New chapter! A note to reviewers. To those who know German, please look over the phrases I used. I haven't used German since high school and I've forgotten everything :P So, please email me the correct phrases if mine are wrong. I went through Altavista's translator to get the German phrases. I kinda like how this chapter came out and expect it to stay the same once the draft is finished and edited. I might touch up on more of the invasion of France to make sure my facts are straight.

Thanks and enjoy!

EDIT: For some reason, the beginning got cut off. Here is the complete chapter. Sorry, folks.

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Chapter Seven

"I've got a special mission for you, Joe." Fraiser said as he sat at his desk, his hands folded over a map. Joe had received the order from Fraiser to meet with him immediately to discuss plans for a secret assignment. Joe sat in a chair across from the large desk, glancing at a man standing behind the older officer and looking out the window. "I figured this would be a good opportunity for you, son," Fraiser said. "Help spread your wings and fill your record, eh?" He let out a short laugh.

"What have you got?" Joe asked, crossing his legs and placing his hands in his pockets.

"First," Fraiser said, "I want you to meet Lawrence Scott, leader of the Red Devils, a squad from our paratroopers, Joe."

Joe got up and shook hands with the man who presented himself after Fraiser's introduction. Lawrence was about the same height as Joe, wearing all beige clothing except for the red cap on his head.

"Glad to meet you, chap. I dare say I'll be quite lucky to work with the famous Sky Captain." The man's face was thin, his eyes dark and his hair light, Joe could feel the charisma behind this man. He had heard about the Red Devils business of parachuting behind enemy lines to commit acts of sabotage under cover of darkness. When Joe recalled this information, his stomach suddenly churned at the possible prospect of this meeting. Wincing, Joe sat back into his chair, Lawrence taking the one next to him. Both men focused their attention on Fraiser.

"Why don't you tell him about it, Lawrence," Fraiser said as he leaned back into his chair, placing his hands calmly against his stomach.

"My pleasure," Lawrence said as he shifted his body to meet Joe's glance. "Well, Joe, it looks like we have a German scientist who wants to defect. We picked up a transmission from one of our contacts in the French Resistance a three days ago. Much like the other messages we've received, he's grown disillusioned with Hitler's plan after seeing the damage done by Jerry's wake."

"Sounds like good news," Joe said as he tried hard not to squirm in his chair. "If you need us for air escort or cover, you can count on us."

Fraiser leaned forward and looked at Joe. "We'd like you to go along with Lawrence and his Red Devils on this one. You may bring a couple of your men along with you, if you'd like. But you'll be under Lawrence's orders once you hit the ground."

Joe felt as if his stomach dropped to the bottom of his boots. "'Hit the ground?' Sir, I'm a pilot. My fighting experience is mostly done in the air."

"Nonsense, Joe!" Fraiser laughed. "Everyone knows about the fight you put up in Totenkopf's hideaway. Besides, the area we are looking to pick up the scientist is quiet and contains a light compliment of troops. You should be just fine."

Lawrence smiled warmly at Joe. "I always take care of my boys, Joe."

Joe tried hard to keep the smile on his face, preparing to ask a question he already knew the answer to. "So, uh. I assume we'll be parachuting down behind enemies lines."

"Right, unless you have some better idea?" Lawrence laughed. "I doubt Jerry will just let us stroll right in. Again, we are going into a light area and don't expect a large number of troops. Our contacts in the Resistance have been scouting the area since they received the transmission. It will be a quick in and out, my friend. We've arranged transportation from the area when we are done and will head towards the coast to a small boat and get picked up by a fishing barge in the middle of the Channel. Easy as clockwork, Joe."

Fraiser stood up and motioned for Joe to the map covering the top of the desk. "Here, Joe. Lawrence will point out just exactly where you'll be landing." Joe listened to his orders and conversed more about the plan with Lawrence, all the while thinking why anyone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

When he made his way back to the airfield, he called a few pilots he knew who could handle such a job into his office. Unlike himself, the pilots seemed excited about sneaking around in the enemy's backyard to snatch up a scientist. When the men left, Joe leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking in the silence that was immediately broken by Polly throwing open the door and landing on his desk.

