Even as Hodge said that, her left arm was once again pointing at a Moro, this one carrying a rifle rather than a bolo. The stream of fire that lanced out practically sliced the man in two.
"Report," she managed to get out.
"One: Sergeant Caudillo's dead . . . .three others down. Pinned. Returning fire."
"Two: Six left unhurt, two wounded. Holding on. They're between us and first. I think third's out of it. What we gonna to do, El Tee?"
She waited in vain for a report from her third squad leader. "Sergeant Ryan," she ordered, "report. Anybody in third squad, report. Anybody?"
There was no answer from third. She'd had to force herself to keep the sound of desperate pleading out of her voice when she asked that last, "Anybody?"
"Ma'am, Sergeant Pierantoni here. I'm with second . . . close enough, anyway. The rest of the company's better than half an hour behind us. Maybe more; if they hit us here they might have something waiting back there. I don't think we're going to hold on that long."
Hodge had been up near the point, near Aguinaldo. One could argue she'd been too near the point, but that was for the future if, indeed, that argument was ever to be made. Third squad, which had been nearest to her, was destroyed, insofar as she could tell. Sure, it was possible there was a man out there wounded and alive, or one with broken communications. But the way to bet it was that they were dead or soon would be.
"Recommendations, Sergeant?" The drug in her system was all that allowed her to keep her voice human.
"You pull back to first. We'll cover you and first. Then we can take turns, bounding back."
"No go, Sergeant, I can't move far."
"I'll come for you."
Hodge's voice was both sad and determined. "No. Here's what I want. First squad?"
"Ma'am?"
"I'll cover as best I can from here. Get yourself back to second and the platoon sergeant. Sergeant P, carry out your plan once you and second and first link up. I'll . . . "
"No, ma'am, we'll wait."
Hodge wanted to cry, not just from the pain that was ebbing from her ruined thigh, but also from the knowledge that the life she'd hoped to have with Hamilton after she left the army was just not going to happen. She wanted to cry; what she didn't want was to argue.
"No. I've only got a little left in me. I need to use that to cover first squad."
"Ma'am . . . "
"Don't argue with me. First squad?"
"Ma'am?"
"If I can't get the order out; when you hear me fire, go."
Thompson and Hamilton could hear Hodge through the command circuit.
"Laurie, hold on. I'm coming," Hamilton cried into the radio, as he started tearing the jungle apart in an attempt to move farther, faster—
"Lieutenant Hamilton, hold fast," ordered Thompson in the same calm voice as usual. The captain had the good grace not to say, I warned you about this.
"Captain, that's—"
Hamilton couldn't quite bring himself to say it, that Hodge was the woman he loved. It would have been worse than Thompson saying, "I told you so." Instead, after a pause, he said, "That's one of ours. We can't just—"
"I'm aware, Lieutenant, of who she is."
Another voice, the forward observer sergeant's, piped up, "Captain, airship Pershing on station with a heavy load of ordnance. They're carrying whatever we might want to ask for. Well, short of nukes, they are."
The company was still pushing on through the jungle. In his head, and aided by a map painted onto his eye with a low-powered laser,
Thompson calculated the time it would take to get to Hodge against her very short life expectancy. No matter how he tried to calculate it, he kept coming up short. There was no way he and the troops would reach her in time.
"Private circuit, Lieutenant Hodge," he said into the radio. "Laurie, your plan is approved. We won't make it to you in time. I can deal you aces and eights to prevent capture. Your call."
"Give what's left of my platoon a chance to break contact, Captain," she answered. "And . . . "
"Yes?"
"Don't make John call in the dead man's hand . . . It wouldn't be fair."
"I understand. Let me know when."
"Yes, sir . . . .Sir, if you don't hear from me . . . if I'm not able—"
"I'll call it in myself, Laurie."
"Thank you, Captain. Hodge out . . . break, break . . . First squad; prepare to move."
Dragging her ruined right leg behind her, Hodge slithered to the blood-flecked rocks nearby. She extended a monofilament microviewer from her right glove and looked over the area first squad had been in. Already some of the Moros were out, rifles slung across backs and wavy swords in hand, chopping their way through the tough battledress and inner coolsuits of the dead and wounded troopers.