington, and frankly, I think you would beat him.
	"All we hear in town is how you work the men.  Some of the girls thought the men were complaining.  Then they realized they were bragging.  And always we hear how you and Mike Callahan are out in front.  Why every person in town has heard how you and Mike ran past the entire Division on a five-mile double-time march the very first day.  How whatever it is you ask them to do, you do it first and do it better!"  Jenkins got up to go.  He shook hands with Mike and Kelly.
	His wife shook hands, too, but then took Kelly in her arms and kissed her.  She said softly, "God bless you!"  They quickly took their leave.
	Kelly and Mike sat in the living room.  Mike was smiling at her, and she was shaking her head.  He said, "Darling, I told you you're good.  It's such a shame you have no idea how good you really are!"
	Just then the doorbell rang.  Again, Kelly went to answer it.  She found the visitor was Major John Collins, the Catholic chaplain on the base.  She invited him in and offered him some egg nog and cookies.  They had seen Father Collins at Christmas mass that morning, and he had seen them.
	He said, "I came to wish you both a very merry Christmas.  I also have something I have been asked to deliver to you."  He reached into a bag and brought out a package for Kelly.
	She opened it and found it was a gift from the Pope himself.
	Collins explained, "The Pope is aware that you are both Catholic.  Kelly, he is also aware of the tortures you suffered at the hands of the KGB.  As you know, he's Polish.  He has excellent information sources.  He may be the only person still alive who knows in some detail exactly what happened to you while you were a prisoner.  You know we have been praying for the conversion of Russia since 1918.  You achieved it.  He has been praying for the freedom of Poland.  You achieved it.  The Germans have been praying for reunification of their country.  You achieved it.
	"In the Pope's opinion, you have achieved more of value to the Church than any woman in history.  And you did it all with a spirit of magnanimity and unselfishness that is unprecedented.  He considers you to be a model for women everywhere.  He asked me to present you with this framed blessing.  It's quite small, really, but it's very sincere.  By private Papal decree, issued throughout the world by his bishops, all priests and religious are instructed to pray for you two every day.  He's very serious about it.  He hopes you will visit the Vatican when you're in Europe again.  Needless to say, you will have a private audience at any time you can visit."
	Kelly looked at the framed scroll.  It looked like any number of similar things on sale at religious book stores around the world.  Then she read it carefully.  It was hand illuminated for Mike and her.  It was signed by the Pope and it extended to them his personal best wishes for continued health and happiness and formally acknowledged their massive contribution to world peace.
	Kelly said goodbye to Father Collins.  After they went back to the sofa and sat down, Kelly looked at the small document and read it again, carefully.  Tears started rolling down her cheeks.  "Please hold me, Mike," she said plaintively.
	Later that day she suggested to Mike and Franklin that they begin Spanish language instruction for the troops with emphasis on Central American pronunciation. 
Chapter 24
	The 101st Airborne and the 82nd Airborne were positioned on a military reservation in New Mexico.  The 101st was the defending Blue Force and the 82nd was the attacking Red Force.  Mike and Kelly agreed that the 101st was as ready as it possibly could be.  They thought they had an edge because the very survival of the 101st depended on its performance against the 82nd in the Red-Blue War Games, while to Jim Ames and the 82nd it was only a game.
	It was February 1.  Kelly had not had her command for even ninety days and she knew the unit was marked for extinction if it didn't perform.  Cathy Adams had told her the full story in an off-the-record conversation held with Sam's full knowledge.  She learned that the only way Sam had been able to get Kelly a combat command was in a unit that was considered to be virtually dead anyway.  Kelly was determined to prove that the 101st was very much alive.  They were going to whip the 82nd!  Although both units were Airborne, the exercise was going to be run as if they were ground troops.
	Kelly grinned thinking about her argument with Mike.  She was with a volunteer provisional company positioned on top of a cliff that loomed vertically 300 feet above and behind the 82nd's command post.  When she introduced the idea, Mike had gone pale.  He said, "Kelly, you'll kill yourself!  That's like going down the side of a thirty-story building in the middle of the night."
	They were sitting with their senior staff and senior unit commanders.  She smiled fondly at Mike and asked innocently, "Is it more dangerous than running barefoot through a minefield?"
	Mike suddenly grinned, took her in his arms and kissed her.  The other officers just smiled.  Colonel Collins asked about the remark and Kelly said, "Didn't you know?  That's what we did on our first date.  Mike had me running barefoot through a minefield.  That was fun.  Then I wanted to dig in a sandbox.  We didn't have any sand or a box, so I used Mike's leg instead.  It was much more fun!"
	Collins looked at Mike who shook his head resignedly.  Mike nodded and said, "Unfortunately, she's right.  She did run barefoot through a mine field.  In fact, she was running naked.  I took a hit from an AK-47 and Kelly removed the bullet."  He kissed her again and said, "Okay, honey, if Colonel Collins agrees.  Tom, what do you think?"
	Collins just shook his head.  He was from the Tennessee hill country and could affect the mountain idiom in his speech when he wanted to.  He said, "My mama didn't raise no fools!  When the commanding general wants to do something, I was told that whatever fool thing it might be, to be sure to say it's a great idea.  General, I think it's a great idea."  He grinned at them and they continued their planning.
	At the foot of the cliff were trees and dense undergrowth.  Mike was in command of the main body of the 101st while she and the special assault company were going to rappel down the side of the cliff and then capture the 82nd's command post.  They were waiting for 0400, a time when they thought guards at the 82nd's headquarters would be the least alert.  Meanwhile, the main force of the 101st had been falling back.  The plan was to let the 82nd chase a rear guard into a trap in which they would suddenly find the men of the 101st on both flanks.  Then Kelly intended to hit the command post, put it out of action, and with luck cause even more confusion.
	She checked her watch and checked her rappelling ropes.  In the darkness she could scarcely see the men on her right and left.  All had camouflage paint on their faces and hands.  Kelly was wearing her Kevlar vest and helmet for luck.
	She gave a thumbs-up signal and started to drop.  She had almost reached the bottom when she grinned to herself.  Being so preoccupied with getting the troops positioned and checking all the equipment with the company commander, she had not really stopped to think about what she was doing.  But Mike was right, of course.  It was like going down the side of a thirty-story building in the middle of the night.  She slowed her rate of descent as she neared the ground.  She had told the first men to be very careful because they weren't sure what the ground surface was like at the base of the cliff.  After she felt her feet touch, Kelly eased her way out of the rope.  After tugging twice she felt it soar up to be used by the next men.
	With men at the bottom of the cliff it was now much easier.  They could signal to the men coming down and let them know when they neared the bottom.  They also increased the number of ropes in use.  Kevin joined her and they eased through the undergrowth moving toward the CP.  When they crawled to a point within sight of the command post, she tapped Kevin on the helmet.  He went into his pack and brought out a highly directional shotgun microphone.
	Kelly took the earphones and put them on while she aimed the mike at the headquarters tent.  Listening for a moment, she gave Kevin a thumbs up sign and grinned, then gave him the earphones.  A signalman came crawling up to them as Kelly worked her way back towards the base of the cliff.  So far, so good.  The microphone was working perfectly: It was almost as if they were standing in the middle of the tent; they could hear everything being said.  Kevin and the signalman were taking careful notes to identify the call signs of the units of the 82nd.  If her plan worked, there would be more than enough confusion to help Mike and the main body.
	The company was now off the cliff and the ropes had been retrieved.  Now all they had to do was wait.  Kelly was with the company commander, Captain Jensen.  She motioned him to come back into the woods where they could talk without their voices reaching any sentries patrolling around the CP.  She found there were no sentries between the CP and the cliff.  As she had guessed, the cliff itself was considered to provide all the protection necessary.  She had been counting on it being considered an unbreachable defense.
	She turned to Jensen and said, "Bill, how are you feeling?  You look like you're getting a little nervous."
	It was hard to see his face because of the combination of darkness and the camouflage paint.  He said, "Yes, ma'am, I'm afraid I am.  Ma'am, may I ask the General a question?"
	Kelly whispered, "I don't know about 'the General,' but you can certainly ask me.  What's on your mind?"
	"Ma'am, aren't you ever frightened?  I'm scared that I'll do something stupid and really louse things up."
	He couldn't see Kelly's face with her camouflage paint, but he saw her white teeth as she smiled.  She said, "Bill, that's the nice part of my position.  What could possibly be expected of a teenage high school dropout?  If I screw up, people just point out the absurdity of having a teenage girl serving as a commanding general."
	She could see the motion as he shook his head.  "But... But you have the Cross of Liberty.  General, I... it's a genuine pleasure serving under your command.  It's not my place to say, I guess, but there's no one alive who could have done what you've done with the 101st.  It's not just that you got us squared away.  It's that you did it in less than ninety days!  General, I learned a lot about the meaning of leadership just watching you.  I never heard you give an order.  You always go first and show us what you want us to do and then we try to do it, too.  We almost never can, but while trying we do accomplish far more than we ever thought we could.  Thank you, sir."
	"Bill, thank you.  But please do me a favor?  As long as we look like refugees from a cat and dog fight, I'd appreciate it if you called me Kelly.  I am younger than you are, Captain, by a good bit, I think."
	She could see his teeth gleam as he smiled.  "I think you're right.  My wife, Cathy, can't believe that she's older than my commanding general, and she's only twenty-four!"
	Kelly looked up and could see the first signs of dawn.  Looking up through the trees, they could now see the branches against the lightening sky.  Then they heard a rustle of leaves as a messenger came back to where they were sitting.  He had the first sheet of information gathered from the microphone.  Using a carefully shielded light she and Bill Jensen looked over the paper.  Someone had carefully recopied the notes onto a form Kelly had worked out earlier.  Virtually all the blanks had been filled in, including all of the important ones.  The sheet had the call signs of all the units of the 82nd.  Kelly grinned, tipped her helmet down over her eyes and went to sleep.  Bill Jensen saw her and in no time heard her breathing become slow and regular as she fell asleep.
	He motioned to the messenger to bring a couple of men back to stand guard.  He said, "My God, have you ever seen anything like it?  She is cool!"
	The messenger whispered back, "Captain, I guess when you've done all that the General's done, you don't lose much sleep over a war game!  I'll bet she slept in Germany, too."
	The first moves in Kelly's plan were scheduled for 0800.  At 0755 Jensen saw Kelly's hand move and lift her helmet off her eyes.  She whispered, "Good morning, Bill."
	She checked her watch and nodded.  He just shook his head in amazement.  There was a new Kelly Jackson story to be told.  She gave him the sign and he went to the troops on the right flank.  Kelly was taking the left.  She checked over her men, making sure their Blue Army arm-bands were in position.
	Exactly at 0800 she moved.  Almost simultaneously, her men simulated knifing the sentries.  Kelly had a strange feeling as she put her right wrist around a guard's neck and put the point of her combat knife against his ribs.  She whispered, "I'm afraid you just bought the farm, son."
	He turned and saw who it was.  Even under the camouflage grease paint he identified her.  He grinned and whispered, "Damn it, Kelly, that's a hell of a thing to do to a friend!"
	She grinned back, winked, and whispered, "War is hell!"
	She checked both ways.  All the sentries were out of action.  After scrubbing off as much of the camouflage paint on her face and hands as she could, Kelly walked into the 82nd's command post.  Jim Ames had just put down a radio microphone when she said, "Hi, Jim!  Do you have any hot coffee?  I haven't had any yet this morning."
	He grinned and said, "Sure, Kelly!  There's a pot over on the...  Kelly?"
	As if by magic her automatic was in her hand as troopers of the 101st moved into the command post and disarmed the headquarters staff.  She grinned at Jim Ames as she went to the corner to pour her coffee.  "Do you want some, too, Jim?  Black and sweet?"  Ames nodded and smiled wryly.  She poured him his coffee and said, "Give me your parole to be a good boy while we clean up this exercise?"  Again he nodded resignedly.
	They sat on the ground as the men from the 101st took their positions.  Since the plan involved sending false orders by radio and field telephone, Kelly just watched.  Word was coming back from men of the 82nd who had seen the rear guard Kelly and Mike were using to entice the 82nd out of position.  Kelly nodded and orders were given to pursue the Blue Force down the road in force.  Jensen said reserves were being brought up into position to support their attack.  Instead, he then gave orders to the reserve units to move farther to the rear.
	Ames just shook his head.  "Kelly, I'll never learn!  And there's just no damned excuse.  Of course I've had a bunch of new officers added to my division since Germany.  They don't know you, but I do.  You came down that damned cliff in the middle of the night, didn't you?"
	Kelly was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed apparently absorbed with her coffee.  She stirred it and had a sip.  "Jim, this is great coffee!"  Then she looked at him and grinned.  "Of course.  How the hell else could we get here?  We weren't allowed to fly."
	Just then Sam Adams came striding in.  He was wearing the green arm-band of an official observer.  Kelly and Ames jumped to attention.  Ames said, "Sam, when this exercise is over, I'm going to get even with this teenybopper!  I will fix her little red wagon!  I'm her senior."
	Sam shook his head, appearing sad while trying to control a grin.  "I'm afraid not, Jim.  She's senior to you."
	"But she can't be!" Ames protested.  "I've been a lieutenant general for almost six months — ever since Germany."
	"Sorry, Jim.  I guess you didn't read some of the fine print in the law that created the Cross of Liberty.  You see, to differentiate it from a lousy Medal of Honor, Cross of Liberty recipients are senior in rank to all others in the same pay grade... all services.  I'm afraid Kelly is the senior lieutenant general in the Army, Marines, and Air Force, and senior to any Navy vice admiral."  He smiled and added blandly, "Of course, if there are several Cross of Liberty winners of the same rank, ordinary seniority applies among them.  But, since she's the only one we have at the moment, she's senior."
	Ames face fell as Kelly's plan unfolded.  The major portion of his Division was trapped between the units of the 101st and was forced to surrender.  Mike then sent units to the known position of the 82nd's reserves and forced their surrender as well.  By eleven o'clock it was all over.  The 82nd had been annihilated.  The 101st had taken almost no casualties.
	Kelly looked at Sam and said, "Can you stay for lunch, General?  I owe one to Jim, and I had free time on my calendar, so today's the day."  Jim Ames just grinned and shook his head in amusement.  Sam Adams agreed and Kelly excused herself.  She left the tent and was gone for about twenty minutes.
	When she returned she was wearing her khaki summer service uniform.  Her face was scrubbed and her hair was still wet, apparently from a shower.  Ames looked up in amazement.  She shrugged and said there was a small waterfall she had found.  "Jim, that water is cold!" she said as she shivered.  She had run a comb through her hair and it was tied back in a ponytail while drying to its normal golden color in the dry New Mexico air.
	Just then Kevin and Katrina appeared wearing white waiters' jackets over their uniforms.  They opened a camp table and set up chairs.  Then they unfolded a linen tablecloth and proceeded to set four places for a very formal lunch.  By the time they had finished, there were even candles on the table protected from the breeze by hurricane glass.  Soon everything was ready.  Mike came strolling up, also wearing his summer service khaki.  He appeared to be coming to a picnic in the woods.
	He kissed Kelly warmly and said, "I hope I'm not late?  Has Kevin taken the drink orders yet?"
	Nothing at all was said about the morning's exercise.  Kevin took drink orders.  Mike and Kelly ordered Bloody Marys and Jim Ames thought he would go along with the gag, as did Sam Adams.  Moments later he returned with four beautiful drinks in crystal goblets.
	Ames looked at Adams, grinned again and said, "Sam, what are we going to do with this girl?  She is too much!"
	Kelly said, "Just because we're fighting a small war, there's no need to be uncivilized, is there?  Jim, I would like to offer a toast to the 82nd Airborne Division.  One of the best fighting units in the United States armed forces.  It's nearly as good as the 101st!"
	When lunch was served it was a glacéed breast of pheasant stuffed with foie gràs and truffles.  Ames and Adams looked at it in utter amazement.  Kelly said, "Sam and Jim, your wives told me you both have to watch your cholesterol.  I was going to serve a filet of beef, but they thought poultry would be better for you.  Sam, Cathy feels that since she's been pregnant you haven't been getting as much exercise as usual.  She doesn't want you to gain weight."
	The two generals just shook their heads.  Finally, they had coffee and cognac.  Sam pushed back his chair and said, "Kelly, that was superb.  I didn't think there would be more than five chefs in the world who could do this and they're all in Europe!"
	Kelly said, "There's an exception: Selma Franklin.  She's here in the States and is probably the finest chef in the world today."
	"Selma Franklin?  Who's Selma Franklin?" Adams asked.
	"She's the wife of my Division Sergeant Major.  She insists she's working for Mike and me now.  I'm glad you like her cooking.  How about you, Jim?"
	He smiled and said, "Kelly, it almost makes losing bearable."
	He turned to Sam and said, "You know what she did, don't you?  She brought a company down that cliff behind our CP in the middle of the night.  My guys said the cliff was better than a battalion of defenders.  I should have known better.  It would be true for anyone but Kelly.  Sam, what now?"
	Adams frowned.  "Now I have a problem, Jim.  I said the winner was going on a special mission.  I was sure there was no way the 101st could beat you.  But I don't see how the 101st can possibly be ready in time.  Special training is required, and the unit is supposed to move out in a week."
	Kelly said, "Our Spanish is the best in the Army, General.  Of course, we don't know what you have in mind, but the accent we have been practicing is Central American.  I guess all the instructors who've been working with my people are Nicaraguan.  I hope that doesn't upset anything?"
	Adams just shook his head.  "And I suppose the regional accent is from the territory that borders Honduras?" he asked with a wry smile.
	"What a coincidence!  As a matter of fact it is, General," Kelly said with an absolutely straight face.  "I hope that doesn't put us at too great a disadvantage?  Of course, there aren't many men in the division whose accents are good enough to pass as natives.  I'm not sure I even have a full battalion."
	Adams turned to Ames who was just shaking his head.  "Jim, you've known about this operation for nearly six months.  How good is the 82nd's language capability?"
	"Sir, we've been working very hard.  Kelly says she doesn't have a full battalion who speak like natives.  I don't have a full squad!  Sam, regardless of the outcome of the exercise, the 101st is the unit to go.  And the outcome was typical Kelly Jackson: the enemy is annihilated and she sustains essentially no casualties."
	He turned to Kelly and put out his hand.  "Kelly, the best man won!"
Chapter 25
	It was the end of March and the 101st Airborne was back at Fort Campbell.  The mission in Central America had been a spectacular success, achieving results beyond the most optimistic expectations.  Having just celebrated her first official anniversary in the Army, there was an inspection and review in honor of Kelly and Horace Franklin who was retiring from the Army after more than thirty years service.  Kelly, now pregnant, was being relieved as commanding officer of the 101st.
	In the meantime spring had come to the hill country of Kentucky.  The flowering trees and shrubs formed a brilliant backdrop of color as the division was formed up on the parade ground.  A presentation had been made to Franklin on the occasion of his retirement.  Sam Adams had flown down from Washington and Cathy, looking beautiful in her pregnancy, was with him.  The troops were standing at Parade Rest in front of the reviewing stand.  
	Adams stood in front of the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the 101st Airborne.  I have good news and bad news today.  The good news is you are now rated the top combat unit in the Army.  With this rating goes the right to carry this special flag as an emblem of excellence along with your divisional colors.  The bad new is Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson is being relieved as your commanding officer.
	"Kelly is expecting a baby, and we thought commanding an airborne division would be a bit much for a pregnant woman, even for Kelly.  She is taking command of the War College.  I want you to know how proud we are of what you have accomplished.  This unit has pulled itself up by its bootstraps to become the Army's top combat division.  Congratulations!"
	Sam stepped away from the microphone and the order was given to pass in review.  The band struck up and the troops marched in front of the reviewing stand.  Adams could not remember ever seeing more heartfelt salutes being given as were given that day by the units to their commanding officer.  Finally, they were formed up in ranks facing the reviewing stand.
	At this point Horace Franklin stepped up to Kelly and saluted.  "General Jackson... Kelly... I have been asked by the men to make a presentation to you today on their behalf.  When the word spread that you were going to leave us, I have never seen so many grown men cry.  At least that's what I think I was seeing:  I wasn't seeing too clearly, myself.
	"We passed the hat to buy you a farewell present.  That didn't work too well.  This division has 17,000 men.  We finally restricted it to one dollar per man.  Mrs. Callahan, I have something for you."
	A man came forward carrying a large rectangular package.  Franklin took it and opened it.  The sun reflected off the highly-polished surface of a large sterling-silver tray.  In the upper left corner was engraved a large Screaming Eagle emblem of the 101st Airborne Division.  Franklin said, "The words engraved are, 'To Kelly Jackson Callahan from all the men and women of the 101st Airborne Division.  We cannot express our gratitude for what you have done for us.  We cannot express our regard for the leadership you have provided.  We can only say we love you, Kelly.' It carries today's date.  In addition, there is a matching sterling silver tea and coffee service with all the pieces carrying our Division's emblem.
	"Kelly, I have been in the Army over thirty years.  I have never seen a commanding officer respected and loved the way you are.  These men would gladly follow you to hell!"
	Tears were streaming down Kelly's cheeks as she accepted the gifts.  She passed the tray to Mike and she and Franklin began to inspect the troops.  She was determined to say good bye to them all.  They went to the First Regiment and was saluted by its commanding colonel.  The inspecting party looked at every man and woman.  As they passed through the ranks, Kelly picked up more gifts, many of them for her expected baby.  She couldn't stop the tears which kept streaming down her cheeks.  She loved these men.
	Tears were streaming down the cheeks of many of the officers and men as well.  Reaching Bill Jensen's company, he saluted smartly and said the company was ready for inspection.
	When she completed it, he saluted, then kissed her on the cheek.  "Thanks, Kelly.  We could never have done it without you, because I still don't know how we did it with you!"
	The last speaker was Colonel Holmes, the senior officer remaining with the Division.  He said, "In November, when General Jackson took command of the 101st, we were a ragtag bunch.  I don't think you could even call us troops.  We had been left out of action in Europe because people felt we would be more dangerous to ourselves and our forces than to the enemy.  It grated because we knew it was true.
	"Then Kelly took over.  She asked us to do things we could not possibly do.  Except she always did them... and did them perfectly.  We struggled.  Remarkably, we accomplished a great deal.  She took us from nowhere to defeat the 82nd in war games.  She got us to learn Spanish and we successfully discharged our mission in Central America.  Do you realize she hasn't been in command for even six months?
	"Kelly, as a promise to you, we're going to work as hard as we can to be sure the 101st doesn't ever let you down.  And Kelly, as a symbol of our pledge, we are giving you the flag we just won, emblematic of the top unit in the Army.  You won it, Kelly.  Please keep it for us.
	"Men, do you realize we have had the rare privilege to be the only unit... of any size at all... to be commanded by Kelly Jackson?  Do you realize what that means?  It means that the 101st has been commanded by the most decorated soldier in the history of the United States Army!  Men, we are distinctive.  We are honored!  Can I hear three cheers for Kelly!?"
	Three thunderous cheers echoed from the parade ground.  Then the order was given to dismiss.
	Mike came up to her and kissed her.  "Honey, I hope you realize how serious they were?  They truly love you."
	Sam Adams, with Cathy at his side, came up and said, "Kelly, could you and Mike fly up to Washington with us?  I understand the Franklins are working with you and will handle the packing and bring up the cars and stuff.  Will you?"
	They went to the air base next to Fort Campbell.  As they left the fort, men of the 101st were lined up at the gate to give them a parting salute.  They boarded the plane and it moved toward the active runway.
	When it reached cruising altitude, Sam Adams turned to Kelly and said, "Good luck at Fort Meade.  It's in the District area.  We're posting Mike... the lucky guy... to the Pentagon.  But you're the one we're worrying about.  Let me tell you what the situation is: First, the good news: The President's house at the War College is considered the finest military housing we have.  It's an easy commute for Mike up the road to the Pentagon.  There are going to be some noses out of joint on that one.  But that's just tough!
	"Now the bad news:  The faculty at the War College — almost entirely civilian, by the way — thinks it's a private college.  As you know we require attendance at the War College for promotion to flag rank — with a couple of exceptions, like you two.  However, we've been getting an increasing amount of flak from the officers coming out of the program.  They consider it to be a complete waste of time.  Worse yet, there's increasing question about whose side the faculty is on.  The students see no relevance between what's taught there and their jobs as senior commanders.
	"Of course, a problem with education is the student may not see an immediate benefit from even the most valuable courses.  However, we are coming around to believe the officers have a point.  But there's more: The faculty has a lot of influence in Congress, particularly on the liberal side of the aisle.  They've chewed up the last three or four College presidents.  The most recent guy was pulled out after less than six months.  He's been gone for nearly a month now.  He wishes you luck, by the way.
	"Kelly, we need a War College.  But we need to get it back on track to prepare general officers for their new responsibilities.  I'll tell you right now, they are going to howl when they learn who the new president is.  The last three were all Ph.D.'s, selected to mesh easily with the intellectuals at the school.  It didn't do any good.  Kelly, we're throwing you into the lion's den and we're not even giving you a chair or a whip!"
