Loki watched from the ridge as Pinkerton scrambled away from the bridge and back up the embankment. They had each of their two stolen tanks on the ridge to the west of Loki's position, facing down into the gulley that would bottleneck the German forces. The rest of the squad were spread out, parked with the heavier ground artillery they'd found in the trucks. Loki had only spent two days with the Browning during basic, and it wasn't the same as the German version but he hadn't mentioned any of that when Rogers was giving the orders. They had two more 50 cals on the other side of the river, in the trees. The other four were dug in with their rifles, all waiting for Rogers' signal down by the bridge.
"Well, this is scary as hell," Morita said loudly enough for Loki to hear.
He looked up the ridge to Morita, where he was dug in and covered in tree branches.
"Shut up and watch for the signal," Loki told him.
They sat in a tense silence for what felt like a year, waiting for conditions to be perfect. Finally, when the snow began to pick back up, Rogers launched one of the few mortar shells they had toward the Germans' position. Following the explosion, bursts of gunfire flared up, carrying over the half-mile from the Germans' position. The gunfire quickly tapered off to a silence, just before Pinkerton threw the fuse and blew the bridge, drawing more confused fire.
Loki sat up a little higher, ready for whatever was going to come down the road. Even before blowing the bridge, the narrow, single-carriage road would have bottlenecked the convoy, with the steep drop to the south and another ridge to the north, cut through by a deep riverbed. From where he sat, Loki couldn't see beyond the second ridge, but Barnes was up there, giving eyes toward their camp. After the panicked gunfire ceased, they could begin to hear the rumble of heavy engines as the Germans figured out where the attack was coming from. They all watched Barnes' position, and when he threw a flash grenade into the gulley, Rogers threw a smoke grenade over the river to the other side of the blown bridge. Just as the smoke began to obscure the road even more than the snow already had, they could hear the rumble of Panzers slowly rounding the bend. The first cleared the smoke screen, falling immediately into the river. The Panzer directly behind it did the same, and the sound of shearing steel echoed off the peaks all around them.
Below, a German officer shouted orders to open fire as the ground troops rounded the bend. They shot blindly down the direction of the road and through the smoke screen, their rounds only finding their own soldiers as they struggled to climb from their ruined tanks and back onto the road.
"Wait for it," Loki said, holding his hand up just high enough for those on his side of the road to see. As one more tank rounded the bend, he dropped his arm and opened fire on the troops below.
The tank to his left fired its canon, taking out the one on the road below. On both sides of the gulley, shots were fired in controlled bursts, confusing the soldiers on the road. Loki fired off a few more rounds and then watched as the men on the ground scrambled for cover on the narrow strip of road, hiding behind the dead soldiers that had already fallen. Some had begun climbing down into the river, which still ran deep and swift despite the cold. Loki let the 50 cal sit and began watching those in the river, picking off those with his rifle who didn't get swept away by the current.
Another Panzer rounded the corner, its canon aimed up the ridge as it slowly crawled along the road. Even as it fired, one of the tanks on the ridge fired at it. Something exploded directly to Loki's right, sending dirt and snow flying almost twenty feet in the air. Something felt wrong in his ear, but he ignored it and took control of the 50 cal again, shooting at anything that moved. Another explosion rocked the ridge, this time almost directly between Loki and Morita.
"Hold your position!" Loki shouted over the endless gunfire.
One more shell hit the ridge, exploding the tree directly above Morita. Loki looked down at the gulley and grabbed the 50 cal as he made his way to better cover on the other side of the ridge.
"Never mind, fall back," he told Morita as he ran, able to hear the bullets as they shot past him.
They dropped to the ground on the east slope, out of the path of the shelling. The ridge offered high ground, but it was exposed and unsheltered, offering little in the way of cover. All around them, explosions began to ring out as the Germans gathered their defences and began to mount their own attack. The tanks on the ridge would run out of ammunition soon, if they hadn't already, leaving Barnes all that was left on the high ground. Loki turned to look over the ridge, realising that they were about to lose the high ground entirely.
"Over there," he said, pointing closer to Barnes' position, near a small cluster of trees.
They quickly ran along the opposite face for cover, setting up right on the crest. There were already soldiers that had managed to cross the river, and were trying to climb the steeper west slope, but they faced the same problem Loki and Morita had, climbing the hard terrain with no cover.
"Oh, this guy's mine," Morita said. He lifted his rifle and took down the soldier on the far right.
Loki brushed the snow from the 50 cal and opened a spray at the advance. Half his shots missed, with the recoil of the massive weapon throwing off his aim each time, but he quickly learned that the most effective way to use it was to aim low and point and spray. The soldiers below all scrambled for any cover they could find, half of them retreating back down the road.
"I don't have much left on this belt," Loki said, having to stop firing again to let the barrel cool. "How are you doing?"
Morita looked down at his belt. "Three clips. We are so fucked."
Loki looked down at the mess below. The river and the trees were keeping most of the soldiers from taking the southward route, but more and more were trying to take the ridge. Loki opened fire again, running out his belt completely.
