THE ELITE FORCE: FIRST PART OF THE SERIES
As the group of 7 planes flew overhead, Colonel Maxwell turned to the private.
"Battalion 24 will get the job done."
The private replied, "How can you be so sure? I have heard rumors that the 'Elite Force', as some call them, have never been trained by our air force commanders!"
"Silence!" the Colonel roared at him. "You speak lies. They are the air force's finest cadets, trained by their leader and their leader only!"
And so the private lapsed into silence, thinking of rumors and cadets, but most of all, of Battalion 24.
I am Magnolia, commander of The Elite Force.
I looked down at my hands. My sisters and I had never told anyone our secret. We were all blessed and cursed with amazing powers. Celeste, Bella, Lily, Rose, Eli (Elizabeth), and myself all had powers of unfounded magic. Our family insignia was a snowflake with each power described within it. We could even transform into any animal that we wished. I had always managed to control these abilities before, but, unbeknownst to myself, the journey we were about to undertake would reveal those powers and cause an uproar that only I could fix.
I had just finished the final pre-takeoff check of the plane. Everything was in perfect shape, ready for the long flight ahead. Our destination: the heart of Nazi Germany. I settled myself in the cabin, and called to my partner, Celeste. She is my sister, and she's one of the smartest people I know.
"Celeste! Time to get the plane in gear!" She ran over and jumped into the plane. "All ready?" she asked. I nodded in response. We closed the door and I picked up the radio to make two calls.
"This is Battalion 24. I have a flight of seven planes, one commander and six bombers. What runway is clear?"
"Roger that, Battalion 24. Runway 7 is clear."
Next, I sent out a call to my bombers. Twelve of them in all, they were the most loyal aviators any commander could have.
"You guys are fantastic! Keep up the great work. "
"Roger that, Red Dog Leader. We appreciate the support."
I smiled, then set down the radio and breathed. Everyone was ready to go, and it was time to fly.
Our dangerous mission was to divert and destroy a fleet of Luftwaffe bombers on their way to bomb an Allied air base. As commander, I issued an order of protection. This would enable the emergency forces to defend the base IF we didn't cut the planes off. There was no chance we wouldn't, but just in case… I wanted to be prepared for anything that could happen.
We took off from base and were soon cruising in the air across our kingdom, the land of Donaire. As my battalion formed position to go through the portal, I glanced around to make sure we we safe. This was the only power I had ever revealed to anyone, the ability to go back or forward in time. We quickly flew through the hole and suddenly found ourselves on the edges of Germany, WWII time period, approximately 1943. Up ahead, I spotted a fleet of 5 planes doing what apparently seemed to be a routine base check. As we got closer, however, I could tell that these were the enemy planes we were looking for. I started to gain on them, apprehension growing, when suddenly, the entire plane froze over.
"What the heck just happened?!" screamed Celeste. I looked at her, shocked, as the plane began to thaw, but not fast enough. The fleet had noticed us, and they were heading in for the chase.
"Red 6 to Red Dog Leader. What just happened?"
I grabbed the radio and yelled into it, "They've spotted us! Form attack positions!"
"Roger that. Will radio orders."
I relaxed for an instant, then turned to Celeste and gave her the thumbs up. She nodded and carefully lowered the ice spears that had come from the sudden freeze-over into the chambers of our shots. I centered the target on their lead plane and quickly pushed the button. The spears shot out of the chamber with flames on their tips and hit the plane so fast the pilot couldn't even look twice. As he parachuted to the ground, our other planes moved in on the remaining 4. Just as four of my bombers moved in on the enemy planes, one plane broke away from the group and wheeled north. "Celeste!" I cried. "Radio 1 and 2 to follow!" She quickly grabbed the radio and called for them, as well as telling the other bombers to first destroy the enemy planes and then swing around to follow us. The next leg of our journey had begun, and there was no stopping its course. Apparently the pilot whose plane we were tailing was half scared to death, and so mistakenly lead us to Stalag 13. I was considering shooting his plane down, but I was interested in the chase, so we followed on. Suddenly, with one last terrified look at the planes following him, the pilot went into a dive, straight into the heart of the prison camp.