	Sam was very serious as he looked into Kelly's eyes.  She had been impassive as he reviewed the situation for her.  He said, "Kelly, Cathy almost took off my head when she heard about it.  She said, 'Thanks a hell of a lot, Sam.  That's a neat way for you to take care of the greatest military hero this country has ever had.  What would you have given her if you hadn't liked her?  Something nice in Antarctica?'  Kelly, she's absolutely right."  Cathy nodded her head as Sam told the story.
	"Look, I've been thinking more about it.  I think I'll give you command of The Presidio in San Francisco.  If there's a place nicer than Meade, it's that post.  It's right under the Golden Gate Bridge, sitting on some of the most valuable real estate in the country.  Let's forget the whole College thing, okay?"
	Kelly looked very serious as she said, "Not okay, Sam.  I want the job, and I have an idea.  But I have a couple of questions first.  As president, can I teach a course?"
	Sam looked puzzled.  He picked up a telephone handset by his seat and placed a call.  With the noise of the aircraft, Mike and Kelly couldn't hear what was said.  Sam nodded his head and disconnected.  He said, "The answer is yes.  It hasn't been done in living memory, but the president is a member of the faculty and can teach.  There's a great deal of tradition and law affecting that place which is why I had to ask.  Nothing over there is ever simple.  Anything else?"
	"Two things:  First, since you said I can teach, am I correct in assuming there are no specific academic credentials required?  Second, do faculty members have tenure, civil service status or any other legal bar to their termination?"  She looked at him and waited.
	Adams picked up the phone again.  This time his conversation took longer.  There was a period in which it appeared no on was talking.  The other party apparently had to leave the phone to check something.  It was obvious when he came back on the line.  Sam's face lit up in a broad grin as he listened and then hung up.
	"Kelly, how in hell do you always do this to me?  The reaction from my resident expert was, 'Holy smokes!  She's got it!  The heavily civilian composition of the faculty is fairly new, but the law has never been changed.  Since it used to have an officer faculty when we didn't have well-educated officers, there is no education requirement.  By the same token, the only tenure that attaches is military.  These people draw a civil-service pension, but technically they are not civil servants!'  Then he said to me, 'General, would you please congratulate General Jackson and tell her I promise to have my wife give me a swift kick where it will do the most good, unless she wants to come over and do it herself.'  Kelly, tell me more."
	Kelly proceeded to outline her plans.  As she did so, Adams' smile got broader and broader.  By the time she was finished, he, Mike, and Cathy were laughing loudly.  Cathy hugged her and said, "Kel, I always knew you were brilliant!"
	Sam said, "Kelly, you surely will do!  When can you and Mike come over for dinner with Cathy and me?  Our baby will be along soon.  Incidentally, we would both be honored to have you and Mike serve as the godparents.  Will you?" he asked as he held Cathy's hand.
	Kelly looked at Mike and then back at the Adams.  "Cathy and Sam, we would be honored!  Thank you for your vote of confidence."
Chapter 26
	Kelly was wearing a summer service uniform when she entered the War College.  She had learned that the tradition was for both the faculty and the student body always to wear civilian clothes.  Uniforms were never worn at the school.  Since Kelly was about to start changing behavior she wore her uniform.  A civilian guard was on the desk.  He stood up and attempted a salute which Kelly smartly returned and then asked directions to the President's Office.  The guard pointed down the hall.
	Kelly went to the indicated door and went in.  As Kelly entered a secretary looked up from her typewriter.  The girl's eyes bugged when she saw Kelly's uniform.  Kelly smiled and walked by the girl into the corner office.
	The secretary followed her in.  "Are you Lieutenant General Jackson?" the girl asked.  Kelly smiled and nodded.  "Why are you wearing your uniform?  Uniforms aren't allowed at the War College!"
	Kelly held out her hand which the girl took in a limp grip.  "I'm Kelly Jackson Callahan.  What's your name?  I assume you are my secretary."
	The girl was pretty but appeared very nervous.  "How do you do, General?  I'm Rita Nelson.  Yes, I am your secretary."
	Kelly went behind her new desk and sat down.  When she noticed Rita had her steno pad with her, Kelly dictated two memos.  The first one, effective immediately, made the wearing of uniforms optional at all times for faculty and students at the College.  The second was to the commanding officer of Fort Meade, a major general, requesting military guards to replace the civilians at the College.
	The girl took the notes and then said, "But General, you can't do this!  It's illegal.  We're special here.  We're a national university and we avoid a militaristic image."
	Kelly looked at the girl impassively.  "Rita, I'm the commanding officer.  Those are my orders.  It may have escaped the notice of some people, but the name of the institution is The War College.  War is, in essence, a rather violent activity.  Soldiers do their work when diplomacy fails.  Am I clear?  See that the memos are sent out as soon as possible.  And, Rita, call a meeting of the faculty and staff in the auditorium at 0930."
	The girl looked startled, but obeyed.
	At nine-thirty Kelly was standing on the stage of the auditorium.  She noticed that when the faculty members came in they gathered at the back of the auditorium.  Because it had been sized to handle the faculty and student body together, the staff alone took up fewer than 20 percent of the seats.  She checked her watch and nodded to a uniformed Army captain wearing an MP brassard.  He nodded to his men and they started to move the faculty to the forward seats.  Kelly smiled at the MPs; it was obvious that some faculty didn't want to move, but finally they were in their new places.
	Kelly began, "Good morning.  I am Kelly Jackson.  I am the new president of the War College and I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself.  I have three announcements to make and then I would be happy to answer questions.  First, effective immediately, wearing of uniforms at the War College is optional for both faculty and students at all times.  Second, also effective immediately, there will be military guards at all posts; current ID's will be carried and shown to any guard on request.  Finally, there will be a reworking of class schedules.  Classes will begin at 0800 hours daily.  We will try to end all classes by 1200 hours to provide time for work in the library and for physical training.  That's all for now.  Are there any questions?"
	A man with very long gray hair falling from a very large balding head rose.  He was wearing a shabby tweed jacket and a dirty shirt with no tie.  He said, "General, I'm Clarence Klein, chairman of the Peace Studies Department.  Surely, you can't be serious about these militaristic changes?"
	Kelly looked at him with piercing eyes.  "Mr. Klein, I am very serious.  However, there is one thing I overlooked that is applicable to both faculty and students.  For those who do not chose to wear a uniform or do not qualify to do so, I expect the same standards of personal neatness and grooming I would expect from an officer in uniform.  Mr. Klein, in your case, your hair is much too long, your shirt is dirty, you are not wearing a tie, and your jacket should go to the Salvation Army... if they're willing to take it.  Are there any other questions?"
	Klein remained standing.  He said, "That is an illegal order, General.  I cannot be ordered to do anything!  I trust you will withdraw your last statements.  Moreover, I am addressed as Professor Klein or Doctor Klein!"
	Kelly smiled sweetly at him and said, "Do I take it, Mr. Klein, you do not intend to abide by my orders?"
	"I most certainly do not!  And it is Doctor Klein!"
	Again, the sweet smile.  "In that case, Mr. Klein, your employment at the War College is terminated, effective immediately.  Are there any other questions?"
	There was an instantaneous buzzing in the auditorium and several faculty members gathered around Klein.  Kelly looked around and said, "Since there are no more questions, the meeting is adjourned.  Good day, gentlemen.  Thank you for coming."  She strode off the stage and out of the auditorium.
	On the way back to her office she saw the MP captain again.  She went up to him with her hand outstretched.  He snapped to attention and saluted smartly.  Kelly withdrew her hand to return the salute and then held it out again.  He was surprised at the firmness of her grip.  He wore his name badge and two rows of decorations on his chest.
	She said, "How do you do, Captain Martin.  Am I correct in assuming you are now in charge of the security detail here at the War College?"
	"Yes, sir.  Is there anything the general wishes, sir?" he replied standing stiffly at attention.
	She smiled warmly and said, "The general wishes Captain Martin to accompany her to her office."  He fell in step with her as they walked through the halls to her office.  She closed the door behind them.  "Captain, would you excuse me for a few moments?  Make yourself at home and please relax.  I haven't eaten a captain before lunch in weeks!"  She grinned as she said it.  He weakly returned her smile.
	Kelly went into the private bathroom off her office.  In a few minutes she came out wearing a blue linen dress in a shade of blue that matched her eyes, along with a single strand of pearls.  She looked lovely.  She went behind her desk, sat down and asked, "Captain, what is your first name?"
	He drew himself up to attention in the chair and replied, "It's Peter, sir."
	He looked puzzled as he saw Kelly look herself over and then mutter, "Oh, damn!"
	Martin was both puzzled and embarrassed and looked it.  He said, "Ma'am?"
	Kelly smiled and said in a slightly louder voice, "I said, 'Oh, damn!'  The saleslady positively guaranteed me that if I wore this dress I would not look like I eat junior officers before lunch.  Clearly, Peter, she was wrong.  It's not working.  I'm afraid I'll have to take it back.  And I do so like the color, too."
	She smiled at him with her warmest smile.  "Peter, please do me a very big favor?  I'm younger than you are by several years.  I am also expecting my first child.  In a while I'm going to blow up like a balloon.  I'm trying to look feminine this morning.  I don't want to look like a general.  Am I really so frightening?  And — at least while the door's closed — please call me Kelly?"
	Martin's eyes bugged.  "You're expecting?  Honest?  General... Kelly... you are the most un-pregnant looking woman I have ever seen."  He started to relax and added, "In fact, you're the most beautiful girl I've seen in years.  You are absolutely exquisite!"
	Kelly beamed.  "Why Peter, thank you so much.  I think I'll punch my husband when I get home.  He hasn't said anything so nice to me in months!"  She looked at him speculatively and asked, "By the way, Pete, are you married?"  He reddened at the personal question but said he was not.  Her face turned serious.  "Pete... is Pete all right, or do you prefer Peter?"
	He smiled and, now relaxed, said, "Pete is just fine, Kelly."
	She continued, "Pete, right now you are the only officer around here I can count on.  My aide and my husband's, both of whom are Captain Murphy — we must have the only husband and wife aide team in the Army — are on leave, soaking up the sun in Hawaii.  I don't mean to impose, but what are your reactions to what happened this morning?  Whatever you tell me is in confidence, of course."
	He looked thoughtful for a moment and then began.  "Kelly, you really started something.  The War College has been becoming an increasingly sharp thorn in the side of the Fort for years.  I don't know whose side they're on, but it sure as hell isn't the Army's.  Are you sure you can really fire Klein?  He's probably the worst of the bunch.  They have academic tenure, and can't be touched.  Moreover, they are reputed to have a lot of clout on Capitol Hill."
	She looked at him thoughtfully and said, "Well what do you know?  It sounds like I hit the bulls-eye with the first shot.  Pete, the fact of the matter is they do not have tenure.  They aren't even Civil Service.  Thus, they serve at the pleasure of the President of the College.  Right now, that's me.  It's my pleasure for Mr. Klein to go away.  Now we'll see.
	"Incidentally, Pete, put the word out there are two very influential men from the Hill coming down to lunch today.  There is Senator Robert Fuller of Virginia, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Samuel Pinkney of South Carolina, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.  Be sure to put the word out to your people to treat them with the respect they feel they deserve!"  She grinned as she said it.
	He said, "Kelly, did you know this would happen?  The Klein thing, I mean."
	She shook her head and smiled.  "No, Pete, I didn't, but I was hoping!"
	At eleven thirty, there was a knock on the door.  A guard opened it and ushered in two men, saluted, and then closed the door behind him.  Kelly greeted the two congressmen and made small talk to get them relaxed.  She thanked them both for the kind remarks each had made on the floor of Congress when they were voting on the creation and award of the Cross of Liberty.  Both smiled like schoolboys just complimented by the teacher.  Then she ushered them into a private dining room off her office.  Selma was in the kitchen and had prepared a magnificent lunch which Camille served.
	The meal was a spectacular success.  Selma made sure to have both Carolina and Virginia specialties, both done superbly.  In response to the Senator's question, she said that General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was indeed an ancestor.  She told the congressman that one of Mike's ancestors rode with the South Carolina First Volunteer Cavalry in the War Between the States.  By this time Kelly could do no wrong in the eyes of the influential congressmen.  Soon they were insisting she call them Bob and Sam.  Since Camille had served mint juleps before lunch and a beautiful wine with the meal, the congressmen were feeling very mellow as they lit up cigars she had provided for them when they returned to her office.
	They were seated on a leather sofa when the door opened suddenly and Klein, along with several of his colleagues, burst into the office.  Kelly looked up at Klein from her chair next to the sofa and said, "Mr. Klein, why are you still here?  You were dismissed hours ago."
	"I'm here because I refuse to leave.  You can't make me!  You have no right to terminate me.  I have tenure on the faculty."
	She looked at him and spoke to him the way she would to a recalcitrant child.  "Mr. Klein, no one at the War College has tenure.  All civilian employees serve at the pleasure of the school's President.  That's me.  My pleasure is for you to leave, so get out.  Now!"
	Klein smirked and said, "You can't get away with this!  I'll take it to Congress!  They won't stand for it."
	"Mr. Klein, I think you just did.  Permit me to introduce my guests.  This is Senator Fuller, seated on the left, and Representative Pinkney, on the right.  They chair the Armed Services Committees in their respective houses.
	"Gentlemen, this morning I announced that, effective immediately, faculty and students may wear either civilian dress or uniforms.  If they chose to wear civilian clothes, they would be subject to similar standards — shirts, ties as appropriate, trimmed hair, and so forth — as officers in uniform.  Mr. Klein refused and was dismissed.  Incidentally, Mr. Klein, you were some distance away from me this morning.  As you are now close, it's clear that you should also take a shower.  In a word, you smell."  Klein just sputtered.
	Fuller looked at his colleague who nodded and then looked at Klein.  His face was stern and his eyes cold as he said, "Sir, I gather that you took exception to General Jackson's order on dress and grooming.  We do not.  The General has fired you.  Your employment is now terminated.  Good day, sir!"
	Kelly went to her desk and buzzed.  When Pete Martin, along with two burly MPs opened the door, she said, "Captain, would you please show these people out?  And please be sure Mr. Klein is off the post within sixty minutes."
	Pinkney commented that Kelly was New York Debutante of the Year.  They both congratulated her on the brilliant job she had done rebuilding the 101st and then on the job she and the 101st had done in Central America.  As they were walking back to their waiting limousine, they both assured Kelly of complete support on Capitol Hill for whatever she might try to accomplish at the College.  It had been a very successful luncheon.
Chapter 27
	Ten days had passed and the schedule changes had been put in place.  Kelly noticed that most of the students were now wearing uniforms to school.  This morning she was wearing a simple spring dress rather than her uniform and was sitting in the student lounge sipping coffee and reading a book on military strategy.  She had not yet sat in on any classes nor had she done anything about teaching a course.  It was a little after eleven o'clock.  With classes beginning at eight o'clock, many of the students were now finished at eleven.
	She lifted her eyes and saw that a colonel in uniform was standing beside her table.  She looked up and smiled.  His nameplate said GEORGE.  She said, "Good morning, Colonel George.  Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee?"
	The colonel looked embarrassed, but sat down.  Kelly motioned for a waiter who brought over two fresh cups.  She looked at George.  He appeared to be in his early thirties, quite young to be a full colonel.  He, too, had rows of ribbons on his chest.  "What can I do for you, Colonel?" she asked quietly.
	"May I ask you a couple of questions first, please, General?"
	"Of course."
	"General, I read excerpts from a forthcoming book about you.  It says that you were the one who set up the tactics for our breakout in Germany and for the later collapse of the Soviet government.  Is that true?  The authors, Collins and Carlson, claim it is."
	"Chris and Bill get a little carried away sometimes, Colonel.  I think they're trying to get even with me.  They accuse me of causing them to get married."  She grinned and said, "To answer your question, though, I was involved in the planning to a degree."
	George pursued the issue.  Finally, Kelly admitted that she was the one who read the Russian book on tank warfare and coupled it with her knowledge of Russian behavior to conceive the plan.
	George smiled at her and said, "General, you aren't held in great esteem by some of the faculty.  They feel it could have been done differently, and should have been."
	"I'm sure there are many ways it could have been done.  What does our illustrious faculty recommend?"
	"They believe we should have ignored the Russians in Germany and moved against them in the south in the Strasbourg sector."
	"How were we going to cross the Rhine?  The Russians were already at the Rhine down there.  Did they say?  Also, in what way would it have produced a better outcome?  Faster?  Fewer casualties?  What?"
	George looked puzzled.  "I really don't know.  I apologize.  I certainly should know."  He smiled and continued, "As a matter of fact, I feel like a fool!  This is the first time I've ever heard of second-guessing a victory."
	"Incidentally, you said 'some of the faculty'.  Who, specifically, is saying it?"
	"Professors Carson and Wilson make the most noise about it.  Horace Wilson is probably the most outspoken one.  But why do you ask?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "I may want to sit in on a class or two.  I want to be sure it's the right one."
	George looked alarmed.  "But you can't do that.  I mean, a professor's classroom is sacrosanct!"
	Kelly ignored his comment and asked, "By the way, Colonel, what is your first name?  I'm sure you know that mine is Kelly.  Since I am the youngest person around here, I would appreciate it if you would call me that."  She smiled warmly and added, "After all, we're supposed to be informal here at the College."
	George put out his hand and said, "Kelly, my name is John, but everyone calls me Jack."
	Kelly took his hand in a firm grip and said, "Hello, Jack."
	When she looked up she saw several other officers standing around the table looking at them.  They were maintaining a distance just great enough to be out of earshot.  Kelly looked around and said, "Pull up chairs, guys.  This isn't a private conversation.  We were just talking about some interesting statements being made here at the school."
	Chairs were pulled up, officers sat down, and the conversation quickly became more general.  Kelly kept it on the subject of the Allied offensive in Germany.  No one could recall hearing any statement which would show in what way the campaign was deficient.  However, they had all heard the campaign denigrated by Carson and Wilson.  They also denigrated the new book Chris and Bill were writing as not being worth the paper it would be printed on.
	Finally, Kelly was fed up.  She said, "Gentlemen, I'm disappointed in all of you.  The purpose of the War College is to get you officers to think for yourselves.  The reason it's required for almost all general officers is it marks a major turning-point in your careers.  As junior officers, you were expected to carry out orders.  As senior officers, you initiate them.  As general officers, you are responsible for setting strategy and tactics.
	"Now I have been sitting here for over an hour listening to you whine about the way the Allied campaign in Germany is being criticized.  Yet no one here has had the guts even to ask the basis of the criticism, let alone ask why an alternative course of action would have been better.  You don't even know in what terms it might have been better.
	"Gentlemen, if we don't do better than this, the War College fails in its mission."  Kelly's eyes became piercing as she looked around the group.  She said, "However, gentlemen, you will fail, also.  Do I make myself clear?"
	The officers looked very sheepish.  Jack George said, "General, what you're telling us is we're acting like sheep... or very junior officers.  A professor says something and we record it as being true.  This, in spite of absolutely no evidence being cited and in spite of it being contrary to our own firsthand knowledge.  What should we do?" he asked.
	"Well, for openers, do you know what actually did happen?  Do you know what the Allied and Warsaw Pact troop dispositions were?"  The officers shook their heads, no.
	Kelly for the first time sounded exasperated.  "Well why, in hell, not?  I thought you were supposed to show initiative?  Do you know a characteristic differentiating this school from others?  We have access to classified information.  Other schools and scholars do not.  Now I'm going to make an assignment.  I want to see you all back here tomorrow at 1200 hours.  By that time I expect you to know what the Allied casualties were from the time of the assault to the end of the war compared to those of the Warsaw Pact.  You figure out who's going to get what, and how."  She smiled and said, "I will see you all here again tomorrow."  She rose from her chair to leave.
	As she walked away from the table, she smiled to herself.  She could hear a buzz of voices.  They had been chewed out and knew it.  Kelly went back to her office and found Pete Martin waiting for her.  He was talking to Rita Nelson who appeared to be very flustered by his presence.  She asked Pete to join her in her office and close the door.
	"Pete, are you trying to get something going with my secretary?  You ought to know that's my stunt.  In some quarters I'm notorious as the officer who stole SACEUR's confidential secretary."
	Pete gaped.  "You didn't!?"
	"Sure I did.  She was Cathy King.  Now she is Cathy Adams.  I tease Sam that he had to marry her to get her back.  She's about to deliver their first child."
	Pete just shook his head.  "Kelly Jackson, you are really a piece of work!  No wonder you're relaxed.  The Chief of Staff is a buddy and the chairmen of the two Armed Services Committees think you walk on water.  Is there anything else?"
	She grinned.  "Mike wanted to put in for reimbursement for our honeymoon.  He claimed he was carrying out the direct orders of the Commander in Chief."  Pete looked incredulous.  Kelly said, "He was, too.  The President ordered us to get married... several times, in fact."
	"My God!  I think this is really going to be funny.  These turkeys on the faculty have their heads buried in the sand.  They don't know when they're overmatched.  And they sure are if they try to cross swords with you."
	He changed the subject.  "Seriously, about Rita... do you mind me talking to her?"
	Kelly smiled warmly.  "Not in the least.  You could do her a great deal of good.  I'm not at all sure what's in it for you, though."  His jaw dropped as she continued, "If you're looking for someone to share your bed, I know several girls who would be a lot better for that job."
	She changed the subject.  "Pete, what I really want to know is what you know about Horace Wilson and Homer Carson.  I'm hearing things.  Do you know them?"
	"I don't know either of them but I hear that Horace Wilson is a buddy of Clarence Klein's.  He was in Klein's Peace Studies Department until you disbanded it.  Why did you do that, by the way?"
	"Pete, think about it: Peace Studies in the War College?  Does that sound like an oxymoron to you?  The job of military officers is to prepare to win a war.  It's the job of the State Department and others to try to keep the peace.  We're the backup if they fail.  Are we supposed to second-guess the civilian control of the military?  Are we supposed to have our own foreign policy like some of the South American military leaders?"  She smiled and concluded, "Does that make sense to you?"
	Martin shook his head and said, "Kelly, you always make sense.  I guess that's why the men all love you.  It's always clear what you're trying to do, and what you expect the men to do to get that job done.  Frankly, it's these other turkeys who don't make sense."  He left after checking again on Kelly's feelings regarding Rita Nelson.  Kelly grinned and wished him good hunting.
	When he left she picked up the phone and called Sam Adams' office at the Pentagon.  After telling the secretary who she was she was put through immediately.  Sam said, "What can I do for my favorite teenybopper?"
	Kelly grinned and said, "For openers, I'm going to be twenty next month.  Then you'll have to knock off that shit!  Besides, is that any way to refer to an expectant mother?  Speaking of which, how's Cathy?"
	"She's absolutely great, Kel.  You know what the remarkable thing is?  She's due in just a couple of weeks, and she doesn't really look that pregnant.  And she certainly doesn't act it!"
	Kelly chuckled.  "Good for both of you, particularly Cathy.  Sam, I can say only one thing:  I hope you two are as happy together as you seem to be.
	"Kelly, if I was any happier, it would be illegal!  With all respect to my late wife, I've never been so happy in my life.  Cathy is a dream come true.  But I don't think that's what you called to talk about."
	"Sam, to get to the purpose of my call:  There are some people here at the College who are badmouthing the Allied campaign in Germany.  Question: What were the comparative casualties, beginning with the breakout?"
	"Kelly, from that point to the end of the war we didn't suffer 500 killed from all causes.  Keep in mind that we have significant casualties in war games.  We are known to engage in hazardous activities from time to time... like teenyboppers jumping off thirty-story buildings.  Of the 500, I don't know how many were victims of enemy action, but it can't be a very big number.  As for the Warsaw Pact, their casualties were up in seven figures with the largest number, by far, being the number captured... MIA to them.  Do you need anything better than that?"
	"Thanks, Sam.  That certainly ought to do for starters.  Incidentally, there may be some more faculty numbered among the missing soon."
	Sam said that would be no problem.
	Kelly hung up and sat quietly at her desk thinking through her course of action.  She buzzed Rita's desk and the girl quickly responded.  Kelly asked her to bring in the class schedules and her notebook.  When Rita entered the office moments later, Kelly was bothered by certain of the girl's mannerisms.  Taken together, Rita reminded her of a frightened rabbit.  Kelly asked her to sit down.  She took the schedule and quickly noted that Horace Wilson's class was scheduled for eight o'clock and would meet the next day.  She smiled to herself thinking of Wilson having to be in the classroom at such an unseemly hour.
	Then Kelly looked at Rita closely.  She decided the girl really did look frightened.  "Rita, what's wrong?" Kelly asked.  "You always come in here looking scared to death.  How long have you been secretary to the President of the College?"
	The girl almost jumped out of her chair when she heard Kelly's question.
