"Migod," Paul said as he recoiled from the suddenness of the flamethrower and the heat it was generating. Within a few seconds the Jap tank began to rumble and then it exploded, filling the hill with a small fireworks display as ammunition and fuel blew up. Last, there was one big explosion and the turret of the Jap tank flew through the remaining earthen cover and several feet into the air before coming to a rest a little ways down the hill, where it lay like a child's broken toy.
Paul heard an animal howling and realized it was coming from his throat as he and the others cheered their little victory. The Sherman's hatch opened again and Sergeant Orlando climbed out and shook Paul's hand. "Hot damn," Orlando said, laughing. "My first time in combat and I got me a Jap tank."
"Excellent!" Paul exulted. "Now what about that other machine-gun nest?"
As he said that, Sergeant Collins ran up to them from the other side of the bunker. "Gone, sir. They saw what happened to their buddies and bailed out."
"Look out!" Paul exclaimed, wide-eyed, and fired in Orlando's direction.
A lone Japanese gunner clutched his heart and fell.
"Guess not all of them," Collins said. "We'll do a clean sweep."
Thanks to Orlando's tank, Paul's men had taken the hill, wiped out a bunker with a tank in it, destroyed a machine gun nest, and done it with no additional casualties. Better, they'd caused some Japs to break and run away, which they rarely did.
Now he could send his wounded back to the rear without fear of more casualties, and they could get medical care. "Staff Sergeant Orlando, you and yours got anyplace in particular to go right now?"
Orlando shrugged. "Home, but they won't let me. Why?"
"I think we work well together. You want to stick around?"
"And be your mascot, sir?" Orlando grinned infectiously. "Sounds good to me. Besides, I owe you."
Laughter rang out, a welcome and rare sound.
Chapter 39
OSS field operative Joe Nomura performed an awkward pirouette in front of the small fire, bowed, and laughed at the thought of a kempei officer behaving in such a manner. Dennis Chambers smiled and shook his head at the incongruous sight.
"Dammit, Joe, you look real enough to scare anyone when you just stand there in that toy-soldier outfit, but the shitty little dance you did kind of kills the effect."
Nomura laughed. "I never could dance, that's why. How does the uniform look without the arm?"
"Hell, it looks great, particularly without your arm. It makes you look sinister, like some old-time warrior who's survived a hundred battles and come back a war-wise hero. You'd make a tremendous samurai."
Joe took the compliment with a smile. After a number of false starts and experiments while the two men taught themselves the art of sewing, they'd successfully cut the dead kempei captain's uniform down to where it fit Joe fairly well. It wasn't perfect, but both men felt it would pass casual observation as most uniforms worn by the Japanese military were even more ragged and ill-fitting than they usually were.
Unlike Germany's Gestapo, who had their own distinctive uniforms, kempei officers wore the standard Japanese officer's uniform, but with a distinctive armband displaying the Japanese characters ken and hei, which translated as "law soldier." Usually, as in this case, the characters were black on white, and they made the wearer of them a minor god with enormous power over other people's lives and well-being.
According to his papers, the dead soldier, Capt. Shozo Onichi, had commanded a buntai, or section, in the area. Based on Onichi's rank, the two men guessed that a section would be about a hundred men. Logic also said these would be scattered about Onichi's area of control, which they presumed to be fairly large, but that the men would know who Onichi was and what he looked like. This meant that impersonating Onichi was out of the question. Joe would have to use another identity if he was to wander around in the uniform.
Kempei officers carried a sword and a pistol. Joe kept the pistol but discarded any thought of carrying the sword. For one thing, a one-armed swordsman looked out of place, and for another, the sword had been made especially for Onichi and had been engraved with his name. Joe's possession of it would be extremely difficult to explain.
"Okay, buddy, now what?" Dennis asked. "What're you gonna do? Halloween was months ago."
Joe checked the fit of the tunic. What he was planning frankly scared the hell out of him. "Dennis, I am going to ride that bike into the nearest village or camp and find the kempei field office there. After that, I'm going to make it up as I go along and see what I can turn up."
Dennis shook his head in mock dismay. "That's what I was afraid you were going to say."
Joe grinned. "Who knows, this could be the opportunity of a lifetime." Or the end of a lifetime, he didn't add. Joe wasn't certain why he was going through with this idea, only that the opportunity was too good to pass up.
"What if someone recognizes you?" Dennis asked. "After all, you've been wandering the area for some weeks as a shot-up veteran. How'll you explain yourself?"
Joe shook his head. "Won't have to. I'm the secret police, Japan's Gestapo, remember? Even if somebody should make the connection, they wouldn't dare ask me about it. Hell, I could shoot them on the spot for their insolence. Nah, they know that kempei often go around in plain clothes so they can spy on people. They'd probably think I was the biggest prick alive and then wonder what they might have said to me that would come back to haunt them and get them thrown in prison."
"How long do you think you'll be gone and what should I do about it?" Dennis asked almost plaintively. He was in no hurry to be left alone again. He also regretted that their carefully hoarded supply of liquor was all used up. He could see where he could need a drink if Joe left him alone for any period of time.
"A couple of days, maybe less, maybe more. But I do want you to move away from here. If things go wrong for me, it could be real dangerous for you." Joe looked farther up the wooded hillside and across the valley. "Go up there, or someplace else where you can keep an eye on this camp. You pick the spot so I won't know it and won't be able to tell anyone no matter what they do. You see me come back alone, wait until you're sure it's okay. You see me being followed, or Jap soldiers around me, you run like hell. Oh, yeah, don't forget to take the pistol and don't hesitate to use it on yourself if it looks like you're going to be taken."
Dennis nodded glumly. He was just getting used to the idea that he and Joe might make it through this thing. He had again started to dream and plan of life with Barb back in California when he finally came home to her. Now Joe Nomura's actions stood a good chance of wrecking those plans.
But Chambers had a sense of duty and honor as well, and he understood what Joe was doing and why. It was just that he didn't particularly have to like it. It was one thing to wander through Japanese camps as an innocuous and invisible refugee, but it was completely different to be an officer in the kempei, one of the elite in the Japanese military. It was sort of like sticking your head in the proverbial lion's mouth. He knew Joe to be resourceful and intelligent, along with ruthless, and he could only hope that those talents and traits would be enough to see him through.
Chapter 40
Sgt. Yuji Yokota and Ens. Keizo Ikeda had reached an accommodation concerning their personal differences. After all, with only the two of them remaining at the clandestine base, it made no sense to argue, and it was now obvious to Ikeda that the mechanic sergeant was doing everything he could to ready the plane for its final glorious flight. Keizo acknowledged that it was not Yokota's fault that the other five planes at their hidden base had managed to take off as ordered and fulfill their destiny as kamikazes.