Nobody on the loading dock, but there was a gunner in each of the Hum-Vees. She went back to where she'd been sleeping, and kicked the other soldier f...om her company on the bottom of his boots to wake him up. He only groaned and rolled over on the stack of empty cardboard boxes. She kicked harder. "Wake up Roland, something's wrong."He sat up and fumbled with his rifle. "Sergeant?" Get your gear together and outside, I got a bad feeling about this." The pre-dawn air was chilly, but that wasn't. Casting around the house, she settled on the kitchen pots and a drawer from the Gunny's chest of drawers. Running back downstairs with the drawer, she put it on the passenger seat, and, she figured with the weight of the change in the pots, would stay.Running back upstairs, laughing, she scooped big handfuls of change into the pots. When she'd filled the pots, the milk jug was moveable – heavy still, but moveable. Still giggling, she carried the pots and pans to the small pickup truck, and,. A few others that we knew sat here and there, mostly along the aisle. Everyone faced towards the back, except for those that Sherry and her charge had passed. Those had all turned to watch the pair progress closer to the altar where we waited.The bride and Sherry neared the front and passed Jenny’s cheerleaders, who giggled quietly but gleefully. With them were what I found out was the chess club, who sat as if they hadn’t the first clue about what was happening. They passed the families. They. .." Thompson was not having a very successful time in regaining his aplomb, as he began to see this carefully scripted situation not just slip away from his absolute control; but cascade away quickly.But J. Carter Thompson was a major player in the business world, and had not risen to his position by being slow to react. And he was a world-class negotiator; and he brought those skills into play now."See here, Chandler," he began in what I am sure he thought was a more reasonable and.