The Way of War Pt. 04

Chapter 10

The Ford staff car drew up in front of the imposing entrance to the Nile Palace Hotel. Three boys in smart uniforms with a red fez upon their heads descended upon the car.

Bobby handed the keys to one of them. "Have it cleaned and polished," he said handing over a few Egyptian pounds.

The Officers made their way inside, moving to the reception desk. After booking in, they were conducted to their rooms, followed by a boy carrying their canvass valises.

Shaun's room had a balcony overlooking the gardens and swimming pool. After tipping the boy, he stripped and entered the marble bathroom turning on the shower.

Twenty minutes later he emerged refreshed from the long drive. He unpacked and put on his uniform. Picking up his wallet, cigarettes and lighter he made his way down to the foyer.

The hotel had not changed that much from his last visit, the most noticeable difference were the lack of uniforms crowding the foyer. 'Must be the gearing up for the big push,' he surmised.

Bobby and Bill were already in the bar as he entered.

He joined them in a booth. Beckoning to a passing waiter, he ordered beers. "So, have we decided where we're going tonight?"

"I thought the Green Serpent." Bobby murmured.

Bill laughed, "You just want to see that belly dancer again, you randy sod."

Shaun chuckled, Bobby had become infatuated on their last leave with a belly dancer, who even he thought was rather good, if not a little too well endowed in the belly area.

At that moment Tim showed up, "What's going on?" he asked.

"We are trying to decide where we go tonight, but Bobby wants to see that belly dancer at the Green Serpent." Bill replied.

"I rather fancy the Officers Club, in case you haven't noticed there's a marked lack of uniformed personnel around. So all those WAAF's, WREN's and WACS, not to mention the nurses. They must be getting quite lonely about now." Tim said with a grin.

"You know Tim my boy, I think you are on to something with that idea." Bill said.

"OK, how about we spent an hour or two at the Club? If we draw a blank, we can go on to the Green Serpent." Bobby looked around the group seeking their agreement.

"Fine by me," Shaun murmured, "but the Green Serpent is in a rough area, so make sure you are carrying."

Although they didn't wear side arms in the city, they all had weapons that they concealed when out in some of the areas of the city. Shaun had a Walther PPK that he kept in an ankle holster, curtesy of a German Staff Officer. Bobby kept a Browning Hi-Power stuck in the back of his trousers. The other two had Berettas.

The Cairo Officers Club had been started back in the First World War. Over the years it had, had many face-lifts. Not the least was provision for a ladies powder room, now that ladies wore uniforms.

On entering the Club they noticed immediately the lack of male personnel. "Looks like our luck is in chaps," Bill murmured seeing the amount of unattached female Officers present.

Shaun went to the bar to order drinks, remarking to the barman about the lack of male Officers in the room.

"Most are up the front, Sir, leave was cancelled last week for most of them. There's only rear echelon Officers here tonight." The barman said noticing Shaun's Scorpion shoulder badge of the LRDG.

Shaun turned to follow the waiter who had picked up the tray with the drinks on. When he noticed Tim was chatting to four WRENs sat at a table with Bill and Bobby close by.

Tim moved towards the bar passing Shaun and murmured in passing "the blondes mine, keep your hands off."

Shaun indicated to the waiter to place the tray on a table near to the WREN's. It seemed that Bill and Bobby had already staked a claim to two of the girls, and were in deep conversation with them.

The forth wren, who was a little plump, stood up gathering up her handbag, "Well, have a good night girls, duty calls." With that she made her way to the entrance of the club.

The pretty blond girl smiled at Shaun, "Poor old Kate, she's on duty tonight, but Nancy should be joining us later Captain."

It transpired that the blond, whose name was Carol, was having a birthday drink with the other girls called Ann and Janet. Tim ordered a bottle of Champagne to get the party going.

Shaun sat back in his chair enjoying the banter between the men and the girls.

After about thirty minutes, he noticed Carol wave to someone behind him, he turned to see a tall girl wearing the rings of a second officer at the bar entrance, walking towards their table.

"I wonder what Silverman wants?" Ann murmured.

The girl stopped behind Shaun's chair.

"I'm sorry ladies but Nancy won't be joining you, she asked me to make her apologies as I was just going off duty. The Commodore had a rush job for her to finish."