"Anything special going on tonight, Joe?" she said, her eyes hopeful.

"Yes, but I can't tell you. I mean, I could but then I'd have to kill you...maybe I should tell you," he said with a laugh before waving her away.

"Aww, Joe. Come on."

"Sorry, Polly. Seriously, it's top secret. I'd figure you knew how important it is to keep your mouth shut. This isn't New York. This is World War II."

Polly pouted. "You're no fun, Joe. You gotta give me something. All I ever do is report on your escort and strike missions. Sure, your kills are good for morale, but I'm getting bored!"

Joe smiled. "Hey, you wanted to be assigned here. Why don't you go interview more pilots. Unlike me, they sure do love having you around."

"Well fine," Polly said as she got up from the desk and straightened her skirt. "I guess I'll see guys who appreciate me." She winked at him before making her exit. Joe sighed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes once again. Polly was meant to bring me trouble, I know it. Before he could rest, his door flew open again, revealing an eager Dex.

"Hey, Cap. I heard about your mission tonight from one of the pilots. Got room for another man?"

Joe blinked. "You want to go? I'd much rather have you here."

"Let me go, Cap. It sounds really exciting." Dex was leaning over Joe's desk, his eyes wide.

"All right, you can go, Dex. There will be a briefing in an hour. A plane will be coming by later tonight to lift us over to objective point, so get some rest. It will be a busy night, I'd expect."

"Thanks a bunch, Cap!" Dex ran out of the room, slammed the door shut behind him. Joe pressed his thumb and index finger between his eyes to ease the tension.

Joe stood with his arms crossed in front of the pilots, Dex hanging at his side. Given the nature of the mission, he ordered everyone to wear dark, lightweight clothes, along with their parachutes, and carry along a pistol of their choice. He was often told that they wouldn't meet with any trouble during the briefing with Fraiser and Lawrence, but Joe wanted to make sure he gave his boys a degree of protection.

"Is everyone clear with what is going to happen tonight? A plane carrying a number of the Red Devils will land here in about thirty minutes to pick us up and fly over the northern coast of France. When we parachute to the ground, we will meet up with a member of the French Resistance who will lead us to the small chateau housing the scientist. We'll sneak in, drop some guards if necessary, get the scientist and make our getaway, hopefully with as little noise as possible. Everybody got that?"

All of the pilots nodded their heads at Joe's question. Several pilots checked their guns, sliding clips in and out of the handles of their Colt 1911s. While Joe, Dex and the rest of his men passed the time relaxing and mentally preparing themselves, Joe heard the soft droning of a plane's engines. One of the mechanics walked into the briefing room and motioned outside, quickly saying that the British plane was on its way.

Joe and his accompanying pilots exchanged pleasantries with Lawrence and several of the British paratroopers before boarding the C-47 "Skytrain" transport airplane. He spoke with other pilots who were already sitting in their seats along the sides of the aircraft before taking his spot towards the back of the craft. Lawrence was the last soldier to get in the plane slammed the large metal door shut, taking a position near the front of the plane and chatting with his paratroopers. Joe heard the propellers sputter to life and in no time, the C-47 was in the air heading towards German occupied France. After gauging the skills of Hitler's new army in Poland, Hitler began to send his troops west to take Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium and eventually France, using a new military strategy called the blitzkrieg. The push to France began on May 10, 1940 when the Wehrmacht bypassed France's line of defense called the Maginot Line. The problem with the Maginot Line was a large gap that had been intentionally left open because the French believed that the Germans would be unable to pass through the large Ardennes forest. While the infantry held the space open, German panzer tanks had moved in and the invasion of France had begun. From that point, it took the German forces only forty three days to capture the country and force it to surrender. After the surrender, German established the French Vichy government which many angry French believed was a most humiliating act to have a government ruled by the Nazis. Many citizens wouldn't take the invasion sitting down, and when contact was made by Charles de Gaulle, who had successfully escaped to Britain, he ordered that the flame of resistance to never be put out.