"Use what you have and then fall back to the village," he said, reaching for his rifle again. "They can't get the Panzers up here from their side, but they're not blocked in either."
He emptied his clip, firing with far more precision than he was able to get with the larger weapon. Each shot he fired found a target, dropping one more German soldier in the snow. While he reloaded, Morita started firing, clearing out a few more soldiers from the slope.
"What the Hel?" Loki asked suddenly.
He watched as Rogers ran from his position, cutting a line straight for the tanks in the river. At first, Loki thought he was going to go inside one of them, but instead he used them to get across to the other side, leaping over and climbing across them.
"Should we help him?" Morita asked.
Loki raised his rifle and opened fire again at the confused soldiers on the slope. "Cover him."
While Morita picked off soldiers on the road, Loki kept firing at those on the ridge. The German ranks were descending into chaos as officers shouted conflicting orders and soldiers had no unified leadership. Someone below kept sending squad after squad up the ridge, either knowing that ammo was running out, or not hearing other orders to retreat. Suddenly, one of the tanks up on the ridge dropped into gear and started rolling down the slope, almost casually mowing down troops as it went. Just before it fell into the river, the top hatch opened and Howlett leapt out, taking out two very confused soldiers with nothing but his fists before running back along the river for cover.
"Is everybody just fucking insane?" Morita shouted as he emptied out his clip again.
Loki picked off the last few soldiers still trying to cross the river as he spotted Rogers rushing back toward his original position.
"Yeah, looks like it," he said. He emptied his clip as well, and as he reached for the last one on his belt, a loud explosion rang out from below, triggering two more that rocked the entire valley. The remaining German troops all began to scatter, retreating quickly back down the mountain. Several shots were fired after them in encouragement, but by the time the Germans got to the road, there was too much debris for anyone to land a clean shot. Down on the road, Rogers fired the last of their mortars after the Germans, chasing them off entirely. Despite their lack of ammunition, Loki and Morita held their positions, ready to shout at any charging Germans if they had to.
"Fix bayonets," Loki ordered, already reaching for his.
The valley lay silent in the wake of the battle, with the sounds of any distant manoeuvres being muffled by the still-falling snow. The squad all held their positions, waiting until finally, Rogers stood again and signalled everyone back down to the road.
"Olson, hold still," Morita said, pushing Loki back down as he tried to stand. "You're wounded. Let me see it."
"No I'm not," Loki said, watching Dugan climb out of his tank and land uneasily in the deep snow. He spotted the other two and walked over to them, instead of making his way back down the east slope to the road.
"Yeah, tell that to your face," said Morita, still not letting Loki leave.
"What?" Loki ran his hand down the side of his face, surprised when he pulled it away again to find blood smeared over his fingers. "Oh."
"Yep, there it is," said Morita, sitting down in front of Loki. He pulled Loki's spectacles off and nudged his head to the side.
"Don't poke me," Loki warned, otherwise letting Morita do what he felt he had to do.
"You got a light?" Morita asked.
Dugan stepped closer as he pulled his flashlight from his belt and handed it over. He watched quietly as Morita nudged Loki around this way and that, occasionally shining the light right in his eyes.
"You might have a burst ear drum in there. I can't tell through the mess," Morita said.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Wonderful," he said flatly. He was almost certain he had no such thing, but was sick of arguing with humans who thought they knew better.
"Okay, now this is gonna smart," Morita said as he handed the flashlight back.
"What?" asked Loki.
Instead of getting an answer, he got a fresh flare of pain as Morita pulled something from his cheek. He hadn't even felt it going in, but he definitely felt the twisted sliver of steel as it was wrenched from his flesh. Morita held it up to show him, like it was some sort of trophy.
"I saw that shell land, and I swear I thought you were toast," Dugan said.
Loki rubbed his hand against cheek again, half expecting to find more shrapnel. "It was a bit close for comfort," he admitted.
He put his spectacles back on and let Dugan help him to his feet as they were met by Barnes.
"Everyone all right?" he asked, trying to direct his words to all three of them, but looking straight at Loki.
"Yeah, missed him by a mile," Morita said.
Barnes watched Loki suspiciously, but said nothing. The four of them walked down the east side of the ridge together, circling back around to where Rogers stood on the road with the rest of the squad. Howlett, soaking wet and starting to shiver, waved his hand toward Dugan.
"Why didn't you follow my lead?" he asked.
Dugan shrugged. "You had it covered, man. I didn't want to get in your way."
"Well next time, get in my way," Howlett said.
No-one else seemed to know what to say, all still stunned at everything that had happened. They looked around at the carnage they'd caused, none ready to deal with what would come next.
"Well," said Rogers eventually as he surveyed the scene for himself. "What's the situation for everybody? Where do we stand?"
"Out," said Loki, followed by Morita, Dugan, and Barnes almost all at once.
They were met with a weak chorus of similar responses, with none having more than a full clip remaining. Rogers nodded and sighed. "Let's get across the river and take anything we can carry back over," he said.