As the barrack burst into flames, I got ready to land the plane. There was a small piece of field area near the gates which I steered the plane towards, hitting the ground softly. My two units circled the camp. Celeste stayed behind to put the plane in lockdown while I ran into the camp. Four prisoners were staring at the flames as I raced over. The rest were running out of the other barracks to join them.
"Is your Kommandant in office?" I yelled.
"Yes, but hurry! This fire could burn the whole bloomin' camp down!" responded a British prisoner.
As I hurried away, I thought to myself, you didn't have to say that. I can tell. The pilot we were chasing obviously would rather die than be taken captive.
I rammed open the door to the office and quarters of the commander of the camp and found a pleasant young lady typing up a report on a typewriter. As I paced in she looked up from her work and asked me, in a German accent, if I was there to see the Kommandant.
"Yes!" I told her. "But it's extremely urgent. I need to get in there right now!"
"Colonel Klink, someone to see you."
"Send them in."
I strode into his office, my patience ebbing. I wheeled around to face his desk after I shut the door. It was time for a lecture.
"Do you have any idea of what is going on outside?"
"Is something wrong?" he replied.
My mind was seething. Clearly this man was not fit to run anything. As if you couldn't notice the screams and shouts coming from outside. Suddenly, I heard an explosion coming from the flaming barrack. Making sure that idiot colonel wasn't looking, I calmly walked over to the window and opened the wooden shades. A chaotic scene met my eyes. The flames had nearly engulfed the barrack. I could see that Celeste had joined the POWs and was giving directions for safety and practicality. I looked down at my hands and the rough pilot's gloves that covered them, then back outside. I turned my attention back to the colonel. As I opened my mouth to scold him, the door burst open and a rather large sergeant stumbled in.
"Colonel Klink!"
"Sergeant Schultz, can't you see I'm busy?!"
The sergeant sputtered into silence and turned around, visibly shocked to see me standing in front of the desk. His eyes widened as he realized that I was an enemy fighter. I could sense his emotions changing and wondered if he would proclaim me or keep quiet. I realized, however, that he was in the colonel's office for the same reason I was. Hmmm, I thought. He might be useful.
I turned back to the colonel and said to him, "I think it would be best to listen to the sergeant, Colonel Klink. He has something very important to tell you, that I just happen to agree with on urgency."
"You want me to listen to the sergeant instead of whatever you want to tell me?" he asked incredulously.
"As I said before, I happen to agree with him on the subject's importance." He stared at me for another few seconds, then turned his gaze to the sergeant. At his nod, Sergeant Schultz spoke.
"Herr Kommandant, one of the barracks is on fire!" he gasped.
"On FIRE? Why didn't you say so before, you bumbling idiot?" He grabbed his coat, hat, and crop, then made his way out the door. Sergeant Schultz turned to me, his mouth gaping, and finally managed to pull himself together. Before he could speak, I rushed out the door and to the barracks. The now flame-engulfed barrack was still standing, however burned it was. The colonel had started organizing a water chain to end the fire, but he was moving too slow. I knew what I had to do.
I held my breath as I walked into the burning barrack. I ducked as a roof beam fell down, then turned around and fixed the beam with a blast of silver. I noticed a door across the room that looked like it had a nameplate on it, so I headed toward it, ducking as more beams fell in. I rammed open the door, and the first thing I saw was a huge hole in the floor, with plane wreckage strewn all around. I glanced at the hole in the ceiling, then caught my breath as I saw the blood spattered on the burned walls. There was only one possible thing that could have happened. When the plane had hit, the colonel had been dragged underground with that force. I shuddered. We had to get to him fast, or he would be gone forever.
I stumbled outside, breathing heavily with the stench of burning wood still in my mouth. One of the other prisoners, the French one this time, brought over a chair and a cup of water. I sat down as he began to speak very rapid French. Thankfully, as queen, I had taken some lessons and understood completely.
"Where is la colonel?" He looked at me expectantly.
I sighed, then looked him long and hard in the eye. "He's underground."
A gasp went up from the crowd.
"You mean in the tunnels?" he whispered, referring to the underground network beneath the camp.