About fifteen minutes into the flight, Lawrence stood up, gripping the long steel bar on the interior roof of the craft which stretched all the way to the end of the plane. "All right, lads, here is the game plan. Our target is a French chateau located several kilometers away from Rouen. Our reports from the Resistance have led us to parachute a handful of kilometers away next to a small wooded area, where we will hike to the chateau on foot after hooking up with the Resistance contact. As I know all of you have studied the recon photos, the building we are looking at is a three-story chateau which has been converted into a laboratory. The scientists are kept under a strict schedule, so by the time we get there, everyone should be asleep. All we have to do is get in, get out and meet back with our contact who will then shuttle us towards the coast and then its just a boat ride back to safety. Doesn't sound too hard, right chaps?"

The British soldiers nodded and voiced their agreements, Joe's team, on the other hand, looked as if they lost a bit of their initial excitement.

"What can we expect with resistance?" Joe asked, knowing the answer. He just wanted to reassure his men.

"The chateau is located near the outskirts of all standard German patrols. A garrison of older men and new recruits keeps an eye on things there. If we have to open fire, we should be okay as long as we get out of there fast. No rifles chaps, we have to be quick." Many of the soldiers check their side arms at that point, fitting bullets into the revolving chambers of their revolvers. Joe watched as Dex started to chat with one of the paratroopers next to him, he and his other pilots looking more relaxed. He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes, feeling the plane jump softly from the turbulence. Joe took this opportunity to mentally prepare himself for the mission, trying to gather his strength for the most difficult part: jumping out of a plane. He recalled the instructions given to him once the C-47 landed on the airfield, that when they were at the right distance, they were to place a clip attached to the parachute on the steel bar on the roof of the plane. When the individual jumped out of the plane, the clip will pull a piece of fabric attached to the pack and after several seconds of free fall, the large piece of nylon will fly out of the pack and catch the air, gliding the trooper to the ground safely. When Joe was finished going through the steps of dropping out of the plane, he let himself doze off to sleep.

Joe grunted as his body gently hit the ground. He scrambled to his feet and removed the parachute from his body, quickly rolling up the fabric and running under the cover of the forest. After meeting with a few British soldiers, he leaned against a nearby tree until all men were accounted for. Just as Lawrence promised, the jump wasn't that bad. His parachute opened up in time, but he left himself unprepared for the large tug he felt when the parachute caught air and opened, throwing him up several feet in the air. Gripping the cords in his hand, he looked around and admired the spectacular view of the French countryside at night. Joe could see thousands of stars in the night sky and a few scattered lights on the ground in the distance. He spotted a large collection of lights past the small woods and believed that to be the objective.

Joe got up from his position against the tree as he saw Dex hit the ground and rush to Joe's side, struggle to fold his parachute up. Everyone crouched down as Lawrence whispered, "Okay, chaps. Drop your 'chutes here and we'll head over to the edge of the woods. From there we will be able to spot our contact." Everyone threw their parachutes and packs down onto the ground and pulled out their pistols as Lawrence led the way. Joe was impressed at how well the paratroopers could move so quickly yet barely make a sound. He nodded to Dex and proceeded to follow the group, sticking close to the rear to watch their backs, his Colt held close against his leg. When everyone reached the edge of the woods, several soldiers pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked in the direction of the chateau. After several moments of sitting in silence and listening to the crickets chirp, Joe heard a branch break to his right. He and the paratroopers turned to face the sound with pistols drawn. A figure came out from the shadows with its hands raised.

"Please, mon ami! Lower your weapons!" the figure shouted with a high pitched, thick French accent. The men dropped their weapons and Lawrence rushed to meet the person. Joe watched as the two people spoke in hushed voices and nodded from time to time. Lawrence waved at Joe to meet with him, and he quietly made his way towards them.

"Joe, I'd like you to meet our contact, Brigitte. She's been helping us out with this little plan."

Joe was a bit surprised to find out the contact was a woman because he couldn't tell that she was a woman from the dark clothes she had worn. Joe extended his hand to meet hers and shook it, feeling her strong grip.

"Well, Monsieur Sky Captain, I've heard so much about you. Glad you've come along for the ride. I was just telling Lawrence here that the chateau looks even emptier than before. There was a guard change earlier this evening. Right now there are about twenty soldiers, both older men and younger boys. We shouldn't have a problem, no?"

