"Gentlemen, may I introduce to you, Daphne McGee."
I lift the visor of my welding helmet and look up at the group of men before me. So these are the infamous Basterds everyone's been in a tizzy about? I eye up the man in front who has thrust a hand my way. His light hair slicked back, a thin, Clark Gable mustache on his upper lip.
"Lt. Aldo Raine. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Aldo eyes the little pixie of a girl in front of him as she shakes his hand, matching his grip. She can't be any older than twenty, twenty-one maybe, but she has a fire behind her hooded blue eyes.
"Aldo the Apache?" I ask as I throw down my welding mask, letting my dark locks free. He nods in reply. "You're awful pale for a native man." I tease. I dig in the pocket of my jumpsuit for my pack of cigarettes. I notice a large, soldier staring me down. His hair is dark blonde and cropped short, jaw line chiseled with a distinct cleft in his chin. He isn't the tallest of men, five inches bigger than me at the most, but stocky as a mother fucker with a wicked scowl plastered across his face.
Hugo watches as she nestles a cigarette between her cupid bow lips. She runs a hand through her shaggy, chocolate locks as they tumble to her collarbone. They fall in heavy, lion mane-esque waves. The boys are definitely intrigued by her, her looks, and her sarcastic tongue. She is not like a typical woman, considering the last women they saw were Parisian ladies, hair done up in victory rolls or finger waves, wearing full skirts, pantyhose, pumps, the whole proper lady deal, faces made up in the finest cosmetics. This girl's face was bare except for a smudge of motor oil on her left cheek and a spray of light freckles across her nose.
"Well, ma'am, you are not exactly what we expected either." Aldo's southern drawl, snaps Hugo out of his thoughts.
"What were you really expecting?" I shrug, lighting my cigarette. "Now, I trust you boys are busy, as am I, so…" I turn to Johns.
"Let's get started then." Johns leads us out of the garage and to his office. We all sit around a glossy oak table; I end up directly across from the mean looking soldier who I've learned is Hugo Stiglitz from a jumble of introductions on the walk from the garage. If looks could kill, his would definitely put me in the grave. It doesn't bother me too much. I'm used to the jeers. I'm a woman in a man's world.
Aldo explains in his southern charming way his and the Basterds work and where I might fit in. Johns explains how I may be of benefit. With all these "mights" and "maybes" being thrown around, I decide to speak up.
"Uh…" All eyes turn to me. I take a breath to gather my words. "Listen, I don't have time for all these "ifs". Either you want to work with me or you don't, Lieutenant. No disrespect, but I have a long line of people in need of my services and if you don't hit me up, then someone else will." I stamp my cigarette out on the table. "I have a job to get ready for so if we can move things along…" I wait, watching Aldo's face.
"I appreciate your forth right-ness, Miss McGee." He starts. "Now, I hope you can appreciate our hesitance. There's a lot of trust that comes with being a Basterd…"
"Well if it's a matter of trust…" Johns interrupts. "Why don't you keep McGee, here company on her mission tonight?"
"What kind of mission?"
"Ambush." The Basterds are all in my tiny office, huddled around a dented metal desk, staring down at a map I've marked with a red pencil. "We are here." I point to a spot in the middle of the woods I've marked with a star. "If you want to keep your hand, then get it off of my ass." I turn to Donny the Bear Jew Donowitz as he looms behind me. He holds his hands up innocently.
"Move it, yah perv." Aldo snorts, shoving Donny out of the way and taking his place behind me.
I turn back to the map, shaking my head. "There's a Nazi base, here." I point to a red X on the opposite side of the map. "They've started using the back woods routes to transport supplies. It's longer, but they think it's secure." I use my red pencil to draw the exact route. Then I circle a spot just outside the route. "This is the location of an old tunnel that half collapsed. We call it the Rabbit Hole. Tonight, around eighteen hundred, a transport vehicle of provisions will be en route to the German base, passing the Rabbit Hole." I explain.
"And you're going to ambush it?" Aldo pipes up.
"It takes a day for trucks to get from the Rabbit Hole to the German base, so no one will realize it disappeared until late tomorrow. My job is to stop the truck, hide it in the tunnel and guard it until we rendezvous at oh-six hundred."
"Well, it seems like overkill to use all of us to ambush one little truck." Aldo sighs, looking around at his men.
"My thoughts exactly, but seeing as you trusting me all depends on your place in this mission, Mr. Apache, I'd say we are gonna have to be excessive unless you got a better idea." I push past the men, scooping up the map and heading outside to enjoy a cigarette while they decide what the hell they're doing.
Aldo takes another look around the room at his men, waiting for his word. "Well, I have to say I'm impressed with her spunk." The men all chuckle at this, all but Hugo. Aldo cocks his brow at the stony, silent Hugo Stiglitz. "I think one of us should escort Miss McGee on her little ambush, then the rest of us can 'rendezvous' tomorrow morning." The men nod then look around at each other. Who was it going to be?
I walk back in the room and all eyes turn to me. "So what's it gonna be Lieutenant?" I ask.
"I'm gonna send you off with one of my men, and we'll see yah for breakfast." Aldo gives me a smirk.
"So who's the lucky man?" I place my hands on my hips.
All the men look around, waiting for Aldo's answer with bated breath. Aldo, thinking it would be amusing, turns and points to Hugo. "Stiglitz."