"No. When that plane crashed, he must've been dragged underground by the force."
The British prisoner exchanged glances with the Frenchman, then whistled. Another group of prisoners ran over wearing fire suits.
"Are you sure that those will protect you in this blaze?" I questioned. Just then, Celeste walked up behind me. She had covered herself in flames and was ready to search. All right, then, I thought. Let's start.
An hour later, still nothing had turned up. It was now my responsibility to talk to the Kommandant and inquire about how the camp was run. However, this story was about to take an unsuspecting turn.
"You did WHAT?!" Colonel Klink cowered under my furious gaze.
"I notified the Feuerwehr to come and put out the fire. Is there a problem with that?"
Ugh. If he had called the fire department, then they would put out the fire. There was no problem with that, only that after the fire was out, they would do a roll call, and when they found out that the colonel was missing, the prisoners would be in trouble. They could discover the tunnel system. Klink would be shot, or sent to the Russian Front. The prisoners' operation would be shut down. Well, I guess rank helps. Klink cowered without meeting my eyes.
"Shut up and fight the fire yourself!"
"M-m-m-me?" he stammered.
"Yes! Now hurry!" I screamed. I ran out of the building and around one of the corners of the barracks, where nobody could see me. Snow had started to fall. It made a white curtain around me and comforted me, but it was no use. I had failed in our mission. There was no way that this could be turned around. All around me, snow swirled. I could hear voices and see a light getting closer to me, so I stood up and walked back. If it was the last thing I did, I would protect the prisoners. And Klink and Schultz. They were so foolish that they didn't deserve to die.
455.3 km away, in an office in Berlin, Allgemeine Burkhalter was making an important phone call when an extremely angry, very short man burst into the room. He ignored the fact that Burkhalter was on the phone, and started shouting at him. This man was Wichtige Hochstetter, the residential Gestapo officer for Hammelburg. The general calmly ignored him, finished his call, and turned to face the major. The instant Hochstetter saw the smoldering look in Burkhalter's eyes, he faltered, and his voice trailed off.
"Oh, please continue, Herr Major. You were obviously talking about something very important." Burkhalter leered at Hochstetter as he spoke. Hochstetter glared at him, then cleared his throat.
"An unusual storm has popped up just on the outskirts of Hammelburg. We think it might have something to do with…"
"Klink," the general finished for him. "What are you waiting for, dummkopf? Get the car!"
The drive to the Stalag took about 5 and a half hours, but as they got closer, the storm became worse. The snow was so blinding, the driver had to pull over three times and clear his side of the windshield. At last, they pulled into the camp gates. The snow was so blinding that they had to stop the car and get out, for fear of hitting someone or something. Thankfully, Klink had left the guard tower beacons on, as well as his lamp in the window to his quarters. The driver, using the light a a guide, pulled up close to the porch and scurried around to help the two officers make their way to the office.
"KLINK!" the two officers yelled together as they burst inside, Hochstetter re-filling the stove with coal as he screamed. After fumbling for a moment with the lock, the nervous oberst stepped out, wearing his warmest clothes.
"General Burkhalter, Major Hochstetter, how nice to see you, always a pleasure to see the Gestapo…" He trailed off as Hochstetter yelled, "KLINK! Shut up, you dummkopf!"
"Yes" mumbled Klink, visibly shrinking back. Burkhalter had commandeered his desk, so he sat down in a chair. Hochstetter remained standing.
"Do you have any idea what is going on outside?" asked Burkhalter.
"Herr General, it is a blizzard."
"Do you know why it is happening?"
"No. All I know is that this other general came here to the Stalag, after a plane had crashed into one of the barracks. A fire had started, and about an hour and a half after, she told me to fight the fire myself and left. I haven't seen her since."
"Another general? And a woman general at that… Where did she go?"
"I saw her go outside. Why?"
Burkhalter exchanged a look with Hochstetter, then they both stood up and left the office, leaving Klink sitting in a chair, staring after them.
