Africa by David E. Meadows

Author:David E. Meadows [Meadows, David E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9780425201473
Amazon: 0425201473
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2005-03-02T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

A CHIEF NEVER DRINKS; BUT IF A CHIEF DRINKS, A CHIEFnever gets drunk. But, in the unlikely event a chief gets drunk, a chief never falls down. But, if the chief falls down, he will fall in such a fashion as to hide his rank insignia so others seeing him will think he is an officer. Razi leaned against the tree, the sound of the rain echoing inside his flight helmet from the heavy drops bouncing off it. Why did that initiation phrase pass through his mind? It was a ditty learned when he was initiated into the chief-petty-officer ranks years ago. Where in the hell did that come from? It was one with little relevance or reverence in today’s Navy where alcohol could cost you your career, and Razi had no intention of anything stopping him from making master chief. “It’s a legacy thing,” he mumbled aloud, eyebrows rising slightly. What would they say if they knew he had been in the jungle two hours and was already talking to himself? It wasn’t as if he could hear himself talk. He couldn’t even hear himself think, with the rain pounding on his helmet like tiny hammers—never stopping. How would he remember any interesting tidbits of his conversation if he couldn’t hear himself talking? Razi smiled and pressed closer against the rough bark of the tree. The water-soaked fabric of the flight suit matched closely the bark of the tree. He blinked a couple of times as he strained to tell where the flight suit left off and the bark began. The manufacturer never intended for the flight suit to be a camouflage—or did they? Maybe the color was a Vietnam-holdover thing? He glanced up for a moment, only to quickly shut his eyes as the rain blinded him across his down visor. He looked down again, thinking at least the lions wouldn’t find him, if they were out looking for him. As long as this rain continued and he stayed where he was, nothing could find him.

Minutes passed without any sign of letup. Razi wondered how long this rain was going to last. Africa was the land of many things, but experiencing them wasn’t in his list of things to do. They could have their monsoons and monstrous rains that flooded everything one season, only to vanish and be replaced by desert the next. Like most Westerners who visited the Dark Continent, when the rains fell, Razi retreated to his hotel and the lounge until it lifted. Sure, he had been here long enough to know about them; to see them; and, to the best of his ability, avoid them. What he hadn’t done was try to assess how long they averaged because you never knew if they were going to be a short burst, over with by the time he drank his first beer; or a longer one lasting throughout the afternoon, into the evening, and continuing when you woke the next morning with a throbbing headache. This one wasn’t a short one, and he couldn’t stay in place forever waiting for it to end.

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