Rule of Four (Damned of the 2/19th Novella)

...And, I'm Back in the Barracks

The things that sound the simplest
are the most complicated
The things that sound the safest
are the bloodiest
And your luck
will always run out

Barracks CQ Area, Ground Floor
2/19th Special Weapons Group Area
Secure Area
Alfenwehr, West Germany
04 October, 1988
1945 Hours

"This is going to be easy duty," The Specialist said. Blond, stocky, with freckles and farmboy front teeth. He dropped his rucksack behind the CQ desk as I moved around it.

"Beats wintering at Wildflecken," The Staff Sergeant said, following me around the desk and through the open doorway arch to behind the CQ desk. He pulled his cold weather cap off, revealing his black hair and looked around with clear blue eyes.

"This place is creepy as hell," The Pv2 said. His back skin was already slightly waxy from exposure to the cold. His tightly kinked black hair was cut close to the scalp, but he had three lines shaved in his left eyebrow like a lot of the brothers.

I just grunted, moving around to pick up the log book.

Beyond us the last of the Rear Detachment we were replacing stopped at the desk. A Captain, his face tight with stress. I slapped the log book in front of him, opening it wordlessly.

Relinquished Responsibility of 2/19th Group Area - Captain Lonnie Crawford

I signed my initials, the Captain looked at the Staff Sergeant, who just looked at him confused. I sighed, and saluted.

"I relieve you, sir," I said, my voice drained, bleak, emotionless.

"I am relieved," He answered. His voice and mine matched. He dropped the salute and I followed suit, dropping my arm down. Unlike him, my shoulder gave a loud wet pop. He flinched. I didn't. He picked up his rucksack and M3 and walked out through the airlock double-doors to the 5-ton truck we'd taken up the mountain.

I sat down behind the desk, facing the bank of black phones. There were ten in all. Heavy duty black plastic phones, two sitting on cradles that allowed the cryptography gear for secure lines. I reached out and flicked the switches, shutting the crypto gear off, then used my thumb to switch the six counters all to zero.

"Lines are secure, Staff Sergeant," I said. My voice was still empty. I didn't care.

"So who's on CQ first?" The Private asked. He shivered and rubbed his upper arms. The chill was already setting into him. He couldn't shake the cold from the outside, and the barracks were sitting at a steady sixty-five degrees. Warm to me.

"We'll run a security sweep again, sign our initials, then meet up back here," The Staff Sergeant said, looking around.

One of the lights in the CQ Area buzzed, flickered, and went dead, leaving only five working long florescent tubes still working in that light.

"We should follow the Rule of Four," I said, staring at the phones.

Behind me, the clock ticked.

"Rule of Four?" He asked.

"There's only four of us. We should make sure that we can all see each other at all times. At the very least, two man rule. We should follow NoLoneGo Zone protocols," I said, still staring at the phone.

The Staff Sergeant snorted. "It's the barracks, Sergeant. I'm the only one who doesn't live here, I'm pretty sure that since we're on top of a mountain, nobody is going to bother us if we go off alone."

I just shrugged. "I'm the one who's survived three winters, all of you got here just before REFORGER," I told them. "But by all means, tell me all about your experience."