Outside, I couldn't see anything. The snow was swirling around my face, and with a start, I realized that my gloves were freezing over. I hurried to pull them off, and they blew away on the chilling gale. Suddenly, a bright light cut through the snow. I realized that my powers had started a fire. I quickly used some water to put it out, then realized what I was doing. I was using my powers, and I hadn't hurt anybody. Hmmm… that could come in handy, I thought. Through the thick blur, I heard voices getting louder. Uh oh. If those people were coming to find me, it most likely was not for a helpful flying tip. I had to stop them. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed down. The more I calmed down, the slower the storm blew. At last, the storm slowed enough so that I could see through the snow. There were 2 men in Nazi uniforms trying to make their way through the snow drifts to find me. One of them, the shorter one, had a Luger out and was pointing it straight ahead of him. I had to get out of their path before they found me. I looked down, then closed my eyes and summoned an enchanted staff, using the command 'Heqat'. I pointed the staff at the earth and a hole started to form. In about seven seconds, a tunnel going underground had formed, and I was able to slip inside and seal it off. Farther down, I could see a lighted passageway ahead. As I climbed down the wooden ladder that had appeared, I could hear voices, both from above the ground and from the passageway. I stepped off of the last rung and into a room that was hollowed out from the dirt, but had wooden support beams. A bare table sat in the middle of the room. I walked the length of the room, then turned right and found another passageway, this time with two paths splitting off of it. I chose the path on the left, only to find out that a cave-in had blocked its continuation. A cave-in… could this be where the plane had crashed? I turned around, ready to go back to the surface to get my sister, but realized that by going back upstairs, I could endanger everybody even more than if the fire department had discovered the tunnels. I would have to go alone and find out what lay ahead.
I stepped back, aimed my staff, then power blasted the mess in front of me. The dirt flew back into the walls and the wooden beams affixed themselves, holding up the ceiling. Ahead of me, a dark tunnel lead deeper into the earth, with blood spattered along the walls. The only thing that I could do was create a few torches to help light the walls. As I walked down, the path became narrower and less of a path than of a hole somebody had dug with a single spade in a hurry. It was most likely a last route of escape in case the prisoners' operation was found out. I hesitated, then turned back around so that I could make sure that I wasn't being followed. After I had made sure, I created a bench to sit down on and rested a second. I really wished that I could have some help in case the colonel needed medical attention. Even though I was licensed as a medical practitioner, I would still need help for major emergencies. As if my thoughts had been read, a light appeared through the ceiling and one of the prisoners jumped down.
"We've been looking for this spot for a while. Thought you might have come down here. Need any help?"
"Yes." I was amazed. These men were like moles, with all of their tunnels. However, would they have the needed medical supplies?
"Do you guys have-"
He cut me off. "Yeah. One of the prisoners is a doctor, so we always make sure that he has all of his supplies in case somebody is injured on a night mission." I was amazed. A prison camp, that has an underground base operation, and its own doctor on call! I couldn't believe it. These men were outdoing themselves! I motioned to him to follow me, and he jumped down. Another man, presumably the medic, came after him and, lugging a bag of supplies, followed me.
I led them down the tunnel, a ball of fire on my staff lighting the way. The tunnel descended as we continued, until we came to a hollowed-out space at the end. There was a piece of plane metal lying on the ground, still slightly smoking. On the left side of the room, there was the body of a man. He was wearing a bomber jacket and a cap, and from what I could see of him, he was bleeding profusely. The medic ran over and motioned for the other man to hand him his bag, to which he obliged.
"He's out cold. Must have stumbled down here before he collapsed."
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, hoping that the man would survive.
"Actually, yes," said the medic. "Can you apply pressure to his head wound?"
I kneeled down and set my hands on his head. I felt a small twitch, and as I looked down, I saw his gash knit itself back together. The medic glanced up at me, astonished.
"We need to carry him back upstairs. He should be fine now, but he will need some rest." I turned around to see Celeste staring down at me. She winked, then summoned a stretcher and helped me lift him onto it.
Aboveground, Major Hochstetter and General Burkhalter were arguing about the mysterious figure they had seen, and then disappeared.
"I still think that we should go check out where that person went," argued Hochstetter.
"Major, you must be verrückt, insane, crazy to want to stay out in this cold. We are going back!"
