"Nervous?"
"Nah – you?"
"Nope".
Frankie shook her head and rubbed her nose, "alright…fuck, let's go".
It was a moment walking towards the planes, while the British troopers watched them. They had spent most of the day getting the planes ready and by early evening, the 506th got themselves all geared up and ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Lipton was jumpmaster for their stick, Buck was joining them too. Getting ready was easy but getting mentally ready was down to each person. It was brave what they were doing, there was no denying that. But Frankie didn't feel as brave as her friends, who looked more than ready for this. This is what her dad and her Grandad wanted from her; to jump into combat with the very best. She could have turned this down, Frankie had every right to say no to this, but she didn't, and that had to mean something.
Before they got onto the plane, Spina, their other medic, handed them two white pills. They were airsickness tablets, which struck Frankie as strange seeing as they had been on a plane more times than fingers on her hands.
"Here we come Hitler!" Hoobler yelled, before he got onto the plane.
Frankie got in after him, he helped her up the steps. The equipment made getting onto the plane impossible without a kick up the arse or a hand helping you from inside. She sat down on the bench heavily, with Hoobler and Blithe on either side of her. Martin, Lipton, Bull, Floyd and Buck were opposite them. Sisk, Dukeman, Hoobler, Blithe, herself, Perconte and Cobb were on the other side. The rest of 1st were on the stick with Welsh. Frankie looked down at the pills in her hands and stuffed them into her pocket, she didn't need anti-sickness tablets. Martin had given her a tiny look of disproval, but nothing was said about the pill. For those who did end up taking the pill, they soon became a little sleepy. Frankie knew something was off about that pill. It was obviously intended to settle nerves. And by the time they were getting ready for take-off, some of the men had actually fallen asleep, Blithe and Hoobler included. It was going to be a quiet journey.
Like usual, Frankie's ears popped during take off and she had to swallow repeatedly in order for them to go back to normal. That was always the worst part for her, take-off and she wondered what it was like to land in a plane, she hadn't done that before. The door from the opening was open, so the men could smoke. There was a small breeze coming into the plane, which was a nice welcome. If it wasn't for the breeze, it would have been far too hot. She remembered one training jump, they had the opening closed. It had been a very hot day and they were stuck in the air for longer than expected. Bull threw-up in his helmet and a few others ended up puking as well, he had caused a chain-reaction. It wasn't funny at the time, but a few did laugh about it the day after. Frankie looked over at Bull, he was staring out and puffing on his cigar, looking as cool as a cucumber. God, Bull was great.
Frankie had never thought about losing her friends before. To her, they were superheroes. Who could never get hurt because they were made of steel. It never crossed her mind, not until now, when she was sitting, wide-awake with all these different scenarios playing out in her head. Because what if someone did get hurt? What if they did lose a friend? It wasn't uncommon during combat, someone always had to die. But it didn't have to be any of them. And Frankie wouldn't mind surviving. She didn't want to die, no one did. But what if she did? Blinking, Frankie clenched her hand into a fist, forcing herself to stop thinking about death. There was no point in worrying about something she couldn't control. But she was only human after all.
There was a hand on her knee, she looked up.
"Gum?" Martin asked her, over the loud engines.
Frankie nodded and took a strip of juicy fruit, "cheers, Sarge".
He smiled briefly at her, "you okay?!"
"Fine!"
"Yeah, good". He called back, "should have taken that pill, kid!"
Frankie shook her head, "don't need it, Sarge!"
Chewing the gum helped with her ears and gave her a distraction. Frankie's mind wondered down many avenues. And for some reason, she thought about her mum. She didn't think it was such a good idea having her mum in her head, but it did stop her thinking about death. She remembered one Friday after school, Frankie was five at the time. Her dad had been away that week and wasn't due home till after the weekend. Her mum had packed the car and had planned a holiday for the two of them, they were going to the Lake District. However, her mum suddenly stopped the car on the motorway, which almost resulted in a car crash. She started to scream, sob and bang her head against the steering wheel. Frankie didn't understand why, because her mum had been so excited before and then just like a light switch, her mood changed. The police ended up coming over. They had to abandon the car and sit in the back of a police car, while they drove them home. Her mum didn't get arrested but she did get a warning for driving so recklessly. Frankie wasn't scared, she wasn't allowed to be scared and trigger one of her mums many mood swings.
Frankie sighed quietly, that was a horrible day.
She was twelve when her mother was taken away and fourteen when dad lost the business.
Frankie thought about her childhood for hours.
And what brought her back to the present was a very loud bang.
Frowning, she tried to see what was going on from the tiny windows behind her, but she couldn't reach. The bangs were coming from guns, anti-aircraft guns and machineguns. The bullets were pinging off the bottom of the plane and from the opening, she could see an orange and flashy sky. The plane started to nose dive, lowering itself to around five hundred feet. And those who had been sleeping, were wide awake now. When the red light turned on, Lipton stood in the front and started to yell out for everyone to get ready, stand up and hook up. Frankie couldn't believe they had reached Normandy. It was so loud, the noise deafened her almost. When the equipment was checked and sounded off, the light was still red, and everyone was getting anxious from still being inside this plane.
"Jesus Christ! Let's go!" Sisk all but screamed.
"Does that light look green to you?!" Lipton called back.
"Let's go!"
And then, a bullet made it into their plane.
"Ah – I'm hit!" Cobb fell down, the bullet had gone into his shoulder.