	Suddenly, Kelly had an idea.  She said, "Rita, are you a good friend of Professors Klein, Wilson, and Carson?"  Rita turned white as a sheet.  Guilt was all over her face.  She didn't answer, but her face had answered for her.  "Rita, how old are you?" Kelly asked quietly.
	"I'm twenty-six," the girl replied in a quavering voice.  She was looking at Kelly with fear that was a palpable thing.
	Kelly continued in a very quiet tone of voice, "You do know that unauthorized disclosure of confidential information is grounds for immediate dismissal, don't you, Rita?  I believe your position is under Civil Service, but you can be immediately terminated for cause."
	The girl broke down completely.  She started bawling.  Kelly sat behind her desk, making no move in the girl's direction.  The girl's crying quickly escalated into hysteria.  Kelly went around to her, helped her out of the chair and led her to the sofa.  She sat down and Kelly held her as she continued to cry.  Finally, she was exhausted.
	Still maintaining her very quiet tone of voice, she said, "You are being blackmailed, aren't you, Rita?"  The girl had run out of tears.  She was still sobbing, but they were now tortured dry sobs.  She looked at Kelly with her tear-reddened eyes showing a look of total defeat.
	Kelly said, "Rita, do you mind if I ask Pete Martin to join us?  As chief of security, he really needs to know what happened."
	The girl was stricken by the words.  "Pete?  You have to ask Pete?"  The girl stuck out her hands with her wrists together.
	Kelly smiled to herself.  It was obvious the poor girl thought she would be taken away in handcuffs.  She said, "Rita, do you like Pete?"
	The girl's eyes widened.  "Like him?  I adore him!"  She forced herself to sit up straight and, with a superhuman effort of will, regained control.  She said, "General, would you allow Pete to take me here on your sofa before they take me away?  If you allow that, I'll testify to anything and may not even mind spending the rest of my life in a Federal prison."
	Kelly was now angry and it showed.  "Rita, you're not going to prison at all.  If I have anything to do with it, you'll still be my secretary.  Do you want to go to jail?"
	The girl was stunned.  "Of course not!  But they said that if it came out, I was certain to be sentenced to life in prison."  Suddenly, she snapped up straight and a spark of fire showed in her eyes.  "General, did they lie to me?"
	Kelly shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid they did.  I'm sorry, Rita, but I have to get Pete in on this.  I think it will be better for you, too.  Can you see ever becoming serious with him if this whole affair is still hanging over your head?  Wondering when he'll find out?"
	The girl said, "Of course you're right, Kelly.  You're always right.  I don't know how...  Oh, General, I'm so sorry!  I mean..."
	Again, the warm smile from Kelly.  "Rita, it is my name.  Almost everyone calls me Kelly.  I don't mind a bit.  Pete calls me Kelly now, too."
	"He does?  But you're a general and he's only a captain!"
	"And he's about ten years older than I am.  You're twenty-six.  You have me by over six years."  Kelly grinned and added, "Sam Adams still calls me a teenybopper, for Heaven's sake!  Don't worry about it!  I certainly don't.  Seriously, Rita, wouldn't you feel better if Pete found out about this now?  Get it over with?"
	The girl's head nodded quickly.  Kelly went to her desk and called security.  She said, "This is General Jackson.  I must see Captain Martin immediately.  If he's not around, find him.  It's urgent."
	She could almost hear the sergeant of the guard snap to attention.  When the commanding general says "immediately," it is right now!  He said, "We'll have him in your office right away, sir!" and hung up.
	Five minutes later there was an urgent knock on the door.
	Pete came in still tucking in parts of his uniform.  Kelly smothered a grin as she looked at him.  She said, "Captain Martin, we have a major security problem here at the College.  It seems Rita Nelson has been blackmailed to reveal confidential information.  I want to get base security and Army Intelligence on it immediately.  You handle the base and I'll handle Intelligence."
	"I'll get it underway immediately, General."
	He started to leave the office when Kelly stopped him.  She told him to use her private line.  "Pete, let's assume everything is compromised until proven otherwise.  It's safer."
	He called base security and advised the security officer.  When he hung up, Kelly took the phone and called Sam Adams' office.  She motioned Pete to take a seat.  Again Sam was quickly on the phone.
	"Sam, it's Kelly.  I have a major security problem here at the War College."  She quickly told him what she had learned and what she wanted to do.  She smiled as she realized the way she and Sam were back in a war mode.  In spite of all their kidding, he could and did move very quickly when the circumstances warranted.
	He said, "Kelly, John St. Clair is now the Chief of Army Intelligence.  Hang on and I'll call him on another line."  A few minutes later Adams was back on the line.  "John is sending two of his top plainclothes teams down.  They will be there in less than fifteen minutes.  And Kelly...  Thanks."  Then she heard a quiet chuckle on the phone as he added, "It must be your pregnancy.  It took you nearly two weeks to discover it!"  He hung up.
	She then told Rita and Pete what was about to happen.  When her phone rang she answered it and found it was General Bradford, the commanding general of Fort Meade.  He said, "General, I just learned about your problem.  With your permission, I would like to reinforce your security detail.  I will put it under the command of a major, double its size, and add more officers to the detail."
	Kelly said, "Thanks very much, Charley.  I appreciate the extra manpower.  However, unless you plan on promoting Pete Martin — which would be a fine idea, by the way — I would prefer that security remain under his command.  He's a very fine officer and we're working very well together.  I would like him to remain as the College's security officer."
	"Are you serious?  Do you consider him to be that good, General?"
	"Yes, I do, Charley.  Shall we give him his oak leaves tonight?"
	There was a quiet chuckle at the end of the phone.  "Do it, General.  It helps when the word comes down, from both the Pentagon and Capitol Hill, that what Kelly Jackson wants, she gets.  He's a good man.  And may I call you Kelly?"
	"Of course!  I've been calling you Charley.  I'll tell Pete.  Thanks again."  She hung up the phone and smiled at Pete.  "Congratulations!  Let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotion to major.  The security force is being doubled in size.  There will be several more officers joining your command."
	Pete Martin just shook his head.  He looked at Kelly and said, "General, I only heard one side of that conversation, but it sounded like you as much as ordered General Bradford to promote me to major.  Did you?"
	Kelly just shrugged and smiled.  "I'm learning there are some advantages that come with wearing stars on your shoulders.  It's not all bad!"
	Kelly checked the time and was pleased to see it was after four o'clock.  Most of the faculty and students would be out of the building by now.  A few minutes later there was a knock on her door and Pete opened it.  There were two men in colonel's uniforms accompanied by a security guard.  Pete saluted and it was smartly returned.  They thanked the guard, came into the office and closed the door.
	The men introduced themselves as Army Intelligence officers from CID — Criminal Investigation Division — and showed their credentials to Kelly.  The senior, Chet Morrissey, said, "I'm sorry, Major.  I'm only a captain and Mike Jordan here is a first lieutenant.  We play fast and loose with rank insignia sometimes.  Here at the War College, we figured captains and lieutenants would stand out more than colonels."
	He turned to Kelly and said, "General, General St. Clair sends his respects.  And he means it, too.  Ma'am, I think you swing more weight with our general than General Adams does.  Our orders are to do whatever you want done.  And he emphasized whatever!"
	Pete made the introductions.  Rita had been sitting beside him on the sofa and Kelly had noticed that the girl seemed to draw strength from the man sitting beside her.  When they turned to her, she was composed.  Kelly said, "Rita, why don't you tell us what happened?  It's been going on for years, hasn't it?"
	Rita told how she had been in her position for almost six years.  She graduated from college, took a secretarial course, and got the job as secretary to the President of the College.  She had been attracted to Clarence Klein because he seemed to be a man of peace.  He pumped her about what went on in the President's office without ever seeming to.  Then as time went on, she found she was telling him more and more.
	Finally, after nearly three years, she was hooked.  One day Klein and Wilson came to her and asked for material from the President's confidential files.  She was shocked and refused.  They said it was too late.  She had no choice.  They told her she already faced life in prison for prior breeches of security.  Everything was documented.  She told the investigators that she knew Klein, Wilson, and Carson were involved.  There might have been more, but she didn't know of any others.
	She turned to Kelly and said, "General, when you fired Clarence Klein, I almost shouted for joy!  I hate him!  He's tortured me for years.  I'm glad it's over at last."  She stood up and smiled at the investigators.  She put her wrists out in front of her and said, "I'm ready now."
	They looked at her, pretending ignorance.  "Ready for what?"
	Rita looked baffled.  She said, "I'm ready to go to jail for spying.  Could..."  She stood up very straight and said, "I'm ready to testify for the government."  Then she suddenly turned and took Pete's face in her hands.  She kissed him passionately.  He put his arms around her, and hers went around his neck.  The kiss continued.  When she pulled away, tears were streaming from her eyes again.  She said, "Goodbye, Pete."
	She turned to go.  Chet Morrissey said quietly, "Rita, we're not taking you anywhere.  You were blackmailed.  About the only thing you're guilty of is being gullible... and that's not a crime.  I'm only sorry you didn't come to us years ago, though.  It's obvious that you've been living in terror for years.  Now, will you help us put these guys in jail?  What you did isn't a crime, but what they did certainly is."  He smiled at the astonished girl and said, "Well, will you?"
	"You mean... you're not taking me to jail?"  Chet shook his head.  Suddenly, Rita blushed scarlet.  She looked at Pete and said, "My God!  Pete, I only did that because... because I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison."
	Martin didn't say anything.  Instead he took her in his arms and kissed her slowly and thoroughly.  Kelly could see the unmistakable signs of the girl holding on to keep from falling as her knees gave way.  Gently, he released from the kiss and put her face on his shoulder and just held her.  Finally, he held her away and looked at her face.  He said quietly, "It was even great when you knew you weren't going to prison!  At least I thought it was."
	Morrissey and Jordan looked at the couple.  Mike said, "If it's all the same to you two, could you hold that until later tonight?  Meanwhile, we have some plans to make to get those guys."
	They talked about various courses of action, but none of the ideas sounded very good.  Then Kelly had an idea.  She called the house on base where Katrina and Kevin would be living.  They were due back that day.  When Katrina answered the phone, Kelly asked for her father's fax number.  The girl found it and gave it to her.
	Kelly grinned and said, "I think we may be able to enlist some help."
	She turned to Rita and asked, "Is there a typewriter with the Russian Cyrillic alphabet at the school?  I need one right now."  Rita was startled but knew where there was one.  She called for a security guard to help her bring it to Kelly's office.
	The others looked at her questioningly.  Finally she said, "Look, let's assume these guys weren't doing all of this for the hell of it.  Assuming there was a purpose, what was it?  For whom were they working?  I may be able to find out."
	A few minutes later Rita returned.  The guard was pushing a typewriter on a mobile stand.  He positioned it in Kelly's office and Rita plugged it in.  Kelly sat down and started typing rapidly.  Rita exclaimed, "You can write... Russian?"
	Kelly smiled at the girl and said, "You can learn a great deal at the end of a whip.  Yes, I can write Russian."
	She finished the letter and went to the facsimile machine in Rita's office.  After dialing a long number the machine came to life and the paper started to feed through.  Kelly smiled and returned to her office with her paper.
	Morrissey looked at her and said, "General, could you please tell us what you just did?"
	She said, "Chet, I just asked the President of the Russian Republics to check the KGB files.  I asked if he can find anything on Klein, Wilson, or Carson.  I also asked if they find the names, to let us know who else is associated with them.  Neither President Solov of Russia nor I like the KGB very much."
	By this time a second team of intelligence agents had arrived.  Morrissey was senior and assigned them the jobs of checking locally on Klein, Wilson, and Carson.  Finally they left the office with Pete offering to drive Rita home.
	Kelly went back to her quarters where Selma had outdone herself to make a spectacular dinner to welcome back the Murphys.  She filled them in on developments and Katrina expressed the hope that the KGB files might prove to be useful after all.
Chapter 28
	Kelly kissed Mike goodbye early the next morning.  So far, except for a slight swelling of her breasts, there was no sign of her pregnancy.  She was in the office at seven o'clock and found an answer to her facsimile message of the day before.  For a change, the seven-hour time difference to Moscow came in handy.
	She took the sheets to her office, sat down, and started to read.  It was a personal message to her, signed "Uncle Mischa."  Mikhail said he was replying in Russian on the assumption there was an obvious breech of security at the College.  A search of the KGB files showed that Klein, Wilson, and Carson were all on the KGB payroll from a period beginning about eight years earlier and continuing until the KGB was finally shut down the previous year.  It appeared that their primary mission was to infiltrate Fort Meade.  There were several Meade names included, people whom the trio controlled.  Also included were their code names, the person in the Soviet Embassy to whom Klein, the leader of the spy cell, reported, and an accounting of payments to them going back five years.
	Finally, Solov noted there was an ominous report on Rita Nelson.  The KGB files confirmed the story she had told the day before.  She was lured in on inconsequential matters and then hooked with the threat of exposure.  When the Russians had attacked in Germany, Rita rebelled.  Klein insisted she was becoming dangerous; there was a dispatch in the file ready to be sent ordering her execution.  It was dated the day the KGB ceased to exist.
	Kelly suddenly realized how close to death the girl had come.  She picked up the phone and called security.  Pete Martin was at the desk and she asked him to find "one of the new colonels who reported in the previous evening."  She sat down at Rita's typewriter and quickly typed an English-language version of Mikhail's message leaving out the personal parts about Katrina's pregnancy and her own.  Uncle Mischa was obviously elated at the idea of becoming a grandfather.
	She was just finishing reading the translation when Rita came in.  Kelly looked up and whistled.  The girl's appearance had changed totally since the previous evening.  Before today, Rita had always looked like a frightened rabbit.  This morning she was a beautiful young woman.  She glowed with happiness.
	Rita was startled to find Kelly at her typewriter.  Then she blushed, but stood up straight.  She said, "General... Kelly, I'm not wearing a bra this morning."
	"Your breasts seem firm enough.  You don't need one.  But why?"
	The girl smiled warmly and said, "Because Pete's a boob man.  Frankly, they're too sore.  I tried to put one on, but it hurt too much for me to wear it today."  The girl's head rose even straighter.  "I'll have my resignation on your desk in ten minutes.  It shouldn't take more than thirty minutes to clean out my desk."
	"Rita, go get us some coffee, please, and then come into my office."  Kelly glanced at her watch and found it was seven thirty.  Moments later the girl came into the office with two cups.  She gave Kelly her coffee and sat down on the edge of the chair facing her from across the desk.  Kelly said, "Now why are you resigning?"
	The girl's head came up straight and she looked directly at Kelly.  "Because I slept with Pete Martin last night.  I know I should not.  It's fraternization with staff and it's forbidden.  I could tell you it will never happen again, but I would be lying.  I intend to keep doing it."  She glared at Kelly and continued, "If he wanted to take me this minute, I would be on my back on your carpet with my legs spread!"
	Kelly smiled softly and replied, "If Mike came in and looked like he wanted me, I would be, too.  So what?  And where did this fraternization rule come from?"
	Rita looked startled.  "Well everyone knows..."
	"Does Pete?  Did he say anything about it last night?"
	"Of course he didn't.  He's a man.  He wanted to get in my pants.  And I wanted him to."
	"Oh, I see!  You're just a hot cunt to Pete?  He doesn't care about you at all?"
	"Of course he didn't say that.  He says he loves me and wants to take care of me."
	"Do you believe him?  Do you love him?"
	The girl's smile was beautiful.  "Kelly, I love him so desperately.  But he can't love me.  I'm ugly and plain and..."
	Kelly looked at the girl steadily.  Then she said, "Rita, let me tell you something about Pete.  Yesterday afternoon before all the trouble started, I saw Pete talking to you.  When he came into my office I asked if he were interested in you.  Do you know what else I said?  I said if he wanted someone to share his bed, I could give him names of several beautiful girls who would be happy to oblige him.  That was yesterday.  This morning I think I see what Pete saw.  You are stunning!  And when you speak of Pete, you glow.  Now for your information, there is no anti-fraternization rule.  If there was, it's rescinded retroactive to my taking command.  Now get your trim little ass back to your desk where you belong!
	"Oh, there's one more thing.  It's something I discovered with Mike, and now all my friends do it, too.  At night after we make love, I sleep on my back with my head on Mike's shoulder.  I snuggle as close to him as I can and he puts his right hand over my right tit.  I put my hand over it to keep it there.  I just immediately fall asleep feeling warm and loved.  The next morning if I wake up first, I squeeze his hand.  If he does, he squeezes my breast.  In any event, he takes me that way before either of us is fully awake.  What a wonderful way to start the morning!"
	She smiled warmly at the girl and said, "Try it with Pete.  I think you'll both like it."
	Rita had listened carefully.  As Kelly spoke, the girl's mouth started to drop.  Finally, she said, "My God!  But you're both generals!"
	Kelly just grinned.  "At home I'm just a hot cunt.  Rita, I'll say just one more thing.  I've been raped by hundreds of men over nearly a year's time.  I guess it was twenty to thirty a day, every day.  I've made love with only one man: Mike.  It's so exquisite, it makes all the other worthwhile.  It really does.  Now get your ass in gear!  I've got to get moving."
	Just then there was a knock on the door.  Pete and Chet Morrissey came in.  Ignoring everyone else, Rita went to Pete and kissed him warmly.  Kelly heard her murmur, "Good morning again, darling."  Then with a quick wink at Kelly, she shot out the door to her office.
	Kelly glanced at her watch.  She wanted to be in Horace Wilson's classroom in five minutes.  Quickly, she briefed them on what she had learned.  Chet went to her phone and called the FBI.  He told her that they had been alerted the previous night when it was clear that civilian employees of the Army were involved.
	Kelly had made copies of her translation so while Chet was on the phone, Pete was reading the report carefully.  Finally he reached the note about Rita and let out a soft whistle.  He looked up at Kelly and said, "This confirms everything Rita said yesterday afternoon.  Kelly, thank you!"
	"Thanks for what?  I didn't do anything," she protested.
	Pete just shook his head.  "You saved the life of the girl I love.  General, it's well known how you and Marshall Solov ended the war.  It looks like you did it just in time to save Rita's life.  I'm sure this death warrant is no joke!"
	Morrissey was off the phone and waiting.  He asked, "What do you want us to do, General?  Should we pick up Wilson and Carson now?"
	Kelly remembered her discussion of the previous morning.  She said, "Why don't you ask the FBI to pick up Klein now.  I want to sit in on Wilson's class this morning.  It might be informative.  Morrissey, why don't you come, too?  You might learn something."
	The call went out to have Klein picked up and Carson watched.  When they entered the lecture hall where Wilson's class met, Kelly went to the back of the hall where she could hide behind some students.  Morrissey sat in the front.  They figured that Wilson was sufficiently egotistical that he wouldn't know one student from another.
	As students came in and took their seats, Jack George saw her and she told him what she wanted to do.  They found a seat for Kelly behind a particularly large officer.  At nine o'clock Wilson entered the classroom.  He went to the lectern and proceeded to pick up where he had left off the day before.  Before he could begin, Jack George had his hand up and Wilson acknowledged him.
	George said, "Professor Wilson, yesterday, and for a number of days past, you said the attack through Germany was not the way to go.  You said a move from Strasbourg was superior.  Why?"
	Wilson huffed and said, "That's a stupid question.  The answer is obvious to anyone with half a brain!"
	George persisted: "I have at least half a brain and I was there.  It wasn't obvious to me then or now.  Furthermore, I realized after class that this may be a first: second-guessing a victory.  Now, Mr. Wilson, suppose you tell me why a Strasbourg attack would have been better?  For openers, how do we get across the Rhine?  What about casualties?  I checked yesterday and found that Allied losses from all causes from the time of the attack to the end of the war were fewer than 500.  The Warsaw Pact forces lost millions, overwhelmingly captured — MIA to them.  The war was over in less than sixty days.  How could it have been better?"
	Wilson looked startled.  This was the first time he had ever been challenged in his classroom.  He said, "Those numbers are ridiculous!  Our casualties were enormous.  Whole units were wiped out by the Russians and their allies.  Casualties from a Strasbourg campaign would have been much lighter."
	At this point Kelly decided that the game had gone on long enough.  She stood up.  Wearing her uniform, Wilson recognized her instantly and she saw a look of fear on his face.  She said, "Mr. Wilson, what is the source of your information on casualties?  The KGB, perhaps?  I know you were an employee of theirs for eight years until they were... put out of business... suddenly!
	"You should know, Mr. Wilson, that I am not a great fan of the KGB, having been a prisoner of theirs for nearly a year.  It isn't a great deal of fun to be raped twenty to thirty times a day, every day, and to be whipped constantly.  We got kind of dirty.  They took over our shower room for use as a torture center.  Then all they had to do was turn on the shower when they finished beating us to wash our blood off the floor."
	The whole class had turned and was looking at Kelly in horror as she continued, "I received an interesting message from Russia this morning.  It seems you, Klein, and Carson have been on the KGB payroll for years.  I suggest we end this now, shall we?  There are some people waiting outside who want to take you into custody.  Personally, I don't think it could happen to a nicer guy!"
	A look of stark terror came over Wilson's face.  He reached into his coat and pulled out a gun which he started to aim at Kelly.  He screamed, "I'll fix you, you bitch!  You ruined everything!  We would have run this country!"
	As his gun came around, he fired a shot that hit the ceiling.  Suddenly, there were two fast shots and a red hole appeared in the center of Wilson's forehead.  As he crumpled to the floor, Kelly returned her automatic to its waistband holster.  The class sat in stunned silence as agents of the FBI and Army Intelligence burst into the room.
	Kelly was still standing unperturbed.  She announced, "I'm sorry the class ended so abruptly.  I guess there's early dismissal today."
	She went up to the front of the room and met with the agents.  Chet Morrissey looked at her in utter amazement.  He said, "Holy Christmas!  Now I see why St. Clair is so high on you.  I was watching the whole time.  You were standing there quietly and suddenly there are two shots.  I never saw your hand move."  He said, "General, may I see that weapon?  I just saw a gleam for an instant."
	She reached behind her back, took the gun, extracted the magazine and removed the round from the chamber.  She passed it to him butt first.  The other law enforcement officers crowded around.  They had never seen a weapon like it and said so.  Kelly smiled and said it was because there was no weapon like it.
	An agent had been carefully looking around the front of the room.  He joined the group, shaking his head.  He couldn't figure out where the second bullet went.  They had heard one shot — Wilson's weapon — followed by two more: Kelly's.  They could see the mark in the ceiling where Wilson's slug had gone, but couldn't find Kelly's second bullet.
	Kelly looked sheepish.  She said, "Tony Labruzio said it could, and I guess it did."
	Chet Morrissey looked baffled.  He said, "Who's Tony Labruzio, and what's he got to do with anything?  What did what do?"
	Kelly smiled and said, "Tony's the lead craftsman in Smith & Wesson's Special Weapons Unit.  He and his people crafted this piece for me.  He said it's capable of putting two bullets into a single hole.  I think it just did.  I think an autopsy will find two bullets, one behind the other in Wilson's head.  Of course, they can bounce around inside the skull and probably did."
	Carefully, they returned her weapon to her.  By this time an ambulance had arrived to take away the body.  Kelly left the classroom and went to the lounge.  Everyone present came to his feet and began to applaud.  Kelly reddened and went to the table where she had been sitting the day before.  She decided it had been a very eventful twenty-four hours.  A waiter brought over a cup of coffee.
	Jack George was sitting at the table.  He said, "General... Kelly... I've never seen anything like that in my life!"  His facial expression suddenly became one of awe.  "Now I remember!  The 'Kelly Jackson Trademark'!"
	One of the other officers looked puzzled.  "What's the 'Kelly Jackson Trademark'?" he asked.
	"I heard about it from a guy in the 82nd Airborne," George said.  "They relieved Kelly and found eighty bodies, each with a bullet in his head.  I thought it was standard battlefield exaggeration.  Now, I'm not so sure.  In fact, I guess it's probably true.  Is it Kelly?"
	She smiled wryly and shook her head.  "I really don't know.  Like good women everywhere, I fainted when it was over.  I have no idea."
	Another officer said, "I was with the 82nd, and I was there.  It is true.  I saw the bodies myself.  And what the General neglects to mention is that she fainted from loss of blood as she handed Jim Ames a cup of coffee.  I don't know how many blood units they pumped into her, but it was a bunch.  She was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel and her left sleeve was dripping blood."  He smiled and added, "If the coroner's jury is smart, they'll bring in a finding of death by suicide.  Drawing a weapon on Kelly Jackson amounts to the same thing.  Down the road at Quantico they speak of Kelly Jackson in hushed and reverent tones."
	Kelly changed the subject.  She said, "Jack, it sounds like you did your homework I assigned yesterday."  She looked around and saw that the group from the day before was present.  "How about the rest of you?"
	Chairs were pulled up and an animated discussion began.  As they talked, more men pulled up chairs.  At the end of an hour Kelly looked around and said, "We're missing a couple of teachers.  Until replacements are found, I guess I'll teach Wilson's class on strategy.  The assignment for tomorrow is Cæsar's Commentaries.  We'll begin with the Romans and then see what happens."
