“What was their response?”

“Private Garrity said it was up to each soldier to make his own choice.”

“And then?”

Major Powers shakes his head slowly. “The two conscious boys chose to be injected with a fatal dose of morphine.”

Shad nods as though in grave appreciation of Powers having to relive this moment. “And the unconscious one?”

“He was from the same unit as one of the conscious boys. The same hometown. That boy said the one in the coma would choose the same fate if he could. Private Cage didn’t want to inject an unconscious man, but the two others persuaded him to do it. My words counted for nothing. I quoted scripture to them, but it fell on deaf ears.”

A black woman in the jury utters a sound I can only describe as lamentation.

“Were the soldiers in fact given a lethal dose of morphine?”

“They were.”

“Who injected them?”

“Private Cage.”

A muffled groan comes from someone in the jury. This time Judge Elder throws a glare at the jury box.

“All three men?” Shad asks.

“Yes. Garrity had a broken shoulder and felt he couldn’t do a professional job. But he was in full agreement with the decision.”

“Did the medics leave the ambulance immediately after Cage gave the injections?”

“No. They waited until all three men fell unconscious.”

“Did they say anything to you?”

“They said that if they made it out alive, they’d come back with help.”

“Did you say anything to them?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I told them they were both going to burn in hell, but that I would see them in Leavenworth first.”

Shad turns and looks straight at the jury, as though to be sure they have understood the full import of what has been related to them. “All right. What happened to you after Cage and Garrity left?”

“I watched those poor boys die. Then I slowly froze for about ten hours. Cage had piled some blankets on me, but I ended up losing four toes to frostbite anyway.”

“Who got you out?”

“The Chinese finally sent a patrol down to check the wreck. They hauled me up the cliff with a rope rig, then slowly passed me up the line to a Chinese prison camp for interrogation.”

“All right, Major. Were there ever any repercussions for what had happened in the ambulance?”

“Yes. After about a month in captivity, I was traded back to our side for a Chinese MiG pilot who’d been shot down. As soon as I got back to South Korea, I reported what had happened to my commander and filed a formal complaint against both Cage and Garrity.”

“What was the result of your efforts?”

“Nothing.”

Shad looks incredulous. “Nothing?”

“A lot of angry phone calls passed between the air force and army brass, but the long and the short of it was, the whole episode was swept under the rug for political reasons.”

“What political reasons?”