The Eye of Odin

Part 9

I woke to sunlight streaming through the windows, a single beam falling across my face. I wrinkled my nose, squeezing my eyes shut tightly, a smile sweeping across my lips. It had been a week since we returned from the front, and gone were the nightmares and panic. I had slept soundly for the first time since Fort Vaux, my body languid and lazy with restored energy. The muslin uniform shirt that served as sleep attire hung to my thighs as I slipped free of the bed. I threw open the curtains, welcoming the sun.

A light breakfast of fresh bread and Mirabelle plum preserves further augmented the morning. I showered and dressed in my new uniform, the old having been left tattered and torn from a variety of escapades. At my wrists and shoulders were new rank insignia: Captain. The major had wasted very little time in promoting me after receiving glowing reports from both Reynolds and Doyle.

I had visited Doyle the previous day at the hospital, and he was recovering well. The rifle round that caught him had passed through relatively harmlessly. He was out of the war for the foreseeable future, but didn't seem to mind. Reynolds had disappeared soon after we returned to Paris, citing a need for some heavy drinking. The front had been fortified, rebuilt, and stood as a new bulwark against the Germans and their Austro-Hungarian allies.

I tucked a packet of reports up under my arm and left my apartment with coffee in hand. The air was crisp and cool, and hinted at the coming winter. All around, the inhabitants of the city were out and about, enjoying what little good weather remained.

"Good morning, Captain!" Wes called, coming up beside me as I walked. He was also dressed in a new uniform, although for an entirely different reason. His enlisted uniform was gone, replaced with an officer's uniform and lieutenant stripes. I beamed back at him, color tinting my cheeks.

"You're not going to start that now, are you?" I asked.

"Only the once, Chance," he responded cheerily.

"I'll give you once," I said, "and Good Morning." I took a sip of coffee, mounting the stairs to our temporary headquarters. The small, squat building was as out of the way as possible within the confines of Paris. Outside of the building, grass and dirt spread to empty lots and green parks. The exterior of the temporary headquarters was badly in need of repair. The inside had been restored wonderfully, and I set my coffee cup on a stray desk the instant we'd entered. The door to a single office at the end of the hall was open, and the major stood as we entered.

"Please be careful, sir," I insisted, frowning at the older man.

"I'm not as weak as I look, Captain." The major said cheerfully, supporting himself with his desk. There were still bandages wrapped around his head, and I knew that he had suffered a number of injuries to his left leg. "And someone is going to have to hold down the fort while the two of you are gone."

"Gone, sir?" Wes asked, glancing at the major and then at me.

"There are problems brewing with one of our allies, Lieutenant." He balanced himself on one leg, leaning against the side of the desk. He handed me a manila envelope filled with typewritten pages. I pulled them free and began reading.

"You're going to St. Petersburg," the major said.

"It's nearly winter!" I spat, the pages almost falling from my hands.

"Well, yes, but you still have your heavy clothes from the trip to Norway?" the major asked innocently.

Wes was smirking.

"I..." I stammered uselessly, my shoulders slumping. "Yes, sir."

"Never again, hmm?" Wes said, and I glared at him as I jammed the paperwork back into the envelope.

"Let's just get there and get back, with any luck, this won't be anything big."