	Kelly went back to her office.  Opening the door, she found Rita and Pete in a close embrace.  She said, "Ahem!"  They broke apart and stood looking like school children.  Kelly just grinned and looked at her watch.  She said, "Rita, be sure you charge this as personal time on your time sheet.  And as for you, Martin, you haven't broken up a spy ring in over an hour!  Let's get with it."
	Pete left the office and Rita turned to go back to hers, but Kelly asked her to take a seat.  The girl did and Kelly was delighted to see how changed she was in appearance.  Now she seemed very relaxed.  Kelly said, "Rita, between kisses, did Pete tell you about the fax I received from Moscow this morning?"
	Rita looked startled.  "No, he didn't.  Honestly, Kelly, I had forgotten all about it.  I was... occupied.  What did it say?"
	"First, Rita, it confirmed everything you told us yesterday afternoon.  The KGB files supported your statement that you were trapped into working for Klein and company.  However, it said something else.  Klein was concerned that you were going to go to the authorities.  There was an execution order in their file ready to be dispatched: yours.  They were about to kill you to keep you from talking."
	Rita turned pale.  Then she looked at Kelly with her eyes bright.  "Thank you, General, for saving my life.  I guess you closed down the KGB just in time."  The girl smiled weakly and said, "And that was great shooting this morning!"
	Kelly shook her head and said, "It was my fault, I guess.  I could have tried to do something fancy like shooting him in his gun arm.  But he had reminded me of my treatment at the hands of the KGB and I wasn't feeling very friendly."
	Just then there was a knock on the door.  Kevin and Katrina Murphy came in.  Both were showing concern.  Kelly introduced them to Rita and said, "Katrina is like me: also pregnant.  She doesn't show it, either.  Kevin, could you excuse us a minute?  Girl talk?"
	Kevin grinned and left the room after kissing Katrina warmly.  Rita just looked.  Kelly stood behind Katrina and gently put her finger tips on the girl's abdomen.  She could feel the tiniest bulge, but then she felt a kick.  She took the older girl in her arms and kissed her.  "Sis, you look great!  How do you feel?  I could feel your passenger just then."
	Katrina was radiant.  "Kelly, I feel great!  But that's not what you wanted to talk about."
	Kelly smiled and shook her head.  "Katrina, it's Rita here.  She had her first experience last night.  She just discovered sex.  I told her about sleeping on Mike's shoulder and said you do the same with Kevin.  Do you have any advice for her?"
	Katrina took Rita in her arms and hugged her.  "You look great, Rita, so I guess you enjoyed it.  I gather it was a first for you?"  Rita nodded.  "Kevin was the first and only for me.  All I can say is if you follow Kelly's lead, soon you'll have a bulging belly, too.  Kelly's been married less than six months.  Every girl in her wedding is now pregnant.  She's contagious!"
	Kelly said, "Every girl?  You mean Chris..."
	"I sure do," Katrina replied with a grin.  "She told me last night.  And Kelly, she said she's traded in her personhood for motherhood and feels it's good riddance.  She loves you, Kel, and so does Bill.  She says that Kelly Jackson Callahan is proof that a girl can have it all.  She also says it couldn't happen to a nicer guy!"
	She turned back to Rita and said, "Kelly's advice to me was to sleep with my head on Kevin's shoulder.  All I can say is, take the advice.  Every night is like going to heaven.  I have never had such beautiful dreams.  Sometimes I sort of wake up.  I feel Kevin's body against mine, his arm around me, and his hand cupping my breast.  I feel so great!  Then I just drift back to sleep."
Chapter 29
	Kelly had received an invitation to speak at a meeting of the War College Officers' Wives Club.  When she checked with Rita, she was told it was a standard invitation.  The President traditionally spoke at the Club's major spring meeting.  Rita was sitting across from her in her office.  She had been teasing the girl about the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.  The girl spread her legs wide and rubbed her groin gently.
	By this time Rita had become accustomed to Kelly's teasing.  She just stuck out her tongue and said, "You're just jealous because you're bulging with a baby and I'm not."  Actually, they both knew that Kelly wasn't bulging at all.  The only sign — which wasn't visible when she was dressed — was her swollen breasts.
	Kelly smiled softly and said, "Rita, you can't believe how wonderful I feel!  The important thing is it relieves our minds.  Mike knows I was pretty badly beaten by the KGB and no one could be sure I was still capable of having children.  My doctor says I'm made for having babies.  She says there won't be much bulging at all.  The same thing is true with Katrina.  Anyway, what about the Wives' Club?  What should I wear?  Should I go in uniform?
	Rita cocked her head to one side and looked pensive.  "I think you should, Kelly.  I don't know about you, but I've always thought that a pregnant woman in uniform is a contradiction somehow.  But you can certainly wear your uniform now, and I think you should."
	Kelly agreed, so she went over to the Officers Club wearing her summer service uniform.  She was greeted at the door by the president of the club, Marian Collins, whose husband, Harry, was a brigadier general and a student at the College.  The woman held both of Kelly's hands in hers and looked at her.  She slowly shook her head.  "Harry told me about you, but I didn't believe him.  You look so young!"
	Kelly grinned and said, "Sh!  They're not supposed to serve me, but they've never had the nerve to ask a general for proof of age."
	Marian Collins was aghast.  "Do you mean to say you're not even twenty-one!?"
	"I won't be twenty until next month.  It's known to a lot of people but I still don't advertise it.  Please don't mention it today.  Now, I didn't prepare a speech.  I have no idea what the members are interested in.  If it's all right with you, Mrs. Collins, I would prefer to just answer questions from the floor.  Would that be satisfactory?"
	Marian Collins looked nervous.  "I'm sure that will be fine," she said, but she didn't look as if she meant it.  
	Kelly said, "Mrs. Collins, it looks like your heart wasn't in that answer.  What's wrong?"
	Marian explained, "If I had known what I was getting into, I never would have taken this job.  Even though we're all officers' wives, we have some militant feminists in our group who come with all the well-known baggage.  Frankly, I don't see how some of these girls stay married or why they would want to if they really believe half of what they say.  I guess I was hoping you would have a nice boring speech that would put everyone to sleep.
	"I know that's a terrible thing to say, but I can't take the constant battling anymore.  Usually the President of the College gives a speech like that.  No one knows what he's talking about but the big words sound real good."
	She grinned at Kelly and said, "Come on, General.  I'll buy you a drink.  If they ask, I'll say you're my daughter and of course you're over twenty-one.  As a matter of fact, my youngest child is twenty-three now."  The woman smiled at Kelly and added, "Please call me Marian."
	She smiled at Kelly who decided she liked Marian Collins very much.  She had beautiful features, a beautiful figure, but carried enough extra pounds to appear matronly.  The woman led the way to the bar.  She asked, "May I call you Kelly?  I hope that's not being too familiar?"
	Kelly said of course not and asked her please to do so.  They were seated in a booth and Marian Collins looked at Kelly's breast for the first time.  She saw the array of ribbons and immediately looked puzzled.  She said, "Kelly, I apologize.  I asked for a biography to use in your introduction but it never arrived.  I'm looking at those ribbons.  The second one looks familiar, but I can't tell you why.  What is it?"
	Kelly replied softly, "It's the ribbon of the Medal of Honor."
	Marian Collins turned pale.  "My God!  We're used to academic presidents at the War College!  When I asked for your bio, I was just being polite.  But... it's the second ribbon — and there's an oak leaf cluster.  That means two, doesn't it?  I thought the Medal of Honor was the highest award we have.  What's the first ribbon for?"
	"It's the ribbon of the Cross of Liberty.  It is now the senior United States award for valor.  And yes, there is an oak leaf cluster on the Medal of Honor.  To save time, it is followed by the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and some foreign stuff."
	Marian raised an eyebrow.  "Foreign stuff?  What 'foreign stuff'?  Specifically?"
	Kelly blushed.  "The Victoria Cross, the Croix de Guerre, the Gold Order of the Knight's Cross, and the Gold Cross of the Republics.  In order, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia."
	Collins let out a soft whistle.  "I guess it shows what happens when you don't pay attention to what's going on in the world.  Kelly, there are two things:  I'm no military genius, but I recognize the first couple of names.  Am I correct in assuming that those awards are the highest awards for valor the respective countries ever award?"  Kelly nodded.
	"And the Cross of Liberty?  That has to be very new.  I'll bet you are the only winner, aren't you?"  Again Kelly nodded.  Marian Collins smiled and nodded her head.  "In that case, I guess you're just the person to enter our lion's den.  If you can't handle them, we'll just have to give up!"  They finished their drinks and went to the dining room.
	Kelly was surprised to find Camille acting as head waiter.  She caught the girl's quick wink.  As she was being seated, Camille quickly whispered that her mother was managing the luncheon.  "Kelly, we have an investment in you.  We can't take a chance with you eating yucky food!"  Kelly just grinned and winked back.
	The luncheon was a memorable feast.  Marian Collins couldn't believe what she was eating.  "Where did this food come from?  It's the best I've ever eaten — anywhere!  Kelly, have you ever had anything to compare with it?"
	Kelly grinned at her and whispered, "As a matter of fact, yes.  It's my cook who's cooking today.  You see, I'm expecting a baby.  The beautiful girl who seated us is my doctor.  They want to be sure I eat the right things."
	Marian's jaw dropped.  "You're serious, aren't you?  But, my God, you don't look pregnant.  And the person who cooked this is your cook!?"
	Kelly assured her she was indeed pregnant and Selma was the family's cook.  "I won't try to tell you how that happened, because I haven't quite figured it out yet, myself."
	Finally the lunch was over and it was time for the meeting to begin.  First, there was a short business session.  In spite of the wonderful food and the routine nature of the club's business, the antagonisms in the organization became immediately apparent.
	Finally, Marian adjourned the business portion of the meeting and introduced Kelly:  "Ladies, we are fortunate today to have with us the President of the War College, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson.  General Jackson... Kelly... represents a significant break with the recent past.  As most of you know, the last several College presidents have been academicians.
	"I don't believe Kelly qualifies.  I learned some things today which cause me to believe she is the most highly-decorated war hero in the history of the United States.  You see a row of ribbons on her chest?  There is not a single service ribbon there.  Every one is an award for gallantry.  She leads off with the Cross of Liberty.  It is the highest award our nation can give and was created for her.  Why?  Because following it are two Medals of Honor, formerly our highest award.  I guess Congress didn't want to make it three.  She also wears the highest awards that can be given to anyone by England, France, Germany, and, believe it or not... Russia.
	"Please welcome our guest speaker today, the President of the War College, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson!"
	Kelly stood up and went to the speaker's rostrum.  She said, "Good afternoon, ladies.  I spoke with your president this morning about the topic for my talk today.  Apparently, there is none.  I gather that precedent is for the President of the College to put you all to sleep with an academic speech on some arcane subject or other.  I can't give an academic speech.  I'm not an academic.  Accordingly, I just intend to answer any questions you may have about the College or anything else you may be interested in."
	A woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties stood up.  She had a very stern face and wore mannish clothes.  She said, "I think it's wonderful for us to welcome General Jackson this afternoon.  She has demonstrated what happens when women have full control of their own bodies.  What happens when they have access to the right kind of education.  Now, perhaps they'll see what happens when women have access to degrees and..."
	She stopped because Kelly was shaking her head from side to side and trying without great success to control her laughter.  She stopped and Kelly looked around on both sides.  She said, "I was looking to see if someone else was up here with me.  Madam, your statements may be correct.  I don't know.  I do know you can't use me to prove them.
	"First, with respect to 'control of our bodies' and 'the right kind of education'.  My body was under the control of the KGB.  My education was administered at the end of a whip.  I don't think that's quite what you had in mind.  As for degrees, I don't have any.  In fact, it's been pointed out to me a few times by a number of people, including the President of the United States, that my high school diploma is honorary.  And that's true:  It is.  I'm afraid I didn't let you finish the speech you were starting to make.  I apologize.  However, I could see you were headed for trouble when your preliminary remarks were factually incorrect, at least as they concern me.
	"However, I think I know where you're going.  I think you were headed for a diatribe about dominating men and subservient women.  How we have no control over our bodies.  I guess I can understand that.  My first child is growing in my belly right now.  This morning I could feel his first movement.  It's a little boy, and Mike and I can hardly wait.  I have no control over that.  It's taking place inside me right now.  Do you know what?  I'm the proudest woman on the face of the earth.  I am going to be the mother of Michael Callahan's children!  It's all I ever wanted from the first night I met him.  Control of our bodies?  I will do anything for Michael Callahan.  The only important question to me is, 'Will it give my husband pleasure?'  If the answer is yes, I do it.  But I'm afraid that's not what you wanted to hear, either."
	There was the sound of people moving and then a voice behind Kelly said, "Stand aside, young lady.  It's time for reinforcements."  Kelly spun around and found Cathy Adams standing there behind her.  Cathy hugged her and moved to the microphone.  Kelly was stunned to see Katrina, Mary Harris, and Chris Collins.  Mary was now Mary Carson and Chris was married to Bill Carlson.  Kelly returned to her seat and waited to see what would happen next.
	Cathy spoke into the microphone.  "Ladies, order please.  My name is Cathy Adams.  I guess I'm here this afternoon because, since my husband, Sam, is Army Chief of Staff, I outrank Kelly... sort of.  On my left beginning with the silver blonde, we have Katrina Solov Murphy, then Mary Harris Carson, and finally Chris Collins Carlson.  We are the female members of Kelly's wedding party.  We're all married.  And we're all pregnant — although none of us has been married a year yet.  As the oldest, it's only right that I'm closest to delivering.  We came to tell you something and to tell Kelly something.
	"First, my child will carry the name Kelly... probably as a middle name.  I was Sam Adams' secretary.  I loved him for years, but didn't do anything about it.  The first time I met Kelly, I hated her.  I thought she was a call girl who Sam had arranged to have visit him at SACEUR headquarters in England.  I'll never forget what she said: 'Sam said this was the first time.'
	"We went into Sam's office — Kelly was a major then — and he tells me to arrange for an immediate promotion for her to lieutenant colonel and to begin action to award her the Legion of Merit.  Then I find out that she already had her first Medal of Honor, as well as the Silver Star, and a Purple Heart.  I wanted to die!  Keep in mind, I had just accused her of being a whore!
	"Do you know what she does?  She tells Sam I love him.  How did she know?  She pointed out to Sam that he was terribly attractive to me.  He thought he was too old.  She said if I considered a nineteen-year-old as competition for his attention, being thirty-two, I couldn't possibly consider him to be too old.  Kelly then told me how to act and what to do.  She told me how to seduce Sam.  I did.  We got married.  I got pregnant.  I couldn't be happier.
	"Oh, I nearly forgot.  I'm a West Point graduate with a graduate degree from Harvard.  I'm a major in the Army.  I have all the pieces of paper you were alluding to.  You know what?  You can take them and shove 'em!  Since I've been with Sam, I've never been happier.
	"One final point.  I saw Kelly when she was wounded and evacuated back to England.  She was white as a sheet from blood loss.  Do you know what happened?  They put her in one of our fastest helicopters.  It came all the way back to England from Germany covered by four helicopter gunships and a full fighter squadron covering above.  Why?  Because it was Kelly!  When the men of the 82nd Airborne Division saw her fall, the word spread like wildfire: 'Kelly's down!  She's hit!'
	"Those men went berserk.  Do you know why?  Because they love her so damned much.  When she came to in the hospital, her first thought was for Mike.  She had operated on him — for the second time — to remove a bullet.  Degrees?  Right kind of education?  No, ladies.  It's being women.  Now I want to introduce Mary Harris Carson who knew Kelly before I did.  Mary?
	Microphones had been placed in front of the women  Mary spoke from her seat.  She said, "Like Cathy, I'm a West Point graduate.  I met Kelly at Quantico, just down the road.  I was a second lieutenant at the time and very proud of my West Point education and my Regular Army commission.  Ken Carson, my husband now, was the platoon leader of our training platoon.  I was his assistant platoon leader.  We had this beautiful young girl assigned to our platoon.  Because we were training for penetration behind enemy lines, there were all sorts of people in our unit including civilian foreign nationals.  Of course, I knew all about Kelly.  She had to be a punk kid out of the enlisted ranks.  I was an officer.  I was going to show her how it was done.  Boy, I sure did!
	"She seemed to delight in showing me up.  I was an officer, mind you!  But there were things I observed that I didn't understand.  The instructors in small arms and explosives at the school seemed to defer to her.  She was very good with weapons of all kinds, particularly including Russian small arms.  But I could get even!  I was giving her punishment details for everything — principally for showing up at school in the morning.  The most she ever did was to look at me with the faintest expression of hurt in her eyes.  I was being unfair and she knew it.
	"Finally, after two weeks, I couldn't take it any more.  I made an issue of it with Ken.  I had Kelly in my charge, and he took my word for it.  I'll never forget what happened then.  It was a Monday morning.  We met with Colonel Rogers, the school CO.  I said, 'Kelly's exercises are okay, Colonel, but she'll never be able to operate behind enemy lines.  She doesn't have the temperament for it.'  He said he would take my recommendation to drop her from the program under advisement and let us know his decision after a meeting of the student body that afternoon.
	"That afternoon I looked around the auditorium.  Kelly was gone.  Well, I thought, that takes care of one problem.  Then Colonel Rogers addresses us.  He points out that we are organized as a training company, but we have no company commander.  He tells us we're fortunate to have an officer — a major — who is fluent in German and Russian, an officer who has the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action behind enemy lines.  That's just the sort of work we were there to train for.  The officer was Kelly, of course.  When the meeting was over, Kelly asked Ken and me to stay.  I resigned my commission on the spot.  Instead of accepting it, she ordered me to do twenty pushups.  I did.  I said I had been punishing her unfairly.  She replied that she had just punished me unfairly, too.
	"Later, she asked Ken and me to join Mike and her at Virginia Beach for our one free weekend.  Why she would want to associate with me I never could figure out, but we went down with them.
	"Lying on the beach that day I saw the marks of her whippings all over her body.  She had been continually tortured by the KGB for nearly a year.  I had the gall to ride a girl who had been through that — and wins the Medal of Honor, too.
	"Anyway, Kelly takes over our company.  She wants us to set records for achievement.  She shows us how to do everything and then we try to follow.  Our company set every record the place has.  Oh, I nearly forgot.  Kelly set every personal record they have...  Every single one!  You know what?  It was a by-product.  She was just demonstrating what she wanted us to do.
	"Well, anyway, Ken and I went on the mission with Kelly and Mike that took out the Russian reserves and made our breakthrough in Germany possible.  She planned it and then she executed it.  And she got us out.  I have never felt so honored in my life as when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding.  Ken and I are married now.  I adore the man.  Like Cathy, I took advice from Kelly.  It works.  I'm pregnant, too.  I can hardly wait to deliver our baby!  Now I want you to hear from Katrina Murphy."
	Katrina smiled at the women and said, "I'm Katrina Solov Murphy.  As was the case with Cathy and Mary, I started off with Kelly on the wrong foot.  I was sure she was some general's mistress masquerading as an officer — a colonel, yet.  I was a captain in the Red Army and a prisoner of war.  One morning two MPs took me from the POW compound and escorted me to a German castle.  I was seated between them when this beautiful blonde comes up and says, 'I'm Kelly Jackson.  Your father has told me so much about you.'
	"Then she takes me into a room and I see my father there.  He was Field Marshall Mikhail Solov, commander in chief of Warsaw Pact forces in the West, and a candidate member of the Soviet Politburo.  I learn that this is the girl he had told me about.  A girl — a junior in high school — captured in the first days of fighting and enslaved by the KGB.  I did not believe him.  Then she took off her clothes at my father's request.  I saw where she had been viciously beaten around the loins and breasts — not just on one occasion, but continually for months.  My father knew her because she had danced for him and then had been made available to him when he was a guest of the KGB at the school.  My father tried to close the prison school down but could not.  He felt it was wrong to make war on women and children.  Well, one of those children made war on us.
	"Later that day my father and I were guests at a military review.  My father understood the significance of what we were seeing, even if I did not at the time.  There were units of all of the Allied assault units there to pay tribute to Kelly Jackson.  Leading them was the 82nd Airborne.  The men love Kelly.  She was awarded the Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre by the governments of Great Britain and France that day."
	Katrina beamed.  "That was the day I met my husband, Kevin.  He came up to us and kissed Kelly.  He still had a black eye and a broken nose.  I asked him what had happened.  He said he had encountered the best unarmed combat specialist in the Army when he was with two buddies.  I asked him if the brute was put in prison.  Kevin told me the brute was Kelly Jackson.  She took on three men, including my husband, Kevin, all of whom weigh over 200 pounds.  They ended up unconscious.  Kelly didn't displace a hair."  Katrina looked at Cathy and said, "Cathy, you were there that day, weren't you.  Was it as I have said?"  Cathy said it was.
	Katrina continued.  "Why do the men of the 82nd love her so?  I'll tell you why.  First, she was attacked by three junior officers.  She was a lieutenant colonel.  She was in the company of SACEUR's secretary.  When General Adams asked her about it, she lied!  She said the young officers had slipped on a wet floor.  Later in Germany, my husband, Kevin, was the first man to reach her behind the Russian lines.  She spoke to him like a Southern belle, remarking that she didn't know he had been invited to the ball.  She then makes black coffee for General Ames that she gives to him as she drops from loss of blood.
	"My people — the Russian people — consider her to be our nation's liberator.  We have taken down Lenin's Tomb in Red Square.  It will be replaced with a statue of Kelly.  Plans are not final yet.  However, current thinking is to have a statue of a naked woman — Kelly — spread-eagled for whipping.  Why such a thing?  My father points out that we would still be under a yoke of oppression reaching back seventy-five years under the Soviet system and hundreds more under the Czars, had it not been for an accident of history.  If we had done what we should have done, all the girls at the school in Langenhagen would have been repatriated to the United States.
	"Instead, the KGB enslaved them.  Kelly finally escaped, killing the commandant with his own knife in the process.  The next day she dynamites the bridge on the River Weser and that was the beginning of the end for the Warsaw Pact forces.  Therefore, in a perverse way we Russians owe our liberty to a young woman who we brutally tortured for nearly a year."  Katrina's voice dropped until it was almost a whisper.  "What a terrible price for a beautiful young woman to pay!  And yet she did.
	"Let me say that, at the request of the Russian Government, I presented Kelly with a Fabergé egg.  Before long, she will have them all.  They are beautiful things.  But they are inanimate.  She is beautiful, too.  But living.  She suffered.  God, did she suffer!  I was there when she was cheered by my people.  Do you know what she said?  She said that millions of Russians had lost their lives through the activities of the KGB.  She survived.  She was then engaged to be married to Mike, the man she loves.  The Russians left grieving widows, children, parents.  She hadn't suffered at all compared to what we did.  My people cried!  They really did!  Their liberator had suffered as they had.  They love her as I do.
	"Then she told me how to behave with men — one man, Kevin.  We're married, and I, too, am expecting a baby.  Like Kelly, I have felt him move inside me.  It is the most beautiful feeling in the world!  Now, I want you to hear from someone who I think you may recognize, Chris Collins.  I'm sure many of you have seen her on television."
	Chris smiled and went to stand behind the microphone.  She looked at the woman who asked the first question and said, "I think I'm the one you were talking about.  Like Cathy, I have two degrees.  I made my way in a dog-eat-dog business, broadcast journalism.  As a matter of fact, I think my dues to NOW are still paid up.  However, I don't intend to renew my membership.
	"I first met Kelly the night she was awarded the Gold Cross of Liberty.  I was in the network news booth watching as the President told Congress of her exploits.  I watched as Congress passed the legislation on the spot to create the medal and then to award the first — and only — to Kelly Jackson.  I saw this golden-haired creature address a joint session of Congress.  Who were they trying to kid, anyway?  Nineteen years old?  Utterly ridiculous!
	"I jumped on my people and got down to the door where my fellow jackals of the press were ready to pounce.  Kelly stood there and said she would spend time with two journalists: Bill Carlson and me.  Boy, was I going to eat his lunch!  Bill is a conservative journalist.  I'm a big time broadcast news personality.  That means my pay check is in six figures.  That night we went to get some things from my apartment.  As we were leaving, we were jumped by a gang of thugs.  In a matter of seconds, Kelly and Mike had buried ten of the leaders of the worst gang in the District of Columbia.
	"The next day we went to Hartford and the Smith & Wesson factory.  I saw Kelly cry as she hugged the girl who had modeled for the Kevlar vest she wore in Germany.  It's a flak vest, so called.  It's supposed to be bulletproof.  Hers is.  It was custom-made for her and took five hits, at least three of which would have been fatal had she not been wearing it.  When Smith & Wesson went to make it, time was so short that instead of using the girl to make a form and then using the form to shape the Kevlar, they molded the scorching hot plastic to her body.  She suffered terrible burns in order for that vest to be ready in time.  The girl had lost her husband in Germany early in the war.  She wanted to do something to help.  She suffered, but she accomplished something!  God, did she ever!  I did a story on her awhile ago.  I learned recently that she's met a new guy and is very happy.  She deserves every happiness.
