Copyright: 08/2013
Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image Productions etc.
Disclaimer: Combat! And its characters do not belong to me, this WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story.
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
The morning had been a beautiful crisp September day. The clouds looked like big fluffy bits of cotton candy just waiting to be picked and eaten but as the day wore on the sky grew dark and ominous.
She knew the Gestapo was closing in on her. She needed to get out of Nancy and find another safe house.
Charmaine watched the clouds as she rode her bicycle. A light mist began to fall as she reached the small dilapidated farmhouse. The house she found was about 17 kilometers just outside the village of Gondreville. It sat high upon a hill so she could see anyone approaching.
The long bike ride had taken its toll on her. Actually, it was the many bike rides that she had been doing for the past three weeks. She was so hungry but mostly Charmaine was thirsty. She searched the house for anything. Nothing was found. She tried the pump outside but that didn't work either. One more look around and if she found nothing, well she'd die of hunger and thirst. Charmaine noticed a cellar maybe the people left something there. Hanging on the wall was a kerosene lamp. She lit lamp and walked down the creaky stairs. When she reached the bottom she found some jars on a shelf. Most were empty finally she found a jar of preserves. Well it was something. As she gave one more cursory look around, she noticed a small wooden box lying on its side almost hidden. Well, well, what do we have here? Someone was hiding some bottles of wine. She picked one up and opened it. Charmaine took a long, deep swallow. Oh my, this is good, she took one more sip and replaced the cork. "Whoever this belongs to, I'm sorry but I need it right now more than you do.
She went back upstairs and blew out the light. Charmaine placed the wine in her shoulder bag. Better not get tipsy before I send the transmissions. If I get something wrong, London will think that the transmissions weren't from me.
A large clap of thunder broke her concentration as she finished the last of her transmissions. Charmaine looked up at the dark sky, a huge storm was on its way. She then noticed that a Kübelwagen was heading towards her. She took a match to the transmissions and dropped them onto the wooden floor. She picked up a broken chair and threw it on top of the paper. Charmaine knew she could not be caught with the radio transmitter. She grabbed it and slammed it into the fire.
The floor in front of her was now a raging inferno. As the jeep came to a halt, Charmaine picked up her shoulder bag and Sten gun and jumped out the large broken window at the back of the house. When the men opened the front door they were greeted by large blistering tongues of fire that almost kissed the Gestapo men's faces. To the men's horror, they thought the girl had set herself on fire in order to keep from being arrested.
Charmaine ran into the woods. The sky opened up and the rain came down in buckets. Why couldn't the rain have waited a little while longer? She prayed that the fire would be completely out of control. She wanted to go back and look but was afraid that the Gestapo would catch her. Charmaine kept running until she thought her lungs would burst.
Saunders, Caje and Kirby were heading back to Toul. They had been on a reconnaissance mission near Nancy. S2 needed vital information on the strength of the enemy forces.
"I hate France. It's been rainin' so much lately ya think you're gonna drown. Now it's rainin' and so darn cold ya feel like you're gonna turn into an ice cube. Caje, you say you love this place, well you can have it!"
"Merci, Kirby. I'll take it."
As the men trudged through the mud and the muck, they heard the thrashing of bushes behind them. The men all fell to the earth. Their rifles were aimed in the direction of the sound.
A woman carrying a Sten shot out in front of the men.
Saunders shouted at the woman to put up her hands. Charmaine tried to remain calm. She stood there pretending not to understand what the sergeant had said.
"Sarge, let me try maybe she doesn't speak English."
"Okay, go ahead."
"Jetez votre arme. Mettez vos mains en l'air!" ("Drop your weapon. Put your hands in the air!")
Charmaine did as Caje asked. She still had not said a word. She was not sure if they were really Americans. She wasn't going to take any chances.
"Caje, ask her what she is doing out here in the middle of a thunderstorm and why is she carrying a Sten gun?"
"Mademoiselle, que faites-vous ici, dans une tempête? Pourquoi avez-vous une mitraillette?" ("Miss, what are you doing here in a storm? Why do you have a gun?")
