The First Wave

by James R Benn

  THE REST OF THE ride was silent, except for the sound of wind-driven sand pelting the side of the jeep whenever a big gust kicked up. It peppered my helmet as I squinted to make out the bit of illuminated road in front of me. We stopped once at a crossroads to check the map. Harding clicked on his flashlight, cupping his hands over it to keep the light from leaking out into the darkness surrounding us. He hand-signaled left and killed the light. I spun the wheel and headed down toward the coast to the MTB base. The wind was at our back now, beginning to lessen as the landscape sloped down, away from the rolling brown hills and rock outcroppings inland. It was late evening, the only light coming from a half-moon drifting up from the horizon. The stars were splashed across the sky like diamonds on a jeweler's black velvet cloth in a Washington Street shop. It was beautiful, and I didn't care.

  My head was filled with a jumble of thoughts that wouldn't quit, my heart was pumping like a six-inch hose at a four-alarmer, and my gut ached like I had swallowed a bone. There was just too much going on, too many things changing when I needed them to stay the same. I knew myself well enough to know that I worked best on familiar ground. When I knew where I was, and the people around me. I liked things nice and steady, even though I didn't always let on. I always gave officers, whether they were cops or U.S. Army, a hard time when I could get away with it. Someone with more brains than me might ask why I'd gone into law enforcement in the first place. Sure, it was sort of expected in my family, but I could've done something else. Pumped gas, worked down at the docks, any job that didn't have a guy wearing brass telling me what to do. Truth was, I didn't mind it that much. I liked to smart-mouth back once in a while; it really suited me. Everybody, including me, knew what was expected of them. It was like that in the army, too. Except now. Kaz was close to cracking up, I couldn't trust Harding with my latest suspicion, Diana was who- knows-where, and now Uncle Ike was getting in the way of this investigation, which was my only ticket to finding Diana. Plus, I had no idea how the whole thing hung together. I couldn't make it add up. And I liked things to add up at the end of the day. Maybe that's really why I liked being on the cops. It gave me a chance to set things right. Right, the way they ought to be, but never really were. I looked up at the stars and wondered, not for the first time, why did God in heaven leave things so screwed up down here? My Mom would've whacked me good if she ever heard me say it, but God disappointed me more often than He should.

  I stopped thinking and started watching the road, which was just as difficult. It had narrowed down to one good lane and I could catch a whiff of salt air. Soon I could make out a white gate in the distance, and a small light glowing in a guard shack. I slowed down as Harding pulled a set of folded orders out of his field jacket, shaking the sand loose as he opened them.

  A British Marine, flashlight in one hand, the other resting on the grip of his holstered revolver, stood in front of the gate. Two others stood casually by on either side, holding Lee-Enfield rifles instead of flashlights. Harding showed the Marine the orders, and he read them like it was his great-aunt's last will and testament. He seemed sorry everything was in order and reluctantly had the gate pulled up. Must've been a slow night. I drove down a gravel driveway, tires crunching on the loose stone, as the smell from the sea grew stronger. Salt and diesel fuel were in the air, mixing with woodsmoke and the faint odor of cabbage. The scent of war.

  "Pull in here," Harding said as we came upon a long, narrow two-story building that seemed to be the only intact structure around. The stucco was worn off and the exposed brickwork was crumbling Weather-beaten wooden doors and shutters hung loose on their hinges. Light leaked out from the rooms around blackout curtains as figures went in and out of the main doorway. There were tents every- where else, arranged around other buildings that had long since colllapsed or lost their roofs. I could make out the docks and pier about fifty feet away, clear enough in the faintly reflected moonlight which danced on waves as they lapped the shore. Low, still, dark forms blotted out the light, six of them, high speed Motor Torpedo Boats. Even at rest, they looked like sleek, impatient killers. They bobbed slightly as the waves rolled under them, as if they were uneasy, straining to be let loose. I already knew something about MTBs, more than I wanted to know, or remember.

  I pulled the jeep up in front of the building, killed the engine, set the brake, and let out a long sigh. It just never ended. Things that I thought I would never have to think about came around again and again. They were never gone. It was warmer here right on the coast, but still shivered. I couldn't shake the cold, just like the last time, out the North Sea.