Frankie turned around and could see him moving towards the bench, while Hoobler unhooked him from the line. Buck soon moved over to him, to assess how bad it was. He was in no condition to jump, not when he was wounded this badly. And then, the green light turned on. One by one, they jumped into the darkness of Normandy. Frankie stepped aside, allowing others to go before her. She didn't know why she wanted to stay, she just had to make sure Lipton and Buck were getting off this plane.
"Frankie!" Lipton yelled, "go!"
"I 'wanna jump, sir!" Cobb yelled.
"Don't listen to him! He's staying on the plane! He's not jumping!"
Buck clapped him on the shoulder and hooked himself back up.
"He's okay!" Lipton told the Lieutenant, "go, sir!"
Frankie placed her hook back on the line too, "Sarge! I'll meet you down there!"
"Yes – go!"
Jumping off the plane was terrifying. Bullets flew at them like rain, falling up from the earth. And there was no way of avoiding them, you just have to pray to whatever God, that it wouldn't hit you. Luckily for them, their drop was very fast, and they landed equally as hard. When Frankie landed, she found herself outside of a treeline. Taking off her helmet, she got rid of her chute and Mae West vest, before placing her helmet back on and taking her rifle. Guns blasted from all sides, but they weren't close enough to spot her. Her leg bag was gone, the prop blast tore it off from her, but she had her rifle, ammo and her musette bag; that's all that mattered right now.
Someone landed beside her. Frankie crawled towards them, relieved to see Lipton.
"Sarge?"
Sighing, he shook his head. "You got a weapon?"
Frankie nodded, gesturing towards her rifle.
"Good. Prop blast got mine. Just have my knife and some TNT".
"Yeah, well-"
"flash!"
"Thunder!" They both turned to the voices and saw two other troopers.
Lipton frowned, "where are you from?"
"The 82nd, Sarge".
Frankie rubbed her lips together, "where are we?"
Lipton shook his head, putting his helmet back on. "Let's find a sign, grab some bearings. You two, stick with us".
The four of them got onto their feet, though stayed low while they navigated their way beside the tree line. Frankie was in front because she had a weapon, it was her idea, she didn't want Lipton getting hurt. He was flattered, truly. And everyone was keeping their eyes peeled for any signs to tell them where they were. Frankie had some idea but nothing strong enough to be sure. And they had to be sure because wherever this was, it wasn't their drop zone.
"Hold up, Frankie". Lipton told her quietly, "there's a sign to your left".
Frankie looked in that direction, "Sainte-Mere-Eglise".
"Right". He mumbled, "hear that stream?"
She shook her head.
"Alright, well we're 'gonna follow it, okay?"
Frankie nodded, "okay, Sarge".
Because she couldn't hear the stream, Lipton took point. Frankie was right up the Sargent's arse, not because she was scared but because she didn't want anything to happen to him. God, if something happened to Lipton, it would never be the same. Frankie wasn't thinking about the what if's though, she didn't have time to lose focus. And while following the stream seemed like a simple task, anything could have happened.
"You hear that?" Lipton whispered.
Frowning, she tried to hear what he was hearing. "Clicks?"
Nodding, he then stepped into the stream.
"Who's that?"
"Lieutenant Winters? Is that you?"
Frankie's shoulders dropped in relief, it was Winters. She crossed the stream and followed Lipton up the embankment. Winters wasn't alone, one of the guys from Able Company was with him.
"Any weapons?" Winters asked them both quietly.
"No, sir". Lipton replied, "I had the prop blast, no more leg bag. All I got is this knife and some TNT. Frankie has her weapon, so do these boys from the 82nd".
"Man, 82nd?" The guy from Able whispered, "where the hell are we?"
"Sir, we saw a sign back that way. It said Sainte-Mere-Eglise".
Winters nodded, "flashlight?"
Frankie reached into her musette bag and handed him a flashlight.
"Raincoat?"
Lipton turned to the boys from the 82nd. "You got a raincoat?"
"Yeah".
When the items were handed to Winters, he reached for the zipper on his trousers. Frankie's eyes went a little wide and she scratched the end of her nose; what the hell was he doing? As it turned out, he kept his compass in there. Using the raincoat as cover, Winters looked at his map with the raincoat covering the light. That was a smart move. Especially keeping the compass in an extremely safe place. Winters emerged a few moments later.
"We're about seven kilometres away from our objective and only four hours away from when we need to have it secured". He told them, "so, we got a lot of walking ahead of us. You men stick with us until we find your unit".
It was good to have Winters and Lipton with them. Frankie got up and followed the Lieutenant with the guy from Able Company next to her.
"Frankie, right?"
She nodded, "yeah".
"I'm John Hall".
Frankie looked up at him, "you found our Lieutenant?"
John grinned, "oh, he found me".
"That's good".
"It is". He agreed, "I would have been lost, probably still trying to find out where we are".
Frankie was still chewing on the gum Martin had given her on the plane. She hoped they were all okay.
"You – uh – were you alone for long, Frankie?"
"No". She responded quietly, "Sarge dropped next to me".
"Sargent Lipton?" John asked her softly.
"Yeah".
"I've seen him around camp. He plays baseball".
Frankie nodded slowly, "ah – oh, yeah. You play basketball. I've seen you".
John grinned at that, "you have?"
"Yeah…aye, you're – you're pretty good".
"Thank you".
"Hughes". Came Winters voice.
Frankie picked up her speed and walked beside him, "yes, sir?"
