This is a Holiday special for the Men of Combat! (I know...I know...Christmas is over but bear with me) The characters of Hanley, Saunders and the rest of King Company do not belong to me...I am merely borrowing them...The story line is one of my own and I am making no money off of this tale...NO COPYRIGHT IS INTENDED...Hope you, the reader, will find this special enjoyable...Now On To The Show!

CHAPTER 1

Sgt. Saunders glanced over at Lt. Hanley for a moment before focusing on the road ahead. They were on their way back to 2nd Platoon after meeting a contact with the French Underground. The meet had taken place in a town called Delaney located sixty miles east of K Company's camp and had provided coordinates to a possible German post.

Currently Saunders was behind the wheel and Hanley was in the passenger seat, both were bundled up against the cool air, even with the canvas top attached the heater was working overtime to warm the interior. Snow had fallen overnight so the trip back would take a little longer than planned as Saunders was having to keep the speed down to a minimum due to the covered roads. They had been traveling an hour, covering less than twenty miles {at this rate they wouldn't make it to camp until mid-day tomorrow Saunders thought} and the temperature was dropping.

"LT you alright?" Saunders asked, his friend had been unusually quiet since they left the town.

"Yeah, Saunders I'm fine." Hanley responded as he shifted in his seat looking for a more comfortable position. "The temperature is dropping and if the snow starts coming down much harder we'll have to find some type of shelter until morning."

Do you remember seeing any buildings or houses on this route?

"There's a small cottage...maybe fifteen miles from here...it's vacant, or it was the last time I came through on my own, sits a few yards from the road."

"We could bed down there for the night and start fresh in the morning." Saunders suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, we aren't covering much ground in the dark anyway." Hanley agreed, pulling his coat tighter against his chest.

Saunders concentrated on the road ahead as snow began to fall thick and fast, wipers were working overtime but still couldn't keep up with the falling snow.

"It's no good LT, can't see two feet in front of the jeep."

"We should be close." Hanley said, "I'll take the flashlights and walk beside you."

Saunders brought the vehicle to a stop, engine idling as Hanley rummaged through both of their packs, finding the flashlights, switching them on he stepped out of the Jeep and walked around to the driver's side. "I'll stay a few feet ahead, close to the side of the road. Can you see the lights?

"Yeah…as long as I keep the window down…watch where you step LT," Saunders advised as he put the car in drive and began following at a slow pace, keeping an eye on Hanley's tall form.

Fifteen minutes later Hanley signaled for Saunders to halt…walking back to the vehicle he leaned against the door. "It's over there," Hanley said pointing off to his left.

Saunders caught the outline of the cottage...when Hanley stepped away he maneuvered the jeep to within a few feet of the front door before coming to a stop waiting for the LT to catch up.

Hanley scanned the area as he walked toward where Saunders had parked, nothing stirred, the snow was still falling hard but he could see the taillights of the jeep. Once he was standing beside the vehicle he handed Saunders one of the flashlights, keeping the other for himself.

"I'll check out the cottage, you stay here til I get back, doesn't look like anyone has been through recently but with the snow fall, any tracks would have been covered."

"Ok, LT…just don't take too long, it's freezing out here." Saunders said as he blew on his gloved hands.

"Only take a few minutes." Hanley said as he took off around the side of the house.

Hanley checked the back door, turning the handle found it locked…looking through the window to the right of the door he could make out the shape of a bed and dresser in the moonlight. The bed was vacant and no light shown through the door leading into the main room, no tracks were visible as he walked around the dwelling. Looking through the front window all was dark, turning the handle on the front door found it locked as well, examining the lock he reached into a pocket of his fatigues and pulled out a small pouch, selecting the right tool he picked the lock and stepped inside moving quickly to the right listening for movement as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Sweeping the interior with his flashlight, ensuring that the cottage was empty he packed the tool pouch away and stepped outside walking back to where his friend was waiting.

"All clear," Hanley said as he reached in to grab his pack.

Saunders shouldered his pack and followed his friend inside giving his eyes a moment to adjust before using his flashlight to scan the room. Locating the fire place he stepped over to the hearth, placed his pack on the floor and began looking for some kind of kindling, he found a small stack of cut wood beside the fireplace and a few minutes later had a fire going. While Saunders was taking care of heating the room, Hanley located an oil lamp sitting in the center of a small kitchen table a moment later it's soft glow lit the interior.

"Well LT, this is cozy…don't you think?" Saunders said removing his helmet, scarf and coat as he spoke, placing the items on one of the chairs near the table.

"Yeah, cozy." Hanley responded, removing his damp outerwear, draping the items over the other chair.

The two men took up position in front of the fireplace, hands reaching out toward the flames.

"A hot cup of coffee would make it cozier." Hanley commented, raising a hand, he gently messaged his temple, a headache had been plaguing him for two days and it didn't seem to want to let up. The cold drive hadn't helped and neither was staring into the fire, taking a step back he turned his gaze toward Saunders who was now kneeling, going through his pack.

What are you looking for? Hanley asked curiously.