146 | John W. Warner IV wilted flowers to our common grave pit.He stood and raised his voice to its maximum. Am I not understood by ALLt” Montgomery and Alexander huffed while the others sat squirming. Churchill sat and plowed ahead. Now…to another smaller matter to cleanse our palates. Beatrice, my dear, enlighten our dreary day with your colorful privateering tank tale. Bea stood, stunned and unprepared. Well I…that is, well, its not much of a report, sir, but Churchill scolded: Rubbishment, grand scale. Go on, mlady, report I say! Tired, thoroughly hungover, Bea rushed through her story quickly and haphazardly, her mind hazy and unorganized, …well, you see…then in the mosques square stood three heavy tanks, biggest buggers youve ever laid eyes upon, hefty armor plating, sixty tons apiece said a German, Im fluent. Heavily camouflaged under nets and tarps. I, uh… after a distraction by a caged lioness I let loose, yes a lion, we actually pinched one with great difficulty in the commotion. The commanding major paid gold to traders, well, she was to be a mascot for them, her poor cubs too. Sorry, bit of a headache today. You see, we managed Montgomery blurted: A caged lion? Were you attending a circus? Then they all laughed at her. No, sir, certainly not. Bea sat in disgust, exhausted, her perfunctory and unconvincing report a patchwork mess. Alexander turned to Churchill. Winston, shes having us on, eh? Whats this inane phantom Panzer gibberish all about? Weve enough to worry about. Patience, Harold. Shes been through some hell southwest of here at Siwa, and my advice to anyone arriving there is to keep going through that hell. McMaster laid down a report for Alexander. Sir, a reminder. Siwa is now occupied by elements of Generale di Brigata Di Nisios Division, the GGFF, of four hundred soldiers strength. The airstrips have been taken over by Caproni 310s from the 12th Squadron Presidio Coloniale, and of course a few Jerry Ju-87 supply planes. There are aerial photos of elements of the 15th Panzer Division, about a hundred and fifty DAK troops estimated. Theyve obviously secured a large water supply there, and may move northwest if given the orders and further reinforced. General Alexander put on his thick reading glasses. Oh? Interesting. Bit of