Charmaine willed herself to tear up a bit, she figured the men would feel some sympathy towards her. "J'ai trouvé l'arme. Je voyageais par moi-même et je pensais que cela me donnerait protection."
Well Sarge, she said that she found the weapon and that she was travelling by herself. She figured that it would give her some protection.
Saunders eyed her suspiciously. He had a feeling she understood everything he said. He decided to test her.
While trying not to look threatening, Saunders walked over to Charmaine. "May I look in your purse?"
Without thinking, Charmaine handed him her purse. The look on her face said everything. She knew she was caught.
He handed the purse to Kirby.
"Why did you pretend not to understand us?"
"I am sorry sergeant but I wasn't sure you were Americans. We have heard about some Germans disguising themselves as Americans."
"What is your name and what are you doing out here?"
"My name is Charmaine Allaire, I live in Velaine-en-Haye. I am on my way to visit my aunt in Toul."
Kirby was rifling through her bag when he came upon something very interesting.
"Well, lookee here Sarge."
Kirby's smile was from ear to ear when pulled out a bottle of wine from her purse.
"Kirby put that back and give her identity card to Caje."
Kirby found the card and handed it to Caje but kept one eye on the wine.
"What does it say Caje?"
"She's tellin' the truth Sarge. It says her name is Charmaine Allaire and she lives in Velaine-en-Haye."
"Sergeant could I please travel along with you? I will not cause you any problems."
Saunders thought for a moment. It would be better than having someone following them.
"Look, we are travelling fast do you think you can keep up?"
"Yes, sergeant, I believe I can."
"All right, let's go. Kirby!"
Kirby finally looked up at Saunders.
"Give the girl her purse back!"
"Oh, oh yea Sarge. Here ya go little lady. By the way, nice bottle of wine ya got there."
"Thank you. May I have my gun back Sergeant?"
"Listen we'll hold onto your Sten and if you should need it we'll give it back to you."
"Are you afraid I'm going to shoot you?"
"You said it lady not me! Now let's get goin'."
Charmaine moved out in front of Saunders.
The front of the house was on fire. The men decided to walk to the back and noticed the footprints leading away from the house. The girl had escaped but would not get far. Harry Cole*, the English traitor said she would be valuable if they could catch her. She knew many of the Resistance leaders.
The three men followed the tracks into the woods. It looked like she was trying to make her way to Toul. They needed to arrest her before she had made it the Allied lines.
Charmaine stepped out of line pretending to retie her shoe. She looked back to see if anyone was following.
She got behind Saunders, she knew he was watching her too closely. As she walked she would look back and smile at Kirby.
At first Kirby thought this little hike wouldn't be so bad after all. He smiled back at her. She was turning around so often, he realized that she really wasn't looking at him at all. She was watching to see what was going on behind him.
Kirby moved closer to her until he was within reach of her. With one quick snatch he grabbed her arm.
"What are doing, she yelled."
Caje was on point and stopped dead in his tracks. He thought Kirby had finally hit his breaking point. "Kirby what are you doin'?"
Saunders looked questioningly at Kirby. "Kirby let the girl go."
Charmaine struggled as Kirby held onto her. "No Sarge, she's up to somethin'. She keeps turning around and is lookin' back."
"I thought you were cute and funny. I thought we could share that bottle of wine later."
Saunders had trouble believing the girl. "Kirby are you sure?"
"Yea Sarge. I think there's somethin' out there and it's scarin' her."
"Let her go, Kirby."
Kirby released his death grip on the girl.
"Who are you looking for?"
"No one."
"You're lying. I'm not going to ask you again. If you don't answer, we'll leave you out here without your Sten gun and you can get to your aunt's house the best way you can."
"You can't do that!"
"Just try me lady."
"Alright, I'll tell you. I work for the Special Operations Executive. I have been betrayed and the Gestapo is looking for me. I am hoping that they think I am dead. I set the house on fire. But I can't be sure. They know that I have been sending all the transmissions."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"We are trained to never give out information to anyone. I hope that I can trust you."