"But General," whined Hochstetter, "what about Klink? Do you really want to stand there listening to his constant babble for hours on end?" Burkhalter was silent for a few seconds, then looked the major straight in the eye.
"The colonel's 'babble', as you call it, is most certainly better than yours. And it may get annoying, but without his 'babble' we wouldn't know who we were looking for. Not are. But we are going inside!" declared Burkhalter.
Major Hochstetter grunted and started toward the place he had seen the other general disappear. When he looked up, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Neither could Celeste.
I hauled the injured colonel out of the hole, with the medic pushing up the other end of the stretcher. I looked around and did a double take at the girl wearing a purple jacket. Was my sister seriously standing in front of General Burkhalter and Major Hochstetter?
"Celeste!" I hissed. She didn't turn around. If I hadn't known about her powers, I would of thought the small swirl of snow behind her boot was just wind. Right in front of my eyes (literally, I wasn't even out of the hole), a message scrawled itself in the snow. Get back underground. I got caught. They're looking for you. Like I said before, Celeste is really smart. I pushed the stretcher back under and sent Celeste a mental message saying I was back under and the hole is closed up.
We carried the man and raced down the passageway. I spotted another ladder and rushed over, almost dropping the stretcher in my haste.
"That leads to Barrack 4, the only barrack without a connection to the others," the medic said, shooting me a confused look.
"That's perfect. He's going to need a quiet place to recuperate. Come on, let's go." We climbed up the ladder, with one person pulling and the other pushing the stretcher until we had made it up to the top.
"Okay," I said. "Let's get him onto a table." I looked around and decided to build a medical examination table. As soon as that was done, I unbuckled the straps on the stretcher and suspended the colonel in the air, then rolled the table under him and gently lowered him down. The medic was about to unbutton the man's jacket, but I stopped him.
"I have an idea. What if we use an MRI? That way we'll know if there are internal injuries or broken bones."
"I'm not sure I'm familiar with what you are talking about, but if it works, it would be our best option." He grinned at me and said, "Let's try it."
I set up the table and started the machine. It passed over the colonel, then beeped.
"Okay," I said. "We need to wait a few moments, then it will give us the results." Sure enough, about ten minutes later, it beeped again. However, the results were not what we had hoped for. It seemed that he had broken his arm, but the break wasn't good. He had broken both bones, but in different places, about four inches apart from each other.
"Oh boy," said the medic. "That's going to take a while to heal. At least he doesn't have internal injuries." We removed a few small pieces of metal from his arm, checked for small cuts, and finally, I cleaned off his jacket so that if there were any pieces of glass or metal, he wouldn't cut himself when he wore the jacket. Then I set off to see what the prisoners and my sister were doing.
I finally found a way to burn my sister about her remark about my saying that my sisters dance but I don't. Celeste was standing between the two men, arms outstretched. At least her hands weren't lit; almost no one knew about our powers. Maybe I was just reading it wrong. She's strong, and maybe if they came toward her, she would use her hands. But somehow I don't think that's the case.
Major Hochstetter and General Burkhalter were pointing pistols at my 16-year-old sister.
I was so angry I could blow up the world. How dare they. I can't believe they would kill my sister just to find out who I was!
Instinctively, six of my fingers lit with our powers and the other four with the seasons. My palms burned with the feeling of them. I squeezed my hands into fists to make it stop.
Celeste looked from one to the next. A strong wind nearly knocked her over, but it just took her hood. Her long auburn hair swirled in the breeze. Her face looked as I had never seen it before- scared.
I was so focused on Celeste I didn't even notice a third man coming up behind her. He pushed a button on a large machine and chains shot out of a hole. Celeste turned around, but not fast enough. Chains are heavy, and as she ducked down to avoid them, they hit her head.
"Celeste!" I screamed, making my presence known. I wanted to run. I really did. I didn't know if she was alive or dead. But I was too shocked to move.
Celeste got to her knees, holding her head. My eyes widened as I saw blood dripping out from it. When she got herself together, she gritted her teeth and healed it. Then she whirled around to face them and shot metal. Her eyes glowed gray, something I thought only I could do. Her hair went straight out behind her, eyes focused on the men, who were now covered in chains. Then she turned to the direction the chains that hit her head had come from. I couldn't see her face, but I almost fainted at what she said.