  "Let's go, Boyle," said Harding. He got out and jumped up down a bit, trying to shake the sand out of his clothes and gear, seemed to be about to order me to get a move on, when he came around to my side of the jeep and put a hand on my shoulder.

  "Don't worry. It won't be like before. This is just a short hop down the coast," he said. He patted my shoulder like a coach after a pep talk and bounded up the steps to the door. Jesus H. Christ.

  I did my own sand dance and followed him in.

  We found the exec and gave him my orders. He told me where to find a tent with a spare bunk in which to stash my gear and that we had thirty minutes to grab some chow before the briefing. Of course he was English so it all sounded a lot nicer than that. Unfortunately the food was also English, so after a plate of boiled beef, stewed tomatoes, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, we happily left the field kitchen behind for the briefing tent.

  The sentry standing guard at the tent lifted the canvas flap for us.

  The red band around his cap marking him as a Royal Marine made me think about redcoats and that made me think about how my Uncle Dan would curse me out for consorting with the British. Colors were important to Uncle Dan. Green, of course, was good; orange was bad. I remember Uncle Dan, when I was maybe seven or eight years old, explaining why I must never wear orange. That was the color of the Orangemen, he said, and they were even worse than the English, since they were Irish-born. It wasn't until later that I understood they were Protestant Irish. In my child's heart orange was still the color of the devil. My world was divided up into many colors: black and white, green and orange, khaki and blood red, police blue and every other hue. Uncle Dan was a good Irishman, a great cop, and a loyal American, roughly in that order. I had always looked up to him, but in a different way than I looked up to my father. It wasn't merely because he was my uncle, it was because of who he was: a fighter, a rebel, a man who stood his ground. Now he seemed almost quaint, like an old man telling stories of fairies and the little people. This war made everything else fade into the past, losing value as the hard, grinding realities of combat, death, and destruction sunk in.

  A gale blew up and the sides of the tent flapped, pulling at the rope lines, straining to rise up and blow away. Pieces of paper flew into the air and half a dozen khaki arms rose up to catch them as they floated around inside the tent. About twenty folding chairs were set up with a narrow aisle in the middle. Up front was a bulletin board with a long map of the coastline tacked on it. We grabbed two seats in the back row and watched the last few stragglers come in. They were a seedy bunch, dressed in a variety of wrinkled and faded khaki or corduroy pants with sweaters and field jackets in various combinations. They wore crumpled white naval caps, various styles of beards, and looked more like pirates than officers in His Majesty's Navy. Of course, these were MTB guys, like our PT boat crews in the Pacific. Which according to the newsreels were all part buccaneer, by way of Ivy League schools and yachting clubs. Rich kids who knew how to sail and handle small boats, and who were used to giving orders. Probably no different in England.

  The oldest guy in the room, almost forty, walked over to the map. He pulled out a pipe and lit up, watching the group as he did so. The chatter subsided and he nodded approvingly. "All right, chaps, listen up. For the benefit of our American visitors, I am Captain Charles Mannering, Royal Navy Reserve. Welcome to Motor Torpedo Squadron 18. Glad
to have you along for this little show!"

  Mannering smiled and lifted an eyebrow at his audience. "You Yanks will have to excuse appearances here. I'm sure we look like ragamuffins, but the supply ship with our cold weather gear didn't make it. Rather disappointing. So here we are, still kitted out for a nice cruise to Crete or the sunny Aegean. Not that we mind a change of scenery, right boys?"

  This was greeted by a chorus of boos, jeers, and laughter. Mannering joined in with the rest of them. He had an easy way with his men, and I could tell they liked him. He pointed at one guy in the audience, raised both eyebrows, and the room rippled with laughter again. A private joke, no words needed, the shared bond of silent understanding. Then he casually raised his hand, a smile still playing on his face. The room fell silent. All eyes were on him. He stood quietly, looking at his men. Something seemed to pass between them, something out of my grasp, perhaps born out of long days under the sun, longer cold nights riding out rough water, and the occasional sudden explosion of water, flame, and steel. Pride and sadness, perhaps, I don't know. Maybe this is what it's like after fighting a war for three years, for those left alive, anyway.