Caje looked at her suspiciously. He whispered to Saunders, "Sarge you believe her?"
"Yea I do. There is something out there that is making her afraid."
"You can trust us. We'll try and help you anyway we can. If they have found out you're not dead they will be out here tryin' to track you. We gotta hurry."
The little group was moving even faster now but so was the Gestapo.
The wind had picked up and Charmaine was having a hard time moving. Saunders saw that she was having a hard time. He ran up to Caje. "See if you can find somewhere secluded that we can lay low for a while. I don't think she can travel much further in this storm."
The rain was constantly pelting her in the face, she kept walking unable to really see where she was headed. A large gust of wind caught her and pulled her down to the ground.
Kirby ran up to her and gave her a hand up.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am fine, the wind just caught me off guard."
Kirby took her arm and began helping her along.
Within ten minutes Caje returned to the group.
"Sarge, I found a little cave. It's not much but, it will get us out of the weather."
"Okay, lead the way."
They made their way to the cave. Caje and Kirby began cutting branches to cover the entrance.
The four huddled inside the cave. They were soaked to the skin.
"Sergeant, we really weren't introduced."
"I'm Sergeant Saunders and this is Caje and Kirby."
The two men just nodded their hellos.
"Oh, I am so cold, I know a fire is out of the question but do you think it would be alright if we each had a little bit of the wine to warm ourselves?"
Charmaine looked at Saunders with hopeful eyes.
"Yea, just a few of swallows each. Does anybody have any rations, Kirby?"
Kirby smirked as he reached inside his wet jacket. "Here ya go Sarge, the box is a bit wet but everything should be alright inside. Well it's better than nothin'."
Saunders opened the Dinner box and laid the contents on his handkerchief. Inside he found a P-38 can opener and a wooden spoon, a can of Swiss and American cheese, eight biscuits, five caramels, packets of sugar and salt, a pack of cigarettes and matches, some chewing gum, and a powdered orange drink packet.
Saunders opened the can of cheese. He took the spoon and spread the cheese on the eight crackers and handed two of them to each person. He gave each of them a caramel and a cigarette.
Charmaine handed the cigarette back to Saunders. "Here sergeant, I don't smoke."
Kirby lifted the cracker as in a toast. "Ya can't call it a feast but at least it's somethin'."
As they finished their meager meal, fatigue began to set in.
"We will stay until the worst of this storm blows over. Kirby you're up first, I'll relieve you in an hour and then Caje. I suggest we all get some rest."
As Kirby picked up his BAR, Caje couldn't help but smile as he heard Kirby mumbling under his breath. "I swear when I get out of this man's Army I am gonna sleep for a week and when I wake up I'm gonna turn over and sleep for another week."
Kirby stood near the opening of the cave. It was only a drizzle now but it was definitely getting colder by the minute or it could have been all he wet clothes he had on. 'I'm probably gonna die of some weird French disease nobody's ever heard of, then they'll all be sorry.'
Just as Kirby was finishing being sorry for himself he thought he heard a slight swishing sound. It stopped and then it began again.
Kirby hurried over to Saunders and whispered, "Sarge, I heard somethin' or someone out there. It's pretty close. I don't think they know we are in here."
Saunders reached over and lightly touched Caje. His eyes opened immediately. They could barely see each other in the dark. Saunders whispered, "Kirby thinks there is somebody out there."
He put his hand over Charmaine's mouth, it startled her but she did not yell out. He then whispered in her ear about Kirby hearing a noise.
He lifted the Sten gun and placed it in her lap. "Do you know how to use this?"
"Sergeant, I was the best in my class and I am not just talking about women."
He was glad she could handle herself in a firefight, it was one less thing he would have to worry about.
He gathered the three of them and proceeded to tell them what he wanted them to do.
"Hopefully they will pass us by but if they don't we will wait for them to enter. Don't shoot until I do. Charmaine, how many men did you see?"
