Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterRodriguez
Any experience with Lowvig here?
Appreciate some feedback since info available is not clear.
outside the camp it was damned cold, hurt your face something terrible even to walk outside for more than a couple minutes, but it was sunny and bright, and all around you could feel that the winter campaign was drawing to a close. inside i felt tired. in the partition next to me, i could overheard rodriguez discussing me with one of the other officers, mispronouncing my name as he was apt to, with his awful english skills.
"his a goddamned fool. i don't care how we do it. we'll pull them out, blow them up, intimidate them, outflank them, doesn't matter to me. i don't give a a good goddamn, so long as we win. i'm here for the money and nothing more. sun tzu was a fool too. there's no art in war. it's all just money and territory and women. imagine me, in a couple years time, i'll be commanding my own men. i'm already in charge of three times as much responsibility as most of the men from my area, you know. that old fool doesn't know what he's doing. he's a lunatic. it's the war makes him soft. no. i reckon he was always a nut. the war just made it worse"
"that man," i could hear tom's voice, "has been here much longer than you. and he's not such a fool as you think. rather clever, really. maybe he ****posts, but he doesn't do anyone any harm. you insult him as a commander, but he checks in on all the busy days and attends to the important matters. he logs all his bets, requests withdrawals when he should, and he commands his men well. he is an exemplary general. you'll understand it all, in due time."
i could hear rodriguez' heavy boorish gait. he was pacing, probably not even listening."i will not," he said with a sneer, defiantly. "in a couple years time i'll surpass all of you. i've got it. these men like me. they can see how great i am, and they understand that it is just nature that i shall be the best. i will be the best. you old fools sure talk a lot of nonsense you know that? but i've got better things to do. i don't come here to discuss nothing. you officers ought to know that. we are here for one reason and one reason only. if it's not strategy, i don't want to hear it. i want tips, and only tips. i come here to take, and only to take. we are all on the same side, and you senior officers ought to be more helpful with me. you know i'm happy to offer what i can in exchange."
"you're still young comrade. save your money. save your money until you're maxing everything. and there isn't any need to create conflicts with your superiors."
i rolled over and checked my watch. it was 8:30. there would be the usual kicking off of some middle alerts and then there would be several skirmishes in about 15 minutes. but my body felt heavy, and i had no urge to meet that cold, brisk wind yet. the war would still be there tomorrow. and anyway, i didn't have any particularly good accounts at the moment. let that little **** take the reigns for the day and make himself a little money. i rolled back over. tom was speaking.
"i've been at the front for over ten years now. hits has been here for about six. it becomes a grind. the money is good, you are right about that. but it's a grind. it's about the worst way to make a living, besides all those other ways." tom chuckled at his own joke.
"to hell with that! to hell with all your negativity, you old ****s!" it wasn't clear that rodriguez knew the definition of most of the english cuss words, but that didn't stop him from using them profusely and making a clown of himself in the process. "i'm bringing in 25,000 per year. that's 480 a week. with that i can save up a little and get myself a place in london when the campaign dies down. you don't know how it is. people from my part of the world, if we get to london, we've made it. they've got a social safety net i could live on, and there are girls from all parts of the world. girls love me, you know. i'm young and i've got attitude and they can see that i am great. you gentlemen and your values, time has passed you by. i've got style. and i've got money. and i'm going to have more money. you'll see. when this damned war is over i'm going to be one of the finest decorated soldiers this regiment has ever seen." rodriguez slammed his fist on the table, and i heard bottles bouncing on it.
there was a silence. i heard tom clear his throat. i could picture him, with his thumb and his forefinger, pressing the bridge of his nose where his eyeglasses left an indentation, looking down at the ground.
"look kid, you're going to --"
just then there was a loud crash, and i could feel the heat of the blast. the ground shook and i just about fell out of bed. for us, it was nothing. we'd been shelled countless times. but rodriguez was shouting his head off. it was clear what he was about. you could see it all over his face. you knew it as soon as you met him. this was a man with no soul, no grit, no
aficion. no, he was no
aficionado. far from it. just as i crawled back into bed, i could hear tom soothing him. "are you alright, son?" the explosion had not been very close, and i knew that tom was not rattled, but he pretended for rodriguez. the poor fool. he knew nothing. men like him never lasted long around these parts.