  Another little smile and a nod, as if they had all been praying, and the spell was broken.

  "We've been over this before, but one more time, if you please," said Mannering.

  He picked up a pointer and whacked the map. "Bône. This is the objective. Two destroyers will land 6 Commando at the docks and they will deploy to the town. Bône has intact docking facilities and a key railhead which must be taken. It is our job to cover the landing and insure that no vessel-German, Italian, or French-interferes with 6 Commando getting ashore."

  He then went over details of rendezvous points, patrol areas, departure times for each boat, and a lot of other stuff that I didn't pay much attention to. I must've rested my eyes a bit because the next thing I knew Harding nudged me with his elbow.

  "… and that brings us to our American friend," Mannering was saying. "76 Boat will make for the piers at the west end of town, near the warehouses and the French Army supply depot. Lieutenant Dickinson and one crewman will escort him ashore and return to the boat as soon as practical. I'm sure it's all very hush-hush, but good luck to you Yanks. Dismissed."

  With the mention of the name Dickinson I scanned the room. Could it be? Last time I'd seen Harry it was off the coast of Norway. Could he be in North Africa? Harding looked at me, his eyebrows knitted in a question that didn't need asking.

  "Yeah," I said. "That was his name. Harry Dickinson. But it can't be the same guy."

  Everybody was getting up and it was hard to see faces. There were greetings, and a few "Good luck, chaps!" as we stood there. Captain Mannering made his way toward us as the crowd thinned. It was just Mannering, Harding and me, standing amid the folding chairs. The map on the bulletin board was loose in one corner, and flapped furiously in the wind like an ace of spades in the spokes on a kid's bike. The three of us-and Lieutenant Harry Dickinson, Royal Navy Reserve, who stood there, arm extended and shaking, his finger pointed at me like a knife, his rage mounting.

  "You!"

  "Lieutenant Dickinson!" Mannering said, gaping in disbelief. He grabbed Harry's arm.

  "Harry…" I began.

  "Shut up!" Harry yelled, and then turned to Mannering. "Captain, I don't know what this man is doing here, but a few months ago in England he presented forged orders for my boat to take him to Norway. Two good men died getting him there, and when we finally made it back I found out about the phony orders. He could be a German spy!"

  "Harry, you know I'm not a German or a spy."

  "Then why did you forge those orders? I looked for you and I know you were taken into custody when you got back. You should be in prison, if not hanged!"

  Harry was trembling in anger. His face was red and his hands were balled into fists and shaking. I could tell he wasn't in a mood to have things explained to him. Not that I had much of an explanation.

  "Is any of this true?" Mannering said, looking at Harding, not me.

  Harding held up both of his hands in a calming gesture. "It is true that the orders Lieutenant Boyle presented at the Royal Navy base in Scodand were not officially authorized. It is also true that his mission there was of great assistance to the Allied cause, and that General Eisenhower himself met with Lieutenant Boyle upon his return. I can't tell you any more than that."

  "Have you checked their orders out with Headquarters, sir?" Harry asked Mannering. So much for Harding's diplomatic explanation. While not exactly truthful, it would be hard to say it was a lie.

  "I shall, and immediately. Major Harding, would you accompany me to the signals tent?"

  "Sure," said Harding. "Lead the way."

  They left, and Harry followed them out of the tent. I went after him. I don't know what I wanted to say, but I had to let him know what? That it still haunted me? That I felt guilty? Or maybe that if I hadn't come along he would've gone out on a different mission and his whole crew could've bought it? I had gone over all those excuses a million times. What I knew I couldn't say was that I had gotten him involved because of my own personal desire for revenge, my need to catch Daphne's killer at all costs.

  "Harry," I said, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  He stopped. He looked back at me, then ahead to Mannering and Harding as they walked away toward a large tent with antennas and wires all around it. He turned and all I saw was knuckles coming straight at me. Next thing I knew I was on the ground tasting warm blood, seeing stars and looking up at Harry.