"Lieutenant Viktor?"
Lieutenant Viktor was one of my former prisoners who was charged for killing an innocent man. He had served his sentence and had been free for a while. But why? My sisters and I had always taken good care of our prisoners, even if they were our enemies. We tried to make sure that they went on to lead good lives and get good jobs. I peeked around the wall just in time to see him run off.
When the chained up men were thrown in the cooler and Viktor was gone, I walked up to my sister, who was still looking at the place Viktor had been. I had no idea that Viktor had been a part of the German army, although, now that I was thinking about it, during his questioning he had mentioned to me that he was of Prussian descent.
I pulled my sister down on the snow-covered ground. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. She sat down obediently, but then she did something I thought I'd never seen Celeste do in a lifetime.
My sister started to cry. Her eyes were watery. I inched away from her, because when my sister is sad, her next move is anger. And when she's angry, she takes advantage of her strength. But she didn't get angry. She looked me in the eyes.
"Let's go home, Magnolia."
Just like when we were little, we stood up and hugged. Then, when I thought we had calmed down, I said, "I can't. And I don't think you should. The colonel-"
"-needs some company," Celeste put in. She wiped away her tears and smiled. "Lead the way."
The next day, the medic and I returned to Barrack 4. I was preparing some medicine when I heard a groan. We both turned around just in time to see the colonel blink open his eyes. I looked at the medic, then ran outside to where the prisoners were playing volleyball and Schultz, Klink's Sergeant of the Guard, was trying to hit the ball too. I waited until the ball was out of play, then walked up and casually said, "He's awake."
"What?" shouted the Brit, whose name was Newkirk. "Come on, then. We can't ruddy leave the gov'ner sitting around. Let's go see him already!"
I let them into the room, then pulled up a chair next to the bed. The medic, whose name was Pearson, grabbed a tray with some water and food on it and brought it over. He put the food on the chair, then got a cold cloth and put it on the officer's forehead. I made sure that there were enough chairs in the room, then I went to Barrack 2, opened the secret ladder, and headed underground to man the radio while the others were talking to the colonel. As I sat there, I began to get the feeling that something was going to happen, but for about five minutes, I read a book in peace. Suddenly, the radio crackled to life. Beep Beep B-Beep Beep.
"Mother Goose to Papa Bear, do you read?" I sat for a moment, startled, then sprung into action. I grabbed the receiver and spoke into it.
"Mother Goose, this is Frozen Lightning. I have struck Papa Bear's cave." The radio man at the other end was silent for a moment, in shock, then pulled himself together.
"Frozen Lightning, we have a tuning job for you. One of the Violins of Autumn is missing its bow. Please help this instrument find its counterpart. By the mystical flora, 2300 hours. Mother Goose, signing off."
Well, was I in a predicament. Since the colonel was, albeit temporarily, out of commision, I was the standing senior POW officer, even though I wasn't a POW. The message from London had been coded, but it was easy enough for me to translate it. Simply, somebody who worked with a partner had gone missing, and I needed to rendezvous with them tonight in the woods at 2300 hours, or 11 pm. How was I going to do this alone?
"Hey Kinch, can I talk to you?" He nodded and followed me out.
"I need you to get someone to come with me tonight. I have been ordered by London to meet... somebody in the woods tonight. However, I will need explosives." He nodded again, then thought for a moment.
"I think Carter's the best for that. He can follow an order, light a bomb, and speak almost fluent German."
"Good," I said. "Tell him to come to Barracks 9 tonight at 10:30. I will see him then." Kinch nodded again, then turned and went into Barracks 4.
Later that night, Carter met up with me just outside of the barbed wire.
"Hiya, oh, I mean, I have arrived with the explosives. What are we doing tonight?" He seemed like a nice guy. Great. I needed more people like that right now. I quickly explained to him the importance of our mission, then added that we would need the explosives to blow a hole in the wall of a building.