	"Anyway, then we went down to Fort Campbell where Kelly took command of the 101st Airborne.  I saw done with a full division of 17,000 men what Mary described happening with a company at Quantico.  However, at Quantico the students were handpicked for dangerous missions.  They were all volunteers.  The 101st was a bunch of sad sacks.  The division probably ranked at the bottom of the Army's readiness list.
	"Airborne means assault.  Yet the 101st was the only assault division that was never sent to Europe.  Why?  Because they were thought to be a greater danger to themselves and to the units around them than they would be to the enemy.  Kelly was given command of the Division late in November last year.  It was the first time in our history a woman has commanded a combat unit, let alone an assault division.  What happened?  On the first of February, this year, Kelly and the 101st took on Jim Ames' 82nd Airborne in Red-Blue War Games.  You heard the regard in which she's held by the 82nd.  What happened?
	"Kelly and a company of her men came down a 300-foot cliff in the middle of the night and seized the 82nd's command post.  By the way, in the morning she walked in and asked Jim Ames if he had any coffee on.  She hadn't had any yet — and by the way, he and his men were all prisoners.  The 101st annihilated the 82nd and suffered negligible casualties in the process.  Following that she took the 101st down to Central America where she cleaned up some unpleasantness there in a matter of weeks.  Oh, I nearly forgot!  She had heard of the upcoming Central American assignment when she took command of the 101st in November.  By February 1, she had nearly a battalion of her men speaking Spanish like Central American natives.
	"Then I was present when Kelly was relieved of the command of the 101st.  I have never seen so many big men cry like babies.  They were awarded a flag, emblematic of the finest combat unit in the Army.  Kelly has it in her office today.  She has it as the Division's pledge to her that they intend to remain the Army's number one unit in her memory.  She took a unit from the bottom to the top in just over sixty days!  And that counts Christmas!
	"But there is more:  The food was so bad when she arrived at Fort Campbell, it was inedible.  That changed between noon and five o'clock on her first day.  She ate all her meals in the enlisted mess hall.  Then she canceled all leaves and furloughs over Christmas.  Particularly her own.  For those of you with social aspirations, Kelly is New York's Debutante of the Year for the current year.  Christmas is the big social season there, of course, and Kelly could have gone to New York for a continuous round of parties.  It never entered her mind.  If leaves are canceled, the cancellation applies to the commanding officer first.  She had a dance at the fort instead.  The enlisted men got the Division's band to play for them.  Kelly then scrambled to find a civilian band to play for the officers.
	"What about me?  I was the doctrinaire liberal to end all liberals.  My husband, Bill, pointed out that it was hard to keep track of all the things one had to do and couldn't do.  The list changed daily."  Chris grinned.  "The first morning, Bill stole the most beautiful omelette I had ever seen in my life right out of my hands.  My mouth was watering from the delicious aroma.  Why did he take it?  I was complaining about cholesterol.  He just ate it, cholesterol and all.  Oh, I nearly forgot.  Kelly is a spectacular cook.  Until a short time ago, she did all the cooking at home.  Mike says, in fact, that he'll know when Kelly wants to get rid of him: She'll let him eat his own cooking and poison himself.
	"Bill and me?  I'm expecting a baby, too.  We thought we had invented babies but then found there's been a lot of it going around.  There must have been something in the water served at Kelly's wedding.  I'm more relaxed than I've ever been in my life, and I'm happier.  I remember telling Kelly some bullshit about personhood the first night I was with her.
	"Now I remember!  Bill and I were sitting across from Kelly and Mike.  I was still shaky because of the events of the evening when Kelly and Mike burned the hoodlums.  Kelly pulled her uniform shirt out from her waistband and was sitting next to Mike.  He had his hand under her shirt and on her bare breast.  I thought it was demeaning and disgraceful.  You know what she said?  She said her keeping her shirt on in front of Bill and me was as far as she was willing to go as a concession to modesty.  I didn't understand her at the time.  I do now.  Bill often takes me on the floor in our hallway when he comes home.  I've come to like being taken on the carpet.  The surface is harder and it feels good.
	"As for Kelly, I owe her all of my happiness now and all I will ever have in the future.  Bill and I know it.  I leave you with one bit of advice.  If you would like to have a brilliantly happy marriage, talk to Kelly.  She's a great coach!"
	As Chris sat down, Kelly saw Cathy lurch.  She motioned to Camille who came running over.  Cathy said, "Cami, I think I cut it too close!"
	Camille rushed her to a private room and got her stretched out on two tables that were quickly pulled together.  Kelly was going to help her when Selma came in and said everything would be all right.  Kelly called for an ambulance and went back to the head table.
	Marian Collins was again behind the microphone.  She looked around at the women in the room, now sitting in stunned silence and said, "Wow!  This morning I was expecting a soporific speech from the President.  That has been our usual experience.  I thought it would be a respite from our usual battles.  What did we get?  We got a short talk from the greatest military hero in the history of our country... possibly the greatest military hero who has ever lived!  Then we heard from a series of remarkable women.
	"I don't know what you saw.  What I saw were women who epitomize the things Carolyn was referring to in her short speech when Kelly was at the microphone.  I saw women who are stunningly beautiful, every one.  I saw women who are madly in love.  Women who are completely selfless.  Yet women who are joyously happy."
	Just then, they all heard the cry of a baby.  Marian smiled warmly and continued, "It sounds like the Chief of Staff has a child.  I don't know what you thought when you saw Cathy Adams.  I thought she was four or five months pregnant.  She said she was almost to term.  I guess she was right.  Kelly is pregnant and doesn't look it.  In fact, none of these young women do.
	"Ladies, I'm adjourning this meeting.  I intend to ask Kelly to come back and meet with those of us who would like to be happier.  Chris says she's a great coach.  I want to try her out."
	Just then Selma came in holding an infant wrapped in a large linen napkin pressed into service as a receiving blanket.  She said, "This is Cathy Adams' idea, not mine.  She wanted her firstborn son to greet the public.  His name, she tells me, is Samuel Kelly Adams.  Because her husband is also named Samuel, the baby will be called Kelly.  She asked me to remind you, General, of your promise to be the baby's godmother.  She asked if you would care to hold him?"
	Kelly ran over to where Selma was holding the baby.  She said, "He looks..."
	"Kelly, he's perfect," Selma said softly.
	Kelly held the baby and took him back into the room where Cathy lay on her back.  The birth process was nearly complete.  As she held the baby, she touched the woman's forehead.  "How do you feel, Cathy?  Was it awful?"
	Cathy's eyes opened and she looked at Kelly who saw the joy in them.  She said, "Kel, it was too easy!  And now it's all over.  Could you bring a phone over to me, please?"  Kelly brought over a phone and called Sam Adams.  His secretary said he was in conference and asked if it was important.  She identified herself and said it was vital — life and death.  In moments Sam was on the line.
	Kelly said, "Sam, let me be the first to congratulate the new father.  Cathy just delivered a very handsome baby boy here at the Fort Meade Officers' Club.  She wants to say hello."  There was silence on the line as she gave the handset to Cathy.
	"Darling, I did it!" Cathy said with joy in her voice.  "I made a baby, all by myself... with just the least little bit of help from you.  Sam, he's gorgeous!  I'm sorry, honey, I'm not in the hospital.  Camille and Selma delivered me and it was over in about thirty seconds.  When I hear the horror stories of 24-hour labors, I think this is clearly the way to go.  Honey, the way I feel now we can be back to normal by tomorrow night.  I miss you."
	For the first time, Sam spoke.  "Cathy, you're not teasing me, are you?  It's really true?  We have a baby?"
	"Darling, I even named him.  He's Samuel Kelly Adams.  Do you approve?"  Just then they heard the siren of an ambulance scream as it came up to the door.  Cathy chuckled and said, "Did you hear that, dear?  That's the ambulance about to rush me to the delivery room, or wherever they dump dumb broads who can't get to the hospital in time.  Honey, quick, before they get here, what do you want me to do?  Stay here?  Go to Walter Reed?  What?"
	She heard Sam chuckle.  "Honey, why don't you just stay there?  Their nursery is as good as any, I guess.  It's easy to get to from the Pentagon, and your best friend and our son's namesake is there.  How is she, by the way?  And what were you doing?"
	Corpsmen had come rushing into the room with a stretcher.  They came to a screeching halt when they saw Kelly.  She said, "Relax, folks.  The baby's arrived.  The mother is the wife of the Army Chief of Staff, so why don't you call back to the hospital and tell them who you're bringing back with you?  I think the administrator would like to know."  Kelly smiled and added, "She'll be with you as soon as she gets off the phone.  But I'm not really sure.  She might want to take a shower first."
	Cathy hung up the phone and looked at Kelly with love in her eyes.  But she couldn't resist teasing her friend, though.  "A shower?  Why would I want to take a shower?  I took one this morning.  And all I've done since is give a short talk.  Kelly Callahan, are you suggesting I need to change my brand of soap?  Are you trying to tell me something?"
	Kelly grinned and kissed her.  Cathy looked beautiful and was remarkably relaxed.
	Cathy smiled warmly as she was taken away.  Camille was carrying the baby.  Cathy said, "Kel, I pray yours is as easy as this one.  I'll see you at the hospital later."
Chapter 30
	It was a warm day in May in Northern Virginia and Kelly was walking back across the campus of the College after finishing her teaching for the day.  She was amused at the way it was going.  Her course in Military Strategy had become the most popular course in the school.  Enrollment was now so large she was thinking about breaking it up into sections, but wasn't sure she wanted to take on the additional work.  Then she ran her fingers lightly over her abdomen.  It was now starting to round out.  At least she thought she could feel it, even if no one could see it yet.  Oh, well, she thought, The baby isn't due until November.
	Her summer uniform still fit, though; she was wearing it for the meeting she had coming up in her office.  Kelly was puzzled by the phone call she had received the previous afternoon.  It was from a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Planning, a man named Simon Cameron.  She had never talked to or heard from anyone in DOD and didn't know what to make of the call.  When she reached the administration building, she was grateful for its air conditioning.  In addition to being warm, the day was very humid.
	She walked into her office and winked at Rita Nelson as she walked by.  Rita picked up her pad and followed Kelly into her office.  Kelly sat down in her chair and saw Rita sitting attentively across the desk from her with her pencil poised.  Kelly continued to be surprised at how beautiful the girl now looked.  She leaned back in her chair and motioned to Rita to put her pad away.  The girl put the pad down on the desk and leaned back in the chair with a big smile.  Kelly smiled at her and asked, "Rita, where are you spending your nights now?  Your place or Pete's?"
	"My place," she replied with a grimace.  "And I'm going to start charging Pete rent.  He doesn't have a place.  He lives at the Bachelor Officers' Quarters.  I accuse him of freeloading, and he makes more than I do."  She smiled as she said, "Pete calls it his private witness protection program.  He says he's protecting me from Klein and Carson, now that Wilson's dead.  I can't figure out if he's serious or not.  What do you think, Kelly?"
	Kelly just shook her head.  "Rita, I don't have the first clue!  I do know I never expected Wilson to pull a gun, but he did.  Those other two are free on bail awaiting trial.  Frankly, Pete staying with you certainly isn't the dumbest thing I've ever heard."  She changed the subject suddenly.  "Have you tried sleeping on Pete's shoulder, by the way?"
	The girl smiled warmly and said, "Kelly, did you ever think to patent it?  If you did, you could make millions in royalties.  The fact is I couldn't sleep without Pete anymore.  It just feels so wonderful to snuggle as close as I can and then feel his hand cupping my boob.  Then we both fall asleep.  It's like being in Heaven!"
	Rita smiled warmly and says, "Pete complains a bit, though.  He says, instead of snoring, I make a lot of soft, happy sounds that keep him awake.  When I'm aware of doing it — which isn't often — I do know Pete just tightens his grip on my breast to hold me even closer."  Rita glanced at her watch and jumped up.  "Oops!  I'd better get out to my desk.  Cameron is due any minute."
	When she left the office Kelly picked up her private phone and called Sam Adams on his.  He picked up the phone and Kelly said, "It's me, Sam.  You can no longer call me a teenybopper.  I'm twenty years old today!"
	Sam's voice was warm.  "Happy Birthday, Kel.  Thank God, we're finished with teenaged generals!"  He chuckled softly and said, "Cathy is looking forward to seeing you.  We want you and Mike to get to know your godson.  I can't tell you how wonderful I feel right now, Kelly.  Cathy's back to normal.  And now we have a baby who's the new light of our lives.  We're both so damned proud you'd think we invented the tiny things.  All I can say is I sure hope the rest of your pregnancy and delivery goes as well as Cathy's.  She still can't believe how smooth and painless it was.  And by the way, can you and Mike come over to the house on Sunday?  We can swim, barbecue, and just have fun."
	Kelly smiled and said, "Sam, we would love to.  I'll call Cathy tonight and set up a time for Sunday.  However, there's another reason for my call.  Have you ever met a DOD type named Simon Cameron?  He's coming over to see me in a few minutes and I have no clue what it's about.  He's Deputy Under Secretary for Planning."
	There was silence for a few moments, then Adams replied.  "Kelly, I've never met him but I've heard a few things about him.  Basically, I wouldn't trust him farther than I can throw him, if the rumors I've heard are true.  My suggestion to you is to listen to what he has to say but don't promise anything or agree to anything.  Does that answer it?"
	"It sure does, Sam.  Thanks."  As she hung up, Rita buzzed and said she had a call from Senator Fuller.  She punched the button and picked up the phone again.  "Good morning, Senator!  It's great to hear from you!"
	"Now Kelly, you know you're supposed to call me Bob!"  He chuckled and continued, "There are two reasons for my call.  First, Sam and I want to thank you for making us look so good.  This goes back to your taking command of the 101st.  We thought you would do a fine job, but even we didn't expect you to do as well as you did.  Then, over the objections of some of the liberal members on our committees, we supported your appointment as President of the War College.  Beyond breaking up a spy ring, we're now hearing great things about the place.  The best course at the College is supposed to be a new one on tactics and strategy.  And, as usual, the name Kelly Jackson is always mentioned.  You're the professor, we hear."
	Then his voice took on a serious note, "The reason for this call, though, is we've formed a new Special Joint Committee on the Armed Services.  Sam and I are co-chairing it.  The committee grew out of what you did last year.  As you know, for nearly fifty years the constant in our military posture was strategic defense... spelled, Soviet Union.  That's now a thing of the past.  We're talking about what changes we should be making in our strategic posture and Sam and I want you to be an early witness.  Would you be willing to testify?"
	"Bob, I'm just a kid!  I just turned twenty today!  There are a bunch..."
	"Now, Kelly, no more of that!  There is no one in the uniformed services who is as respected as you are.  No one!  You are one of a kind.  You are the only person we've ever known or heard of who has the intellectual ability to see the straight line between two points and the military skill and leadership ability to then take an army from one to the other.  You do it all.  Please, Kelly, can you come up to the Hill?  Perhaps tomorrow morning?"
	Kelly gave up.  "Bob, thank you.  I'm not happy about it, but I'll come.  What do you suppose would have happened, though, if my ancestor had to spend all his time testifying in Richmond instead of leading troops for Robert E. Lee?"
	Fuller laughed and said, "Maybe he would have been at Richmond instead of Chancellorsville, and we might have won the damned war!"  There was silence on the line for a moment and the tone of Fuller's voice changed.  "I'll say one thing, Kelly.  Wherever he is, he's mighty damned proud of you!"
	On a hunch Kelly asked, "Bob, to go back to your committee's charter for a moment, do you know a guy named Simon Cameron?  A Deputy at DOD?"
	"Yes, I do.  Where did you hear his name, Kelly?"
	"I got a call from him.  He's due over here any minute to see me.  I never heard of him before, though.  That's why I asked."
	"That's odd," Fuller said.  "He's supposed to be a guy with a lot to say about force structures in the Services.  As a matter of fact, some of the our committee members have been touting him as the most authoritative witness we could get in front of us.  Sam and I are skeptical although I've never met him myself.  Kelly, you've heard the expression, 'known by the friends you keep?'  Well, Sam and I aren't at all sure about some of his friends.  Does that answer your question?"
	"It sure does, Bob.  And I'll see you tomorrow morning."
	As she hung up the phone, Rita buzzed again.  Simon Cameron had arrived and she was asked to show him in.  Kelly rose from her chair to greet him.  Cameron was shorter than she was, about five feet six inches.  He appeared to be in his mid-forties, well-dressed with a pink complexion.  He did not appear to get out in the sun much nor to exercise at all.  They shook hands — he had a very limp handshake — and he took a seat.
	When she returned to her seat, Cameron got right to the point.  He said that he had heard that she was going to be called to testify before a minor committee on Capitol Hill.  Knowing how busy she was at the college, he had taken the liberty of having his staff prepare testimony for her.  He reached into his briefcase and took out a fat sheaf of papers and passed them to Kelly.  She glanced at the cover sheet and read, "Testimony of Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson, USA, before the Joint Congressional Committee on Military Forces."
	Kelly realized that the reason the paper was so thick was that it had been typed on a speech typewriter.  All she needed to do was read the script and turn the pages.  Cameron said she had been invited and would be testifying the next day and he said he would meet her in the Committee room.  He smiled and let himself out of the office.  Kelly wondered how he knew about her invitation even before she did.
	Kelly was interested to see what Cameron wanted her to say.  She quickly skimmed through the speech.  In it she was being made to say that the force structures in the Armed Forces in general and the Army in particular should be maintained essentially as is.  Moreover, there was a discussion of global threats to peace — unspecified — that required the maintenance and enhancement of U.S. strategic forces.
	Kelly called Sam Adams again and told him about the call from Fuller and the later visit from Cameron.  With respect to the written testimony she said, "Sam, I've only had time to skim it.  However, as far as I'm concerned, it's unmitigated bullshit.  I'm not going to give this speech.  I hope my refusal won't put you in a bad spot."
	Sam said, "Kelly, the Committee has asked you to testify.  I'm sure Bradley, me, and others will be in soon enough to have our say.  First, I think Fuller is absolutely right.  You are the best person to lead off.  Second, the testimony is yours, not Cameron's, nor ours.  If he wants to make that speech, he's welcome.  The short answer, Kelly, is do and say what you think is right.  The country has done pretty well when that's what you've done.  Go get 'em, Tiger."
	Kelly looked at the phone after hanging up.  Then she checked her book and made another call to the former President, now retired on his farm.  Moments later the phone was answered by his secretary.  Kelly identified herself and asked to speak to the President.  A few minutes later he was on the phone.  Kelly told him about the events of the day, her meeting with Cameron, and the prepared testimony.
	He listened with interest and finally said, "Kelly, I'll be back to you in an hour or someone else will.  Will you still be there in your office?"  Kelly said she would.
	She went back to reading papers written by her students on the Peninsula Campaign in the Napoleonic Wars.  She decided that the quality of both the thinking and the writing had improved enormously in just the last thirty days.  Kelly thought for a moment of the incongruity of correcting the grammar and punctuation — as well as the strategic thinking — of men who averaged twice her age and two degrees to her none.
	Her phone buzzed.  A tone of awe was clear in Rita's voice as she said, "Kelly, it's the White House on the phone.  The operator says it's the President, for you!"
	Kelly picked up and moments later was speaking with the new President, John Collins.  She hadn't met him but certainly knew a great deal about him.  He said, "Kelly, I'm glad to have this opportunity to talk to you.  Bill just called me and told me about your conversation with him.  I thought it was time for us to talk.  Bill, of course, is one of your greatest living fans.  So am I.  Kelly, you've made the country and its leadership — Bill and me — look awfully good over the last twelve months or so.  He told me about the testimony prepared for you to deliver.
	"I'm calling to tell you to say whatever you damned well feel like saying.  I want to hear what you think.  I hear from those idiots across the river all the time.  I would like to leave it like this:  Regardless of what you may say, I am assuring you of my complete personal support."
	The timbre of his voice changed.  The President's voice sounded lighter.  "Kelly, I'm certainly not guaranteeing I'm going to agree with everything you say.  I may not agree with anything.  I am saying, though, that anyone who tries to interfere with the content of your testimony is in deep trouble with me.  Am I making myself clear?
	"Incidentally, I know you're expecting a baby pretty soon.  Nevertheless, could you possibly come to dinner some evening — just your husband, Mike, and my wife, Jill?  She desperately wants to meet you.  Could you do that?"
	Kelly hadn't said anything.  She had just listened.  She said, "Mr. President, we would be honored.  At any time, sir."  They set a date for the following week.  Then she hung up the phone and looked at it thoughtfully.  Now she knew what the former President had meant when he had said he would get back "or someone else will."  It never occurred to her that the "someone else" would be the new President.
	The next morning after their morning lovemaking she had her head on Mike's shoulder.  She turned her head to give him a light kiss — or thought it would be a light kiss.  Instead, there were the bells and the electricity flowing between them.  She thought of Rita as she made happy noises deep in her throat.  Mike pulled her even closer and gently caressed her now-swelling breast.
	She asked him what she should wear and he looked down at her bare body.  "Why don't you go like this, darling?  Give them a thrill?"
	She poked him in the ribs with an elbow and said, "Mike, this is serious.  I'm testifying before Congress!"
	Mike kissed her again and suggested she wear her service dress uniform.  She was wearing it as she walked into the hearing room accompanied by Kevin.  She was introduced to the Committee members by Bob Fuller and Sam Pinkney.  Kelly was amused because they were acting like proud parents introducing their beautiful daughter to their friends.  Although most of the members greeted her warmly, she noticed a few who appeared to be cool.
	She took her seat at the witness table as Cameron arrived.  He gave her a small smile and began to speak as soon as Bob Fuller gaveled the hearing to order.  He said, "Gentlemen, the first witness this morning is Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson.  As many of you know, she is expecting a baby.  Accordingly, she has prepared written testimony which has already been distributed to you all.  On behalf of the Department of Defense, I ask that Mrs. Callahan now be excused and her written testimony be incorporated into the hearing record."
	Bob Fuller listened impassively.  When Cameron finished, he looked at her and said, "Kelly, is this what you want to do?"
	Kelly glanced over at Cameron and said, "As far as incorporating the written statement into your record, Senator, it's fine with me as long as there is just one minor change.  The cover sheet should read that the testimony is that of Mr. Simon Cameron of the Department of Defense.  It certainly is not mine."
	Cameron jumped from his seat.  "Senator, this is ridiculous!  Clearly Mrs. Callahan isn't feeling well.  The Department cannot allow her to continue this morning.  If necessary, we will invoke executive privilege to prevent Mrs. Callahan from testifying.  As for her comment, I can't understand it.  We reviewed the testimony in detail in her office yesterday."
	Kelly glared at Cameron.  Her eyes were like blue ice.  She said, "Mr. Cameron, my health is excellent.  Furthermore, we did not prepare this testimony nor did we review it; you just gave it to me.  I disagree with every substantive statement in it."
	Cameron became livid.  He jumped to his feet and said, "General, I demand that you leave this hearing room at once!  This has become a matter of civilian control of the military!  Civilians are in charge, Mrs. Callahan.  I demand you leave at once and return to your post.  You'll be hearing from me!"
	Fuller glared at Cameron and his voice was like ice.  "Mr. Cameron, I believe that the civilian control you're referring to is to be exercised by this Congress.  That is precisely what we are doing.  Moreover, I take the strongest exception to your threatening General Jackson!  Sit down, sir!"
	Just then a spectator sitting in the back corner of the hearing room stood up.  Fuller recognized him and said, "Mr. Sampson, do wish to speak?"
	Bill Sampson was Secretary of Defense.  He said, "Mr. Chairman, I must completely disagree with Mr. Cameron.  With respect to any testimony General Jackson cares to give, there will be no invocation of executive privilege either now or at any time in the future.  I should add that I am speaking under specific instructions from the President on this matter.  Speaking for myself, I came here today to hear what General Jackson has to say and I intend to do so if it's possible."
	Fuller looked at Cameron who was visibly distraught.  On seeing Sampson in the hearing room, he had gone white.  Bob Fuller looked up and down the committee table and saw several members who were obviously sharing Cameron's discomfort.  Fortunately, they were only a small minority of the Special Committee's membership.  He said, "Kelly, it is so noted.  We have heard from the Secretary of Defense, and through him, the Commander in Chief.  Are you prepared to testify this morning?"
	Kelly said, "Senator, I am.  With respect to Mr. Cameron's comment on my pregnancy, I was examined by my physician this morning.  I asked her about testifying."  She smiled and continued, "She said as long as the Committee doesn't have me on the stand for more than twenty hours a day for more than thirty consecutive days, I'm fine.  In other words — hers — I'm disgustingly healthy and as strong as a horse."  Kelly grinned and pretended to looked puzzled.  "Those don't sound like normal medical terms, though, do they?"