Joe stammered in agreement, her question having caught him off guard. He was captivated by this brave woman, her dark eyes was filled with the flame of vigorous resistance to her country's invaders. Her face was smudged with dirt, but Joe could see the beauty hiding behind it. He smiled at her as she moved ahead of the group and scouted the distance from the edge of the woods to the back end of the building. He heard Dex come behind him and whisper to him.

"Cap, she's really pretty. Extremely brave, too," Dex said, his voice sounding eager. One look at his friend and Joe knew that Dex was smitten with the woman.

"Save it, Dex. First things first, right?"

Dex pulled out his Colt and smiled. "You bet, Cap."

"All right, listen up!" Lawrence said to the group. We've got a bit of a jog to the chateau. I want everyone to keep quiet until we breach the building. No sense in waking up Jerry sooner than we want, right?" The group nodded their heads as Lawrence turned his attention to Brigitte. She nodded and broke into a run, her body in a crouched position as she sped across the grassy area. Lawrence, Joe, Dex and the rest of the group followed close behind, their movements quiet save for the low thudding of boots against soft earth and the soft clinking of metal buckles striking each other.

The chateau appeared to be much bigger than it looked from the edge of the woods. It was a large rectangular building made with exquisite gothic style masonry. Many windows dotted all sides of the building in short intervals from one another, some were dark, while others were bright with lamplight. As Joe quickly made his way to the building, he could partially see inside the lit rooms and spotted several German soldiers passing through rooms. They seemed to not notice the group of men charging towards the house and that pleased him. So far, so good, Joe thought to himself. The soldiers soon found themselves resting against the back wall of the chateau, allowing a brief moment of respite to catch their breath. Lawrence looked in the direction of Brigitte's pointing finger and nodded in acknowledgement. Using a series of hand gestures, Lawrence ordered one of his men to head towards the kitchen door and peer through the window to make sure the room was clear. The trooper walked carefully towards the door and peered through a small window. After ducking quickly several times, each look into the room longer than the previous one, the soldier called to the remaining troops using hand signals. At that point, Lawrence moved his hands quickly again, pointing to the soldier near the kitchen, two to Lawrence's left and finally to Joe and Dex. He told them that the group would be splitting up in order to cover two different entrances into the chateau. He handed Joe's group a picture of what the scientist looked like, which Joe studied for a good long while. Confident that he knew who to look for, Joe gave the picture back to Lawrence and read the paratrooper's signals. Joe understood that the scientist could be found in his sleeping quarters on the top floor.

When everything was said and done, Lawrence gave Joe's group a thumb's up before leading his group around the side of the building. Joe headed toward the soldier nearest the kitchen door and peered into the room. The kitchen was the size of a large dining room, with three long white tables, made up of several sinks, stoves and cabinets, placed in the center. Along the outer walls were cabinets, two large refrigeration units and another set of stoves. On the far end of the left wall was an open set of double doors which lead into the next room. Joe noticed that the room was clearly of any German soldiers and after taking in a deep breath, he twisted the metal doorknob and slowly ordered everyone inside.

Once inside, the soldiers took positions behind the central table and hunkered down while waiting for everyone to get in. Before Joe ordered his men to move, Joe froze as he heard a whistling sound coming from the next room. Joe looked around and spotted a light switch next to the door they passed through. Making a series of hand signals, one of the paratroopers got up and shut off the light, covering the kitchen with darkness. As soon as light escaped from the room, Joe rushed to the doors leading to the next room and leaned against the wall. He quickly peered out of the room and saw a German officer slowly making his way towards the kitchen, whistling the tune of the German national anthem. Joe slid his Colt into his leg holster and waited for the officer to enter the room.