"Oh, what rotten luck," Janet murmured. "Won't you join us for a drink, Marm?" Janet asked.

"Thank you, but no thank you, I need a bath and bed," the girl replied.

"But don't you want to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday?" Tim said.

The girl hesitated, not wishing to be impolite. "Oh very well then, if you are sure I'm not intruding."

Shaun rose offering his chair to her, at the same time ordering another bottle of Champagne and a glass from a circling waiter. He pulled another chair over and sat down beside her.

Janet did the introductions, "Second Officer Sharon Silverman this is Tim, Bobby, Bill and Shaun," she said.

She placed her hat on the table, replying to a remark Bobby had made, while Shaun looked at her.

Her face was striking, a heart shaped face with high cheekbones, a full mouth with amazing white teeth. But her best feature were her eyes, a deep brown, almost black with thick black eyebrows. Her skin had an olive lustre to it. Her hair was drawn back into a tight bun at the back of her head and was as black as a raven's wing.

Shaun suddenly realised she was staring at him with an amused look on her face. "Do I pass inspection Captain?" she prodded.

Shaun was momentarily flustered, "Forgive me, I've been too long in the desert, I'd forgotten what a pretty girl looks like."

Sharon chuckled at his reply. "That's a very good pickup line, Captain."

"It wasn't meant to be, I was trying to think of where you come from, your completion doesn't look English."

"You're very astute, Captain, I'm from Tel-Aviv in Palestine, and I'm a Jew."

Shaun smiled, "I wondered where you got you're looks from, and the name is Shaun. Do you work with the other girls?"

She shook her head, "No, they work in the signals office, and I work as a compiler in the intelligence office."

"Sounds exciting."

Sharon chuckled, "Not really, it's just taking snippets of information and trying to make sense of them."

She finished her drink and started to rise. "Well, if you all will excuse me, I have to be on duty at 6am tomorrow."

"Do you live on the base?" Shaun asked also rising.

"No, I have an apartment, so I need to get a taxi. It's been a pleasure meeting you all." She said putting on her hat.

"I have a car outside and will be pleased to give you a lift. With you going I'll only be a spare wheel now in any case." He said laughing.

She hesitated before replying, "If you are sure it's no trouble, then thank you."

He followed her outside, leaving her at the entrance as he went for the car.

Once she was inside the car he followed her directions.

"If you have only just finished you're duty, they must be working you long hours," Shaun murmured as he navigated the car.

She smiled, "Not really, it's just there's been a lot to sort out with the impending push coming up. I should be finished tomorrow at two if nothing major crops up."

"So would it be presumptuous of me to ask you for a late lunch at my hotel tomorrow? They serve great food."

She studied his face before replying, "Which hotel are you staying at?"

"The Nile Palace. It's a very good hotel, we were lucky to get rooms there. But I guess with the push and all, most of the men are at the front."

"The Nile Palace, it has a swimming pool doesn't it?"

Shaun nodded, "Yes, do you like to swim?"

"Oh yes, but the public swimming pools are closed at the moment due to the war."

He pulled up at a block of flats, and turned to her. "So bring your costume and we can have lunch out on the patio. How does that sound?" He said getting out of the car to open her door.

"Okay Shaun, wait for me in reception. I should be there by 3:30, if not I'll leave a message at reception." With that she extended her hand for him to shake, it felt cool in his hand.

He watched as she entered the apartment building, before climbing back into the car.

Chapter 11

Shaun was sat in reception flicking through a magazine when he saw her coming through the doors.

She was wearing a white summer dress with a full skirt, with a halter neck. Her hair was loose and brushed back to fall down over her shoulders. He noticed as he stood to meet her, that she had applied some makeup to her face.

"Good afternoon Sharon," he greeted her.

"Hello Shaun, I haven't kept you waiting too long I hope?"

"Not at all, and seeing you out of uniform makes the wait seem justified," he smiled.

He took her out to the patio, selecting a table that received some shade from a palm tree, and pulled a chair out for her. He waved to a waiter. "What would you like to drink?"

"A dry white wine would be nice."

He ordered the wine and a vodka and tonic for himself.

"Now, do you want to eat first or to swim?"

She chuckled, "You shouldn't swim on a full stomach, or so I have been told."

