Sergeant Ferrell

           "Ifacatcancatchmice,"aChineseemperoroncesaid,"it’sagoodcat."

           RitaVrataskiwasaverygoodcat.Shekilledhershareandwasdulyrewarded.I,ontheotherhand,wasamangyalleycatpaddinglistlesslythroughthebattlefield,allreadytobeskinned,gutted,andmadeintoatennisracquet.ThebrassmadesureRitastayedneatlygroomed,buttheydidn’tgivearat’sassabouttherestofusgrunts.

           PThadbeengoingonforthreegruelinghours,andyoucanbedamnsureitincludedsomefuckingisopush-ups.IwassobusytryingtofigureoutwhattodonextthatIwasn’tpayingattentiontothehereandnow.Afterhalfanhour,U.S.SpecialForcesgaveuponwatchingourtorturesandwentbacktothebarracks.IkeptfromstaringatRita,andsheleftalongwiththerest,whichmeantIwasinforthelonghaul.Itwaslikeasoftwareif/thenroutine:IfcheckflagRitajoinsPT=true,thenend.

           Elsecontinueroutine:FuckingIsoPush-Ups

           MaybethiswasproofthatIcouldchangewhathappened.IfIstaredatRita,she’djointhePT,andthey’denditafteranhour.ThebrasshadconvenedthissessionofPTfornogoodreason;theycouldenditforthesame.

           Ifmyguesswereright,mycausewasn’tnecessarilyhopeless.Awindowofopportunitymightpresentitselfintomorrow’sbattle.Theoddsofthathappeningmightbe0.1percent,oreven0.01percent,butifIcouldimprovemycombatskillseventheslightestbit-ifthatwindowweretoopenevenacrack-I’dfindawaytoforceitopenwide.