When the figure stepped into the dark room, standing several feet away from Joe, he let out a short, guttural curse. Joe watched as the officer placed his right palm against the wall, trying to feel for the nearest light switch. In a quick flash, Joe gripped the officer's arm and pulled him against his body, his hand covering his mouth before he could make any noise. Joe struggled to keep the man in his grip who was fighting him vigorously. Joe felt the man beginning to slip from his arms and with one quick move of his hands, Joe reached for the man's head and twisted it sharply. The officer's muffled grunts stopped suddenly after Joe successfully broke the man's neck. Joe lifted the limp body in his arms and placed the dead officer in one of the larger cabinets. One of the paratroopers took Joe's position against the wall nearest the door and peered out. After placing the body out of sight, Joe looked to the soldier who motioned that safe access to the next room could be achieved. As the troops slowly moved out of the room, he heard Dex whisper to him. "Nice work."

Joe and the soldiers moved swiftly through the dining room and towards the door on the opposite side which led to a hallway. He was about to go into the area when a paratrooper stopped him. Taking out a small mirror from one of the satchels placed on his hip, he handed it to Joe and pointed towards the hallway. Moving the object into proper position, Joe spotted three German troops standing at the far end of the area, conversing with themselves. Joe gave the mirror back and tried to come up with a plan. The way the hall was designed, there would be no opportunities for moving undetected since the soldiers were blocking the double doors they needed to pass through. Joe could just as easily order his men to fire on the soldiers, but he wanted to see how long they could go before being detected. As he tried to think, the silence of the chateau was broken by three successive popping sounds. Following the gunshots were shouts and screams and then a high pitched ringing sound of the building's alarm system. The guards in the hall sprung to life and started gripping their rifles. Joe shouted to his troops and the men poured out from the door and fired on the German soldiers, catching them off guard. After making quick work of the enemy, Joe spoke to his troops.

"Okay, guys. Our cover is blown, we will have to fight the rest of the way. We'll head towards the staircase and make our way up to the third floor. Watch yourselves!" Joe led his men down the hall and towards the double doors. One of the British soldiers rushed in front of him and kicked open the doors. The soldier rushed into the foyer but a bullet from a German rifle struck him in the chest and sent him crashing to black and white tiled floor. The foyer was a large square shaped room which contained several thick stone pillars. Covering the second floor balcony were several Germans firing at the hallway entrance the British soldier come out of. Joe and the troops swarmed into the room and threw themselves behind the pillars for cover. He peered out from behind his cover and spotted four German soldiers firing at him from the second floor. Joe threw himself back behind the pillar as a bullet hit the left side of the stone structure and sent small pieces of rock against his cheek creating a small red smudge to form against his cheek. The sounds of gunfire filled the room. British paratroopers exchanged fire with the enemy, trying to fend off the attack. Joe watched as Dex moved out from behind his pillar and let out four shots from his Colt. When Joe moved out to aim for the German who shot at him, he saw that the soldier had dropped his rifle and fell forward over the railing and crashed to the floor. He looked back at Dex and laughed.

"Good boy, Dex!" He shouted to him. The firefight was over soon after and when Joe was about to give the all clear, he heard the sound of a door bursting open from across the room. He lifted his gun towards the area but dropped it as soon as he spotted Lawrence and his group. Two of them were not present. The paratroopers moved away from their cover and met up with Lawrence.

"Joe! You lead the charge for the scientist. Brigitte went on ahead to snatch the truck. We've gotta get out of here fast so as soon as you nab the scientist, come back down here and go through the front doors. We'll secure the area and wait for your arrival. Move!"

Joe picked up one of the submachine guns left over from one of the German soldiers, holding the gun close to his hip as he led his men up the staircase. The men rushed to the third floor and entered the main hallway. After dropping two more German guards, Joe headed towards the scientist's room and kicked open the door. Aiming the weapon around the room, he spotted a man cowering in the corner near the bed. The small man looked up and the glow of relief washed over his face. Joe felt the same as he identified the man he'd seen in the picture.

"Dr. Klaus?" Joe asked.

"Ja, Ich bin Klaus. Americaner?" He said, pointing to Joe.