"Think you could quietly get up that small embankment unseen?"
She looked ahead and saw a small embankment, which had the cover of bushes. Frankie nodded and gave him the thumbs up, before she walked over to it. Getting on her stomach, she very slowly and quietly crawled up the embankment and saw a rail track. There was no sign of life, so she signalled for Winters to bring up the rest. However, she soon heard voices. Frankie held up her hand and clenched it into a fist, Winters came running over to her. As it turned out, the voices belonged to Guarnere, Toye, Malarkey and Popeye. And it was good to see them again.
"Frankie". Guarnere shook her hand, "you look great, kid".
"You look terrible".
"Jesus, Frankie – give a girl a compliment, huh?"
Frankie snorted and slapped his arm.
"Guarnere". Winters called.
"Sir?"
"You and Hall upfront".
He pulled a face, "who the hell is Hall?"
Frankie nodded towards Malarkey and Toye, before heading over to them. They followed the tracks quietly, not wanting to drag any attention towards themselves. And soon, Hall gave the signal for everyone to get down. Frankie frowned a little, while Winters moved up to check what was below them. When Winters came back, he split them up into two squads. Frankie was with Lipton, Popeye and Toye. They were on the right side of the bush, where they could see Germans coming out from a tunnel with horses pulling them on a cart. All they had to do, was wait for Winters signal and then they'd ambush them. But it seemed that Guarnere was either too eager or having a bad day because he started to hose them down with his tommy gun, before Winters signal. Soon, they all started to fire, not giving the Germans much of a chance to defend themselves. Frankie didn't fire a single shot during that ordeal, she didn't have a chance to. And Guarnere had managed to jump down from the embankment and shoot the remainder of the Germans from outside the tunnel. They all soon got down, the horses were neighing and Guarnere hadn't dropped his weapon.
"That's enough, Guarnere!" Winters yelled.
He stopped firing, giving Winters a hard stare.
"Everyone okay?"
"Yes, sir".
"Next time I saw wait for my command, you wait for my command, Sargent".
Guarnere was silent for a few moments, still giving their Lieutenant a hard stare. "Yes, sir".
The noises the horses were making was very stressful. And Toye had to end the animals suffering. When the shot went out, most of them flinched. Frankie had to pinch the skin on her hand to remind herself that this was war and animals suffered through it too.
"What's that guys problem?" Hall asked Malarkey.
"Gonorrhoea".
"Really?"
"His name, dummy". Malarkey said, "Guarnere, Gonorrhoea".
"So, besides having a shitty name, what's his problem?"
Of course, Guarnere heard that.
"None of your fucking business, cowboy".
"Alright, let's move out". Lipton called, "quietly".
When Hall and Guarnere walked away, Frankie looked up at Malarkey, who sighed.
"His brother, Henry, he got shot".
"Ah, fuck – really?" Frankie mumbled.
"Yeah…really".
She sighed quietly, "fuck sake, man".
Malarkey nodded and clapped her shoulder, "it's grim, alright".
"Yeah".
"How're you doing anyway, Frankie?"
"Eh? Oh, fine". Frankie waved him off lightly, "you?"
"Yeah, good". Malarkey nodded, "wonder where the others are, huh?"
She spat out the gum in her mouth, "that shit wears off fast".
He huffed out a tiny laugh.
"They'll be fine, Malark". She said after, "they're Easy".
They walked on and through the flooded plains. Frankie realized she'd need more than two pairs of socks her feet were already wet. It was getting light now, Normandy could have been a nice place, if it wasn't for all the death around them. American troopers, Germans and live stalk. They were left to rot. Soon, they approached a farmhouse, Popeye and Lipton made sure it was clear before they grabbed what supplies they could from two dead bodies. One of which, was hanging from a tree.
"Hey, I promised my kid brother I'd fetch him back a Lugar, so, I get first dibs, okay? Check that one". Malarkey told John, poor John. But it also reminded her of Hoobler, who was also dying to get his hands on a Lugar. Frankie helped John out with searching, feeling a little sorry for him.
"It's the navy". Lipton said, when planes flew above their heads.
"The landings have started, let's go". Winters called.
"Let's move it out!"
John checked his watch, "right on time".
"Yeah? Tell that to him, cowboy". Guarnere remarked.
"My names Hall".
"Is that so?"
They both got back onto their feet.
"Let's move out!" Winters called from the front.
"You just 'gotta learn to return his fire, that's all". Malarkey told John.
"You just 'gotta realize it ain't about you…". Toye added while he past them.
"I just heard his brother-"
"Malarkey, shut your yap". Guarnere warned him.
He ignored him, "his brother got it at the Cassino. Found out before we jumped".
Frankie looked up at John, who had a tiny frown.
"You're not a dick, John". She said, "you know, you're…you're a good guy".
His lips twitched, "thanks, Frankie".
Malarkey snorted, "Jesus, Frankie".
"Shut up".
"Frankie made a friend". Toye teased.
Shaking her head, she sighed and picked up her pace, until she was at the front behind Winters. No, she wasn't mad, she just didn't want to be roasted by her friends. Getting a beasting during training was normal, they all had their fair share of it. And they laughed a little, when she walked away and stuck behind Winters. Frankie smiled a little. It was pretty funny.
