Ultimate Issue by George Markstein

Author:George Markstein [Markstein, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
ISBN: 9780755103003
Google: bDyUGwAACAAJ
Amazon: 0755103009
Publisher: House of Stratus Ltd
Published: 2001-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Laconbury

PRYOR drove down to Laconbury, half wondering why he was bothering. Maybe it was to regain a little pride. They were starting to take him for granted. The way Major Longman had warned him off the courtmartial had rankled and made him face a question he had long tried not to ask himself: just wheat kind of newsman had he become.

His Defense Department ID card, one of the privileges of being the military’s tame journalist, got him on the base without difficulty, and as soon as he had parked his maroon car, also supplied by the military, he went to see Ryan in the wing information office.

Ryan, a freckle-faced lieutenant, had one mission: to keep Laconbury out of the news. He had acquired the knack of seemingly helping press people all the way, while making sure, behind their backs, that they got nowhere. When things became tough, he referred them to Ruislip and Major Longman.

He received Pryor genially.

“Hi, old buddy,” he greeted him. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

165

Pryor’sunexpected arrival didn’t worry him. Stars and Stripes could be relied on to toe the line.

“You know me,” said Pryor, dumping his lanky frame in a chair, “always looking for the Pulitzer Prize.”

“You won’t find it here, man.” On his wall Ryan had a framed photograph of General Croxford and a replica wing’s emblem. He also favored slogan stickers: “You Needn’t Be Crazy to Work Here, But It Helps” was the latest one. It showed visitors that he was One of the Boys.

“Tea?” he asked Pryor. Among his ancillary duties, he was in charge of Laconbury’s community relations, and he had decided it was fitting to offer callers in his office tea instead of coffee.

“No, thanks.” Then Pryor took the plunge. “What about this courtmartial, Phil?”

“Eh?”

“The guy who’s charged with adultery.”

Ryan’s eyes widened in innocent surprise. “In this outfit?”

“That’s right. What can you tell me about it?”

“First I heard about it, old buddy.”

“He’s an officer,” said Pryor.

“Where did you hear all this?”

Pryor smiled thinly. “Maybe a little bird told me.”

Ryan picked up the phone and dialed the outer office. “Do we know anything about a courtmartial, Sergeant?” he asked his clerk. He listened and then hung up. “You’re out of luck. Nobody knows a thing about it.”

“Quit bullshitting,” Pryor said crisply.

Ryan began to study him warily. Something had needled the guy. He wasn’t his usual amiable, complacent self.

“Have you asked headquarters? The major? Welk?”

“I’m asking you,” said Pryor, beginning to feel like a reporter.

It’s time to be One of the Boys, decided Ryan.

“Look, Joe, this is a big outfit. You got any idea how many men we have here? I don’t know everything that goes on. Things happen, and nobody tells me. I’m in the same position as you, old buddy. Really I am,” he said earnestly.

“You’re the base information officer,” retorted Pryor. “You can ask. Why don’t you start asking, Phil?”

Not since the day a correspondent from The New York Times had come by and begun asking awkward

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