Joe nodded and rushed over to the scientist, gripping his arm tightly. Dex rushed into the room and caught the man as Joe threw him. "Let's go!" he shouted. The paratroopers formed a protective circle around Dr. Klaus as the led him back to the foyer. They met little opposition as they moved, only encountering a small number of guards near the second floor staircase before shooting them down. When they reached the first floor, Joe looked through the double doors leading outside and saw that Lawrence and his men were hiding behind a large truck, firing on the second level of the house. Joe guided the men towards the front door exit, yelling to them above the gunfire from outside. When he was the only one left in the building, he started making his way out went bullets flew past him and shot through the wood of the open door. He jumped into a small alcove away from the door and waited until the gunfire hammering on the other side of the wall he was resting against let up. When he heard the bullets stop, he quickly hopped out and pressed his finger hard against the trigger of the machine gun, spraying the area with bullets, and letting his finger relax from the trigger as he saw the soldier hit the ground. Taking one last look around, Joe turned his body in the direction of the entrance and ran forward until he felt his body stop suddenly as if he had just ran into a brick wall. Stumbling back, Joe looked up to see the source of the mysterious obstruction.

Joe's eyes widened slightly. Standing in his path outside was a giant of a man. He stood about five feet taller than Joe and looked to be pure muscle. The giant stood with its arms folded, and wore all black clothing. On his right arm was a large red armband with a black swastika placed in the center of a white circle. The man's hair was blond, his face looked as if it was carved from stone.

Joe stood with his legs spread apart. "Wow, you're a big fella, aren't you?" He lifted up his machine gun and prepared to fire, but the giant gripped the barrel tightly and pulled it out of Joe's hands, taking it into his giant palms a snapped it in half life a piece of balsa wood. Surprised at this, Joe tried to slam his right fist into the other man's stomach, but it was just like punching a steel door. As he gripped his fist and yelped in pain, Joe looked up and closed his eyes as a giant fist bore down on him. He felt his body fly back and hit the far wall hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Stars filled his vision as his head felt like it was smashed against a blacksmith's anvil. He shook his head and quickly scurried between the giant's legs as he charged him. Rolling against the floor, Joe stood and waited for the giant's move. The man lunged after Joe, who tried to roll out of the way, but felt his jacket sleeve get caught in the towering man's grip. Joe swung his fist toward the man's face and struck him several times, his punches doing little to phase him. Swinging his fist once again, the giant grabbed Joe's fist into his own and squeezed hard. Joe shouted in pain before he felt his air cut off from the giant hand wrapped tightly around his throat. Joe kicked his legs, trying to break himself free from the vice-like grip. He felt his body weakening and his vision fade. Suddenly, Joe heard a shattering sound and felt himself crashing to the floor, gasping for air. Joe looked at the giant who turned his back to him. Standing in front of the man now was Dex holding the remains of a wooden chair in his hands. Being hit over the head with a hard wooden chair seemed to make the towering colossus even angrier, growling as he made his way towards Dex. Joe slowly got to his feet and shouted, his throat in pain.

"Dex, let's get out of here!" Joe picked up a flower vase and threw it at the back of the giant's head. Dex was able to slip past him as the man gripped the back of his head and swayed slightly from the blow. Dex caught up with Joe and they both ran outside towards the truck, the British paratroopers shouting for the two of them to hurry up. As they ran, Joe strafed to his left and right, trying to dodge the gunfire coming from the second floor. When he was several feet from the truck, Joe jumped the remaining distance, the upper part of his body landing on the bed of the truck. The paratroopers inside pulled his body fully into the truck and when Joe turned around to extend a hand for Dex, he didn't see him there. He quickly looked in the truck but he was nowhere to be found. Looking back at that entrance to the chateau, Joe saw Dex on the ground in the fetal position, gripping his wounded leg.

"Dex! Hold on! I'm coming to get you!"

When Joe tried to jump off the truck, he felt himself held back by the paratroopers. Lawrence came up behind Joe and gripped his arms as he tried to struggle.

"Let me go! We have to get Dex!" he shouted as he tried to break free.

"Joe, we have to go! No doubt they've alerted a nearby garrison. We don't have time!"

"We can still save him!" Joe said to Lawrence. He looked back at Dex and shouted to him. "Dex, hang on!"

"Cap!" Dex screamed as the lumbering German giant slowly made his way to him. "Get outta here! Quick!"