They reached a muddy road leading towards a farmhouse, where Battalion were stationed. Winters was relieved they had made it, with forty minutes to spare. Frankie followed him down the path, passing at least twenty German prisoners on the ledge, being guarded by a guy from Dog Company, she presumed. Malarkey spoke to them and then found a guy who was from Oregon. He couldn't believe it and ended up staying behind to talk with him. At the end of the road, they were met by Liebgott, Plesha, Hendrix, Petty and Buck. Oh good, more of Easy were present. Frankie flinched a little, when the sound of heavy guns banged away three or so miles from this farm. She looked up at Liebgott, who shrugged in return.
"Got me, Frankie".
"Those are 88's". She mumbled.
"Yeah? Well, we'll to do something about it, I bet".
Lipton told them to take a knee by a small grass verge. They had been walking all night and could have used a few minutes to grab a drink and sit down. Frankie leaned back against the grass and took a drink from her canteen, just a few sips. They had to save their water. Frankie checked her watch, it was almost eight in the morning. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to rest as much as possible before they had to move out again, or before their objective. Which no doubt had something to do with the 88's they were hearing. Buck and Winters soon joined them, both sitting near Frankie, who could have been asleep.
"Hey – don't sleep". Guarnere sat down next to her, "look alive, kid".
Frankie leaned against her elbows and looked up at him, "I'm alive, Sarge".
He smiled, "oh, thank God for that".
Sitting up fully now, Frankie rubbed the back of her neck. "See – eh – ah, fucking hell".
"What are you trying to tell me, Frankie?" He mumbled, "that you're sorry?"
"Nah, man". She said, "you'd hate it if I said that".
Guarnere snorted, "yeah, you're right, I would".
Frankie cleared her throat, "see, I lost my dad. Back in Benning. Grandad came all the way from Scotland just to tell me". She shook her head, "could have just written it down, likes but – yeah. I mean, it's shit, Bill". Frankie said with a tiny shrug, "but…it is what it is".
Giving her a firm nod, Guarnere clapped her shoulder. "Yeah, kid. It's shit".
Frankie rubbed the back of her neck, "anyway…you were still a dick to Hall".
"Oh, your new friend?" He grinned, in a teasing manor. "For you, Frankie sweetheart, I'll be nicer".
She chuckled lowly, shaking her head. "Prick".
"You seen Lieutenant Meehan?" A trooper asked Buck and Winters.
"No, not yet". Buck responded.
"Well, Major Strayer wants Easy Company's CO up front".
"Guess that means you, Dick".
Winters got up and soon left his guys by the grass verge, expect Malarkey still wasn't with them. Frankie was about to ask Popeye where he was, when the Irishman returned. He sat down and brought out his canteen, hand shaking slightly.
"Hey, Malark. Where's the best chow?" Toye asked, Malarkey didn't answer. "In Berlin…".
Frankie pulled a face and leaned forwards, "what?"
"Nothing". Malarkey whispered, "I'll tell you later".
Easy were soon called up to the farmhouse, where Winters was standing by a table. Once they were all gathered around, including John Hall, he began to brief them.
"The 88's we've been hearing have been spotted in a field down the road a ways. Major Strayer wants us to take them out".
Frankie nodded slowly and crossed her arms.
"There are two guns that we know of, firing on Utah beach". He drew two X's, along an L shaped trench. "Plan on a third and fourth, here and here. The Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery. With machinegun covering their rear. We'll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three and four".
"How many Krauts do you think we're facing?" Guarnere asked.
"No idea".
He raised an eyebrow, "no idea?"
Winters continued, "we'll take some TNT along with us, to spike the guns. Lipton, your responsibility".
"Yes, sir".
"Liebgott, you'll take the first machinegun, with Petty A-gunner. Plesha, Hendrix, you take the other one. Who does that leave?"
Frankie raised her hand with the others.
"Compton, Hughes, Malarkey, Guarnere, Toye. Okay". He said, and Frankie noticed that John had quickly lowered his hand. "We'll be making the main assault, understood?"
"Yes, sir".
He gave Lipton a nod.
"Alright, let's pack it up, boys!"
"Shouldn't you be outside with the other Able Company guys?" Toye asked Hall quietly.
"See you around, Hall". Guarnere said.
Frankie gave him a tiny nod, before following the rest outside.
She was dropping what she didn't need onto a cart.
"Weapons and ammo only!" Winters told them all, "drop everything else. Got any spare ammo in a pack or musette bag, bring it along!"
"Lieutenant, sir. I was wondering, sir…if you needed an extra hand?"
"Ain't you Sinks jeep driver?" Toye asked, while grabbing his gear.
"So?"
"What's your name, trooper?" Winters asked him.
"Lorraine, sir".
"You're with me, Lorraine".
And soon, it was time to go.
"Alright you heard the word! Let's move! Move!" Lipton yelled.
Hedgerows. Those were the worst. In order to get past them, they had to move under them. Frankie found that easy because she was tiny, Buck found it rather difficult. But they had made it into a field, the guns were on the other side. And while Winters, Lipton and Buck checked out the area, the rest stayed low and waited for orders to move up. Winters put the machineguns into position, while Buck took Malarkey and Guarnere to capture the first gun. Frankie moved up with Winters and positioned herself close with Popeye and Toye. They were to draw the fire from the right, giving Buck and his squad covering fire. At the word go, Winters signalled for them to start firing. And this time, Frankie fired Scottie across the field. Lipton and Ranney were up a tree, firing from there. It was their job to give Winters the TNT as soon as they secured the first gun. But the Germans were moving fast and firing at them hard with their MG42's, machineguns. And those machineguns were lethal. They made a terrible zip-zapping sound and the bullets were a lot larger than theirs, getting hit by one would knock the wind out of you.