"Gee, you're brave. Colonel Hogan and the rest of us could never do that. Hochstetter might catch us."
"Yeah, well," I replied. "I kind of have the ability to do that, considering that I live in the future." We hid behind the the trees as the searchlight passed, then ran into the dense forest. We walked for a while, and were getting rather tired, when a twig snapped. Carter and I froze, looking for the source of the noise. I turned around and saw a dark-haired man pointing a pistol at our heads. He swore under his breath, then, in a crystal-clear, annoyed voice, began speaking.
"It was arranged that one of Papa Bear's cubs would meet me tonight. Are you-
"Shhh!" yelled Carter and I together. "What if there was a Gestapo spy lurking in the bushes?" I looked at the man, then did a double take. British accent, dark hair, arrogant... It couldn't be Sherlock Holmes.
"It can't be..." I whispered under my breath.
"Can't be what?" asked the man, looking down his nose at me. Just then, I noticed the insignia on his jacket. He was a major. That meant I could order him to drop his weapon.
"Drop your weapon. Now. That's an order!" Carter looked at me like I was crazy, and Maybe-Holmes shot a disgusted look towards my face.
"You expect me to listen to a general imposter? I have no proof that you are a general!" I glared right at him, then spoke again
"I am Frozen Lightning and this is one of Papa Bear's cubs. You just defied an order. Drop your weapon or I will shoot you." He looked at me, then tossed the gun down. I motioned for Carter to grab it, and he scrambled to do so.
"Major Holmes," I began. "I know where your partner is, and that is why Carter is here. We must blow the wall out of Gestapo Headquarters in Berlin to get to him. Now, if you would rather have a ride than walk to Berlin, I suggest you follow me."
"Alright, but I have one question. How did you know my name?"
"Major," I said, smiling at him, "It's elementary."
We arrived in Berlin and headed straight for the Gestapo building. When we arrived, we went into the back alley.
"Carter, would you hand me a grenade?" He passed over the deadly weapon. After making sure everybody was clear of the area, I pulled out the pin and threw the grenade at the building. The wall exploded in a fiery blast, and I rushed into the chaotic scene. Some German officers rushed at me, but I punched them out of the way and continued forward. I finally made it to the interrogation rooms, and I kicked down the door to the first one I saw. There were two Gestapo men in there, and a British captain unconscious on the floor. Ignoring the guns drawn at my head, I grabbed the captain, froze the Gestapo officers, and sprinted out. Once we made it out, I stopped time so that the four of us could make it back to camp before the investigation started.
Once we were back, Carter and I carried Captain Watson to the infirmary. He was in pretty bad shape. One of his legs was fractured, and he was obviously in a lot of pain. Pearson and I got the recovery surgery over with very quickly, and then we let him sleep. Sherlock was anxious to talk to him, but I ordered him not to go in there until I told him to. I didn't want the captain more nervous than he had to be.
The next day, he woke up. I was making waffles for breakfast, and I thought he might want some too. I was setting them down on his tray when he opened his eyes.
"Begging your pardon, miss, but where am I?"
"Don't worry, you are at Stalag 13. This is the secret infirmary, and I am currently acting senior officer."
"How did I get here? The last thing I remember was hearing an explosion..."
"Yeah... That was me, blowing up the side of Gestapo Headquarters with a grenade. We came to rescue you."
"One more question."
"Yes?"
"Are those waffles for me?" I laughed and handed him his plate. We chatted for a while, then I left to go check on my other patient. I had an announcement that some people would not like to hear.
"Leaving? For how long?" I sighed. I knew it would be impossible to explain to Colonel Hogan why I was leaving, but I had to go.
"It's only for three days. You can be Senior POW Officer from your bed. Besides, that's an order."
He looked at me with that grin of his. "I finally understand why enlisted men think officers are awful."
I smiled. "Why thank you for the compliment." -
As I climbed into the cockpit, I thought forward to tomorrow, and what might happen. The problem of Lieutenant Viktor I pushed to the back of my mind. I would deal with that later, but for now, I had to worry about other things. Choosing new cadets was always hard, but I always got it done. I smiled as I buckled my seatbelt, gunned the engine, and took to the sky.
