He smiled as he walked past the full length mirror on his wardrobe and flexed. All the hard work since the summer had really paid off.In the hall he m...t Amanda and the two went outside, where they warmed up and hit the pavement. Even as they jogged, he could feel the wheels moving in his brain, turning, spinning and working their way around. There was nothing unusual about silence in the morning; the two had fallen into a pattern of crawling out of bed, going for a run and then getting ready. Unless he brought it with him," he said, discouragingly."Either? You mean he does have ammo for that cannon?" I asked."Well, only practice rounds," the Major explained. "No HE or AP. We don't keep that here. It's all been shipped back to the Depot upstate."Everyone relaxed somewhat. Things weren't as bad as they could have been.The Sergeant Major spoiled the good news. "That's not entirely accurate, sir," he said in a guilty tone. "I'm afraid he does have a few HE rounds in his magazine. There. Ely called most of my pitches during the first part of the game, but he let Tommy do that job from the 3rd inning on. At first, Mr. Ely had me relying too much on my fastball, and I gave up two hits that inning before we convinced Mr. Ely to let me concentrate on the knuckleball. I had a no-hitter for the next five innings when Mr. Ely pulled me to give a prospective reliever a chance. Darn it, Joey gave up two homeruns, and we lost the game. Nevertheless, Mr. Ely was impressed with what I had. .. unpleasantness for you." I'm not gay," he snapped.I nodded back. "I don't remember suggesting I thought you were."I suddenly wondered if he worked in Boots on Saturday mornings: I'd noticed that the lads who were shelf-stacking in there wore white shirts and black trousers as part of their standard dress code. He didn't have a name badge on but maybe he left that in his locker at the back of the store.He looked intrigued but cautious about what it was I was asking of him."I'm gonna need you.