Which is what happened to Popeye, while they followed Winters across the field and into a trench. Popeye went down quickly, Frankie grabbed his arm and pulled him into the trench.
"Fuck! My ass!"
"Your ass?" Frankie mumbled.
"Sorry, sir!" And he was apologizing to Winters for getting hit, Frankie couldn't believe it. Toye came over and knelt behind him, checking to see if he was bleeding out.
"Frankie! With Guarnere!" Toye ordered her.
She nodded and got back onto her feet, moving over towards Guarnere. Getting into a better position, Frankie soon started to fire out once again, hitting Germans who were running across the field.
"Grenade!" Winters yelled, "Joe! Toye! Roll out!"
Frankie and Guarnere both watched a grenade go off behind Toye, who in turn threw himself on top of Popeye, protecting them both. He was fine, it was a miracle.
"One lucky bastard, Joe!" Guarnere couldn't believe it either. But at least he was okay.
"Guarnere! Malarkey! Lorraine! Secure that gun!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Compton! Covering fire!"
"Yes, sir!"
Frankie was soon joined by Toye, the pair of them helped with covering fire. Winters needed to make sure an area in the trench was cleared, before they moved onto the second gun. And poor Popeye was lying on his belly, with a bullet through his ass. Buck and Winters went over to him, making sure he could get back to Battalion on his own. He could, and he was still very apologetic towards Winters. They managed to get Popeye up the trench and Buck soon spotted a German making his way back inside the trench. He pulled the clip from his grenade and it slipped from his hands, falling near Toye and Frankie.
"Grenade! Toye! Hughes! Get out of there! Get out!"
They both managed to get their bellies on the edge of the trench, when the grenade went off and sent them both flying backwards. Frankie wasn't sure, but she figured she was probably meant to die, or at least get hurt. But she didn't. Winters sat her up, put on her helmet and handed Scottie back to her. She coughed a little, dry mud falling from her mouth. Grabbing her arm, he helped her back up.
"Frankie?"
She nodded, "good, sir".
Toye was fine, once again. "Jesus Christ". He hissed, "fucking twice". Buck put his gear back on him and soon, the four of them ran down the trench, now they had to take the second gun. It was grenades first and they moved in once they went off. Frankie shot down one of the Germans who reached for his gun, while Buck and Winters took out another two. One of the Germans dropped his weapon but wouldn't stop yelling. Toye got angry with him and ended up knocking him out, using his brass knuckles.
"Joe! Frankie! Stay down!" Buck told them.
They moved to the front of the gun and got back to firing out across the field. There must have been a whole Platoon of Germans, and if they knew how small their number was, the Germans would have killed them all very quickly. They must have thought they had a Platoon of their own capturing these guns.
"Hughes! On me! Let's go!"
"Yes, sir!"
Frankie ran in front with Winters behind her, while they made their way back to the first gun. When they reached it, Frankie immediately got down because the Germans were pounding this area with their machineguns. She looked into her webbing and found she only had a few more clips left.
"Where's Lipton with that TNT?!" Winters aske Guarnere.
"Don't know, sir!"
Frankie quickly re-loaded her rifle.
"Hiya, cowboy!"
She looked up and saw that Hall had arrived with Captain Hester.
"Shut your fucking guinea trap, Gonorrhoea!"
He grinned and nudged Frankie's side, "he's alright, that kid!"
"Jesus! You've got a whole Kraut Platoon out there!" Hester yelled.
"Probably more, Captain!" Winters responded.
"Need help?!"
"I need ammo, sir! Lots of it!" He replied, "and TNT!"
"I've got TNT, sir!" Hall told him.
"Good job, private!"
While Winters and Hall set about destroying the first gun, the rest gave them covering fire.
"Fire in the hole!"
They all took cover, the mouth of the gun exploded. One down, three to go.
"Plesha! Covering fire! Third gun, here! Lorraine, grab some potato mashers and follow me! Malarkey, Hall, Hughes – you three too!"
They made it back to the second gun. Frankie started to fire out again, though had to be careful, she was running out of ammo.
"Running a little low on ammo, sir!" Buck told him.
"How about you, Malarkey?!" Winters asked.
"Okay!"
"Hughes?!"
Frankie shook her head, "running low, sir!"
Winters looked over at Buck, "think you've got enough to take the third gun?!"
"We'll soon find out, Dick". He said, "Malarkey! Let's go! Toye, cover us!"
Winters signalled for Hall and Frankie over to him. "Follow them, help secure the third gun".
"Yes, sir". They both responded.
"Alright, keep your head down".
They were about to leave, when he added.
"Hall! Leave your TNT!"
With Hall in front, Frankie followed his down the trench and towards an underpass, which would lead them up to the third gun, where Buck and Malarkey were. Frankie was running just fine one minute and the next, a great force pushed her back. Her ears started to ring, while she lay down on the ground and her helmet rolled to the side. Frankie coughed and blinked a few times, trying to get the world to stop spinning. Slowly, she sat herself up and put her helmet back on, before taking Scottie up again and walking towards the underpass. Frankie let out a long sigh when she saw Hall, who was lying on his back, bleeding. Swallowing, she knelt down beside the fallen trooper and placed her fingers on the side of his neck.
"Fucking hell". She whispered.
He was dead.