"Dex! I'm coming Dex!" Joe continued to struggle, but the blows from the giant made him weak. Soon he felt the truck's engine cause the vehicle to shake and slowly speed away from the chateau, bullet's ricocheting off the truck's metal siding. The last thing Joe saw before the truck moved far enough from the area was the lumbering Nazi giant picking Dex up in his arms as if he were a rag doll. Joe fell back against the bodies of the paratroopers sitting behind him, his head hung low, his legs hanging off the edge of the speeding truck.

The vehicle quickly and safely made its way to the rendezvous point on the coast of the French side of the English Channel. The paratroopers jumped off the truck and escorted a weary Dr. Klaus towards the small boat, Joe falling in behind the men. His own pilots tried to hurry him along, but Joe was lost in thought. When he made his way into the boat, he turned and saw Lawrence speaking with Brigitte who then ran back into the truck and sped away. Lawrence took Joe's arm tightly when he met up with him. "We have to hurry, mate."

The boat ride was just as uneventful as the truck ride. They steered their way through the English Channel and within the next half-hour, a civilian fishing barge piloted by another Resistance contact met up with the troops as planned. The soldiers jumped onto the barge, leaving the smaller sea faring craft along, the object bobbing up and down from the waves. It would take several hours for the barge to reach the British continent, which allowed the troops ample time to sleep the rest of the night.

When the morning sun gently lifted up from the horizon, Joe woke and found himself lying against a pile of fishnets at the back end of the boat. He looked towards the front and spotted the remaining Red Devils sitting in a group, muttering quietly amongst themselves. Klaus had joined the group and was sipping a drink from a white cup, a blanket placed over his white lab coat. Joe noticed that he shared the company with his own pilots who looked sad and defeated. It was the second time Joe had lost his friend. He couldn't believe how lucky Joe was to meet with him on Totenkopf's hidden island, but now, he doubted he would see Dex again for a long time. He knew that Dex would probably be thrown into some POW camp and Joe hoped that the Germans were a bit more humane that his captors were years ago. Lawrence quietly came and set next to Joe, handing him a small cup filled with a dark liquid.

"Here, Joe. Have some coffee, it'll warm you up. It's cold out here this morning."

Joe took the cup and sipped it quietly.

"Joe, hell, I'm sorry mate. There was nothing you could have done. We had to get out of there before putting all of us at risk."

"What do you think will happen to him, Lawrence?" Joe asked quietly, looking at the dark blue ocean.

"Well, he'll probably be taken to a POW camp. But you don't have to worry too much about him. We've lost several pilots and paratroopers over enemy lines and we've made it our duty to make escape attempts whenever captured. Hell, Joe, I escaped a POW camp for RAF pilots two years ago. I'm living proof that hope still exists."

Joe looked at him in surprise. "You were a prisoner of war?"

"Sure was. Went on a routine patrol mission last year and was accidentally spotted by a well armed German patrol. They got us to surrender and sent us to a camp in Holland. I and along with older pilots didn't care much for German hospitality so we skipped out. Wasn't easy though. We had to dig tunnels and believe me, trying to hide them can be really difficult. We managed to escape though under cover of darkness. Me and my chaps hooked up with a few Dutch Resistance members who helped us get back to the Continent."

Joe felt more and more respect towards Lawrence after hearing his story. Finding out about the constant escape attempts helped to regain his hope of seeing his friend again.

"Oh, and I went ahead and asked Brigitte to keep an eye and ear out for anything. We've had great luck with the French Resistance and they've never let us down before." Lawrence patted Joe's back. "Try and relax, Joe. We aren't giving Dex up so easily, understand?"

"Thanks, Lawrence."

The British soldier smiled at him and went to speak with the captain of the boat. Joe felt slightly reassured from the talk with Lawrence and hoped that the resistance could bring Dex back. While thinking about Dex, Joe also recalled the giant who took Dex away and gave himself a good knock on the head. How could anyone be that big and muscular was way beyond him. Joe hoped to meet that colossus again and pay him back for Dex. Joe leaned back against a pile of fishing nets, and allowed himself to fall asleep for the rest of the boat ride home.

Joe returned to the Flying Legion's airfield where they were greeted by flight crews and mechanics. Lawrence and his paratroopers exchanged pleasantries before leading Dr. Klaus into a truck and drove up the road from the airfield. Joe stood apart from the crowed and suddenly clapped his hands.

