head hit the hard metal of a gun barrel.
"Won't you come in, Mr. Carter?" shouted Kobelev from the car below. "We've been expecting you."
Eight
Tatiana Kobelev reached across the narrow bed table and picked a card off the pile. A triumphant grin lit her face. "Gin!" she announced, laying her cards out.
The old nurse sighed and threw down her hand. She started to say something, then apparently thought better of it, and resignedly began to gather the cards into a deck.
"I think I like this American game," Tatiana said.
"It's more run when you don't cheat," the old nurse said sourly.
"I do not cheat! How dare you accuse me of cheating?"
"The proof is right here," said the nurse, coming around to the bed and fumbling beneath the blanket next to Tatiana. Tatiana tried to stop her, but the old woman managed to grab the queen of hearts and hold it up to her. "You see? You picked up two cards on the last turn and stashed the extra here. Do you think I'm a fool?"
"No! I think you are a peasant strumpet and a whore!" Tatiana shouted at the top of her voice.
The old woman's eyes narrowed and her face trembled with anger. Suddenly she lashed out and slapped the Russian girl's cheek.
"Whore! Whore! Whore!" the girl chanted.
A Marine stuck his head in at the door. "Everything all right in here, Lieutenant Dilsey?"
The old nurse sighed. "Missy here's just feeling her oats, is all."
"Why don't you come out of there for a while, ma'am? Give yourself a break. You remember what happened to Lieutenant Green."
"Sergeant, I don't have to be reminded what happened to the girl's previous nurse. I have no intention of letting this young lady get under my skin like that. Besides, she is not supposed to be left without supervision."
"I know that, ma'am, but a few minutes won't hurt. You haven't had a break from this for over a week."
"Two weeks."
"Exactly, ma'am."
"All right. My replacement will be here shortly anyway. And you're certainly not going anywhere, are you, dearie?"
Tatiana stared up at her sullenly, pure hate in her eyes.
The old woman stared back unflinchingly, then turned and left, locking the door behind her.
The room fell suddenly silent, except for the rush of air in the heating vent. For a moment Tatiana looked around, savoring her solitude. She'd been left to herself precious few times since coming to this awful place, and when one of these rare moments chanced to happen, it was not to be squandered wantonly.
She threw off the blanket, swung her feet out, and let herself down on the floor. Then using the bed table and the edge of the mattress for support, she pushed herself upright. She let go of the table and bed, and for one wavering, unsteady moment, was alone on the floor. Then she lost her balance and had to grab the bed to keep from falling.
Yes, she was doing nicely. With a few minutes' practice, the simple movements of walking and standing would come back to her. The exercises at night were paying off. The muscles were strong; they'd simply forgotten what to do.
She inched her way toward the foot of the bed. She would have to be careful. If Dilsey or the soldier saw her standing, the dancing would end, as the old saying went.
When she reached the end of the bed, she tore off the plastic cap from the top of a leg, moistened her finger, and pulled up an object that had been suspended in the hollow of the leg by a slender thread of bed linen. The object glinted in the light: a surgeon's scalpel, an instrument so sharp the mere weight of it would lacerate skin.
She held it by its thread and spun it, watching the sunlight flash on its blade. She'd stolen it from a careless doctor during one of the endless examinations. "Cough! Cough louder!" he'd said as she pulled it from the instrument tray. Then he d touched her breast in a most undoctorlike way, and it had taken all her self-control to keep from plunging it into his heart right then and there. But instead she gritted her teeth and slid the knife
"Won't you come in, Mr. Carter?" shouted Kobelev from the car below. "We've been expecting you."
Eight
Tatiana Kobelev reached across the narrow bed table and picked a card off the pile. A triumphant grin lit her face. "Gin!" she announced, laying her cards out.
The old nurse sighed and threw down her hand. She started to say something, then apparently thought better of it, and resignedly began to gather the cards into a deck.
"I think I like this American game," Tatiana said.
"It's more run when you don't cheat," the old nurse said sourly.
"I do not cheat! How dare you accuse me of cheating?"
"The proof is right here," said the nurse, coming around to the bed and fumbling beneath the blanket next to Tatiana. Tatiana tried to stop her, but the old woman managed to grab the queen of hearts and hold it up to her. "You see? You picked up two cards on the last turn and stashed the extra here. Do you think I'm a fool?"
"No! I think you are a peasant strumpet and a whore!" Tatiana shouted at the top of her voice.
The old woman's eyes narrowed and her face trembled with anger. Suddenly she lashed out and slapped the Russian girl's cheek.
"Whore! Whore! Whore!" the girl chanted.
A Marine stuck his head in at the door. "Everything all right in here, Lieutenant Dilsey?"
The old nurse sighed. "Missy here's just feeling her oats, is all."
"Why don't you come out of there for a while, ma'am? Give yourself a break. You remember what happened to Lieutenant Green."
"Sergeant, I don't have to be reminded what happened to the girl's previous nurse. I have no intention of letting this young lady get under my skin like that. Besides, she is not supposed to be left without supervision."
"I know that, ma'am, but a few minutes won't hurt. You haven't had a break from this for over a week."
"Two weeks."
"Exactly, ma'am."
"All right. My replacement will be here shortly anyway. And you're certainly not going anywhere, are you, dearie?"
Tatiana stared up at her sullenly, pure hate in her eyes.
The old woman stared back unflinchingly, then turned and left, locking the door behind her.
The room fell suddenly silent, except for the rush of air in the heating vent. For a moment Tatiana looked around, savoring her solitude. She'd been left to herself precious few times since coming to this awful place, and when one of these rare moments chanced to happen, it was not to be squandered wantonly.
She threw off the blanket, swung her feet out, and let herself down on the floor. Then using the bed table and the edge of the mattress for support, she pushed herself upright. She let go of the table and bed, and for one wavering, unsteady moment, was alone on the floor. Then she lost her balance and had to grab the bed to keep from falling.
Yes, she was doing nicely. With a few minutes' practice, the simple movements of walking and standing would come back to her. The exercises at night were paying off. The muscles were strong; they'd simply forgotten what to do.
She inched her way toward the foot of the bed. She would have to be careful. If Dilsey or the soldier saw her standing, the dancing would end, as the old saying went.
When she reached the end of the bed, she tore off the plastic cap from the top of a leg, moistened her finger, and pulled up an object that had been suspended in the hollow of the leg by a slender thread of bed linen. The object glinted in the light: a surgeon's scalpel, an instrument so sharp the mere weight of it would lacerate skin.
She held it by its thread and spun it, watching the sunlight flash on its blade. She'd stolen it from a careless doctor during one of the endless examinations. "Cough! Cough louder!" he'd said as she pulled it from the instrument tray. Then he d touched her breast in a most undoctorlike way, and it had taken all her self-control to keep from plunging it into his heart right then and there. But instead she gritted her teeth and slid the knife
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