Frankie got back onto her feet, still a little dizzy from the fall, and made her way up towards the third gun, joining Malarkey and Buck. She fired out the last from her clip, taking down one German who was running across the field. And then she sat down and took cover, when her rifle needed another round. Winters was soon crouched in front of her, probably making sure she was okay after seeing Hall. There was a line of blood coming from her head, but Frankie was fine.
The second gun had been destroyed and soon, the third was. They were in desperate need of ammo for the last gun and Lieutenant Spiers from Dog Company just happened to show up with plenty to go around.
"Winters! Hester said you needed ammo!"
"Malarkey! Take as much as you can for everyone!" Winters told him.
Malarkey handed her a few more rounds, Scottie was re-loaded once more.
"Mind if D Company takes a shot at the next gun?!" Spiers asked Winters.
He nodded, "all yours!"
Frankie crawled over to the front of the gun and started to fire out, covering Compton and Winters, who were both watching Spiers lead his Company on top of the trench instead of going through it. Spiers made it to the gun, a few of his guys didn't; well, most of them didn't.
"Sir, I had a little trouble getting through that first field". Lipton arrived with TNT. Winters pointed towards the gun, which had already been destroyed. "Oh, Christ…".
"We're 'gonna need it at the next gun. Once its blown, pull out. Go!"
So, after taking out the final gun, they all fell-back to Battalion. All in all, it was a success. They destroyed all four guns, suffered only a few wounded and lost one man, John Hall. It was sad that Hall had died because he had come to help them. If it wasn't for Hall, they might have still been out there, waiting for that TNT. Though, it wasn't Lipton's fault of course, the fields were a high target and they were getting smashed too.
"Hey, Frankie?"
Frankie was sitting on the grass verge, helmet to the side and a bandage to her head.
"It's a real shame about Hall". Guarnere told her with a tiny sigh, "got to hand to him, kid. He was brave".
Frankie looked up at him, "yeah…you're right, Bill".
Giving her a tiny smile, Guarnere clapped her shoulder, "how's the head?"
"Ah – it's fine". She said lightly, "Sarge didn't want me to bleed out, or something".
They moved further into town by foot. The ground was soaked in blood. Frankie was starting to feel less woozy, her head injury wasn't as serious as they thought. She tossed the bandage to the side and put her helmet back on. By nightfall, they managed to push back the remaining forty or so Germans and they had successfully secure Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. They had one hour to rest and gather up any supplies they could find before they moved out again, to secure the town of Coup De Ville. Frankie was sitting in the back of the truck with the others, Malarkey was cooking up something.
"Did you see that looney?" Guarnere pointed to Malarkey, "running over to a Goddam German, thinking he had a fucking Lugar – Goddam idiot".
"Didn't get hit".
"Yeah? Well you could have". Liebgott said.
That wasn't their only problem in the back of the truck, the rations weren't agreeing with Malarkey's gut and he was stinking this place out.
"Jesus! Let me out of here!" Liebgott had enough and jumped out of the truck.
"Light! Light discipline!" Lipton hissed, "Guarnere, close the flap!"
He closed the flap and muttered, "let the Krauts cook their own Goddam food…how are we doing, Malark?"
"We're doing good".
"Yeah? What the hell do you know about cooking, you're Irish". Buck remarked.
Malarkey smiled, amused. "Sir, if you have reservations someplace else, I'd be happy to go with you".
"Thank you". Toye said, once food was placed into his dish.
"Cheers". Frankie mumbled, staring down at Malarkey's, whatever the fuck I could stick in the pot, meal. She took a bite and nodded, "it's not that bad".
The flap opened and Winters head appeared, "evening".
"Evening, sir".
"Did something die in here?"
"Yeah, Malarkey's ass".
Frankie's lips twitched.
"Any word on Lieutenant Meehan, sir?" Buck asked.
Winters shook his head, "no, not yet".
"Don't that make you our commanding officer, sir?" Guarnere asked him.
"Yeah, it does".
Toye handed him a bottle of whiskey, "sir".
Guarnere shook his head, "Joe, the Lieutenant don't drink".
Winters took the bottle, "it's been a day of firsts". He said, "don't you think, Guarnere?"
"Yes, sir".
So, Winters took his first sip of alcohol and his face showed disgust.
"Carry on". He said.
"Goodnight, sir".
"Oh, and Sargent?"
Gaurnere looked back at him, "sir?"
"I'm not a Quaker".
He laughed at that and said, "he's probably a Mennonite".
Toye frowned, "what's a Mennonite?"
Frankie shook her head and continued to eat the meal in her dish. Granted, it didn't taste that bad, but she was so hungry, she would have eaten anything in her dish that night. And now that adrenaline had worn off and their superhuman powers were fading, exhaustion was setting in. Frankie rubbed her eyes, they were starting to grow heavy now. Taking her empty dish, Frankie jumped down from the truck and wondered up the road towards the water pump, where she could clean it out and fill up her canteen.
"Evening, sir". She greeted Nixon, while he passed.
"Goodnight, Frankie".
Frankie was giving her dish a wipe down, when Winters began walking back towards the road. She gave him a tiny smile, which he returned, about to pass her. Frankie cursed under her breath, before she straightened herself up. "Eh – sir?"
Stopping in his tracks, Winters turned to face her.
Taking in a deep breath, Frankie rubbed the back of her neck. "Um – sorry, sir".
Frowning a little, he tilted his head to the side.
"About, Hall, sir". She explained, "he – eh – well, he was in front of me, sir. I think he set something off".