	Her face became serious.  "Senator, I am prepared to testify in the sense of answering any questions the Committee might wish to address to me.  I only learned of the existence of this committee yesterday so I felt it would be presumptuous of me to prepare testimony when I have only the vaguest idea of the Committee's area of interest or its specific charter.  Are there any questions you would like me to address?"
	Another committee member, Representative Baskin of Texas, was recognized.  He said, "General... Kelly."  He stopped himself and smiled at her.  He said, "General, all we've heard for the last year is Kelly Jackson.  I hear people calling you General this morning, which, of course, you are.  Nevertheless, every letter I've received from my constituents about you — and there are many — talk about Kelly.  Do you mind if we call you Kelly, too?"
	Kelly gave him her warmest smile and he melted.  She said, "Sir, I would be delighted if you would.  I know the decorum of the Congress must be preserved, but if the Congress can stand the informality, I know I would certainly prefer it.  Please do call me Kelly."
	Baskin returned the smile and became serious as he said, "Kelly, this Special Joint Committee has been formed to look at our strategy, our force composition and our force levels.  I read your testimony last night and have two comments.  First, it doesn't sound like you.  It doesn't sound like it's coming from the girl my constituents have described to me in such glowing terms.  Second, it doesn't make a lot of sense, and I'm told you always do."  He looked very interested and said, "Would you comment on this written testimony.  From your earlier comments to the Chairman, I gather you don't completely agree with it."
	Kelly smiled at him and said, "Sir, I couldn't disagree with the statements more!  Let's look at the present situation and our force structure.  First, for nearly fifty years the defense establishment has been focused — correctly, in my judgment — on a major threat posed to us by the Soviet Union.  We built and maintained strategic forces and maintained major air and ground forces dedicated to NATO's European defenses.  I understand that nearly 70 percent of our defense budget now goes to those two components.  In my opinion, neither is as necessary now as both have been in the past.  I am certainly not proposing to destroy our strategic capability nor to dismember our conventional heavy ground forces.  I would propose scaling them down in size dramatically, however."
	Kelly continued her testimony for the next three hours.  She proposed a very sharp reduction in the overall defense budget.  The savings were to come from strategic forces, heavy ground forces, and from the DOD establishment itself.  At the same time she proposed the expansion of the number of ships in the Navy: a focus on conventional weapons, particularly guns; additional airborne and light infantry divisions, and more ground-support aircraft for the Army and Air Force, while developing strategic defense.
	When the time for lunch rolled around, most of the committee members were hanging on her every word.  At the same time the members who had been cool towards her when she arrived were now glaring at her.
	Fuller hosted a small lunch in the Senate dining room with Pinkney and Sampson.  Sampson shook her hand and expressed delight at meeting her in person.  As the lunch concluded, Fuller was looking thoughtful.  Finally, he said, "Kelly, your testimony this morning was brilliant — and very well received.  I have an idea.  I don't know if anyone will support it, but I thought I'd try it out.  I don't think a committee room is the best forum for what we're trying to do.  Could we convene our Committee sessions at the War College and make them real working sessions?  Get people down from DOD, the Navy and the Air Force and hash this whole thing out?"
	He turned to Sampson and said, "Bill, it's your Department.  What do you think?  Would your people be available to attend?"
	Sampson replied, "Senator, it makes all kinds of sense to me.  What we just saw and heard, I think, is something Admiral Bradley, Chairman of the JCS, told me about.  He said he has never seen a person with the ability to go straight to the heart of a problem the way Kelly does.  When she laid out the course of action to end the war, he said, it was an exercise in simplicity.  Once she laid it out, it was the most obvious thing in the world to do.  However, the idea hadn't occurred to anyone else until she had laid it out for them.
	"Senator, I, for one, would be delighted.  In fact, if you choose to proceed on that course, I will personally attend for my Department.  Frankly, I don't know how many more Camerons I may have in DOD, and I'm not sure I care to find out.  However, I believe Admiral Bradley will support your idea, and I am sure General Adams will.  What about the rest of your committee?  Sam, what do you think about it?"
	Pinkney had been letting Bob Fuller do the talking.  He smiled a bashful smile and said, "Bob and I talked about this earlier.  Frankly, we're both more than a little suspicious.  We have a hunch there's some hanky-panky going on involving the Committee staff, some DOD people led by Cameron, and the few committee members who spent most of this morning frowning.  The odd thing about it is that, by and large, the ones who are looking so unhappy are the same ones who have voted against every defense budget in living memory.  Frankly, when those guys look unhappy at the thought of reducing defense spending, Bob and I smell a rat!  I have one question for you, Kelly.  What would you propose to do with the money you cut from the defense budget?"
	She smiled a very warm smile.  She said, "Sam, why do you do this to me?  Remember me?  The high-school dropout?  The kid with a high-school diploma largely through the generosity of the German government?  But if you insist, I'll take a stab at it.  I would cut the initial saving roughly into thirds.  One third would be redeployed in DOD for the expanded programs for limited warfare and missile defense.  The second third would go to reduce taxes.  The last third would go for an expanded space program."
	Pinkney regarded her thoughtfully.  "Why space, Kelly?"
	"Sam, you all know I'm pregnant.  I'm thinking of the little boy who's growing inside me.  I think man needs to dream dreams.  It happened before my time — before I was born, in fact — but I've seen the pictures of the first landing on the Moon on television.  Every person in the country, and I guess almost everyone in the world who knew about it, felt prouder that day.  Mankind had accomplished something.  I think we need to nurture that sense of responding to a challenge.  I want my children to address such a challenge.
	"Last Christmas, Mike and I were at Fort Campbell.  On Christmas day the mayor and his wife came to call.  They wanted to tell me about the reaction of my men to me being in command.  They said that the men of the 101st were really standing tall.  They thought they were in the best, the toughest unit in the whole Army.  It made them feel good about themselves, good about the unit, and good about what we were doing.  They were the same guys they had always been.  But what they were achieving was remarkable.  They were responding to a challenge."
	She looked at the three men around the table and said, "You asked me what I would do.  I told you.  Why aren't you laughing?"
	Fuller looked at his colleagues and then at Kelly.  He said, "They can speak for themselves, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not laughing because I didn't hear anything at all funny.  Frankly, it makes a great deal of sense to me.  Tell me about downsizing the Pentagon, though."
	Kelly smiled wryly and said, "You've heard of Parkinson's Law?  I guess everyone has.  Not many people know it resulted from work done by a man named C. Northcote Parkinson.  He worked in the British Admiralty.  He was checking back in old files and found something very interesting.  Starting around 1790, the size of the Royal Navy, measured by the number of warships in commission, went up and down like a yo-yo, depending on world events.  The size of the fleet increased dramatically during wartime and shrank in times of peace.  However, Parkinson found that the size of the Admiralty staff itself just kept increasing in size.  During wartime, the Admiralty staff grew.  During peacetime, it grew, too.
	"In short, Parkinson's Law is not a joke.  It's real.  I'll bet that today you could go across the river to the Pentagon, line up all the employees — but I'm not sure where — and have them count off by twos.  Fire all the 'twos' on the spot, and the establishment wouldn't miss a beat.
	"That's the real crime!  Taxpayers want defense but they don't want to pay for waste.  Unfortunately, the waste is marbled through the whole establishment like fat through a fine sirloin steak.  It's just there."  She looked at the congressmen soberly and said, "To be honest, gentlemen, a great deal is the result of micro-managing defense programs.  We're famous for spending ten dollars to save a dime!"  She stopped abruptly and turned to the Secretary of Defense.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Sampson.  I was out of line.  I apologize."
	Sampson shook his head and smiled.  "Kelly, don't apologize.  The only fault I can find with what you just said is I think you could count off by fours, fire all the twos, threes, and fours, and still not miss a beat.  My only disagreement with you, Kelly, is I think you're being much too kind.  I have one question, though.  What do you think is going on with the committee members, Cameron, and company?"
	Kelly looked at the others and said quietly, "Weapons systems as a multi-billion dollar pork barrel.  I'll bet you would find that the liberal members have defense contractors in their states or districts that have major contracts for the strategic weapons programs they're now trying so very hard to preserve."
	Sam Pinkney just shook his head and said, "Kelly, you're right, of course, at least with respect to the House.  But damn it, you were only twenty years old yesterday!  You're not supposed to be able to figure out things like that for at least fifty more years!  Unfortunately, you're also right about micro-management, too."
	He winked at Bob Fuller who signaled the headwaiter.  A waiter started to roll out a serving cart with a huge cake on it.  The senators present and their guests started to sing "Happy Birthday" to Kelly.  The waiter rolled the cake up to her.  There were twenty candles burning.  The inscription on the cake said, "Happy Birthday to Kelly Jackson, the youngest lieutenant general in history!"  In the center of the cake was a replica of the Gold Cross of Liberty.  Kelly took a deep breath and blew out all the candles in one puff.  Then she leaned over and kissed Bob Fuller on the cheek and said, "Thank you, Bob.  This is a wonderful birthday surprise!"
	By this time most of the senators in the dining room had left their tables and gathered around.  Fuller rose from his chair and said, "In this day of concern about ethics in government, I'm concerned about undue pressure being put on the Congress by the Executive branch.  And if a kiss from Kelly Jackson isn't undue pressure, I don't know what is!"
	The bystanders laughed and applauded while Kelly blushed.  Fuller continued, "I did this for Kelly today, but I did it for myself, too.  As the senior senator from the Old Dominion State, I learned something a few weeks ago that explains a great deal to me.  You see, I found out that Kelly Jackson is a descendant of another great Virginian, General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson.  I can only conclude that she comes by her military skill naturally.  I will repeat for you today something I said to her that day.  Wherever he is now, Stonewall Jackson is very proud!  Kelly, thank you!"
	Senators came up and formed what became an impromptu receiving line to extend their best wishes.  Finally, they returned to their tables and Kelly and her friends sat down.  When the cake was served, Kelly asked that it be offered to everyone else present in the dining room.  While the reception was in progress, Bill Sampson had left the room.  Kelly was having coffee with Bob and Sam when he returned to the table.  He said, "Senator, have you had a chance to think any more about your idea — continuing the session of your Joint Committee at the War College?"
	Fuller said, "No, but I still think it's a good idea.  Why do you ask?"
	"Because, Senator," Sampson replied, "I have been talking to President Collins.  He has asked me to tell you that he supports the idea wholeheartedly.  You will have the complete support of the Executive Branch if you decide to proceed in that direction.  He recognizes that the committee is a committee of Congress, of course, so it is at your sole discretion.  However, we are prepared to supply helicopters to ferry the Committee to Ft. Meade to make it a little easier for you."
	"Bob," Sam Pinkney said, "It sounds like we got our marching orders.  Speaking for the House, I'm sure I can get at least two-thirds of my people to support the idea."
	Fuller smiled and said, "I guess that's it, then.  We're going to do it!"
Chapter 31
	It was Sunday afternoon at Fort Myers in Arlington, and Kelly was soaking up the sun in the backyard of Sam and Kathy Adams' house.  As the home of the Army Chief of Staff, it was intended to be the finest housing in the Army.  They were lounging by the backyard swimming pool and Kelly was wearing a tiny white bikini at Mike's insistence.  She claimed she looked pregnant.  He said the only sign was her swelling breasts and he thought they looked great.  She had stuck out her tongue at him but had taken along the bikini.  Cathy was lying beside her in the sun and the two women were talking quietly.
	Meanwhile Sam and Mike were stretched out in lawn chairs admiring their wives.  Sam said, "Mike Callahan, you are the second luckiest man alive — second to me.  You're supposed to be a military genius.  Just tell me how we got so lucky?"
	Mike's eyes were almost closed as he admired his wife's body.  He replied, "General Adams, your honor, sir, I'm just a combat soldier.  It's the staff that's supposed to provide answers like that and since you're Chief of Staff you must know.  So you tell me."
	"In that case, Mike, it's going to have to remain one of life's great mysteries."
	Just then Cathy called over to Sam.  "Sam, come here a minute, would you?"
	Sam eased himself out of the lounge chair and went over to his wife.  Mike thought that he looked about ten years younger than his forty-three years.  There wasn't an apparent ounce of fat on his body.  Meanwhile, Kelly was lying on her stomach half asleep.  The bikini was a slash of white against her tanned body.  She had untied her bra which was lying under her.
	"What's the problem, Hon?" Sam asked.
	"Darling, I've heard some jokes about Kelly's first Purple Heart — about the nature of the wounds she suffered.  Just look."
	Sam looked at Kelly's body as Cathy showed him the lines scoring her back, thighs, and hips.  "Kelly, they tortured you constantly, didn't they?"
	"They're almost all gone," she murmured sleepily.  "They're not as bad as some others, anyway."
	Sam looked and could see dozens of faint marks crisscrossing the girl's body.  He just shook his head and said to his wife, "Darling, just remember who called her a prostitute on first meeting."
	Cathy looked beautiful.  Her brown hair was sun-streaked and her figure was tanned and perfect.  The only sign of her recent pregnancy were her milk-swollen breasts, but they were covered by her bikini bra.  She said softly, "Please don't remind me, darling.  Every time I see this girl I blush, remembering.  But I don't think I've ever seen Kelly like this before.  It's one thing to hear about a person being tortured and something else to see the results.  Sam, remember, it's been over a year now, too.  Does it bother you, Kelly?"
	Kelly took the sides of her bra and held it in position.  She blinked and rolled over, quickly tying the bra behind her.  She was now on her back with her eyes closed again.  She said, "Everything's fine now, Cathy.  Honest.  My real fear has been taken care of by the young man growing in my belly.  The doctors didn't think I had been permanently injured but where it comes to having children they can't know for sure.  Now I feel just great."
	Sam just shook his head.  "Cath, remember this, will you?  Remember who pushed to avoid an invasion of Russia to spare its people.  A person who had been viciously tortured day after day for months.  I supported her position, but didn't realize the extent to which she could have — should have — gone for personal revenge against the people who did this to her."
	With her eyes still closed Kelly said softly, "The Russian people didn't do this, Sam.  Some KGB goons did.  As far as we can tell, they're all dead.  Besides, the Russian people suffered far more and for far longer than I did."
	Sam looked at his wife who smiled softly.  "What can you do with a girl like this?" he asked rhetorically."  He turned to Mike who was now standing beside him.  "By the way, what in hell is your wife doing with the officers' wives down there at Meade?"
	"Officers' wives?  I have no idea."  He winked at Adams and in a peremptory tone he said, "Kelly Jackson!  The Chief of Staff wants to know what you're doing with the officers' wives at Meade."
	Kelly opened one eye and then the other.  Finally, she sat up and flipped her hair back.  She pretended to glare at Mike and said, "I give up.  There's obviously a plot to keep me from just sleeping in the sun."  She smiled warmly at Mike and said, "Why don't you do something useful?  Bring over those lawn chairs so you and Sam don't have to keep standing there like a pair of grizzly bears with your hands on your hips."
	Mike smiled and brought over the chairs he and Sam had been sitting in.  "And by the way, why do you two insist on persecuting defenseless women?  Damn it, Callahan, I thought we settled this a few months ago.  I outrank you!  If you want to bully poor Major Adams here, there's nothing I can do about it, but damn it, you can't bully me!  I'm your senior."
	Sam Adams grinned at her and said, "General Jackson, you wouldn't be referring to the same Major Adams who keeps me awake every night?  The Major Adams, because of whom I fall asleep in my own staff meetings?  That Major Adams?"
	"No, General.  I mean the Major Adams who keeps you warm at night and who has just presented you with the most beautiful baby boy in the whole world."
	Cathy just ignored the byplay and sat down on Sam's lap.  She leaned back against him and he ran his fingers over her exposed skin.  She said softly, "Sam, that feels so good.  But could you keep your voice down a little please?  I'm trying to go to sleep." 
	Sam just leaned back in the lounge chair and Cathy fitted her body to his.  He continued to run the tips of his fingers over her body and he could hear his wife make soft happy noises while her muscles reacted to his touch.  He pulled his mind back, even while his fingers continued to work.  Sam said, "Kelly, I'm hearing things about the War College Officers' Wives Club.  What in hell is going on?"
	Before Kelly could speak, Cathy answered softly without opening her eyes, "It's just Kelly and her coaching, dear.  There's nothing to worry about.  Nothing can possibly happen except a few pregnancies and that's not a disaster."  Cathy lifted herself up and looked at Sam.  "Do you feel abused, dear?"
	Sam smiled dreamily and said, "Cathy, abuse like this I can take for the rest of my life... and God knows, I hope I get it.  But what's that have to do with anything?"
	"Honey, do you know Harry Collins?  I think he's a brigadier?" she asked.
	"I guess so," he replied.  "But what does Harry have to do with anything?"
	"He is married to Marian Collins who is president of the Wives' Club.  I was speaking there the day our son arrived.  Anyway, I hear Marian has lost nearly twenty pounds and appears to have lost nearly twenty years in age.  Poor Harry!  He's having to spend a lot of time working out to keep in shape to stay up with his beautiful wife.  It seems that Kelly has been talking to Marian and an increasing number of other wives.  But you didn't explain your question.  Are you getting complaints?"
	"Certainly not from the guys.  But I am getting some complaints from other people.  A couple of guys have just reported to their new commands after leaving the College.  It seems there are pretty dramatic changes taking place at a few posts around the country and if this keeps up, it's going to spread."
	Kelly was now flat on her back again with her eyes closed.  She said softly, "Why don't you boys go off and play or something?  Then I can get rid of this dumb bra.  And Sam, what's going to spread?"
	"I'm not really sure.  All I hear about is a bunch of women losing weight, toning their muscles, and getting very affectionate."
	"I can see that can be a serious problem," Kelly murmured.  "I guess that's why we did so badly in Europe last summer.  It seems I heard something about the turkey who was running SACEUR at the time being pretty distracted."
	"I beg your pardon!" Cathy exclaimed, opening her eyes.  "He was focusing on important things."
	"I know.  I think I can hear a by-product of those 'important things' starting to sound hungry."  They all now heard the crying of a hungry baby.
	"I give up," Sam said.  "Mike, always remember the first rule of good generalship: Know when to retreat.  When you're out manned, outgunned, and outgeneraled, that's a very good time to beat it."
	Later they had a barbecue with Sam cooking, Cathy and Kelly teasing him, and Mike standing off to the side laughing.  After they sat down and were eating, Sam turned to Kelly and said, "The hearings start tomorrow, Kel.  Are you prepared?"
	Kelly looked at him and smiled.  "Sam, I'll tell you what I told a young officer in the 101st awhile ago.  This is the nice thing about being a twenty-year-old girl wearing a uniform with three stars.  No one expects anything from her."
	Sam looked at her seriously and said, "Kelly, that's where you're wrong.  It may have been true six months ago.  It probably was, in fact.  It certainly isn't today.  Today you are regarded, believe it or not, as our top strategist by the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and by yours truly.  You may be young, but you are the most clear-eyed military thinker we have, and very probably the best alive in the world today."  Sam looked her straight in the eye and added, "Now what was that you were saying about no one expecting anything?"
	Kelly had been looking at him as he spoke.  When he got to his list of people, her jaw started to drop.  Finally she said, "Surely you're joking!  Please say you're joking, Sam!  This really isn't funny."
	Sam just shook his head.  "You're damned right, it's not funny.  But it's true nevertheless.  Once again, young lady, you don't realize how valuable you are.  Do you want an illustration?  I'll tell you what happened at the last meeting of the JCS.  Bradley asked me about giving you Secret Service protection, carrying out a specific request of the President, by the way.  The President was prepared to go to Congress for the authority, and Fuller and Pinkney were prepared to introduce the legislation.  In my short list, I forgot to mention them.  They very much belong on it.
	"Anyway, I was able to talk them out of it on the basis of your skill with small arms and in unarmed combat.  I pointed out that you were personally more effective than the Secret Service anyway.  The President let the matter drop... for now.  But he hasn't forgotten.  He was tremendously impressed when you and Mike were guests at the White House for dinner.  Young lady, let me assure you that if there is any threat to your life or a member of your family, you'll have the Secret Service all over you like a blanket whether you want it or not!"  Adams' face was very serious as he spoke.
	Kelly looked at him carefully.  After a pause she said softly, "Okay, Sam, I believe you."  Suddenly she looked scared.  Mike, who had been watching her carefully, didn't know whether to laugh or take her in his arms.  He lifted her out of her chair, sat her on his lap, and held her tightly.  He decided he had done the right thing.
	Kelly put her arms around his neck and hugged him.  She murmured in his ear, "Thank you, darling!"  She kept her cheek next to Mike's as she turned back to Sam Adams.  She said, "Mike understands me, General.  He knows that I've used my youth and inexperience as a security blanket.  Now I'm scared.  I don't know anything!" she wailed.  "I don't know what to do."
	Sam Adams understood.  He said to her quietly, "Kelly, did you want a career in the Army?  Ever?"
	Even though she was on Mike's lap, she sat up straight.  She said, "Of course not!  All I ever wanted was what I've got.  A wonderful big lug of a husband who's so dumb he loves me, and a fine baby growing in my belly.  You know that, Sam.  I think we had this conversation in England.  I have all I ever wanted and far more than I ever dreamed of getting."
	Sam smiled warmly, and said, "Okay, so what's changed?  You say you have everything you ever wanted out of life.  Kelly, I realize this is a personal question, but I seem to recall your family has a lot of influence — and a lot of money.  If I remember correctly the President wanted you flown back to the States immediately after Mike rescued you, or you rescued Mike, or whatever."
	Kelly reddened and said, "Sam, I'm a rich bitch.  In fact, I guess you could say I'm loaded.  But what's that have to do with anything?"
	"Just this," he replied, "you don't really need your military pension, do you?"
	Kelly started to relax.  She squirmed into a more comfortable position on Mike's lap and, appearing to ignore Sam's presence, put Mike's hand under her bra and on her breast.  Sam shook his head and laughed.  She said, "What I'm hearing you say, Sam, is that I should just say what I think.  The worst thing they could do is fire me.  In which case I do what I've wanted to do all along.  I can be just be a loving wife to Mike, and a mother to my children."
	She sighed and smiled.  "Sam, you asked about the Wives' Club.  Can I apologize now for giving you a hard time?  Of course I knew what you meant.  All I do is talk to the women about being loving wives and mothers.  Do you know what?  I've found that the harder I work to give Mike pleasure, the more pleasure I give myself."  She smiled warmly and said, "I'm going backward.  Now I pass out about three times in four when I cum.  At the beginning it was only about one in three.  I work to increase his enjoyment.  Obviously, I can't increase mine any more.  I end up unconscious as it is."
	Cathy came into the conversation.  "She's absolutely right, Sam.  That's precisely what she does.  The girls in Kelly's wedding all subscribe to her theory.  We're the best loved women in the country in all senses of the word."  She went up and kissed him softly on the lips.  The kiss took on increasing passion and Cathy put Sam's hand on her breast.  He lifted her onto his lap and continued to kiss her.  Finally, she eased away to breathe.  "Do you feel abused, darling?" she asked softly.
	"Of course not!  My God, Cathy, I've never had it so good and we both know it."
	She held him close and whispered, "Then don't worry about those other guys.  They'll live.  No one's died of sex yet... I don't think."
	They enjoyed the dinner.  Later Mike and Kelly took turns holding the Adams' baby.  Sam noticed the way Kelly's eyes lighted as she cuddled the tiny infant who was just starting to notice things in his new world.
	As they were leaving, Sam said, "By the way, the President asked you to join us next week — both of you.  We're going up to the graduation at West Point.  We're guests of the President who will be receiving an honorary degree.  It's become kind of standard in a President's first term."
	During the following week Kelly spent as much time as possible at the Congressional hearing.  At the insistence of the co-chairmen, the committee recessed whenever Kelly was scheduled to teach a class.  They pointed out that she had a vital job to do beyond her committee work.  Between her class work and the hearing, she was going flat out.
Chapter 32
	They were going to fly  to West Point early the following Monday.  On Sunday, Camille came in and offered to wash Kelly's hair.  She washed it, styled it, and combed it out.  Kelly loved the look the girl achieved.  Then Selma came in and did her trick on the back of Kelly's neck.  The girl was asleep almost instantly.  On Monday morning Kelly and Mike got up early to have breakfast.  Returning to her room, Kelly found her white dress uniform laid out on the bed.  Mike said it was the uniform of the day for the commencement.  After Horace drove them to Andrews Air Force Base they met the President and then boarded a Presidential helicopter for the flight to West Point.  When they boarded the chopper, Kelly was surprised to find Cathy flying up, too, along with Sam.  She said with a grin she was coming along to keep him from putting his foot in his mouth.  Kevin and Katrina had driven up the previous day with Kevin saying something about a reunion.
	When they arrived at West Point, Kelly was ushered to a place of honor on the speakers' platform with Mike at her side.  When the President came up and took his seat on the platform, the Corps of Cadets snapped to attention as the band played Hail to the Chief.  He winked at Kelly.  At least she thought he did.  The commandant of the academy, Lieutenant General Oscar Caffrey, came over to Kelly and gravely saluted her.  She was on her feet for the President's arrival, and she returned the salute and extended her hand.  He seemed genuinely pleased to meet her.
