12
Quid Pro Quo
15 September 1943
Colonel’s generosity of spirit was impressive, but nothing’s for nothing. It was a lesson Pietro had learned in the dingy dressing rooms, and it wasn’t long before he found out what he had to pay for all these new privileges.
Pietro hoisted a box of paint and brushes onto the stage as Sergeant Rogers tapped him on the shoulder.
“Sergeant?” Pietro asked, dreading the answer.
“Colonel wants to see you.”
It was time.
Inside the office that was stark and clinical when occupied by Tap Tap, Colonel Cairns’s version was filled to the brim with mementoes and memorabilia: a pair of signed, tired rugby boots next to an autographed oblong ball; pictures of a self-satisfied team of cricket players; a mounted Scottish tartan with a clan brooch; and, most encour