Winters nodded slowly, "and you think it's your fault?"
Frankie swallowed, "yeah, sir – I think it is".
He stood before her then and crouched down, so they were eye level. Frankie's eyes widened a little. Though he gave her a small smile. "It wasn't your fault. It was no one's fault. What happened to Hall was a tragic accident. But he died a hero, trooper. And that's how we'll remember him, yeah?"
It took a few moments for Frankie to respond, "yes, sir".
"Good". Winters squeezed her shoulder, "get some rest. We're moving out soon".
"Right, sir".
He straightened himself back up and turned to leave again.
"Thank you, sir". Frankie mumbled.
Lips twitching, he looked at her again. "I'll see you soon, Frankie".
It seemed the war was softening her heart, not hardening it.
Forty minutes later, they were back on foot again and heading towards Coup De Ville. Which was another place Frankie and the others hadn't heard of before. But its where Sink wanted to set up Battalion, so they had to secure the town. Some men from Easy were slowly starting to join them. Grant was the next, along with McClung, Penkala and Muck. They had managed to head into town just as they were leaving. Which was great but where the fuck was Frankie's squad and her Platoon?
"Hey, Tiny".
"Oh, hey, Hoobs – Hoobs!"
There they were.
Hoobler was grinning, "man…look at you, huh? Covered in mud".
She shook her head and slapped his arm, "where the fuck have you been?"
"Trying to find you guys". He told her, while rubbing his arm.
Frankie looked up at Dukeman, "you're doing fine though, yeah?"
"We're fine, Frankie". He assured her, "Alby here already?"
Her eyebrows pulled together, "he's not with you's?"
"No". Hoobler mumbled, "no, he ain't".
"Ah, shit-"
"hey, kid". Martin smiled at her, "good to see you again".
"You too, Sarge". Frankie said, "they were just telling me Alby's not around, Sarge".
"He'll turn up". He told her lightly, "so, where we going?"
"I hope your feet are good". She mumbled, "we're walking eight hours".
"Lieutenant Meehan around, Hughes?" Welsh asked, walking to the front.
"Hey, sir – no, Lieutenant Winters is in charge".
"Great. Where is he?"
"Right at the front, sir".
"Ah…if it isn't the Belle of this fucked up ball". Luz came walking over to her, with Perconte, Bull and Christenson. "Alright, Frankie?"
She nodded and shook their hands, "yeah…fine. You's alright?"
"Here, aren't we?" Perconte smirked, "hey, check these out". He rolled up his sleeve, revealing over twelve watches. "They all work too, Frankie".
"That's quite the unhealthy obsession, Perc". Frankie remarked.
"Don't envy this shit, Frankie". He said, with a light smile. "You got anything".
Frowning, she looked up at him. "Eh?"
Perconte shrugged, "watches, lighters – anything?"
"Oh, I'm not on that level yet, man".
"Let me know when you are, huh?"
Frankie nodded, "aye…you'll be the first to know".
Hoobler and Dukeman coughed to cover up their laughs.
"Alright, we're moving out!" Welsh called his Platoon, "let's go, first Platoon!"
Fox and Dog Company were falling in behind, Easy had the lead. Right up front was their Platoon, with Hoobler on point. Basically, he was leading three Companies. Frankie couldn't have done that, with all that responsibility on her shoulders. It would weigh her down into the mud and speaking of mud, because the Germans had destroyed the bridges, the rivers had flooded the fields, so it was hard to walk on and that's why they couldn't take transport here because their trucks would only get stuck in the mud. So, walking was their only option. And it wasn't a nice walk either. Every time Frankie moved away from a dead horse, she thought of her horses which were out in France somewhere. It felt like her heart was made of led.
"You know". Dukeman grabbed her waist and picked her up and over one of the horses, "I think they'd have us walk for the rest of the war, Frankie".
"Maybe, eh?" She mumbled, "I think I'd walk another 118-miles, man".
He snorted, "not me, Frankie".
"Nah?"
Dukeman shook his head, "that was far too boring".
Frankie snorted and shook her head, "hope this is enough entertainment for you, Bud".
He shrugged, "it's alright".
"You hear the story?" Luz creeped up between them.
"Eh?" She frowned, "what story?"
"Spiers. He shot down twenty prisoners outside Battalion. Heard it from Malark".
Dukeman tutted, "really?"
"Yeah". Luz nodded eagerly, "crazy, huh?"
"Aw – shit, that's why he looked weird". Frankie mused. "Must have been after the drop".
"That's what I heard".
"You believe this shit, Frankie?" Dukeman asked her.
She shrugged, "I mean…Malark looked pretty shaken-up 'bout something, Bud".
"Spiers from Dog?"
"Yeah".
Dukeman frowned a little, "he does look the type".
"He went fucking mental at Brecourt". Frankie told them, "ran on top of the trench, basically took out a handful of Germans himself to secure the fourth gun".
"Crazy". Luz whispered. "Well – that's your scary story for tonight, kiddo".
"Just missing a glass of warm fucking milk, Geo".
He grinned, "aw…well, I'll find you some".
"Cheers".
It took them eight hours to reach Coup De Ville and luckily for them, resistance was weak from the Germans, most of them were heading towards Carentan. But that was a worry for another day. Right now, they needed to rest and get some sleep. It was the seventh of June, Easy had another couple of days to make up the balance and wait for the rest to show up. People began to make assumptions about Lieutenant Meehan and Sargent Evans, thinking maybe their plane had gone down which wasn't so hard to believe because many planes went down that night.