	The degree award was made to the President and then he began the featured commencement address.  He said, "Honoris causa.  That is a phrase on the honorary degree I just received.  It's a Latin phrase meaning 'for reasons of honor.'  In my case I guess the honor consists of having received more votes than the other guy last November.  Honoris causa.  'To honor, or to render honors.'
	"I was rendered honors this morning.  I'll let you in on a secret:  My greatest joy in being President is hearing Hail to the Chief.  I love it.  I really do."  The President appeared to be thinking out loud.  "To honor..."  President Collins mused.  "I wonder...  You see, we have a problem.  Seated behind me is a young woman, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson Callahan.  She is the problem.  Let me tell you a little about it.
	"First, because she's wearing her dress whites, she's required to wear her medals.  You see a gold cross hanging from her neck, shining in the sun.  It's the Gold Cross of Liberty.  You have never seen it, because hers is the only one in existence."  He grinned and turned to face Kelly.  "Incidentally, Kel, they would like to borrow it to photograph it for the books and manuals on awards.  They forgot to do it before it was awarded to you and yours is the only one in existence.  Could you lend it back to us for a few days?  Please?"
	He turned back to face the gathering.  "You may also see something else you've never seen before and likely will never see again.  The next medal on her chest is the Medal of Honor.  She's the only person in history for whom two Medals of Honor are junior decorations.
	"But I digress.  The problem is that Kelly has no college degree.  As one of our most senior generals this can be a little embarrassing.  I thought of ordering her here to the Academy as a student and, in fact, I even talked to the Secretary of Defense about it.  That idea didn't work out too well.  First, she's married... very!  In fact Kelly's expecting their first child in November.  We've never had a married cadet at West Point, let alone a pregnant one."  The President grinned and continued.  "But never let it be said we're not creative.  As President, I could waive the family thing.
	"But then we get in deeper.  Some of you may have seen your commandant, Lieutenant General Caffrey, salute Kelly.  You see, she's his senior.  An element of the Cross of Liberty award is that the holder is senior in rank to any other person in the same rank or pay grade in the armed forces.  Therefore, the only officers senior to Kelly wear four stars, and there aren't many of those.  But what the hell, we're at peace, so I guess we could scrounge up a slightly used four-star general to command this place while Kelly attends.  But this brings us to the curriculum.  The purpose of the school is to turn cadets into bright young officers... junior officers.  It has been pointed out to me that a lieutenant general is not a junior officer.
	"But there's more.  I ask you!  You graduates have completed your first-class year.  Could you imagine trying to haze a plebe... wearing three stars?  Can you really?"  The president grinned and said, "Oh, and I nearly forgot:  She's also the leading small-arms expert and unarmed-combat specialist in the armed forces.  Trying to haze her could be hazardous to one's health!"  The graduating seniors broke up in laughter.  "But we're creative.  We'll finesse the plebe summer.  We would have to anyway for reasons I'll come to in a moment.  Once enrolled here, what would she study?
	"Well the course of study here is primarily military science and engineering.  Although there now is a broad range of majors available at the Academy, you must all take courses in military science.  What does that consist of?  Well, it includes military history, strategy, tactics... that sort of thing.
	"This creates another problem.  You see, General Jackson teaches courses in that stuff.  She's president of the War College.  And by the way — and she doesn't even know this — the relevant faculty here at the Academy are all now enrolled in her courses.  I suppose it could get pretty dull taking a course in a subject that you taught to your professor.  But there's more.  I spoke a moment ago about her schedule this summer.  She's unavailable.  She has an additional assignment serving as senior advisor on strategy and tactics to a joint congressional committee that is restructuring our entire armed forces.  The two co-chairmen insist she's absolutely irreplaceable.  So we'll have to finesse strategy.  What else?
	"Leadership!  There we go.  We'll teach her leadership!"  The President paused and looked over the sea of faces, then continued, "The hell we will!  No one can teach Kelly Jackson about leadership!  She is a specialist in small-unit operations.  Sort of the efficient female approach to things.  She won the war in Europe with three other people!  That's right, people!  I didn't say armies, or corps, or divisions.  I said people.  The other three are here with us today, also.  But what the hell!  This is the Army.  So she gets a lot of mileage out of three people.  What would this do to our defense budget if we cut the Army down to five people, the Navy to ten, and the Air Force to ten?  How in hell could we possibly justify the 110,000 people in the Department of Defense?  Now understand, bureaucrats are very effective at protecting their jobs, but there are limits!  Even for them.
	"Back to larger units.  Kelly has had two larger commands.  The first was a training company at Quantico, Virginia.  Kelly took command two weeks into a ten-week program.  When she took over, the company was about average in its performance.  Eight weeks later, the company held every record they maintain down there.  Every record they set still stands today.  Oh, yeah, I forgot.  Kelly's style is to lead by example.  She sort of says, 'Follow me," and the troops try to.  Well, in the course of the follow-me routine it seems Kelly set every personal record they maintain.  Every single one!  And they all still stand!
	"But hell, the Army has units bigger than companies.  Last November Kelly was given command of the 101st Airborne Division.  Why the 101st?  Because it was in the garbage dump.  There was no way anyone could screw up that bunch of weirdos.  And a young girl commanding an assault division is a little weird, too, isn't it?  It was the only combat division — let alone assault division — that stayed home.  Why?  Because we thought they were a far larger threat to themselves and our friends than they could possibly be to the enemy.  It was formally scheduled for extinction on February 5th of this year.  But Kelly screws that up, too.
	"On February 1st in war games against the 82nd Airborne Kelly annihilates the 82nd while suffering negligible losses.  She earned for the 101st the rating of the top combat unit in the entire Army.  She then takes her division down to Central America where she cleans up some unpleasantness my advisors felt was insoluble.  Of course, it took her nearly six weeks so I guess it must have been a tough assignment.  I guess she can handle sizeable units.  Oh, one more thing:  When Kelly was relieved as commanding officer of the 101st, Fort Campbell was almost flooded out by tears from crying men.  I'm serious — General Adams, here, was down there that day.  The troopers of the 101st cried when they learned Kelly — not General Jackson, mind you, but Kelly — was being transferred.
	"But back to the Cross of Liberty.  What's that for?  That's for a small piece of history.  She won the war in Europe, along with her husband, Major General Michael Callahan, who graduated from the Point six years ago, Major Ken Carson, who graduated three years ago, and his wife, Captain Mary Harris Carson, who graduated two years ago.  Now West Point graduates winning wars for our country is part of a very old and proud tradition.
	"But what do we do when she's a high-school dropout?  A girl who only turned twenty last month?  In fact, a girl who was complaining to me on the flight up here this morning that her infant son will be six months old before she can legally buy a drink?  There's only one thing you can do — honoris causa — for reasons of honor.  Kelly, come up here!"
	He turned and watched as Kelly, still grinning about the President's remark about her drinking, came up, faced him, and saluted smartly.  As she stood on the platform, two female cadets came up behind her with an academic gown they held for her to put on.  They then hung the hood symbolic of a doctorate degree around her neck.  Finally, they removed her hat and replaced it with a black mortarboard with a gold bullion tassel.
	General Caffrey replaced the President at the microphone and said, "Kelly Jackson Callahan:  For exemplary service to your country, for exemplary achievement, and for exemplary scholarship, it is my great honor to award you the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History and Military Strategy, honoris causa!"  He held out the diploma and shook her hand.
	The President led her to the microphone.  She said, "Thank you, Mr. President, and Commandant Johnson.  I don't know what to say.  I guess I now have a degree from West Point.  I feel very proud.  I look around and see bright faces, including a few women.  What I would like to do is to meet with the women in this graduating class.  I would like you to meet some very successful women who graduated from the Point, starting with my closest friend, Major Catherine King Adams.  She is the senior officer in the United States Army.  As Sam Adams' wife, she tells him what to tell us to do."
	She turned to the commandant with a question in her eyes.  He smiled and nodded his head.  He went back to the microphone and said, "It sounds like a fine idea to me.  All female members of the graduating class are invited to meet with General Jackson in the gymnasium immediately following the ceremonies this morning."
	Kelly went back to her seat.  Mike rose, took her in his arms, and kissed her soundly.  Neither heard the storm of cheering behind them as her cap fell off her head.  When he released her, she just hugged him.  Finally, she looked up at him and said, "Mike, could I trade aides with you for a couple of hours?  I would like Katrina to come along with me."  Mike agreed immediately.
	While her back was to the audience, she heard the President's voice again.  He said, "I would like to conclude my speech today with a couple of additional remarks.  "First, I was honored today to receive a degree from West Point.  However, Kelly was not honored.  She honored the Military Academy!  As I tried to make clear, I received my degree essentially for doing nothing.  Kelly received hers in recognition of demonstrated achievement far beyond human expectations or understanding.
	"Finally, I would like to go back to the change of command ceremony at Fort Campbell.  I neglected to mention that the 101st Airborne now holds the flag symbolic of the finest combat unit in the Army, but the division doesn't have it.  Kelly does.  It's in her office, hanging on the wall.  Why does she have it?  It's a solemn pledge to her from the men of the 101st.  They will keep it — and their standing as the Army's top unit — in her honor.  They're the best!  She made them the best, and by damn, they're going to remain the best!  Let me ask you?  Is that not a test of leadership?
	"One of the officers in the 101st said it best.  He said, 'Kelly never gives an order.  She just shows us what she wants us to do, and we try to do it.  We never can, of course.  No one else is that good.  But we end up doing one hell of a lot better than we ever thought we could.  Leadership?  We would follow that woman to hell and consider it a rare privilege that she would allow us to keep her company!'
	"Ladies and gentlemen of the Academy:  You have before you an example you should try to follow — the finest person ever to graduate in the history of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Kelly Jackson Callahan!"  The student body present and the graduates rose to their feet and gave Kelly a standing ovation.
	The President came back to Kelly, took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.  He then shook Mike's hand and said, "Mike, you must be the luckiest man on the face of this earth.  Take good care of her, please?"
	Kelly slipped off her cap and gown and turned to give them back.  She was told that they were hers to keep.  Kevin Murphy grinned and took them from her.  She found Katrina waiting for her along with Mary Carson and Cathy Adams.  Together they marched over to the gym.
	As they walked, Cathy started to chuckle and Kelly asked her what was so funny.  As second senior, Cathy was on Kelly's left.  She said, "Kel, you're the military historian — Dr. Jackson, yet — but do you know why you're on the right and we're arranged in rank order to your left?"  Kelly looked at her and said she had no idea.
	Cathy clapped her hands in glee.  "It's to give you free use of your sword arm.  As senior, you're supposed to be the best swordsman so you're on the right to have fullest use of your sword arm to protect us."  She grinned and said, "On the other hand there's that bulge in the small of your back from your automatic, so I guess you really can."
	They arrived at the gym and went to the front where a lectern and a microphone were being set up.  Academy staff were quickly setting up chairs for the graduates.  Within a few minutes, the newly-commissioned second lieutenants started to stream in.  They were at strict attention as they marched down the rows of chairs in formation and stood at attention while the others took their places.
	Kelly watched the proceedings with interest.  One girl was standing to the side directing them.  Kelly assumed she had probably been the senior cadet officer in the group.  When they were all in their places, the girl gave the command, "Hand... SALUTE!  All the young women snapped a salute in unison.  Kelly returned it smartly and the girl said, "Two!"  The hands came down together.  The girl said, "Female graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, reporting as ordered, sir!"
	Kelly said, "At ease.  This may turn out to be one of my dumber ideas."  She smiled a wry smile and said, "Despite what the President said, where it comes to dumb ideas of mine, there are a great many to chose from.
	"I wanted to see you girls for two reasons.  First, I just wanted to get a look at you.  You're outnumbered and outsized by your male classmates.  In other words, you're a little hard to find in that crowd.  The other reason is to just chat and answer questions for a few minutes.  You have heard something about most of these women in the President's remarks.  There's Major Catherine King Adams.  Cathy was secretary to SACEUR until I stole her.  Sam Adams had to marry her to get her back.  Then there's Captain Mary Harris Carson.  Mary has the DSC for helping to win the war in Europe.  Finally, there's Captain Katrina Solov Murphy.  Katrina is the daughter of the President of the Russian Republics and the wife of my aide, Kevin Murphy.  My husband, Mike, and I swapped aides for this meeting.  That's who we are.  Now, are there any questions?"
	A young girl standing by the door raised her hand.  Kelly recognized her as Sgt. Brown from the office of the 101st.  She smiled and said, "Sgt. Brown, welcome!  What brings you here?"
	Sgt. Emily Brown stood at attention and replied, "You did, ma'am.  I wanted to add a little something to what the President said about the General.  I was in the 101st Airborne.  I was in the office when she first reported to take command.  I was typing and looked up.  I see a beautiful young blonde girl in civilian clothes with a big handsome man standing behind her.  She asks to see the commanding general.  I called the General's assistant, a female major, following our standing instructions.  General Jackson goes down the hall and a few moments later a notorious sergeant accompanied by three MPs goes down the hall after her.  The next thing I know, he's pushing her down the hall and starts to throw her out.  There's some commotion outside and then she comes back in a few minutes later without a hair out of place.  We find out later that the sergeant has four or five broken ribs and a punctured lung.
	"You heard how she squared away the Division.  Well, I'm here to start my plebe summer at the Academy.  There's a prep school that starts later today.  You see, General Jackson got us to do things we never dreamed possible... me being admitted to West Point, for example.  I want you to know I feel sorry for General James, the new CO of the 101st.  Why?  He's really a fine gentleman and a fine officer.  Nevertheless, it's not just the 101st Airborne Division any more.  It's Kelly Jackson's 101st!  The Screaming Eagle patch ought to be replaced with one with her picture on it.  All the men care about is maintaining the tradition she built... in less than four months.  Why am I here?  Because she inspired me, is why.  I hope she can inspire you, too."
	"Thank you, Sergeant Brown.  You flatter me.  You and the people of the 101st did it all.  I mostly watched."  She smiled at Brown and said, "Good luck here at West Point.  I'll be pulling for you."
	"Now, how about questions from the graduates?  Where are you going?  What are your assignments?  What do you want to do?"
	A girl sitting near the front rose and said, "Second Lieutenant Martha Caffrey, General.  The President listed your accomplishments this morning.  But I got confused.  I can't make sense of your age, your rank, or your accomplishments.  How long have you been in the Army, General?"  The girl sat down again.
	"First, thank you for identifying yourself.  However, I guess we can omit the rank.  I assume you are all second lieutenants.  But to answer your question, I've been in the Army officially since March 1 of last year, and in actuality since April 15."  Kelly smiled warmly and added, "I guess you could say my rise has been rapid.  I was initially commissioned as a captain."
	A dark-haired girl stood up and asked, "But General, how did you get a direct commission.  From a remark the President made, I gather you're not twenty-one yet."
	"That's correct," Kelly replied.  "I'm not.  In fact, I guess I must be the youngest person here with the possible exception of Sgt. Brown.  I received my commission because of some special skills, primarily with languages.  Anything else?"
	"Jane Simpson, General.  How did you develop the special skills when you were so young?"
	Katrina came forward and said to Kelly, "May I answer the question, Kelly?"  Kelly nodded and Katrina took her place at the microphone.  "I'm Katrina Murphy.  I think I'm more qualified than anyone else except Kelly to answer that question.  My father is president of Russia.  Kelly told you that.  She did not say that previously he was a Marshal in the Red Army commanding all Warsaw Pact forces in the West.  I met Kelly through him.  He met her at a school in which the girls who had been students before the war were imprisoned and enslaved.
	"Lieutenant Simpson, you asked how Kelly developed her special skills?  The answer is primarily at the end of a whip.  Kelly was enslaved for nearly a year before she escaped... by slitting the throat of the prison commandant and sliding down a drain pipe.  I have seen Kelly nude.  I have seen the countless scars she carries on her body from being tortured daily.
	"A sculptor visited Kelly a short time ago.  She saw him at the request of my father who didn't give her a reason for the request.  One of the things one learns about Kelly is her friends never need to give reasons.  If she can do what they ask of her, she just does it.  The man who saw her is reputed to be the finest sculptor alive in Russia today.  He has been commissioned to create a statue that will be located at what was formerly the site of Lenin's Tomb.  The statue will be one-and-a-half times life size.  Thus, a six-foot person would be nine feet tall.
	"I saw that sculptor after he saw Kelly.  He was almost physically ill.  He said, 'Who could be so cruel as to torture such a beautiful girl?' The answer, of course, was the KGB.  The statue will be very different from most heroic sculpture, though.  It will show a naked girl holding on to a bar above her head.  It will show whip cuts all over her body.  The face will reflect the agony the girl is suffering.
	"The statue is of Kelly, of course.  The square — formerly Red Square — will become Kelly Jackson Square.  We haven't asked Kelly if she approves.  I don't know if I would like a nude statue of myself in the principal square of a major city.  Nevertheless, it is what we are going to do.  Why?  Because of something my father said.  He said, "If we — the Russians — had done what we should have done, Kelly and all of her schoolmates should have been immediately repatriated to the United States.  Kelly would then have been a high-school student somewhere here in the States.
	"They were all children, all female, and all civilians.  We should never make war on women and children.  We did.  Making war on Kelly caused her to make war on us.  She first stopped our offensive in the West.  She then effected the Allied breakthrough.  Finally, she caused the collapse of the Soviet government and its replacement with the Republic we have now.  One person did this: Kelly Jackson.
	"I cannot tell you the regard in which she is held in my country today.  To say she is revered as a living saint would not be too strong.  Jane, you asked how she developed the skills.  I think now you know."
	"Kristin Murray, General.  How do you get respect from men and get them to leave you alone?"
	"Kristin," Kelly replied, stepping back to the microphone, "I can't answer your question about getting respect.  I have just tried to do my job.  In some way, though, it relates to the second part of your question: getting men to leave you alone.  In my case I saw my job as trying to keep Mike Callahan alive long enough to get him to the altar.  Then, if I was extremely lucky, I might become pregnant and carry his child inside me.  You see, I was afraid that because of the abuse I suffered I could never have children.  God was merciful.  I can.  I'm expecting our first child now.  Incidentally, all the women you see up here with me are also expecting."
	There was a sound of disbelief from the young women when she said it.  She continued, "I'm sorry!  I'm wrong.  Cathy gave birth to a beautiful boy last month.  At any rate, that was my job.  To do that job I felt I had to be as good as I could be to help him stay alive."  She smiled warmly and said, "The very last thing in the world I want is for Mike Callahan to leave me alone!"  She turned to her friends and said, "Do any of you want to try the question?"
	"I will," Cathy said, coming up to the microphone.  "I'm the senior graduate of the Academy.  I've been out for ten years.  Let me just say I've never been as happy as I've been over the last year or so.  That was after I met Kelly.  I think you asked about men taking advantage of you?  In my case it was a woman: Kelly.  The first time I met her, I was a captain and she was wearing the uniform of a major.  I accused her of being a call girl that Sam had invited in to his headquarters.  Do you know what she said?  She said very softly, 'Sam said I was the first.'
	"We entered Sam's office and he asked me to put in papers promoting her to lieutenant colonel and awarding her the Legion of Merit.  Then I find out she already has the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart.  I wanted to die!  Kelly picked me up off the floor, buys me a drink, and talks to me like an older sister.  The fact that I'm thirteen years older than she is has nothing to do with anything.  She asks me what in hell I'm waiting for with Sam?  Do I really want some other girl to take him?
	"To make a long story very short, she was the maid of honor at our wedding, and the godmother to our son.  Our baby's name is Samuel Kelly Adams.  To avoid confusion, we're going to call him Kelly.  I think that says it all with respect to what we think of her.  Respect?  Kelly isn't just respected — she certainly is respected, by the way — she's loved!
	"Kristin, I didn't really answer your question.  How do you get respect?  I guess I would have to say the same way Kelly did.  She earned it.  The fascinating thing to me about Kelly is she is the most feminine woman I have ever known.  She doesn't ever compete with men.  She outperforms them, of course.  She's killed a whole bunch.  But compete?  No.  Do you know what she says?  She says she'll take help from wherever she can get it.
	"I guess that's all I have to say, except don't worry about being a woman.  That's a biological fact of life with all of us.  Kelly never has and is now a three-star general."
	The discussion continued for the next two hours.  By the time the session broke up, the new officers appeared to feel better about the Army, their own prospects, and most particularly about themselves.
*  *  *
	Kelly spent the rest of the summer with the Joint Committee.  At the end of their deliberations, the Committee came out with a unanimous report, fully endorsed by the administration, restructuring forces in the manner Kelly had initially outlined.
	Early in the Fall, Kelly was invited to attend the Senate session to vote on the legislation to effect the restructuring.  The House had already passed it.  She sat in the gallery with Mike holding her hand and watched it pass overwhelmingly.  Mike took her in his arms and kissed her.  As he did, he could feel the baby kick inside her belly.
Chapter 33
	It was a year later.  Kelly had delivered a beautiful baby boy who was now over six months old, Mikhail Adams Callahan, called Mickey.  Although the plan for Camille to be his wet nurse hadn't worked out, the girl slept in the nursery with the baby and normally had taken care of his two o'clock feeding.  Kelly thought about her pregnancy with some amusement.  She remembered telling everyone she would be a mess — a happy mess, but a mess.  She never was.  In fact on the day of her delivery, she appeared to be just starting to show her pregnancy.  The delivery itself was nearly as fast and easy as Cathy's had been.
	She smiled to herself.  She had just learned that Cathy was expecting another child and the Adams were ecstatic about the prospect.  Kelly was on her way to her office because Camille was wheeling Mickey in his baby carriage over to see his mother.  Kelly thought about her son.  He looked exactly as Selma had predicted: He had dark hair and blue eyes.  She thought of him as a baby Mike and adored him.
	She opened the door to her outer office and encountered resistance.  The door would not fully open.  After pushing her way in, she found Rita lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of her own blood.  Quickly, Kelly grabbed the phone and called the emergency number.  She called for security and an ambulance on the double.  Then she grabbed the first-aid kit and knelt beside the girl.  As she did, she saw Rita's eyes flutter open.
	She heard her say in a hoarse voice, "They got him, Kel!  They got Mickey..."  The girl fainted again.
	Kelly straightened the girl out on the floor and saw she had been shot twice.  One bullet hole was dangerously close to the heart while the other was in her shoulder.  As she applied compresses to try to stop the bleeding, Pete Martin ran in.  He stopped and dropped to his knees.  He put his finger on her pulse.  It was there, but weak and thready.  They heard the sound of approaching sirens and moments later hurrying footsteps as the EMTs — emergency medical technicians — arrived.  As soon as they took over, Kelly went into her office.  There was Mickey's baby carriage sitting beside her desk, empty.  Camille was gone, too.
	Kelly picked up the phone and called Security.  She said, "This is General Jackson.  There has been a shooting and a kidnaping.  Seal the post immediately.  No one is to enter or leave without full identification.  I mean no one, particularly any civilian vehicles that might be on the post for routine deliveries.  I want all posts on the alert and I want the full security unit on duty with loaded weapons.  Whoever did it has shot one person already.  Since no one heard it, I assume they're using silenced weapons.  Consider them to be extremely dangerous."
	Kelly depressed the hook on her phone and then called her home.  Selma answered it.  She told the woman that Cami and Mickey had been kidnaped.  Selma was silent for a moment.  Then she said in the strange tone of voice she used when she was seeing things in her mind, "Look near the commissary... a dark panel truck."  The timbre of her voice changed back to normal.  She said, "Horace will be right over."  Kelly hung up.
	As she was changing into her BDUs, Pete came in the office and found Kelly only wearing her bikini pants.  She smiled, but it was a grim smile.  As he watched she slipped on her combat jacket, then put on her Kevlar vest and tightened the straps to fit her body.  She then checked the load in her pistol.  Finally, she slipped four more loaded clips in her jacket pocket.
	She looked at Pete and asked, "How's Rita?  It looked to me like she lost a lot of blood.  And I didn't like the looks of that chest wound at all!"
	Pete looked grim.  He said that the EMTs thought she would make it.  He had his dress uniform on and asked her to wait for him to change.  She shook her head and said, "Pete, first, call Security and tell them to look for a dark panel truck that's over near the commissary.  Then I want you to stay here and watch things until Kevin gets back.  When he does, go to Security headquarters and coordinate this operation from there.  This place should be crawling with special units any minute now.  Ask Kevin to call Mike and Sam Adams.  Meanwhile, get on the phone and call the FBI.  I want to find out the status of my dear friend, Clarence Klein.  They're supposed to have him under surveillance.  And ask about the Hostage Rescue Unit!"