  "Touch me again and I'll kill you," he said.

  He kicked up little spits of sand that shot toward me as he walked off into the darkness, nursing his righteous anger, shaking his right hand as if he'd hurt it when I hit it with my jaw. Alone on the ground, spitting blood and feeling the ghosts of dead men at the back of my neck, I couldn't figure out why I should bother to get up. We had been at war less than a year and I had been in the Army less than that, and already I was at the end of my rope. Beat and beaten up. Dead tired and almost dead half a dozen times. I couldn't imagine what it would be like next week, and then next month, if I survived.

  Why couldn't it be like it was for those MTB guys, all one big family, all in this together and all that crap? Instead, I get knocked on my ass by a guy who was once my friend and now hated me. My other good friend was as likely to blow his brains out as sneeze if he got bored, and it looked like my boss was head over heels with my prime suspect.

  I started to laugh. I laughed and laughed, wanting to tell someone how funny it was. I looked around, but there was no one to tell, and that was pretty funny, too, so I laughed some more, pounding the sand with my fist until the laughter was nothing more than a long sigh. I was still alone, the wind blowing sand in my face, listening to the soft, rhythmic sound of waves breaking on the shore. I cupped sand in my hand and let it run out through my fingers, like a kid at the beach. I wanted desperately to see Diana, I longed for her to come and rescue me. I wanted to cry. Maybe I did.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty

  "ORDERS ARE ORDERS, AND yours are as good as they get, straight from Allied Forces HQ" said Harry. "So I'll take you into Bône and wherever you need to go. Don't expect anything else."

  Harry wouldn't even look at me while he spoke. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at the stern as the crew cast off from the dock and he eased his boat out, advancing the throttle slightly, bringing a deep, throaty rumble from the four diesel engines belowdeck. As he turned the wheel I saw he had a bandage wrapped around the knuckles of his right hand. I felt the bruise on my jaw and figured maybe we'd come out even, except for the part where I ended up flat on the ground.

  It was a beautiful morning. The sea was calm and we were heading east, into the sunrise. I tried to cheer up and convince myself that Diana would still be in Bône and that soon I'd find her. I wondered what the day would bring, and fingered the Thompson slung over my shoulder. I was geared up wit
h extra clips, my.45, a couple of pineapples that hung from suspenders, and an M3 combat knife, in case things got personal. My field pack was stuffed with first aid supplies, cigarettes, socks, and K-Rations. Dressed in warm olive-drab wool, with my Parsons jacket tucked in the back of my web belt, and all that gear, plus the helmet on my head, I figured a life preserver wouldn't do me much good if I went in the drink.

  I let the light winds whip around me as the boat gained speed and the shoreline faded into the distance off the starboard side. The air was clean and pure, with the promise of a new day. Salt spray kicked up around us as we sped over the low swells and Harry opened up at full throttle. I breathed in the fresh smell of salt air, and for the first time in a while I felt good, as if things might really turn out okay.

  The rest of the squadron was out in front of us, their wakes splitting the sea like arrows pointing the way. I wondered what that would look like from the air. I gazed up, into the deep blue sky, wishing for some cloudy weather to ruin this crystal clear day. Just enough to keep the Luftwaffe from spotting us. Everyone else looked up too, every chance they had. We were running hard now, the only sound besides the engines was a rhythmic thump… thump as we sped over the low rolling swells. Behind the bridge were two turrets with twin mounted.50 caliber machine guns. They added a soft mechanical whine as the sailors manning them traversed the skies, watching for a glint of sunlight off metal to buy a few second's warning.

  "Tea's brewed up, Captain," came a voice from below deck.

  "Bring up two cups, Stubbins."

  "Aye, sir."

  I took that as an opening.

  "Thanks, Harry."

  "No reason to be uncivil, is there?"

  "Then what do you call last night?"

  "Here you go, sirs," said Stubbins, coming up behind us and interrupting my attempt at a heart to heart. "I hope you like it dark and sweet the way Captain does, 'cause that's what you got. No coffee here, sorry to say."