"Listen up, everyone." Joe looked over the glowing faces of his pilots and crew who formed a large circle around him. He saw Polly run up from the back and pushed her way up to the front of the crowd, her pad and pencil in hand. She looked around Joe and a look of concern grew on her face.

"As you can probably see," Joe swallowed hard, looking down at the ground. "We successfully captured the scientist who wanted to defect. No doubt he will fill us in on important enemy details. But the truth is, we've failed. The Legions failed by leaving one of our own behind." Joe let out a long sigh as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Dex got shot in the leg and was captured before any of us could do anything."

The group of men exchanged shocked and saddened glances. Polly's face carried a look of shock, knowing that Dex's capture during wartime was much worse than being abducted by giant robots.

"Lawrence tells me that there is a good chance he will be treated with a level of decency and shipped to a POW camp. He also instructed our Resistance contact to find and track Dex's movements in order to spring him out and bring him home. But now, the only thing we can do is wait and try keep ourselves busy so the grief doesn't kill us. Dismissed." Joe turned away from the group and headed towards the hanger that housed his office. Polly came running up to him and stood right in his path. The makeup circling her eyes was smeared and tears fell silently from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Joe tried to walk around her, but Polly grabbed his arms. He stood silently as Polly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest, dropping her pad of paper on the ground. Joe let his arms wrap around her, squeezing her body tightly against him.

----

That afternoon, a German Private in a dark gray uniform casually walked through a long hallway inside a busy building occupied by many German officers. The building was located within the French city of Vichy and acted as one of the central German command posts outside of the Fatherland. The hall had been lavishly decorated with old, traditional paintings and several flags of the Nazi Party. The younger soldier threw his right arm high in the air as he passed by other officers, letting out brief exclamations of "Heil, Hitler!" When he reached his destination, the soldier rapped his gloved fist three times against the large oak door. He waited until he heard "Kommen Sie heirin" from the within the room before twisting the handle and entering into the office.

The office was rather large, with the walls painted a soft brown and held many fine pieces of art. A few steps from the door were several comfortable looking chairs surrounding a small wooden table adorned with a beautiful bouquet of red flowers. Just past that was a large oak desk which held another set of flowers. The spacious room was bathed in sunlight which seeped into the room from the windows, except for one area in the corner to the right of the soldier. Although he couldn't tell in the darkened area, the soldier knew someone was sitting there.

The Private moved in front of the desk, clicked the heels of his black boots together as he lifted his right arm up in the air again, speaking his salute proudly. The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his work and noticed the man standing in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and gave the soldier a half-hearted salute.

"Guten Morgen, Kapitan Faust. Heil Hitler." Good morning, Captain Faust.

"Guten Morgen, soldat. Was ist es?" Good morning, soldier. What is it?

"Docktor Klaus."

Faust smiled as he made the connection. "Ich vertraue, dass er weg erhielt?" I trust he got away?

The soldier nodded as he stood in front of the smiling officer.

"Sehr gut. Entlassen." Very good. Dismissed.

The soldier clicked his heels, saluted again and headed out of the room, closing the door quietly. Faust pressed his hands together, drumming his fingers together in a slow rhythm. Faust spoke to the figure in the corner. "Sehr gut. Ich höre, dass Sie einen Straggler aufhoben, Sigmund." I hear you picked up a straggler, Sigmund. The floor creaked as the figure stood up from his dark corner and moved into the light. It was the same towering giant who fought with Joe in the chateau. Sigmund smiled a villainous grin at his leader, clutching his monstrous fists together.

"Bilden Sie ihn bequem. Er ist zu uns jetzt besonders wichtig geworden." Make him comfortable. He has become especially important to us now.

Sigmund let out a deep grunt of a laugh that sounded similar to a lion's roar as he stomped out of the room. Faust spun around in his chair around and peered through the windows. Based on all the reports he received, his plan had been successful. The additional capture of one of the attackers made him happy, especially when it was made known to him that it was Sky Captain's most trusted friend.

"Sehr, sehr gut."