"Quite right too," he replied laughing. "That's settled we can have a swim and eat later, there's changing cubicles over there, and towels stacked on the locker beside them."

Their drinks arrived and she took a sip. "It's good," she murmured. "I've been trying to place were you come from, you have a slight accent. South African isn't it?"

Shaun laughed, "Close, Kenya to be exact, although I did spend three years in Cape Town at University."

She nodded, "So did you live in Nairobi or Mombasa?"

"About a hundred and fifty miles out from Nairobi, my folks have a ranch out there." He then started to tell her about the Crater.

When he had finished, she sighed, "It sounds beautiful Shaun, you are so lucky to have a place like that to call home."

He nodded, "What about you, what's your background?"

"Nothing special, I was born and raised in Tel-Aviv. My father was a lecturer at the university, and my mother was a doctor. Dad was originally from England so I have dual Nationality. When I got my degree I joined the Wrens. Because I know several languages I was posted to intelligence. And I found I enjoyed the work." She chuckled, "It's like being Sherlock Holms. You have to observe parts of the data and try to establish a link with other pieces."

"Are you any good at it?"

She studied his face for a second, "A little over two weeks ago a dangerous operation took part six hundred miles away. An attack on an Axis airbase which destroyed over seventy enemy aircraft. That operation allowed a much needed convoy to reach Alexander in more or less one piece.

The only units able to carry out that raid would have been the LRDG or the SAS. Of the two, only the LRDG would have had the equipment to carry out such a deep penetration behind enemy lines.

The operation would have needed four or five weeks to plan and prepare for it. On the successful completion of it, it would be natural to reward the men involved and grant them leave. I noticed last night your third pip on your shoulder is new, as was the second pip on Tim and Bill's shoulder. Also you lot were the only combat personnel in the club last night. How did I do?" she challenged.

Shaun looked at her amazed, "Err, not too bad, my dear Holmes." He murmured grinning.

"Right, I'll go and change, I'll see you in the pool," she said rising and carrying her bag and made her way to the changing cubicles.

Shaun slipped off his slacks, his trunks were underneath, and removed his shirt, taking them over to a bed chair alongside the pool and sat down waiting.

When she emerged from the cubical she was wearing a white one piece strapless swimsuit. He admired the length of her long slim legs and her light olive completion was emphasised by the whiteness of the costume. He noticed she didn't wear a bathing hat, as she dived in.

She came to the surface gasping, as Shaun burst out laughing.

"Cold isn't it? It takes your breath away at first." He told her as she clung to the side.

"You swine, you could have warned me," she cried.

After the 98F heat of the Egyptian sun the pool seemed freezing.

"Well, Sherlock Holmes would have noticed no one else is in the pool," he said with a straight face as he pulled her from it.

"You're wrong," she replied. He spun round to look at the pool. "You're in!" She laughed as she pushed him.

Shaun hit the water and he felt like a fist had struck him with the shock of the cold water. He surfaced gasping for air. She was standing with her hands on her hips convulsing with laughter.

He started to swim to the side, when she suddenly dived in surfacing beside him.

"Five lengths of the pool, loser buys the wine." With that she set off swimming with Shaun trying to catch up.

They sat out by the pool in their costumes letting the sun dry them. They had both gone for the chicken salad washed down with a dry white wine that Shaun had paid for. When he had asked if it was kosher to the waiter, Sharon had said it didn't matter.

"I'm not an orthodox Jew, far from it. I've not been to temple in years. In fact I even celebrate Christmas," she said chuckling. "I'm afraid that when you consider the amount of blood spilt through religion over the centuries, it's sort of put me off taking it seriously."

He could see she was serious, and she went up in his estimation. He too didn't take religion very seriously.

She pushed her plate away with a contented smile. "I'm not going to need much for dinner tonight," she said smiling.

"I was rather hoping that you would have dinner with me tonight," he murmured.

Her face fell, "Oh, I'm sorry Shaun but I have a prior engagement for tonight."

"Oh I see," he said dejectedly.

She looked at his face and smiled, "It's a long standing relationship, with a rather dashing Naval Captain... my father."

She chuckled at the look on his face, "But I'm free tomorrow night, if the offer still stands."

His face cleared, "It still stands, were would you like to go?"

