Chapter 35The General sat in his tent in the dark, the only light coming from the glow of the ever-present cigarette.
“Come, share a drink with me, young Captain.”
He turned up the wick on the kerosene lamp so that it cast an oaken, morbid glow inside the tent. I found a stool and the General handed me a mess tin filled with vodka.
“For once, I am a little bit drunk.”
The General shook his head, looking almost skeletal, his iron-grey hair close-cropped to his skull. “We've won a victory. We've taken bold steps to ensure the future. So, why do I feel so deflated, hmm? Why am I not happier?”
I sipped the vodka. Rotgut. My stomach clenched.
“Because there's no glory in this, General. It's a tainted victory.”
The General raised his craggy eyebrows as if surprised and then nodded. “But m
