The Charm School

going?”
    “Home.”
    “No, you’re not.” Alevy swung his rifle around and aimed it at Hollis. “You know too much now.”
    “That’s why I’m going home.” Hollis lifted himself into the window. “Let’s go.”
    Alevy fired a burst of rounds into the wall above Hollis’ head. “Stop!”
    “No. I’m doing it my way, Seth. Not yours.”
    “You
owe
me, Sam. For saving Lisa’s life. Cover me.”
    “I don’t owe you a thing. Hey, Seth.”
    “What?”
    “You cover
me
. Okay?”
    Alevy looked at him across that dark cabin. “Sure. I always have.”
    Hollis nodded. “Thanks, Seth.”
    “Yeah. You too. I’ll be right behind you, Sam. See you on board.”
    Hollis rolled out the window and lay still on the ground. Suddenly, he heard a shout from a chorus of voices. “OOO-RAH!” The air was split by the deafening round of AK-47’s on full automatic, coming closer as the Border Guards began their final charge across the open space toward the cabin.
    Hollis ran toward the clearing, keeping the solid cabin at his back. Stray rounds streaked by to his right and left, but he ignored them, focusing only on the field ahead. He reached the grass and dove into a prone position.
    Behind him he could hear footsteps beating on the soft earth. He watched Alevy coming toward him, then Alevy seemed to stumble and fall, disappearing in the tall grass. Suddenly, the undulating grass became the swells of Haiphong harbor, and the figure trying to rise up out of it was not Alevy, but Ernie Simms. A voice called out, “Sam! Sam!” And Hollis could not in truth tell if it were Alevy’s voice or Simms’ voice echoing down through the years. Hollis stood and ran toward the voice.
    He reached Alevy crawling through the yellow grass, and Alevy clutched at Hollis’ leg, then rolled to his side as Hollis dropped low beside him. “Sam…”
    Hollis tore open Alevy’s tunic and saw the dark stain spreading over his snow white shirt. “Damn it, Seth.”
    Alevy rolled over on his back, and Hollis pressed the heel of his hand against the sucking chest wound. “Lay still, Seth. Shallow breathing.” But already Hollis saw the frothy blood bubbling from Alevy’s lips. “Easy. It’s all right.”
    Alevy’s eyes seemed clouded, and his breathing was coming in gasps, but he spoke distinctly, “Go… go… they’re waiting… don’t let them wait… .”
    Hollis hesitated just a split second, then said, “Not this time. We sink or swim together, buddy.” He grabbed Alevy under the arms and began to pull him up but felt Alevy’s body stiffen, then go limp. He looked into Seth Alevy’s dead open eyes and let him slip easily back onto the damp Russian earth. Hollis drew a deep breath, then said softly, “I think I’m going to miss you, my friend.” And when the KGB found his body, Hollis thought, they would know that it was Seth Alevy who had beaten them, and that there would be no tit for tat this time.
    Hollis rose slowly to one knee and peered out into the dark clearing. The helicopter was gone, and he looked up and saw it rising vertically into the air. He looked at his watch and saw it was 3:48. They had waited, but not long enough. He supposed that O’Shea, Brennan, and Mills had seen to it that Lisa did not leave the helicopter. Still, he thought, she might be out there in the dark field. He stood, cradled his rifle, and began moving toward the center of the field where the helicopter had been.
    He heard a noise behind him and glanced back at the radio cabin. It was burning now, and by the light of the fire he saw the figures of KGB Border Guards moving into the clearing, coming toward him.
    Hollis turned back toward the field and continued walking, though with each step he was more certain that she wasn’t out there. He was glad she wasn’t, but he would have liked to see her once more just the same.
    He reached the place where the helicopter had been and stood in the flattened grass. He looked up but could no longer see the aircraft in the dark sky.
    Hollis heard a noise, and he looked out toward the opposite tree line. He could make out another line of men moving in his direction. The searchlights on the closest watchtowers were turned inward now, and two of them were sweeping the field. One of them caught him in its beam.
    From the direction of the cabin, a voice called out in Russian, “Surrender. You are surrounded. Put your hands up.”
    Hollis dropped to one knee and fired back toward the cabin,