"Well, there's a restaurant I know of that serves the best steaks in Cairo, and also has a small dance floor. How does that sound?"

"I'll pick you up at nineteen hundred and you can lead the way."

She rose from her chair, "I'll have to leave now to wash my hair."

He got up too, and she kissed him on his cheek murmuring, "It's been a lovely afternoon, Shaun."

She made her way to the cubical to change.

After he had seen her into a taxi, he returned to the bar.

Settling down with a drink, he tried to make sense of his emotions. She was unlike any other girl he had met before. She was beautiful, but not in the usual description of the word. He struggled to find the word for her... striking that was it. She would stand out in any room. She had a sort of presence, a cool sophistication that surrounded her. True she had a good body, but he hadn't thought of her in a sexual way, unlike other girls he had encountered in the past.

He lit a cigarette, inhaling the smoke, she had a sense of fun he had discovered, also a brain, the way she had put the pieces together about the raid. Miss Silverman was an enigma at the moment, but one he intended to solve.

Chapter 12

The following day, whilst Bobby had the Ford to take the others around in, he went to the military tailors to have a new uniform made and a couple of shirts. He was conscious of the fact that his current one was showing the signs of wear and age.

The tailors assured him it would be ready by the following day. He caught a taxi and gave instructions for the Cairo Museum and spent four hours meandering amongst the exhibits. Not being too surprised to run into Prof as he was about to leave. It seemed he had been examining the ruins of Memphis for the past few days, and was here at the museum to check up on some details appertaining to Memphis.

"Prof, why don't you have a night on the town, meet a girl, have some fun?"

"Boss doing what I'm doing is fun for me," he said smiling.

Shaun shook his head in dismay as he left him there, to return to the hotel. He found Bobby, Bill and Tim in the bar and went over to join them.

It seemed they had been out with the three girls for lunch and were meeting them here for dinner later.

"So how is it going with them?" Shaun asked.

Bobby smiled, "Not too bad at the moment, Carol's a great girl full of fun. How is it with the two stripes?"

"Oh, we're having dinner tomorrow night, so I'll want the Ford."

"Carol was talking about her, she was surprised she accepted your lunch date. Seems she doesn't go out all that much with other men. She was engaged to a pilot who was killed in Malta in the early days over there. Her father runs one of the intelligence sections at headquarters, quite high up in the pecking order by all accounts."

He left them to it, to have an early night.

The following afternoon he picked up his uniform and shirts, having been satisfied with the fit. Back in the hotel he had his hair cut, it had grown shaggy and curled around his neck, due to being out at the base. Now looking in the mirror of the hairdressers shop he looked a little more like a soldier he thought.

He spent the day reading, and glancing at his watch. 'I'm acting like a kid on his first date,' he realised. He left instructions at the reception desk to have the Ford washed and polished, before going to his room to change.

He pulled up by her block of flats. The doorway had little labels of the occupant's names, he scanned the list finding her name at the bottom against flat twelve, and pressed the button.

Her voice came over the speaker, "Shaun, the door should be open come on up, I'm at the top."

He heard the click of the door and opened it, entering a wide corridor with plants strategically placed along it. A stairway was to one side, but at the end of the corridor was a lift. He entered it and pressed twelve.

On exiting the lift he found there was only one door with the number twelve on it. He pressed the door bell and the door flew open, revealing Sharon.

She smiled. "Come on in, I'm running a little late and need to finish my makeup," as she drew him into the room. "There's drinks on the cabinet there. You can you make one for yourself, and I'll have what you have," she said leaving him to go into another room.

It was a large lounge with a mixture of traditional Egyptian and European furniture that all seemed to match. A large cream coloured settee and two matching armchairs surrounded a low, brass coffee table of Egyptian design. One wall contained bookshelves that were crammed with books. In another corner stood a modern radio with a record player to one side, underneath were piles of records. He found the drinks cabinet and was surprised to find Vodka amongst the wide selection of drinks available. In the small fridge at the side of it he found the tonics and an ice bucket.
He poured out two and took them over to the coffee table, leaving hers on it, he took his over to the book shelves.

The books covered a multitude of subjects. Some were written in Hebrew, others in Arabic whilst he noticed German and French titles amongst them. Shaun was slightly amazed at the sheer volume of the books on display.