SLPAD - 54

[Michael Bailey]

Levine’s roused Picnic, lying that the General’s coming -

Rizzo - who’s been in the john long enough for beers to be served & for
Picnic to fall asleep - hears Picnic’s irritable reply, “General’s ass,”
and tells him to be happy-go-lucky like Levine & Rizzo himself.

What Picnic had described to Levine, back at base, as “a storm or
something” is a hurricane. 250 people are missing, according to the Lake
Charles newspaper Baxter purchased.

Rizzo speculates pseudo-learnedly that they’ve been sent out to find the
eye thereof.

Baxter more realistically focuses on communications being out.

“The hurricane, it turned out, had completely annihilated a small village
called Creole, located on an island, or rather a high area, in the bayou
country along the gulf, about 20 miles from Lake Charles.”