	She got into her staff car, drove close to the commissary and parked.  When she got out, she worked the slide on her automatic to jack a round into the chamber, and started walking towards the commissary.  As Selma had predicted, there was a dark panel truck parked beside it with its motor running.  To reach it she had to pass by the corner of an adjacent building.  As she got close to the corner Kelly saw movement in the shadows beside the building.  Thinking of gunmen waiting for her, she moved away from the side of the building to be about thirty feet away from it as she reached the corner.  She made sure her shoes made noise on the pavement as she walked so they would know she was coming.
	When she reached the corner, two men armed with automatic weapons moved out and opened fire.  One round hit her vest, and Kelly rolled with it, bringing her weapon up at the same time.  It coughed twice and red holes appeared in the foreheads of the two gunmen.  They folded and collapsed.  Just then the panel truck started to move, headed toward the gate.
	Kelly ran back to her car and grabbed the radio microphone.  She identified herself and said, "Kidnappers are located.  They are in a dark blue panel truck, Virginia license 495-BKG, now pulling away from the commissary moving towards Gate 4.  Do not let it through the gate.  Occupants are armed and extremely dangerous.  Shots have been fired and two of them are down."  She started her car and went after the truck.
	As she came up behind it near the gate, the truck suddenly stopped.  Kelly slammed on her brakes and dove out the door just as her windshield was shattered into thousands of tiny pieces by automatic-weapons fire from gunners in the back of the truck.  As soon as the truck stopped, they had opened the back doors and started shooting.  From her position flat on the ground partially shielded by the door of her car, she returned fire.  Two gunmen fell from the truck with bullet holes in their heads.
	She heard firing from security forces at the gate responding to automatic weapons fired from the front of the truck.  She stood up and started to move slowly toward the back of the truck.  When she was still about thirty feet away, Clarence Klein emerged from the back of it.  He was holding Camille in front of him, while she held the baby carefully in her arms.  Klein had his left arm around her neck and was using her tall body as a shield.  Then he fired at Kelly.  She felt the bullet glance off the left side of her vest and ricochet into her left arm.  Kelly remembered the terrorist firing course she had shot at Quantico and more recently, at Fort Campbell.  Klein was lining up another shot when she put a bullet between his eyes.  As at the two firing ranges, the bullet hole made a third eye, exactly centered between the other two.
	Cami calmly stepped away as Klein's body collapsed behind her.  At the same time, she was still cradling Mickey, and trying to comfort him.  The baby was screaming because of the loud noises from the gunfire.  Kelly suddenly realized she was bleeding badly from her wounded arm.  When one of the security guards came running up, she told him to get a first-aid team, on the double.  She went to Cami who now had the baby calmed down.  She whispered to him, and he reacted immediately to his mother's voice with a big smile, and he waved his arm.  Kelly slipped her automatic back in her holster and took the baby in her good right arm and kissed him while she held him tight.
	She smiled wanly at Camille and said, "Cami, I guess you had better take him.  I don't want to get blood all over him."  Just then an EMT came running up.  He put a combat dressing on her arm, which was all she would allow him to do at the time.  She said she would turn herself in at the hospital later.  Just then they heard a short burst of automatic-weapons fire followed by the loud barking of a .45 automatic.  More security people were coming up.  One took Camille into his vehicle and headed back for Kelly's office.  Cami winked at Kelly as she left.
	Kelly went with the security troops back towards the commissary.  When they arrived they found Horace Franklin standing over two men.  The .45 automatic in his huge hand looked like a toy but its muzzle was still smoking.
	He looked up as she came up to him.  She said, "I guess it's all over.  Those two make nine, I think.  It was a blue panel truck.  They're all dead, Horace.  Cami and Mickey are fine.  They're at my office now.  Can you give me a lift?"
	Franklin said nothing at the sight of the bandage on Kelly's arm, now turning red from blood.  He drove back to her office and she went in.  Camille had put Mickey back in his baby carriage, and he was now sound asleep.  Kelly took the girl in her arms, kissed her, and said, "Thanks, Cami.  I can't thank you enough for keeping my baby safe.  I apologize for that shot I had to take."
	Camille smiled and Kelly realized the girl was truly relaxed.  She said, "Kel, that was death by suicide.  If I seem relaxed, it's because I am.  Now, damn it, I will not have you standing there bleeding all over the carpet.  Come here and sit down."
	Kelly sat down and Cami went for the large first-aid kit.  She took scissors, cut off the combat bandage and helped Kelly off with her jacket and then her vest.  Kelly was sitting at the desk bare to the waist when Pete came running in.  Kelly's back was to him, and she swung her head around to see him.  She said, "Wait a moment, will you Pete?  I'm not decent.  Cami will have me patched up in a minute."
	Cami carefully cleaned the wound noticing that Kelly didn't move a muscle in spite of the terrible pain she had to be suffering.  The only sign of pain at all was sweat breaking out on her forehead.  She put an antibiotic on it and bandaged it up.  Then she got Kelly's uniform blouse and helped her slip it on.  Kelly looked up and Cami carefully wiped off her face with a clean cloth to get rid of the perspiration.  Kelly was amused to see she was wearing her dress uniform blouse with combat trousers.  Finally, she put her left arm in a sling Cami made for her.
	The doctor looked at her sternly and said, "As soon as you finish with Pete, you're going to get your trim little ass over to the hospital.  I'm going to call them and get a plastic surgeon in to look over that arm.  Obviously the bullet hit your vest and ricocheted into it."  She went to the phone and placed the call.
	Pete came in and saluted.  Behind him were several other people including the commander of a special hostage rescue team based at Quantico which had just been helicoptered in.  Kelly asked them all to sit down.
	The commander of the special unit was an FBI agent named Clint Broderick.  He said, "General, what happened?  And what happened to you?"
	Kelly said, "I really don't know the whole story.  When Dr. Franklin gets off the phone, maybe she can tell us."  Just then Camille hung up the phone and came over.  Kelly made the introductions.
	Broderick looked confused.  He said, "I think I missed something.  I believe General Jackson referred to you as 'Doctor' but I also heard you were with the baby.  I don't understand."  
	Cami smiled at him and said, "You heard it correctly, Major.  I am a doctor and I'm also Mickey's nurse."  She smiled warmly and said, "I couldn't love that baby more if he were my own!  He's the sweetest baby in the whole world.
	"Well, we were here waiting for Kelly when I hear two pops — a silenced pistol — and a bunch of men led by Klein burst in as I'm reaching for the phone.  I picked up the baby and they took us out of here.  I don't know what their objective was, but I think it was to kill Kelly and then kill us.  Klein hated her.  The fool!  He didn't know who he was up against.  He was a complete egotist and thought Kelly was just a stupid girl."  Cami smiled and said, "She's a girl.  But that's about all he got right.  Who were the others?"
	Broderick shook his head.  "I don't know.  I suspect the FBI or the CIA will be able to tell us.  I do know they're all dead."  He turned to Kelly and did a double take.  "You... You're Kelly Jackson!"
	"Guilty," she replied with a smile.
	Broderick shook his head with amusement showing on his face.  He said, "Talk about coals to Newcastle.  This takes the cake!  You're the one who holds what's considered to be the unbeatable record shooting the terrorist course.  In fact, there's that one target...  Of course!  The terrorist with his arm around a woman holding a baby.  I don't know how many times the woman on the target or the baby or both have been shot.  We heard how you always put the bullet right between the guy's eyes.  It was exactly the way you did it today.  Congratulations, General!"
	While Broderick had been talking, Cami had been watching Kelly.  When he finished, she said, "Mr. Broderick, would you please take Kelly to the hospital, right now?  Because if you don't, I'm going to make her very mad by calling an ambulance to come and pick her up.  And you saw what can happen when you make Kelly Jackson mad!"
	Kelly reached out her arm and Cami came to her.  Kelly hugged her with her good right arm and kissed her.  She whispered, "Cami, there are no words!  Thank you for saving my baby!"  The girl winked, but Kelly noticed her eyes were moist.
	She got up and Broderick steadied her.  He helped her out to his waiting jeep and drove her to the base hospital.  There Kelly was taken to an emergency room, undressed, and wheeled into surgery where a plastic surgeon was waiting.  There was no pain this time as they used a local anaesthetic to deaden the arm while they worked.  The surgeon commented on what a thorough job had been done in cleaning the wound.  He studied it carefully through magnifying glasses and then carefully stitched it up.  They bandaged it and took her to her room.
	Kelly found that Rita was in the room next door — or would be when they released her from the intensive-care unit.  A thoracic surgeon had operated successfully to remove the bullet in her chest.  By comparison, the bullet in her shoulder had been a cinch to remove.
	A week later Kelly returned to the hospital to visit Rita.  The door to her room was closed and she knocked.  She smiled as she heard the girl — obviously in the throes of passion — say, "Just a minute!"  A few minutes later she was invited to come in.
	It was no surprise to see Pete disappearing into the bathroom as she entered.  She went to the bedside and kissed the girl.  When Pete emerged sheepishly from the bathroom, Kelly went into it.  She got a wash cloth, wet it with cold water and returned to the bedside to wipe off the sweat from the girl's face and neck.  Rita was lying back on the pillow with her breathing only now returning to normal.
	Kelly frowned at Pete and said, "Why don't you go and get a cup of coffee or something?"
	Martin grinned, winked at Rita, and quickly left the room.  Kelly said, "Was it good?"
	Rita slowly shook her head and said, "Kelly, it was better than I ever dreamed.  I just wanted to feel Pete inside me and give him some release.  I decided I could be on top and just feel him inside me.  It didn't work out that way!  I think I took about two strokes and I came!  Poor Pete had to hold me by my right shoulder to keep me from falling over.  It just happened over and over until we both exploded."
	The girl grinned and said, "My chest isn't too great, and my shoulder hurts like hell, but my cunt is sure in fine shape!"
	She looked at Kelly and her voice turned serious.  "Kelly, could you do me a favor?  Could you teach me how to shoot?"  The girl smiled and said, "Remember me, Rita Nelson, girl pacifist?  That Rita Nelson was killed the other day.  This Rita Nelson decided she has no interest in being the duck in someone's shooting gallery.  Will you, Kel?"
	Kelly assured her she would.
	Pete came back in, followed by Mike.  They talked about the recent developments regarding the kidnaping.  In addition to Klein, Carson had been with the group at the post and had also been killed.  The rest were a group of known terrorists who had come over from Ireland.
	Kelly said, "Rita, I think you're out of the woods.  The three guys who had the greatest reason not to like you are now all dead.  And think of the benefit to the taxpayers!  We won't have to provide room and board to those traitors for the rest of their natural lives."
Epilogue
	It was six years after the founding of the Russian Republics, and five years since the adoption of its new constitution.  Kelly was invited to be the honored guest at the fifth-anniversary commemoration of its adoption.  She was also the official United States representative to the affair, traveling as President Collins' personal envoy.  
	Kelly was still on active duty in the Army, and now wearing the four stars of a general.  As a result of the Cross of Liberty law she was the most senior officer in the United States Armed Forces.  Mike, only thirty-two, was a lieutenant general.  Kelly was still the President of the War College and continued to teach.  However, she periodically undertook assignments as the Army's Inspector General.  Sam Adams, recently elevated to the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had commented that Kelly's value in the rôle was utterly incalculable.
	There was now a large and still-growing network of "Kelly's people" throughout the Army.  These were people at all levels of the service who recognized in Kelly a person who did what was right.  Because of information they fed to her, she had an uncanny knack for descending unannounced on a base or command and unerringly going straight to a problem area.  The message traveled quickly throughout the service:  If you have a problem, fix it quick or Kelly Callahan will be down to do it for you.
	There were three Callahan children now, and all were going on the trip with their parents.  Mickey — Mikhail — was five, Kathleen, a golden blonde with blue eyes in the image of her mother, was three, and Billy, another boy with blue eyes and dark hair, was one.  The Franklin and Murphy families accompanied them on the trip.  When word of the European trip was released, invitations for her to visit poured in.  As a result, they were scheduled to visit Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany before going to on Moscow.
	The children, particularly Mickey and his best friend, Sergei Murphy, were thrilled because they were traveling in one of the Presidential jets, a VC-135, with the 'V' designating VIP configuration.  In addition to the Franklins there were the Murphys now back for another tour as aides to Kelly and Mike.  Finally, they were delighted to be accompanied by Chris and Bill Carlson, representing the press.
	In Great Britain, they were the guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace.  The weather was magnificent in June this year.  Kelly was in a state of near-shock as she and Mike were escorted around to see the sights of England by the Prince and Princess of Wales.  Often, Kelly was in uniform wearing her Victoria Cross.
	In France, there was a parade down the Champs Élysée in her honor.  The children were excited as the parade featured horse guards.  The children had loved the Horse Guards and the Household Cavalry in London, as well.
	In Italy, they visited the Pope.  The visit was in the papal apartment along with the children whom they had been requested to bring.  They also were accompanied by the Murphys with their two children.  Tears of joy were in Kelly's eyes as she watched Mickey holding his little sister's hand while the two of them looked up at the Pope with eyes as big as saucers.  The Pope spoke to them in beautiful English, and then shifted to Russian.  He laughed delightedly as Mickey replied in the same language.  Katrina had been tutoring him and his sister for their trip.
	The Pope asked Mickey some simple Catechism questions and was very pleased with his responses.  He asked Kathleen about her prayers and held her in his arms as she said them.  There was great warmth in his eyes as he kissed them both and then kissed the baby.  He held out his hands and pronounced a blessing on them.  Kelly was so proud of her small children as they knelt for the Pope's blessing.
	The scene was repeated with Kevin and Katrina's children.  Mickey and Sergei were best friends.  Sergei was as blonde as Mickey was dark, but they were both sturdy little boys.  Sergei's Russian was better than Mickey's.  He even knew a few sentences in Polish that he used with the Pope.  The Pope hugged him and tousled his silver-blonde hair.  Tanya, their daughter, was younger than Kathleen by about six months.  She was dark haired and blue eyed, and a beauty.  Finally, the children were led away by a couple of young nuns.
	The Pope looked at Kelly and Katrina and said, "Thank you!  You have given me great joy today by bringing your children in to see me.  I cannot tell you how pleased I am that God has blessed your marriage with such beautiful children.  You are truly fortunate!  I would like to offer a blessing to you all.  Kelly, one of the beatitudes is, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see God'.  Kelly, you are the greatest peacemaker of our time.  I will tell you now, when you were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three years ago it was a unanimous choice.  You are truly blessed."
	The four went to their knees and the Pope bestowed a special blessing on them.  When they left, they were both awed and feeling very good.  Even the children were subdued for most of the day.
*  *  *
	It was the first time Kelly had visited Germany since the war.  When the plane landed in Berlin, newly restored as reunited Germany's capital city, she was greeted by the President of the Federal Republic.  He reminded her that she had the keys to the country.  Their visit was a string of superlatives.  They were allowed to pay for nothing.  The high point of the visit was a trip to the old Berlin Wall, a section of which was being maintained as a memorial to all Germans who had lost their lives trying to escape from the East when the country was divided.
	They traveled to Langenhagen and visited the school.  Kelly still had a chill as she approached the prison-like structure.  They were traveling guarded by a German Secret Service detachment as if she were a head of state.  The young major in charge of the unit was dazzled by her beautiful German.
	When she asked about it, he laughed and said, "General, the joke in Germany is that you could win election to the Bundestag from any district at all.  It would be the only time in history one person would be elected from every single one.  If you just said the word, you would be given the seat... whichever one you want."
	They stayed in a castle overnight.  The next day she and Mike retraced their route from the fateful night six years before.  With Major Schmidt driving, they found the spot where Mike had parked the car.  The woods was still there.  After walking across the field that had been mined they found the spot in the woods where Mike's camp had been.  They couldn't tell if they were seeing or imagining the spot where the stores had been fired when they left.
	Mike took his wife in his arms and kissed her as they stood in the woods.  He said softly, "Do you remember, darling?"
	"Of course!  How could I ever forget."  Her eyes glowed with love as she said, "A girl never forgets the first time she's loved.  Mike, I love you so much!"
	The major discretely found something of interest in the trees to watch.  He was astounded at what he was seeing.  He knew, of course, the full story of Kelly Jackson.  Yet it was one thing to know she was young and another to see and experience her youth and beauty.  He could not believe that this girl with her perfect slim figure could possibly be the mother of three young children.  They walked on through the woods.  The major used his radio to have the car follow them along the road while they walked the distance to the point where she and Mike had watched the bridge over the River Weser.
	The major had asked about walking the distance and Kelly just smiled.  "Major, the first time we did this, Mike and I were both carrying sixty-pound packs.  I had just removed a bullet from his leg.  Today, it's just a stroll in the park."
	Finally, they reached their former vantage point and were amazed at how little the area had changed from what they remembered.  They made their way to the cut in the embankment where Kelly had first ambushed the fuel truck and tanks and later the ammunition truck.  Remarkably, there were still marks where the explosion had blown out the original embankment.
	Finally, they went down to the rebuilt bridge — the Kelly Jackson Bridge now.  There they were met by the Murphys, the Franklins, and the children.  One significant change had been made in the scene.  There was now a large parking area that had been bulldozed out by the side of the road at the point where the bridge and road met.  When Kelly was immediately recognized, Schmidt was concerned, but Kelly said it was all right.  Mike gave the others a tour of the bridge while Kelly talked with the visitors who crowded around her.  She spent the next hour signing autographs, usually on a pamphlet written in five languages and produced by the Government describing the events of six years earlier.
*  *  * 
	There was a throng of people at the Berlin airport to cheer them as they left for Moscow.  When they arrived, Kelly was glad there had been such a throng in Berlin to see them off, because it prepared her in some very small way for the welcome she received in Russia.  When the plane taxied to a stop, mobile stairs were wheeled into position and the door was opened.
	As she stepped out of the plane, she was enveloped in a bear hug by Mikhail Solov.  Their reunion was warm and tearful.  Finally, he led her to a speakers platform.  It was only then that Kelly realized the crowd at the airport to greet her numbered in the tens of thousands.  The day had been declared a national holiday in her honor.  She and Mike were dazed by the reception.  She noticed that the only people who took it calmly appeared to be the Franklins.  When she asked, Cami said it was only her due.
	The principal event of her visit, the dedication of the statue and the formal renaming of the square, was scheduled for the next day.  Red Square was being renamed Kelly Jackson Square.  There was a huge speaker's stand erected behind the sculpture.  All they could see was an enormous black granite base.  It was engraved, but the engraving was on the side facing the crowd rather than the speakers' platform.  The crowd present filled the gigantic square and it was estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands.
	Solov addressed the crowd.  "Fellow Russians!  We are here today to commemorate five years of liberty under our constitution.  And we are also here to honor the person who made it possible.
	"First, a brief report:  In the last five years our economy has soared.  For the first time our grain output exceeds the levels of 1914 — levels never reached since.  This year, we expect grain production to be 50 percent higher than the old record.  I could go on and on.  By every measure, we are doing better as a people than ever before in our history.  That's nice, but not as nice as the most important thing — our liberty!  For the first time, a Russian is secure in his home.  He may say what he wants, to whom he wants, without fear.  The courts dispense justice fairly.  We've come a long way.
	"We owe it all to the girl standing at my side.  She's a mother now.  You see her three children up here with her.  She is only twenty-five years old — and only reached that age last month.  Yet to this young woman we owe everything.  I said this before but I must say it again.  It explains the statue.  The statue is of Kelly Jackson, of course.  It shows her nude.  It shows a truly magnificent body, which, I hasten to add is hers done 50 percent larger than life-size.  It also shows something else.  It shows her holding on to a bar over her head.  It shows cuts all over her body — cuts made by whips.  Whips wielded by the KGB.
	"Why do we do such a thing?  Why do we remind ourselves of our own brutality?  Because in a way, we owe our liberty to that very brutality.  Had we done what we should have done — done what is required under the Geneva Convention — we would have repatriated Kelly and her schoolmates within days of the outbreak of the war.  Kelly would have been at home in school while the fighting raged in Europe.
	"The KGB didn't do that.  They enslaved Kelly and her friends.  They tortured her mercilessly — day after day after day.  It's impossible to count all the scars on this beautiful woman's body.  I will tell you, though, that every cut you see on the sculpture is actually on her body.  There are dozens and dozens more that are not shown.
	"Eventually Kelly escaped from that prison horror and that was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.  She stopped our advance, she initiated the Allied breakthrough, but most of all she saved the Rodina!  In spite of her suffering, all she would say was we — the Russian people — suffered far more than she did.  We earned our liberty and she would try to ensure we received it.  I'm proud to say we did."
	He turned to Kelly and said, "Kelly, would you please pull the rope?"
	Kelly was scared.  She pulled the rope which controlled a crane.  The cover of the sculpture was whisked up and away.  Kelly gasped.  She looked up and saw her own face twisted in agony.  She could see her breasts and thighs showing whip cuts.  She was speechless.
	Suddenly, she heard Mickey scream, "Mommy, it's you!"  He started to cry seeing his mother's face in agony.
	She picked him up and held him close.  "Darling, Mommy's fine.  Look at me, dear.  Don't I look all right?"
	The little boy looked at his mother's face as a smile took the place of his tears, said, "Mommy, you're the prettiest mommy in the whole world!"
	Kelly could hear the explosion of sound as the Russian people cheered her to the tops of their lungs.  She stepped up to the microphone and gave her speech in Russian.  It was very brief and very pointed.  She thanked the people for the great honor and wished them every success in the continued development of their nation.
	Finally she said, "Thank you all.  There are almost never revolutions without some blood being shed.  The Russian people have bled rivers of blood.  I have shed a few drops.  Millions of your people lost their lives.  I temporarily sacrificed my freedom and suffered some small pain.
	"You see my young children up here on the platform with me.  My oldest is named Mikhail in honor of your president.  I think he's a strong and sturdy little boy, don't you?"  The crowd cheered again, even louder than before.  She continued, "I only hope and pray that the Russian people may achieve the happiness for which you have yearned so long and suffered so much.  As you can see, I suffered no permanent ill effects — nor, do I believe, did you, the Russian people."
*  *  *
	The last major event was a grand ball given in her honor.  Kelly had brought a gown with her to wear for the occasion, but two days before the ball Katrina came to see her.  Standing behind her at the door was the small woman — the dressmaker — who Kelly remembered from her first visit.
	Katrina said, "Kel, this woman would like to see you, if you could spare a few minutes?"
	The woman came in and smiled shyly at Kelly.  Being much smaller, she was looking up at her.  The first thing she did was to take Kelly's hand and kiss it.  The girl was so moved she took the woman into her arms and hugged her.  The woman spoke to her softly in Russian.  She thanked her for the dressmaking supplies she had received and then stood back, looking up to Kelly's face.
	"General," she said plaintively, "I have a great favor to ask.  Would you do me the honor of trying on a gown I have made for you?"
	Kelly was taken aback, but agreed at once.  The woman clapped her hands and a young woman — obviously an assistant — came in carrying a gown on a hangar.  They went into Kelly's bedroom and she stripped off her clothes.  The woman looked at her and shook her head.  She smiled and said, "Such beauty!  I cannot believe that your body has carried three children.  You are unchanged from five years ago!"
	The gown was produced.  The woman said it was made from the same form she had used to produce the dress she had made for Kelly to wear at Katrina's wedding.  Again, the only garment Kelly was wearing was her bikini briefs.  She put the gown over her head and the woman smoothed it in place.  Standing back, she slowly shook her head and looked at Katrina.
	Katrina said softly, "Kelly, it is the most exquisite gown on the most exquisite girl I have ever seen.  Please take a look?"
	Kelly looked at herself in the mirror.  The gown was principally blue in a lighter shade but the same hue as her eyes.  She turned and looked at herself in amazement.  The gown fit perfectly and felt perfect on.  Yet it was low-cut on the swell of her bosom and then fell away in a deep cut in the back to a point well below her waist.  In spite of the engineering to make it stay in position, it was comfortable to wear.
	The woman looked at her and said, "Could you consider wearing it to the ball?  It is a gift."  Kelly immediately agreed.
	The night of the ball, she wore her new gown with the Russian Gold Cross of the Republic.  Mike looked handsome in his dress whites.  Before they left for the ball, they went in to say good night to their children.  Mickey and Kathleen looked at their mother and their eyes widened.  Kathleen said, "Mommy, you look so beautiful!"
	The small child was right.  Kelly was a dream in blue and gold.  Mike ran his fingertips up and down her bare back and said, "Darling, I love the dress.  It gives me access to so much of you all the time."  She grinned up at him and kissed him softly.  The children smiled happily at their parents.
*  *  *
	The next morning Kelly felt her breast squeezed lightly.  She opened her eyes and looked at him.  He said, "Darling, are you happy?"
	Kelly nuzzled him and turned her head to give him a soft kiss that rapidly became increasingly passionate.  She said, "Mike, I couldn't be more happy.  But what about you?"  She ran her fingers over his upper body.
	Mike was in perfect physical condition.  He took her in his arms and held her tight and she could feel his strong arms crushing her body to his.  Then she felt him slowly enter her.  Kelly decided she really did have it all.