"Kid! We've got a house!"
Frankie turned around from the edge of town and walked towards Martin, who was waving her over. He had found them a house to spend the night in. It wasn't a very nice house, it was mostly damaged from grenades and other weaponry, but it was a roof and was inside, sheltering them from the rain. Adrenaline well and truly gone now, Frankie leaned against the wall and slid down, becoming a slumped heap on the floor.
"Way past your bedtime, huh?" Guarnere teased with her lightly.
Frankie dropped onto her side and used her musette bag as a pillow. Her eyes slipped shut and she was soon fast asleep.
...
"What'd you think?"
"Good, yeah".
"You're just saying that, huh?"
Frankie sighed, "aye, sorry, Sarge".
Martin chuckled, "look, I'm not good at writing letters to my girl sometimes".
"You're asking the wrong person for advice, Sarge". Frankie told him, "I don't write letters to girls either".
Hoobler laughed, "Tiny! He wanted a girl's opinion on the fucking letter".
"Again". She mumbled, "I wouldn't be any good at that".
"Aw, come on, don't tell me".
"Tell you?"
Hoobler sighed and looked at her, "you've never had a love letter before?"
Frankie pulled a slightly disgusted face, "nah".
Martin grinned, "oh, boy". He said, putting his letter away. "You chase them off?"
She shook her head, "nah…they just don't chase me". Frankie then remember Jonesy, the bartender who wanted to write her letters. "But…mind in Dunfermline, Hoobs?"
"Yeah, I sort of remember that night, Tiny".
"Aye, well – that boy behind the bar, he wants to write to me".
Hoobler grinned and nudged her side, "oh? You like him?"
"Not really". Frankie said, "he's a bit of a dick, actually".
"How so?"
"Aw, I saw him yell at a horse once".
Martin laughed a little.
Frankie shrugged, "you don't just yell at a horse, you know? It made me sour".
"Ah, Frankie". He sighed, "you brighten up my day, kid".
"No bother, Sarge".
Frankie was sitting on part of concrete steps, which was supposed to lead up to another building, which wasn't there anymore. She hadn't seen one local, they were either hiding in their bunkers or had evacuated the area. Besides the 506th being here, it was fairly quiet. And Frankie took some time to reflect on the events that had unfolded since the drop. Their first objective went well, despite them being extremely low on numbers. Winters had come up with a solid tactic which saved a lot of lives and not just from the Companies but from the rest of the Army. What a man, they were lucky to have him. And not only was he smart and brave but he cared a lot about them. He was kind and wanted everyone to do their best. He was the type of leader everyone needed to have and what they hoped for when joining the Army.
"Hey, Frankie". Vest greeted her, "I've got a letter for you".
Blinking up at Vest, the sun hit her eyes. "Cheers, man".
"No problem".
Frankie took the letter and opened it up. She half expected it to be from Jonesy, but it wasn't.
"Frankie,
I've heard that you have now dropped into combat; I wish you all the luck in the world.
The last time I showed up, you gave me a telling off. So, I've decided to write this to you instead.
Frankie, it gives me the deepest regret to inform you of your mothers passing. According to the doctors, she slipped away in her sleep and they couldn't wake her up. I can only hope she went without any pain, Frankie, for your mother had suffered enough. Please, don't let this drive away your focus and greatness, my dear. For you are wonderful and all I have left of your parents. My son would be proud of you, Frankie. Let us not let him down.
With kind regards,
Grandad".
Well, she wasn't expecting that.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Frankie then tucked the letter away and pretended that didn't just happen. Her Grandad was right, she couldn't afford to lose focus. The letter was short and to the point, something she expected from her Grandad. And now, he was all the family she had back in Scotland. If she lost him next, she'd have no one back home.
The last time Frankie saw her mother was when she was twelve, that was the last time she cried as well. Her mother was dragged away, kicking and screaming and put into the back of a white van. Frankie would always remember that day, for as long as she lived. Five years her mum lived in that hospital. But she was sick long before they took her away.
She also wished her mum went away peacefully and without pain.
"Frankie!"
Blinking, the noise surrounded her, and she was out from her bubble.
"Sorry, you were somewhere else".
"What's up, Sarge?"
Lipton sat down next to her, "nothing…was checking you were in".
Frankie nodded, "oh, I'm still here".
He smiled a little, "good. You got a letter?"
"Yeah. Grandad wants to know how I am and that". She mumbled, "that's it, Sarge".
"Must be proud, huh?"
Frankie sighed, "eh – yeah, I think he's proud, yeah".
"He should be". Lipton told her, "you're doing well out here, buddy".
"Maybe, yeah". Frankie rubbed her hands onto her trousers, "we leaving soon?"
"Not yet". He told her, "I think soon, though".
"Yeah?"
Lipton nodded, "you get enough sleep?"
Frankie snorted, "did anyone?"
"I don't know…I'm asking you".
She cleared her throat, "bagged myself a few hours, Sarge".
Lipton looked to the side of her head, "well, I think you're 'gonna be fine".
"I didn't bleed out, Sarge".
He chuckled lightly, "no, you didn't".
Frankie might have regretted not seeing her mum in the hospital. She chewed the inside of her cheek, willing herself to stop thinking about it. It was no use thinking about something that already happened and something she had no control over. Frankie had control on how this made her feel, and that was just fine – she was going to be fine.