How I spend my company mandated trip

The line of trees was basking in the glow of a searing summer sun. A couple of robins were twittering, trying to figure out the best spot for their nest. Carl was leaning against the bark of a knotted willow, impatiently taking another drag of his pipe. A little way off he could hear the intermittent banging and whistling of heavy artillery, but right here it seemed to be a peaceful spring day.

He held a hand over his eyes and peered down the road. A figure was slowly approaching with what seemed to be a large basket, but he was to far to make out a uniform. He rested his pipe on a branch and checked his rifle. This rifle apparently only had room for one bullet.He sighed to himself. Why didn't they get him a semi-automatic, like they used in Kosovo? One bullet should be more than enough, though. He demonstratively leaned the rifle against the tree next to him and sat down, relighting his pipe as he did so. The figure was close enough now to distinguish a uniform, definitely not one of his team. Maybe Russian or Serbian. Had to be Serbian, the closest russian had to be at least 50 miles to the north. Now he was waving. "Zdravo! Doneo sam ručak!" Carl pulled his cap over his eyebrows, swearing. "Karl, je li to ?" The Serbian smiled, pausing a couple of paces from where he sat. Carl looked up."Dammit Frank, are you trying to cut my vacation short? What's with the yelling?" Frank lowered his collar to reveal an intricate tribal tattoo and pressed it for a few seconds. "Hahaha Carl! Good to see you! Look! Lunch!" He presented the contents of the basket to Carl. Bread, a couple of bottles of red wine, some cheese and about two pounds of marijuana. This finally gave Carl a reason to smile. "Jesus Frank, where did you score this?" "This is what you get when you're friendly to people once in a while. You should try it. How's your weekend so far? Seen any familiar faces?" Carl shrugged. "Gill from accounting, but he caught a bullet a couple of months ago. I guess the rest is off partying in the west."