“I’ll bet if Regiment or Division got wind of this they’d lower the boom on the bastard,” Mannix said.
“They have already. They said fine.”
“What do you mean? How do you know?”
“He said so, before you came in. He radioed to the base for permission, or so he said.”
“The bastard.”
“He wouldn’t dare without it,” Culver said. “What I can’t figure out is why Regiment gave him the O.K. on it.”
“The swine. The little swine. It’s not on account of H & S Company. You know that. It’s because it’s an exploit. He wants to be known as a tough guy, a boondocker.”
“There’s one consolation, though,” said Culver, after a pause, “if it’ll help you any.”
“What, for God’s sake?”
“Old Rocky, or whatever they call him, is going to hike along, too.”