"I believe there were only three of them."
They waited in the dark hoping that the men would not see the opening. The footsteps stopped as they neared the opening.
"Charmaine, nous savons que vous êtes là. Sortez de la grotte." (Charmaine, we know that you are there. Exit the cave.)
Charmaine thought fast and said, "Je ne suis pas en mesure de se déplacer. J'ai une entorse à la cheville. J'ai besoin d'aide." (I am not able to move. I have sprained my ankle. I need help.)
The men removed the branches and walked into the cave.
"Où êtes-vous? (Where are you?)
One of the men pulled out a small flashlight and turned it on.
They heard a man say, "Jetez vos armes. Faites ce que je dis ou vous serez fusillé." ("Drop your weapons. Do what I say or you will be shot.")
The men could see that they were out gunned and dropped their guns. The one man who had the flashlight tried to turn it off but Caje had moved close enough to the man to pull it out of his hand. He walked back to the others and handed it to Charmaine.
Sarge handed his handkerchief to Kirby. "Kirby, you and Caje tie them up."
The Sarge kept his tommy gun aimed at the men while Caje and Kirby tied them up.
"We better get going before we have any more visitors."
"Sarge I ain't rested yet!"
"I'll tell you what Kirby, when we get back, I'll see if I can't get you a 24 hour pass and you can rest to your heart's content."
"Hey thanks, Sarge. My achin' feet thanks ya!"
"Okay, let's head out. Caje take the point, Kirby the rear."
It was early morning when the little group had made their way into camp.
"Sergeant, I must get in touch with your S2."
"Let me take you to see the Lieutenant and turn these men over to our MP's."
"Sergeant, I suggest we bring them with us. I do not trust them and they may try and escape or worse."
"Alright, Kirby let's bring these men with us."
They all headed towards the CP.
Saunders knocked on the door.
"Enter. Saunders, glad to see you back."
Saunders gave the Hanley the information that they had collected, once he was done he continued.
"Sir we did run into some trouble on the way back. We met up with an SOE agent that was running from the Gestapo. We captured three Gestapo men."
Saunders walked over to the door and motioned for Charmaine and the men to come in.
"Lieutenant, I would like you to meet Charmaine Allaire. Charmaine, this is Lieutenant Hanley."
"It is nice to meet you Lieutenant. I am sorry to be so abrupt but I must see your S2 people as soon as possible. I am also sure they will want to interrogate these men."
"Brockmeyer, go get a couple of MP's."
Hanley went to the phone and called S2. He relayed the information to them and hung up the phone.
"Miss Allaire, they will be here in about 45 minutes. Please have a seat or if you are hungry I think I can get you some breakfast from the mess tent."
"Thank you lieutenant. Sergeant would you be kind enough to show me where we could get some food?"
Saunders was quiet for a moment and just nodded.
Charmaine stopped in front of Kirby. She opened her bag and handed him the half full bottle of wine.
"Sweet dreams private."
"Hey thanks, I'll definitely will now!
THE END
*Harold (Harry) Cole was a real person. He had been in an English prison and eventually he was released and signed up with the British Army. During the escape from Dunkirk, he was caught and then escaped from the Germans. He hooked up with the Resistance and helped downed fliers escape France through an escape route called the Pat Line. However, he was captured again and this time he decided to help the Gestapo and the Abwehr by betraying the people who ran the Pat Line. After the war he pretended to be a soldier named Mason he claimed to be working on an intelligence task and began working for the Americans who made him a Captain. He worked in their Counter Intelligence Corps. Harry now betrayed his friends, the Gestapo and Abwehr. The English found out that he was working for the Americans and was arrested. He was held by the Americans but was able to escape again by stealing a sergeant's jacket. His life came to an end when there was a routine police search for deserters. Two gendarmes had been warned that someone was in hiding above a bar. When they knocked Cole appeared, holding a pistol. He fired three times, wounding one of them, but they returned fire, shooting Cole dead. He was identified by one of the men he had betrayed.