There was a pause while everyone tried to decide if they wanted to complain before they shouldered their rifles and began the slippery climb down the embankment. Using the crashed tanks, they managed to climb over the narrow river without getting too wet and began making their way through the Germans' ranks. They looted trucks and fallen soldiers alike, taking their weapons, ammo, and even the packs off their backs. They carried everything they could back across the river, by then too tired to even complain about the five mile march back to Vallorcine.
As they walked back into town, they were met by several Swiss officers, standing confused by their Jeep. They had two trucks along with them, none of it even remotely kitted for combat.
"Man, fuck you guys," Jones said as he walked past, making sure to knock into one with his shoulder.
"Thanks for the assist," Dugan said, knocking into one of the others.
As they filed past, Rogers stepped up to their Major and waited a few long moments before saying anything.
"My men need supplies; food, ammo, cold weather gear. Anything you got that you don't need. And from the sound of things, you don't need much. And these people," he pointed out toward the deceptively empty village, "need somewhere safe to go. And you're gonna give it to them."
The Major shrugged almost helplessly and shook his head. "What happened?" he asked. "What was down there?"
Rogers stared at him, waiting a few moments before answering the question. "You know what was down there. Exactly what Sergeant Olson said was down there. You're welcome, by the way."
He turned away from the Swiss Major to join the rest of the squad as they helped the village's residents out of their cellars and back up into the open air. Without even waiting for confirmation that his demands would be met, Rogers walked over to one of the trucks that had brought a small platoon of Swiss soldiers to Vallorcine and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
"Out," he said, making the order clear even to those who didn't speak English. "Now."
The soldiers hesitated briefly before they began to file out of the back of the truck. As soon as it was empty, Rogers turned to Jones. "You and Olson tell them to take only what they can carry. And make it quick."
"Yes, sir," said Jones.
While he and Loki began rounding up the locals, Dugan watched the Swiss soldiers exchange confused words between one another. He tapped Morita on the shoulder to get his attention, and walked straight to the nearest group.
"Ammo. All of it. Now," he demanded.
The soldier looked at him blankly and shook his head. Sighing tiredly, Dugan hefted his rifle in the soldier's face. "Give me your fucking ammo, numb nuts," he said, slow and loudly. Not waiting for a response, he reached for it himself, taking several clips off the man's belt. "Ammo," he repeated, waving it in the soldier's face. "Give. It. To. Me." He tapped himself on the chest with the clip.
"Yeah, gimme your ammo," Morita said to one of the other soldiers.
By now, the message had got through. Both soldiers quickly unburdened themselves of all of their ammunition and handed it over. Morita paused to look at the clips in his hand, frowning at what he saw.
"Hey. That look different to you?" he asked, holding it up for Dugan to see.
"Yeah, I think you're right, Jim," Dugan said. He reached out for the soldier's rifle and took it right out of his hands. "Thanks, pal."
While they left the Swiss soldiers stunned, several others began treating the rest of them similarly, cleaning them out of their ammunition and weapons without a second thought.
"I want this. This is mine now," Howlett said, taking the helmet right off of a confused soldier's head. He donned it himself and turned to clean out the next one down the line.
By the time they were finished robbing the Swiss army of anything useful, Jones and Loki had finished loading the civilians into the trucks. Loki took the new rifle offered to him with confusion, not sure how he was meant to carry it, the German one he'd already stolen, and his Garand as they made their way down the mountain.
"At least our crisis of munitions is over," he said dryly. He looked back over to the German Opels parked in the field and looked to Rogers. "Sir, what's the plan for getting the Hel out of here?" he asked.
Rogers looked around at his squad before casting a glance back down the road. "Somebody find me a map," he decided.
The mountain roads would have been safer during the day, but driving a stolen German Opel down a dark mountain road in the snow felt safer than spending another night in Vallorcine. As soon as they found an alternate route off the mountain, they wasted no time in loading the Opel with everything they could. Despite all expectations, the Swiss even came through with a few cases of rations and proper cold weather gear for everybody before turning to retreat back to their own borders.
Even with the canopy pulled shut, the back of the truck was still no warmer than an ice box. With Jones driving and Pinkerton navigating for him, the rest huddled quietly in the back, too tired to even speak, but too wary to get any rest.
"I gotta stop," Jones announced suddenly, pulling the truck to a slow halt.
"Everything all right?" Rogers asked, sitting up to look through the rear window.
"Yeah, but not for long. I'm dead on my feet," he said.
Rogers looked around the back of the truck and nodded. "Yeah, that's probably best," he agreed.
Jones and Pinkerton both climbed out of the cab, but didn't reappear at the back of the truck. After a few confused moments, Rogers pulled back the canopy and saw why. Jones hadn't parked them on the side of a road in the woods. They'd come to another village which still stood without any signs of German shelling. Slowly, one by one, they filed out of the back of the truck and gathered on the street together.
"Good job," Rogers said. "Let's find us some beds."
None of them had to be told twice.